Orientation nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide is a coenzyme which is only loosely bound to the active site of the enzymes with which it interacts and is free therefore, to dissociate from the enzyme during the catalytic cycle. The role of the dehydrogenase enzyme is to bring together the substrate and the NAD+ in the correct orientation for the two to react. These NAD+-dependent enzymes are known as dehydrogenases. They work in conjunction with NAD+ to oxidise substrates by the transfer of 1H+ and 2e from the substrate to the 4-position of the nicotinamide ring of the NAD+ (see Fig. 2.1). The overall reaction is the equivalent of a hydride transfer and is commonly referred to as such. NAD+-dependent enzymes are primarily involved in respiration (NAD+ occurs in significant amounts in mitochondria), whereas, NADP+-dependent coenzymes are primarily involved in the transfer of electrons from intermediates in catabolism. 

DHFR catalyzes the reduction of 7,8-dihydrofolate (H2F) to 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate (H4F) using nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) as a cofactor (Fig. 17.1). Specifically, the pro-R hydride of NADPH is transferred stereospecifi-cally to the C6 of the pterin nucleus with concurrent protonation at the N5 position [1]. Structural studies of DHFR bound with substrates or substrate analogs have revealed the location and orientation of H2F, NADPH and the mechanistically important side chains [2]. Proper alignment of H2F and NADPH is crucial in enhancing the rate of the chemical step (hydride transfer). Ab initio, mixed quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM), and molecular dynamics computational studies have modeled the hydride transfer process and have deduced optimal geometries for the reaction [3-6]. The optimal C-C distance between the C4 of NADPH and C6 of H2F was calculated to be 2.7A [5, 6], which is significantly smaller than the initial distance of 3.34 A inferred from X-ray crystallography [2]. One proposed chemical mechanism involves a keto-enol tautomerization (Fig. 

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD and NADP) are the reagents for alcohol to aldehyde, ketone or carboxyUc acid oxidation-reductions. The equivalent reagents in the laboratory would be KMn04 or Na2Cr207 for oxidations and NaBH4 or LiAlH4 for reductions. The complexity of the molecule should not hide its essential reactive part, the nicotinamide portion (Figure 2.8). The rest of the molecule is a polar handle to orient it correctly in the enzyme active site. 

---