The reaction mechanism of sarcosine oxidase elucidated using FMO and QM/MM methods

) but in a hydrogen atom state (H˙). Furthermore, a single electron is simultaneously transferred from sarcosine to flavin through their overlapping orbitals. Therefore, based on a detailed theoretical analysis of the calculated reaction pathway, the reaction mechanism of MSOX can be labeled the "hydrogen-atom-coupled electron-transfer" (HACET) mechanism instead of being categorized as the classical hydride-transfer mechanism. QM/MM and FMO calculations revealed that sarcosine is moved close to the flavin ring because of a small charge transfer (about 0.2 electrons in state 1 (MSOX-sarcosine complex)) and that the positively charged residues (Arg49, Arg52, and Lys348) near the active site play a prominent role in stabilizing the sarcosine-flavin complex. These results indicate that strong Coulombic interactions primarily control amine oxidation in the case of MSOX. The new reaction mechanism, HACET, will be important for all the flavoprotein-catalyzed oxidation reactions.