Note that the transferred methylene group (in which the carbon has the of formaldehyde) is reduced to a methyl group (which has the oxidation state of methanol) at the expense of the oxidation of the synthase, a highly conserved 65-kD homodimeric protein, follows a mechanistic scheme proposed by Daniel Santi (Fig. 23-15):
1. An enzyme nucleophile, identified as the thiolate group of Cys 146, attacks C6 of dUMP to form a covalent adduct.
2. C5 of the resulting enolate ion attacks the CH2 group of the iminium cation in equilibrium with Ns,N10-methylene-THF to form an enzyme- dUMP-THF ternary covalent complex.
3. An enzyme base abstracts the acidic proton at the C5 position of the enzyme-bound dUMP forming an exocyclic methylene group and eliminating the THF cofactor. The abstracted proton subsequently exchanges with solvent
4. The redox change occurs via the migration of the C6-H atom of THF as a hydride ion to the exocyclic methylene group, converting it to a methyl group and yielding DHF. This reduction promotes the dis placement of the Cys thiolate group from the intermediate to release product, dTMP and re-form the active enzyme.
Tetrahydrofolate Is Regenerated in Two Reactions. The thymidylate synthase reaction is biochemically unique in that it oxidizes THF to DHF, no other enzymatic reaction employing a THF cofactor alters this coenzyme's net oridation state. The DHF product of the thymidylate