Re-Face Stereospecificity of Methylenetetrahydromethanopterin and Methylenetetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenases is Predetermined by Intrinsic Properties of the Substrate

Four different dehydrogenases are known that catalyse the reversible dehydrogenation of N5,N10‐methylenetetrahydromethanopterin (methylene‐H4MPT) or N5,N10‐methylenetetrahydrofolate (methylene‐H4F) to the respective N5,N10‐methenyl compounds. Sequence comparison indicates that the four enzymes are phylogenetically unrelated. They all catalyse the Re‐face‐stereospecific removal of the pro‐R hydrogen atom of the coenzyme's methylene group. The Re‐face stereospecificity is in contrast to the finding that in solution the pro‐S hydrogen atom of methylene‐H4MPT and of methylene‐H4F is more reactive to heterolytic cleavage. For a better understanding we determined the conformations of methylene‐H4MPT in solution and when enzyme‐bound by using NMR spectroscopy and semiempirical quantum mechanical calculations. For the conformation free in solution we find an envelope conformation for the imidazolidine ring, with the flap at N10. The methylene pro‐S C−H bond is anticlinal and the methylene pro‐R C−H bond is synclinal to the lone electron pair of N10. Semiempirical quantum mechanical calculations of heats of formation of methylene‐H4MPT and methylene‐H4F indicate that changing this conformation into an activated one in which the pro‐S C−H bond is antiperiplanar, resulting in the preformation of the leaving hydride, would require a ΔΔH$\rm{_{f}^{\ominus }}$ of +53 kJ mol−1 for methylene‐H4MPT and of +51 kJ mol−1 for methylene‐H4F. This is almost twice the energy required to force the imidazolidine ring in the enzyme‐bound conformation of methylene‐H4MPT (+29 kJ mol−1) or of methylene‐H4F (+35 kJ mol−1) into an activated conformation in which the pro‐R hydrogen atom is antiperiplanar to the lone electron pair of N10. The much lower energy for pro‐R hydrogen activation thus probably predetermines the Re‐face stereospecificity of the four dehydrogenases. Results are also presented explaining why the chemical reduction of methenyl‐H4MPT+ and methenyl‐H4F+ with NaBD4 proceeds Si‐face‐specific, in contrast to the enzyme‐catalysed reaction. Chance or necessity—what are the evolutionary determinants for the R‐ or S‐stereospecificity of enzymes? Necessity based on the difference in redox potential between the electron donor and electron acceptor seems to have predetermined the Re‐ or Si‐face stereospecificity of NAD(P)‐dependent dehydrogenases. We report here the possible predetermination of the stereospecificity of four enzymes involved in C1 metabolism by conformational res