Intramolecular coupling of active sites in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes from bacterial and mammalian sources.

A simple method was developed for assessing the intramolecular coupling of active sites in the lipoate acetyltransferase (E2) component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes from Escherichia coli, Bacillus stearothermophilus and ox heart and pig heart mitochondria. Samples of enzyme complex were prepared in which the pyruvate decarboxylase (E1) component was selectively and partly inhibited by treatment with increasing amounts of a transition-state analogue, thiamin thio-thiazolone pyrophosphate. The fraction of the E2 component acetylated by incubation with [2-14C] pyruvate, in the absence of CoA, was determined for each sample of partly inhibited enzyme and was found in all cases to exceed the fraction of overall complex activity remaining. This indicated the potential for transacetylation reactions among the lipoic acid residues within the E2 core. A graphic presentation of the data allowed comparison of the active-site coupling in the various enzymes, which may differ in their lipoic acid content (one or two residues per E2 chain). It is clear that active-site coupling is a general property of pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes of octahedral and icosahedral symmetries, the large numbers of subunits in each E2 core enhancing the effect.     

Limited proteolysis and proton NMR spectroscopy of Bacillus stearothermophilus pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex

The pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Bacillus stearothermophilus was treated with chymotrypsin at pH 7 and 0 degrees C. Loss of the overall catalytic activity lagged behind the rapid cleavage of the lipoate acetyltransferase polypeptide chains, whose apparent Mr fell from 57 000 to 45 000 as judged by sodium dodecylsulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The inactive chymotrypsin-treated enzyme had lost the lipoic-acid-containing regions of the lipoate acetyltransferase chains, yet remained a highly assembled structure. Treatment of this chymotryptic core complex with trypsin at pH 7.0 and 0 degrees C caused a further shortening of the lipoate acetyltransferase polypeptide chains to an apparent Mr of 28 000 and was accompanied by disassembly of the complex. The lipoic-acid-containing regions are therefore likely to be physically exposed in the intact complex, protruding from the structural core formed by the lipoate acetyltransferase component between the subunits of the other component enzymes. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy demonstrated that the enzyme complex contains large regions of polypeptide chain with remarkable intramolecular mobility, most of which were retained after excision of the lipoic-acid-containing regions with chymotrypsin. It is likely that the highly mobile regions are in the lipoate acetyltransferase component and facilitate movement of the lipoic acid residues. Such polypeptide chain mobility provides the molecular basis of a novel system of active-site coupling in the 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes.     

Domain structure and 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Bacillus stearothermophilus was treated with Staphylococcus aureus V8 proteinase, causing cleavage of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase polypeptide chain (apparent Mr 57 000), inhibition of the enzymic activity and disassembly of the complex. Fragments of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chains with apparent Mr 28 000, which contained the acetyltransferase activity, remained assembled as a particle ascribed the role of an inner core of the complex. The lipoic acid residue of each dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chain was found as part of a small but stable domain that, unlike free lipoamide, was able still to function as a substrate for reductive acetylation by pyruvate in the presence of intact enzyme complex or isolated pyruvate dehydrogenase (lipoamide) component. The lipoyl domain was acidic and had an apparent Mr of 6500 (by sedimentation equilibrium), 7800 (by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis) and 10 000 and 20 400 (by gel filtration in the presence and in the absence respectively of 6M-guanidinium chloride). 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase inner core demonstrated that it did not contain the segments of highly mobile polypeptide chain found in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy of the lipoyl domain demonstrated that it had a stable and defined tertiary structure. From these and other experiments, a model of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chain is proposed in which the small, folded, lipoyl domain comprises the N-terminal region, and the large, folded, core-forming domain that contains the acetyltransferase active site comprises the C-terminal region. These two regions are separated by a third segment of the chain, which includes a substantial region of polypeptide chain that enjoys high conformational mobility and facilitates movement of the lipoyl domain between the various active sites in the enzyme complex.     

Investigation of the mechanism of active site coupling in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli by protein engineering

Site-directed mutagenesis of the aceF gene of Escherichia coli was used to generate a nested set of deletions in the long (alanine + proline)-rich sequence that separates the lipoyl domain from the dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase-binding domain in the "one-lipoyl domain" dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase polypeptide chains of a pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex. The deletions reduced the number of residues in this sequence successively from 32 to 20, 13, 7 and just 1 residue. In all instances, pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes were still assembled in vivo around cores containing the deleted chains, and those with the two shortest deletions were essentially fully active. However, the two most severe deletions caused falls of 50% or more in specific catalytic activity. Similarly, although shortening the interdomain sequence to 20 residues left the system of active-site coupling unimpaired, cutting it to 13 residues or less caused substantial falls in the reductive acetylation of the lipoyl domains and corresponding losses of active-site coupling. The changes in specific catalytic activity and active-site coupling that accompanied the shortening of the (alanine + proline)-rich segment were reflected in the poorer growth rates of the relevant strains of E. coli on stringent substrates. All these results are consistent with this (alanine + proline)-rich sequence acting as a linker region that facilitates the movements of the lipoyl domains required for full catalytic activity and active-site coupling in the complex. The other two such sequences that separate the additional lipoyl domains in the N-terminal half of the wild-type "three-lipoyl domain" dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chain are presumed to function similarly. This role is consistent with the conformational flexibility assigned to these segments from previous studies based on 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and protein engineering.     

Interaction of avidin with the lipoyl domains in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex: three-dimensional location and similarity to biotinyl domains in carboxylases.

Avidin can form intermolecular cross-links between particles of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex from various sources. Avidin does this by binding to lipoic acid-containing regions of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase polypeptide chains that comprise the structural core of the complex. It is inferred that the lipoyl domains of the acetyltransferase chain extend outwards from the interior of the enzyme particle, interdigitating between the subunits of the other two enzymes bound peripherally in the assembled structure, with the lipoyl-lysine residues capable of reaching to within at least 1-2 nm of the outer surface of the enzyme complex (diameter ca. 37 nm). The distribution of enzymic activities between different domains of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chain implies that considerable movement of the lipoyl domains is a feature of the catalytic activity of the enzyme complex. There is evidence that the lipoyl domain of the 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complexes is similar in structure to a domain that binds the cofactor biotin, also in amide linkage with a specific lysine residue, in the biotin-dependent class of carboxylases.     

Amino acid sequence analysis of the lipoyl and peripheral subunit-binding domains in the lipoate acetyltransferase component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex from Bacillus stearothermophilus comprises a structural core, composed of 60 dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2p) subunits, which binds multiple copies of pyruvate decarboxylase (E1p) and dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3) subunits. After limited proteolysis with chymotrypsin, the N-terminal lipoyl domain of E2p was excised, purified and sequenced. The residual complex, which remained assembled, was then digested with trypsin under mild conditions. This treatment promoted complete disassembly of the complex and the various components were separated by gel filtration and h.p.l.c. A folded fragment of E2p containing about 50 amino acid residues was identified as being responsible for binding the E3 subunits, although, unlike the corresponding region of the E2p or E2o chains of the pyruvate dehydrogenase or 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complexes from Escherichia coli, the fragment also bound E1p molecules. Further peptide purification and sequence analysis allowed the determination of the first 211 amino acid residues of the B. stearothermophilus E2p chain, thus providing the complete primary structure of the lipoyl domain, the E1p/E3-binding domain and the regions of polypeptide chain, probably highly flexible in nature, that link the domains to each other and to the inner-core (E2p-binding) domain. Several of the proteolytically sensitive sites were also identified. The sequence of the B. stearothermophilus E2p chain shows close homology with the sequences of the E2p and E2o chains from E. coli, although significant differences in structure are apparent. Detailed evidence for the sequence of the peptides obtained by limited proteolysis and further chemical and enzymic cleavages have been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50142 (11 pages) at the British Library Lending Division, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 6BQ, U.K., from whom copies may be obtained as indicated in Biochem. J. (1988) 249, 5.     

Reductive acetylation of tandemly repeated lipoyl domains in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli is random order

In vitro deletion and site-directed mutagenesis of the aceF gene of Escherichia coli was used to generate dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2p) polypeptide chains containing various permutations and combinations of functional and non-functional lipoyl domains. A lipoyl domain was rendered non-functional by converting the lipoylatable lysine residue to glutamine. Two- and three-lipoyl domain E2p chains, with lipoyl-lysine (Lys244) substituted by glutamine in the innermost lipoyl domains (designated +/- and +/+/-, respectively), and similar chains with lipoyl-lysine (Lys143) substituted by glutamine in the outer lipoyl domains (designated -/+ and -/-/+), were constructed. In all instances, pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes were assembled in vivo around E2p cores composed of the modified peptide chains. All the complexes were essentially fully active in catalysis, although the complex containing the -/-/+ version of the E2p polypeptide chain showed a 50% reduction in specific catalytic activity. Similarly, active-site coupling in the complexes containing the +/-, +/+/- and -/+ constructions of the E2p chains was not significantly different from that achieved by the wild-type complex. However, active-site coupling in the complex containing the -/-/+ version of the E2p chain was slightly impaired, consistent with the reduced overall complex activity. These results indicate that during oxidative decarboxylation there is no mandatory order of reductive acetylation of repeated lipoyl domains within E2p polypeptide chains, and strongly suggest that the three tandemly repeated lipoyl domains in the wild-type E2p chain function independently in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.     

Structure and symmetry of B. stearothermophilus pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex and implications for eucaryote evolution.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex was purified from B. stearothermophilus. The enzyme was found to be of high molecular weight (s_20,w⁰ = 75S) and to contain four different types of polypeptide chain, with subunit molecular weights estimated as 57,000, 54,000, 42,000 and 36,000, respectively. The subunit of molecular weight 57,000 was shown to derive from the lipoate acetyltransferase component (EC 2.3.1.12), whereas the subunit of molecular weight 54,000 was identified as lipoamide dehydrogenase (EC 1.6.4.3). The other two polypeptide chains are likely to be the subunits of pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 1.2.4.1). The purified lipoate acetyltransferase component was also of high molecular weight (s_20,w⁰ = 35S), and both it and the intact enzyme complex were readily visualized in negatively-stained preparations in the electron microscope. The lipoate acetyltransferase component, in particular, clearly showed the 5 fold, 3 fold and 2 fold rotation axes of a regular pentagonal dodecahedron with a diameter of 23 nm. The symmetry of the enzyme complex is apparently icosahedral. In all these properties the enzyme from B. stearothermophilus (Gram-positive) strikingly resembles the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from the mitochondria of eucaryotic cells, and stands in marked contrast to the enzyme from E. coli (Gram-negative). A growing body of evidence indicates that the quaternary structures of enzymes from Gram-positive bacteria and the mitochondria of eucaryotes share distinctive common features that set them apart from the corresponding enzymes from Gram-negative bacteria. Adopting the serial endosymbiosis theory for the evolution of the mitochondrion, it follows that the forerunner of mitochondria may have been a Gram-positive rather than a Gram-negative bacterium.     

Antibodies against an inter-domain segment of polypeptide chain inhibit active-site coupling in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex

A synthetic peptide, AAPAAAPAKQEAAAPAPAAKAEAPAAAPAAKA, proved to be an efficient and specific immunogen in rabbits. The amino acid sequence of the peptide is identical to that of the inter-domain region (PEP3) linking the innermost of the three lipoyl domains to the dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase-binding domain in the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chain of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Escherichia coli. Fab fragments from anti-PEP3 antibodies selectively inhibited active-site coupling in the complex without affecting the individual activities of the three component enzymes, highlighting the role of the inter-domain regions as flexible linkers in catalysis.     

A mutant pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Escherichia coli deleted in the (alanine + proline)-rich region of the acetyltransferase component

The acetyltransferase chains of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Escherichia coli contain conformationally mobile (alanine + proline)-rich segments that link the lipoyl domains to each other and to the subunit-binding and catalytic domain, and facilitate the intramolecular coupling of active sites in the complex. A deletion of 12 of the 32 residues of the (Ala + Pro)-rich segment of an acetyltransferase containing only one lipoyl domain was made by deleting the corresponding segment of the aceF gene. A pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was still produced and the catalytic activity of the restructured complex, including active-site coupling, was not detectably impaired.     

Overexpression of restructured pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes and site-directed mutagenesis of a potential active-site histidine residue.

The aceEF-lpd operon of Escherichia coli encodes the pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1p), dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2p) and dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3) components of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (PDH complex). A thermoinducible expression system was developed to amplify a variety of genetically restructured PDH complexes, including those containing three, two, one and no lipoyl domains per E2p chain. Although large quantities of the corresponding complexes were produced, they had only 20-50% of the predicted specific activities. The activities of the E1p components were diminished to the same extent, and this could account for the shortfall in overall complex activity. Thermoinduction was used to express a mutant PDH complex in which the putative active-site histidine residue of the E2p component (His-602) was replaced by cysteine in the H602C E2p component. This substitution abolished dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase activity of the complex without affecting other E2p functions. The results support the view that His-602 is an active-site residue. The inactivation could mean that the histidine residue performs an essential role in the acetyltransferase reaction mechanism, or that the reaction is blocked by an irreversible modification of the cysteine substituent. Complementation was observed between the H602C PDH complex and a complex that is totally deficient in lipoyl domains, both in vitro, by the restoration of overall complex activity in mixed extracts, and in vivo, from the nutritional independence of strains that co-express the two complexes from different plasmids.     

Lipoic acid residues in a take-over mechanism for the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Escherichia coli contains two lipoic acid residues per dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chain, and these are known to engage in the part-reactions of the enzyme. The enzyme complex was treated with trypsin at pH 7.0, and a partly proteolysed complex was obtained that had lost almost 60% of its lipoic acid residues although it retained 80% of its pyruvate dehydrogenase-complex activity. When this complex was treated with N-ethylmaleimide in the presence of pyruvate and the absence of CoASH, the rate of modification of the remaining S-acetyldihydrolipoic acid residues was approximately equal to the accompanying rate of loss of enzymic activity. This is in contrast with the native pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, where under the same conditions modification proceeds appreciably faster than the loss of enzymic activity. The native pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was also treated with lipoamidase prepared from Streptococcus faecalis. The release of lipoic acid from the complex followed zero-order kinetics for most of the reaction, whereas the accompanying loss of pyruvate dehydrogenase-complex activity lagged substantially behind. These results eliminate a model for the enzyme mechanism in which specifically one of the two lipoic acid residues on each dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chain is essential for the reaction. They are consistent with a model in which the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase component contains more lipoic acid residues than are required to serve the pyruvate decarboxylase subunits under conditions of saturating substrates, enabling the function of an excised or inactivated lipoic acid residue to be taken over by another one. Unusual structural properties of the enzyme complex might permit this novel feature of the enzyme mechanism.     

Low immunogenicity of the common lipoamide dehydrogenase subunit (E3) of mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes.

The production of high-titre monospecific polyclonal antibodies against the purified pyruvate dehydrogenase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes from ox heart is described. The specificity of these antisera and their precise reactivities with the individual components of the complexes were examined by immunoblotting techniques. All the subunits of the pyruvate dehydrogenase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complexes were strongly antigenic, with the exception of the common lipoamide dehydrogenase component (E3). The titre of antibodies raised against E3 was, in both cases, less than 2% of that of the other subunits. Specific immunoprecipitation of the dissociated N-[3H]ethylmaleimide-labelled enzymes also revealed that E3 alone was absent from the final immune complexes. Strong cross-reactivity with the enzyme present in rat liver (BRL) and ox kidney (NBL-1) cell lines was observed when the antibody against ox heart pyruvate dehydrogenase was utilized to challenge crude subcellular extracts. The immunoblotting patterns again lacked the lipoamide dehydrogenase band, also revealing differences in the apparent Mr of the lipoate acetyltransferase subunit (E2) from ox kidney and rat liver. The additional 50 000-Mr polypeptide, previously found to be associated with the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, was apparently not a proteolytic fragment of E2 or E3, since it could be detected as a normal component in boiled sodium dodecyl sulphate extracts of whole cells. The low immunogenicity of the lipoamide dehydrogenase polypeptide may be attributed to a high degree of conservation of its primary sequence and hence tertiary structure during evolution.     

Polypeptide-chain stoicheiometry and lipoic acid content of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Escherichia coli.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex was isolated from Escherichia coli grown in the presence of [35S]sulphate. The three component enzymes were separated by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and the molar ratios of the three polypeptide chains were determined by measurement of the radioactivity in each band. The chain ratio of lipoamide dehydrogenase to lipoate acetyltransferase approached unity, but there was a molar excess of chains of the pyruvate decarboxylase component. The 35S-labelled complex was also used in a new determination of the total lipoic acid content. It was found that each polypeptide chain of the lipoate acetyltransferase component appears to bear at least three lipoyl groups.     

Subunit structure of dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase component of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from bovine kidney

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex has been isolated from bovine kidney mitochondria under special anti-proteolytic conditions yielding preparations with a specific activity of up to 20 U/mg protein. Dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase resolved from the complex was subjected to limited proteolysis resulting in the formation of two major fragments with apparent molecular weights of 36000 and 28000. The fragments were isolated by extraction from dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels and were both shown to possess enzymatic activity for acetyl transfer. Acetylation studies indicated that each fragment contains one protein-bound lipoyl group. It is concluded that the kidney dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase subunit consists of two homologous if not identical domains. A model is suggested where the acetyltransferase core of the mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is made up of 30 polypeptide chains whose 60 domains could be arranged in pentagonal dodecahedron symmetry quite similar as proposed for the 60 subunit structure of the acetyltransferase core.     

Purificaton of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Bacillus stearothermophilus and resolution of its four component polypeptides.

1. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was purified from Bacillus stearothermophilus in high yield. The specific activity (about 40nkat/mg of protein) was substantially lower than that of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from Escherchia coli (about 570nkat/mg of protein) measured at 30 degrees C under the same conditions. 2. The relative molecular masses of the four types of polypeptide chain i the complex were estimated by means of sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis to be 57 000, 54 000, 42 000 and 36 000 respectively. These polypetide chains showed no evidence of seriously anomalous behavior during tests of electrophoretic mobility. 3. The enzyme complex was resolved into its constituent proteins by means of gelfiltration on Sepharose CL-6B in the presence of 2M-KI, followed by chromatography on hydroxyapatite in the presence of 8M-urea. These harsh conditions were necessary to cause suitable dissociation of the enzyme complex. 4. The amino-acid compositions of the four constituent proteins after resolution were determined and their chain ratios were measured for several preparations of the complex. Some variability was noted between preparations but all samples contained a significant molar excess of the chains thought to contribute the pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 1.2.4.1) activity. 5. From the relative molecular masses and chain ratios of the four constituent proteins, it was calculated that the empirical unit must be repeated at least 50 times to make up the assembled complex. This conclusion is fully consistent with the demonstration by means of electron microscopy of apparent icosahedral symmetry for the Bacillus stearothermophilus complex, implying a 60-fold repeat. The structure stands in sharp contrast with the octahedral symmetry (24-fold repeat) of the Escherichia coli enzyme.     

Immunochemical comparison of lipoamide dehydrogenases from various sources and reactivity of various lipoamide dehydrogenases with rat heart pyruvate dehydrogenase-subcomplex

Lipoamide dehydrogenases from various sources were purified and their immunochemical properties were compared. Antibody against rat lipoamide dehydrogenase reacted with rat, human, pig, pigeon and frog enzymes, but not with enzymes from E. coli, yeast and Ascaris. Anti-Ascaris enzyme and anti-E. coli enzyme antibodies reacted with Ascaris and E. coli enzymes, respectively. The pyruvate dehydrogenase subcomplex, which consists of pyruvate dehydrogenase and lipoate acetyltransferase, was prepared by releasing the lipoamide dehydrogenase from rat heart pyruvate dehydrogenase complex by anti-lipoamide dehydrogenase antibody. Lipoamide dehydrogenases from various sources were added to rat pyruvate dehydrogenase subcomplex and the complex overall activity was measured. Each lipoamide dehydrogenase effectively recovered the overall activity of rat pyruvate dehydrogenase subcomplex to 80% of the original activity.     

Segmental structure and protein domains in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli. Genetic reconstruction in vitro and 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy.

A deletion in vitro can be made in the aceEF-lpd operon encoding the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli, which causes deletion of two of the three homologous lipoyl domains that comprise the N-terminal half of each dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2p) polypeptide chain. An active complex is still formed and 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy of this modified complex revealed that many of the unusually sharp resonances previously attributed to conformationally mobile segments in the wild-type E2p polypeptide chains had correspondingly disappeared. A further deletion was engineered in the long (alanine + proline)-rich segment of polypeptide chain that linked the one remaining lipoyl domain to the C-terminal half of the E2p chain. 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy of the resulting enzyme complex, which was also active, revealed a further corresponding loss in the unusually sharp resonances observed in the spectrum. These experiments strongly support the view that the sharp resonances derive, principally at least, from the three long (alanine + proline)-rich sequences which separate the three lipoyl domains and link them to the C-terminal half of the E2p chain. Closer examination of the 400 MHz 1H-n.m.r. spectra of the wild-type and restructured complexes, and of the products of limited proteolysis, revealed another sharp but smaller resonance. This was tentatively attributed to another, but smaller, (alanine + proline)-rich sequence that separates the dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase-binding domain from the inner core domain in the C-terminal half of the E2p chain. If this sequence is also conformationally flexible, it may explain previous fluorescence data which suggest that dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase bound to the enzyme complex is quite mobile. The acetyltransferase active site in the E2p chain was shown to reside in the inner core domain, between residues 370 and 629.     

How dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase-binding protein binds dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase in the human pyruvate dehydrogenase complex

The dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase-binding protein (E3BP) and the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2) component enzyme form the structural core of the human pyruvate dehydrogenase complex by providing the binding sites for two other component proteins, dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3) and pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1), as well as pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases and phosphatases. Despite a high similarity between the primary structures of E3BP and E2, the E3-binding domain of human E3BP is highly specific to human E3, whereas the E1-binding domain of human E2 is highly specific to human E1. In this study, we characterized binding of human E3 to the E3-binding domain of E3BP by x-ray crystallography at 2.6-angstroms resolution, and we used this structural information to interpret the specificity for selective binding. Two subunits of E3 form a single recognition site for the E3-binding domain of E3BP through their hydrophobic interface. The hydrophobic residues Pro133, Pro154, and Ile157 in the E3-binding domain of E3BP insert themselves into the surface of both E3 polypeptide chains. Numerous ionic and hydrogen bonds between the residues of three interacting polypeptide chains adjacent to the central hydrophobic patch add to the stability of the subcomplex. The specificity of pairing for human E3BP with E3 is interpreted from its subcomplex structure to be most likely due to conformational rigidity of the binding fragment of the E3-binding domain of E3BP and its exquisite amino acid match with the E3 target interface.