Characterization of a Substrate-Derived Radical Detected during the Inactivation of Ribonucleotide Reductase fromEscherichia coliby 2‘-Fluoromethylene-2‘-deoxycytidine 5‘-Diphosphate

Ribonucleotide reductase (RDPR) from E. coli catalyzes the conversion of nucleotides to deoxynucleotides and contains an unusual tyrosyl radical−diferric cluster cofactor. ( E )-2‘-Fluoromethylene-2‘-deoxycytidine 5‘-diphosphate [( E )- 1 ] obtained by phosphorylation of the clinically promising antitumor agent MDL 101,731, is a potent time-dependent inactivator of this protein. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy reveals that inactivation is accompanied by loss of the essential tyrosyl radical cofactor and formation of a new radical species. The 9.4-GHz EPR spectrum of this new radical reveals two hyperfine splittings of approximately 1.5 mT producing a triplet-like signal. Incubation of the enzyme with [6‘- 2 H]-( E )- 1 alters this EPR spectrum, providing the first evidence for a nucleotide-based radical species generated by RDPR. The observed spectrum is a 1:1 composite of a doublet and a triplet signal, the latter being identical to that obtained with unlabeled ( E )- 1 . Studies with ( E )- 1 in 2 H 2 O also produce a 1:1 mixture of these two radical signals. The results of these isotope labeling experiments suggest wash-out or wash-in of ∼0.5 equiv of deuterium at the 6‘ position, respectively. Incubation of the enzyme with [6‘- 2 H]-( E )- 1 in 2 H 2 O produced only the doublet as would be expected on the basis of this hypothesis. EPR (139.5 GHz) spectra established the principal g values of the new radical species. Simulation of the 9.4- and 139.5-GHz EPR spectra yield a self-consistent set of principal hyperfine values. A structure is proposed for the radical intermediate that is consistent with the EPR data and kinetic data on release of the fluoride ion that accompanies inactivation. The proposed structure and a postulated mechanism for its formation provide further support for the hypothesis that catalysis is initiated by 3‘-hydrogen atom abstraction from the nucleotide substrate.