Medium‐chain dehydrogenases/reductases (MDRs) have about 350 to 390 amino acids and belong to a large superfamily of proteins including the Zn‐dependent alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) and several other Zn‐dependent activities. They are dimers or tetramers and utilize either NADH or NADPH as electron carriers referred to as cofactors. The oxidation/reduction process is a 2‐electron/1‐proton (hydride ion, H
−
) transfer between substrate and cofactor. The compounds oxidized or reduced by these enzymes vary considerably in structure ranging from small primary and secondary alcohols/aldehydes/ketones (aliphatic and aromatic), sugars (sorbitol/fructose, glucose) to large substances like fatty acids, steroids, and retinoids. ADHs are widely distributed in nature and some MDR members are found in all species. An essential Zn ion at the active site is common to all MDRs but some members have two zinc ions per subunit.
The 3D Structures of Zn‐dependent MDRs are highly similar and they essentially have the same polypeptide fold. The low sequence identity found sometimes could not immediately reveal this close structural relationship. Now numerous structures have been examined indicating that the evolutionary strategy for MDRs has been to vary amino acids preferably at the reaction center and further away in the substrate binding area. Thus, the size and shape of the substrate channel is adapted for small or large substrates, hydrophilic or hydrophobic substances, modifications attained via few mutations, or significant deletions/additions of amino acids. A further opportunity to create multiplicity has been to vary the control mechanism for the protein conformation change and the oligomeric state. Some enzymes undergo significant structural changes upon cofactor binding, while others do not.
A transition state intermediate of NADH in complex with horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase, resolved to atomic resolution (≈1 Å), has revealed structural modifications of the cofactor associated with the activation process for hydride transfer. This involves an OH
−
pyridine ring adduct, connected to the zinc center. The distortion of the nicotinamide at the enzyme site, affected by the presence of the negatively charged oxygen ligand, influences three parameters: (i) the puckering of the ring, (ii) a deviation from a standard carbon–carbon double bond length, and (iii) accumulation of negative charge at the C4 atom promoting hydride transfer. The active site Zn‐center of this large enzyme group shows great flexibility with respect to metal–ligand geometry and dynamics. Structural and spectroscopic evidence suggest that Zn‐dependent MDRs should be included in the general family of Zn‐enzymes, which require water and hydroxide ion as reactants during catalysis.