Calibration of the channel that determines the ω-hydroxylation regiospecificity of cytochrome P4504A1: Catalytic oxidation of 12-halododecanoic acids

The fatty acid ω-hyclroxylation regiospecificity of CYP4 enzymes may result from presentation of the terminal carbon to the oxidizing species via a narrow channel that restricts access to the other carbon atoms. To test this hypothesis, the oxidation of 12-iodo-, 12-bromo-, and 12-chlorododecanoic acids by recombinant CYP4A1 has been examined. Although all three 12-halododecanoic acids bind to CYP4A1 with similar dissociation constants, the 12-chloro and 12-bromo fatty acids are oxidized to 12-hydroxydodecanoic acid and 12-oxododecanoic acid, whereas the 12-iodo analogue is very poorly oxidized. Incubations in H₂ ¹⁸O show that the 12-hydroxydodecanoic acid oxygen derives from water, whereas that in the aldehyde derives from O ₂. The alcohol thus arises from oxidation of the halide to an oxohalonium species that is hydrolyzed by water, whereas the aldehyde arises by a conventional carbon hydroxylation-elimination mechanism. No irreversible inactivation of CYP4A1 is observed during 12-halododecanoic acid oxidation. Control experiments show that CYP2E1, which has an ω-1 regiospecificity, primarily oxidizes 12-halododecanoic acids to the ω-aldehyde rather than alcohol product. Incubation of CYP4A1 with 12,12-[²H] ₂-12-chlorododecanoic acid causes a 2-3-fold increase in halogen versus carbon oxidation. The fact that the order of substrate oxidation (Br > Cl ≫ I) approximates the inverse of the intrinsic oxidizability of the halogen atoms is consistent with presentation of the halide terminus via a channel that accommodates the chloride and bromide but not iodide atoms, which implies an effective channel diameter greater than 3.90 Å but smaller than 4.30 Å.