Exploring the influence of H-bonding and ligand constraints on thiolate ligated non-heme iron mediated dioxygen activation.

Converting triplet dioxygen into a powerful oxidant is fundamentally important to life. The study reported herein quantitatively examines the formation of a well-characterized, reactive, O-derived thiolate ligated Fe-superoxo using low-temperature stopped-flow kinetics. Comparison of the kinetic barriers to the formation of this species two routes, involving either the addition of (a) O to [Fe(S N(Pr,Pr))] (1) or (b) superoxide to [Fe(S N(Pr,Pr))] (3) is shown to provide insight into the mechanism of O activation.

Recognition of yeast β-glucan particles triggers immunometabolic signaling required for trained immunity.

Fungal β-glucans are major drivers of trained immunity which increases long-term protection against secondary infections. Heterogeneity in β-glucan source, structure, and solubility alters interaction with the phagocytic receptor Dectin-1 and could impact strategies to improve trained immunity in humans. Using a panel of diverse β-glucans, we describe the ability of a specific yeast-derived whole-glucan particle (WGP) to reprogram metabolism and thereby drive trained immunity in human monocyte-derived macrophages and mice bone marrow .

ENDOR Spectroscopy Reveals the "Free" 5'-Deoxyadenosyl Radical in a Radical SAM Enzyme Active Site Actually is Chaperoned by Close Interaction with the Methionine-Bound [4Fe-4S] Cluster.

H and C hyperfine coupling constants to 5'-deoxyadenosyl (5'-dAdo•) radical trapped within the active site of the radical -adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzyme, pyruvate formate lyase-activating enzyme (PFL-AE), both in the absence of substrate and the presence of a reactive peptide-model of the PFL substrate, are completely characteristic of a classical organic free radical whose unpaired electron is localized in the 2pπ orbital of the sp C5'-carbon ( 12139-12146). However, prior electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) measurements had indicated that this 5'-dAdo• free radical is never truly "free": tight van der Waals contact with its target partners and active-site residues guide it in carrying out the exquisitely precise, regioselective reactions that are hallmarks of RS enzymes. Here, our understanding of how the active site chaperones 5'-dAdo• is extended through the finding that this apparently unexceptional organic free radical has an anomalous g-tensor and exhibits significant Fe, C, N, and H hyperfine couplings to the adjacent, isotopically labeled, methionine-bound [4Fe-4S] cluster cogenerated with 5'-dAdo• during homolytic cleavage of cluster-bound SAM.

Pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme: The catalytically active 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical caught in the act of H-atom abstraction.

Enzymes of the radical -adenosyl-l-methionine (radical SAM, RS) superfamily, the largest in nature, catalyze remarkably diverse reactions initiated by H-atom abstraction. Glycyl radical enzyme activating enzymes (GRE-AEs) are a growing class of RS enzymes that generate the catalytically essential glycyl radical of GREs, which in turn catalyze essential reactions in anaerobic metabolism. Here, we probe the reaction of the GRE-AE pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme (PFL-AE) with the peptide substrate RVSGYAV, which mimics the site of glycyl radical formation on the native substrate, pyruvate formate-lyase.