Primary 13C and β-secondary 2H KIEs for trans-sialidase.: A snapshot of nucleophilic participation during catalysis

Trypanosoma cruzi trans-sialidase catalyzes a novel reaction that involves the transfer of sialic acid between host and parasite glycoconjugates. In this paper, we report kinetic isotope effect studies on recombinant trans-sialidase. beta-Dideuterium and primary C-13 isotope effects were measured for a good substrate, sialyl-lactose, and a slow substrate, sialyl-galactose, in both acid-catalyzed solvolysis and enzymatic transfer reactions. The beta-dideuterium isotope effect for sialyl-lactose in the acid hydrolysis reaction was 1.113 +/- 0.012, The primary C-13 isotope effects for hydrolysis of sialyl-lactose and sialyl-galactose were 1.016 +/- 0.011 and 1.015 +/- 0.008, respectively. III the enzymatic transfer reactions, the B-dideuterium and primary C-13 effects for sialyl-galactose were 1.060 +/- 0.008 and 1.032 +/- 0.008, respectively. The isotope effects for hydrolysis describe a dissociative S(N)1-like mechanism, and these data are contrasted by the data for the enzyme-catalyzed reaction. The enzymatic deuterium isotope effects are lower by a factor of 2, but the primary carbon isotope effects are higher by a factor of 2. This pattern describes a mechanism involving nucleophilic participation in the rate-determining transition state.