Theoretical insights in enzyme catalysis

In this tutorial review we show how the methods and techniques of computational chemistry have been applied to the understanding of the physical basis of the rate enhancement of chemical reactions by enzymes. This is to answer the question: Why is the activation free energy in enzyme catalysed reactions smaller than the activation free energy observed in solution? Two important points of view are presented: Transition State (TS) theories and Michaelis Complex (MC) theories. After reviewing some of the most popular computational methods employed, we analyse two particular enzymatic reactions: the conversion of chorismate to prephenate catalysed by Bacillus subtilis chorismate mutase, and a m…

Peptide Bond Formation Mechanism Catalyzed by Ribosome

In this paper we present a study of the peptide bond formation reaction catalyzed by ribosome. Different mechanistic proposals have been explored by means of Free Energy Perturbation methods within hybrid QM/MM potentials, where the chemical system has been described by the M06-2X functional and the environment by means of the AMBER force field. According to our results, the most favorable mechanism in the ribosome would proceed through an eight-membered ring transition state, involving a proton shuttle mechanism through the hydroxyl group of the sugar and a water molecule. This transition state is similar to that described for the reaction in solution (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 8708–871…

Molecular dynamics simulation in aqueous solution of N -methylazetidinone as a model of β -lactam antibiotics

In this article, we analyze the results of a molecular dynamics simulation in aqueous solution of the N-methylazetidinone molecule, often used to model β-lactam antibiotics. The radial distribution functions (RDFs) corresponding to the most interesting atoms, in terms of reactivity, are presented. We focus our study on the effect of a polar environment on the molecule. The solvent structure around the system is compared to the structure of β-lactam-water complexes, as obtained in a previous study of reaction mechanisms for the neutral and alkaline hydrolyses of N-methylazetidinone. Two types of complexes have been considered which are related to different hydrolysis mechanisms having simila…

Promiscuity in alkaline phosphatase superfamily. Unraveling evolution through molecular simulations.

We here present a theoretical study of the alkaline hydrolysis of a phosphodiester (methyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate or MpNPP) in the active site of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (AP), a monoesterase that also presents promiscuous activity as a diesterase. The analysis of our simulations, carried out by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) potentials, shows that the reaction takes place through a D(N)A(N) or dissociative mechanism, the same mechanism employed by AP in the hydrolysis of monoesters. The promiscuous activity observed in this superfamily can be then explained on the basis of a conserved reaction mechanism. …

Computational design of biological catalysts

The purpose of this tutorial review is to illustrate the way to design new and powerful catalysts. The first possibility to get a biological catalyst for a given chemical process is to use existing enzymes that catalyze related reactions. The second possibility is the use of immune systems that recognize stable molecules resembling the transition structure of the target reaction. We finally show how computational techniques are able to provide an enormous quantity of information, providing clues to guide the development of new biological catalysts

Preorganization and reorganization as related factors in enzyme catalysis: the chorismate mutase case.

In this paper a deeper insight into the chorismate-to prephenate-rearrangement, catalyzed by Bacillus subtilis chorismate mutase, is provided by means of a combination of statistical quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulation methods and hybrid potential energy surface exploration techniques. The main aim of this work is to present an estimation of the preorganization and reorganization terms of the enzyme catalytic rate enhancement. To analyze the first of these, we have studied different conformational equilibria of chorismate in aqueous solution and in the enzyme active site. Our conclusion is that chorismate mutase preferentially binds the reactive conformer of the substrate--that…

Do zwitterionic species exist in the non-enzymatic peptide bond formation?

The use of proper computational methods and models has allowed answering the controversial question of whether zwitterionic species exist in the mechanism of peptide bond synthesis in aqueous solution. In fact, the different conformations of zwitterionic species open the door to different mechanistic paths.

Conformational equilibrium of chorismate. A QM/MM theoretical study combining statistical simulations and geometry optimisations in gas phase and in aqueous solution

We report a theoretical study on the conformational equilibrium of chorismate that precedes its rearrangement to prephenate, an important enzyme-catalyzed reaction. In first place we show that the usual classification of chorismate conformers based on the relative position of the hydroxyl and ether bridge, pseudo-diaxial and pseudo-diequatorial, is not the only relevant factor from the point of view of the a posteriori rearrangement. Here we also analyse another complementary geometrical classification based on the interatomic distance between the carbon atoms to be bounded. Using the umbrella sampling approach and this distance as distinguished internal reaction coordinate, the gas phase A…

Hybrid Schemes Based on Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics Simulations

The development of characterization techniques, advanced synthesis methods, as well as molecular modeling has transformed the study of systems in a well-established research field. The current research challenges in biocatalysis and biotransformation evolve around enzyme discovery, design, and optimization. How can we find or create enzymes that catalyze important synthetic reactions, even reactions that may not exist in nature? What is the source of enzyme catalytic power? To answer these and other related questions, the standard strategies have evolved from trial-and-error methodologies based on chemical knowledge, accumulated experience, and common sense into a clearly multidisciplinary …

Towards a Rational Design of Antibody Catalysts through Computational Chemistry

Computational strategies for the design of new enzymatic functions

In this contribution, recent developments in the design of biocatalysts are reviewed with particular emphasis in the de novo strategy. Studies based on three different reactions, Kemp elimination, Diels–Alder and Retro-Aldolase, are used to illustrate different success achieved during the last years. Finally, a section is devoted to the particular case of designed metalloenzymes. As a general conclusion, the interplay between new and more sophisticated engineering protocols and computational methods, based on molecular dynamics simulations with Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics potentials and fully flexible models, seems to constitute the bed rock for present and future successful desig…

ChemInform Abstract: Computational Design of Biological Catalysts

The purpose of this tutorial review is to illustrate the way to design new and powerful catalysts. The first possibility to get a biological catalyst for a given chemical process is to use existing enzymes that catalyze related reactions. The second possibility is the use of immune systems that recognize stable molecules resembling the transition structure of the target reaction. We finally show how computational techniques are able to provide an enormous quantity of information, providing clues to guide the development of new biological catalysts.

Understanding the different activities of highly promiscuous MbtI by computational methods

Salicylate synthase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, MbtI, is a highly promiscuous Mg(2+) dependent enzyme with up to four distinct activities detected in vitro: isochorismate synthase (IS), isochorismate pyruvate lyase (IPL), salicylate synthase (SS) and chorismate mutase (CM). In this paper, Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulations employing hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) potentials have been carried out to get a detailed knowledge of the IS and the IPL activities at the molecular level. According to our simulations, the architecture of the MbtI active site allows catalyzing the two reactions: the isochorismate formation, by means of a stepwise mechanism, and the salicylat…

Theoretical study of phosphodiester hydrolysis in nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase. Environmental effects on the reaction mechanism.

We here present a theoretical study of the alkaline hydrolysis of methyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate (MpNPP(-)) in aqueous solution and in the active site of nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase (NPP). The analysis of our simulations, carried out by means of hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods, shows that the reaction takes place through different reaction mechanisms depending on the environment. Thus, while in aqueous solution the reaction occurs by means of an A(N)D(N) mechanism, the enzymatic process takes place through a D(N)A(N) mechanism. In the first case, we found associative transition-state (TS) structures, while in the enzyme TS structures have dissoc…

Molecular Mechanism of the site-specific self-cleavage of the RNA phosphodiester backbone by a Twister Ribozyme

Published as part of the special collection of articles derived from the 10th Congress on Electronic Structure: Principles and Applications (ESPA-2016). The catalytic activity of some classes of natural RNA, named as ribozymes, has been discovered just in the past decades. In this paper, the cleavage of the RNA phosphodiester backbone has been studied in aqueous solution and in a twister ribozyme from Oryza sativa. The free energy profiles associated with a baseline substrate-assisted mechanism for the reaction in the enzyme and in solution were computed by means of free energy perturbation methods within hybrid QM/MM potentials, describing the chemical system by the M06-2× functional and t…

Theoretical Study of Catalytic Efficiency of a Diels–Alderase Catalytic Antibody: An Indirect Effect Produced During the Maturation Process

The Diels–Alder reaction is one of the most important and versatile transformations available to organic chemists for the construction of complex natural products, therapeutics agents, and synthetic materials. Given the lack of efficient enzymes capable of catalyzing this kind of reaction, it is of interest to ask whether a biological catalyst could be designed from an antibody-combining site. In the present work, a theoretical study of the different behavior of a germline catalytic antibody (CA) and its matured form, 39 A-11, that catalyze a Diels–Alder reaction has been carried out. A free-energy perturbation technique based on a hybrid quantum-mechanics/molecular-mechanics scheme, togeth…

Transition structure selectivity in enzyme catalysis: a QM/MM study of chorismate mutase

Two different transition structures (TSs) have been located and characterized for the chorismate conversion to prephenate in Bacillus subtilis chorismate mutase by means of hybrid quantum-mechanical/molecular-mechanical (QM/MM) calculations. GRACE software, combined with an AM1/CHARMM24/TIP3P potential, has been used involving full gradient relaxation of the position of ca. 3300 atoms. These TSs have been connected with their respective reactants and products by the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) procedure carried out in the presence of the protein environment, thus obtaining for the first time a realistic enzymatic reaction path for this reaction. Similar QM/MM computational schemes h…

Computational study on hydrolysis of cefotaxime in gas phase and in aqueous solution

We are presenting a theoretical study of the hydrolysis of a β-lactam antibiotic in gas phase and in aqueous solution by means of hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics potentials. After exploring the potential energy surfaces at semiempirical and density functional theory (DFT) level, potentials of mean force have been computed for the reaction in solution with hybrid PM3/TIP3P calculations and corrections with the B3LYP and M06-2X functionals. Inclusion of the full molecule of the antibiotic, Cefotaxime, in the gas phase molecular model has been demonstrated to be crucial since its carboxylate group can activate a nucleophilic water molecule. Moreover, the flexibility of the substra…

Role of Solvent on Nonenzymatic Peptide Bond Formation Mechanisms and Kinetic Isotope Effects

Based on the hypothesis that similar mechanisms are involved in the peptide bond formation in aqueous solution and in the ribosome, the aminolysis of esters in aqueous solution has been the subject of numerous studies as the reference reaction for the catalyzed process. The mechanisms proposed in the literature have been explored in the present paper by hybrid QM/MM molecular dynamics simulations. The free energy profiles have been computed with the QM region of the system described at semiempirical AM1 level and by DFT within the M06-2X functional. According to the results, the formation of adduct zwitterion species is a preliminary step required for all possible mechanisms. Then, from dif…

Computer-Aided Rational Design of Catalytic Antibodies: The 1F7 Case.