Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J N Jansonius.
The number of known three-dimensional structures of vitamin B6-dependent enzymes has doubled in the past two years. A fourth type of fold for B6-dependent enzymes, involving a TIM-barrel domain, has been discovered. Alanine racemase is the first known representative of this new fold. Significant progress has been made in understanding the allosteric effects in the tryptophan synthase reaction.
The structural basis of thermostability of proteins is of great scientific and biotechnological interest. Differences in the X-ray structues of orthologous proteins from hyperthermophilic and mesophilic organisms can indicate crucial stabilizing interactions. To this end the crystal structure of dimeric phosphoribosyl anthranilate isomerase from the hyperthermophile Thermotoga maritima (tPRAI) was determined using phases derived from the isomorphous replacement method and was refined at 2.0 A resolution. The comparison to the known 2.0 A structure of PRAI from Escherichia coli (ePRAI) shows that tPRAI has the complete TIM- or (beta alpha)8-barrel fold, whereas helix alpha5 in ePRAI is replaced by a loop. The subunits of tPRAI associate via the N-terminal faces of their central beta-barrels. Two long, symmetry-related loops that protrude reciprocally into cavities of the other subunit provide for multiple hydrophobic interactions. Moreover, the side chains of the N-terminal methionines and the C-terminal leucines of both subunits are immobilized in a hydrophobic cluster, and the number of salt bridges is increased in tPRAI. These features appear to be mainly responsible for the high thermostability of tPRAI. In contrast to other hyperthermostable enzymes, tPRAI at 25 degrees C is catalytically more efficient than ePRAI, mainly due to its small K(M) value for the substrate [Sterner, R., Kleemann, G. R., Szadkowski, H., Lustig, A., Hennig, M., & Kirschner, K. (1996) Protein Sci. 5, 2000-2008]. The increased number of hydrogen bonds between the phosphate ion and tPRAI compared to ePRAI could be responsible for this effect.
The three-dimensional structure of glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminomutase (EC 5.4.3.8), an alpha2-dimeric enzyme from Synechococcus, has been determined by x-ray crystallography using heavy atom derivative phasing. The structure, refined at 2.4-A resolution to an R-factor of 18.7% and good stereochemistry, explains many of the enzyme's unusual specificity and functional properties. The overall fold is that of aspartate aminotransferase and related B6 enzymes, but it also has specific features. The structure of the complex with gabaculine, a substrate analogue, shows unexpectedly that the substrate binding site involves residues from the N-terminal domain of the molecule, notably Arg-32. Glu-406 is suitably positioned to repel alpha-carboxylic acids, thereby suggesting a basis for the enzyme's reaction specificity. The subunits show asymmetry in cofactor binding and in the mobilities of the residues 153-181. In the unliganded enzyme, one subunit has the cofactor bound as an aldimine of pyridoxal phosphate with Lys-273 and, in this subunit, residues 153-181 are disordered. In the other subunit in which the cofactor is not covalently bound, residues 153-181 are well defined. Consistent with the crystallographically demonstrated asymmetry, a form of the enzyme in which both subunits have pyridoxal phosphate bound to Lys-273 through a Schiff base showed biphasic reduction by borohydride in solution. Analysis of absorption spectra during reduction provided evidence of communication between the subunits. The crystal structure of the reduced form of the enzyme shows that, despite identical cofactor binding in each monomer, the structural asymmetry at residues 153-181 remains.
Indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus is a monomeric enzyme with the common (beta/alpha)8-fold. Recently, its three-dimensional structure was solved in an orthorhombic crystal form, grown by using 1.3 M ammonium sulfate as precipitating agent. Here we describe the X-ray structure analysis of two new crystal forms of this enzyme that were obtained at medium and low ionic strength, respectively. Hexagonal crystals with space group P3(1)21 and cell dimensions a = 62.4 A, b = 62.4 A, c = 122.9 A, gamma = 120 degrees grew in 0.1 M Mes buffer at pH 6.0 with 30% polyethylene glycol monomethylether as precipitant and 0.2 M ammonium sulfate as co-precipitant. A second crystal form with space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) and cell constants a = 62.6 A, b = 74.0 A, c = 74.2 A was obtained using polyethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as precipitants in 0.1 M Mes buffer at pH 6.5. Both structures were solved by molecular replacement and refined at 2.5 A and 2.0 A resolution, respectively. Although the global folds are almost identical, alternative conformations are observed in flexible loop regions, mostly stabilized by crystal contacts. In none of the three crystal forms is the so-called phosphate binding site empty, suggesting that this position has high affinity for anions with tetrahedrally arranged oxygen atoms. Differences in ionic strength of the crystallization buffer have only minor effects on number and specificity of intramolecular salt bridges. The crystal packing, on the other hand, seems to be influenced by the ionic strength of the solvent, since the number of intermolecular salt bridges in the low ionic strength crystal forms is significantly higher.
The mannose transporter from Escherichia coli is a member of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system. The multi-subunit complex couples translocation across the bacterial inner membrane with phosphorylation of the solute. A functional fragment (IIA(Man), residues 2 to 133) of the membrane-associated IIAB(Man) subunit of the mannose transporter was expressed as a selenomethionine protein, and the unphosphorylated molecule was crystallized and its structure solved by X-ray crystallography. The protein consists of a central five-stranded beta-sheet covered by helices on either face. The order of the secondary structure elements is (beta alpha)4, alpha beta. Four beta-strands are arranged in a parallel manner with strand order 2134 and are linked by helices forming right-handed cross-over connections. The fifth strand that forms one edge of the sheet and runs antiparallel to the others is swapped between the subunits of the dimeric structure. Helices D and E form a helical hairpin. Histidine 10, which is transiently phosphorylated during catalysis, is located at the topological switch-point of the structure, close to the subunit interface. Its imidazole ring is hydrogen bonded to the buried side-chain of Asp67. It is likely that Asp67 acts as a general base and thus increases the nucleophilicity of the histidine. Modeling suggests that the covalently bound phosphoryl group would be stabilized by the macrodipole of helix C. Putative interactions between IIA(Man) and the histidine-containing phosphocarrier protein are discussed.
The interaction of mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase with hydroxylamine and five derivatives (in which the hydroxyl hydrogen is replaced by the side chain of naturally occurring amino acids) was investigated by X-ray diffraction as well as by kinetic and spectral measurements with the enzyme in solution. The inhibitors react with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate in the enzyme active site, both in solution and in the crystalline state, in a reversible single-step reaction forming spectrally distinct oxime adducts. Dissociation constants determined in solution range from 10(-8) M to 10(-6) M depending on the nature of the side-chain group. The crystal structures of the adducts of mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase with the monocarboxylic analogue of L-aspartate in the open and closed enzyme conformation were determined at 0.23-nm and 0.25-nm resolution, respectively. This inhibitor binds to both the open and closed crystal forms of the enzyme without disturbing the crystalline order. Small differences in the conformation of the cofactor pyridoxal phosphate were detected between the omega-carboxylate of the inhibitor and Arg292 of the neighbouring subunit is mainly responsible for the attainment of near-coplanarity of the aldimine bond with the pyridine ring in the oxime adducts. Studies with a fluorescent probe aimed to detect shifts in the open/closed conformational equilibrium of the enzyme in oxime complexes showed that the hydroxylamine-derived inhibitors, even those containing a carboxylate group, do not induce the 'domain closure' in solution. This is probably due to the absence of the alpha-carboxylate group in the monocarboxylic hydroxylamine-derived inhibitors, emphasizing that both carboxylates of the substrates L-Asp and L-Glu are essential for stabilizing the closed form of aspartate aminotransferase.
Recombinant phosphoserine aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.52) from Bacillus circulans subsp. alkalophilus was crystallized at room temperature from 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer, pH 4.6, and 2% PEG 20000, using macroseeding techniques. The crystals diffract X-rays to at least 2.0 A nominal resolution. They belong to space group C2 with unit cell dimensions a = 93.2 A, b = 93.1 A, c = 45.6 A, alpha = 90.0 degrees, beta = 106.8 degrees, gamma = 90.0 degrees. A native data set to 2.3 A has been collected. Assuming an average packing density of the crystals, there is one monomer in the asymmetric unit, resulting in a calculated solvent content of 48.2%.
The EF-hand is a highly conserved Ca(2+)-binding motif found in many cytosolic Ca(2+)-modulated proteins. Here we report the crystal structure at 2.0 A resolution of the carboxy-terminal domain of human BM-40 (SPARC, osteonectin), an extracellular matrix protein containing an EF-hand pair. The two EF-hands interact canonically but their detailed structures are unusual. In the first EF-hand a one-residue insertion is accommodated by a cis-peptide bond and by substituting a carboxylate by a peptide carbonyl as a Ca2+ ligand. The second EF-hand is stabilized by a disulphide bond. The EF-hand pair interacts tightly with an amphiphilic amino-terminal helix, reminiscent of target peptide binding by calmodulin. The present structure defines a novel protein module occurring in several other extracellular proteins.
BACKGROUND: Recent efforts to understand the basis of protein stability have focused attention on comparative studies of proteins from hyperthermophilic and mesophilic organisms. Most work to date has been on either oligomeric enzymes or monomers comprising more than one domain. Such studies are hampered by the need to distinguish between stabilizing interactions acting between subunits or domains from those acting within domains. In order to simplify the search for determinants of protein stability we have chosen to study the monomeric enzyme indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus (sIGPS), which grows optimally at 90 degrees C. RESULTS: The 2.0 A crystal structure of sIGPS was determined and compared with the known 2.0 A structure of the IGPS domain of the bifunctional enzyme from the mesophilic bacterium Escherichia coli (eIGPS). sIGPS and eIGPS have only 30% sequence identity, but share high structural similarity. Both are single-domain (beta/alpha)8 barrel proteins, with one (eIGPS) or two (sIGPS) additional helices inserted before the first beta strand. The thermostable sIGPS has many more salt bridges than eIGPS. Several salt bridges crosslink adjacent alpha helices or participate in triple or quadruple salt-bridge clusters. The number of helix capping, dipole stabilizing and hydrophobic interactions is also increased in sIGPS. CONCLUSIONS: The higher stability of sIGPS compared with eIGPS seems to be the result of several improved interactions. These include a larger number of salt bridges, stabilization of alpha helices and strengthening of both polypeptide chain termini and solvent-exposed loops.
Seeds of Canavalia ensiformis (jack bean) contain besides large amounts of canavalin and concanavalin A, a protein with a molecular mass of 33,800 which has been named concanavalin B. Although concanavalin B shares about 40% sequence identity with plant chitinases belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 18, no chitinase activity could be detected for this protein. To resolve this incongruity concanavalin B was crystallised and its three-dimensional structure determined at 1.65 A (1 A = 0.1 nm) resolution. The structure consists of a single domain with a (beta/alpha)8 topology. A 30 amino acid residue long loop occurs between the second beta-strand of the barrel and the second alpha-helix. This extended loop is unusual for the (beta/alpha)8 topology, but appears in a similar conformation in the structures of the seed protein narbonin and several chitinases as well. Two non-proline cis-peptide bonds are present in the structure of concanavalin B: Ser34-Phe, and Trp265-Asn. This structural feature is rarely observed in proteins, but could also be identified in the three-dimensional structures of family 18 chitinases and narbonin in coincident positions. In the chitinases the aromatic residues of the non-proline cis-peptides have been proposed to have a function in the binding of the substrate. The region in concanavalin B, where in chitinases the active site is located, shows two significant differences. First, the catalytic glutamic acid is a glutamine in concanavalin B. Second, although part of the substrate binding cleft of the chitinases is present in concanavalin B, it is much shorter. From this we conclude that concanavalin B and family 18 chitinases are closely related, but that concanavalin B has lost its enzymatic function. It still may act as a carbohydrate binding protein, however.
BACKGROUND: OmpF porin is a trimeric integral membrane protein responsible for the passive transport of small hydrophilic molecules, such as nutrients and waste products, across the outer membrane of Escherichia coli. Very few membrane proteins have been crystallized in three dimensions, yet this stable protein can be obtained in several crystal forms. Comparison of the structures of the same membrane protein in two different packing environments is of major interest, because it allows us to explore the integrity of the structure outside the natural membrane environment. RESULTS: The structure of OmpF porin in a tetragonal crystal form with two trimers per asymmetric unit has been determined at 3.2 A resolution and compared with that obtained previously in a trigonal crystal form. The lattice contacts involve only polar atoms, whereas extensive hydrophobic protein-protein interactions were found in the trigonal lattice. The trimer structure is virtually identical in both. CONCLUSIONS: Our comparison reveals that the overall structure of OmpF is not influenced by crystal lattice constraints and, thus, presumably bears close resemblance to the in vivo structure. The tetragonal crystal structure has provided the starting model for the phasing of neutron diffraction data obtained from this crystal form, as described in an accompanying article.
The electron distribution in the coenzyme-substrate adduct of aspartate aminotransferase was changed by replacing active-site Arg386 with alanine and introducing a new arginine residue nearby. [Y225R, R386A]Aspartate aminotransferase decarboxylates L-aspartate to L-alanine (kcat = 0.04 s-1), while its transaminase activity towards dicarboxylic amino acids is decreased by three orders of magnitude (kcat = 0.19 s-1). Molecular-dynamics simulations based on the crystal structure of the mutant enzyme suggest that a new hydrogen bond to the imine N atom of the pyridoxal-5'-phosphate- aspartate adduct and an altered electrostatic potential around its beta-carboxylate group underlie the 650,000-fold increase in the ratio of beta-decarboxylase/transaminase activity.
Chicken mitochondrial and Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferases K258H, in which the active site lysine residue has been exchanged for a histidine residue, retain partial catalytic competence [Ziak et al. (1993) Eur. J. Biochem. 211, 475-484]. Mutant PLP and PMP holoenzymes and the complexes of the latter (E. coli enzyme) with sulfate and 2-oxoglutarate, as well as complexes of the mitochondrial apoenzyme with N-(5'-phosphopyridoxyl)-L-aspartate or N-(5'-phosphopyridoxyl)-L-glutamate, were crystallized and analyzed by means of X-ray crystallography in order to examine how the side chain of histidine 258 can substitute as a general acid/base catalyst of the aldimine-ketimine tautomerization in enzymic transamination. The structures have been solved and refined at resolutions between 2.1 and 2.8 A. Both the closed and the open conformations, identical to those of the wild-type enzyme, were observed, indicating that the mutant enzymes of both species exhibit the same conformational flexibility as the wild-type enzymes, although in AspAT K258H the equilibrium is somewhat shifted toward the open conformation. The replacement of the active site K258 by a histidine residue resulted only in local structural adaptations necessary to accommodate the imidazole ring. The catalytic competence of the mutant enzyme, which in the forward half-reaction is 0.1% of that of the wild-type enzyme, suggests that the imidazole group is involved in the aldimine-ketimine tautomerization. However, the imidazole ring of H258 is too far away from C alpha and C4' of the coenzyme-substrate adduct for direct proton transfer, suggesting that the 1,3-prototropic shift is mediated by a water molecule. Although there is enough space for a water molecule in this area, it has not been detected. Dynamic fluctuations of the protein matrix might transiently open a channel, giving a water molecule fleeting access to the active site.
In an attempt to change the reaction and substrate specificity of aspartate aminotransferase, several apolar active-site residues were substituted in turn with a histidine residue. Aspartate aminotransferase W140H (of Escherichia coli) racemizes alanine seven times faster (Kcat' = 2.2 x 10(-4) s-1) than the wild-type enzyme, while the aminotransferase activity toward L-alanine was sixfold decreased. X-ray crystallographic analysis showed that the structural changes brought about by the mutation are limited to the immediate environment of H140. In contrast to the tryptophan side chain in the wild-type structure, the imidazole ring of H140 does not form a stacking interaction with the coenzyme pyridine ring. The angle between the two ring planes is about 50 degrees. Pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate dissociates 50 times more rapidly from the W140H mutant than from the wild-type enzyme. A model of the structure of the quinonoid enzyme substrate intermediate indicates that H140 might assist in the reprotonation of C alpha of the amino acid substrate from the re side of the deprotonated coenzyme-substrate adduct in competition with si-side reprotonation by K258. In aspartate aminotransferase I17H (of chicken mitochondria), the substituted residue also lies on the re side of the coenzyme. This mutant enzyme slowly decarboxylates L-aspartate to L-alanine (Kcat' = 8 x 10(-5) s-1). No beta-decarboxylase activity is detectable in the wild-type enzyme. In aspartate aminotransferase V37H (of chicken mitochondria), the mutated residue lies besides the coenzyme in the plane of the pyridine ring; no change in reaction specificity was observed. All three mutations, i.e. W140-->H, I17-->H and V37--H, decreased the aminotransferase activity toward aromatic amino acids by 10-100-fold, while decreasing the activity toward dicarboxylic substrates only moderately to 20%, 20% and 60% of the activity of the wild-type enzymes, respectively. In all three mutant enzymes, the decrease in aspartate aminotransferase activity at pH values lower than 6.5 was more pronounced than in the wild-type enzyme, apparently due to the protonation of the newly introduced histidine residues. The study shows that substitutions of single active-site residues may result in altered reaction and substrate specificities of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent enzymes.
Two refined structures, differing in alkali metal ion content, of the bifunctional, pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme dialkylglycine decarboxylase (DGD) are presented in detail. The enzyme is an alpha 4 tetramer, built up as a dimer of dimers, with a subunit molecular mass of 46.5 kDa. The fold of DGD is similar to those of aspartate aminotransferase, omega-amino acid aminotransferase and tyrosine phenol-lyase. The structure has two binding sites for alkali metal ions. DGD with potassium in site 1 (near the active site) and sodium in site 2 (at the surface of the molecule) has been refined against 2.6A resolution data (R-factor = 17.6%), and DGD with sodium at both sites has been refined against 2.1 A resolution data (R-factor = 17.8%). The proximity of site 1 to the active site accounts for the dependence of enzyme activity on potassium ions, and the observed active site structural changes caused by ion exchange at this site explain the inhibition of activity by sodium. DGD catalyzes both the decarboxylation of dialkylglycine species and the transamination of L-amino acids in its normal catalytic cycle. The active site structure of DGD is moderately homologous to that of aspartate aminotransferase, which catalyzes only transamination; both the differences and similarities provide mechanistic guidelines for the DGD-catalyzed reactions. Models of the L-isovaline and L-alanine external aldimine intermediates suggest mechanisms by which the decarboxylation and transamination reactions could be accomplished within the single active site. Decarboxylation is proposed to be at least partially catalyzed by stereoelectronic activation of the C alpha-carboxylate bond achieved by orienting this bond perpendicular to the plane of the pyridinium ring in the dialkylglycine external aldimine intermediate. Transamination is proposed to be catalyzed by a similar effect on the C alpha-H bond of the L-amino acid external aldimine intermediate, combined with general base catalysis provided by Lys272, in analogy to the mechanism of aspartate aminotransferase.
Mutation of six residues of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase results in substantial acquisition of the transamination properties of tyrosine amino-transferase without loss of aspartate transaminase activity. X-ray crystallographic analysis of key inhibitor complexes of the hexamutant reveals the structural basis for this substrate selectivity. It appears that tyrosine aminotransferase achieves nearly equal affinities for a wide range of amino acids by an unusual conformational switch. An active-site arginine residue either shifts its position to electrostatically interact with charged substrates or moves aside to allow access of aromatic ligands.
The X-ray structure of a decameric form of a complex of human cyclophilin A (CypA) with the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A (CsA) has been determined. The crystals of space group P43212 with cell dimensions a = b = 95.2 A, c = 280.0 A have five copies of the cyclophilin A/cyclosporin A complex in the asymmetric unit. The structure was solved by molecular replacement techniques, using a known cyclophilin A model. Procedures were developed to construct a self-rotation function using the results of cross-rotation searches. The comparison of experimental and constructed self-rotation maps was an important aid in selecting the correct rotation function solution. The translation functions revealed the presence of a cyclic pentamer. A crystallographic dimer axis passes through the non-crystallographic 5-fold rotation axis of the pentameric asymmetric unit, and generates a decameric "sandwich" of CypA/CsA heterodimers that has 52 symmetry. The five CypA/CsA protomers were refined independently using all data to 2.8 A giving a final crystallographic R-factor of 15.7%. Despite the constraints due to the packing arrangement within the decamer, the CypA and CsA conformations are similar to other CypA/CsA structures determined by X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. The hydrophobic CsA molecules are embedded in the middle of the decameric sandwich with only 20% of their surface exposed to solvent. The binding loop of CsA (residues 1 to 3 and 9 to 11) comprising 42% of the CsA surface, is buried in the peptidyl-prolyl-cis-trans isomerase active site of the cognate binding partner CypA, while the effector loop (residues 4 to 8) packs in the core of the decamer making hydrogen-bonding and van der Waals contacts with three neighbouring molecules. The environment of CsA in the decamer has been analysed and may provide a mimic for the interactions likely to occur between the CypA/CsA complex and its biological target calcineurin. There is no evidence to suggest that the decameric sandwich itself plays a role in immunosuppression by inhibiting calcineurin. However, the chaperone/foldase activity of CypA could require oligomer formation for its biological function.
The pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent enzyme dialkylglycine decarboxylase (DGD) is activated by K+ and Rb+ ions, whereas Li+ and Na+ ions are inhibitory. A binding site for alkali metal ions close to the active site (site 1) was discovered in the crystal structure of DGD, and an exchange of K+ for Na+ at this site was shown to affect the conformation of two active site residues [Toney, M. D., Hohenester, E., Cowan, S. W., & Jansonius, J. N. (1993) Science 261, 756-759]. We have investigated the effects of alkali metal ions on DGD activity and have determined the crystal structures at 2.8 A resolution of DGD with Li+ and Rb+ bound at site 1. Due to the weak scattering of the Li+ ion, its position had to be modeled using information from small molecule structures. A comparison of the DGD structures with Li+, Na+, K+, and Rb+ bound at site 1 reveals a striking correlation between active site structure and enzymatic activity. The small, inhibitory ions Li+ and Na+ are accommodated by replacing two protein-derived ligands of the larger, activating ions K+ and Rb+ by a single water molecule. This actuates a two-state structural switch between active and inactive enzyme that involves a concerted reorientation of the active site residues Ser80 and Tyr301 and a small change in the quaternary structure of the DGD tetramer. An important role of the essential K+ ion in both cofactor binding and the organization of a catalytically competent active site structure is proposed. In the structure of DGD with Rb+ bound at site 1, a second Rb+ ion has partially replaced the structural Na+ ion at metal binding site 2 on the surface of the DGD molecule, without significantly altering the protein structure. In contrast to Na+, the Rb+ ion is bound with unfavorable geometry, and it is proposed that the rigid site 2 structure results in a pronounced selectivity for Na+ ions.