Synergism between coenzyme and alcohol binding to liver alcohol dehydrogenase

1 Heterotropic cooperativity effects in the binding of alcohols and NAD + or NADH to liver alcohol dehydrogenase have been examined by equilibrium measurements and stopped‐flow kinetic studies. Equilibrium data are reported for benzyl alcohol, 2‐chloroethanol, 2,2‐dichloroethanol, and trifluoroethanol binding to free enzyme over the pH range 6–10. 2 Binary‐complex formation between enzyme and alcohols leads to inner‐sphere coordination of the alcohol to catalytic zinc and shows a pH dependence reflecting the ionization states of zinc‐bound water and the zinc‐bound alcohol. The affinity of the binding protonation state of the enzyme for unionized alcohols increases approximately, by a factor of 10 on complex formation between enzyme and NAD + or NADH. 3 The rate and kinetic cooperativity with coenzyme binding of the alcohol association step indicates that, enzyme‐bound alcohols participate in hydrogen bonding interactions which affect the rates of alcohol and coenzyme equilibration with the enzyme without providing any pronounced contribution to the net energetics of alcohol binding. 4 The p K a values determined for alcohol deprotonation at the binary‐complex level are linearly dependent on those of the free alcohols, and can be readily reconciled with the p K a values attributed to ionization of zinc‐bound water. Alcohol coordination to catalytic zinc provides a major contribution to the p K a shift which ensures that the substrate is bound predominantly as an alcoholate ion in the catalytically productive ternary complex at physiological pH. The additional p K a shift contributed by NAD + binding is less pronounced, but may be of particular mechanistic interest since it increases the acidity of zinc‐bound alcohols relatively to that of zinc‐bound water.