ion phase that leads to an alkyl radical coordinated to the iron-hydroxo complex by a weak OH---C hydrogen bond, labeled as CI; (ii) an alkyl (or OH) rotation phase whereby the alkyl group achieves a favorable orientation for rebound; and (iii) a rebound phase that leads to C-O bond making and the ferric-alcohol complexes, 4,2P. The two profiles remain close in energy throughout the first two phases and then bifurcate. Whereas the HS state exhibits a significant barrier and a genuine TS for rebound, in the LS state, once the right orientation of the alkyl group is achieved, the LS rebound proceeds in a virtually barrier-free fashion to the alcohol. As such, alkane hydroxylation proceeds by TSR,70-72,120 in which the HS mechanism is truly stepwise with a finite lifetime for the radical intermediate, whereas the LS mechanism is effectively concerted with an ultrashort lifetime for the radical intermediate. Subsequent studies of ethane and camphor hydroxylation by the Yoshizawa group117,181-183 arrived at basically the same conclusion, that the mechanism is typified by TSR. The differences between the results of Shaik et al.130,173,177-180 and Yoshizawa et al.117,181-183 were rationalized recently71,72 and shown to arise owing to technical problems and the choice of the mercaptide ligand,117,181-183 which is a powerful electron donor and is too far from the representation of cysteine in the protein environment. The most recent study of camphor hydroxylation, which was done at a higher quality,117 converged to the picture reported by Shaik et al.130,173,177-180 and shows a stepwise HS process with a barrier of more than 3 kcal/mol for C-O bond formation by rebound of the camphoryl radical vis-à-vis an effectively concerted LS process for which this barrier is 0.7 kcal mol-1 and is the rotational barrier for reaching the rebound position. By referring to Figure 21, it is possible to rationalize the clock data of Newcomb in a simple manner. The apparent lifetimes are based on the assumption that there is a single state that leads to the reaction, such that the radical lifetime can be quantitated from the rate constant of free radical rearrangement and the ratio of rearranged to unrearranged alcohol product. However, in TSR, the rearranged (R) product is formed only/mainly on the HS surface, while the unrearranged (U) product is formed mainly on Figure 20. Formal descriptions of iron(III)-peroxo, iron(III)-hydroperoxo, and iron(V)-oxo species with indication of the negative charges. The roles “electrophile” or “nucleophile” are assigned according to the charge type. Reprinted with permission from ref 7. Copyright 2000 Springer-Verlag Heidelberg. 3964 Chemical Reviews, 2004, Vol. 104, No. 9 Meunier et al.

Mechanism of oxidation reactions catalyzed by cytochrome p450 enzymes.

Two decades have passed since the discovery in liver microsomes of a haemprotein that forms a reduced-CO complex with the absorptive maximum of the Soret at 450 nm (Klingenberg, 1958; Garfinkel, 1958) and the identification of this protein as a new cytochrome: pigment cytochrome, P-450 (Omura and Sato, 1962, 1964a). In the intervening years, the study of cytochrome P-450 dependent monoxygenases has expanded exponentially. From the first crude attempts to solubilise a P-450 (Omura and Sato, 1963, 1964b) to the determination of the primary, secondary, and tertiary structure of cytochrome P-450cam by amino acid sequencing (Haniu et al., 1982a,b) and x-ray crystallography (Poulos et al., 1984) our understanding of this unique family of proteins has been advancing on all fronts. Since, perhaps, the greatest understanding of the structure and mechanism of P-450s has come from concentrated study of P-450cam of the Pseudomonas putida camphor-5-exo-hydroxylase, this review will concentrate on findings with P-450cam; attention will be drawn to parallel and contrasting examples from other P-450s as appropriate.

Structure and Chemistry of Cytochrome P450

High-resolution crystal structure of cytochrome P450cam.

In chemical terms, the regio- and stereoselective hydroxylation of hydrocarbon C-H bonds is a very difficult transformation. Nevertheless, these reactions are deftly catalyzed by a variety of metalloenzymes, among which the most diverse are the many members of the cytochrome P450 family. Cytochrome P450 enzymes are found in most classes of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, and mammals. Thousands of such proteins are now known (http://drnelson.utmem.edu/cytochromeP450.html), including 57 in the human genome (1), 20 in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (2), 272 in Arabidopsis (3), and the amazing number of 457 in rice (4). The nomenclature for these enzymes is based on their sequence similarity when appropriately aligned, a somewhat arbitrary similarity cutoff (approximately >40% identity) being used to define members of a family and a higher cutoff (approximately >55% identity) members of a subfamily (5). Thus CYP3A4 corresponds to the fourth enzyme in family 3, subfamily A. This nomenclature allows the naming of enzymes without regard to their origin or specific properties.

The mammalian, plant, and fungal proteins are commonly membrane bound and are relatively difficult to manipulate, but the bacterial proteins are usually soluble, monomeric proteins. For that reason, much of the early research on mechanisms of cytochrome P450 enzymes was carried out with bacterial enzymes, particularly with the prototypical enzyme CYP101 (P450cam) from Pseudomonas putida (6, 7). From a chemist's point of view, there is a particular interest in the thermophilic enzymes, which currently include CYP119 (8-10), P450st (11), CYP174A1 (12), and CYP231A2 (13). The thermal stability of these enzymes makes them attractive starting points for the development of industrially useful catalysts. In this context, particular attention has also focused on CYP102 (P450BM3), a self-sufficient enzyme from Bacillus megaterium in which the flavoprotein protein required for transfer of electrons from NADPH is fused to the hemoprotein (14). The resulting simplicity and high catalytic rate have led to extensive efforts to engineer this protein for practical catalytic purposes (15-19). Although these proteins have properties that make them particularly attractive for engineering purposes, the large reservoir of P450 enzymes that collectively catalyze an astounding diversity of reactions suggests that P450 catalysis will develop into a highly useful technology.

The cytochrome P450 enzymes are defined by the presence in the proteins of a heme (iron protoporphyrin IX) prosthetic group coordinated on the proximal side by a thiolate ion (20, 21). This feature gives rise to the spectroscopic signature that defines these enzymes, as the thiolate-ligated ferrous-CO complex is characterized by a Soret absorption maximum at ∼450 nm (21). A thiolate-coordinated heme group is present in all P450 enzymes, although not all proteins with such coordination are members of this superfamily. One obvious exception, for example, is chloroperoxidase, which has a thiolate-coordinated heme group but normally catalyzes a very different reaction than the P450 enzymes (21-23).

Although there are unusual P450 enzymes, such as the thromboxane and prostacyclin synthases (24), or CYP152 from Sphingomonas paucimobilis or Bacillus subtilis (25, 26), that normally utilize peroxides as substrates, the defining reaction for P450 enzymes is the reductive activation of molecular oxygen. In this reaction, one of the oxygen atoms of molecular oxygen is inserted into the substrate and the other oxygen atom is reduced to a molecule of water. With one exception to date (27, 28), the electrons required for this reduction of molecular oxygen derive from reduced pyridine nucleotides (NADH or NADPH). The overall equation for the reaction thus adheres to the formula: RH + NAD(P)H + O2 + H+ -> ROH + NAD(P)+ + H2O, where RH stands for a substrate with a hydroxylatable site. P450 enzymes therefore belong to the monooxygenase class of enzymes that only insert one of the oxygen atoms of molecular oxygen into their substrates. However, under appropriate circumstances or with specific substrates, other P450-catalyzed reactions can be observed, including desaturation, carbon-carbon bond scission, and carbon-carbon bond formation (29, 30). This review specifically focuses on P450-catalyzed hydrocarbon hydroxylation, the reaction that is most characteristic of P450 enzymes and that has been most extensively investigated. However, the principles that apply in these reactions also apply to other hydroxylation reactions, including those that occur on carbons adjacent to nitrogen, sulfur, or oxygen.

Hydrocarbon hydroxylation by cytochrome P450 enzymes.

Brenda Walker Griffin

Papers

Camphor binding by Pseudomonas putida cytochrome P-450. Kinetics and thermodynamics of the reaction.

Pseudomonas putida cytochrome P-450: characterization of an oxygenated form of the hemoprotein.

Carbon monoxide binding by Pseudomonas putida cytochrome P-450.

Radical mechanism of aminopyrine oxidation by cumene hydroperoxide catalyzed by purified liver microsomal cytochrome P-450

Ethyl isocyanide complexes of bacterial cytochrome P-450.