Cysteine is the general base that serves in catalysis by isocitrate lyase and in mechanism-based inhibition by 3-nitropropionate.

Isocitrate lyase (ICL) catalyzes the reversible cleavage of isocitrate into succinate and glyoxylate. It is the first committed step in the glyoxylate cycle used by some organisms, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, where it has been shown to be essential for cell survival during chronic infection. The pH-rate and pD-rate profiles measured in the direction of isocitrate synthesis revealed solvent kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) of 1.7 ± 0.4 for (D2O)V and 0.56 ± 0.07 for (D2O)(V/Ksuccinate). Whereas the (D2O)V is consistent with partially rate-limiting proton transfer during formation of the hydroxyl group of isocitrate, the large inverse (D2O)(V/Ksuccinate) indicates that substantially different kinetic parameters exist when the enzyme is saturated with succinate. Inhibition by 3-nitropropionate (3-NP), a succinate analogue, was found to proceed through an unusual double slow-onset process featuring formation of a complex with a Ki of 3.3 ± 0.2 μM during the first minute, followed by formation of a final complex with a Ki* of 44 ± 10 nM over the course of several minutes to hours. Stopped-flow measurements during the first minute revealed an apparent solvent KIE of 0.40 ± 0.03 for association and unity for dissociation. In contrast, itaconate, a succinate analogue lacking an acidic α-proton, did not display slow-binding behavior and yielded a (D2O)Ki of 1.0 ± 0.2. These results support a common mechanism for catalysis with succinate and inhibition by 3-NP featuring (1) an unfavorable prebinding isomerization of the active site Cys191-His193 pair to the thiolate-imidazolium form, a process that is favored in D2O, and (2) the transfer of a proton from succinate or 3-NP to Cys191. These findings also indicate that propionate-3-nitronate, which is the conjugate base of 3-NP and the "true inhibitor" of ICL, does not bind directly and must be generated enzymatically.