0000000000217603

AUTHOR

Violeta López-canut

Theoretical Modeling on the Reaction Mechanism of p-Nitrophenylmethylphosphate Alkaline Hydrolysis and its Kinetic Isotope Effects

We have studied the alkaline hydrolysis of p-nitrophenylmethylphosphate (p-NPmP) in aqueous solution by means of polarizable continuum models and by hybrid quantum-mechanical/molecular-mechanical (QM/MM) methods. The theoretical predictions of kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) are in very good agreement with the experimental data, confirming a concerted asynchronous molecular mechanism. In addition, comparison of high level DFT theory with semiempirical AM1/d Hamiltonian has allowed checking the reliability of the later to be used in modeling very large molecular models containing phosphorus atoms.

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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. …

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Hydrolysis of Phosphotriesters: A Theoretical Analysis of the Enzymatic and Solution Mechanisms

A theoretical study on the alkaline hydrolysis of paraoxon, one of the most popular organophosphorus pesticides, in aqueous solution and in the active site of Pseudomonas diminuta phosphotriesterase (PTE) is presented. Simulations by means of hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) potentials show that the hydrolysis of paraoxon takes place through an A(N)D(N) or associative mechanism both in solution and in the active site of PTE. The results correctly reproduce the magnitude of the activation free energies and can be used to rationalize the observed kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) for the hydrolysis of paraoxon in both media. Enzymatic hydrolysis of O,O-diethyl p-chlorophenyl …

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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…

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Theoretical Study of the Catalytic Mechanism of DNA-(N4-Cytosine)-Methyltransferase from the Bacterium Proteus vulgaris

In this paper the reaction mechanism for methylation of cytosine at the exocyclic N4 position catalyzed by M.PvuII has been explored by means of hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods. A reaction model was prepared by placing a single cytosine base in the active site of the enzyme. In this model the exocyclic amino group of the base establishes hydrogen bond interactions with the hydroxyl oxygen atom of Ser53 and the carbonyl oxygen atom of Pro54. The reaction mechanism involves a direct methyl transfer from AdoMet to the N4 atom and a proton transfer from this atom to Ser53, which in turn transfers a proton to Asp96. Different timings for the proton transfers and meth…

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