Effect of mutation on enzyme motion in dihydrofolate reductase

Hybrid quantum-classical molecular dynamics simulations of a mutant Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase enzyme are presented. Although residue 121 is on the exterior of the enzyme, experimental studies have shown that the mutation of Gly-121 to valine reduces the rate of hydride transfer by a factor of 163. The simulations indicate that the decrease in the hydride transfer rate for the G121 V mutant is due to an increase in the free energy barrier. The calculated free energy barrier is higher for the mutant than for the wild-type enzyme by an amount that is consistent with the experimentally observed rate reduction. The calculated transmission coefficients are comparable for the wild-type and mutant enzymes. The simulations suggest that this mutation may interrupt a network of coupled promoting motions proposed to play an important role in DHFR catalysis. This phenomenon has broad implications for protein engineering and drug design.