Trapping an Oxidized and Protonated Intermediate of the [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Cofactor under Mildly Reducing Conditions

The H-cluster is the catalytic cofactor of [FeFe]-hydrogenase, a metalloenzyme that catalyzes the production of hydrogen gas (H2). The H-cluster carries two cyanide and three carbon monoxide ligands, making it an excellent target for IR spectroscopy. In previous work, we identified an oxidized and protonated H-cluster species, whose IR signature differs from the oxidized resting state (Hox) by a small but distinct shift to higher frequencies. This ‘blue shift’ was explained by a protonation at the [4Fe-4S] sub-complex of the H-cluster. The novel species, denoted HoxH, was preferentially accumulated at low pH and in the presence of the exogenous reductant sodium dithionite (NaDT). When HoxH was reacted with H2, the hydride state (Hhyd) was formed, a key intermediate of [FeFe]-hydrogenase turnover. A recent publication revisited our protocol for the accumulation of HoxH in wild-type [FeFe]-hydrogenase, concluding that inhibition by NaDT decay products rather than cofactor protonation causes the spectroscopic ‘blue shift’. Here, we demonstrate that HoxH formation does not require the presence of NaDT (or its decay products), but accumulates also with the milder reductants tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine, dithiothreitol, or ascorbic acid, in particular at low pH. Our data consistently suggest that HoxH is accumulated when deprotonation of the H-cluster is impaired, thereby preventing the regain of the oxidized resting state Hox in the catalytic cycle.