X-ray absorption spectroscopic studies of the high-spin iron(II) active site of isopenicillin N synthase: evidence for Fe-S interaction in the enzyme-substrate complex.

Isopenicillin N synthase from Cephalosporium acremonium (IPNS; M(r) 38.4K) is an Fe(2+)-requiring enzyme which catalyzes the oxidative conversion of (L-alpha-amino-delta-adipoyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine (ACV) to isopenicillin N, with concomitant reduction of O2 to 2H2O. Chemical and spectroscopic data have suggested that catalysis proceeds via an enzyme complex of ACV bound to the iron through its cysteinyl thiolate [Baldwin, J. E., & Abraham, E. P. (1988) Nat. Prod. Rep. 5, 129-145; Chen, V. J., Orville, A. M., Harpel, M. R., Frolik, C. A., Surerus, K. K., Münck, E., & Lipscomb, J. D. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 21677-21681; Ming, L.-J., Que, L., Jr., Kriauciunas, A., Frolik, C. A., & Chen, V. J. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 11653-11659]. Here we have employed the technique of Fe K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) to characterize the iron site and to seek direct evidence for or against the formation of an Fe-S interaction upon ACV binding. Our data collected in the absence of substrate and O2 are consistent with the iron center of IPNS being coordinated by only (N,O)-containing ligands in an approximately octahedral arrangement and with an average Fe-(N,O) distance of 2.15 +/- 0.02 A. Upon anaerobic binding of ACV, the iron coordination environment changes considerably, and the associated Fe EXAFS cannot be adequately simulated without incorporating an Fe-S interaction at 2.34 +/- 0.02 A along with four or five Fe-(N,O) interactions at 2.15 +/- 0.02 A.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)