Preferred orientations of His64 in human carbonic anhydrase II

Histidine at position 64 (His64) in human carbonic anhydrase II (HCA II) is believed to be the proton acceptor in the hydration direction and the proton donor in the dehydration direction for the rate-limiting proton transfer (PT) event. Although the biochemical effect of histidine at position 64 has been thoroughly investigated, the role of its orientation in the PT event is a topic of considerable debate. X-ray data of HCA II suggests that His64 can adopt either an "in" or "out" orientation. The "in" orientation is believed to be favored for the hydration direction PT event because the Ndelta of His64 is closer to the catalytic zinc. This orientation allows for smaller water bridges, which are postulated to be more conducive to PT. In the present work, classical molecular dynamics simulations have been conducted to elucidate the role that the His64 orientation may play in its ability to act as a proton donor/acceptor in HCA II. The free energy profile for the orientation of His64 suggests that the histidine will adopt an "in" orientation in the hydration direction, which brings Ndelta in close proximity to the catalytic zinc. When the histidine becomes protonated, it then rotates to an "out" orientation, creating a more favorable solvation environment for the protonated His64. In this "out" orientation, the imidazole ring releases the delta nitrogen's excess proton into the bulk environment. After the second PT event and when the zinc-bound water is regenerated, the His64 is again favored to reorient to the "in" orientation, completing the catalytic cycle.