Mass-dependent bond vibrational dynamics influence catalysis by HIV-1 protease

Protein motions that occur on the microsecond to millisecond time scale have been linked to enzymatic rates observed for catalytic turnovers, but not to transition-state barrier crossing. It has been hypothesized that enzyme motions on the femtosecond time scale of bond vibrations play a role in transition state formation. Here, we perturb femtosecond motion by substituting all nonexchangeable carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen atoms with ¹³C, ¹⁵N, and ²H and observe the catalytic effects in HIV-1 protease. According to the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, isotopic substitution alters vibrational frequency with unchanged electrostatic properties. With the use of a fluorescent peptide to report on multiple steps in the reaction, we observe significantly reduced rates in the heavy enzyme relative to the light enzyme. A possible interpretation of our results is that there exists a dynamic link between mass-dependent bond vibrations of the enzyme and events in the reaction coordinate.