Regioselective peroxo-dependent heme alkylation in P450(BM3)-F87G by aromatic aldehydes: effects of alkylation on cataysis.

Cytochrome P450(BM3)-F87G reacts with aromatic aldehydes and hydrogen peroxide to generate covalent heme adducts in a reaction that may involve the formation of a stable isoporphyrin intermediate [Raner, G. M., Hatchell, A. J., Morton, P. E., Ballou, D. P., and Coon, M. J. (2000) J. Inorg. Biochem. 81, 153-160]. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra for the proposed isoporphyrin intermediates generated using two different aromatic aldehydes suggest that, in each case, the heme remained coordinated to the apoenzyme via the cysteine thiolate, the metal center remained ferric low spin, and a slight distortion in the geometry of the pyrrole nitrogens occurred. Characterization of the resulting heme adducts via 1D and 2D NMR showed conclusively that the heme was modified at the gamma-meso position alone, and mass spectral analysis indicated loss of formate from the aldehyde prior to alkylation. The enzyme derivatives in which the hemes were covalently altered retained the characteristic UV/vis and EPR spectral properties of a P450, indicating that the heme was properly ligated in the active site. The modified enzymes were able to accept electrons from NADPH in the presence of lauric acid at a rate comparable to that of the unmodified forms, although oxidation of the lauric acid was not observed with either modified enzyme. Oxidation of 4-nitrophenol and 4-nitrocatechol was observed for both derivatives. However, 4-nitrocatechol oxidation was completely quenched in the presence of superoxide dismutase. The results are consistent with heme modification occurring through a peroxo-dependent pathway and also suggest that modification results in altered catalytic activity, rather than complete inactivation of the P450.

Converting a maltose receptor into a nascent binuclear copper oxygenase by computational design.

Computational protein design methods were used to identify mutations that are predicted to introduce a binuclear copper center coordinated by six histidines, replacing the maltose-binding site in Escherichia coli maltose-binding protein (MBP) with an oxygen-binding site. A small family of five candidate designs consisting of 9 to 10 mutations each was constructed by oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis. These mutant proteins were expressed and purified, and their stability, copper- and cobalt-binding properties, and interactions of the resulting metalloprotein complexes with azide, hydrogen peroxide, and dioxygen were characterized. We identified one 10-fold mutant, MBP.Hc.E, that can form Cu(II)(2) and Co(II)(2) complexes that interact with H(2)O(2) and O(2). The Co(II)(2) protein reacts with H(2)O(2) to form a complex that is spectroscopically similar to a synthetic model that structurally mimics the oxy-hemocyanin core, whereas the Cu(II)(2) protein reacted with O(2) or H(2)O(2) does not. We postulate that the equilibrium between the open and closed conformations of MBP allows species with variable Cu-Cu distances to form, and that such species can bind ligands in geometries that are not observed in natural type III centers. Introduction of one additional mutation in the hinge region of MBP, I329F, known to favor formation of the closed state, results in a binuclear copper center that when reacted with low concentrations of H(2)O(2) mimics the spectroscopic signature of oxy-hemocyanin.