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Richard Wolfenden

Publications and source records attributed to Richard Wolfenden.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Monoalkyl sulfates as alkylating agents in water, alkylsulfatase rate enhancements, and the "energy-rich" nature of sulfate half-esters.

Alkyl sulfate monoesters are involved in cell signaling and structure. Alkyl sulfates are also present in many commercial detergents. Here, we show that monomethyl sulfate acts as an efficient alkylating agent in water, reacting spontaneously with oxygen nucleophiles >100-fold more rapidly than do alkylsulfonium ions, the usual methyl donors in living organisms. These reactions of methyl sulfate, which are much more rapid than its hydrolysis, are insensitive to the nature of the attacking nucleophile, with a Brønsted beta(nuc) value of -0.01. Experiments at elevated temperatures indicate a rate constant of 2 x 10(-11) s(-1) for the uncatalyzed hydrolysis of methyl sulfate at 25 degrees C (t(1/2) = 1,100 y), corresponding to a rate enhancement of approximately 10(11)-fold by a human alkylsulfatase. Equilibria of formation of methyl sulfate from methanol and sodium hydrogen sulfate indicate a group transfer potential (DeltaG'(pH7)) of -8.9 kcal/mol for sulfate ester hydrolysis. The magnitude of that value, involving release of the strong acid HSO(4)(-), helps to explain the need for harnessing the free energy of hydrolysis of two ATP molecules in activating sulfate for the biosynthesis of sulfate monoesters. The "energy-rich" nature of monoalkyl sulfate esters, coupled with their marked resistance to hydrolysis, renders them capable of acting as sulfating or alkylating agents under relatively mild conditions. These findings raise the possibility that, under appropriate circumstances, alkyl groups may undergo transfer from alkyl sulfate monoesters to biological target molecules.

Alkylating Agents↗
PubMed2006

Thermodynamic analysis of catalysis by the dihydroorotases from hamster and Bacillus caldolyticus, as compared with the uncatalyzed reaction.

Dihydroorotase (DHOase, EC 3.5.2.3) from the extreme thermophile Bacillus caldolyticus has been subcloned, sequenced, expressed, and purified as a monomer. The catalytic properties of this thermophilic DHOase have been compared with another type I enzyme, the DHOase domain from hamster, to investigate how the thermophilic enzyme is adapted to higher temperatures. B. caldolyticus DHOase has higher Vmax and Ks values than hamster DHOase at the same temperature. The thermodynamic parameters for the binding of L-dihydroorotate were determined at 25 degrees C for hamster DHOase (deltaG = -6.9 kcal/mol, deltaH = -11.5 kcal/mol, TdeltaS = -4.6 kcal/mol) and B. caldolyticus DHOase (deltaG = -5.6 kcal/mol, deltaH = -4.2 kcal/mol, TdeltaS = +1.4 kcal/mol). The smaller enthalpy release and positive entropy for thermophilic DHOase are indicative of a weakly interacting Michaelis complex. Hamster DHOase has an enthalpy of activation of 12.3 kcal/mol, similar to the release of enthalpy upon substrate binding, rendering the kcat/Ks value almost temperature independent. B. caldolyticus DHOase shows a decrease in the enthalpy of activation from 12.2 kcal/mol at temperatures from 30 to 50 degrees C to 5.3 kcal/mol for temperatures of 50-70 degrees C. Vibrational energy at higher temperatures may facilitate the transition ES --> ES(double dagger), making kcat/Ks almost temperature independent. The pseudo-first-order rate constant for water attack on L-dihydroorotate, based on experiments at elevated temperature, is 3.2 x 10(-11) s(-1) at 25 degrees C, with deltaH(double dagger) = 24.7 kcal/mol and TdeltaS(double dagger) = -6.9 kcal/mol. Thus, hamster DHOase enhances the rate of substrate hydrolysis by a factor of 1.6 x 10(14), achieving this rate enhancement almost entirely by lowering the enthalpy of activation (delta deltaH(double dagger) = -19.5 kcal/mol). Both the rate enhancement and transition state affinity of hamster DHOase increase steeply with decreasing temperature, consistent with the development of H-bonds and electrostatic interactions in the transition state that were not present in the enzyme-substrate complex in the ground state.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Nanomolar inhibition of the enterobactin biosynthesis enzyme, EntE: synthesis, substituent effects, and additivity.

2,3-Dihydroxybenzohydroxamoyl adenylate (I) was prepared as a potential product analog inhibitor of EntE (EC# 2.7.7.58), a 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate AMP ligase from Escherichia coli that is required for the biosynthesis of enterobactin. This compound, obtained by the aqueous reaction of imidazole-activated adenosine 5'-phosphate and 2,3-dihydroxybenzohydroxamic acid, is a competitive inhibitor with a Ki value of 4.5 x 10(-9)M. Deletion of the catecholic 3-OH group of (I), in compound (II), reduced inhibitory activity by a factor of 3.5, whereas, removal of both the 3-OH and 2-OH groups, in (III), reduced inhibitory activity by a factor of approximately 2000. Acetohydroxamoyl adenylate (IV), in which the entire catechol moiety of (I) is replaced by a hydrogen atom, gave <or= 10% inhibition at 6 x 10(-4)M, indicating a reduction in affinity by more than 10(5). The binding free energy of (I) is nearly equivalent to the sum of the corresponding values for adenosine 5'-phosphate and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate.

Adenosine Monophosphate↗
PubMed2006

The time required for water attack at the phosphorus atom of simple phosphodiesters and of DNA.

Phosphodiester linkages, including those that join the nucleotides of DNA, are highly resistant to spontaneous hydrolysis. The rate of water attack at the phosphorus atom of phosphodiesters is known only as an upper limit, based on the hydrolysis of the dimethyl phosphate anion. That reaction was found to proceed at least 99% by C-O cleavage, at a rate suggesting an upper limit of 10(-15) s(-1) for P-O cleavage of phosphodiester anions at 25 degrees C. To evaluate the rate enhancement produced by P-O cleaving phosphodiesterases such as staphylococcal nuclease, we decided to establish the actual value of the rate constant for P-O cleavage of a simple phosphodiester anion. In dineopentyl phosphate, C-O cleavage is sterically precluded so that hydrolysis occurs only by P-O cleavage. Measurements at elevated temperatures indicate that the dineopentyl phosphate anion undergoes hydrolysis in water with a t(1/2) of 30,000,000 years at 25 degrees C, furnishing an indication of the resistance of the internucleotide linkages of DNA to water attack at phosphorus. These results imply that staphylococcal nuclease (k(cat) = 95 s(-1)) enhances the rate of phosphodiester hydrolysis by a factor of approximately 10(17). In alkaline solution, thymidylyl-3'-5'-thymidine (TpT) has been reported to decompose 10(5)-fold more rapidly than does dineopentyl phosphate. We find however that TpT and thymidine decompose at similar rates and with similar activation parameters, to a similar set of products, at pH 7 and in 1 M KOH. We infer that the decomposition of TpT is initiated by the breakdown of thymidine, not by phosphodiester hydrolysis.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed2006

A Raman-active competitive inhibitor of OMP decarboxylase.

6-Cyanouridine 5'-phosphate was shown to act as a competitive inhibitor of yeast OMP decarboxylase, with a K(i) value of 1.1 x 10(-5)M. Upon binding by the active site of yeast OMP decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.23), the Raman stretching frequency of the nitrile group of 6-cyanouridine 5'-phosphate decreases from 2240 to 2225 cm(-1). Based on the behavior of a model compound, 6-cyano-1,3-dimethyluracil, and on vibrational calculations, the observed change in stretching frequency is attributed to desolvation of the ligand, and distortion of the ligand in which the nitrile group moves out of the plane of the pyrimidine ring. Similar distortions may play a role in substrate activation by OMP decarboxylase, contributing to the catalytic process.

Catalysis↗
PubMed2005

The burden borne by urease.

At the active site of urease, urea undergoes nucleophilic attack by water, whereas urea decomposes in solution by elimination of ammonia so that its rate of spontaneous hydrolysis is unknown. Quantum mechanical simulations have been interpreted as indicating that urea hydrolysis is extremely slow, compared with other biological reactions proceeding spontaneously, and that urease surpasses all other enzymes in its power to enhance the rate of a reaction. We tested that possibility experimentally by examining the hydrolysis of 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea, from which elimination cannot occur. In neutral solution at 25 degrees C, the rate constant for the uncatalyzed hydrolysis of tetramethylurea is 4.2 x 10-12 s-1, which does not differ greatly from the rate constants observed for the uncatalyzed hydrolysis of acetamide (5.1 x 10-11 s-1) or N,N-dimethylacetamide (1.8 x 10-11 s-1) under the same conditions. We estimate that the proficiency of urease as a catalyst, (kcat/Km)/knon, is 8 x 1017 M-1, slightly higher than the values for other metalloenzymes (carboxypeptidase b and cytidine deaminase) that catalyze the hydrolysis of similar bonds.

Catalysis↗
PubMed2005

The effective molarity of the substrate phosphoryl group in the transition state for yeast OMP decarboxylase.

The second order rate constant (k(cat)/K(m)) for decarboxylation of orotidine by yeast OMP decarboxylase (ODCase), measured by trapping (14)CO(2) released during the reaction, is 2 x 10(-4)M(-1)s(-1). This very low activity may be compared with a value of 3 x 10(7)M(-1)s(-1) for the action of yeast OMP decarboxylase on the normal substrate OMP. Both activities are strongly inhibited by 6-hydroxy UMP (BMP), and abrogated by mutation of Asp-96 to alanine. These results, in conjunction with the binding affinity of inorganic phosphate as a competitive inhibitor (K(i)=7 x 10(-4)M), imply an effective concentration of 1.1 x 10(9)M for the substrate phosphoryl group in stabilizing the transition state for enzymatic decarboxylation of OMP. The observed difference in rate (1.5 x 10(11)-fold) is the largest effect of a simple substituent that appears to have been reported for an enzyme reaction.

Alanine↗
PubMed2004

OMP decarboxylase: an experimental test of electrostatic destabilization of the enzyme-substrate complex.

6-Methylaminouridine 5'-phosphate (MAUMP) inhibits OMP decarboxylase (Ki = 3 x 10-6 M) maximally at pH values where its amino group is uncharged. Comparison of the chemical shift of free [7-13C]-MAUMP in solutions of varying pH, with that of the enzyme-bound species confirms that this inhibitor is bound with its amino group uncharged. This enzyme's apparent lack of affinity for a cationic substituent, located near the position that would ordinarily be occupied by the scissile carboxylate group of the substrate, does not appear to support the view that the E-S complex is destabilized by electrostatic repulsion in the ground state.

Enzyme Stability↗
PubMed2004

Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance MS reveals the presence of a water molecule in an enzyme transition-state analogue complex.

The structures of several powerful inhibitors of hydrolytic enzymes resemble that of the altered substrate in the transition state, except that a hydrogen atom replaces one substituent (typically the leaving group). To test the hypothesis that a water molecule might be present in the gap resulting from this replacement, we examined a transition-state analogue complex formed by Escherichia coli cytidine deaminase by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance MS in electrospray mode. Upon nebularization from aqueous solution under conditions (pH 5.6) where the enzyme is active, cytidine deaminase remains dimeric in the vapor phase. In the presence of inhibitor, the enzyme's exact mass can be used to infer the presence at each active site of zinc, 5-fluoro-3,4-dihydrouridine, and a single water molecule.

Cyclotrons↗
PubMed2004

Lithium-catalyzed hydroxide attack at the carbon atom of methyl phosphate.

The spontaneous hydrolysis of phosphate ester monoanions is relatively easy, but the reaction of water with simple phosphate ester dianion appears to be the slowest biomimetic reaction whose spontaneous rate has been measured in water, with an estimated half time of approximately 1012 years at room temperature in the absence of a catalyst. Here, we report an alternative mode of cleavage of methyl phosphate that involves hydroxide attack at the carbon atom of methyl phosphate and proceeds at a rate proportional to the square of the concentration of lithium hydroxide.

Anions↗
PubMed2004

The ribosome as an entropy trap.

To determine the effectiveness of the ribosome as a catalyst, we compared the rate of uncatalyzed peptide bond formation, by the reaction of the ethylene glycol ester of N-formylglycine with Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, with the rate of peptidyl transfer by the ribosome. Activation parameters were also determined for both reactions, from the temperature dependence of their second-order rate constants. In contrast with most protein enzymes, the enthalpy of activation is slightly less favorable on the ribosome than in solution. The 2 x 10(7)-fold rate enhancement produced by the ribosome is achieved entirely by lowering the entropy of activation. These results are consistent with the view that the ribosome enhances the rate of peptide bond formation mainly by positioning the substrates and/or water exclusion within the active site, rather than by conventional chemical catalysis.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed2004

Charge development in the transition state for decarboxylations in water: spontaneous and acetone-catalyzed decarboxylation of aminomalonate.

A covalent imminium adduct, formed by condensation of aminomalonate with acetone, undergoes decarboxylation (k = 0.03 s-1 at 25 degrees C) in water 30 000 times more rapidly than does aminomalonate in the absence of acetone. A Brønsted plot of the observed rates of decarboxylation of these and other ionized carboxylic acids, as a function of the pKC-H values of the carbon acids generated by their decarboxylation, exhibits a betalg value of 0.7, indicating that the structures of the transition states for decarboxylation of the carboxylate forms of these acids approaches the structures of the carbanions generated by their decarboxylation. On the basis of an estimated pKC-H value for benzene in water ( approximately 43), extrapolation of that Brønsted plot leads to the prediction that benzoate decarboxylation should proceed at detectable rates in water at temperatures below the critical point. That prediction was confirmed experimentally. Using this same relationship, and extrapolating to the observed rate constant for enzymatic decarboxylation of orotidine 5'-monophosphate, we estimate that the "effective" pKa value of the 6-CH group of uridine 5'-monophosphate, the product of decarboxylation, is 9.5 at the active site of yeast OMP decarboxylase.

Acetone↗
PubMed2003

The rate of hydrolysis of phosphomonoester dianions and the exceptional catalytic proficiencies of protein and inositol phosphatases.

To evaluate the proficiency of phosphatases as catalysts, the rate of the uncatalyzed hydrolysis of simple phosphate monoester dianions was estimated by extrapolating rates measured over a range of high temperatures. The rate of spontaneous hydrolysis of phenyl phosphate dianion indicates that a linear free energy relationship reported earlier is reliable for leaving groups whose conjugate acids have pKa values up to at least 10. Using Teflon reaction vessels, it proved possible to follow the hydrolysis of methyl phosphate and 3-(4-carboxy)-2,2-dimethylpropyl phosphate in strong alkali. Even in 1 M KOH, the reaction was found to be specific acid catalyzed. These results establish an upper limit for dianion reactivity, which had been overestimated earlier as a result of the leaching by alkali of silicic acid from quartz reaction vessels. The present findings indicate that the half-time for attack by water on alkyl phosphate dianions is 1.1 x 10(12) years (k = 2 x 10(-20) s) at 25 degrees C and that phosphatases involved in cell signaling and regulation produce the largest rate enhancements that have been identified thus far. Protein phosphatase-1 and inositol 1-phosphatase exceed all other known enzymes in their affinities for the altered substrates in the transition state.

Anions↗
PubMed2003

Migration of methyl groups between aliphatic amines in water.

Glycine undergoes spontaneous decarboxylation in dilute aqueous solution at elevated temperatures to form methylamine. During that process, we noticed the appearance of dimethylamine and trimethylamine in smaller amounts that increased gradually with time. These observations suggested the existence of disproportionation reactions of methylamines in water, for which there appears to be no direct precedent in the literature. Every member of the methylamine series is found to yield other members of the methylamine series. When the total concentration of amine was held constant and the rate of reaction was examined as a function of changing pH using the amine itself as the buffer, the initial rate of appearance of the products was found to reach a maximum when the conjugate acid and the conjugate base were present at equivalent concentrations. Near this equivalence point, the rate of reaction varied with pH as expected for a second-order reaction between the protonated and the unprotonated species. Under similar conditions, methyl groups were also found to migrate between the nitrogen atoms of N,N-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine in a first-order process. With dimethylamine as a common acceptor, trimethylsulfonium ion was found to be approximately 104-fold more reactive than the tetramethylammonium ion at ambient temperature.

Amines↗
PubMed2003

Thermodynamic and extrathermodynamic requirements of enzyme catalysis.

An enzyme's affinity for the altered substrate in the transition state (symbolized here as S) matches the value of k(cat)/K(m) divided by the rate constant for the uncatalyzed reaction in water. The validity of this relationship is not affected by the detailed mechanism by which any particular enzyme may act, or on whether changes in enzyme conformation occur on the path to the transition state. It subsumes potential effects of substrate desolvation, H-bonding and other polar attractions, and the juxtaposition of several substrates in a configuration appropriate for reaction. The startling rate enhancements that some enzymes produce have only recently been recognized. Direct measurements of the binding affinities of stable transition-state analog inhibitors confirm the remarkable power of binding discrimination of enzymes. Several parts of the enzyme and substrate, that contribute to S binding, exhibit extremely large connectivity effects, with effective relative concentrations in excess of 10(8) M. Exact structures of enzyme complexes with transition-state analogs also indicate a general tendency of enzyme active sites to close around S in such a way as to maximize binding contacts. The role of solvent water in these binding equilibria, for which Walter Kauzmann provided a primer, is only beginning to be appreciated.

Catalysis↗
PubMed2002

Equilibrium of formation of the 6-carbanion of UMP, a potential intermediate in the action of OMP decarboxylase.

There has been some speculation that the C-6 position in UMP may be unusually acidic, stabilizing a carbanion that is generated at this position during OMP decarboxylation. On the basis of the rate of OH- catalyzed deuterium exchange at elevated temperatures we estimate that the pKa value for ionization at C-6 of dimethyl uracil is 34 +/- 2 in water. The same method yields a value of 37 +/- 2 for ionization at C-2 of thiophene in good agreement with the value determined by polarographic methods. The barrier to proton release (46 kcal/mol) is even higher than that for CO2 release from orotic acid derivatives.

Deuterium↗
PubMed2002

Determination of the affinity of each component of a composite quaternary transition-state analogue complex of creatine kinase.

Recombinant rabbit muscle creatine kinase (CK) was titrated with MgADP in 50 mM Bicine and 5 mM Mg(OAc)2, pH 8.3, at 30.0 degrees C by following a decrease in the protein's intrinsic fluorescence. In the presence of 50 mM NaOAc, but in the absence of added creatine or nitrate, MgADP has an apparent K(d) of 135 +/- 7 microM, and the total change in fluorescence on saturation (Delta%F) is 15.3 +/- 0.3%. Acetate was used as the anion in this experiment because it does not promote the formation of a CK.MgADP.anion.creatine transition-state analogue complex (TSAC) [Millner-White and Watts (1971) Biochem. J. 122, 727-740]. In the presence of 80 mM creatine, but no nitrate, the apparent K(d) for MgADP remains essentially unchanged at 132 +/- 10 microM, while Delta%F decreases slightly to 13.2 +/- 0.3%. In the presence of 10 mM nitrate, but no creatine, the apparent K(d) is once again essentially unchanged at 143 +/- 23 microM, but the Delta%F is markedly reduced to 4.2 +/- 0.2%. The presence of both 10 mM nitrate and 80 mM creatine during titration reduces the apparent K(d) for MgADP 10-fold to 13.7 +/- 0.7 microM, and Delta%F increases to 20.6 +/- 0.3%, strongly suggesting that the simultaneous presence of saturating levels of creatine and nitrate increases the affinity of CK for MgADP and promotes the formation of the enzyme*MgADP*nitrate*creatine TSAC. When the fluorescence of CK was titrated with MgADP in the presence of 80 mM creatine and fixed saturating concentrations of various anions, apparent K(d) values for MgADP of 132 +/- 10 microM, 25.2 +/- 1.3 microM, 18.8 +/- 0.9 microM, 13.7 +/- 0.7 microM, and 6.4 +/- 0.7 microM were observed as the anion was changed from acetate to formate to chloride to nitrate to nitrite, respectively. This is the same trend reported by Millner-White and Watts for the effectiveness of various monovalent anions in forming the CK.MgADP.anion.creatine TSAC. On titration of CK with MgADP in the presence of 80 mM creatine and various fixed concentrations of NaNO3, the apparent K(d) for MgADP decreases with increasing fixed concentrations of nitrate. A plot of the apparent K(d) for MgADP vs [NO3-] suggests a K(d) for nitrate from the TSAC of 0.39 +/- 0.07 mM. Similarly, titration with MgADP in the presence of 10 mM NaNO3 and various fixed concentrations of creatine gives a value of 0.9 +/- 0.4 mM for the dissociation of creatine from the TSAC. The data were used to calculate K(TDAC), the dissociation constant of the quaternary TSAC into its individual components, of 3 x 10(-10) M3. To our knowledge this is the first reported dissociation constant for a ternary or quaternary TSAC.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗