A vibrational analysis of the catalytically important C4-H bonds of NADH bound to lactate or malate dehydrogenase: ground-state effects.

We have measured the frequency of the carbon-hydrogen stretching mode of the pro-R and pro-S C4-H bonds of NADH in solution and when bound to pig heart lactate (LDH) or mitochondrial malate (mMDH) dehydrogenases. This is achieved by specifically deuterating the C4 pro-R or pro-S hydrogens of NADH and determining the frequencies of the resulting C4-D stretches by Raman difference spectroscopy. We find that the frequencies of the two C4-D stretching modes for the two bonds are essentially the same for the unliganded coenzyme. On the other hand, the position of the pro-S-[4-2H]NADH stretch shifts upward by about 23-30 cm-1 in its binary complex with either lactate or malate dehydrogenase relative to that observed in solution, while that for the bound pro-R-[4-2H]NADH is relatively unchanged. The fact that the frequency of the pro-R hydrogen is not significantly affected during complex formation suggests that the rate enhancements for reaction of substrate with NADH brought about by both pig heart LDH and mMDH apparently do not involve either stabilization or destabilization of the pro-R hydrogen of NADH in enzyme-coenzyme binary complexes, in agreement with previous chemical studies. That these proteins are able to regulate the frequencies of the two C4-D bonds differentially, and hence the electronic distributions in these bonds, has important implications for the stereochemical reactions catalyzed by the NAD dehydrogenases, and this is discussed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)