kinetic isotope effect of prostaglandin h synthase exhibits inverted temperature dependence

Conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin G2/H2 catalyzed by prostaglandin H synthase (PGHS) is proposed to involve initial transfer of the C13 pro-(S) hydrogen atom from arachidonate to the Tyr385 radical in PGHS, followed by insertion of two oxygen molecules and several chemical bond rearrangements. The initial hydrogen-transfer was recently concluded to be a rate-limiting step in cyclooxygenase catalysis based on the observed intrinsic deuterium kinetic isotope effect values (Dkcat). In the present study, we have found that Dkcat values of both PGHS-1 and -2 show an unusual increase with temperatures in the range of 288–310 K, exhibiting an inverted temperature dependence. The value of lnDkcat, however, decreased linearly with 1/T, consistent with a typical Arrhenius relationship.