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Angewandte
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amine group and pro-3S hydrogen atom (HA, Scheme 2A) are
oriented in an anti-periplanar geometry that is suitable for the
elimination step. A nucleophilic attack of the amine group of
the substrate on the MIO group preceeds abstraction of the
proton (HA) by the general base Y80 (Scheme 2 B!C),
possibly assisted by another basic group, and elimination of
MIO-NH2. This sequence leads to formation of trans-cin-
namic acid, with the carboxylate group still bound to residue
R325 (Scheme 2 C). The next step is the readdition of MIO-
NH2 to the b-position and of proton HA to the a-position. This
step requires exposure of the Re face of Cb to the MIO-NH2
and the carboxylate group to function as a good electron sink.
This 1,4-addition is hindered when the substrate makes a salt
bridge with residue R325, owing to the high energy level of
the LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) of this
ionized electrophile.[15] However, trans-cinnamic acid can
Table 2: Kinetic parameters and regioselectivity of amination reactions
catalyzed by the Q319M mutant PAM.
Entry
R
kcat
Km [mm]
1.2ꢁ0.2
kcat/Km
b
b
[sꢀ1ꢀ103]
[sꢀ1 mꢀ1
]
[%]
[%]wt
PAM[5c]
1
2
3
4
5
H
F
Cl
15ꢁ1
12ꢁ1
48ꢁ1
88ꢁ2 49
10ꢁ0.03 0.21ꢁ0.003
91ꢁ2 65
86ꢁ2 59
8.7ꢁ0.4 0.022ꢁ0.003 395ꢁ72
Me 12ꢁ0.3
0.072ꢁ0.004 167ꢁ14 >99
0.3ꢁ0.06 326ꢁ92
96
2
NO2 98ꢁ8
8ꢁ1
unexpected that the Q319M or the R325K mutations in the
carboxylate binding pocket also enhanced b-regioselectivity,
because electrostatic interactions that stabilize negative
charge on the carboxylate group during conjugate addition
would be weakened by these mutations. To unveil the
mechanistic basis of the enhanced b-regioselectivity induced
by the mutations in the carboxylate binding pocket, we
analyzed the structural and biochemical data on MIO-
dependent aminomutases.
It has been demonstrated that PAM catalyzes the
conversion of (S)-a-Phe into (R)-b-Phe by exchanging the
amine group (Ca!Cb) and the pro-3S hydrogen atom (Cb!
Ca) with retention of configuration at the reaction termini.[13]
A possible explanation is that the phenyl ring and carboxylate
group of (S)-a-Phe are arranged in a syn-periplanar orienta-
tion with the amine group and the leaving pro-3S hydrogen
atom positioned on the same side of the substrate, leading to
the formation of cis-cinnamic acid. However, the evidence
listed below suggests that trans-cinnamic acid is the real
intermediate: 1) trans-cinnamic acid is released from the
active center during the mutase reaction;[14] 2) only the trans
form of cinnamic acid is a substrate for PAM;[5c] 3) the X-ray
structure shows bound trans-cinnamic acid in the active site of
PAM.[10] Accordingly, the stereochemistry requires a reorien-
tation after deamination of (S)-a-Phe to cinnamic acid such
that the Re face of the Cb and the Si face of the Ca carbon
atom are positioned for amine addition and protonation,
respectively.[10,13] In the structure of PAM with trans-cinnamic
acid bound, the carboxylate group makes a strong salt bridge
with residue R325.[10] Feng et al. postulated that this salt
ꢀ
undergo an internal rotation around the Cb Cipso bond to
position the carboxylate group into an alternative binding
mode where each oxygen atom is involved in two hydrogen
bonds, that is, with residues N231, R325, and N355 (Scheme 2
D, binding mode 2). The sharing of hydrogen atoms between
these H-bond donors and the carboxylate group of the
substrate lowers the LUMO of the latter, thereby rendering
the carboxylate a better electron sink and promoting con-
jugate addition at the b-position.[15b] Similar LUMO-lowering
activation through hydrogen-bond interactions has been
observed in other conjugate additions[16] and in Diels–
Alder[17] enzymatic reactions. The re-added proton apparently
is not always the pro-3S hydrogen atom from the substrate,
because some hydrogen exchange was observed during the
isomerization reaction.[13] The mutations (Q319M and
R325K) in the carboxylate binding pocket would disturb
binding mode 1, and consequently make binding mode 2
more favorable and promote b-addition.
Additional evidence for this proposal is provided by a
sgTAM structure (PDB 2RJR),[9b] the active site of which is
similar to that of PAM. The alternative binding mode 2 of the
carboxylate group proposed for PAM has already been
observed in the sgTAM structure with a substrate analogue
bound in the active center. The carboxylate oxygen atoms are
involved in a hydrogen-bonding network with residues N205,
R311, and N341 (corresponding to N231, R325, and N355 in
PAM).[9b] The aromatic hydroxy group forms hydrogen bonds
with residues H93 and Y415, thereby triggering a different
binding mode for the ring as compared to trans-cinnamate in
PAM and placing the carboxylate group in an orientation that
is suitable for b-readdition without rotation, leading to
formation of (S)-b-Tyr instead of (R)-b-Tyr.
In summary, we have shown that the regioselectivity of a
MIO-dependent enzyme can be tailored towards b-regiose-
lectivity. A redesigned enzyme allows the synthesis of almost
pure (R)-b-Phe and its derivatives by one-step asymmetric
amination of cinnamic acid. Further engineering of PAM,
aimed at improving activity while retaining regioselectivity
and enantioselectivity, is underway. In combination with
stereochemical,[13] synthetic,[5] and structural investiga-
tions,[9,10] the results provide a framework for explaining and
engineering the regioselective and stereochemical properties
of MIO-dependent aminomutases.
ꢀ
ꢀ
bridge is maintained, while both the C1 Ca and the Cb Cipso
bonds rotate to fit the stereochemical course of the PAM
reaction.[10] However, this rotation is energetically burden-
some, because it requires the loss of olefinic bond conjugation
with both the aromatic ring and the carboxylate group.
Furthermore, our mutagenesis work shows that interfering
with the proposed stable salt bridge enhances b-addition.
We propose a mechanism for the mutase reaction that
explains both the stereochemical features and the results of
our mutagenesis experiments. When (S)-a-Phe enters the
active site of PAM, the carboxylate group forms a bidentate
salt bridge with residue R325 (Scheme 2A, binding mode 1),
as present in the cinnamic acid bound PAM structure. The
carboxylate group further interacts with residue Q319. The
484
ꢀ 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 482 –486