Characterization of the Thioether Product Formed from the Thiolytic Cleavage of the Alkyl−Nickel Bond in Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase^†

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) catalyzes the terminal step in methanogenesis by using N-7-mercaptoheptanolyl-threonine phosphate (CoBSH) as the two-electron donor to reduce 2-(methylthiol)ethane sulfonate (methyl-SCoM) to methane, and producing the heterodisulfide, CoBS-SCoM. The active site of MCR includes a noncovalently bound Ni tetrapyrrolic cofactor called coenzyme F430, which is in the Ni(I) state in the active enzyme (MCRred1). Bromopropanesulfonate (BPS) is a potent inhibitor and reversible redox inactivator that reacts with MCRred1 to form an EPR-active state called MCRPS, which is an alkyl−nickel species. When MCRPS is treated with free thiol containing compounds, the enzyme is reconverted to the active MCRred1 state. In this paper, we demonstrate that the reactivation of MCRPS to MCRred1 by thiols involves formation of a thioether product. MCRPS also can be converted to active MCRred1 by treatment with sodium borohydride. Reactivation is highest with the smallest free thiol HS-. Interestingly, MCRPS can also be reductively activated with analogues of CoBSH such as CoB8SH and CoB9SH, but not CoBSH itself. Unambiguous demonstration of the formation of a methylthioether product from thiolysis of an alkyl−Ni species provides support for a methyl−Ni intermediate in the MCR-catalyzed last step in methanogenesis and the first proposed step in anaerobic methane oxidation

Detection of Organometallic and Radical Intermediates in the Catalytic Mechanism of Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase Using the Natural Substrate Methyl-Coenzyme M and a Coenzyme B Substrate Analogue

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) from methanogenic archaea catalyzes the terminal step in methanogenesis using coenzyme B (CoBSH) as the two-electron donor to reduce methyl-coenzyme M (methyl-SCoM) to form methane and the heterodisulfide, CoBS-SCoM. The active site of MCR contains an essential redox-active nickel tetrapyrrole cofactor, coenzyme F430, which is active in the Ni(I) state (MCRred1). Several catalytic mechanisms have been proposed for methane synthesis that mainly differ in whether an organometallic methyl-Ni(III) or a methyl radical is the first catalytic intermediate. A mechanism was recently proposed in which methyl-Ni(III) undergoes homolysis to generate a methyl radical (Li, X., Telser, J., Kunz, R. C., Hoffman, B. M., Gerfen, G., and Ragsdale, S. W. (2010) Biochemistry 49, 6866−6876). Discrimination among these mechanisms requires identification of the proposed intermediates, none of which have been observed with native substrates. Apparently, intermediates form and decay too rapidly to accumulate to detectible amounts during the reaction between methyl-SCoM and CoBSH. Here, we describe the reaction of methyl-SCoM with a substrate analogue (CoB6SH) in which the seven-carbon heptanoyl moiety of CoBSH has been replaced with a hexanoyl group. When MCRred1 is reacted with methyl-SCoM and CoB6SH, methanogenesis occurs 1000-fold more slowly than with CoBSH. By transient kinetic methods, we observe decay of the active Ni(I) state coupled to formation and subsequent decay of alkyl-Ni(III) and organic radical intermediates at catalytically competent rates. The kinetic data also revealed substrate-triggered conformational changes in active Ni(I)-MCRred1. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies coupled with isotope labeling experiments demonstrate that the radical intermediate is not tyrosine-based. These observations provide support for a mechanism for MCR that involves methyl-Ni(III) and an organic radical as catalytic intermediates. Thus, the present study provides important mechanistic insights into the mechanism of this key enzyme that is central to biological methane formation

Characterization of Alkyl-Nickel Adducts Generated by Reaction of Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase with Brominated Acids^†

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) from methanogenic archaea catalyzes the final step in the biological synthesis of methane. Using coenzyme B (CoBSH) as the two-electron donor, MCR reduces methyl-coenzyme M (methyl-SCoM) to methane and the mixed disulfide, CoB-S-S-CoM. MCR contains coenzyme F430, an essential redox-active nickel tetrahydrocorphin, at its active site. The active form of MCR (MCRred1) contains Ni(I)-F430. When 3-bromopropane sulfonate (BPS) is incubated with MCRred1, an alkyl-Ni(III) species is formed that elicits the MCRPS EPR signal. Here we used EPR and UV−visible spectroscopy and transient kinetics to study the reaction between MCR from Methanothermobacter marburgensis and a series of brominated carboxylic acids, with carbon chain lengths of 4−16. All of these compounds give rise to an alkyl-Ni intermediate with an EPR signal similar to that of the MCRPS species. Reaction of the alkyl-Ni(III) adduct, formed from brominated acids with eight or fewer total carbons, with HSCoM as nucleophile at pH 10.0 results in the formation of a thioether coupled to regeneration of the active MCRred1 state. When reacted with 4-bromobutyrate, MCRred1 forms the alkyl-Ni(III) MCRXA state and then, surprisingly, undergoes “self-reactivation” to regenerate the Ni(I) MCRred1 state and a bromocarboxy ester. The results demonstrate an unexpected reactivity and flexibility of the MCR active site in accommodating a broad range of substrates, which act as molecular rulers for the substrate channel in MCR

A High-Throughput, Multiplexed Kinase Assay Using a Benchtop Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer To Investigate the Effect of Kinase Inhibitors on Kinase Signaling Pathways

Protein phosphorylation is an important and ubiquitous post-translational modification in eukaryotic biological systems. The KAYAK (<u>K</u>inase <u>A</u>ctivit<u>Y</u> <u>A</u>ssay for <u>K</u>inome profiling) assay measures the phosphorylation rates of dozens of peptide substrates simultaneously, directly from cell lysates. Here, we simplified the assay by removing the phosphopeptide enrichment step, increasing throughput while maintaining similar data quality. We term this new method, direct-KAYAK, because kinase activities were measured directly from reaction mixtures after desalting. In addition, new peptides were included to profile additional kinase pathways and redundant substrate peptides were removed. Finally, the method is now performed in 96-well plate format using a benchtop orbitrap mass spectrometer and the Pinpoint software package for improved data analysis. We applied the new high-throughput method to measure IC₅₀ values for kinases involved in monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation, a process important for inflammation and the immune response

Increasing Throughput in Targeted Proteomics Assays: 54-Plex Quantitation in a Single Mass Spectrometry Run

Targeted proteomics assays such as those measuring end points in activity assays are sensitive and specific but often lack in throughput. In an effort to significantly increase throughput, a comparison was made between the traditional approach which utilizes an internal standard and the multiplexing approach which relies on isobaric tagging. A kinase activity assay was used for proof of concept, and experiments included three biological replicates for every condition. Results from the two approaches were highly similar with the multiplexing showing greater throughput. Two novel 6-plex isobaric tags were added for a total of three 6-plex experiments (18-plex) in a single run. Next, three mass variants of the target peptide were labeled with the three isobaric tags giving nine 6-plex reactions for 54-plex quantitation in a single run. Since the multiplexing approach allows all samples to be combined prior to purification and acquisition, the 54-plex approach resulted in a significant reduction in purification resources (time, reagents, etc.) and a ∼50-fold improvement in acquisition throughput. We demonstrate the 54-plex assay in several ways including measuring inhibition of PKA activity in MCF7 cell lysates for a panel of nine compounds

Observation of Organometallic and Radical Intermediates Formed during the Reaction of Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase with Bromoethanesulfonate

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) from methanogenic archaea catalyzes the final step of methane formation, in which methyl-coenzyme M (2-methylthioethanesulfonate, methyl-SCoM) is reduced with coenzyme B (N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)threonine phosphate, CoBSH) to form methane and the heterodisulfide CoBS-SCoM. The active dimeric form of MCR contains two Ni(I)-F430 prosthetic groups, one in each monomer. This report describes studies of the reaction of the active Ni(I) state of MCR (MCRred1) with BES (2-bromoethanesulfonate) and CoBSH or its analogue, CoB6SH (N-(6-mercaptohexanoyl)threonine phosphate), by transient kinetic measurements using EPR and UV−visible spectroscopy and by global fits of the data. This reaction is shown to lead to the formation of three intermediates, the first of which is assigned as an alkyl-Ni(III) species that forms as the active Ni(I)-MCRred1 state of the enzyme decays. Subsequently, a radical (MCRBES radical) is formed that was characterized by multifrequency electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies at X- (∼9 GHz), Q- (∼35 GHz), and D- (∼130 GHz) bands and by electron−nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy. The MCRBES radical is characterized by g-values at 2.00340 and 1.99832 and includes a strongly coupled nonexchangeable proton with a hyperfine coupling constant of 50 MHz. Based on transient kinetic measurements, the formation and decay of the radical coincide with a species that exhibits absorption peaks at 426 and 575 nm. Isotopic substitution, multifrequency EPR, and ENDOR spectroscopic experiments rule out the possibility that MCRBES is a tyrosyl radical and indicate that if a tyrosyl radical is formed during the reaction, it does not accumulate to detectable levels. The results provide support for a hybrid mechanism of methanogenesis by MCR that includes both alkyl-Ni and radical intermediates

Biochemical and Spectroscopic Studies of the Electronic Structure and Reactivity of a Methyl−Ni Species Formed on Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase

The enzyme methyl coenzyme M reductase (MCR) catalyzes the final step of methane production by methanogenic organisms. The active site contains a Ni−macrocyclic complex, F430, in which the Ni is in the 1+ oxidation state in the active form, MCRred1. We describe the preparation and spectroscopic characterization of a Ni−methyl species, denoted MCRMe, generated from MCRred1 by reaction with CH3I. EPR and 13C, 1,2H pulsed ENDOR spectra of methyl isotopologues (CH3, CD3, 13CH3) umambiguously establish the presence of CH3−Ni(III) moiety. They explain why both MCRred1 and MCRMe have dx2-y2 odd-electrons although formally having Ni(I) in the former and Ni(III) in the latter. The simple MO description further gives a simple explanation to the small transfer of spin density (∼1%) from Ni to methyl. The MCRMe species undergoes conversion to methane and to methyl−SCoM, indicating its catalytic competence as an intermediate in methanogenesis

Spectroscopic and Computational Studies of Reduction of the Metal versus the Tetrapyrrole Ring of Coenzyme F₄₃₀ from Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase^†

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) catalyzes the final step in methane biosynthesis by methanogenic archaea and contains a redox-active nickel tetrahydrocorphin, coenzyme F430, at its active site. Spectroscopic and computational methods have been used to study a novel form of the coenzyme, called F330, which is obtained by reducing F430 with sodium borohydride (NaBH4). F330 exhibits a prominent absorption peak at 330 nm, which is blue shifted by 100 nm relative to F430. Mass spectrometric studies demonstrate that the tetrapyrrole ring in F330 has undergone reduction, on the basis of the incorporation of protium (or deuterium), upon treatment of F430 with NaBH4 (or NaBD4). One- and two-dimensional NMR studies show that the site of reduction is the exocyclic ketone group of the tetrahydrocorphin. Resonance Raman studies indicate that elimination of this π-bond increases the overall π-bond order in the conjugative framework. X-ray absorption, magnetic circular dichroism, and computational results show that F330 contains low-spin Ni(II). Thus, conversion of F430 to F330 reduces the hydrocorphin ring but not the metal. Conversely, reduction of F430 with Ti(III) citrate to generate F380 (corresponding to the active MCRred1 state) reduces the Ni(II) to Ni(I) but does not reduce the tetrapyrrole ring system, which is consistent with other studies [Piskorski, R., and Jaun, B. (2003) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125, 13120−13125; Craft, J. L., et al. (2004) J. Biol. Inorg. Chem. 9, 77−89]. The distinct origins of the absorption band shifts associated with the formation of F330 and F380 are discussed within the framework of our computational results. These studies on the nature of the product(s) of reduction of F430 are of interest in the context of the mechanism of methane formation by MCR and in relation to the chemistry of hydroporphinoid systems in general. The spectroscopic and time-dependent DFT calculations add important insight into the electronic structure of the nickel hydrocorphinate in its Ni(II) and Ni(I) valence states