Direct observation of the titration of substrate carbonyl groups in the active site of alpha-chymotrypsin by resonance Raman spectroscopy.

By use of resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy, the population of the reactive carbonyl group in active acylchymotrypsins has been characterized and correlated with acyl-enzyme reactivity. RR spectra have been obtained, with a flow system and 324- and 337.5-nm excitation, at low and active pH for six acylchymotrypsins, viz., (indoleacryloyl)-, (4-amino-3-nitrocinnamoyl)-, (furylacryloyl)-, [( 5-ethylfuryl)-acryloyl]-, (thienylacryloyl)-, and [( 5-methylthienyl)acryloyl]chymotrypsin. These acyl-enzymes represent a 100-fold range of deacylation rate constants. Good RR spectral quality has enabled us to obtain the vibrational spectrum of the carbonyl group at low and active pH in each acyl-enzyme. The measured pKa of the spectroscopic changes in the carbonyl region is identical with that for the deacylation kinetics, showing that the RR carbonyl features reflect the ionization state of His-57. A carbonyl population has been observed in the active acyl-enzymes in which the carbonyl oxygen atom of the reactive acyl linkage is hydrogen-bonded in the active site. The proportion of this hydrogen-bonded population, with respect to other observed non-hydrogen-bonded species, together with the degree of polarization of the carbonyl bond, as monitored by vC = 0, has been correlated with the deacylation rate constants of the acyl-enzymes. It is proposed that the hydrogen-bonded carbonyl species is located at or near the oxyanion hole and represents the ground state from which deacylation occurs. An increase in the proportion of the hydrogen-bonded population and an increase in polarization of the carbonyl bond result in an increase in deacylation rate constant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)