Substrate binding occludes water from the active sites of enzymes. There is a correlation between the burden to enzymatic catalysis of deprotonation of carbon acids and the substrate immobilization at solvent-occluded active sites for ketosteroid isomerase (KSI - small burden, substrate pKa = 13), triosephosphate isomerase (TIM, substrate pKa ≈ 18) and diaminopimelate epimerase (DAP epimerase, large burden, substrate pKa ≈ 29) catalyzed reaction. KSI binds substrates at a surface cleft, TIM binds substrate at an exposed “cage” formed by closure of flexible loops; and, DAP epimerase binds substrate in a tight cage formed by an “oyster-like” clamping motion of protein domains. Directed evolution of a solvent-occluded active site at a designed protein catalyst of the Kemp elimination reaction is discussed.

The kinetic parameters for activation of yeast triosephosphate isomerase (ScTIM), yeast orotidine monophosphate decarboxylase (ScOMPDC), and human liver glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (hlGPDH) for catalysis of reactions of their respective phosphodianion truncated substrates are reported for the following oxydianions: HPO32–, FPO32–, S2O32–, SO42– and HOPO32–. Oxydianions bind weakly to these unliganded enzymes and tightly to the transition state complex (E·S‡), with intrinsic oxydianion Gibbs binding free energies that range from −8.4 kcal/mol for activation of hlGPDH-catalyzed reduction of glycolaldehyde by FPO32– to −3.0 kcal/mol for activation of ScOMPDC-catalyzed decarboxylation of 1-β-d-erythrofuranosyl)orotic acid by HOPO32–. Small differences in the specificity of the different oxydianion binding domains are observed. We propose that the large −8.4 kcal/mol and small −3.8 kcal/mol intrinsic oxydianion binding energy for activation of hlGPDH by FPO32– and S2O32–, respectively, compared with activation of ScTIM and ScOMPDC reflect stabilizing and destabilizing interactions between the oxydianion −F and −S with the cationic side chain of R269 for hlGPDH. These results are consistent with a cryptic function for the similarly structured oxydianion binding domains of ScTIM, ScOMPDC and hlGPDH. Each enzyme utilizes the interactions with tetrahedral inorganic oxydianions to drive a conformational change that locks the substrate in a caged Michaelis complex that provides optimal stabilization of the different enzymatic transition states. The observation of dianion activation by stabilization of active caged Michaelis complexes may be generalized to the many other enzymes that utilize substrate binding energy to drive changes in enzyme conformation, which induce tight substrate fits.

We consider 'the proposition that the intrinsic binding energy that results from the noncovalent interaction of a specific substrate with the active site of the enzyme is considerably larger than is generally believed. An important part of this binding energy may be utilized to provide the driving force for catalysis, so that the observed binding energy represents only what is left over after this utilization' [Jencks,W.P. (1975) Adv. Enzymol. Relat. Areas. Mol. Biol. , , 219-410]. The large ~12 kcal/mol intrinsic substrate phosphodianion binding energy for reactions catalyzed by triosephosphate isomerase (TIM), orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase is divided into 4-6 kcal/mol binding energy that is expressed on the formation of the Michaelis complex in anchoring substrates to the respective enzyme, and 6-8 kcal/mol binding energy that is specifically expressed at the transition state in activating the respective enzymes for catalysis. A structure-based mechanism is described where the dianion binding energy drives a conformational change that activates these enzymes for catalysis. Phosphite dianion plays the active role of holding TIM in a high-energy closed active form, but acts as passive spectator in showing no effect on transition-state structure. The result of studies on mutant enzymes is presented, which support the proposal that the dianion-driven enzyme conformational change plays a role in enhancing the basicity of side chain of E167, the catalytic base, by clamping the base between a pair of hydrophobic side chains. The insight these results provide into the architecture of enzyme active sites and the development of strategies for the de novo design of protein catalysts is discussed.

Triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) catalyzes the isomerization of dihydroxyacetone phosphate to form D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. The effects of two structural mutations at TIM on the kinetic parameters for catalysis of the reaction of the truncated substrate glycolaldehyde (GA) and the activation of this reaction by phosphite dianion are reported. The P168A mutation results in similar 50-fold and 80-fold decreases, respectively, in (kcat/Km)E and (kcat/Km)E•HPi for deprotonation of GA catalyzed by free TIM and by the TIM•HPO32− complex. The mutation has little effect on the observed and intrinsic phosphite dianion binding energy, or on the magnitude of phosphite dianion activation of TIM for catalysis of deprotonation of GA. A loop 7 replacement mutant (L7RM) of TIM from chicken muscle was prepared by substitution of the archaeal sequence 208-TGAG for 208-YGGS. The L7RM exhibits a 25-fold decrease in (kcat/Km)E and a larger 170-fold decrease in (kcat/Km)E•HPi for reactions of GA. The mutation has little effect on the observed and intrinsic phosphodianion binding energy, and only a modest effect on phosphite dianion activation of TIM. The observation that both the P168A and loop 7 replacement mutations affect mainly the kinetic parameters for TIM-catalyzed deprotonation, but result in much smaller changes in the parameters for enzyme activation by phosphite dianion provide support for the conclusion that catalysis of proton transfer and dianion activation of TIM take place at separate, weakly interacting, sites in the protein catalyst.

Values of (kcat/Km)GAP for triosephosphate isomerase-catalyzed reactions of (R)-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and kcat/KHPiKGA for reactions of the substrate pieces glycolaldehyde and HPO32– have been determined for wild-type and the following TIM mutants: I172V, I172A, L232A, and P168A (TIM from Trypanosoma brucei brucei); a 208-TGAG for 208-YGGS loop 7 replacement mutant (L7RM, TIM from chicken muscle); and, Y208T, Y208S, Y208A, Y208F and S211A (yeast TIM). A superb linear logarithmic correlation, with slope of 1.04 ± 0.03, is observed between the kinetic parameters for wild-type and most mutant enzymes, with positive deviations for L232A and L7RM. The unit slope shows that most mutations result in an identical change in the activation barriers for the catalyzed reactions of whole substrate and substrate pieces, so that the two transition states are stabilized by similar interactions with the protein catalyst. This is consistent with a role for dianions as active spectators, which hold TIM in a catalytically active caged form.