An interpretation of fluctuations in enzyme catalysis rate, spectral diffusion, and radiative component of lifetimes in terms of electric field fluctuations

Time-dependent fluctuations in the catalysis rate ({delta}k(t)) observed in single-enzyme experiments were found in a particular study to have an autocorrelation function decaying on the same time scale as that of spectral diffusion {delta}{omega}0(t). To interpret this similarity, the present analysis focuses on a factor in enzyme catalysis, the local electrostatic interaction energy (E) at the active site and its effect on the activation free energy barrier. We consider the slow fluctuations of the electrostatic interaction energy ({delta}E(t)) as a contributor to {delta}k(t) and relate the latter to {delta}{omega}0(t). The resulting relation between {delta}k(t) and {delta}{omega}0(t) is a dynamic analog of the solvatochromism used in interpreting solvent effects on organic reaction rates. The effect of the postulated {delta}E(t) on fluctuations in the radiative component ({delta}{gamma}Formula(t)) of the fluorescence decay of chromophores in proteins also is examined, and a relation between {delta}{gamma}Formula(t) and {delta}{omega}0(t) is obtained. Experimental tests will determine whether the correlation functions for {delta}k(t), {delta}{omega}0(t), and {delta}{gamma}Formula are indeed similar for any enzyme. Measurements of dielectric dispersion, {varepsilon}({omega}), for the enzyme discussed elsewhere will provide further insight into the correlation function for {delta}E(t). They also will determine whether fluctuations in the nonradiative component {gamma}Formula of the lifetime decay has a different origin, fluctuations in distance for example

Com ajuden els àtoms a aprendre química i quines dificultats generen?

Com a coordinadors del monogràfic, hem plantejat la pregunta del títol de l'article a docents dels diferents nivells educatius (universitat, secundària i infantil i primària). L'article presenta les respostes dels professors i professores editades pels coordinadors. Les seves opinions pel que fa a la manera com desenvolupen la temàtica de l'àtom a classe, així com les seves reflexions al voltant de l'àtom, mostren diferents punts de vista i ens ofereixen un ventall de possibilitats docents. Agraïm als professors la seva col·laboració.As coordinators of the monograph issue, we have raised the question of the title of the issue to teachers of all levels of education (university, secondary, primary school and childhood school). This article presents the responses of teachers edited by the coordinators. Their opinions regarding how to develop the theme of atoms in their lessons, as well as their thoughts on the atom and students’ difficulties, show different points of view and offer a range of educational possibilities. We thank the teachers for their collaboration

Chemical Ligation and Isotope Labeling to Locate Dynamic Effects during Catalysis by Dihydrofolate Reductase

Chemical ligation has been used to alter motions in specific regions of dihydrofolate reductase from E. coli and to investigate the effects of localized motional changes on enzyme catalysis. Two isotopic hybrids were prepared; one with the mobile N-terminal segment containing heavy isotopes (2H, 13C, 15N) and the remainder of the protein with natural isotopic abundance, and the other one with only the C-terminal segment isotopically labeled. Kinetic investigations indicated that isotopic substitution of the N-terminal segment affected only a physical step of catalysis, whereas the enzyme chemistry was affected by protein motions from the C-terminal segment. QM/MM studies support the idea that dynamic effects on catalysis mostly originate from the C-terminal segment. The use of isotope hybrids provides insights into the microscopic mechanism of dynamic coupling, which is difficult to obtain with other studies, and helps define the dynamic networks of intramolecular interactions central to enzyme catalysis

A chemical understanding for the enhanced hydrogen tunnelling in hydroperoxidation of linoleic acid catalysed by soybean lipoxygenase-1

The reaction path of the Interacting-State Model (ISM) is used with the Transition-State Theory (TST) and the semiclassical correction for tunnelling (ISM/scTST) to calculate the rates of H-atom abstraction from C(11) of linoleic acid catalysed by soybean lipoxygenase-1 (SLO), as well as of an analogous uncatalysed reaction in solution. The calculated hydrogen-atom transfer rates, their temperature dependency and kinetic isotope effect (KIE) are in good agreement with the experimental data. ISM/scTST calculations reveal the hypersensitivity of the rate to protein dynamics when the hydrogen bonding to a carbon atom is present in the reaction coordinate

Unraveling the role of protein dynamics in dihydrofolate reductase catalysis

Protein dynamics have controversially been proposed to be at the heart of enzyme catalysis, but identification and analysis of dynamical effects in enzyme-catalyzed reactions have proved very challenging. Here, we tackle this question by comparing an enzyme with its heavy (15N, 13C, 2H substituted) counterpart, providing a subtle probe of dynamics. The crucial hydride transfer step of the reaction (the chemical step) occurs more slowly in the heavy enzyme. A combination of experimental results, quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations, and theoretical analyses identify the origins of the observed differences in reactivity. The generally slightly slower reaction in the heavy enzyme reflects differences in environmental coupling to the hydride transfer step. Importantly, the barrier and contribution of quantum tunneling are not affected, indicating no significant role for “promoting motions” in driving tunneling or modulating the barrier. The chemical step is slower in the heavy enzyme because protein motions coupled to the reaction coordinate are slower. The fact that the heavy enzyme is only slightly less active than its light counterpart shows that protein dynamics have a small, but measurable, effect on the chemical reaction rate

Enzyme Promiscuity in Enolase Superfamily. Theoretical Study of o-Succinylbenzoate Synthase Using QM/MM Methods

The promiscuous activity of the enzyme o-succinylbenzoate synthase (OSBS) from the actinobacteria Amycolatopsis is investigated by means of QM/MM methods, using both density functional theory and semiempirical Hamiltonians. This enzyme catalyzes not only the dehydration of 2-succinyl-6R-hydroxy-2,4-cyclohexadiene-1R-carboxylate but also catalyzes racemization of different acylamino acids, with N-succinyl-R-phenylglycine being the best substrate. We investigated the molecular mechanisms for both reactions exploring the potential energy surface. Then, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to obtain the free energy profiles and the averaged interaction energies of enzymatic residues with the reacting system. Our results confirm the plausibility of the reaction mechanisms proposed in the literature, with a good agreement between theoretical and experimentally derived activation free energies. Our simulations unravel the role played by the different residues in each of the two possible reactions. The presence of flexible loops in the active site and the selection of structural modifications in the substrate seem to be key elements to promote the promiscuity of this enzyme.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad project CTQ2012-36253-C03-03 ́ and FEDER funds. K.S. thanks the Polish National Science Center (NCN) for Grant 2011/02/A/ST4/00246. The authors acknowledge computational facilities of the Servei d’Informatica ̀ de la Universitat de Valencia in the ̀ “Tirant” supercomputer, which is part of the Spanish Supercomputing Network

Reducing the Flexibility of Type II Dehydroquinase for Inhibition: A Fragment‐Based Approach and Molecular Dynamics Study

This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Peón, A., Robles, A., Blanco, B., Convertino, M., Thompson, P., & Hawkins, A. et al. (2017). Reducing the Flexibility of Type II Dehydroquinase for Inhibition: A Fragment-Based Approach and Molecular Dynamics Study. Chemmedchem, 12(18), 1512-1524, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/cmdc.201700396. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley-VCH Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingA multidisciplinary approach was used to identify and optimize a quinazolinedione‐based ligand that would decrease the flexibility of the substrate‐covering loop (catalytic loop) of the type II dehydroquinase from Helicobacter pylori. This enzyme, which is essential for the survival of this bacterium, is involved in the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids. A computer‐aided fragment‐based protocol (ALTA) was first used to identify the aromatic fragments able to block the interface pocket that separates two neighboring enzyme subunits and is located at the active site entrance. Chemical modification of its non‐aromatic moiety through an olefin cross‐metathesis and Seebach's self‐reproduction of chirality synthetic principle allowed the development of a quinazolinedione derivative that disables the catalytic loop plasticity, which is essential for the enzyme′s catalytic cycle. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the ligand would force the catalytic loop into an inappropriate arrangement for catalysis by strong interactions with the catalytic tyrosine and by expelling the essential arginine out of the active siteSecretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación. Grant Numbers: SAF2013-42899-R, SAF2016-75638-R Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria, Xunta de Galicia. Grant Number: ED431G/09 European Regional Development Fund Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y DeporteS

Evolutionarily Conserved Linkage between Enzyme Fold, Flexibility, and Catalysis

Proteins are intrinsically flexible molecules. The role of internal motions in a protein's designated function is widely debated. The role of protein structure in enzyme catalysis is well established, and conservation of structural features provides vital clues to their role in function. Recently, it has been proposed that the protein function may involve multiple conformations: the observed deviations are not random thermodynamic fluctuations; rather, flexibility may be closely linked to protein function, including enzyme catalysis. We hypothesize that the argument of conservation of important structural features can also be extended to identification of protein flexibility in interconnection with enzyme function. Three classes of enzymes (prolyl-peptidyl isomerase, oxidoreductase, and nuclease) that catalyze diverse chemical reactions have been examined using detailed computational modeling. For each class, the identification and characterization of the internal protein motions coupled to the chemical step in enzyme mechanisms in multiple species show identical enzyme conformational fluctuations. In addition to the active-site residues, motions of protein surface loop regions (>10 Å away) are observed to be identical across species, and networks of conserved interactions/residues connect these highly flexible surface regions to the active-site residues that make direct contact with substrates. More interestingly, examination of reaction-coupled motions in non-homologous enzyme systems (with no structural or sequence similarity) that catalyze the same biochemical reaction shows motions that induce remarkably similar changes in the enzyme–substrate interactions during catalysis. The results indicate that the reaction-coupled flexibility is a conserved aspect of the enzyme molecular architecture. Protein motions in distal areas of homologous and non-homologous enzyme systems mediate similar changes in the active-site enzyme–substrate interactions, thereby impacting the mechanism of catalyzed chemistry. These results have implications for understanding the mechanism of allostery, and for protein engineering and drug design

Toward Determining ATPase Mechanism in ABC Transporters: Development of the Reaction Path–Force Matching QM/MM Method

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are ubiquitous ATP-dependent membrane proteins involved in translocations of a wide variety of substrates across cellular membranes. To understand the chemomechanical coupling mechanism as well as functional asymmetry in these systems, a quantitative description of how ABC transporters hydrolyze ATP is needed. Complementary to experimental approaches, computer simulations based on combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) potentials have provided new insights into the catalytic mechanism in ABC transporters. Quantitatively reliable determination of the free energy requirement for enzymatic ATP hydrolysis, however, requires substantial statistical sampling on QM/MM potential. A case study shows that brute force sampling of ab initio QM/MM (AI/MM) potential energy surfaces is computationally impractical for enzyme simulations of ABC transporters. On the other hand, existing semiempirical QM/MM (SE/MM) methods, although affordable for free energy sampling, are unreliable for studying ATP hydrolysis. To close this gap, a multiscale QM/MM approach named reaction path-force matching (RP-FM) has been developed. In RP-FM, specific reaction parameters for a selected SE method are optimized against AI reference data along reaction paths by employing the force matching technique. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated for a proton transfer reaction in the gas phase and in solution. The RP-FM method may offer a general tool for simulating complex enzyme systems such as ABC transporters