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R Wolfenden

Publications and source records attributed to R Wolfenden.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Glutamate gamma-semialdehyde as a natural transition state analogue inhibitor of Escherichia coli glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase.

Pyrroline-5-carboxylate, an intermediate in the biosynthesis and degradation of glutamate, proline, and ornithine, acts as a strong reversible inhibitor of glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase, competitive with respect to glutamine. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy shows that, under these conditions, pyrroline-5-carboxylate exists in rapid equilibrium with glutamate gamma-semialdehyde (0.05%). The observed variation of Ki with pH is consistent with inhibition by this rare species. Glutamate gamma-semialdehyde is expected to react reversibly with a cysteine residue at the active site, identified by earlier inactivation studies, to form an analogue of a tetrahedral intermediate in glutamine hydrolysis. The apparent Ki value of glutamate gamma-semialdehyde is approximately 3 x 10(-8) M.

Enzyme Inhibitors↗
PubMed1995

Transition-state selectivity for a single hydroxyl group during catalysis by cytidine deaminase.

Cytidine deaminase binds transition-state analog inhibitors approximately 10(7) times more tightly than corresponding 3,4-dihydro analogs containing a proton in place of the 4-hydroxyl group. X-ray crystal structures of complexes with the two matched inhibitors differ only near a "trapped" water molecule in the complex with the 3,4-dihydro analog, where contacts are substantially less favorable than those with the hydroxyl group of the transition-state analog. The hydrogen bond between the hydroxyl group and the Glu 104 carboxylate shortens in that complex, and may become a "low-barrier" hydrogen bond, since at the same time the bond between zinc and the Cys 132 thiolate ligand lengthens. These differences must therefore account for most of the differential binding affinity related to catalysis. Moreover, the trapped water molecule retains some of the binding energy stabilizing the hydroxyl group in the transition-state analog complex. To this extent, the ratio of binding affinities for the two compounds is smaller than the true contribution of the hydroxyl group, a conclusion with significant bearing on interpreting difference free energies derived from substituent effects arising from chemical modification and/or mutagenesis.

Catalysis↗
PubMed1995

Major contribution of a carboxymethyl group to transition-state stabilization by cytidine deaminase: mutation and rescue.

The crystal structure of an inhibitory complex formed between Escherichia coli cytidine deaminase and the transition-state analog 3,4-dihydrouridine indicates the presence of a short H-bond between Glu-104 and the inhibitor. To test the possibility that analogous H-bonds might play a significant role in stabilizing the hydrated substrate in the transition state for deamination, we replaced Glu-104 by alanine. Compared with the wild-type enzyme, the mutant enzyme's affinities for substrate cytidine and product uridine were found to have increased, whereas kcat for deamination of cytidine had been reduced by 8 orders of magnitude. By its presence, the carboxymethyl group of Glu-104 appears to minimize the activation barrier for deamination, not only by stabilizing the altered substrate in the transition state but also by destabilizing the enzyme-substrate and enzyme-product complexes. In the presence of added formate ion, but not in the presence of bulkier carboxylic acids, the low catalytic activity of the mutant enzyme was enhanced substantially.

Alanine↗
PubMed1995

A proficient enzyme.

Orotic acid is decarboxylated with a half-time (t1/2) of 78 million years in neutral aqueous solution at room temperature, as indicated by reactions in quartz tubes at elevated temperatures. Spontaneous hydrolysis of phosphodiester bonds, such as those present in the backbone of DNA, proceeds even more slowly at high temperatures, but the heat of activation is less positive, so that dimethyl phosphate is hydrolyzed with a t1/2 of 130,000 years in neutral solution at room temperature. These values extend the known range of spontaneous rate constants for reactions that are also susceptible to catalysis by enzymes to more than 14 orders of magnitude. Values of the second-order rate constant kcat/Km for the corresponding enzyme reactions are confined to a range of only 600-fold, in contrast. Orotidine 5'-phosphate decarboxylase, an extremely proficient enzyme, enhances the rate of reaction by a factor of 10(17) and is estimated to bind the altered substrate in the transition state with a dissociation constant of less than 5 x 10(-24) M.

Catalysis↗
PubMed1992

A transition state in pieces: major contributions of entropic effects to ligand binding by adenosine deaminase.

Nebularine undergoes hydration at the active site of adenosine deaminase, in a reaction analogous to a partial reaction in the displacement of ammonia from adenosine by water, to generate an inhibitory complex that captures much of the binding affinity expected of an ideal transition-state analogue. Enzyme affinities of several compounds related to nebularine 1,6-hydrate, and to its stable analog 2'-deoxycoformycin, were compared in an effort to identify the structural origins of strong binding. Binding of the stable transition-state analog inhibitor 2'-deoxycoformycin was rendered 9.8 kcal/mol less favorable by removal of substituent ribose, 9.7 kcal/mol less favorable by inversion of the 8-hydroxyl substituent of the diazepine ring, and 10.0 kcal/mol less favorable by removal of atoms 4-6 of the diazepine ring. Binding of the unstable transition-state analog nebularine hydrate was rendered at least 9.9 kcal/mol less favorable by removal of the 6-hydroxyl group and 10.2 kcal/mol less favorable by removal of atoms 1-3 of the pyrimidine ring. In each case, the enzyme exhibited only modest affinity (Kd greater than or equal to 10(-2) M) for the "missing piece", indicating that incorporation of 2 binding determinants within a single molecule permits an additional 7-12 kcal/mol of intrinsic binding energy to be manifested as observed binding energy. These results are consistent with earlier indications that adenosine deaminase may use 10.5 kcal/mol of the intrinsic free energy of binding of the two substrates to place them in positions appropriate for reaction at the active site, overcoming the unfavorable entropy change of -35 eu for the equilibrium of 1,6-hydration of purine ribonucleoside and reducing the equilibrium constant for attainment of the transition state in deamination of adenosine. Thus, adenosine deaminase may achieve up to 8 orders of magnitude of its catalytic power by converting the nonenzymatic, bimolecular, hydration reaction to a monomolecular reaction at its active site. Several new 6-substituted 1,6-dihydropurine ribonucleosides, prepared by photoaddition of formate and by low-temperature addition of organolithium reagents to a derivative of purine ribonucleoside, exhibited Ki values of 9-1400 microM against adenosine deaminase, in accord with the active site's considerable tolerance of bulky leaving groups in substrates. Inhibition by one diastereomer of 6-carboxy-1,6-dihydropurine ribonucleoside was found to be time-dependent, progressing from a weakly bound to a more strongly bound complex.

Adenosine Deaminase↗
PubMed1992

Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli cytidine deaminase (ccd) gene.

The structural gene that encodes cytidine deaminase (cdd) in Escherichia coli was cloned from Kohara phage lambda 365 (7F1), and its nucleotide sequence was determined. Plasmids harboring the gene complemented chromosomal cdd mutations, enhanced cytidine deaminase activity in cell extracts, and directed the synthesis of a protein identical in mass and N-terminal amino acid sequence with cytidine deaminase purified from wild-type bacteria. Metal analysis of the purified, plasmid-encoded deaminase indicated a single atom of tightly bound zinc per subunit. Earlier work has shown that bacterial cytidine deaminase and mammalian adenosine deaminase are remarkably alike in their mechanisms of action, in their free energies of interaction with analogue inhibitors resembling tetrahedral intermediates in nucleophilic substitution, and in their ability to discriminate between analogue inhibitors differing by a single hydroxyl group. In contrast to these shared catalytic similarities, the deduced amino acid sequence of E. coli cytidine deaminase (monomer MW 31,540) differs markedly from the mammalian adenosine deaminase sequence suggesting major differences in their tertiary structures. Nevertheless, cytidine deaminase and mammalian plus bacterial adenosine deaminases share a single region (TVHA) of sequence identity that is tentatively identified as part of the cytidine deaminase active site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Lyase activity of nucleoside 2-deoxyribosyltransferase: transient generation of ribal and its use in the synthesis of 2'-deoxynucleosides.

In the absence of acceptors nucleoside 2-deoxyribosyltransferase catalyzes the slow hydrolysis of 2'-deoxynucleosides. During this hydrolytic reaction, D-ribal (1,4-anhydro-2-deoxy-D-erythro-pent-1-enitol), a glycal of ribose hitherto encountered only as a reagent in organic synthesis, is generated spontaneously, disappearing later as 2'-deoxynucleoside hydrolysis approaches completion. Nucleoside 2-deoxyribosyltransferase is found to catalyze the hydration of D-ribal in the absence of nucleic acid bases and the synthesis of deoxyribonucleosides from ribal in their presence, affording a new method for the preparation of 2'-deoxyribonucleosides. The stereochemistry of nucleoside formation from ribal supports the intervention of deoxyribosyl-enzyme intermediate. The equilibrium constant for the covalent hydration of ribal is found to be approximately 65.

Deoxy Sugars↗
PubMed1991

Analogues of intermediates in the action of pig kidney prolidase.

Dicarboxylic acids, resembling the collected substrates for the reverse peptide bond forming reaction, were bound several orders of magnitude more tightly than substrates, products, or previously known competitive inhibitors of reactions catalyzed by pig kidney prolidase (EC 3.4.13.9), a dipeptidase that cleaves peptide bonds to the nitrogen atom of proline. Other inhibitors containing a phosphoryl or phosphonyl group in addition to a carboxyl substituent were bound even more tightly, in a manner consistent with their possible resemblance to tetrahedral intermediates in substrate hydrolysis. These included several analogues of phosphoenol pyruvate, of which the most potent was (Z)-3-bromophosphoenolpyruvate (Ki = 4.6 x 10(-9) M). Ki values were found to vary with changing pH in a manner consistent with displacement of a hydroxide ion from the active site.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Orotidine-5'-monophosphate decarboxylase catalysis: kinetic isotope effects and the state of hybridization of a bound transition-state analogue.

The enzymatic decarboxylation of orotidine 5'-monophosphate may proceed by an addition-elimination mechanism involving a covalently bound intermediate or by elimination of CO2 to generate a nitrogen ylide. In an attempt to distinguish between these two alternatives, 1-(phosphoribosyl)barbituric acid was synthesized with 13C at the 5-position. Interaction of this potential transition-state analogue inhibitor with yeast orotidine-5'-monophosphate decarboxylase resulted in a small (0.6 ppm) downfield displacement of the C-5 resonance, indicating no rehybridization of the kind that might have been expected to accompany 5,6-addition of an enzyme nucleophile. When the substrate orotidine 5'-monophosphate was synthesized with deuterium at C-5, no significant change in kcat (H/D = 0.99 +/- 0.06) or kcat/KM (H/D = 1.00 +/- 0.06) was found to result, suggesting that C-5 does not undergo significant changes in geometry before or during the step that determines the rate of the catalytic process. These results are consistent with a nitrogen ylide mechanism and offer no support for the intervention of covalently bound intermediates in the catalytic process.

Carboxy-Lyases↗
PubMed1989

Binding of pyrimidin-2-one ribonucleoside by cytidine deaminase as the transition-state analogue 3,4-dihydrouridine and the contribution of the 4-hydroxyl group to its binding affinity.

Cytidine deaminase, purified to homogeneity from constitutive mutants of Escherichia coli, was found to bind the competitive inhibitors pyrimidin-2-one ribonucleoside (apparent Ki = 3.6 x 10(-7) M) and 5-fluoropyrimidin-2-one ribonucleoside (apparent Ki = 3.5 x 10(-8) M). Enzyme binding resulted in a change of the lambda max of pyrimidin-2-one ribonucleoside from 303 nm for the free species to 239 nm for the bound species. The value for the bound species was identical with that of an oxygen adduct formed by combination of hydroxide ion with 1,3-dimethyl-2-oxopyrimidinium (239 nm), but lower than that of a sulfur adduct formed by combination of the thiolate anion of N-acetylcysteamine with 1,3-dimethyl-2-oxopyrimidinium (259 nm). The results suggest that pyrimidin-2-one ribonucleoside is bound by cytidine deaminase as an oxygen adduct, probably the covalent hydrate 3,4-dihydrouridine, rather than intact or as an adduct involving a thiol group of the enzyme. In dilute solution at 25 degrees C, the equilibrium constant for formation of a single diastereomer of 3,4-dihydrouridine from pyrimidin-2-one ribonucleoside was estimated as approximately 4.7 x 10(-6), from equilibria of dissociation of water, protonation of 1-methylpyrimidin-2-one, and combination of the 1,3-dimethylpyrimidinium cation with the hydroxide ion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cytidine↗
PubMed1989

Contribution of a single hydroxyl group to transition-state discrimination by adenosine deaminase: evidence for an "entropy trap" mechanism.

Adenosine deaminase was found to bind 6-hydroxy-1,6-dihydropurine ribonucleoside (II), formed by reversible addition of water to purine ribonucleoside (I) in a reaction analogous to formation of a tetrahedral intermediate in substrate deamination, with an apparent Ki value of 3 x 10(-13) M at 20 degrees C. 1,6-Dihydropurine ribonucleoside (IV), synthesized by photolysis of purine ribonucleoside in the presence of NaBH4, exhibited a Ki value of 5.4 x 10-6 M. After correction for differences between the relative free energies of solvation of II and IV, the 6-hydroxyl group of II was estimated to contribute more than 16 kcal to the free energy of binding, approaching the enthalapy of formation of a single hydrogen bond to charged group in the vapor phase. The relatively weak binding of IV and of substrate water suggests that entropic effects, arising from the cooperative action of binding determinants contained within these separate molecules, contribute more than 10 kcal/mol to the free energy of binding of II in which these binding determinants are contained within a single molecule. In free solution, the entropy of reversible hydration of I was evaluated by measuring the temperature dependence of equilibria of protonation of I and of pseudobase formation from I-methylpurinium ribonucleoside as -35 eu, comparable with the entropy of activation for the uncatalyzed hydrolysis of adenosine. In the active site of adenosine deaminase, this thermodynamic obstacle is evidently climbed spontaneously as a result of attractive interactions between the active site and the critical hydroxyl group at the 6-position.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenosine Deaminase↗
PubMed1989

Incomplete factorial search for conditions leading to high quality crystals of Escherichia coli cytidine deaminase complexed to a transition state analog inhibitor.

We have used an incomplete factorial design (Carter, C. W., and Carter, C. W., Jr. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254, 12219-12223) to find conditions for growing high quality crystals of Escherichia coli cytidine deaminase (EC 3.5.4.5). Crystals grow at pH 6.0 in hanging or sitting drops with either 1.6 M ammonium sulfate or 2.4-2.5 M sodium phosphate as precipitant. Both conditions produce crystals with identical morphologies and unit cell constants. The space group is P3(1)21 (or its enantiomorph P3(2)21), and the unit cell constants are a = b = 120.3 A, c = 78.4 A. The asymmetric unit is most reasonably one dimer of 66,000 Mr. The crystal size is very dependent on the supersaturation ratio, S = [initial protein concentration]/[equilibrium protein concentration], exhibiting a maximum at S = 7.7. The largest crystals diffract to at least 2.5 A and have a lifetime of 4 to 5 days in the x-ray beam at room temperature. The enzyme in these crystals is complexed with the transition state analog inhibitor 1-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl)-5-fluoropyrimidin-2-one (5-fluoropyrimidin-2-one riboside). We have collected data from parent crystals and from a heavy atom derivative in which the transition state analog is replaced by the active site directed inhibitor 5-(chloromercuri)cytidine.

Crystallization↗
PubMed1989

Major enhancement of the affinity of an enzyme for a transition-state analog by a single hydroxyl group.

The compound 1,6-dihydropurine ribonucleoside, prepared by reduction of nebularine in the presence of ultraviolet light, is bound by adenosine deaminase approximately 10(8)-fold less tightly than 6-hydroxy-1,6-dihydropurine ribonucleoside, a nearly ideal transition-state analog. This difference in affinities, which is associated with the presence of a single hydroxyl group in the second compound, suggests the degree to which one or a few hydrogen bonds may stabilize the transition state in an enzyme reaction of this type.

Adenosine Deaminase↗
PubMed1989

Transition-state stabilization by adenosine deaminase: 1,6-addition of water to purine ribonucleoside, the enzyme's affinity for 6-hydroxy-1,6-dihydropurine ribonucleoside, and the effective concentration of substrate water at the active site.

Positions of equilibria of highly unfavorable addition reactions, whose products are present at concentrations below the limits of detection, can be determined from equilibria of combination of anionic nucleophiles with quaternized enamines. Applied to the newly prepared 1-methylpurinium ribonucleoside cation, this method yields approximate equilibrium constants of 2 X 10(-9) M-1 for addition of water and 4 X 10(-5) M-1 for addition of N-acetylcysteine to neutral purine ribonucleoside, in dilute aqueous solution. Positions of 13C magnetic resonances and UV absorption maxima of the above complexes and comparison with those of adenosine deaminase complexes strongly suggest that purine ribonucleoside is bound by adenosine deaminase as the 1,6 covalent hydrate, not as a covalently bonded complex formed by addition of a thiol group at the active site. The favorable position of equilibrium of the hydration reaction on the enzyme, together with its extremely unfavorable position in free solution, indicates that the effective activity of substrate water at the active site is in the neighborhood of 10(10) M. The Ki value of the active diastereomer of 6-hydroxy-1,6-dihydropurine ribonucleoside is estimated as 1.6 X 10(-13) M, more than 8 orders of magnitude lower than the apparent dissociation constants of enzyme complexes with the substrate adenosine or the product inosine. The enzyme's remarkable affinity for this hydrated species, which is vanishingly rare in free solution, seems understandable in terms of the hydrate's close resemblance to a hydrated intermediate approaching the transition state in direct water attack on adenosine.

Adenosine Deaminase↗
PubMed1988

Equilibrium of 5,6-hydration of NADH and mechanism of ATP-dependent dehydration.

At equilibrium, water addition to the 5,6 double bond of NADH was observed to favor the hydrate by a factor of approximately 100. Hydration generates two epimers of NADHX (beta-6-hydroxy-1,4,5,6-tetrahydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). Only the 6S epimer of the hydrate was found to serve as a true substrate for an ATP-dependent dehydratase from yeast that regenerates NADH. Yet enzymatic conversion of both epimers of the hydrate to NADH was found to proceed essentially to completion in the presence of ATP and dehydratase. This is explained by the observed ability of the epimers to undergo rapid spontaneous equilibration, so that it is unnecessary to postulate a lack of stereospecificity in the dehydratase.

Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose↗
PubMed1988

Influences of solvent on group transfer potentials and biochemical recognition of carbohydrates. Anomalous solvation of the anomeric hydroxyl group.

When carbohydrates in aqueous solution combine with biological receptors, their interactions with the binding site take the place of previous interactions with solvent water. Free energies of binding can therefore be considered to depend on free energies of solvation of the interacting partners before and after complexation. Because carbohydrates contain so many polar substituents, their overall preferences for aqueous surroundings are overwhelming, so that they do not yield readily to analysis of their solvation properties. We therefore decided to eliminate most of the secondary hydroxyl groups and to compare the distribution properties of simple sugar analogs based on tetrahydropyran. The results suggest that compounds containing an anomeric hydroxyl group are less strongly solvated than expected from the properties of simple alcohols. Group transfer potentials of O- and N-glycosides, lactones, and acylals are substantially affected by differences in free energy of solvation between reactants and products. In contrast, equilibria of ring chain tautomerism and covalent hydration of aldoses are almost completely insensitive to the polarity of their surroundings.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1988

Influences of solvent water on protein folding: free energies of solvation of cis and trans peptides are nearly identical.

Peptide bonds interact so strongly with water that even a modest difference between the free energies of solvation of their cis and trans isomers could have a significant bearing on protein structure. However, proton magnetic resonance studies at high dilution in deuteriated solvents show that N-methylformamide exists as the cis isomer to the extent of 8% in water, 10.3% in chloroform, 8.8% in benzene, and 9.2% in cyclohexane. Integrated intensities of proton and carbon resonances show that N-methylacetamide exists as the cis isomer to the extent of only 1.5% in water, not changing much in nonpolar solvents. Quantum mechanical calculations using the 6-31G basis set reproduce these relative abundances with reasonable accuracy and show that there is little difference between the dipole moments of the cis and trans isomers, for either amide. The remarkable insensitivity of cis/trans equilibria to the solvent environment and the heavy preponderance of trans isomers regardless of the polarity of the surroundings (ca. 98.5% for N-methylacetamide, whose properties may resemble those of a typical peptide bond) accord with the overwhelming preference of peptide bonds for the trans configuration that is consistently observed in the three-dimensional structures of globular proteins.

Acetamides↗