Trapping of a dopaquinone intermediate in the TPQ cofactor biogenesis in a copper-containing amine oxidase from Arthrobacter globiformis

The biogenesis of the topaquinone (TPQ) cofactor of copper amine oxidase (CAO) is self-catalyzed and requires copper and molecular oxygen. A dopaquinone intermediate has been proposed to undergo 1,4-addition of a copper-associated water molecule to form the reduced form of TPQ (TPQ(red)), followed by facile oxidation by O(2) to yield the mature TPQ (TPQ(ox)). In this study, we have incorporated a lysine residue in the active site of Arthrobacter globiformis CAO (AGAO) by site-directed mutagenesis to produce D298K-AGAO. The X-ray crystal structure of D298K-AGAO at 1.7-A resolution revealed that a covalent linkage formed between the epsilon-amino side chain of Lys298 and the C2 position of a dopaquinone derived from Tyr382, a precursor to TPQ(ox). We assigned the species as an iminoquinone tautomer (LTI) of lysine tyrosylquinone (LTQ), the organic cofactor of lysyl oxidase (LOX). The time course of the formation of LTI at pH 6.8 was followed by UV/vis and resonance Raman spectroscopies. In the early phase of the reaction, an LTQ-like intermediate was observed. This intermediate then slowly converted to LTI in an isosbestic manner. Not only is the presence of a dopaquinone intermediate in the TPQ biogenesis confirmed, but it also provides strong support for the proposed intermediacy of a dopaquinone in the biogenesis of LTQ in LOX. Further, this study indicates that the dopaquinone intermediate in AGAO is mobile and can swing from the copper site into the active-site wedge to react with Lys298.     

A dopaquinone model that mimics the water addition step of cofactor biogenesis in copper amine oxidases

The consensus mechanism for biogenesis of the 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenylalanine quinone (TPQ) cofactor in copper amine oxidases involves a key water addition to the dopaquinone intermediate. Although hydration of o-quinones seems straightforward and was implicated previously in aqueous autoxidation of catechols to give ultimately hydroxyquinones, a recent study (Mandal, S.; Lee, Y.; Purdy, M. M.; Sayre, L. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 3574-3584) showed that the observed hydroxyquinones arise not from hydration, but from addition to the o-quinones of H(2)O(2) generated during autoxidation of the catechols. In the enzyme case, hydration of dopaquinone is proposed to be mediated by the active site Cu(II). To establish precedent for this mechanism, we engineered a catechol tethered to a Cu(II)-coordinating unit, such that the corresponding o-quinone could be generated in situ by oxidation with periodate (to avoid generation of H(2)O(2)). Thus, coordination of 4-((2-(bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amino)ethylamino)methyl)-1,2-benzenediol (1) to Cu(II) and subsequent addition of periodate resulted in rapid formation of the TPQ-like corresponding hydroxyquinone. Hydroxyquinone formation was seen also using Zn(II) and Ni(II), but not in the absence of M(II). Under the same conditions, periodate oxidation of the simple catechol 4-tert-butylcatechol does not give hydroxyquinone in the presence or absence of Cu(II). M(II)OH(2) pK(a) data for the Cu(II), Zn(II), and Ni(II) complexes with the pendant tetradentate ligand in the masked (dimethyl ether) catechol form, and kinetic pH-rate profiles of the metal-dependent hydroxyquinone formation from periodate oxidation of catechol 1, suggested a rate-limiting addition step of the ligand-coordinated M(II)OH to the o-quinone intermediate. This study represents the first chemical demonstration of a true o-quinone hydration, which occurs in cofactor biogenesis in copper amine oxidases.     

Flash photolytic generation of ortho-quinone methide in aqueous solution and study of its chemistry in that medium

Flash photolysis of o-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, o-hydroxybenzyl p-cyanophenyl ether, and (o-hydroxybenzyl)trimethylammonium iodide in aqueous perchloric acid and sodium hydroxide solutions, and in acetic acid and biphosphate ion buffers, produced o-quinone methide as a short-lived transient species that underwent hydration back to benzyl alcohol in hydrogen-ion catalyzed (k(H+) = 8.4 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1)) and hydroxide-ion catalyzed (k(HO)- = 3.0 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1)) reactions as well as an uncatalyzed (k(UC) = 2.6 x 10(2) s(-1)) process. The hydrogen-ion catalyzed reaction gave the solvent isotope effect k(H+)/k(D)+ = 0.42, whose inverse nature indicates that this process occurs by rapid and reversible equilibrium protonation of the carbonyl oxygen atom of the quinone methide, followed by rate-determining capture of the carbocation so produced by water. The magnitude of the rate constant of the uncatalyzed reaction, on the other hand, indicates that this process occurs by simple nucleophilic addition of water to the methylene group of the quinone methide. Decay of the quinone methide is also accelerated by acetic acid buffers through both acid- and base-catalyzed pathways, and quantitative analysis of the reaction products formed in these solutions shows that this acceleration is caused by nucleophilic reactions of acetate ion rather than by acetate ion assisted hydration. Bromide and thiocyanate ions also accelerate decay of the quinone methide through both hydrogen-ion catalyzed and uncatalyzed pathways, and the inverse nature of solvent isotope effects on the hydrogen-ion catalyzed reactions shows that these reactions also occur by rapid equilibrium protonation of the quinone methide carbonyl oxygen followed by rate-determining nucleophilic capture of the ensuing carbocation. Assignment of an encounter-controlled value to the rate constant for the rate-determining step of the thiocyanate reaction leads to pK(a) = -1.7 for the acidity constant of the carbonyl-protonated quinone methide.     

Properties of 4-amino-4'-methyldiphenylamine as a redox indicator

The properties of 4-amino-4'-methyldiphenylamine as a redox indicator have been studied. The compound acts as a reversible, one-colour indicator, the oxidized form being red-violet, with molar absorptivity 6 x 10(3) l.mole(-1).cm(-1) at lambda(max) = 510 nm. The formal potential is described by the equation E = 0.735-0.059 pH. The two dissociation constants are pK(1) = -0.08 +/- 0.09 and pK(2) = 5.09 +/- 0.02. The relative error of titration of iron(II) with vanadium(V) is not larger than 0.2%.     

Role of copper ion in bacterial copper amine oxidase: spectroscopic and crystallographic studies of metal-substituted enzymes

The role of the active site Cu(2+) of phenylethylamine oxidase from Arthrobacter globiformis (AGAO) has been studied by substitution with other divalent cations, where we were able to remove >99.5% of Cu(2+) from the active site. The enzymes reconstituted with Co(2+) and Ni(2+) (Co- and Ni-AGAO) exhibited 2.2 and 0.9% activities, respectively, of the original Cu(2+)-enzyme (Cu-AGAO), but their K(m) values for amine substrate and dioxygen were comparable. X-ray crystal structures of the Co- and Ni-AGAO were solved at 2.0-1.8 A resolution. These structures revealed changes in the metal coordination environment when compared to that of Cu-AGAO. However, the hydrogen-bonding network around the active site involving metal-coordinating and noncoordinating water molecules was preserved. Upon anaerobic mixing of the Cu-, Co-, and Ni-AGAO with amine substrate, the 480 nm absorption band characteristic of the oxidized form of the topaquinone cofactor (TPQ(ox)) disappeared rapidly (< 6 ms), yielding the aminoresorcinol form of the reduced cofactor (TPQ(amr)). In contrast to the substrate-reduced Cu-AGAO, the semiquinone radical (TPQ(sq)) was not detected in Co- and Ni-AGAO. Further, in the latter, TPQ(amr) reacted reversibly with the product aldehyde to form a species with a lambda(max) at around 350 nm that was assigned as the neutral form of the product Schiff base (TPQ(pim)). Introduction of dioxygen to the substrate-reduced Co- and Ni-AGAO resulted in the formation of a TPQ-related intermediate absorbing at around 360 nm, which was assigned to the neutral iminoquinone form of the 2e(-)-oxidized cofactor (TPQ(imq)) and which decayed concomitantly with the generation of TPQ(ox). The rate of TPQ(imq) formation and its subsequent decay in Co- and Ni-AGAO was slow when compared to those of the corresponding reactions in Cu-AGAO. The low catalytic activities of the metal-substituted enzymes are due to the impaired efficiencies of the oxidative half-reaction in the catalytic cycle of amine oxidation. On the basis of these results, we propose that the native Cu(2+) ion has essential roles such as catalyzing the electron transfer between TPQ(amr) and dioxygen, in part by providing a binding site for 1e(-)- and 2e(-)-reduced dioxygen species to be efficiently protonated and released and also preventing the back reaction between the product aldehyde and TPQ(amr).     

Novel tert-butyl migration in copper-mediated phenol ortho-oxygenation implicates a mechanism involving conversion of a 6-hydroperoxy-2,4-cyclohexadienone directly to an o-quinone

Copper mediated ortho-oxygenation of phenolates may proceed through the generation of a 6-peroxy-2,4-cyclohexadienone intermediate. To test this theory, we studied the fate of sodium 4-carbethoxy-2, 6-di-tert-butylphenolate, where the ortho-oxygenation sites are blocked by tert-butyl groups. Using the Cu(I) complex of N, N-bis(2-(N-methylbenzimidazol-2-yl)ethyl)benzylamine, isolation of the major oxygenated product and characterization by single-crystal X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy revealed it to be 4-carbethoxy-3,6-di-tert-butyl-1,2-benzoquinone, resulting from a 1, 2-migration of a tert-butyl group. The independently prepared 6-hydroperoxide is transformed by the Cu(I)- (or Cu(II)-) ligand complex to the same o-quinone. The observed 1,2-migration of the tert-butyl group appears to reflect an electron demand created by rearrangement of the postulated peroxy intermediate. A mechanism proceeding alternatively through a catechol and subsequent oxidation to the o-quinone seems ruled out by a control study demonstrating that the requisite intermediate to catechol formation would instead eliminate the 2-tert-butyl group.     

Determination of doxorubicin hydrochloride by visible spectrophotometry

Four simple and sensitive visible spectrophotometric methods (A-D) have been described for the assay of doxorubicin hydrochloride either in pure form or in pharmaceutical formulations. Method A was developed based on oxidation of the drug with Fe(III) to produce Fe(II), which subsequently reacts with 1.10-ortho-phenanthroline to form a red colored complex (lambda(max): 510 nm) at pH 4.6. Method B involves the reduction of Folin-Ciocalteu (F-C) reagent by the drug and the reduced species formed possesses a characteristic intense blue color (lambda(max): 770 nm). In methods C and D. oxidation of the drug with periodate at specified experimental conditions yields formaldehyde and dialdehyde, which in turn react either with 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone hydrochloride to form an intensely brilliant blue cationic dye (lambda(max): 620-670 nm. method C) or by condensation with phenylhydrazine hydrochloride (PHH) to form orange-red colored product (lambda(max): 510 nm, method D) in the presence of potassium ferricyanide. All of the variables have been optimized and the reaction mechanisms presented. The concentration measurements are reproducible within a relative standard deviation of 1.0%.     

Synthesis of substituted 1,2-benzoquinones and substituted 3-hydroxy-4 (1H) -pyridinones: Application of oxidation-Michael addition in organic synthesis

Catechol (1) and 2-ethoxy-2-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4(1H)-pyridinone (4) derivatives can be oxidized to give ortho-quinone of 1,2-benzoquinone (2) and 2-ethoxy-2-ethyl-l,2(2H)-pyridine-3,4-dione (5) that subsequently undergo Michael addition with nucleophiles. This reaction served a convenient route to synthesize 4,5-disubstituted-l,2-benzoquinones (3a-c) and 6-substituted-3-hydroxy-4(1H)-pyridinones (6a-f) .     

Photochemistry of the three carboxypyridines in water: a pH dependent reaction

The photochemistry of ortho, meta and para-carboxypyridines (pK(a)(1)= 1.0-2.1 and pK(a)(2)= 4.7-5.3) in aqueous medium was studied by laser-flash photolysis and product studies. At pH < pK(a)(1), hydroxylated compounds are produced with low quantum yields. Within the pH range 4-7, ortho and meta isomers undergo dimerization together with decarboxylation with a quantum yield showing a very sharp maximum around pK(a)(2)([small phi](max)= 0.09 and 0.01, respectively) while the para isomer is photostable. End-of-pulse transients assigned to triplet states were detected by laser-flash photolysis at pH < pK(a)(1) and pH > 4. Additionally, the carboxypyridinyl radicals were detected as secondary intermediates at pH < pK(a)(1) and 4 < pH < 7 and the OH-adduct radicals at pH < pK(a)(1). This is in favour of an electron transfer reaction between triplet and starting compound producing a charge transfer species. The radical anion would escape as carboxypyridinyl radical while the radical cation may add water at pH < pK(a)(1) yielding the OH-adduct radical or may undergo decarboxylation at pH > 4. The high quantum yield of phototransformation of the ortho isomer at pH > 4 is due to an easy decarboxylation process. A reaction scheme is proposed accounting for the dependences of [small phi] on both the pH and the carboxypyridines concentration. This study points out the distinct pattern of reactivity of carboxypyridines depending on the ionisation state of starting compounds and isomeric substitution.     

Anomalous behavior in the two-step reduction of quinones in acetonitrile

The electrochemical reduction of eight quinones, 9,10-anthraquinone (1), duroquinone (2), 2,6-di-tert-butyl-1,4-benzoquinone (3), 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone (4), 9,10-phenanthrenequinone (5), tetrachloro-1,2-benzoquinone (6), tetrabromo-1,2-benzoquinone (7) and 3,5-di-tert-butyl-1,2-benzoquinone (8), have been studied in acetonitrile. In every case it was found that cyclic voltammograms differed in significant ways from those expected for simple stepwise reduction of the quinone to its radical anion and dianion. The various types of deviations for the eight quinones have been cataloged and some speculation is offered concerning their origins.     

Determination of lysine pK values using [5-13C]lysine: application to the lyase domain of DNA Pol beta

Determination of the protonation state of titratable protein residues is of critical importance for the interpretation of active site chemistry, as well as for understanding the role of electrostatic interactions in protein folding and stability. However, protein titration studies are limited by the fact that, at extreme pH values, increasing fractions of unfolded or partially unfolded structures may be present. This problem is particularly acute for lysine residues which have high pK values. In the present study, we point out that the use of the 13C resonance of lysine C-5 as a reporter for titration of the epsilon-amino group is preferable to the use of C-6 due to the 5-fold greater titration shift, so that reasonable results can be obtained using a two parameter fit of data obtained over a more limited pH range. A new synthetic procedure for [5-13C]lysine is described, and the pK value for Lys72 in the lyase domain of DNA polymerase beta has been determined using the [5-13C]lysine-labeled enzyme. The results agree well with recent studies of the Pol lambda lyase domain, demonstrating that the pK value for this residue is not optimized for Schiff base chemistry (Gao et al., Biochemistry 2006, 45, 1785-1794). We also have re-evaluated data for the pK of Lys73 in the TEM-1 beta-lactamase.     

Chemical, pulse radiolysis and density functional studies of a new, labile 5,6-indolequinone and its semiquinone

The chemical and spectroscopic characterization of 5,6-indolequinones and their semiquinones, key transient intermediates in the oxidative conversion of 5,6-dihydroxyindoles to eumelanin biopolymers, is a most challenging task. In the present paper, we report the characterization of a novel, relatively long-lived 5,6-indolequinone along with its semiquinone using an integrated chemical, pulse radiolytic, and computational approach. The quinone was obtained by oxidation of 5,6-dihydroxy-3-iodoindole (1a) with o-chloranil in cold ethyl acetate or aqueous buffer: it displayed electronic absorption bands around 400 and 600 nm, was reduced to 1a with Na2S2O4, and reacted with o-phenylenediamine to give small amounts of 3-iodo-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]phenazine (2). The semiquinone exhibited absorption maxima at 380 nm (sh) and 520 nm and was detected as the initial species produced by pulse radiolytic oxidation of 1a at pH 7.0. DFT investigations indicated the 6-phenoxyl radical and the N-protonated radical anion as the most stable tautomers for the neutral and anion forms of the semiquinone, respectively. Calculated absorption spectra in water gave bands at 350 (sh) and 500 nm for the neutral form and at 310 and 360 (sh) nm for the anion. Disproportionation of the semiquinone with fast second-order kinetics (2k = 1.1 x 1010 M-1 s-1) gave a chromophore with absorption bands resembling those of chemically generated 1a quinone. Computational analysis predicted 1a quinone to exist in vacuo as the quinone-methide tautomer, displaying low energy transitions at 380 and 710 nm, and in water as the o-quinone, with calculated absorption bands around 400 and 820 nm. A strong participation of a p orbital on the iodine atom in the 360-380 nm electronic transitions of the o-quinone and quinone-methide was highlighted. The satisfactory agreement between computational and experimental electronic absorption data would suggest partitioning of 1a quinone between the o-quinone and quinone-methide tautomers depending on the medium.     

The 2.0 angstroms crystal structure of a pocilloporin at pH 3.5: the structural basis for the linkage between color transition and halide binding

The pocilloporin Rtms5 and an engineered variant Rtms5H146S undergo distinct color transitions (from blue to red to yellow to colorless) in a pH-dependent manner. pK(a) values of 4.1 and 3.2 were determined for the blue (absorption lambda(max), 590 nm) to yellow (absorption lambda(max), approximately 453 nm) transitions of Rtms5 and Rtms5H146. The pK(a) for the blue-yellow transition of Rtms5H146S increased by 1.4 U in the presence of 0.1 M KI, whereas the pK(a) for the same transition of Rtms5 was relatively insensitive to added halides. To understand the structural basis for these observations, we have determined to 2.0 angstroms resolution the crystal structure of a yellow form of Rtms5H146S at pH 3.5 in the presence of iodide. Iodide was found occupying a pocket in the structure with a pH of 3.5, forming van der Waals contacts with the tyrosyl moiety of the chromophore. Elsewhere, it was determined that this pocket is occupied by a water molecule in the Rtms5H146S structure (pH 8.0) and by the side chain of histidine 146 in the wild-type Rtms5 structure. Collectively, our data provide an explanation for the observed linkage between color transitions for Rtms5H146S and binding to halides.     

Determination of iron(II) with bipyridylglyoxal dithiosemicarbazone

Bipyridylglyoxal dithiosemicarbazone reacts with iron(II) or (III). The Fe(III) complex is yellow (lambda(max) 400 nm). Fe(II) forms a red-violet 1:2 complex at pH 2.5 (lambda(max) 550 nm) and a green-blue 1:1 complex at pH 5-10 (lambda(max) 590-610 nm). Both ferrous complexes can be oxidized to the ferric complex; this reaction is reversible. The quantitative application of the ferrous complex has been studied.     

Synthesis and characterization of 1,2-cyclohexanedione bis-benzoyl-hydrazone and its application to the determination of ti in minerals and rocks

The synthesis, spectroscopic characteristics and analytical applications of 1,2-cyclo-hexanedione bis-benzoylhydrazone are reported. The reaction of this new compound with titanium(IV) has been studied spectrophotomelrically. An orange 1:2 metal/ligand complex (lambda(max)= 477 nm, = 1.05 x 10(4) l.mole(-1).cm(-1)) is formed at pH 1.75-3.0 in 3:2 v v ethanol-water medium. The method is simple and selective and has been satisfactorily applied to the determination of titanium in bauxite, Portland cement, amphibolites and granites.     

Colorimetric determination of isoniazid and its pharmaceutical formulations

Two colorimetric methods for the estimation of isoniazid are developed. The first method depends on coupling of isoniazid with diazotized 1-amino anthraquinone zinc chloride salt (fast red AL salt) to form a red colour (lambda(max) 510 nm). The second one is based on the formation of a green complex (lambda(max) 655 nm) between the acid hydrazide and 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone (DMBQ). All measurements of the two procedures were carried out in the presence of sodium hydroxide at room temperature (20 +/- 3 degrees C). The two methods are applied for the determination of isoniazid in presence of congenial drugs, vitamins and additives normally encountered with it in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The reliability of these methods was established by parallel determination with the reported and official methods.     

The electrochemical methoxylation of methoxybenzenes and related compounds : The mechanism of electrochemical methoxylation of 1,4-dimethoxybenzene

Anodic oxidation of benzenoid aromatic ethers in methanolic KOH soln at a platinum electrode constitutes a one step method for the synthesis of the rare class of compounds, herein designated as the quinone diketals. The mechanism of conversion of 1,4-dimethoxybenzene to the diketal of p-benzoquinone, based on the evidence accumulated, is considered to proceed via discharge of the adsorbed aromatic compound, followed by nucleophilic reaction of the solvent system with the electrogenerated cationic species. The quinone diketal products resulting from anisole, 1,4-, 1,2-, and 1,3-dimethoxybenzene, 9,10-dimethoxyanthracene and benzodioxane have been established. In contrast methyl benzoate, anisonitrite, and benzene were found to be unreactive in agreement with a direct discharge scheme which does not involve methoxy radicals.     

Alkylation of guanosine and 2'-deoxyguanosine by o-quinone alpha-(p-anisyl)methide in aqueous solution

Rates of alkylation of guanosine and 2'-deoxyguanosine with o-quinone alpha-(p-anisyl)methide were measured by flash photolysis in a series of aqueous sodium hydroxide solutions and bicarbonate ion, t-butylhydrogenphosphonate ion, and biphosphate ion buffers. The data so obtained provide rate profiles for these nucleoside plus quinone methide reactions over the range pH = 7-14, which furnish guanosine and deoxyguanosine acidity constants consistent with literature information. These profiles also provide rate constants that show the reaction of o-quinone alpha-(p-anisyl)methide with guanosine and deoxyguanosine to be fairly fast processes, considerably faster than the biologically wasteful reaction of the quinone methide with water, which is the ubiquitous medium in biological systems; that makes the quinone methide a potent guonosine and deoxyguanosine alkylator.     

The tiron radical as indicator substance in catalytic determination of trace metals

The tiron-hydrogen peroxide reaction used for catalytic determination of trace metals is studied with respect to the indicator substance-the oxidation product of tiron absorbing at 44Onm. Contrary to assumptions in the literature, it is shown by electrochemical techniqus EPR spectroscopy and visible spectrophotometry that the indicator substance is not the o-quinone derivative of tiron (lambda(max) = 372 nm) but the tiron semiquinone radical with a g-value of g(o) = 2.0049 and molar absorptivity = (3.5 +/- 0.5) x 10(3) 1.mole(-1).cm(-1) at 440 nm.     

Pulse radiolysis study on free radical scavenger edaravone (3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one)

The reactions between edaravone and various one-electron oxidants such as (*)OH, N(3)(*), Br(2)(-), and SO(4)(-), have been studied by pulse radiolysis techniques. The transient species produced by the reaction of edaravone with (*)OH radical shows an absorption band with lambda(max)=320 nm, while the oxidation by N(3)(*), Br(2)(-), SO(4)(-) and CCl(3)OO(*) results in an absorption band with lambda(max)=345 nm. Different from the previous reports, the main transient species by the reaction of edaravone with (*)OH radical in the absence of O(2) is attributed to OH-adducts. At neutral condition (pH 7), the rate constants of edaravone reacting with (*)OH, N(3)(*), SO(4)(-), CCl(3)OO(*), and e(aq)(-) are estimated to be 8.5x10(9), 5.8x10(9), 6x10(8), 5.0x10(8) and 2.4x10(9)dm(3)mol(-1)s(-1), respectively. From the pH dependence on the formation of electron adducts and on the rate constant of edaravone with hydrated electron, the pK(a) of edaravone is estimated to be 6.9+/-0.1.