Substrate Orientation and Catalysis at the Molybdenum Site in Xanthine Oxidase

Xanthine oxidoreductase is a ubiquitous cytoplasmic protein that catalyzes the final two steps in purine catabolism. We have previously investigated the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme by rapid reaction kinetics and x-ray crystallography using the poor substrate 2-hydroxy-6-methylpurine, focusing our attention on the orientation of substrate in the active site and the role of Arg-880 in catalysis. Here we report additional crystal structures of as-isolated, functional xanthine oxidase in the course of reaction with the pterin substrate lumazine at 2.2 Å resolution and of the nonfunctional desulfo form of the enzyme in complex with xanthine at 2.6 Å resolution. In both cases the orientation of substrate is such that the pyrimidine subnucleus is oriented opposite to that seen with the slow substrate 2-hydroxy-6-methylpurine. The mechanistic implications as to how the ensemble of active site functional groups in the active site work to accelerate reaction rate are discussed.