Finding Ways to Relax: A Revisionistic Analysis of the Chemistry of GTP Cyclohydrolase II.

Guanosine triphosphate (GTP) cyclohydrolase II (RibA) is one of three enzymes that hydrolytically cleave the C8-N9 bond of the GTP guanine. RibA also catalyzes a subsequent hydrolytic attack at the base liberating formate and in addition cleaves the α-β phosphodiester bond of the triphosphate to form pyrophosphate (PPi). These hydrolytic reactions are promoted by tandem active-site metal ions, zinc and magnesium, that respectively function at the GTP guanine and triphosphate moieties. The RibA reaction is part of riboflavin biosynthesis and forms 2,5-diamino-6-β-pyrimidinone 5'-phosphate, an exocyclic pyrimidine nucleotide that ultimately forms the pyrimidine ring of the isoalloxazine of riboflavin. The stoichiometry of the RibA reaction was defined in the study that first identified this activity in (Foor, F., Brown, G. M. , 1975, 250, 9, 3545-3551) and has not been quantitatively evaluated in subsequent works. Using primarily transient state approaches we examined the interaction of RibA from with the GTP, inosine triphosphate, and PPi. Our data indicate that PPi is a slow substrate for RibA that is cleaved to form two phosphate ions (Pi). A combination of real-time enzymatically coupled Pi reporter assays and end-point P NMR revealed that Pi is formed at a catalytically relevant rate in the native reaction of RibA with GTP, redefining the reaction stoichiometry. Furthermore, our data indicate that both PPi and GTP stimulate conformational changes prior to hydrolytic chemistry, and we conclude that the cleavage of PPi bound as a substrate or an intermediate state results in conformational relaxation.