Intermediates and transition states in thiamin diphosphate-dependent decarboxylases. A kinetic and NMR study on wild-type indolepyruvate decarboxylase and variants using indolepyruvate, benzoylformate, and pyruvate as substrates

The thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzyme indolepyruvate decarboxylase (IPDC) is involved in the biosynthetic pathway of the phytohormone 3-indoleacetic acid and catalyzes the nonoxidative decarboxylation of 3-indolepyruvate to 3-indoleacetaldehyde and carbon dioxide. The steady-state distribution of covalent ThDP intermediates of IPDC reacting with 3-indolepyruvate and the alternative substrates benzoylformate and pyruvate has been analyzed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. For the first time, we are able to isolate and directly assign covalent intermediates of ThDP with aromatic substrates. The intermediate analysis of IPDC variants is used to infer the involvement of active site side chains and functional groups of the cofactor in distinct catalytic steps during turnover of the different substrates. As a result, three residues (glutamate 468, aspartate 29, and histidine 115) positioned perpendicular to the thiazolium moiety of ThDP are involved in binding of all substrates and decarboxylation of the respective tetrahedral ThDP-substrate adducts. Most likely, interactions of these side chains with the substrate-derived carboxylate account for an optimal orientation of the substrate and/or intermediate in the course of carbon-carbon ligation and decarboxylation supporting the suggested least-motion, maximum overlap mechanism. The active site residue glutamine 383, which is located at the opposite site of the thiazolium nucleus as the "carboxylate pocket" (formed by the Glu-Asp-His triad), is central to the substrate specificity of IPDC, probably through orbital alignment. The Glu51-cofactor proton shuttle is, conjointly with the Glu-Asp-His triad, involved in multiple proton transfer steps, including ylide generation, substrate binding, and product release. Studies with para-substituted benzoylformate substrates demonstrate that the electronic properties of the substrate affect the stabilization or destabilization of the carbanion intermediate or carbanion-like transition state and in that way alter the rate dependence on decarboxylation. In conclusion, general mechanistic principles of catalysis of ThDP-dependent enzymes are discussed.     

Crystal Structures Capture Three States in the Catalytic Cycle of a Pyridoxal Phosphate (PLP) Synthase

PLP synthase (PLPS) is a remarkable single-enzyme biosynthetic pathway that produces pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) from glutamine, ribose 5-phosphate, and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. The intact enzyme includes 12 synthase and 12 glutaminase subunits. PLP synthesis occurs in the synthase active site by a complicated mechanism involving at least two covalent intermediates at a catalytic lysine. The first intermediate forms with ribose 5-phosphate. The glutaminase subunit is a glutamine amidotransferase that hydrolyzes glutamine and channels ammonia to the synthase active site. Ammonia attack on the first covalent intermediate forms the second intermediate. Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate reacts with the second intermediate to form PLP. To investigate the mechanism of the synthase subunit, crystal structures were obtained for three intermediate states of the Geobacillus stearothermophilus intact PLPS or its synthase subunit. The structures capture the synthase active site at three distinct steps in its complicated catalytic cycle, provide insights into the elusive mechanism, and illustrate the coordinated motions within the synthase subunit that separate the catalytic states. In the intact PLPS with a Michaelis-like intermediate in the glutaminase active site, the first covalent intermediate of the synthase is fully sequestered within the enzyme by the ordering of a generally disordered 20-residue C-terminal tail. Following addition of ammonia, the synthase active site opens and admits the Lys-149 side chain, which participates in formation of the second intermediate and PLP. Roles are identified for conserved Asp-24 in the formation of the first intermediate and for conserved Arg-147 in the conversion of the first to the second intermediate.     

Structural and kinetic analysis of two covalent sialosyl-enzyme intermediates on Trypanosoma rangeli sialidase

Trypanosoma rangeli sialidase is a glycoside hydrolase (family GH33) that catalyzes the cleavage of alpha-2-->3-linked sialic acid residues from sialoglycoconjugates with overall retention of anomeric configuration. Retaining glycosidases usually operate through a ping-pong mechanism, wherein a covalent intermediate is formed between the carbohydrate and an active site carboxylic acid of the enzyme. Sialidases, instead, appear to use a tyrosine as the catalytic nucleophile, leaving the possibility of an essentially different catalytic mechanism. Indeed, a direct nucleophilic role for a tyrosine was shown for the homologous trans-sialidase from Trypanosoma cruzi, although itself not a typical sialidase. Here we present the three-dimensional structures of the covalent glycosyl-enzyme complexes formed by the T. rangeli sialidase with two different mechanism-based inactivators at 1.9 and 1.7 Angstroms resolution. To our knowledge, these are the first reported structures of enzymatically competent covalent intermediates for a strictly hydrolytic sialidase. Kinetic analyses have been carried out on the formation and turnover of both intermediates, showing that structural modifications to these inactivators can be used to modify the lifetimes of covalent intermediates. These results provide further evidence that all sialidases likely operate through a similar mechanism involving the transient formation of a covalently sialylated enzyme. Furthermore, we believe that the ability to "tune" the inactivation and reactivation rates of mechanism-based inactivators toward specific enzymes represents an important step toward developing this class of inactivators into therapeutically useful compounds.     

Structure of T4 pyrimidine dimer glycosylase in a reduced imine covalent complex with abasic site-containing DNA

The base excision repair (BER) pathway for ultraviolet light (UV)-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers is initiated by DNA glycosylases that also possess abasic (AP) site lyase activity. The prototypical enzyme known to catalyze these reactions is the T4 pyrimidine dimer glycosylase (T4-Pdg). The fundamental chemical reactions and the critical amino acids that lead to both glycosyl and phosphodiester bond scission are known. Catalysis proceeds via a protonated imine covalent intermediate between the alpha-amino group of the N-terminal threonine residue and the C1' of the deoxyribose sugar of the 5' pyrimidine at the dimer site. This covalent complex can be trapped as an irreversible, reduced cross-linked DNA-protein complex by incubation with a strong reducing agent. This active site trapping reaction is equally efficient on DNA substrates containing pyrimidine dimers or AP sites. Herein, we report the co-crystal structure of T4-Pdg as a reduced covalent complex with an AP site-containing duplex oligodeoxynucleotide. This high-resolution structure reveals essential precatalytic and catalytic features, including flipping of the nucleotide opposite the AP site, a sharp kink (approximately 66 degrees ) in the DNA at the dimer site and the covalent bond linking the enzyme to the DNA. Superposition of this structure with a previously published co-crystal structure of a catalytically incompetent mutant of T4-Pdg with cyclobutane dimer-containing DNA reveals new insights into the structural requirements and the mechanisms involved in DNA bending, nucleotide flipping and catalytic reaction.     

Role of the active site cysteine of DpgA, a bacterial type III polyketide synthase

DpgA is a bacterial type III polyketide synthase (PKS) that decarboxylates and condenses four malonyl-CoA molecules to produce 3,5-dihydroxyphenylacetyl-CoA (DPA-CoA) in the biosynthetic pathway to 3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine, a key nonproteinogenic residue in the vancomycin family of antibiotics. DpgA has the conserved catalytic triad of Cys/His/Asn typical of type III PKS enzymes, and has been assumed to use Cys160 as the catalytic nucleophile to create a series of elongating acyl-S-enzyme intermediates prior to the C(8) to C(3) cyclization step. Incubation of purified DpgA with [(14)C]-malonyl-CoA followed by acid quench during turnover leads to accumulation of 10-15% of the DpgA molecules covalently acylated. Mutation of the active site Cys160 to Ala abrogated detectable covalent acylation, but the C160A mutant retained 50% of the V(max) for DPA-CoA formation, with a k(cat) still at 0.5 catalytic turnovers/min. For comparison, a C190A mutant retained wild-type activity, while the H296A mutant, in which the side chain of the presumed catalytic His is removed, had a 6-fold drop in k(cat). During turnover, purified DpgA produced 1.2 equivalents of acetyl-CoA for each DPA-CoA, indicating 23% uncoupled decarboxylation competing with condensative C-C coupling. The C160A mutant showed an increased partition ratio for malonyl-CoA decarboxylation to acetyl-CoA vs condensation to DPA-CoA, reflecting more uncoupling in the mutant enzyme. The Cys-to-Ala mutant thus shows the unexpected result that, when the normal acyl-S-enzyme mechanism for this type III PKS elongation/cyclization catalyst is removed, it can still carry out the regioselective construction of the eight-carbon DPA-CoA skeleton with surprising efficiency.     

Catalytic mechanisms and reaction intermediates along the hydrolytic pathway of a plant beta-D-glucan glucohydrolase.

BACKGROUND: Barley beta-D-glucan glucohydrolases represent family 3 glycoside hydrolases that catalyze the hydrolytic removal of nonreducing glucosyl residues from beta-D-glucans and beta-D-glucooligosaccharides. After hydrolysis is completed, glucose remains bound in the active site. RESULTS: When conduritol B epoxide and 2', 4'-dinitrophenyl 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-glucopyranoside are diffused into enzyme crystals, they displace the bound glucose and form covalent glycosyl-enzyme complexes through the Odelta1 of D285, which is thereby identified as the catalytic nucleophile. A nonhydrolyzable S-glycosyl analog, 4(I), 4(III), 4(V)-S-trithiocellohexaose, also diffuses into the active site, and a S-cellobioside moiety positions itself at the -1 and +1 subsites. The glycosidic S atom of the S-cellobioside moiety forms a short contact (2.75 A) with the Oepsilon2 of E491, which is likely to be the catalytic acid/base. The glucopyranosyl residues of the S-cellobioside moiety are not distorted from the low-energy 4C(1) conformation, but the glucopyranosyl ring at the +1 subsite is rotated and translated about the linkage. CONCLUSIONS: X-ray crystallography is used to define the three key intermediates during catalysis by beta-D-glucan glucohydrolase. Before a new hydrolytic event begins, the bound product (glucose) from the previous catalytic reaction is displaced by the incoming substrate, and a new enzyme-substrate complex is formed. The second stage of the hydrolytic pathway involves glycosidic bond cleavage, which proceeds through a double-displacement reaction mechanism. The crystallographic analysis of the S-cellobioside-enzyme complex with quantum mechanical modeling suggests that the complex might mimic the oxonium intermediate rather than the enzyme-substrate complex.     

Structural studies of Saccharomyces cerevesiae mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase in different enzymatic states reveal substantial conformational changes during the catalytic reaction

Isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDHs) catalyze oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate (ICT) into alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG). We report here the crystal structures of Saccharomyces cerevesiae mitochondrial NADP-IDH Idp1p in binary complexes with coenzyme NADP, or substrate ICT, or product AKG, and in a quaternary complex with NADPH, AKG, and Ca(2+), which represent different enzymatic states during the catalytic reaction. Analyses of these structures identify key residues involved in the binding of these ligands. Comparisons among these structures and with the previously reported structures of other NADP-IDHs reveal that eukaryotic NADP-IDHs undergo substantial conformational changes during the catalytic reaction. Binding or release of the ligands can cause significant conformational changes of the structural elements composing the active site, leading to rotation of the large domain relative to the small and clasp domains along two hinge regions (residues 118-124 and residues 284-287) while maintaining the integrity of its secondary structural elements, and thus, formation of at least three distinct overall conformations. Specifically, the enzyme adopts an open conformation when bound to NADP, a quasi-closed conformation when bound to ICT or AKG, and a fully closed conformation when bound to NADP, ICT, and Ca(2+) in the pseudo-Michaelis complex or with NADPH, AKG, and Ca(2+) in the product state. The conformational changes of eukaryotic NADP-IDHs are quite different from those of Escherichia coli NADP-IDH, for which significant conformational changes are observed only between two forms of the apo enzyme, suggesting that the catalytic mechanism of eukaryotic NADP-IDHs is more complex than that of EcIDH, and involves more fine-tuned conformational changes.     

The Leishmania donovani UMP synthase is essential for promastigote viability and has an unusual tetrameric structure that exhibits substrate-controlled oligomerization

The final two steps of de novo uridine 5'-monophosphate (UMP) biosynthesis are catalyzed by orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRT) and orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase (OMPDC). In most prokaryotes and simple eukaryotes these two enzymes are encoded by separate genes, whereas in mammals they are expressed as a bifunctional gene product called UMP synthase (UMPS), with OPRT at the N terminus and OMPDC at the C terminus. Leishmania and some closely related organisms also express a bifunctional enzyme for these two steps, but the domain order is reversed relative to mammalian UMPS. In this work we demonstrate that L. donovani UMPS (LdUMPS) is an essential enzyme in promastigotes and that it is sequestered in the parasite glycosome. We also present the crystal structure of the LdUMPS in complex with its product, UMP. This structure reveals an unusual tetramer with two head to head and two tail to tail interactions, resulting in two dimeric OMPDC and two dimeric OPRT functional domains. In addition, we provide structural and biochemical evidence that oligomerization of LdUMPS is controlled by product binding at the OPRT active site. We propose a model for the assembly of the catalytically relevant LdUMPS tetramer and discuss the implications for the structure of mammalian UMPS.     

Magnesium-induced assembly of a complete DNA polymerase catalytic complex

The molecular details of the nucleotidyl transferase reaction have remained speculative, as strategies to trap catalytic intermediates for structure determination utilize substrates lacking the primer terminus 3'-OH and catalytic Mg2+, resulting in an incomplete and distorted active site geometry. Since the geometric arrangement of these essential atoms will impact chemistry, structural insight into fidelity strategies has been hampered. Here, we present a crystal structure of a precatalytic complex of a DNA polymerase with bound substrates that include the primer 3'-OH and catalytic Mg2+. This catalytic intermediate was trapped with a nonhydrolyzable deoxynucleotide analog. Comparison with two new structures of DNA polymerase beta lacking the 3'-OH or catalytic Mg2+ is described. These structures provide direct evidence that both atoms are required to achieve a proper geometry necessary for an in-line nucleophilic attack of O3' on the alphaP of the incoming nucleotide.     

A versatile conformational switch regulates reactivity in human branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase

The dehydrogenase/decarboxylase (E1b) component of the 4 MD human branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex (BCKDC) is a thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzyme. We have determined the crystal structures of E1b with ThDP bound intermediates after decarboxylation of alpha-ketoacids. We show that a key tyrosine residue in the E1b active site functions as a conformational switch to reduce the reactivity of the ThDP cofactor through interactions with its thiazolium ring. The intermediates do not assume the often-postulated enamine state, but likely a carbanion state. The carbanion presumably facilitates the second E1b-catalyzed reaction, involving the transfer of an acyl moiety from the intermediate to a lipoic acid prosthetic group in the transacylase (E2b) component of the BCKDC. The tyrosine switch further remodels an E1b loop region to promote E1b binding to E2b. Our results illustrate the versatility of the tyrosine switch in coordinating the catalytic events in E1b by modulating the reactivity of reaction intermediates.     

Stereospecific proton transfer by a mobile catalyst in mammalian fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase

Class I fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolases catalyze the interconversion between the enamine and iminium covalent enzymatic intermediates by stereospecific exchange of the pro(S) proton of the dihydroxyacetone-phosphate C3 carbon, an obligatory reaction step during substrate cleavage. To investigate the mechanism of stereospecific proton exchange, high resolution crystal structures of native and a mutant Lys(146) --> Met aldolase were solved in complex with dihydroxyacetone phosphate. The structural analysis revealed trapping of the enamine intermediate at Lys(229) in native aldolase. Mutation of conserved active site residue Lys(146) to Met drastically decreased activity and enabled trapping of the putative iminium intermediate in the crystal structure showing active site attachment by C-terminal residues 360-363. Attachment positions the conserved C-terminal Tyr(363) hydroxyl within 2.9A of the C3 carbon in the iminium in an orientation consistent with incipient re face proton transfer. We propose a catalytic mechanism by which the mobile C-terminal Tyr(363) is activated by the iminium phosphate via a structurally conserved water molecule to yield a transient phenate, whose developing negative charge is stabilized by a Lys(146) positive charge, and which abstracts the C3 pro(S) proton forming the enamine. An identical C-terminal binding mode observed in the presence of phosphate in the native structure corroborates Tyr(363) interaction with Lys(146) and is consistent with transient C terminus binding in the enamine. The absence of charge stabilization and of a mobile C-terminal catalyst explains the extraordinary stability of enamine intermediates in transaldolases.     

Structures of rat cytosolic PEPCK: insight into the mechanism of phosphorylation and decarboxylation of oxaloacetic acid

The structures of the rat cytosolic isoform of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) reported in the PEPCK-Mn2+, -Mn2+-oxaloacetic acid (OAA), -Mn2+-OAA-Mn2+-guanosine-5'-diphosphate (GDP), and -Mn2+-Mn2+-guanosine-5'-tri-phosphate (GTP) complexes provide insight into the mechanism of phosphoryl transfer and decarboxylation mediated by this enzyme. OAA is observed to bind in a number of different orientations coordinating directly to the active site metal. The Mn2+-OAA and Mn2+-OAA-Mn2+GDP structures illustrate inner-sphere coordination of OAA to the manganese ion through the displacement of two of the three water molecules coordinated to the metal in the holo-enzyme by the C3 and C4 carbonyl oxygens. In the PEPCK-Mn2+-OAA complex, an alternate bound conformation of OAA is present. In this conformation, in addition to the previous interactions, the C1 carboxylate is directly coordinated to the active site Mn2+, displacing all of the waters coordinated to the metal in the holo-enzyme. In the PEPCK-Mn2+-GTP structure, the same water molecule displaced by the C1 carboxylate of OAA is displaced by one of the gamma-phosphate oxygens of the triphosphate nucleotide. The structures are consistent with a mechanism of direct in-line phosphoryl transfer, supported by the observed stereochemistry of the reaction. In the catalytically competent binding mode, the C1 carboxylate of OAA is sandwiched between R87 and R405 in an environment that would serve to facilitate decarboxylation. In the reverse reaction, these two arginines would form the CO2 binding site. Comparison of the Mn2+-OAA-Mn2+GDP and Mn2+-Mn2+GTP structures illustrates a marked difference in the bound conformations of the nucleotide substrates in which the GTP nucleotide is bound in a high-energy state resulting from the eclipsing of all three of the phosphoryl groups along the triphosphate chain. This contrasts a previously determined structure of PEPCK in complex with a triphosphate nucleotide analogue in which the analogue mirrors the conformation of GDP as opposed to GTP. Last, the structures illustrate a correlation between conformational changes in the P-loop, the nucleotide binding site, and the active site lid that are important for catalysis.     

Molecular mechanism of allosteric substrate activation in a thiamine diphosphate-dependent decarboxylase

Thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes are involved in a wide variety of metabolic pathways. The molecular mechanism behind active site communication and substrate activation, observed in some of these enzymes, has since long been an area of debate. Here, we report the crystal structures of a phenylpyruvate decarboxylase in complex with its substrates and a covalent reaction intermediate analogue. These structures reveal the regulatory site and unveil the mechanism of allosteric substrate activation. This signal transduction relies on quaternary structure reorganizations, domain rotations, and a pathway of local conformational changes that are relayed from the regulatory site to the active site. The current findings thus uncover the molecular mechanism by which the binding of a substrate in the regulatory site is linked to the mounting of the catalytic machinery in the active site in this thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzyme.     

Evidence for the existence of covalent nucleotide-thymidylate synthase complexes, identification of site of attachment, and enhancement by folates

The formation of covalent binary complexes of thymidylate synthase and its nucleotide substrate dUMP, product dTMP, and inhibitor, 5-fluorodeoxyuridylate (FdUMP) was investigated using the trichloroacetic acid precipitation method. It was observed that, in addition to FdUMP, both dUMP and dTMP were capable of covalent interactions with the enzyme in the absence of added folates. The presence of folate, dihydrofolate, or tetrahydrofolate (H4folate) was found to produce substantial enhancements in the covalent binding of both FdUMP and dUMP to the enzyme with H4folate being the most effective agent. Further, covalent binary complexes of the enzyme with the three radiolabeled nucleotides were isolated by trichloroacetic acid precipitation and subjected to CNBr cleavage. The active-site CNBr peptide was isolated by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography, and the first five N-terminal amino acid residues were sequenced by the dansyl-Edman procedure. Each active site peptide obtained from the covalent binary complexes as well as that from the covalent inhibitory ternary complex formed from enzyme, FdUMP, and 5,10-methylene-H4folate exhibited an identical sequence of Ala-Leu-Pro-Pro-(X)-, and the 5th amino acid was found to be associated with radiolabeled nucleotide ligand. Dansyl-Edman sequence analysis of the active site CNBr peptide, derived from enzyme which had been treated with iodoacetic acid, gave a sequence of Ala-Leu-Pro-Pro-CmCys (where CmCys is carboxymethylcysteine), thus confirming the fact that the fifth residue from the N terminus is Cys-198. In all the cases, the active site Cys-198 residue was found to be covalently linked to the nucleotides. These results provide unequivocal proof that the covalent binary complexes of enzyme with dUMP and dTMP predicted in the catalytic reaction mechanism actually exist.     

Structures of maltohexaose and maltoheptaose bound at the donor sites of cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase give insight into the mechanisms of transglycosylation activity and cyclodextrin size specificity

The enzymes from the alpha-amylase family all share a similar alpha-retaining catalytic mechanism but can have different reaction and product specificities. One family member, cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase), has an uncommonly high transglycosylation activity and is able to form cyclodextrins. We have determined the 2.0 and 2.5 A X-ray structures of E257A/D229A CGTase in complex with maltoheptaose and maltohexaose. Both sugars are bound at the donor subsites of the active site and the acceptor subsites are empty. These structures mimic a reaction stage in which a covalent enzyme-sugar intermediate awaits binding of an acceptor molecule. Comparison of these structures with CGTase-substrate and CGTase-product complexes reveals three different conformational states for the CGTase active site that are characterized by different orientations of the centrally located residue Tyr 195. In the maltoheptaose and maltohexaose-complexed conformation, CGTase hinders binding of an acceptor sugar at subsite +1, which suggests an induced-fit mechanism that could explain the transglycosylation activity of CGTase. In addition, the maltoheptaose and maltohexaose complexes give insight into the cyclodextrin size specificity of CGTases, since they precede alpha-cyclodextrin (six glucoses) and beta-cyclodextrin (seven glucoses) formation, respectively. Both ligands show conformational differences at specific sugar binding subsites, suggesting that these determine cyclodextrin product size specificity, which is confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis experiments.     

Reaction intermediates in the catalytic mechanism of Escherichia coli MutY DNA glycosylase

The Escherichia coli adenine DNA glycosylase, MutY, plays an important role in the maintenance of genomic stability by catalyzing the removal of adenine opposite 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine or guanine in duplex DNA. Although the x-ray crystal structure of the catalytic domain of MutY revealed a mechanism for catalysis of the glycosyl bond, it appeared that several opportunistically positioned lysine side chains could participate in a secondary beta-elimination reaction. In this investigation, it is established via site-directed mutagenesis and the determination of a 1.35-A structure of MutY in complex with adenine that the abasic site (apurinic/apyrimidinic) lyase activity is alternatively regulated by two lysines, Lys142 and Lys20. Analyses of the crystallographic structure also suggest a role for Glu161 in the apurinic/apyrimidinic lyase chemistry. The beta-elimination reaction is structurally and chemically uncoupled from the initial glycosyl bond scission, indicating that this reaction occurs as a consequence of active site plasticity and slow dissociation of the product complex. MutY with either the K142A or K20A mutation still catalyzes beta and beta-delta elimination reactions, and both mutants can be trapped as covalent enzyme-DNA intermediates by chemical reduction. The trapping was observed to occur both pre- and post-phosphodiester bond scission, establishing that both of these intermediates have significant half-lives. Thus, the final spectrum of DNA products generated reflects the outcome of a delicate balance of closely related equilibrium constants.     

Complex structures of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris R-47 alpha-amylase 1 with malto-oligosaccharides demonstrate the role of domain N acting as a starch-binding domain

The X-ray structures of complexes of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris R-47 alpha-amylase 1 (TVAI) with an inhibitor acarbose and an inactive mutant TVAI with malto-hexaose and malto-tridecaose have been determined at 2.6, 2.0 and 1.8A resolution, and the structures have been refined to R-factors of 0.185 (R(free)=0.225), 0.184 (0.217) and 0.164 (0.200), respectively, with good chemical geometries. Acarbose binds to the catalytic site of TVAI, and interactions between acarbose and the enzyme are very similar to those found in other structure-solved alpha-amylase/acarbose complexes, supporting the proposed catalytic mechanism. Based on the structure of the TVAI/acarbose complex, the binding mode of pullulan containing alpha-(1,6) glucoside linkages could be deduced. Due to the structural difference caused by the replaced amino acid residue (Gln396 for Glu) in the catalytic site, malto-hexaose and malto-tridecaose partially bind to the catalytic site, giving a mimic of the enzyme/product complex. Besides the catalytic site, four sugar-binding sites on the molecular surface are found in these X-ray structures. Two sugar-binding sites in domain N hold the oligosaccharides with a regular helical structure of amylose, which suggests that the domain N is a starch-binding domain acting as an anchor to starch in the catalytic reaction of the enzyme. An assay of hydrolyzing activity for the raw starches confirmed that TVAI can efficiently hydrolyze raw starch.     

Site-specific observation of acyl intermediate processing in thiotemplate biosynthesis by fourier transform mass spectrometry: the polyketide module of yersiniabactin synthetase

Complex arrays of thioester bound intermediates are present on 100-700 kDa enzymes during the biogenesis of diverse types of pharmacophores and natural product drugs. These multidomain enzymes, known as nonribosomal peptide synthetases and polyketide synthases (NRPSs and PKSs, respectively), synthesize from simple, physiologically available substrates bioactive compounds that can be further tailored by a host of modifying domains (e.g., methylation, cyclization, and epimerization) to increase the complexity of the mature final product. Interrogation of such covalent intermediates using mass spectrometry (MS) presents an underutilized method for understanding the covalent catalysis executed by NRPS and PKS enzymes. For the PKS module (205 kDa) from the yersiniabactin (Ybt) gene cluster of Yersinia pestis, limited proteolysis afforded a key 11 kDa peptide from the acyl-carrier protein (ACP) domain upon which at least five covalent intermediates could be detected (42, 70, 86, 330, and 358 Da). The isotopic resolution achieved by Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) allowed for the incorporation of substrates with stable isotopes to confirm the structural assignments of three intermediates (86, 330, and 358 Da) on the Ybt biosynthetic pathway to within 1 Da. Approximately 75% of the enzyme capacity is lost to unproductive decarboxylation of malonyl-S-ACP partly constraining the 1.4 min(-)(1) rate of Ybt production in vitro. Acyl transfer to the ACP domain (on the Ybt pathway) was promoted by a factor of approximately 10 over unproductive CO(2) loss in the presence of the cosubstrate S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), with S-adenosylhomocysteine unable to restore the condensation yield observed with SAM. The data are consistent with Claisen condensation from KS to the ACP carrier site being reversible, with the absence of downstream methylation providing more opportunity for unproductive CO(2) loss. Extension of such FTMS-based studies will allow the direct visualization of multiple intermediates in determining the catalytic order of events and kinetics of NRPS and PKS systems.     

Structural basis for nucleotide binding and reaction catalysis in mevalonate diphosphate decarboxylase

Mevalonate diphosphate decarboxylase (MDD) catalyzes the final step of the mevalonate pathway, the Mg(2+)-ATP dependent decarboxylation of mevalonate 5-diphosphate (MVAPP), producing isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP). Synthesis of IPP, an isoprenoid precursor molecule that is a critical intermediate in peptidoglycan and polyisoprenoid biosynthesis, is essential in Gram-positive bacteria (e.g., Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Enterococcus spp.), and thus the enzymes of the mevalonate pathway are ideal antimicrobial targets. MDD belongs to the GHMP superfamily of metabolite kinases that have been extensively studied for the past 50 years, yet the crystallization of GHMP kinase ternary complexes has proven to be difficult. To further our understanding of the catalytic mechanism of GHMP kinases with the purpose of developing broad spectrum antimicrobial agents that target the substrate and nucleotide binding sites, we report the crystal structures of wild-type and mutant (S192A and D283A) ternary complexes of Staphylococcus epidermidis MDD. Comparison of apo, MVAPP-bound, and ternary complex wild-type MDD provides structural information about the mode of substrate binding and the catalytic mechanism. Structural characterization of ternary complexes of catalytically deficient MDD S192A and D283A (k(cat) decreased 10(3)- and 10(5)-fold, respectively) provides insight into MDD function. The carboxylate side chain of invariant Asp(283) functions as a catalytic base and is essential for the proper orientation of the MVAPP C3-hydroxyl group within the active site funnel. Several MDD amino acids within the conserved phosphate binding loop ("P-loop") provide key interactions, stabilizing the nucleotide triphosphoryl moiety. The crystal structures presented here provide a useful foundation for structure-based drug design.