Abstract
Thiol dioxygenases (TDOs) are a class of metalloenzymes that oxidize various thiol-containing substrates to their corresponding sulfinic acids. Originally established by X-ray crystallography for cysteine dioxygenase (CDO), all TDOs are believed to contain a 3-histidine facial triad that coordinates the necessary Fe(II) cofactor. However, very little additional information is available for cysteamine dioxygenase (ADO), the only other mammalian TDO besides CDO. Previous spectroscopic characterizations revealed that ADO likely binds substrate cysteamine in a monodentate fashion, while a mass spectrometry study provided evidence that a thioether crosslink can form between Cys206 and Tyr208 (mouse ADO numbering). In the present study, we have used electronic absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies to investigate the species formed upon incubation of Fe(III)ADO with sulfhydryl-containing substrates and the superoxide surrogates azide and cyanide. Our data reveal that azide is unable to coordinate to cysteamine-bound Fe(III)ADO, suggesting that the Fe(III) center lacks an open coordination site or azide competes with cysteamine for the same binding site. Alternatively, cyanide binds to either cysteamine- or Cys-bound Fe(III)ADO to yield a low-spin (S = 1/2) EPR signal that is distinct from that observed for cyanide/Cys-bound Fe(III)CDO, revealing differences in the active-site pockets between ADO and CDO. Finally, EPR spectra obtained for cyanide/cysteamine adducts of wild-type Fe(III)ADO and its Tyr208Phe variant are superimposable, implying that either an insignificant fraction of as-isolated wild-type enzyme is crosslinked or that formation of the thioether bond has minimal effects on the electronic structure of the iron cofactor.