Project description:The neisserial fbpABC locus has been proposed to act as an iron-specific ABC transporter system. To confirm this assigned function, we constructed an fbpABC mutant in Neisseria meningitidis by insertional inactivation of fbpABC with a selectable antibiotic marker. The mutant was unable to use iron supplied from human transferrin, human lactoferrin, or iron chelates. However, the use of iron from heme and human hemoglobin was unimpaired. These results support the obligatory participation of fbpABC in neisserial periplasmic iron transport and do not indicate a role for this genetic locus in the heme iron pathway.
Project description:(S)-2-Hydroxypropylphosphonic acid epoxidase (HppE) is an O2-dependent, nonheme Fe(II)-containing oxidase that converts (S)-2-hydroxypropylphosphonic acid ((S)-HPP) to the regio- and enantiomerically specific epoxide, fosfomycin. Use of (R)-2-hydroxypropylphosphonic acid ((R)-HPP) yields the 2-keto-adduct rather than the epoxide. Here we report the chemical synthesis of a range of HPP analogues designed to probe the basis for this specificity. In past studies, NO has been used as an O2 surrogate to provide an EPR probe of the Fe(II) environment. These studies suggest that O2 binds to the iron, and substrates bind in a single orientation that strongly perturbs the iron environment. Recently, the X-ray crystal structure showed direct binding of the substrate to the iron, but both monodentate (via the phosphonate) and chelated (via the hydroxyl and phosphonate) orientations were observed. In the current study, hyperfine broadening of the homogeneous S = 3/2 EPR spectrum of the HppE-NO-HPP complex was observed when either the hydroxyl or the phosphonate group of HPP was enriched with 17O (I = 5/2). These results indicate that both functional groups of HPP bind to Fe(II) ion at the same time as NO, suggesting that the chelated substrate binding mode dominates in solution. (R)- and (S)-analogue compounds that maintained the core structure of HPP but added bulky terminal groups were turned over to give products analogous to those from (R)- and (S)-HPP, respectively. In contrast, substrate analogues lacking either the phosphonate or hydroxyl group were not turned over. Elongation of the carbon chain between the hydroxyl and phosphonate allowed binding to the iron in a variety of orientations to give keto and diol products at positions determined by the hydroxyl substituent, but no stable epoxide was formed. These studies show the importance of the Fe(II)-substrate chelate structure to active antibiotic formation. This fixed orientation may align the substrate next to the iron-bound activated oxygen species thought to mediate hydrogen atom abstraction from the nearest substrate carbon.
Project description:Mononuclear nonheme iron(V)-oxo complexes have been reported previously. Herein, we report the first example of a mononuclear nonheme iron(V)-imido complex bearing a tetraamido macrocyclic ligand (TAML), [(TAML)FeV(NTs)]- (1). The spectroscopic characterization of 1 revealed an S = 1/2 Fe(V) oxidation state, an Fe-N bond length of 1.65(4) Å, and an Fe-N vibration at 817 cm-1. The reactivity of 1 was demonstrated in C-H bond functionalization and nitrene transfer reactions.
Project description:Here, the choice of the first coordination shell of the metal center is analyzed from the perspective of charge maintenance in a binary enzyme-substrate complex and an O2-bound ternary complex in the nonheme iron oxygenases. Comparing homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase and gentisate dioxygenase highlights the significance of charge maintenance after substrate binding as an important factor that drives the reaction coordinate. We then extend the charge analysis to several common types of nonheme iron oxygenases containing either a 2-His-1-carboxylate facial triad or a 3-His or 4-His ligand motif, including extradiol and intradiol ring-cleavage dioxygenases, thiol dioxygenases, α-ketoglutarate-dependent oxygenases, and carotenoid cleavage oxygenases. After forming the productive enzyme-substrate complex, the overall charge of the iron complex at the 0, +1, or +2 state is maintained in the remaining catalytic steps. Hence, maintaining a constant charge is crucial to promote the reaction of the iron center beginning from the formation of the Michaelis or ternary complex. The charge compensation to the iron ion is tuned not only by protein-derived carboxylate ligands but also by substrates. Overall, these analyses indicate that charge maintenance at the iron center is significant when all the necessary components form a productive complex. This charge maintenance concept may apply to most oxygen-activating metalloenzymes systems that do not draw electrons and protons step-by-step from a separate reactant, such as NADH, via a reductase. The charge maintenance perception may also be useful in proposing catalytic pathways or designing prototypical reactions using artificial or engineered enzymes for biotechnological applications.
Project description:Reaction of a nonheme iron(III)-peroxo complex, [Fe(III)(14-TMC)(O2)](+), with NO(+), a transformation which is essentially isoelectronic with that for nitric oxide dioxygenases [Fe(III)(O2˙(-)) + NO], affords an iron(IV)-oxo complex, [Fe(IV)(14-TMC)(O)](2+), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), followed by conversion to an iron(III)-nitrato complex, [Fe(III)(14-TMC)(NO3)(F)](+).
Project description:Lipoxygenases (LOs) comprise a class of substrate activating mononuclear nonheme iron enzymes which catalyze the hydroperoxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. A commonly proposed mechanism for LO catalysis involves H-atom abstraction by an FeIII-OH- site, best described as a proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) process, followed by direct reaction of O2 with the resulting substrate radical to yield product. An alternative mechanism that has also been discussed involves the abstraction of a proton from the substrate by the FeIII-OH leading to a sigma-organoiron intermediate, where the subsequent sigma bond insertion of dioxygen into the C-Fe bond completes the reaction. H-atom abstraction is favored by a high E(o) of the FeII/FeIII couple and high pK(a) of water bound to the ferrous state, while an organoiron mechanism would be favored by a low E(o) (to keep the site oxidized) and a high pK(a) of water bound to the ferric state (to deprotonate the substrate). A first coordination sphere mutant of soybean LO (N694C) has been prepared and characterized by near-infrared circular dichroism (CD) and variable-temperature, variable-field (VTVH) magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopies (FeII site), as well as UV/vis absorption, UV/vis CD, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies (FeIII site). These studies suggest that N694C has a lowered E degrees of the FeII/FeIII couple and a raised pKa of water bound to the ferric site relative to wild type soybean lipoxygenase-1 (WT sLO-1) which would favor the organoiron mechanism. However, the observation in N694C of a significant deuterium isotope effect, anaerobic reduction of iron by substrate, and a substantial decrease in k(cat) (approximately 3000-fold) support H-atom abstraction as the relevant substrate-activation mechanism in sLO-1.
Project description:O2 bubbling into a THF solution of Fe(II)(BDPP) (1) at -80 °C generates a reversible bright yellow adduct 2. Characterization by resonance Raman and Mössbauer spectroscopy provides complementary insights into the nature of 2. The former shows a resonance-enhanced vibration at 1125 cm(-1), which can be assigned to the ν(O-O) of a bound superoxide, while the latter reveals the presence of a high-spin iron(III) center that is exchange-coupled to the superoxo ligand, like the Fe(III)-O2(-) pair found for the O2 adduct of 4-nitrocatechol-bound homoprotocatechuate 2,3-dioxygenase. Lastly, 2 oxidizes dihydroanthracene to anthracene, supporting the notion that Fe(III)-O2(-) species can carry out H atom abstraction from a C-H bond to initiate the 4-electron oxidation of substrates proposed for some nonheme iron enzymes.
Project description:Isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI) catalyzes the interconversion of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), the basic five-carbon building blocks of isoprenoid molecules. Two structurally unrelated classes of IDIs are known. Type I IPP isomerase (IDI-1) utilizes a divalent metal in a protonation-deprotonation reaction. In contrast, the type II enzyme (IDI-2) requires reduced flavin, raising the possibility that the reaction catalyzed by IDI-2 involves the net addition or abstraction of a hydrogen atom. As part of our studies of the mechanism of isomerization for IDI-2, we synthesized allene and alkyne substrate analogues for the enzyme. These molecules are predicted to be substantially less reactive toward proton addition than IPP and DMAPP but have similar reactivities toward hydrogen atom addition. This prediction was verified by calculations of gas-phase heats of reaction for addition of a proton and of a hydrogen atom to 1-butyne (3) and 1,2-butadiene (4) to form the 1-buten-2-yl carbocation and radical, respectively, and related affinities for 2-methyl-1-butene (5) and 2-methyl-2-butene (6) using G3MP2B3 and CBS-QB3 protocols. Alkyne 1-OPP and allene 2-OPP were not substrates for Thermus thermophilus IDI-2 or Escherichia coli IDI-1 but instead were competitive inhibitors. The experimental and computational results are consistent with a protonation-deprotonation mechanism for the enzyme-catalyzed isomerization of IPP and DMAPP.
Project description:S-Ribosylhomocysteinase (LuxS) cleaves the thioether bond in S-ribosylhomocysteine (SRH) to produce homocysteine (Hcys) and 4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (DPD), the precursor of the type II bacterial quorum sensing molecule (AI-2). The catalytic mechanism of LuxS comprises three distinct reaction steps. The first step involves carbonyl migration from the C1 carbon of ribose to C2 and the formation of a 2-ketone intermediate. The second step shifts the C=O group from the C2 to C3 position to produce a 3-ketone intermediate. In the final step, the 3-ketone intermediate undergoes a beta-elimination reaction resulting in the cleavage of the thioether bond. In this work, the 3-ketone intermediate was chemically synthesized and shown to be chemically and kinetically competent in the LuxS catalytic pathway. Substrate analogues halogenated at the C3 position of ribose were synthesized and reacted as time-dependent inhibitors of LuxS. The time dependence was caused by enzyme-catalyzed elimination of halide ions. Examination of the kinetics of halide release and decay of the 3-ketone intermediate catalyzed by wild-type and mutant LuxS enzymes revealed that Cys-84 is the general base responsible for proton abstraction in the three reaction steps, whereas Glu-57 likely facilitates substrate binding and proton transfer during catalysis.
Project description:Mononitrosyl and dinitrosyl iron species, such as {FeNO}7, {FeNO}8 and {Fe(NO)2}9, have been proposed to play pivotal roles in the nitrosylation processes of nonheme iron centers in biological systems. Despite their importance, it has been difficult to capture and characterize them in the same scaffold of either native enzymes or their synthetic analogs due to the distinct structural requirements of the three species, using redox reagents compatible with biomolecules under physiological conditions. Here, we report the realization of stepwise nitrosylation of a mononuclear nonheme iron site in an engineered azurin under such conditions. Through tuning the number of nitric oxide equivalents and reaction time, controlled formation of {FeNO}7 and {Fe(NO)2}9 species was achieved, and the elusive {FeNO}8 species was inferred by EPR spectroscopy and observed by Mössbauer spectroscopy, with complemental evidence for the conversion of {FeNO}7 to {Fe(NO)2}9 species by UV-Vis, resonance Raman and FT-IR spectroscopies. The entire pathway of the nitrosylation process, Fe(ii) → {FeNO}7 → {FeNO}8 → {Fe(NO)2}9, has been elucidated within the same protein scaffold based on spectroscopic characterization and DFT calculations. These results not only enhance the understanding of the dinitrosyl iron complex formation process, but also shed light on the physiological roles of nitric oxide signaling mediated by nonheme iron proteins.