Synthesis of selectively labeled histidine and its methylderivatives with deuterium, tritium, and carbon-14.

Isotopologues of l-histidine and its N-methylderivatives labeled with deuterium and tritium at the 5-position in the imidazole ring were obtained using the isotope exchange method. The deuterium-labeled isotopologues [5-(2)H]-l-histidine, [5-(2)H]-N(τ) -methyl-l-histidine, [5-(2)H]-N(π) -methyl-l-histidine, and [2,5-(2)H(2)]-l-histidine were synthesized by isotope exchange method carried out in a fully deuterated medium with. The same reaction conditions were applied to synthesize [5-(3)H]-N(τ) -methyl-l-histidine, [5-(3)H]-N(π) -methyl-l-histidine, and [5-(3)H]-l-histidine with specific activity of 2.0, 5.0, and 2.6 MBq/mmol, respectively. The N(π) -[methyl-(14)C]-histamine was obtained with specific activity of 0.23 MBq/mmol in a one-step reaction by the direct methylation of histamine by [(14)C]iodomethane.

Tritium secondary kinetic isotope effect on phenylalanine ammonia-lyase-catalyzed reaction.

The mechanism by which phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5) catalyzes the reversible elimination of ammonia from phenylalanine yielding (E)-cinnamic acid has gained much attention in the recent years. Dehydroalanine is essential for the catalysis. It was assumed that this prostetic group acts as the electrophile, leading to a covalently bonded enzyme-intermediate complex with quarternary nitrogen of phenylalanine. Recently, an alternative mechanism has been suggested in which the enzyme-intermediate complex is formed in a Friedel-Crafts reaction between dehydroalanine and orthocarbon of the aromatic ring. Using semiempirical calculations we have shown that these two alternative mechanisms can be distinguished on the basis of the hydrogen secondary kinetic isotope effect when tritium label is placed in the orthopositions. Our calculations indicated also that the kinetic isotope effect measured using ring-labeled d(5)-phenylalanine could not be used to differentiate these alternative mechanisms. Measured secondary tritium kinetic isotope effect shows strong dependence on the reaction progress, starting at the inverse value of k(H)/k(T) = 0.85 for 5% conversion and reaching the normal value of about 1.15 as the conversion increases to 20%. This dependence has been interpreted in terms of a complex mechanism with initial formation of the Friedel-Crafts type intermediate.

Secondary H/T and D/T isotope effects in enzymatic enolization reactions. Coupled motion and tunneling in the triosephosphate isomerase reaction.

Secondary kH/kT kinetic isotope effects in H2O and kH/kT or kD/kT isotope effects in D2O have been measured for the triosephosphate isomerase-catalyzed conversion of dihydroxyacetone 3-phosphate (DHAP) to D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. The proton transfer steps are made rate-limiting using [1(R)-2H]-labeled substrate in D2O to slow the chemical steps, relative to product release. After a small correction for the beta-equilibrium isotope effect for dehydration of DHAP, the H/T kinetic isotope effect kH/kT = 1.27 +/- 0.03 for [1(R)-2H,(S)-3H]-labeled substrate in D2O is subtantially larger than the equilibrium isotope effect for enolization of DHAP, KH/KT = 1.12. The H/T isotope effect is related to the D/T isotope effect with a Swain-Schaad exponent y = 4.4 +/- 1.3. These results are consistent with coupled motion of the C-1 primary and secondary hydrogens of DHAP and tunneling. Large secondary kinetic isotope effects are a general feature of enzymatic enolization reactions while nonenzymatic enolization reactions show secondary kinetic isotope effects that are substantially smaller than equilibrium effects [Alston, W. A., II, Haley, K., Kanski, R., Murray, C.J., & Pranata, J. (1996) J. Am. Chem Soc., 118, 6562-6569]. Possible origins for these differences in transition state structure are discussed.