Copper-Containing Enzymes

Table 5.2 contains data about selected copper enzymes from the references noted. It should be understood that enzymes from different sources—that is, azurin from Alcaligenes denitrificans versus Pseudomonas aeruginosa, fungal versus tree laccase, or arthropodan versus molluscan hemocyanin—will differ from each other to various degrees. Azurins have similar tertiary structures—in contrast to arthropodan and molluscan hemocyanins, whose tertiary and quaternary structures show large deviations. Most copper enzymes contain one type of copper center, but laccase, ascorbate oxidase, and ceruloplasmin contain Type I, Type II, and Type III centers. For a more complete and specific listing of copper enzyme properties, see, for instance, the review article by Solomon et al.4... 

Zinc is recognized as essential to all forms of life, and is the most common transition metal in the body after iron. There are 2 to 3 g of zinc in adults, compared with 4 to 6 g of iron and 0.25 g of copper. Enzymes containing zinc include carbonic anhydrase and carboxypeptidase, the first two metalloenzymes detected - now there are over 300 zinc enzymes known. Zinc serves an important structural role in DNA binding proteins, stabilizing the correct binding site. Zinc reserves are stored in the metallothionine proteins. 

In acidic solution, the degradation results in the formation of furfural, furfuryl alcohol, 2-furoic acid, 3-hydroxyfurfural, furoin, 2-methyl-3,8-dihydroxychroman, ethylglyoxal, and several condensation products (36). Many metals, especially copper, cataly2e the oxidation of L-ascorbic acid. Oxalic acid and copper form a chelate complex which prevents the ascorbic acid-copper-complex formation and therefore oxalic acid inhibits effectively the oxidation of L-ascorbic acid. L-Ascorbic acid can also be stabilized with metaphosphoric acid, amino acids, 8-hydroxyquinoline, glycols, sugars, and trichloracetic acid (38). Another catalytic reaction which accounts for loss of L-ascorbic acid occurs with enzymes, eg, L-ascorbic acid oxidase, a copper protein-containing enzyme. 

This short section attempts to bring together the range of metalloenzymes that are encountered in biodegradation and biotransformation. Fe is the most common component of enzymes, and is followed in freqnency by zinc and molybdennm, while some important enzymes contain nickel, copper, manganese, tnngsten, or vanadinm. 

Alkane oxidation via a hydroperoxide was suggested many years ago, and seems to be operative in Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1 that has, in addition, a rather unusual range of substrates that include both n-alkanes and -alkenes. The purified enzyme contains FAD and requires copper for activity (Maeng et al. 1996). 

Fungal laccases (benzenediokoxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.10.3.2) belong to the multicopper blue phenoloxidases. They comprise glycosylated proteins expressed in multiple forms and variable molecular weight, ranging from 59 to 110 kDa. Laccase is expressed as multiple constitutive and induced isoenzymes [30, 64]. The enzyme contains four copper atoms (Cu), in different states of oxidation (I, II, III) [65], which play an important role in the catalytic mechanism. Laccase oxidizes different compounds while reducing O2 to H20, a total reduction of four electrons. 

Numerical values for the equations above may change dramatically as copper ions contained in enzymes are surrounded not by water but by a variety of biological... 

Type II copper enzymes generally have more positive reduction potentials, weaker electronic absorption signals, and larger EPR hyperfine coupling constants. They adopt trigonal, square-planar, five-coordinate, or tetragonally distorted octahedral geometries. Usually, type II copper enzymes are involved in catalytic oxidations of substrate molecules and may be found in combination with both Type I and Type III copper centers. Laccase and ascorbate oxidase are typical examples. Information on these enzymes is found in Tables 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3. Superoxide dismutase, discussed in more detail below, contains a lone Type II copper center in each of two subunits of its quaternary structure. 

Several copper enzymes will be discussed in detail in subsequent sections of this chapter. Information about major classes of copper enzymes, most of which will not be discussed, is collected in Table 5.1 as adapted from Chapter 14 of reference 49. Table 1 of reference 4 describes additional copper proteins such as the blue copper electron transfer proteins stellacyanin, amicyanin, auracyanin, rusticyanin, and so on. Nitrite reductase contains both normal and blue copper enzymes and facilitates the important biological reaction NO) — NO. Solomon s Chemical Reviews article4 contains extensive information on ligand field theory in relation to ground-state electronic properties of copper complexes and the application of... 

Superoxide dismutase enzymes are functional dimers of molecular weight (Mr) of approximately 32 kDa. The enzymes contain one copper ion and one zinc ion per subunit. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) metalloenzymes function to disproportionate the biologically harmful superoxide ion-radical according to the following reaction ... 

Enzymes containing amino acid radicals are generally associated with transition metal ions—typically of iron, manganese, cobalt, or copper. In some instances, the metal is absent it is apparently replaced by redox-active organic cofactors such as S -adenosylmethionine or flavins. Functionally, their role is analogous to that of the metal ion in metalloproteins. 

Bento, I., Carrondo, M.A. and Lindley, RF. (2006) Reduction of dioxygen by enzymes containing copper, J. Biol. Inorg. Chem., 11, 539-547. 

Since the oxidative polymerization of phenols is the industrial process used to produce poly(phenyleneoxide)s (Scheme 4), the application of polymer catalysts may well be of interest. Furthermore, enzymic, oxidative polymerization of phenols is an important pathway in biosynthesis. For example, black pigment of animal kingdom "melanin" is the polymeric product of 2,6-dihydroxyindole which is the oxidative product of tyrosine, catalyzed by copper enzyme "tyrosinase". In plants "lignin" is the natural polymer of phenols, such as coniferyl alcohol 2 and sinapyl alcohol 3. Tyrosinase contains four Cu ions in cataly-tically active site which are considered to act cooperatively. These Cu ions are presumed to be surrounded by the non-polar apoprotein, and their reactivities in substitution and redox reactions are controlled by the environmental protein. 

Many proteins, including many enzymes, contain hghtly bound metal ions. These may be inhmately involved in enzyme catalysis or may serve a purely structural role. The most common tightly bound metal ions found in metalloproteins include copper (Cu+ and Cu +), zinc (Zn +), iron (Fe + and Fe +), and manganese (Mn +). Other proteins may contain weakly bound metal ions that generally serve as modulators of enzyme activity. These include sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca +), and magnesium (Mg +). There are also exotic cases for which enzymes may depend on nickel, selenium, molybdenum, or silicon for activity. These account for the very small requirements for these metals in the human diet. 

There are a number of excellent sources of information on copper proteins notable among them is the three-volume series Copper Proteins and Copper Enzymes (Lontie, 1984). A review of the state of structural knowledge in 1985 (Adman, 1985) included only the small blue copper proteins. A brief review of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) work on some of these proteins appeared in 1987 (Hasnain and Garner, 1987). A number of new structures have been solved by X-ray diffraction, and the structures of azurin and plastocyanin have been extended to higher resolution. The new structures include two additional type I proteins (pseudoazurin and cucumber basic blue protein), the type III copper protein hemocyanin, and the multi-copper blue oxidase ascorbate oxidase. Results are now available on a copper-containing nitrite reductase and galactose oxidase. 

Although zinc itself is not redox-active, some class I enzymes containing zinc in their active sites are known. The most prominent are probably alcohol dehydrogenase and copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD). AU have in common that the redox-active agent is another transition-metal ion (copper in Cu,Zn-SOD) or a cofactor such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+/NADH). The Zn(II) ion affects the redox reaction only in an indirect manner, but is nevCTtheless essential and cannot be regarded simply as a structural factor. 

A new representative of a multicopper cluster in a protein is Cuz in nitrous oxide reductase. As was discussed above this enzyme contains a binuclear CuA centre as in COX. While the latter in addition has CuB in the form of a copper-heme group, N20 reductase has Cuz which is the site of dinitrogen formation from the substrate N20. Recently a central inorganic sulfide has been found as a ligand to copper and multiple forms of Cuz were detected in the enzyme from Paracoccus pantotrophus.134 More recently a tetranuclear copper cluster with X-S bridges was proposed as structure for Cuz..135... 

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