NMR Studies of Enzyme Structure and Mechanism

At least three NMR methodologies pioneered by Al Redfield, have greatly benefited enzymology: (1) the suppression of strong water signals without pre-saturation; (2) sequence specific NH/ND exchange; and (3) dynamic studies of mobile loops of proteins. Water suppression has enabled us to identify unusually short, strong H-bonds at the active sites of five enzymes (three isomerases and two esterases), and to measure their lengths from both the chemical shifts and D/H fractionation factors of the deshielded protons involved (J. Mol. Struct. 615, 163 (2002)). Backbone NH exchange studies were used to detect regions of an NTP pyrophosphohydrolase in which NH groups became selectively protected against exchange on Mg(2+) binding, and further protected on product (NMP) binding, thus locating binding sites as well as conformationally linked remote sites (Biochemistry 42, 10140 (2003)). Dynamic studies were used to elucidate the frequency of motion of a flexible loop of GDP-mannose hydrolase (66,000/sec) containing the catalytic base His-124, from exchange broadening of the side chain NH signals of His-124 in the free enzyme. The binding of Mg(2+) and GDP-mannose lock His-124 in position to deprotonate the entering water and complete the reaction.