Effect of covalent links on the structure, spectra, and redox properties of myeloperoxidase--a density functional study

The enzyme myeloperoxidase shows several unusual properties compared to other peroxidases, e.g. a red-shifted absorption spectrum and a peroxidase activity towards chloride. It has been suggested that this is caused by the unusual covalent links between the heme group and the surrounding protein, but whether it is caused by the two ester links to Glu-242 and Asp-94 or the sulfonium ion linkage to Met-243 is unclear. To investigate these suggestions, we have used density functional theory to study the structure, spectra, and reduction potential of 25 models of myeloperoxidase in the reduced (Fe^II) and oxidized (Fe^III) states, as well as in the compound I (formally Fe^VO) and II (Fe^IVO or Fe^IVOH) states, using appropriate models of the linkages to the Asp, Glu, and Met residues (including the back-bone connection between Glu-242 and Met-243) in varying combinations. The calculated spectral shifts indicate that both the ester and sulfonium linkages play a role in the spectral shift. On the other hand, the sulfonium linkage seems to be mainly responsible for the high positive reduction potential for the both ferric/ferrous and compound I/II couples of myeloperoxidase.