Spectroscopic properties of chymotrypsin and model compounds indicate that a low-barrier hydrogen bond participates in the mechanism of serine protease action. A low-barrier hydrogen bond between N delta 1 of His57 and the beta-carboxyl group of Asp102 in chymotrypsin can facilitate the formation of the tetrahedral adduct, and the nuclear magnetic resonance properties of this proton indicate that it is a low-barrier hydrogen bond. These conclusions are supported by the chemical shift of this proton, the deuterium isotope effect on the chemical shift, and the properties of hydrogen-bonded model compounds in organic solvents, including the hydrogen bond in cis-urocanic acid, in which the imidazole ring is internally hydrogen-bonded to the carboxyl group.

The proposal that low barrier (i.e. short, very strong) hydrogen bonds (LBHBs) 1 play a role in enzymatic catalysis was first put forth in 1993 and 1994 (1-4). The proposal was accepted by some but rejected by others (5-8). Initial rejection on theoretical grounds has been followed by increasing experimental support, and recent improvements in theory have been able to account for the experimental observations of LBHBs in enzymes (9 -15). In this minireview we will explain the original proposal, summarize the experimental data from the past few years, and argue that LBHBs do play important roles in enzymatic reactions. Properties of Hydrogen BondsThe strength of a hydrogen bond depends on its length and linearity, the nature of its microenvironment, and the degree to which the pK values of the conjugate acids of the heavy atoms sharing the proton are matched. In water, the hydrogen-bonded oxygens are separated by ϳ2.8 Å, and the ⌬H of formation is ϳ5 kcal mol Ϫ1 . The hydrogen bonds in water are, however, weak because of the poor pK match between the participating oxygen atoms. Because the pKs of H 3 O ϩ and H 2 O are Ϫ1.7 and 15.7, respectively, the proton in the structure H 2 O⅐⅐⅐H-OH is tightly associated with the OH Ϫ group as a water molecule. In the gas phase, where the dielectric constant is low, hydrogen bonds between heteroatoms with matched pKs can be very short and strong, and experimental as well as calculated values of ⌬H of formation can approach 25 or 30 kcal mol Ϫ1 (16, 17). Likewise, in crystals hydrogen bonds can be very strong. The O-O distance in the ion [H- O⅐⅐⅐H⅐⅐⅐O-H] -in a crystal of a chromium complex is only 2.29 Å (18,19). In organic solvents, strong hydrogen bonds can also form, although the ⌬H of formation probably never exceeds 20 kcal mol Ϫ1. Recent calculations suggest that once the dielectric constant is at least 6 the strength of a strong hydrogen bond levels off at a level about half that in the gas phase (13,17). Because the active site of an enzyme is no longer aqueous once it has closed around a substrate, the properties of hydrogen bonds in organic solvents are highly pertinent to enzymatic catalysis.What happens energetically as hydrogen bonds become shortened can be seen in Fig. 1. Structure A represents the situation in water, where the hydrogen is firmly attached to either the lefthand or right-hand oxygen and is more loosely bonded to the other one, with an O-O distance of Ն2.8 Å. There is an energy barrier between the two possible positions of the hydrogen, with the zero point energy levels shown in Fig. 1. Such a hydrogen bond is essentially electrostatic, and the covalent O-H bond is the usual 0.9 -1.0 Å in length.As the overall O-O distance is shortened, the energy barrier drops until it reaches the zero point energy level at an O-O distance of ϳ2.5 Å (Fig. 1B); this is a LBHB. The ⌬H of formation has increased to 15-20 kcal/mol, and the hydrogen can now move freely between the two oxygens. In crystals containing LBHBs, neutron diffraction shows the hydrogen dif...

The biological interconversion of galactose and glucose takes place only by way of the Leloir pathway and requires the three enzymes galactokinase, galactose-1-P uridylyltransferase, and UDP-galactose 4-epimerase. The only biological importance of these enzymes appears to be to provide for the interconversion of galactosyl and glucosyl groups. Galactose mutarotase also participates by producing the galactokinase substrate alpha-D-galactose from its beta-anomer. The galacto/gluco configurational change takes place at the level of the nucleotide sugar by an oxidation/reduction mechanism in the active site of the epimerase NAD+ complex. The nucleotide portion of UDP-galactose and UDP-glucose participates in the epimerization process in two ways: 1) by serving as a binding anchor that allows epimerization to take place at glycosyl-C-4 through weak binding of the sugar, and 2) by inducing a conformational change in the epimerase that destabilizes NAD+ and increases its reactivity toward substrates. Reversible hydride transfer is thereby facilitated between NAD+ and carbon-4 of the weakly bound sugars. The structure of the enzyme reveals many details of the binding of NAD+ and inhibitors at the active site. The essential roles of the kinase and transferase are to attach the UDP group to galactose, allowing for its participation in catalysis by the epimerase. The transferase is a Zn/Fe metalloprotein, in which the metal ions stabilize the structure rather than participating in catalysis. The structure is interesting in that it consists of single beta-sheet with 13 antiparallel strands and 1 parallel strand connected by 6 helices. The mechanism of UMP attachment at the active site of the transferase is a double displacement, with the participation of a covalent UMP-His 166-enzyme intermediate in the Escherichia coli enzyme. The evolution of this mechanism appears to have been guided by the principle of economy in the evolution of binding sites.

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We have proposed previously that short, strong hydrogen bonds exist in enzyme active sites and that they are important in explaining enzymic rate enhancements. Here, we defend this proposal and provide evidence for likely changes of hydrogen bond strengths during enzymic catalysis.