Structure of a slow processing precursor penicillin acylase from Escherichia coli reveals the linker peptide blocking the active-site cleft

Penicillin G acylase is a periplasmic protein, cytoplasmically expressed as a precursor polypeptide comprising a signal sequence, the A and B chains of the mature enzyme (209 and 557 residues respectively) joined by a spacer peptide of 54 amino acid residues. The wild-type AB heterodimer is produced by proteolytic removal of this spacer in the periplasm. The first step in processing is believed to be autocatalytic hydrolysis of the peptide bond between the C-terminal residue of the spacer and the active-site serine residue at the N terminus of the B chain. We have determined the crystal structure of a slowly processing precursor mutant (Thr263Gly) of penicillin G acylase from Escherichia coli, which reveals that the spacer peptide blocks the entrance to the active-site cleft consistent with an autocatalytic mechanism of maturation. In this mutant precursor there is, however, an unexpected cleavage at a site four residues from the active-site serine residue. Analyses of the stereochemistry of the 260-261 bond seen to be cleaved in this precursor structure and of the 263-264 peptide bond have suggested factors that may govern the autocatalytic mechanism.     

Mutational effects on conformational changes of the dephospho- and phospho-forms of the Na+,K+-ATPase

Gly263 of the rat kidney Na(+),K(+)-ATPase is highly conserved within the family of P-type ATPases. Mutants in which Gly263 or the juxtaposed Arg264 had been replaced by alanine were expressed at high levels in COS-1 cells and characterized functionally. Titrations of Na(+),K(+), ATP, and vanadate dependencies of Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity showed changes in the apparent affinities relative to wild-type compatible with a displacement of the E(1)-E(2) conformational equilibrium in favor of E(1). The level of the K(+)-occluded form was reduced in the Gly263-->Ala and Arg264-->Ala mutants, and the rate constant characterizing deocclusion of K(+) or Rb(+) was increased as much as 20-fold in the Gly263-->Ala mutant. Studies of the sensitivity of the phosphoenzyme to K(+) and ADP showed a displacement of the E(1)P-E(2)P equilibrium of the phosphoenzyme in favor of E(1)P, and dephosphorylation experiments carried out at 25 degrees C on a millisecond time scale using a quenched-flow technique demonstrated a reduction of the E(1)P to E(2)P conversion rate in the mutants. Hence, the mutations displaced the conformational equilibria of dephosphoenzyme and phosphoenzyme in parallel in favor of the E(1) and E(1)P forms. The observed effects were more pronounced in the Gly263-->Ala mutant compared with the Arg264-->Ala mutant. Leu332 mutations that likewise displaced the conformational equilibria in favor of E(1) and E(1)P were also studied. Unlike the Gly263-->Ala mutant the Leu332 mutants displayed a wild-type like rate of K(+) deocclusion. Thus, the effect of the Gly263 mutation on the E(1)-E(2) conformational equilibrium seems to be caused mainly by an acceleration of the K(+)-deoccluding step, whereas in the Leu332 mutants the rate of the reverse reaction seems to be reduced.     

u-PA/t-PA嵌合型纤溶酶原激活剂(ut-PA)的构建、表达、纯化和性质研究

将尿激酶原（ｐｒｏ－ＵＫ）ｃＤＮＡ和组织型纤溶酶原激活剂（ｔ－ＰＡ）Ａ链ｃＤＮＡ克隆到Ｍ１３ｍｐ１８中,经过二次寡核甘酸诱导的大片段定点删除和一次寡核苷酸诱导的多位点突变,得到ｕ－ＰＡ（Ｌｅｕ１４４－Ｇｌｙ４０８）／ｔ－ＰＡ（Ｓｅｒ１－Ｔｈｒ２６３）（ｕｔ－ＰＡ）融合基因．将ｕｔ－ＰＡ融合基因克隆到表达载体ｐＣＭ－βｎｅｏ中,与ｐＣＭ－ｄｈｆｒ共转染ＣＨＯ／ＤＨＦＲ－细胞,筛选稳定表达株．收集无血清表达上清,经苯甲脒柱纯化得到ｕｔ－ＰＡ纯品,ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ和纤维蛋白自显影显示ｕｔ－ＰＡ有两种分子量形式,分子量分别为６８ｋＤ和６１ｋＤ．纤维蛋白亲和性试验表明,ＬＵＫ（低分子量尿激酶）对纤维蛋白没有亲和性,而含有ＬＵＫ的ｕｔ－ＰＡ则对纤维蛋白表现出很强的亲和性,但ｕｔ－ＰＡ的亲和性略低于亲本ｔ－ＰＡ．     

W206R]-procaspase 3: an inactivatable substrate for caspase 8.

We report here the cloning and high-level expression of a soluble proform of human caspase 3 (Ser(24)-H(277)) engineered to contain a short stretch of N-terminal sequence (MTISDSPREQD) from the prosegment of procaspase 8 and a C-terminal heptahistidine tag. The precursor protein isolated from extracts of recombinant Escherichia coli by immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography was predominantly unprocessed and migrated as a 32-kDa polypeptide on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Incubation of this protein with recombinant human caspase 8 produced fragments characteristic of the properly processed caspase 3, but the product was inactive. Amino-terminal sequence analysis of the caspase 3 polypeptides proved that caspase 8 had specifically cleaved the Asp(175)-Ser(176) bond to yield the expected p18 and p12 subunits, with partial cleavage at the Asp(28)-Ser(29) bond to release the prosegment. The lack of caspase 3 activity was found to be the result of a fortuitous mutation in which Trp(206) in the S4 subsite was replaced by arginine (W206R). This mutant procaspase 3, which we call m-pro3, serves as a useful reagent with which to test the efficacy of caspase 8 inhibitors in blocking processing of the natural polypeptide substrate of this enzyme and may be valuable as a source of "proenzyme" for crystallographic analysis.     

The mechanism of autocatalytic activation of plant-type L-asparaginases

Plant l-asparaginases and their bacterial homologs, such as EcAIII found in Escherichia coli, form a subgroup of the N-terminal nucleophile (Ntn)-hydrolase family. In common with all Ntn-hydrolases, they are expressed as inactive precursors that undergo activation in an autocatalytic manner. The maturation process involves intramolecular hydrolysis of a single peptide bond, leading to the formation of two subunits (alpha and beta) folded as one structural domain, with the nucleophilic Thr residue located at the freed N terminus of subunit beta. The mechanism of the autocleavage reaction remains obscure. We have determined the crystal structure of an active site mutant of EcAIII, with the catalytic Thr residue substituted by Ala (T179A). The modification has led to a correctly folded but unprocessed molecule, revealing the geometry and molecular environment of the scissile peptide bond. The autocatalytic reaction is analyzed from the point of view of the Thr(179) side chain rotation, identification of a potential general base residue, and the architecture of the oxyanion hole.     

Importance of conserved Thr214 in domain A of the Na+,K+ -ATPase for stabilization of the phosphoryl transition state complex in E2P dephosphorylation

Thr(214) of the highly conserved (214)TGES sequence in domain A of the Na(+),K(+)-ATPase was replaced with alanine, and the mutant was compared functionally with the previously characterized domain A mutant Gly(263) --> Ala. Thr(214) --> Ala displayed a conspicuous 150-fold reduction of the apparent vanadate affinity for inhibition of ATPase activity, which could not simply be explained by the observed shifts of the conformational equilibria in favor of E(1) and E(1)P. The intrinsic vanadate affinity of the E(2) form and the effect on the apparent vanadate affinity of displacement of the E(1)-E(2) equilibrium were determined in a phosphorylation assay that allows the enzyme-vanadate complex to be formed under equilibrium conditions. When the E(2) form prevailed, Thr(214) --> Ala retained a reduced vanadate affinity relative to wild type, whereas the affinity of Gly(263) --> Ala became wild type-like. Thus, mutation of Thr(214) affected the intrinsic affinity of E(2) for vanadate. Furthermore, Thr(214) --> Ala showed at least a 5-fold reduced E(2)P dephosphorylation rate relative to wild type in the presence of saturating concentrations of K(+) and Mg(2+). Because vanadate is a phosphoryl transition state analog, it is proposed that defective binding of the phosphoryl transition state complex (transition state destabilization) causes the inability to catalyze E(2)P dephosphorylation properly. By contrast, the phosphorylation site in the E(1) form was unaffected in Thr(214) --> Ala. Replacement of the glutamate, Glu(216), of (214)TGES with alanine was incompatible with cell viability, indicating a very low transport activity or expression level. Our results support the hypothesis that domain A is isolated in the E(1) form, but contributes to make up the catalytic site in the E(2) and E(2)P conformations.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of the RecA protein of Escherichia coli. Tyrosine 264 is required for efficient ATP hydrolysis and strand exchange but not for LexA repressor inactivation

The role of Tyr264 in nucleotide binding and hydrolysis catalyzed by the RecA protein of Escherichia coli was investigated by constructing Gly, Ser, and Phe substitution mutations using oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis. The corresponding mutant recA genes neither restored resistance to killing by ultraviolet irradiation nor increased homologous recombination in a recA strain. The purified RecA(Gly264) protein was unable to bind nucleotide, hydrolyze ATP, or form stable ternary complexes with adenosine 5'-O-thiotriphosphate and DNA although the mutant protein bound DNA normally in the absence of nucleotide. The RecA (Phe264) and RecA(Ser264) proteins hydrolyzed ATP poorly and the rates were reduced approximately 8- and 18-fold, respectively. Although capable of low levels of ATP hydrolysis, neither the RecA(Phe264) nor the RecA(Ser264) protein promoted DNA pairing or strand exchange reactions in vitro. Furthermore, these mutant RecA proteins were impaired in their ability to form salt-resistant ternary complexes with adenosine 5'-O-thiotriphosphate) and DNA as judged by filter binding. Nevertheless, nucleoprotein complexes formed with either RecA(Phe264) or RecA(Ser264) protein directed efficient cleavage of LexA repressor in vitro. These results demonstrate that Tyr264 is required for efficient ATP hydrolysis and for homologous pairing of DNA but does not participate in activating RecA protein for LexA repressor autodigestion.     

垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽基因合成表达和产物纯化与鉴定

为利用基因工程技术获得垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽 (pituitaryadenylatecyclaseactivatingpolypeptide ,PACAP) ,根据大肠杆菌的密码偏好性 ,设计并人工合成编码 38个氨基酸的PACAP基因 .克隆到表达载体pET 35b(+) ,构建重组质粒pET PACAP ,转化大肠杆菌BL2 1 (DE3)pLysS+ .实现纤维素结合域 (cellulosebindingdomain ,CBD)与PACAP融合蛋白的表达 ,并在两者之间引入 (凝血 )因子Ⅹa识别位点 (Ile Glu Gly Arg↓ ) .融合蛋白CBD PACAP经纤维素亲和层析纯化后 ,因子Ⅹa酶切释放PACAP .在因子Ⅹa识别位点前引入 7个氨基酸的柔性短肽 (Gly Thr Gly Gly Gly Ser Gly)明显提高了融合蛋白对因子Ⅹa的敏感性 .HPLC进一步纯化得到纯度大于 95 %PACAP多肽 .所得的PACAP多肽的Western印迹鉴定为阳性 ;激光飞行质谱测定分子量结果与理论值相符 .生物活性分析表明 ,所制备的PACAP具有促进胰腺癌细胞株SW 1 990胞内cAMP合成的活性     

Two mutations of phage mu transposase that affect strand transfer or interactions with B protein lie in distinct polypeptide domains.

Two mutations within the transposase (the A protein) gene of phage Mu with distinct effects on DNA transposition have been studied. The first mutation maps to the central domain (domain II) of A, a protein consisting of three major structural domains. The variant protein is normal in synapsis and cleavage of Mu ends but is temperature-sensitive in the strand transfer reaction, joining the Mu ends to target DNA. The second mutation is a deletion at the C terminus (within domain III); on the basis of genetic studies, the mutant protein is predicted to have lost the ability to interact with the Mu B protein. The B protein, in conjunction with A, promotes efficient intermolecular transposition, while inhibiting intramolecular transposition. We show that the purified mutant protein is proficient in intramolecular, but not intermolecular transposition in vitro. The interactions between A and B proteins have been followed by a proteolysis assay. The chymotrypsin sensitivity of the interdomainal Phe221-Ser222 peptide bond within the bidomainally organized B protein is exquisitely modulated by ATP, DNA and A protein. The sensitive or "open" state of this bond in native B protein becomes partially "open" upon binding of ATP by B, attains a "closed" or resistant configuration upon binding of DNA in presence of ATP, and is rendered "open" again upon addition of the A protein. In this test for the interaction of A protein with B protein-DNA complex, the domain II mutant behaves like wild-type A protein. However, the domain III mutant fails to restore chymotrypsin susceptibility of the Phe221-Ser222 bond.     

抗凝活性肽RGD226基因构建、表达、产物纯化及活性分析

通过PCR法 ,将来源于蛇毒蛋白质eristostatin中的一段含有RGD(Arg Gly Asp)序列的十三肽(SRVARGDWNDDYS)的基因 ,以一个无胰岛素活性但保留天然免疫原性的胰岛素原突变体(PJG4 0 1)基因为模板 ,置换其B2 8和A1位之间的连接肽基因 ,构建成了能展示RGD功能序列的人源化分子 (RGD2 2 6 )的基因 .通过该基因在大肠杆菌中的表达、产物分离纯化 ,得到高纯度RGD2 2 6 .该RGD肽对由ADP诱导的体外人血小板聚集的半抑制浓度IC50 为 2 2 3μmol L .其胰岛素免疫活性是PJG4 0 1的 15 1% ,提示其在一定程度上保留了胰岛素原的免疫原性 .其受体结合活性不到PJG4 0 1的 0 1% ,说明其胰岛素的生物活性基本丧失 .动物实验证实 ,RGD2 2 6在延长小鼠出血时间上具有较明显的作用     

Replacement and deletion mutations in the catalytic domain and belt region of Aspergillus awamori glucoamylase to enhance thermostability

Three single-residue mutations, Asp71-->Asn, Gln409-->Pro and Gly447-->Ser, two long-to-short loop replacement mutations, Gly23-Ala24-Asp25-Gly26-Ala27-Trp28- Val29-Ser30-->Asn-Pro-Pro (23-30 replacement) and Asp297-Ser298-Glu299-Ala300-Val301-->Ala-G ly-Ala (297-301 replacement) and one deletion mutation removing Glu439, Thr440 and Ser441 (Delta439-441), all based on amino acid sequence alignments, were made to improve Aspergillus awamori glucoamylase thermostability. The first and second single-residue mutations were designed to introduce a potential N:-glycosylation site and to restrict backbone bond rotation, respectively, and therefore to decrease entropy during protein unfolding. The third single-residue mutation was made to decrease flexibility and increase O:-glycosylation in the already highly O:-glycosylated belt region that extends around the globular catalytic domain. The 23-30 replacement mutation was designed to eliminate a very thermolabile extended loop on the catalytic domain surface and to bring the remainder of this region closer to the rest of the catalytic domain, therefore preventing it from unfolding. The 297-301 replacement mutant GA was made to understand the function of the random coil region between alpha-helices 9 and 10. Delta439-441 was constructed to decrease belt flexibility. All six mutations increased glucoamylase thermostability without significantly changing enzyme kinetic properties, with the 23-30 replacement mutation increasing the activation free energy for thermoinactivation by about 4 kJ/mol, which leads to a 4 degrees C increase in operating temperature at constant thermostability.     

Spermidine biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biosynthesis and processing of a proenzyme form of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase

We have cloned and sequenced the Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene for S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase. This enzyme contains covalently bound pyruvate which is essential for enzymatic activity. We have shown that this enzyme is synthesized as a Mr 46,000 proenzyme which is then cleaved post-translationally to form two polypeptide chains: a beta subunit (Mr 10,000) from the amino-terminal portion and an alpha subunit (Mr 36,000) from the carboxyl-terminal portion. The protein was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The purified enzyme contains both the alpha and beta subunits. About half of the alpha subunits have pyruvate blocking the amino-terminal end; the remaining alpha subunits have alanine in this position. From a comparison of the amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence with the amino acid sequence of the amino-terminal portion of each subunit (determined by Edman degradation), we have identified the cleavage site of the proenzyme as the peptide bond between glutamic acid 87 and serine 88. The pyruvate moiety, which is essential for activity, is generated from serine 88 during the cleavage. The amino acid sequence of the yeast enzyme has essentially no homology with S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase of E. coli (Tabor, C. W., and Tabor, H. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 16037-16040) and only a moderate degree of homology with the human and rat enzymes (Pajunen, A., Crozat, A., J?nne, O. A., Ihalainen, R., Laitinen, P. H., Stanley, B., Madhubala, R., and Pegg, A. E. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 17040-17049); all of these enzymes are pyruvoyl-containing proteins. Despite this limited overall homology the cleavage site of the yeast proenzyme is identical to the cleavage sites in the human and rat proenzymes, and seven of the eight amino acids adjacent to the cleavage site are identical in the three eukaryote enzymes.     

蛇毒蛋白Echistatin的C端突变基因的构建，表达及其活性研究

通过ＰＣＲ定点突变的技术,将蛇毒蛋白Ｅｃｈｉｓｔａｔｉｎ基因的Ｃ端进行了突变（Ａｌａ４８→Ａｒｇ４８→,Ｔｈｒ４９→Ｖａｌ４９）,模拟纤维蛋白Ｎ端的四肽（Ｇｌｙ－Ｐｒｏ－Ａｒｇ－Ｖａｌ）,以期增加Ｅｃｓ（Ｅｃｈｉｓｔａｔｉｎ）的活性。突变的基因重组到表达质粒ｐＪＣ２６４上,经ＩＰＴＧ诱导,以ＣｈｅＹ－Ｅｃｓ融合蛋白方式进行了表达,表达量占菌体总蛋白的１５～２０％。ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｘＧ－７５初步纯化该融合蛋白,然后用ＣＮＢｒ裂解,透析,冻干,反相ＨＰＬＣ纯化Ｃ端突变体Ｅｃｓ蛇毒蛋白,Ｎ端十个氨基酸分析与天然的相符,在ＰＲＰ（ｐｌａｔｅｌｅｔ－ｒｉｃｈｐｌａｓｍａ）测活体系中,１０μｍｏｌ／Ｌ的ＡＤＰ诱导,Ｃ端突变体Ｅｃｓ抑制血小板凝聚的活性约为野生型４倍。得到了Ｅｃｓ的Ｃ端突变后使Ｅｃｓ抑制血小板凝聚的活性提高的结果。     

Xanthosine utilization in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is recovered by a single aspartate-to-glycine substitution in xanthosine phosphorylase

xapABR from Salmonella enterica was analyzed and compared with the corresponding Escherichia coli genes. xapB and xapR, but not xapA, encode functional proteins. An S. enterica XapA(Asp72Gly) mutant that restores the phosphorolytic activity was selected. The purified mutant enzyme has different kinetic constants than the E. coli enzyme but similar substrate specificity.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of conserved Thr407, Asp433 and Met464 residues in small subunit of Escherichia coli gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase

Sequence comparison showed that residues Thr407, Asp433, and Met464 in the small subunit of Escherichia coli gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (EcGGT) were conserved in the aligned enzymes. In this study, we further investigated the functional significance of these conserved residues by site-directed mutagenesis. The wild-type and mutant enzymes were overexpressed in the recombinant E. coli M15 cells and purified to near homogeneity by Ni2+-NTA resin. Except M464L, other mutants had shown no GGT activity under enzyme assay conditions and activity staining. Furthermore, mutations on these residues impaired the capability of autocatalytic processing of the enzyme. Based on these observations, it is concluded that these residues play an important role in the enzyme maturation.     

Site of pyruvate formation and processing of mammalian S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase proenzyme

Mammalian S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase was expressed at a high level in an Escherichia coli mutant deficient in this enzyme. The proenzyme form of this enzyme was cleaved and processed to the mature decarboxylase which contains two pairs of nonidentical subunits, the larger of which contains a pyruvate prosthetic group. In order to determine the site of formation of the pyruvate, two approaches were used. First, the mammalian S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase produced in E. coli was purified to homogeneity and the pyruvate converted to alanine by a reductive amination. The large subunit was then isolated by reversed phase high pressure liquid chromatography and the amino-terminal sequence determined and compared with the sequence of the proenzyme derived from its cDNA. These results indicated that the bond between glutamic acid 67 and serine 68 was the site of cleavage. Second, each of the serine residues in portion of the proenzyme likely to contain the cleavage site were altered by site-directed mutagenesis and the RNA produced from plasmids containing these mutations was translated in a reticulocyte lysate. The translation products were tested for processing and for S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activity. Altering the serine residues at positions 50, 66, and 69 to alanines had little effect but changing serine at position 68 to alanine completely prevented both processing and activity. These results indicate that the serine residue at position 68 of the proenzyme which is in the underlined position in the sequence -Leu-Ser-Glu-Ser-Ser-Met- is the residue which is converted to the pyruvate prosthetic group in human S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase.     

The nucleotide sequence of a precursor to the glycine- and threonine-specific transfer ribonucleic acids of Escherichia coli.

The primary nucleotide sequence of an Escherichia coli tRNA precursor molecule has been determined. This precursor RNA, specified by the transducing phage lambdah80dglyTsuA36 thrT tyrT, accumulates in a mutant strain temperature-sensitive for RNase P activity. The 170-nucleotide precursor RNA is processed by E. coli extracts to form mature tRNA Gly 2 suA36 and tRNA Thr ACU/C. The sequence of the precursor is pG-U-U-C-C-A-G-G-A-U-G-C-G-G-G-C-A-U-C-G-U-A-U-A-A-U-G-G-C-U-A-U-U-A-C-C-U-C-A-G-C-C-U-N-C-U-A-A-G-C-U-G-A-U-G-A-U-G-C-G-G-G-T-psi-C-G-A-U-U-C-C-C-G-C-U-G-C-C-C-G-C-U-C-C-A-A-G-A-U-G-U-G-C-U-G-A-U-A-U-A-G-C-U-C-A-G-D-D-G-G-D-A-G-A-G-C-G-C-A-C-C-C-U-U-G-G-U-mt6A-A-G-G-G-U-G-A-G-m7G-U-C-G-G-C-A-G-T-psi-C-G-A-A-U-C-U-G-C-C-U-A-U-C-A-G-C-A-C-C-A-C-U-UOH(tRNA sequences are italicized). It contains the entire primary nucleotide sequences of tRNA Gly2 suA36 and tRNA Thr ACU/C, including the common 3'-terminal sequence, CCA. Nineteen additional nucleotides are present, with 10 at the 5' end, 3 at the 3' end, and the remaining 6 in the inter-tRNA spacer region. RNase P cleaves the precursor specifically at the 5' ends of the mature tRNA sequences.     

Molecular characterization of the Salmonella typhimurium parE gene.

The DNA sequence of the wild type S. typhimurium parE gene was determined. The predicted protein has 96.7% amino acid identity with the ParE protein of E.coli, but is 29 amino acids longer, due to an additional basepair in the 3' end of the S. typhimurium gene. Subclones of the S. typhimurium parE gene localized the sites of four heat sensitive mutations within parE. The parE206 and parE374 mutations are identical (Val67-Met) and lie in a highly conserved region corresponding to the ATP binding pocket of GyrB. Two additional heat sensitive mutations were sequenced and predict the following amino acid substitutions: parE377 (Gly399-Ser) and parE493 (Thr583-Pro). All of the heat sensitive mutations lie in regions with strong amino acid homology to GyrB.     

Studies on the mechanism of formation of the pyruvate prosthetic group of phosphatidylserine decarboxylase from Escherichia coli

Phosphatidylserine decarboxylase from Escherichia coli uses a pyruvate group as the enzyme cofactor (Satre, M., and Kennedy, E. P. (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 479-483). Comparison of the DNA sequence of the psd gene with the partial amino acid sequence of the mature gene product suggests that the two nonidentical subunits of the mature enzyme are formed by cleavage of a proenzyme resulting in the conversion of Ser-254 to an amino-terminal pyruvate residue (Li, Q.-X., and Dowhan, W. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 11516-11522). The cleavage of the wild-type proenzyme occurs rapidly with a half-time on the order of 2 min. When Ser-254 is changed to cysteine (S254C), threonine (S254T), or alanine (S254A) by site-directed mutagenesis, the rate of processing of the proenzyme and the production of the functional enzyme are drastically affected. Proenzymes with S254C or S254T are cleaved with a half-time of around 2-4 h while the S254A proenzyme does not undergo processing. The reduced processing rate for the mutant proenzymes is consistent with less of the functional enzyme being made. Mutants encoding the S254C and S254T protein produce 16 and 2%, respectively, of the activity of the wild-type allele but can still complement a temperature-sensitive mutant in the psd locus. There is no detectable activity or complementation observed with the S254A protein. These results are consistent with the hydroxyl group of Ser-254 playing a critical role in the cleavage of the peptide bond between Gly-253 and Ser-254 of the prophosphatidylserine decarboxylase and support the mechanism proposed by Snell and coworkers (Recsei and Snell (1984) Annul Rev. Biochem. 53, 357-387) for the formation of the prosthetic group of pyruvate-dependent decarboxylases.     

Structural constraints on protein self-processing in L-aspartate-alpha-decarboxylase

Aspartate decarboxylase, which is translated as a pro-protein, undergoes intramolecular self-cleavage at Gly24-Ser25. We have determined the crystal structures of an unprocessed native precursor, in addition to Ala24 insertion, Ala26 insertion and Gly24-->Ser, His11-->Ala, Ser25-->Ala, Ser25-->Cys and Ser25-->Thr mutants. Comparative analyses of the cleavage site reveal specific conformational constraints that govern self-processing and demonstrate that considerable rearrangement must occur. We suggest that Thr57 Ogamma and a water molecule form an 'oxyanion hole' that likely stabilizes the proposed oxyoxazolidine intermediate. Thr57 and this water molecule are probable catalytic residues able to support acid-base catalysis. The conformational freedom in the loop preceding the cleavage site appears to play a determining role in the reaction. The molecular mechanism of self-processing, presented here, emphasizes the importance of stabilization of the oxyoxazolidine intermediate. Comparison of the structural features shows significant similarity to those in other self-processing systems, and suggests that models of the cleavage site of such enzymes based on Ser-->Ala or Ser-->Thr mutants alone may lead to erroneous interpretations of the mechanism.