Neutralizing a Surface Charge on the FMN Subdomain Increases the Activity of Neuronal Nitric-oxide Synthase by Enhancing the Oxygen Reactivity of the Enzyme Heme-Nitric Oxide Complex*

Nitric-oxide synthases (NOSs) are calmodulin-dependent flavoheme enzymes that oxidize l-Arg to nitric oxide (NO) and l-citrulline. Their catalytic behaviors are complex and are determined by their rates of heme reduction (kr), ferric heme-NO dissociation (kd), and ferrous heme-NO oxidation (kox). We found that point mutation (E762N) of a conserved residue on the enzyme's FMN subdomain caused the NO synthesis activity to double compared with wild type nNOS. However, in the absence of l-Arg, NADPH oxidation rates suggested that electron flux through the heme was slower in E762N nNOS, and this correlated with the mutant having a 60% slower kr. During NO synthesis, little heme-NO complex accumulated in the mutant, compared with ∼50–70% of the wild-type nNOS accumulating as this complex. This suggested that the E762N nNOS is hyperactive because it minimizes buildup of an inactive ferrous heme-NO complex during NO synthesis. Indeed, we found that kox was 2 times faster in the E762N mutant than in wild-type nNOS. The mutational effect on kox was independent of calmodulin. Computer simulation and experimental measures both indicated that the slower kr and faster kox of E762N nNOS combine to lower its apparent Km,O2 for NO synthesis by at least 5-fold, which in turn increases its V/Km value and enables it to be hyperactive in steady-state NO synthesis. Our work underscores how sensitive nNOS activity is to changes in the kox and reveals a novel means for the FMN module or protein-protein interactions to alter nNOS activity.