Rate-
limiting steps and transition state structure for the acylation stage of acetylcholinesterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of (acetylthio)choline have been characterized by measuring substrate and solvent isotopeeffects and viscosity effects on the bimolecular rate constant
kE (=
kcat/
Km). Substrate and solvent isotope effectshave been measured for wild-type enzymes from
Torpedo californica, human and mouse, and for variousactive site mutants of these enzymes. Sizable solvent isotope effects,
D2OkE ~ 2, are observed when substrate
-deuterium isotope effects are most inverse,
DkE = 0.95; conversely, reactions that have
D2OkE ~ 1 havesubstrate isotope effects of
DkE = 1.00. Proton inventories of
kE provide a quantitative measure of thecontributions by the successive steps, diffusional encounter of substrate with the active site and consequentchemical catalysis, to rate
limitation of the acylation stage of catalysis. For reactions that have the largestsolvent isotope effects and most inverse substrate isotope effects, proton inventories are linear or nearly so,consistent with prominent rate
limitation by a chemical step whose transition state is stabilized by a singleproton bridge. Reactions that have smaller solvent isotope effects and less inverse substrate isotope effectshave nonlinear and upward bulging proton inventories, consistent with partial rate
limitations by both diffusionalencounter and chemical catalysis. Curve fitting of such proton inventories provides a measure of the commitmentto catalysis that is in agreement with the effect of solvent viscosity on
kE and with the results of a doubleisotope effect measurement, wherein
DkE is measured in both H
2O and D
2O. The results of these variousexperiments not only provide a model for the structure of the acylation transition state but also establish thevalidity of solvent isotope effects as a tool for quantitative characterization of rate
limitation for acetylcholinesterase catalysis.