The Catalytic Role of a Conserved Tyrosine in Nitric Oxide-Reducing Non-heme Diiron Enzymes

Abstract

Recent studies have identified several key intermediates of the nitric oxide reductase (NOR) cycle of flavodiiron proteins (FDPs). These intermediates include, sequentially, a μ-hydroxo diferrous species, a mono-NO intermediate, a di-NO intermediate (FDPdiNO), and a bis-μ-hydroxo diferric species. This paper focuses on the reaction path connecting the last two intermediates on which the nitrous oxide product is released. On the basis of density functional theory calculations, a reaction sequence is proposed in which the enzyme passes through an intermediate with a bridging hyponitrite ligand, which accepts a proton, initiating a rate-determining ligand rotation from an N/N- to an N/O-coordinated conformation. This rotation is facilitated by a second-sphere tyrosine residue, which provides a transient hydrogen bond to one of the nitrogen atoms of the substrate near the transition state. The role of the tyrosine residue in the NOR activity has been tested by steady-state kinetics and rapid freeze-quench (RFQ) studies of the Y197F variant of the FDP from T. maritima in which the hydrogen bonding interaction is absent. The Y197F variant displayed little or no steady-state NOR activity in support of the importance of Y197. The RFQ samples, monitored by Mössbauer spectroscopy, showed that Y197F follows the same reaction path as a wild-type FDP up to and including the formation of FDPdiNO but diverges subsequently with the variant forming an inactive mono-NO species. The RFQ results demonstrate that Y197 enables the postFDPdiNO section of the reaction cycle in the wild-type FDP to proceed to N2O. The proposed refinement of the reaction mechanism provides an explanation for the lack of NOR activity of the variant Y197F of T. maritima and of other di-NO binding diiron enzymes and model compounds with active site structures like those of FDPs. The reported reductions of NO to N2O catalyzed by synthetic diiron complexes proceed only with the support of radiation, additional electrons, or an electron-rich ligand environment. However, higher potential diiron sites like those of FDPs require hydrogen bonding to second-sphere residues to turn over NO to N2O.