Phospho transfer, transition state

Although inversion was not observed with the E. colt alkaline phosphatase, it has been observed for ribonucleases and many other hydrolytic enzymes and for most kinases transferring phospho groups from ATP. The difference lies in the existence of a phospho-enzyme intermediate in the action of alkaline phosphatase (see Eq. 12-38). Each of the two phosphotransferase steps in the phosphatase action apparently occurs with inversion. The simplest interpretation of all the experimental results is that phosphotransferases usually act by in-line -like mechanisms which may involve metaphosphate-ion-like transition states that are constrained to react with an incoming nucleophile to give inversion. An adjacent attack with pseudorotation would probably retain the original configuration and is therefore excluded. 

Very little is known about the transition states for enzymic nucleotidyl and phospho transfer reactions. Inasmuch as the mechanisms of the nonenzymic sol-volyses of phosphate esters establish the possibilities for comparable enzymic reactions, either associative or dissociative mechanisms can be considered. However, the dissociative mechanism is thought to be possible only for phospho transfer reactions and not for nucleotidyl transfers, because metaphosphate cannot be formed from diesters. A dissociative mechanism for a diester would entail the formation of a monomeric metaphosphate monoester, a species that can exist but which has not been observed in solvolysis reactions. The difficulty with the dissociative mechanism for phosphodiesters may be that a monoanion cannot provide enough driving force to expel a leaving group under solvolytic conditions. 

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