Borovik, A.S.; Hendrich, M.P.; Moënne-Loccoz, P.

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 2384-2393, 10.1021/jacs.0c12564

Dinuclear iron centers with a bridging hydroxido or oxido ligand form active sites within a variety of metalloproteins. A key feature of these sites is the ability of the protein to control the structures around the Fe centers, which leads to entatic states that are essential for function. To simulate this controlled environment, artificial proteins have been engineered using biotin–streptavidin (Sav) technology in which Fe complexes from adjacent subunits can assemble to form [FeIII–(μ-OH)–FeIII] cores. The assembly process is promoted by the site-specific localization of the Fe complexes within a subunit through the designed mutation of a tyrosinate side chain to coordinate the Fe centers. An important outcome is that the Sav host can regulate the Fe···Fe separation, which is known to be important for function in natural metalloproteins. Spectroscopic and structural studies from X-ray diffraction methods revealed uncommonly long Fe···Fe separations that change by less than 0.3 Å upon the binding of additional bridging ligands. The structural constraints imposed by the protein host on the di-Fe cores are unique and create examples of active sites having entatic states within engineered artificial metalloproteins.

Schultz, P.G.

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 13194-13195, 10.1021/ja804653f

An E. coli catabolite activator protein (CAP) has been converted into a sequence-specific DNA cleaving protein by genetically introducing (2,2′-bipyridin-5-yl)alanine (Bpy-Ala) into the protein. The mutant CAP (CAP-K26Bpy-Ala) showed comparable binding affinity to CAP-WT for the consensus operator sequence. In the presence of Cu(II) and 3-mercaptopropionic acid, CAP-K26Bpy-Ala cleaves double-stranded DNA with high sequence specificity. This method should provide a useful tool for mapping the molecular details of protein−nucleic acid interactions.

Schultz, P.G.

Science 1987, 238, 1401-1403, 10.1126/science.3685986

The relatively nonspecific single-stranded deoxyribonuclease, staphylococcal nuclease, was selectively fused to an oligonucleotide binding site of defined sequence to generate a hybrid enzyme. A cysteine was substituted for Lys116 in the enzyme by oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis and coupled to an oligonucleotide that contained a 3'-thiol. The resulting hybrid enzyme cleaved single-stranded DNA at sites adjacent to the oligonucleotide binding site.

Kazlauskas, R.J.

Chem. - Eur. J. 2006, 12, 1587-1596, 10.1002/chem.200501413

Carbonic anhydrase is a zinc metalloenzyme that catalyzes the hydration of carbon dioxide to bicarbonate. Replacing the active‐site zinc with manganese yielded manganese‐substituted carbonic anhydrase (CA[Mn]), which shows peroxidase activity with a bicarbonate‐dependent mechanism. In the presence of bicarbonate and hydrogen peroxide, (CA[Mn]) catalyzed the efficient oxidation of o‐dianisidine with kcat/KM=1.4×106 m−1 s−1, which is comparable to that for horseradish peroxidase, kcat/KM=57×106 m−1 s−1. CA[Mn] also catalyzed the moderately enantioselective epoxidation of olefins to epoxides (E=5 for p‐chlorostyrene) in the presence of an amino‐alcohol buffer, such as N,N‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl)‐2‐aminoethanesulfonic acid (BES). This enantioselectivity is similar to that for natural heme‐based peroxidases, but has the advantage that CA[Mn] avoids the formation of aldehyde side products. CA[Mn] degrades during the epoxidation limiting the yield of the epoxidations to <12 %. Replacement of active‐site residues Asn62, His64, Asn67, Gln92, or Thr200 with alanine by site‐directed mutagenesis decreased the enantioselectivity demonstrating that the active site controls the enantioselectivity of the epoxidation.

Kazlauskas, R.J.

Top. Organomet. Chem. 2009, 10.1007/3418_2008_1

Carbonic anhydrase binds a zinc ion in a hydrophobic active site using the imidazole groups of three histidine residues. The natural role of carbonic anhydrase is to catalyze the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide to bicarbonate, but it also catalyzes hydrolysis of esters with moderate enantioselectivity. Replacing the active-site zinc with manganese yielded manganese-substituted carbonic anhydrase (CA[Mn]), which shows peroxidase activity with a bicarbonate-dependent mechanism. In the presence of bicarbonate and hydrogen peroxide, CA[Mn] catalyzed the efficient oxidation of o-dianisidine with k cat /K M = 1.4 × 106 M−1s−1, which is comparable to that for horseradish peroxidase, k cat /K M = 57 × 106 M−1s−1. CA[Mn] also catalyzed the moderately enantioselective epoxidation of olefins to epoxides (E = 5 for p-chlorostyrene). This enantioselectivity is similar to that for natural heme-based peroxidases, but has the advantage that CA[Mn] avoids formation of aldehyde side products. CA[Mn] degrades during the epoxidation, limiting the yield of the epoxidations to <12%. Replacement of active-site residues Asn62, His64, Asn67, Gln92, or Thr200 with alanine by site-directed mutagenesis decreased the enantioselectivity showing that the active site controls enantioselectivity of the epoxidation.

Pan, Y.

RSC Adv. 2013, 3, 22976, 10.1039/c3ra43784a

Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) is a commercially available and prevalently used peroxidase with no specific substrate binding domain. However, after being incorporated with different metal cations, new catalytic functions were found in biomimetic oxidation of resveratrol. Based on the results of screening, Ca, Cu, Fe and Mn incorporated enzymes showed distinctive effects, either decomposition or dimerization products were observed.

Schultz, P.G.

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1990, 112, 9414-9415, 10.1021/ja00181a065

The specificity and diversity of the immune system have recently been exploited in the generation of antibodies that catalyze a wide variety of chemical reactions.1·2 Several general strategies for the design of catalytic antibodies have emerged, including the use of antibody binding energy to enhance the chemical reactivity of a cofactor or to position a cofactor and a substrate in close proximity.3,4 An intriguing target for antibody-cofactor catalysis is the oxidative reactions characteristic of heme proteins. Here we report that antibodies specific for A-methylmesoporphyrin IX bind iron(III) mesoporphyrin IX and that the resulting complex catalyzes the oxidation of several substrates. These studies are a first step toward the development of selective antibody-heme monooxygenase catalysts.

Kazlauskas, R.J.

ChemCatChem 2010, 2, 953-957, 10.1002/cctc.201000159

CA confidential: Replacing the active‐site zinc in carbonic anhydrase (CA) by rhodium forms a new enzymatic catalyst for cofactor‐free hydroformylation of styrene with syn gas. Unlike free rhodium, this rhodium–protein hybrid, [Rh]–CA, is regioselective (8.4:1) for linear over branched aldehyde product, which is a 40‐fold change in regioselectivity compared to free rhodium.

Kazlauskas, R.J.

Chem. - Eur. J. 2009, 15, 1370-1376, 10.1002/chem.200801673

One useful synthetic reaction missing from nature's toolbox is the direct hydrogenation of substrates using hydrogen. Instead nature uses cofactors like NADH to reduce organic substrates, which adds complexity and cost to these reductions. To create an enzyme that can directly reduce organic substrates with hydrogen, researchers have combined metal hydrogenation catalysts with proteins. One approach is an indirect link where a ligand is linked to a protein and the metal binds to the ligand. Another approach is direct linking of the metal to protein, but nonspecific binding of the metal limits this approach. Herein, we report a direct hydrogenation of olefins catalyzed by rhodium(I) bound to carbonic anhydrase (CA‐[Rh]). We minimized nonspecific binding of rhodium by replacing histidine residues on the protein surface using site‐directed mutagenesis or by chemically modifying the histidine residues. Hydrogenation catalyzed by CA‐[Rh] is slightly slower than for uncomplexed rhodium(I), but the protein environment induces stereoselectivity favoring cis‐ over trans‐stilbene by about 20:1. This enzyme is the first cofactor‐independent reductase that reduces organic molecules using hydrogen. This catalyst is a good starting point to create variants with tailored reactivity and selectivity. This strategy to insert transition metals in the active site of metalloenzymes opens opportunities to a wider range of enzyme‐catalyzed reactions.