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Tyrosinase(EC 1.14.18.1) catalyzes the monophenolase and diphenolase reaction associated with vertebrate pigmentation and fruit/vegetable browning. Tyrosinase is an oxygen-dependent, dicopper enzyme that has three states: Emet, Eoxy, and Edeoxy. The diphenolase activity can be carried out by both the met and the oxy states of the enzyme while neither mono- nor diphenolase activity results from the deoxy state. In this study, the oxidative cyclocondensation of 2-aminophenol (OAP) to the corresponding 2-aminophenoxazin-3-one (APX) by mushroom tyrosinase was investigated. Using a combination of various steady- and pre-steady state methodologies, we have investigated the kinetic and chemical mechanism of this reaction. The kcat for OAP is 75±2 sec−1, KMOAP=1.8±0.20.2emnormalmM, KMO2=25±40.2emnormalμitalicM with substrates binding in a steady-state preferred fashion. Stopped flow and global analysis support a model where OAP preferentially binds to the oxy form over the met (k7 ≫ k1). For the met form, His269 and His61 are the proposed bases, while the oxy form uses the copper-peroxide and His61 for the sequential deprotonation of anilinic and phenolic hydrogens. Solvent KIEs show proton transfer to be increasingly rate limiting for kcat/KMOAP as [O2] −>0 μM (1.38±0.06) decreasing to 0.83±0.03 as [O2]−>∞ reflecting a partially rate limiting μ-OH bond cleavage (Emet) and formation (Eoxy) following protonation in the transition state. The coupling and cyclization reactions of o-quinone imine and OAP pass through a phenyliminocyclohexadione intermediate to APX, forming at a rate of 6.91±0.03 μM−1s−1 and 2.59E-2±5.31E-4 s−1. Differences in reactivity attributed to the anilinic moiety of OAP with o-diphenols are discussed.

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