A Single-Point Mutation in d-Arginine Dehydrogenase Unlocks a Transient Conformational State Resulting in Altered Cofactor Reactivity.

Proteins are inherently dynamic, and proper enzyme function relies on conformational flexibility. In this study, we demonstrated how an active site residue changes an enzyme's reactivity by modulating fluctuations between conformational states. Replacement of tyrosine 249 (Y249) with phenylalanine in the active site of the flavin-dependent d-arginine dehydrogenase yielded an enzyme with both an active yellow FAD (Y249F-y) and an inactive chemically modified green FAD, identified as 6-OH-FAD (Y249F-g) through various spectroscopic techniques. Structural investigation of Y249F-g and Y249F-y variants by comparison to the wild-type enzyme showed no differences in the overall protein structure and fold. A closer observation of the active site of the Y249F-y enzyme revealed an alternative conformation for some active site residues and the flavin cofactor. Molecular dynamics simulations probed the alternate conformations observed in the Y249F-y enzyme structure and showed that the enzyme variant with FAD samples a metastable conformational state, not available to the wild-type enzyme. Hybrid quantum/molecular mechanical calculations identified differences in flavin electronics between the wild type and the alternate conformation of the Y249F-y enzyme. The computational studies further indicated that the alternate conformation in the Y249F-y enzyme is responsible for the higher spin density at the C6 atom of flavin, which is consistent with the formation of 6-OH-FAD in the variant enzyme. The observations in this study are consistent with an alternate conformational space that results in fine-tuning the microenvironment around a versatile cofactor playing a critical role in enzyme function.

Structural determinants for substrate specificity of flavoenzymes oxidizing d-amino acids.

The oxidation of d-amino acids is relevant to neurodegenerative diseases, detoxification, and nutrition in microorganisms and mammals. It is also important for the resolution of racemic amino acid mixtures and the preparation of chiral building blocks for the pharmaceutical and food industry. Considerable biochemical and structural knowledge has been accrued in recent years on the enzymes that carry out the oxidation of the Cα-N bond of d-amino acids. These enzymes contain FAD as a required coenzyme, share similar overall three-dimensional folds and highly conserved active sites, but differ in their specificity for substrates with neutral, anionic, or cationic side-chains. Here, we summarize the current biochemical and structural knowledge regarding substrate specificity on d-amino acid oxidase, d-aspartate oxidase, and d-arginine dehydrogenase for which a wealth of biochemical and structural studies is available.

RNA primer-primase complexes serve as the signal for polymerase recycling and Okazaki fragment initiation in T4 phage DNA replication.

The opposite strand polarity of duplex DNA necessitates that the leading strand is replicated continuously whereas the lagging strand is replicated in discrete segments known as Okazaki fragments. The lagging-strand polymerase sometimes recycles to begin the synthesis of a new Okazaki fragment before finishing the previous fragment, creating a gap between the Okazaki fragments. The mechanism and signal that initiate this behavior-that is, the signaling mechanism-have not been definitively identified. We examined the role of RNA primer-primase complexes left on the lagging ssDNA from primer synthesis in initiating early lagging-strand polymerase recycling. We show for the T4 bacteriophage DNA replication system that primer-primase complexes have a residence time similar to the timescale of Okazaki fragment synthesis and the ability to block a holoenzyme synthesizing DNA and stimulate the dissociation of the holoenzyme to trigger polymerase recycling. The collision with primer-primase complexes triggering the early termination of Okazaki fragment synthesis has distinct advantages over those previously proposed because this signal requires no transmission to the lagging-strand polymerase through protein or DNA interactions, the mechanism for rapid dissociation of the holoenzyme is always collision, and no unique characteristics need to be assigned to either identical polymerase in the replisome. We have modeled repeated cycles of Okazaki fragment initiation using a collision with a completed Okazaki fragment or primer-primase complexes as the recycling mechanism. The results reproduce experimental data, providing insights into events related to Okazaki fragment initiation and the overall functioning of DNA replisomes.

Importance of glutamate 87 and the substrate α-amine for the reaction catalyzed by D-arginine dehydrogenase.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa D-arginine dehydrogenase (PaDADH) catalyzes the oxidation of D-arginine to iminoarginine, which is non-enzymatically hydrolyzed to 2-ketoarginine and ammonia. Here, site-directed mutagenesis and pH effects were used to investigate binding and catalysis of zwitterionic and cationic substrates for the enzyme. An unprotonated group with apparent pKa value ⩾7.9 is required for binding D-arginine or D-lysine, but not D-methionine or D-leucine. This group is E87, as suggested by its replacement with leucine. An unprotonated group with pKa of 9.5, which persists in the H48F and E87L variants, is required for amine oxidation with all substrates. Since Y53 and Y249 were previously ruled out, the pKa is assigned to the substrate α-NH3(+) group, which previous QM/MM and Kd pH-profile demonstrated to be protonated for preferred binding to the enzyme. Lack of pH effects on the (D)kred with D-leucine established 9.5 as the intrinsic pKa, and D-leucine as a non-sticky substrate. D-Arginine, D-lysine and D-methionine and their corresponding iminoproducts were significantly stickier than D-leucine, as indicated by apparent pKa values <9.5 in both kcat/Km and kcat. Restricted proton movements in catalysis were established from hollowed kcat pH profiles in wild-type PaDADH with D-lysine and in the H48F and E87L enzymes with D-arginine.

Mechanistic and computational studies of the reductive half-reaction of tyrosine to phenylalanine active site variants of D-arginine dehydrogenase.

The flavin-mediated enzymatic oxidation of a CN bond in amino acids can occur through hydride transfer, carbanion, or polar nucleophilic mechanisms. Previous results with D-arginine dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PaDADH) using multiple deuterium kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) and computational studies established preferred binding of the substrate protonated on the α-amino group, with cleavages of the NH and CH bonds occurring in asynchronous fashion, consistent with the three possible mechanisms. The hydroxyl groups of Y53 and Y249 are ≤4 Å from the imino and carboxylate groups of the reaction product iminoarginine, suggesting participation in binding and catalysis. In this study, we have investigated the reductive half-reactions of the Y53F and Y249F variants of PaDADH using substrate and solvent deuterium KIEs, solvent viscosity and pH effects, and quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical computational approaches to gain insights into the catalytic roles of the tyrosines and evaluate whether their mutations affect the transition state for substrate oxidation. Both Y53F and Y249F enzymes oxidized D-arginine with steady-state kinetic parameters similar to those of the wild-type enzyme. Rate constants for flavin reduction (k(red)) with D-leucine, a slow substrate amenable to rapid kinetics, were 3-fold smaller than the wild-type value with similar pKa values for an unprotonated group of ∼10.0. Similar pKa values were observed for (app)Kd in the variant and wild-type enzymes. However, cleavage of the substrate NH and CH bonds in the enzyme variants occurred in synchronous fashion, as suggested by multiple deuterium KIEs on k(red). These data can be reconciled with a hydride transfer mechanism, but not with carbanion and polar nucleophilic mechanisms.

Relative timing of hydrogen and proton transfers in the reaction of flavin oxidation catalyzed by choline oxidase.

The oxidation of the reduced flavin in choline oxidase was investigated with pH, solvent viscosity, and kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) in steady-state kinetics and time-resolved absorbance spectroscopy of the oxidative half-reaction in a stopped-flow spectrophotometer. Both the effects of isotopic substitution on the KIEs and the multiple KIEs suggest a mechanism for flavin oxidation in which the H atom from the reduced flavin and a H(+) from the solvent or a solvent exchangeable site are transferred in the same kinetic step. Stopped-flow kinetic data demonstrate flavin oxidation without stabilization of flavin-derived species. Solvent viscosity effects establish an isomerization of the reduced enzyme. These results allow us to rule out mechanisms for flavin oxidation in which C4a-peroxy and -hydroperoxy flavin intermediates accumulate to detectable levels in the reaction of flavin oxidation catalyzed by choline oxidase. A mechanism of flavin oxidation that directly results in the formation of oxidized flavin and hydrogen peroxide without stabilization of reaction intermediates is consistent with the data presented.

Rescuing of the hydride transfer reaction in the Glu312Asp variant of choline oxidase by a substrate analogue.

In the active site of choline oxidase, Glu312 participates in binding the trimethylammonium group of choline, thereby positioning the alcohol substrate properly for efficient hydride transfer to the enzyme-bound flavin. Previous studies have shown that substitution of Glu312 with aspartate results in a perturbed mechanism of hydride transfer, with a 260-fold decrease in the rate associated with the mutation. Here, the reaction of alcohol oxidation catalyzed by the Glu312Asp enzyme has been investigated with 3-hydroxypropyl-trimethylamine (3-HPTA), a choline analogue with an extra methylene, as substrate. The results of the kinetic investigation using steady state and rapid reaction approaches showed that the impaired ability of the Glu312Asp enzyme to catalyze a hydride transfer reaction can be effectively, but not completely, rescued in the presence of an extra methylene group on the substrate that compensates for the equivalent shortening of the side chain on residue 312. This observation is consistent with choline oxidase having evolved to optimally catalyze the oxidation of choline.