The mechanism of inactivation of 3-hydroxyanthranilate-3,4-dioxygenase by 4-chloro-3-hydroxyanthranilate

3-Hydroxyanthranilate-3,4-dioxygenase (HAD) is a non-heme Fe(II) dependent enzyme that catalyzes the oxidative ring-opening of 3-hydroxyanthranilate to 2-amino-3-carboxymuconic semialdehyde. The enzymatic product subsequently cyclizes to quinolinate, an intermediate in the biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Quinolinate has also been implicated in important neurological disorders. Here, we describe the mechanism by which 4-chloro-3-hydroxyanthranilate inhibits the HAD catalyzed reaction. Using overexpressed and purified bacterial HAD, we demonstrate that 4-chloro-3-hydroxyanthranilate functions as a mechanism-based inactivating agent. The inactivation results in the consumption of 2 +/- 0.8 equiv of oxygen and the production of superoxide. EPR analysis of the inactivation reaction demonstrated that the inhibitor stimulated the oxidation of the active site Fe(II) to the catalytically inactive Fe(III) oxidation state. The inactivated enzyme can be reactivated by treatment with DTT and Fe(II). High resolution ESI-FTMS analysis of the inactivated enzyme demonstrated that the inhibitor did not form an adduct with the enzyme and that four conserved cysteines were oxidized to two disulfides (Cys125-Cys128 and Cys162-Cys165) during the inactivation reaction. These results are consistent with a mechanism in which the enzyme, complexed to the inhibitor and O2, generates superoxide which subsequently dissociates, leaving the inhibitor and the oxidized iron center at the active site.     

Novel reaction mechanism of GTP cyclohydrolase I. High-resolution X-ray crystallography of Thermus thermophilus HB8 enzyme complexed with a transition state analogue, the 8-oxoguanine derivative

GTP cyclohydrolase I (GTPCH1) catalyzes the conversion of GTP to dihydroneopterin 3'-triphosphate. We found that an 8-oxoguanine derivative of GTP (8-oxo-GTP) strongly bound to GTPCH1 from Thermus thermophilus HB8 (tGTPCH1) as a competitive inhibitor. The affinity of 8-oxo-GTP was three orders of magnitude greater than that of GTP. These results suggest that 8-oxo-GTP is a transition state analogue of GTPCH1. We have solved the X-ray crystal structures of tGTPCH1 complexed with 8-oxo-GTP and 8-oxo-dGTP at 2.0 and 1.8 A resolution, respectively, as well as the free form of the enzyme at 2.2 A resolution. In the structure of tGTPCH1 complexed with 8-oxo-GTP or 8-oxo-dGTP, the oxygen atoms at O8 of the 8-oxoguanine groups, together with residues Cys108, His111 and Cys179, are coordinated to the zinc ion. The water molecule between Ndelta1 of His177 and N7 of 8-oxoguanine is conserved in both structures. These structural data are in accordance with one of the proposed transition states. Superimpositioning of the structures indicates the imidazole ring of His110 is rotated, implying concomitant proton transfer to the ribose ring O4'. Based on these structural data we propose a novel reaction mechanism for GTPCH1.     

Biosynthesis of pteridines. Reaction mechanism of GTP cyclohydrolase I

GTP cyclohydrolase I catalyses the hydrolytic release of formate from GTP followed by cyclization to dihydroneopterin triphosphate. The enzymes from bacteria and animals are homodecamers containing one zinc ion per subunit. Replacement of Cys110, Cys181, His112 or His113 of the enzyme from Escherichia coli by serine affords catalytically inactive mutant proteins with reduced capacity to bind zinc. These mutant proteins are unable to convert GTP or the committed reaction intermediate, 2-amino-5-formylamino-6-(beta-ribosylamino)-4(3H)-pyrimidinone 5'-triphosphate, to dihydroneopterin triphosphate. The crystal structures of GTP complexes of the His113Ser, His112Ser and Cys181Ser mutant proteins determined at resolutions of 2.5A, 2.8A and 3.2A, respectively, revealed the conformation of substrate GTP in the active site cavity. The carboxylic group of the highly conserved residue Glu152 anchors the substrate GTP, by hydrogen bonding to N-3 and to the position 2 amino group. Several basic amino acid residues interact with the triphosphate moiety of the substrate. The structure of the His112Ser mutant in complex with an undefined mixture of nucleotides determined at a resolution of 2.1A afforded additional details of the peptide folding. Comparison between the wild-type and mutant enzyme structures indicates that the catalytically active zinc ion is directly coordinated to Cys110, Cys181 and His113. Moreover, the zinc ion is complexed to a water molecule, which is in close hydrogen bond contact to His112. In close analogy to zinc proteases, the zinc-coordinated water molecule is suggested to attack C-8 of the substrate affording a zinc-bound 8R hydrate of GTP. Opening of the hydrated imidazole ring affords a formamide derivative, which remains coordinated to zinc. The subsequent hydrolysis of the formamide motif has an absolute requirement for zinc ion catalysis. The hydrolysis of the formamide bond shows close mechanistic similarity with peptide hydrolysis by zinc proteases.     

A quasi-Laue neutron crystallographic study of d-xylose isomerase

The location of hydrogen atoms in enzyme structures can bring critical understanding of catalytic mechanism. However, whilst it is often difficult to determine the position of hydrogen atoms using X-ray crystallography even with subatomic (<1.0 A) resolution data available, neutron crystallography provides an experimental tool to directly localize hydrogen/deuterium atoms in biological macromolecules at resolution of 1.5-2.0 A. D-Xylose isomerase (D-xylose ketol-isomerase, EC 5.3.1.5) is a 43 kDa enzyme that catalyses the first reaction in the catabolism of D-xylose. Linearization and isomerization of D-xylose at the active site of D-xylose isomerase rely upon a complex hydrogen transfer. Neutron quasi-Laue data at 2.2 A resolution were collected at room temperature on a partially deuterated Streptomyces rubiginosus D-xylose isomerase crystal using the LADI instrument at ILL with the objective to provide insight into the enzymatic mechanism. The neutron structure shows unambiguously that residue His 53 is doubly protonated at the active site of the enzyme. This suggests that the reaction proceeds through an acid catalyzed opening of the sugar ring, which is in accord with the mechanism suggested by Fenn et al. (Biochemistry 43(21): 6464-6474, 2004). This is the first report of direct observation of double protonation of His 53 and the first validation of the ring opening mechanism at the active site of D-xylose isomerase.     

Structural effects of the active site mutation cysteine to serine in Bacillus cereus zinc-beta-lactamase

Beta-lactamases are involved in bacterial resistance. Members of the metallo-enzyme class are now found in many pathogenic bacteria and are becoming thus of major clinical importance. Despite the availability of Zn-beta-lactamase X-ray structures their mechanism of action is still unclear. One puzzling observation is the presence of one or two zincs in the active site. To aid in assessing the role of zinc content in beta-lactam hydrolysis, the replacement by Ser of the zinc-liganding residue Cys168 in the Zn-beta-lactamase from Bacillus cereus strain 569/H/9 was carried out: the mutant enzyme (C168S) is inactive in the mono-Zn form, but active in the di-Zn form. The structure of the mono-Zn form of the C168S mutant has been determined at 1.85 A resolution. Ser168 occupies the same position as Cys168 in the wild-type enzyme. The protein residues mostly affected by the mutation are Asp90-Arg91 and His210. A critical factor for the activity of the mono-Zn species is the distance between Asp90 and the Zn ion, which is controlled by Arg91: a slight movement of Asp90 impairs catalysis. The evolution of a large superfamily including Zn-beta-lactamases suggests that they may not all share the same mechanism.     

The functional role of the binuclear metal center in D-aminoacylase: one-metal activation and second-metal attenuation

Our structural comparison of the TIM barrel metal-dependent hydrolase(-like) superfamily suggests a classification of their divergent active sites into four types: alphabeta-binuclear, alpha-mononuclear, beta-mononuclear, and metal-independent subsets. The d-aminoacylase from Alcaligenes faecalis DA1 belongs to the beta-mononuclear subset due to the fact that the catalytically essential Zn(2+) is tightly bound at the beta site with coordination by Cys(96), His(220), and His(250), even though it possesses a binuclear active site with a weak alpha binding site. Additional Zn(2+), Cd(2+), and Cu(2+), but not Ni(2+), Co(2+), Mg(2+), Mn(2+), and Ca(2+), can inhibit enzyme activity. Crystal structures of these metal derivatives show that Zn(2+) and Cd(2+) bind at the alpha(1) subsite ligated by His(67), His(69), and Asp(366), while Cu(2+) at the alpha(2) subsite is chelated by His(67), His(69) and Cys(96). Unexpectedly, the crystal structure of the inactive H220A mutant displays that the endogenous Zn(2+) shifts to the alpha(3) subsite coordinated by His(67), His(69), Cys(96), and Asp(366), revealing that elimination of the beta site changes the coordination geometry of the alpha ion with an enhanced affinity. Kinetic studies of the metal ligand mutants such as C96D indicate the uniqueness of the unusual bridging cysteine and its involvement in catalysis. Therefore, the two metal-binding sites in the d-aminoacylase are interactive with partially mutual exclusion, thus resulting in widely different affinities for the activation/attenuation mechanism, in which the enzyme is activated by the metal ion at the beta site, but inhibited by the subsequent binding of the second ion at the alpha site.     

Structural study of porcine pancreatic elastase complexed with 7-amino-3-(2-bromoethoxy)-4-chloroisocoumarin as a nonreactivatable doubly covalent enzyme-inhibitor complex

The complex of porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) with 7-amino-3-(2-bromoethoxy)-4-chloroisocoumarin, a potent mechanism-based inhibitor, was crystallized and the crystal structure determined at 1.9-A resolution with a final R factor of 17.1%. The unbiased difference Fourier electron density map showed continuous density from O gamma of Ser 195 to the benzoyl carbonyl carbon atom and from N epsilon 2 of His 57 to the carbon atom at the 4-position of the isocoumarin ring in the inhibitor. This suggested unambiguously that the inhibitor was doubly covalently bound to the enzyme. It represents the first structural evidence for irreversible binding of an isocoumarin inhibitor to PPE through both Ser 195 and His 57 in the active site. The PPE-inhibitor complex is only partially activated in solution by hydroxylamine and confirms the existence of the doubly covalently bound complex along with the acyl enzyme. The benzoyl carbonyl oxygen atom of the inhibitor is not situated in the oxyanion hole formed by the amide (greater than NH) groups of Gly 193 and Ser 195. The complex is stabilized by the hydrogen-bonding interactions in the active site (from the N epsilon 2 of Gln 192 to the bromine atom in the inhibitor and the amino group at the 7-position of the isocoumarin ring to the carbonyl oxygen of Thr 41) and by van der Waals interactions. The inhibition rates of several 7-substituted 4-chloro-3-(bromoalkoxy)isocoumarins toward PPE were measured.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Human thymidylate synthase is in the closed conformation when complexed with dUMP and raltitrexed, an antifolate drug

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is a major target in the chemotherapy of colorectal cancer and some other neoplasms while raltitrexed (Tomudex, ZD1694) is an antifolate inhibitor of TS approved for clinical use in several European countries. The crystal structure of the complex between recombinant human TS, dUMP, and raltitrexed has been determined at 1.9 A resolution. In contrast to the situation observed in the analogous complex of the rat TS, the enzyme is in the closed conformation and a covalent bond between the catalytic Cys 195 and dUMP is present in both subunits. This mode of ligand binding is similar to that of the analogous complex of the Escherichia coli enzyme. The only major differences observed are a direct hydrogen bond between His 196 and the O4 atom of dUMP and repositioning of the side chain of Tyr 94 by about 2 A. The thiophene ring of the drug is disordered between two parallel positions.     

Human glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase. Structures of apo,binary, and inhibitory ternary complexes

The human glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase is unique among the structurally studied members of the alcohol dehydrogenase family in that it follows a random bi bi kinetic mechanism. The structures of an apo form of the enzyme, a binary complex with substrate 12-hydroxydodecanoic acid, and a ternary complex with NAD+ and the inhibitor dodecanoic acid were determined at 2.0, 2.3, and 2.3 A resolution by X-ray crystallography using the anomalous diffraction signal of zinc. The structures of the enzyme and its binary complex with the primary alcohol substrate, 12-hydroxydodecanoic acid, and the previously reported binary complex with the coenzyme show that the binding of the first substrate (alcohol or coenzyme) causes only minor changes to the overall structure of the enzyme. This is consistent with the random mechanism of the enzyme where either of the substrates binds to the free enzyme. The catalytic-domain position in these structures is intermediate to the "closed" and "open" conformations observed in class I alcohol dehydrogenases. More importantly, two different tetrahedral coordination environments of the active site zinc are observed in these structures. In the apoenzyme, the active site zinc is coordinated to Cys44, His66 and Cys173, and a water molecule. In the inhibitor complex, the coordination environment involves Glu67 instead of the solvent water molecule. The coordination environment involving Glu67 as the fourth ligand likely represents an intermediate step during ligand exchange at the active site zinc. These observations provide new insight into metal-assisted catalysis and substrate binding in glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase.     

Crystal structure of yeast cytosine deaminase. Insights into enzyme mechanism and evolution

Yeast cytosine deaminase is an attractive candidate for anticancer gene therapy because it catalyzes the deamination of the prodrug 5-fluorocytosine to form 5-fluorouracil. We report here the crystal structure of the enzyme in complex with the inhibitor 2-hydroxypyrimidine at 1.6-A resolution. The protein forms a tightly packed dimer with an extensive interface of 1450 A2 per monomer. The inhibitor was converted into a hydrated adduct as a transition-state analog. The essential zinc ion is ligated by the 4-hydroxyl group of the inhibitor together with His62, Cys91, and Cys94 from the protein. The enzyme shares similar active-site architecture to cytidine deaminases and an unusually high structural homology to 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-ribonucleotide transformylase and thereby may define a new superfamily. The unique C-terminal tail is involved in substrate specificity and also functions as a gate controlling access to the active site. The complex structure reveals a closed conformation, suggesting that substrate binding seals the active-site entrance so that the catalytic groups are sequestered from solvent. A comparison of the crystal structures of the bacterial and fungal cytosine deaminases provides an elegant example of convergent evolution, where starting from unrelated ancestral proteins, the same metal-assisted deamination is achieved through opposite chiral intermediates within distinctly different active sites.     

The structural basis of the recognition of phenylalanine and pterin cofactors by phenylalanine hydroxylase: implications for the catalytic mechanism

Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) is a tetrahydrobiopterin and non-heme iron-dependent enzyme that hydroxylates L-Phe to l-Tyr using molecular oxygen as additional substrate. A dysfunction of this enzyme leads to phenylketonuria (PKU). The conformation and distances to the catalytic iron of both L-Phe and the cofactor analogue L-erythro-7,8-dihydrobiopterin (BH2) simultaneously bound to recombinant human PAH have been estimated by (1)H NMR. The resulting bound conformers of both ligands have been fitted into the crystal structure of the catalytic domain by molecular docking. In the docked structure L-Phe binds to the enzyme through interactions with Arg270, Ser349 and Trp326. The mode of coordination of Glu330 to the iron moiety seems to determine the amino acid substrate specificity in PAH and in the homologous enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase. The pterin ring of BH2 pi-stacks with Phe254, and the N3 and the amine group at C2 hydrogen bond with the carboxylic group of Glu286. The ring also establishes specific contacts with His264 and Leu249. The distance between the O4 atom of BH2 and the iron (2.6(+/-0.3) A) is compatible with coordination, a finding that is important for the understanding of the mechanism of the enzyme. The hydroxyl groups in the side-chain at C6 hydrogen bond with the carbonyl group of Ala322 and the hydroxyl group of Ser251, an interaction that seems to have implications for the regulation of the enzyme by substrate and cofactor. Some frequent mutations causing PKU are located at residues involved in substrate and cofactor binding. The sites for hydroxylation, C4 in L-Phe and C4a in the pterin are located at a distance of 4.2 and 4.3 A from the iron moiety, respectively, and at 6.3 A from each other. These distances are adequate for the intercalation of iron-coordinated molecular oxygen, in agreement with a mechanistic role of the iron moiety both in the binding and activation of dioxygen and in the hydroxylation reaction.     

The enzymatic reaction-induced configuration change of the prosthetic group PQQ of methanol dehydrogenase

Methanol dehydrogenase is a heterotetrameric enzyme containing the prosthetic group pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), which catalyzes the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. The crystal structure of methanol dehydrogenase from Methylophilus W3A1, previously determined at high resolution, exhibits a non-planar configuration of the PQQ ring system and lends support for a hydride transfer mechanism of the enzymatic reaction catalyzed by the enzyme. To investigate why PQQ is in the C5-reduced form and to better understand the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme, three structures of this enzyme in a new crystal form have been determined at higher resolution. Two of the three crystals were grown in the presence of 1 and 50 mM methanol, respectively, both structures of which show non-planar configurations of the PQQ ring system, confirming the previous conclusion; the other was crystallized in the presence of 50 mM ethanol, the structure of which displays a planar ring system for PQQ. Comparison of these structures reveals that the configuration change of PQQ is induced by the enzymatic reaction. The reaction takes place and the C5-reduced PQQ intermediate is produced when the enzyme co-crystallizes with methanol, but the enzymatic reaction does not take place and the PQQ ring retains a planar configuration of the oxidized orthoquinone form when ethanol instead of methanol is present in the crystallization solution.     

Crystal structure of microbial transglutaminase from Streptoverticillium mobaraense

The crystal structure of a microbial transglutaminase from Streptoverticillium mobaraense has been determined at 2.4 A resolution. The protein folds into a plate-like shape, and has one deep cleft at the edge of the molecule. Its overall structure is completely different from that of the factor XIII-like transglutaminase, which possesses a cysteine protease-like catalytic triad. The catalytic residue, Cys(64), exists at the bottom of the cleft. Asp(255) resides at the position nearest to Cys(64) and is also adjacent to His(274). Interestingly, Cys(64), Asp(255), and His(274) superimpose well on the catalytic triad "Cys-His-Asp" of the factor XIII-like transglutaminase, in this order. The secondary structure frameworks around these residues are also similar to each other. These results imply that both transglutaminases are related by convergent evolution; however, the microbial transglutaminase has developed a novel catalytic mechanism specialized for the cross-linking reaction. The structure accounts well for the catalytic mechanism, in which Asp(255) is considered to be enzymatically essential, as well as for the causes of the higher reaction rate, the broader substrate specificity, and the lower deamidation activity of this enzyme.     

Cys(x)His(y)-Zn2+ interactions: thiol vs. thiolate coordination

In zinc proteins, the Zn2+ cation frequently binds with a tetrahedral coordination to cysteine and histidine side chains, for example, in many DNA-binding proteins, where it plays primarily a structural role. We examine the possibility of thiolate protonation in Cys(x)His(y)-Zn2+ groups, both in proteins and in solution, through a combination of theoretical calculations and database analysis. Seventy-five percent of the thiolate-coordinated zincs in the Cambridge Structural Database are tetrahedral, while di-alkanethiol coordination always involves five or more ligands. Ab initio quantum calculations are performed on (ethanethiol/thiolate)(3)imidazole-Zn2+ complexes in vacuum, yielding geometries and gas phase basicities. Protonating one (respectively two) thiolates increases the Zn-S(thiol) distance by 0.4 A (respectively 0.3 A), providing a structural marker for protonation. The stabilities of the complexes in solution are compared by combining the gas phase basicities with continuum dielectric solvation calculations. In a continuum solvent with permittivity epsilon = 4, 20, or 80, one of three thiolates is predicted to be protonated at neutral pH. By extension, Cys4-Zn2+ groups are expected to be protonated in the same conditions. In contrast, most Cys3His and Cys4 geometries in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) appear consistent with all-thiolate Zn2+ coordination. This apparent discrepancy is resolved by two recent surveys of zinc protein structures, which suggest that these all-thiolate sites are stabilized by charged and polar groups nearby in the protein, thus overcoming their intrinsic instability. However, the experimental resolution is not sufficient in all the PDB structures to rule out a thiol/thiolate mixture, and protonated thiolates may occur in some proteins not solved at high resolution or not represented in the PDB, as suggested by recent mass spectrometry experiments; this possibility should be allowed for in X-ray structure refinement.     

A norovirus protease structure provides insights into active and substrate binding site integrity

Norovirus 3C-like proteases are crucial to proteolytic processing of norovirus polyproteins. We determined the crystal structure of the 3C-like protease from Chiba virus, a norovirus, at 2.8-A resolution. An active site including Cys139 and His30 is present, as is a hydrogen bond network that stabilizes the active site conformation. In the oxyanion hole backbone, a structural difference was observed probably upon substrate binding. A peptide substrate/enzyme model shows that several interactions between the two components are critical for substrate binding and that the S1 and S2 sites appropriately accommodate the substrate P1 and P2 residues, respectively. Knowledge of the structure and a previous mutagenesis study allow us to correlate proteolysis and structure.     

Structure of active site carboxymethylated D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Palinurus versicolor

The structure of active site carboxymethylated D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Palinurus versicolor was determined in the presence of coenzyme NAD+ at 1.88 A resolution with a final R-factor of 0.175. The structure refinement was carried out on the basis of the structure of holo-GAPDH at 2.0 A resolution using the program XPLOR. The carboxymethyl group connected to Cys149 is stabilized by a hydrogen bond between its OZ1 and Cys149N, and charge interaction between the carboxyl group and the nicotinamide moiety. The modification of Cys149 induced conformational changes in the active site, in particular, the site of sulphate ion 501 (the proposed attacking inorganic phosphate ion in catalysis), and segment 208-218 nearby. Extensive hydrogen-bonding interactions occur in the active site, which contribute to the higher stability of the modified enzyme. The modification of the active site did not affect the conformation of GAPDH elsewhere, including the subunit interfaces. The structures of the green and red subunits in the asymmetric unit are nearly identical, suggesting that the half-site reactivity of this enzyme is from ligand-induced rather than pre-existing asymmetry. It is proposed that the carboxymethyl group takes the place of the acyl group of the reaction intermediate, and the catalytic mechanism of this enzyme is discussed in the light of a comparison of the structures of the native and the carboxymethylated GAPDH.     

Crystallographic and kinetic investigations on the mechanism of 6-pyruvoyl tetrahydropterin synthase

The enzyme 6-pyruvoyl tetrahydropterin synthase (PTPS) catalyses the second step in the de novo biosynthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin, the conversion of dihydroneopterin triphosphate to 6-pyruvoyl tetrahydropterin. The Zn and Mg-dependent reaction includes a triphosphate elimination, a stereospecific reduction of the N5-C6 double bond and the oxidation of both side-chain hydroxyl groups. The crystal structure of the inactive mutant Cys42Ala of PTPS in complex with its natural substrate dihydroneopterinetriphosphate was determined at 1.9 A resolution. Additionally, the uncomplexed enzyme was refined to 2.0 A resolution. The active site of PTPS consists of the pterin-anchoring Glu A107 neighboured by two catalytic motifs: a Zn(II) binding site and an intersubunit catalytic triad formed by Cys A42, Asp B88 and His B89. In the free enzyme the Zn(II) is in tetravalent co-ordination with three histidine ligands and a water molecule. In the complex the water is replaced by the two substrate side-chain hydroxyl groups yielding a penta-co-ordinated Zn(II) ion. The Zn(II) ion plays a crucial role in catalysis. It activates the protons of the substrate, stabilizes the intermediates and disfavours the breaking of the C1'C2' bond in the pyruvoyl side-chain. Cys A42 is activated by His B89 and Asp B88 for proton abstraction from the two different substrate side-chain atoms C1', and C2'. Replacing Ala A42 in the mutant structure by the wild-type Cys by modelling shows that the C1' and C2' substrate side-chain protons are at equal distances to Cys A42 Sgamma. The basicity of Cys A42 may be increased by a catalytic triad His B89 and Asp B88. The active site of PTPS seems to be optimised to carry out proton abstractions from two different side-chain C1' and C2' atoms, with no obvious preference for one of them. Kinetic studies with dihydroneopterin monophosphate reveal that the triphosphate moiety of the substrate is necessary for enzyme specifity.     

Catalytic and regulatory properties of native and chymotrypsin-treated pyridoxine-5-phosphate oxidase

Brain pyridoxine-5-P oxidase is activated by the tryptophan metabolites 3-hydroxyanthranilate and 3-hydroxykynurenine. 3-Hydroxyanthranilate at concentrations of 0.03 mM relieves the inhibition elicited by accumulation of the substrate pyridoxine-5-P (Ki = 60 microM). The results of fluorometric measurements indicate that four molecules of 3-hydroxyanthranilate bind to the dimeric enzyme (56 kDa) with an association constant of 5.5 x 10(4) M-1. Differential spectral measurements failed to detect any direct interaction between the cofactor FMN and the effector 3-hydroxyanthranilate. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the effector molecules bind to sites of the dimeric protein distinct from the cofactor site. Limited chymotrypsin digestion of pyridoxine-5-P oxidase yields catalytically active species that are no longer susceptible to activation by 3-hydroxykynurenine. A polypeptide of 16 kDa containing FMN and endowed with full catalytic activity was isolated by ion-exchange chromatography. It is postulated that the structural domain associated with catalytic activity composes approximately one-half of the molecular mass of pyridoxine-5-P oxidase (28 kDa), whereas the remaining portion of the macromolecule contains regulatory binding sites.     

A structure-based mechanism for copper-zinc superoxide dismutase

A reaction cycle is proposed for the mechanism of copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) that involves inner sphere electron transfer from superoxide to Cu(II) in one portion of the cycle and outer sphere electron transfer from Cu(I) to superoxide in the other portion of the cycle. This mechanism is based on three yeast CuZnSOD structures determined by X-ray crystallography together with many other observations. The new structures reported here are (1) wild type under 15 atm of oxygen pressure, (2) wild type in the presence of azide, and (3) the His48Cys mutant. Final R-values for the three structures are respectively 20.0%, 17.3%, and 20.9%. Comparison of these three new structures to the wild-type yeast Cu(I)ZnSOD model, which has a broken imidazolate bridge, reveals the following: (i) The protein backbones (the "SOD rack") remain essentially unchanged. (ii) A pressure of 15 atm of oxygen causes a displacement of the copper ion 0.37 A from its Cu(I) position in the trigonal plane formed by His46, His48, and His120. The displacement is perpendicular to this plane and toward the NE2 atom of His63 and is accompanied by elongated copper electron density in the direction of the displacement suggestive of two copper positions in the crystal. The copper geometry remains three coordinate, but the His48-Cu bond distance increases by 0.18 A. (iii) Azide binding also causes a displacement of the copper toward His63 such that it moves 1.28 A from the wild-type Cu(I) position, but unlike the effect of 15 atm of oxygen, there is no two-state character. The geometry becomes five-coordinate square pyramidal, and the His63 imidazolate bridge re-forms. The His48-Cu distance increases by 0.70 A, suggesting that His48 becomes an axial ligand. (iv) The His63 imidazole ring tilts upon 15 atm of oxygen treatment and azide binding. Its NE2 atom moves toward the trigonal plane by 0.28 and 0.66 A, respectively, in these structures. (v) The replacement of His48 by Cys, which does not bind copper, results in a five-coordinate square pyramidal, bridge-intact copper geometry with a novel chloride ligand. Combining results from these and other CuZnSOD crystal structures, we offer the outlines of a structure-based cyclic mechanism.     

Mechanistic aspects of cyanogenesis from active-site mutant Ser80Ala of hydroxynitrile lyase from Manihot esculenta in complex with acetone cyanohydrin

The structure and function of hydroxynitrile lyase from Manihot esculenta (MeHNL) have been analyzed by X-ray crystallography and site-directed mutagenesis. The crystal structure of the MeHNL-S80A mutant enzyme has been refined to an R-factor of 18.0% against diffraction data to 2.1-A resolution. The three-dimensional structure of the MeHNL-S80A-acetone cyanohydrin complex was determined at 2.2-A resolution and refined to an R-factor of 18.7%. Thr11 and Cys81 involved in substrate binding have been substituted by Ala in site-directed mutagenesis. The kinetic measurements of these mutant enzymes are presented. Combined with structural data, the results support a mechanism for cyanogenesis in which His236 as a general base abstracts a proton from Ser80, thereby allowing proton transfer from the hydroxyl group of acetone cyanohydrin to Ser80. The His236 imidazolium cation then facilitates the leaving of the nitrile group by proton donating.