Revisiting Zinc Coordination in Human Carbonic Anhydrase II

摘要

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) is a well-studied, zinc-dependent metalloenzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of carbon dioxide to the bicarbonate ion. The apo-form of CA (apoCA) is relatively easy to generate, and the reconstitution of the human erythrocyte CA has been initially investigated. In the past, these studies have continually relied on equilibrium dialysis measurements to ascertain an extremely strong association constant (Ka ~ 1.2×10¹²) for Zn²⁺. However, new reactivity data and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) data reported herein call that number into question. As shown in the ITC experiments, the catalytic site binds a stoichiometric quantity of Zn²⁺ with a strong equilibrium constant (Ka ~ 2 × 10⁹) that is three orders of magnitude lower than the previously established value. The thermodynamic parameters associated with Zn²⁺ binding to apoCA are unraveled from a series of complex equilibria associated with the in vitro metal binding event. This in-depth analysis adds clarity to the complex ion chemistry associated with zinc binding to carbonic anhydrase and validates thermochemical methods that accurately measure association constants and thermodynamic parameters for complex-ion and coordination chemistry observed in vitro. Additionally, the zinc sites in both the as-isolated and reconstituted ZnCA were probed using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Both X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analyses indicate the zinc center in the reconstituted carbonic anhydrase is nearly identical to that of the as-isolated protein and confirms the notion that the metal binding data reported herein is the reconstitution of the zinc active site of human CA II.