Effects of the Metal Ion on the Mechanism of Phosphodiester Hydrolysis Catalyzed by Metal-Cyclen Complexes

In this study, mechanisms of phosphodiester hydrolysis catalyzed by six di- and tetravalent metal-cyclen (M-C) complexes (Zn-C, Cu-C, Co-C, Ce-C, Zr-C and Ti-C) have been investigated using DFT calculations. The activities of these complexes were studied using three distinct mechanisms: (1) direct attack (DA), (2) catalyst-assisted (CA), and (3) water-assisted (WA). All divalent metal complexes (Zn-C, Cu-C and Co-C) coordinated to the BNPP substrate in a monodentate fashion and activated its scissile phosphoester bond. However, all tetravalent metal complexes (Ce-C, Zr-C, and Ti-C) interacted with BNPP in a bidentate manner and strengthened this bond. The DAmechanism was energetically the most feasible for all divalent M-C complexes, while the WAmechanism was favored by the tetravalent complexes, except Ce-C. The divalent complexes were found to be more reactive than their tetravalent counterparts. Zn-C catalyzed the hydrolysis with the lowest barrier among all M-C complexes, while Ti-C was the most reactive tetravalent complex. The activities of Ce-C and Zr-C, except Ti-C, were improved with an increase in the coordination number of the metal ion. The structural and mechanistic information provided in this study will be very helpful in the development of more efficient metal complexes for this critical reaction

Degradation of a Main Plastic Pollutant Polyethylene Terephthalate by Two Distinct Proteases (Neprilysin and Cutinase-like Enzyme)

In this DFT study, hydrolysis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a major cause of plastic pollution, by two distinct enzymes, neprilysin ( , a mononuclear metalloprotease) and cutinase-like enzyme ( , a serine protease), has been investigated. These enzymes utilize different mechanisms for the degradation of PET. uses either the metal-bound hydroxide attack (MH) mechanism or reverse protonation (RP) mechanism, while utilizes a general acid/base mechanism that includes acylation and deacylation processes. Additionally, the RP mechanism of can proceed through three pathways, RP0, RP1, and RP2. The DFT calculations predict that, among all these mechanisms, the MH mechanism is the energetically most favorable one for the enzyme. In comparison, catalyzes this reaction with a significantly higher barrier. These results suggest that the Lewis acid and nucleophile activations provided by the Zn metal center of are more effective than the hydrogen bonding interactions afforded by the catalytic Ser85-His180-Asp165 triad of . They have provided intrinsic details regarding PET degradation and will pave the way for the design of efficient metal-based catalysts for this critical reaction

Promiscuous Catalytic Activity of a Binuclear Metallohydrolase : Peptide and Phosphoester Hydrolyses

In this study, chemical promiscuity of a binuclear metallohydrolase aminopeptidase ( AP) has been investigated using DFT calculations. AP catalyzes two diverse reactions, peptide and phosphoester hydrolyses, using its binuclear (Zn-Zn) core. On the basis of the experimental information, mechanisms of these reactions have been investigated utilizing leucine -nitro aniline (Leu- NA) and bis(4-nitrophenyl) phosphate (BNPP) as the substrates. The computed barriers of 16.5 and 16.8 kcal/mol for the most plausible mechanisms proposed by the DFT calculations are in good agreement with the measured values of 13.9 and 18.3 kcal/mol for the Leu- NA and BNPP hydrolyses, respectively. The former was found to occur through the transfer of two protons, while the latter with only one proton transfer. They are in line with the experimental observations. The cleavage of the peptide bond was the rate-determining process for the Leu- NA hydrolysis. However, the creation of the nucleophile and its attack on the electrophile phosphorus atom was the rate-determining step for the BNPP hydrolysis. These calculations showed that the chemical nature of the substrate and its binding mode influence the nucleophilicity of the metal bound hydroxyl nucleophile. Additionally, the nucleophilicity was found to be critical for the Leu- NA hydrolysis, whereas double Lewis acid activation was needed for the BNPP hydrolysis. That could be one of the reasons why peptide hydrolysis can be catalyzed by both mononuclear and binuclear metal cofactors containing hydrolases, while phosphoester hydrolysis is almost exclusively by binuclear metallohydrolases. These results will be helpful in the development of versatile catalysts for chemically distinct hydrolytic reactions

Effect of chemically distinct substrates on the mechanism and reactivity of a highly promiscuous metallohydrolase

In this DFT study, the substrate promiscuity of the binuclear [Fe(II)-Zn(II)] core containing glycerophosphodiesterase (GpdQ) from Enterobacter aerogenes has been investigated through the hydrolysis of three chemically diverse groups of substrates: i.e., phosphomono-, phosphodi-, and phosphotriesters. The hydrolysis of these substrates is studied by comparing stepwise, concerted, and substrate-assisted mechanisms. Both the stepwise and concerted mechanisms occur with similar barriers, while the energetics for the substrate-assisted mechanism are significantly less favorable. Irrespective of the mechanism, active site residue His217 plays a critical role, in agreement with structural, kinetics, and spectroscopic data, but the transition state of the reaction depends on the identity of the substrate (dissociative for the triester paraoxon, associative for the monoester 4-nitrophenyl phosphate (NPP), and in-between for the diesters glycerol-3-phosphoethanolamine (GPE) and bis(4-nitrophenyl)phosphate (BNPP)). In good agreement with available kinetic and spectrophotometric data, the calculations highlight the preference of GpdQ for diester substrates, followed by tri- and monoesters. For substrates with two different types of scissile bonds (paraoxon and GPE) a clear preference for the bond with the stronger electron withdrawing leaving group was observed. The extensive agreement between experimental data and DFT calculations enhances the understanding of the mechanism of GpdQ-catalyzed hydrolysis and paves the way for the rational design of optimized catalysts for the hydrolysis of different types of phosphoesters

Investigating coordination flexibility of glycerophosphodiesterase (GpdQ) through interactions with mono-, di-, and triphosphoester (NPP, BNPP, GPE, and paraoxon) substrates

In this study, interactions of the catalytically active binuclear form of glycerophosphodiesterase (GpdQ) with four chemically diverse substrates, i.e. NPP (a phosphomonoester), BNPP and GPE (both phosphodiesters), and paraoxon (a phosphotriester) have been investigated using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The roles of metal ions and key amino acid residues, coordination flexibility, and dynamic transformations in all enzyme-substrate complexes have been elucidated. The roles of important first and second coordination shell residues in substrate binding and coordination flexibility of the enzyme suggested by simulations are supported by experimental data. The chemical nature of the substrate is found to influence the mode of binding, electrostatic surface potential, metal-metal distance, and reorganization of the active site. The experimentally proposed association between the substrate binding and coordination flexibility is analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA), movements of loops, and root-mean-square-fluctuations (RMSF) as parameters. The PCA of these substrates provides different energy basins, i.e. one, three, two and five for NPP, BNPP, GPE, and paraoxon, respectively. Additionally, the area of an irregular hexagon (268.3, 288.9, 350.8, and 362.5 Å2) formed by the residues on these loops illustrates their distinct motions. The substrate binding free energies of NPP, BNPP, and GPE are quite close (22.4-24.3 kcal mol-1), but paraoxon interacts with the smallest binding free energy (14.1 kcal mol-1). The metal binding energies in the presence of these substrates are substantially different, i.e. the lowest for NPP and the highest for paraoxon. These results thus provide deeper insight into the chemical promiscuity and coordination flexibility of this important enzyme

Organic Host Encapsulation Effects on Nitrosobenzene Monomer- Dimer Distribution and C-NO Bond Rotation in an Aqueous Solution

The intermolecular (monomer-dimer equilibrium) and intramolecular (C-NO and C-NMe2 rotations) dynamics of 4-nitrosocumene (1a) and 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)nitrosobenzene (1b), respectively, were found to be controlled by the medium (water) and the host environment (organic capsules and cavitands). The ability of water to shift the equilibrium toward the dimer appears to result from dipolar stabilization of the polar dimer structure and has a resemblance to water's known ability to favor organic cycloaddition reactions. In an aqueous medium, a range of organic hosts selectively include only the nitrosocumene monomer 1a. Encapsulation in the octa acid duplex (OA2) selects two 1a monomers rather than a dimer structure. Octa acid encapsulation also results in more restricted intramolecular C-N rotations of the guest 1b

Hydrolysis of Chemically Distinct Sites of Human Serum Albumin by Polyoxometalate: A Hybrid QM/MM (ONIOM) Study

In this study, mechanisms of hydrolysis of all four chemically diverse cleavage sites of human serum albumin (HSA) by [Zr(OH)(PW11 O39 )]4- (ZrK) have been investigated using the hybrid two-layer QM/MM (ONIOM) method. These reactions have been proposed to occur through the following two mechanisms: internal attack (IA) and water assisted (WA). In both mechanisms, the cleavage of the peptide bond in the Cys392-Glu393 site of HSA is predicted to occur in the rate-limiting step of the mechanism. With the barrier of 27.5 kcal/mol for the hydrolysis of this site, the IA mechanism is found to be energetically more favorable than the WA mechanism (barrier = 31.6 kcal/mol). The energetics for the IA mechanism are in line with the experimentally measured values for the cleavage of a wide range of dipeptides. These calculations also suggest an energetic preference (Cys392-Glu393, Ala257-Asp258, Lys313-Asp314, and Arg114-Leu115) for the hydrolysis of all four sites of HSA. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.status: publishe

Hydrolysis of Chemically Distinct Sites of Human Serum Albumin by Polyoxometalate : A Hybrid QM/MM (ONIOM) Study

In this study, mechanisms of hydrolysis of all four chemically diverse cleavage sites of human serum albumin (HSA) by [Zr(OH) (PW11O39)](4-)(ZrK) have been investigated using the hybrid two-layer QM/MM (ONIOM) method. These reactions have been proposed to occur through the following two mechanisms: internal attack (IA) and water assisted (WA). In both mechanisms, the cleavage of the peptide bond in the Cys392-Glu393 site of HSA is predicted to occur in the rate-limiting step of the mechanism. With the barrier of 27.5 kcal/mol for the hydrolysis of this site, the IA mechanism is found to be energetically more favorable than the WA mechanism (barrier = 31.6 kcal/mol). The energetics for the IA mechanism are in line with the experimentally measured values for the cleavage of a wide range of dipeptides. These calculations also suggest an energetic preference (Cys392-Glu393, Ala257-Asp258, Lys313-Asp314, and Arg114-Leu115) for the hydrolysis of all four sites of HSA. (C) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc