Differences and Comparisons of the Properties and Reactivities of Iron(III)–hydroperoxo Complexes with Saturated Coordination Sphere

Heme and nonheme monoxygenases and dioxygenases catalyze important oxygen atom transfer reactions to substrates in the body. It is now well established that the cytochrome P450 enzymes react through the formation of a high‐valent iron(IV)–oxo heme cation radical. Its precursor in the catalytic cycle, the iron(III)–hydroperoxo complex, was tested for catalytic activity and found to be a sluggish oxidant of hydroxylation, epoxidation and sulfoxidation reactions. In a recent twist of events, evidence has emerged of several nonheme iron(III)–hydroperoxo complexes that appear to react with substrates via oxygen atom transfer processes. Although it was not clear from these studies whether the iron(III)–hydroperoxo reacted directly with substrates or that an initial O?O bond cleavage preceded the reaction. Clearly, the catalytic activity of heme and nonheme iron(III)–hydroperoxo complexes is substantially different, but the origins of this are still poorly understood and warrant a detailed analysis. In this work, an extensive computational analysis of aromatic hydroxylation by biomimetic nonheme and heme iron systems is presented, starting from an iron(III)–hydroperoxo complex with pentadentate ligand system (L₅²). Direct C?O bond formation by an iron(III)–hydroperoxo complex is investigated, as well as the initial heterolytic and homolytic bond cleavage of the hydroperoxo group. The calculations show that [(L₅²)Fe^III(OOH)]²⁺ should be able to initiate an aromatic hydroxylation process, although a low‐energy homolytic cleavage pathway is only slightly higher in energy. A detailed valence bond and thermochemical analysis rationalizes the differences in chemical reactivity of heme and nonheme iron(III)–hydroperoxo and show that the main reason for this particular nonheme complex to be reactive comes from the fact that they homolytically split the O?O bond, whereas a heterolytic O?O bond breaking in heme iron(III)–hydroperoxo is found.     

Can a Mononuclear Iron(III)-Superoxo Active Site Catalyze the Decarboxylation of Dodecanoic Acid in UndA to Produce Biofuels?

Decarboxylation of fatty acids is an important reaction in cell metabolism, but also has potential in biotechnology for the biosynthesis of hydrocarbons as biofuels. The recently discovered nonheme iron decarboxylase UndA is involved in the biosynthesis of 1-undecene from dodecanoic acid and using X-ray crystallography was assigned to be a mononuclear iron species. However, the work was contradicted by spectroscopic studies that suggested UndA to be more likely a dinuclear iron system. To resolve this controversy we decided to pursue a computational study on the reaction mechanism of fatty acid decarboxylation by UndA using iron(III)-superoxo and diiron(IV)-dioxo models. We tested several models with different protonation states of active site residues. Overall, however, the calculations imply that mononuclear iron(III)-superoxo is a sluggish oxidant of hydrogen atom abstraction reactions in UndA and will not be able to activate fatty acid residues by decarboxylation at room temperature. By contrast, a diiron-dioxo complex reacts with much lower hydrogen atom abstraction barriers and hence is a more likely oxidant in UndA.     

Hydroxylation of sesquiterpenes by enzymes from chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) roots

A microsomal enzyme preparation of chicory roots catalyses the hydroxylation of various sesquiterpene olefins in the presence of NADPH. Most of these hydroxylations take place at an isopropenyl or isopropylidene group. The number of products obtained from any of the substrates is confined to one or, in a few cases, two sesquiterpene alcohols. In addition, the conversion of (+)-valencene into nootkatone through β-nootkatol was observed. The involvement of (+)-germacrene A hydroxylase (a cytochrome P450 enzyme) and other enzymes of sesquiterpene lactone biosynthesis in these reactions is discussed.     

细胞色素p450的结构与催化机理

细胞色素P450酶是广泛存在的含亚铁血红素单加氧酶, 参与甾类激素的合成、脂溶性维生素代谢、多不饱和脂肪酸转换为生物活性分子, 以及致癌作用和药物代谢. 综述了细胞色素p450结构与功能的关系, 特别是细胞色素P450活性位点经历大幅度开/关运动结合底物和释放产物以及电子迁移途径.     

细胞色素P450酶催化的烷烃选择性羟化

碳氢键选择氧化是合成化学领域的重要课题,其中烷烃选择性羟化反应更是面临着化学选择性、区域选择性和立体选择性等多重挑战.细胞色素P450酶广泛分布于动植物和微生物体内,是公认的多功能生物氧化催化剂. P450酶对惰性C—H键的选择性氧化具有独特优势,在催化烷烃选择性羟化反应方面拥有巨大潜力.本综述简述了P450单加氧酶及其催化烷烃选择性羟化的反应机理,梳理了来自CYP153家族、CYP52家族和其他家族的天然P450酶催化各类烷烃底物的氧化反应和选择性,讨论了理性设计和定向进化策略在开发烷烃羟化P450突变酶过程中的经典案例,介绍了底物工程、诱饵分子、双功能小分子协同催化等几种化学活化P450酶的策略及其在烷烃羟化上的应用,探讨了P450酶在烷烃选择性羟化方面所面临的挑战和解决途径,并展望了其应用前景.     

What Determines the Selectivity of Arginine Dihydroxylation by the Nonheme Iron Enzyme OrfP?

The nonheme iron enzyme OrfP reacts with l -Arg selectively to form the 3R,4R-dihydroxyarginine product, which in mammals can inhibit the nitric oxide synthase enzymes involved in blood pressure control. To understand the mechanisms of dioxygen activation of l -Arg by OrfP and how it enables two sequential oxidation cycles on the same substrate, we performed a density functional theory study on a large active site cluster model. We show that substrate binding and positioning in the active site guides a highly selective reaction through C³−H hydrogen atom abstraction. This happens despite the fact that the C³−H and C⁴−H bond strengths of l -Arg are very similar. Electronic differences in the two hydrogen atom abstraction pathways drive the reaction with an initial C³−H activation to a low-energy ⁵σ-pathway, while substrate positioning destabilizes the C⁴−H abstraction and sends it over the higher-lying ⁵π-pathway. We show that substrate and monohydroxylated products are strongly bound in the substrate binding pocket and hence product release is difficult and consequently its lifetime will be long enough to trigger a second oxygenation cycle.     

Structural and Dynamic Basis of Human Cytochrome P450 7B1: A Survey of Substrate Selectivity and Major Active Site Access Channels

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 7B1 is a steroid cytochrome P450 7α‐hydroxylase that has been linked directly with bile salt synthesis and hereditary spastic paraplegia type 5 (SPG5). The enzyme provides the primary metabolic route for neurosteroids dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), cholesterol derivatives 25‐hydroxycholesterol (25‐HOChol), and other steroids such as 5α‐androstane‐3β,17β‐diol (anediol), and 5α‐androstene‐3β,17β‐diol (enediol). A series of investigations including homology modeling, molecular dynamics (MD), and automatic docking, combined with the results of previous experimental site‐directed mutagenesis studies and access channels analysis, have identified the structural features relevant to the substrate selectivity of CYP7B1. The results clearly identify the dominant access channels and critical residues responsible for ligand binding. Both binding free energy analysis and total interaction energy analysis are consistent with the experimental conclusion that 25‐HOChol is the best substrate. According to 20 ns MD simulations, the Phe cluster residues that lie above the active site, particularly Phe489, are proposed to merge the active site with the adjacent channel to the surface and accommodate substrate binding in a reasonable orientation. The investigation of CYP7B1–substrate binding modes provides detailed insights into the poorly understood structural features of human CYP7B1 at the atomic level, and will be valuable information for drug development and protein engineering.