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A combination of X-ray absorption and low-temperature electronic absorption spectroscopies has been used to probe the geometric and electronic structures of the human mitochondrial amidoxime reducing component enzyme (hmARC1) in the oxidized Mo(VI) and reduced Mo(IV) forms. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis revealed that oxidized enzyme possesses a 5-coordinate [MoO 2 (S Cys )(PDT)] - (PDT = pyranopterin dithiolene) active site with a cysteine coordinated to Mo. A 5-coordinate geometry is retained in the reduced state, with the equatorial oxo being protonated. Low-temperature electronic absorption spectroscopy of hmARC1 reveals a spectrum for the oxidized enzyme that is significantly different from what has been reported for sulfite oxidase family enzymes. Time-dependent density functional theory computations on oxidized and reduced hmARC1, and a small molecule analogue for hmARC1 ox , have been used to assist us in making detailed band assignments and developing a greater understanding of enzyme electronic structure contributions to reactivity. Our understanding of the hmARC red HOMO and the LUMO of the benzamidoxime substrate reveal a potential π-bonding interaction between these redox orbitals, with two-electron occupation of the substrate LUMO along the reaction coordinate activating the O-N bond for cleavage and promoting oxygen atom transfer to the Mo site.

Sulfite oxidase (SO) deficiency, an inherited disease that causes severe neonatal neurological problems and early death, arises from defects in the biosynthesis of the molybdenum cofactor (Moco) (general sulfite oxidase deficiency) or from inborn errors in the SUOX gene for SO (isolated sulfite oxidase deficiency, ISOD). The X-ray structure of the highly homologous homonuclear dimeric chicken sulfite oxidase (cSO) provides a template for locating ISOD mutation sites in human sulfite oxidase (hSO). Catalysis occurs within an individual subunit of hSO, but mutations that disrupt the hSO dimer are pathological. The catalytic cycle of SO involves five metal oxidation states (Mo VI , Mo V , Mo IV , Fe III , Fe II ), two intramolecular electron transfer (IET) steps, and couples a two-electron oxygen atom transfer reaction at the Mo center with two one-electron transfers from the integral b-type heme to exogenous cytochrome c, the physiological oxidant. Several ISOD examples are analyzed using steady-state, stopped-flow, and laser flash photolysis kinetics and physical measurements of recombinant variants of hSO and native cSO. In the structure of cSO, Mo … Fe = 32 Å, much too long for efficient IET through the protein. Interdomain motion that brings the Mo and heme centers closer together to facilitate IET is supported indirectly by decreasing the length of the interdomain tether, by changes in the charges of surface residues of the Mo and heme domains, as well as by preliminary molecular dynamics calculations. However, direct dynamic measurements of interdomain motion are in their infancy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests. John H. Enemark reports a relationship with The University of Arizona that includes: non-financial support. I was on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry about 10 years ago. None paying., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Oxo-molybdenum (dithiolene) complexes covalently linked individually to iron and zinc porphyrin have been synthesized to show an electron transfer between the two metal centres in relevance to electron transfer from Mo-cofactor to cytochrome b 5 domains in the oxidative half of the catalytic cycle of native sulfite oxidase. This association has been investigated by electrochemical, EPR measurement and X-ray absorbance spectroscopy techniques.

Over 50 molybdenum enzymes in three distinct families (sulfite oxidase, xanthine oxidase, DMSO reductase) are known, and representative X-ray crystal structures are available for all families. Structural analogues that replicate the coordination about the Mo atom in the absence of surrounding protein have been synthesized and characterized. The properties of metal complexes of non-innocent dithiolene ligands and their oxidized counter parts, dithiones, are summarized. Pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of the 33 S-labeled molybdenum domain of catalytically active bioengineered sulfite oxidase has clearly demonstrated delocalization of electron density from Mo V to the dithiolene component of the molybdenum cofactor (Moco) of the enzyme. Moco is highly covalent and has three redox active components: the Mo atom; the dithiolene; and the pterin. In principle, Moco can have a total of eight redox states, making it one of the most redox rich cofactors in biology. The {Moco} n formalism, developed here, gives the total number of electrons (n) associated with a particular redox state of Moco. This flexible notation eliminates the need to assign a specific oxidation state to each of the three components of Moco and allows for internal redistribution of electrons among the components upon substrate binding, changes in the surrounding network of hydrogen bonds, conformational changes, and catalysis. An unexpected result is that sulfite oxidase (an oxotransferase) is predicted to utilize the {Moco} 4-6 electron distributions during catalysis, whereas xanthine oxidase (a hydroxylase) is predicted to utilize the {Moco} 6-8 electron distributions during catalysis., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)