Application of Grote-Hynes theory to the reaction catalyzed by thymidylate synthase

A theoretical study of dynamic effects on the rate-limiting step of the thymidylate synthase catalyzed reaction has been carried out by means of Grote-Hynes theory, successfully predicting the values of the recrossing effects for a chemical reaction that involves the transfer of a classical light particle. The transmission coefficients, obtained at 278, 293, 303, and 313 K, are almost invariant and in all cases far from unity, revealing a significant coupling of the environment motions and the reaction coordinate. Nevertheless, their energetic contribution to the activation free energy represents less than 0.50 kcal/mol for each of the four tested temperatures. Calculation of the transmission coefficient for the isotopically labeled hydride transfer has rendered almost the same values, in agreement with the experimentally observed temperature-independent KIEs. Fourier transform of the time-dependent friction kernel at these four temperatures has allowed obtaining the transition-state friction spectra, which present very small dependence with temperature. Their analysis has led to the identification of some key vibrational modes governing the coupling between the reaction coordinate and the protein environment, thus identifying the relevant motions in the active site and obtaining a full picture of the role of each amino acid.