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T A Steitz

Publications and source records attributed to T A Steitz.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Yeast hexokinase in solution exhibits a large conformational change upon binding glucose or glucose 6-phosphate.

Using small-angle X-ray scattering from solutions of yeast hexokinase, we have measured the radii of gyration of the monomeric B isozyme and its complexes with sugar substrates. We find that the radius of gyration decreases by 0.95 +/- 0.24 A upon binding glucose and 1.25 +/- 0.28 A upon binding glucose 6-phosphate. This observed reduction in radius of gyration in the presence of glucose is the same as that calculated from the coordinates of the high-resolution crystal structures of native hexokinase B and a glucose complex with hexokinase A. Thus, these measurements suggest that the dramatic closing of the slit between the two lobes of hexokinase observed in the crystal structures (Bennett, W.S., & Steitz, T.A. (1978) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75, 4848--4852) occurs in solution when either glucose or glucose 6-phosphate is bound.

Glucose↗

Glucose-induced conformational change in yeast hexokinase.

The A isozyme of yeast hexokinase (ATP:D-hexose 6-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.1) crystallized as a complex with glucose has a conformation that is dramatically different from the conformation of the B isozyme crystallized in the absence of glucose. Comparison of the high-resolution structures shows that one lobe of the molecule is rotated by 12 degrees relative to the other lobe, resulting in movements of as much as 8 A in the polypeptide backbone and closing the cleft between the lobes into which glucose is bound. The conformational change is produced by the binding of glucose (R.C. McDonald, T.A. Steitz, and D.M. Engelman, unpublished data) and is essential for catalysis [Anderson, C.M., Stenkamp, R.E., McDonald, R.C. & Steitz, T.A. (1978) J. Mol. Biol. 123, 207-219] and thus provides an example of induced fit. The surface area of the hexokinase A-glucose complex exposed to solvent is smaller than that of native hexokinase B. By using the change in exposed surface area to estimate the hydrophobic contribution to the free energy changes upon glucose binding, we find that the hydrophobic effect alone favors the active conformation of hexokinase in the presence and absence of sugar. The observed stability of the inactive conformation of the enzyme in the absence of substrates may result from a deficiency of complementary interactions within the cavity that forms when the two lobes close together.

Glucose↗

The structure of a yeast hexokinase monomer and its complexes with substrates at 2.7-A resolution.

From a 2.7-A resolution electron density map we have built a model of the polypeptide backbone of a monomer of yeast hexokinase B (EC 2.7.1.1). This map was obtained from a third crystal form of hexokinase, called BIII, which exhibits space group P212121 and which contains only one monomer per asymmetric unit. The 51,000 molecular weight monomer has an elongated shape (80 A by 55 A by 50 A) and is divided into two lobes by a deep central cleft. The polypeptide chain is folded into three structural domains, one of which is predominantly alpha-helical and two of which each contain a beta-pleated sheet flanked by alpha-helices. Both glucose and AMP bind to these crystals and produce significant alterations in the protein structure. Glucose binds in the deep cleft, as was observed previously in the BII crystal of the dimeric enzyme. AMP, however, binds to a site that is different from the major intersubunit ATP binding site observed in the crystalline dimer. The AMP is found near one of the beta-pleated sheets. From our current interpretation of this electron density map we conclude that neither of the two nucleotide binding regions has the same structure as has been observed for the nucleotide binding regions of the dehydrogenases, adenylate kinase, and phosphoglycerate kinase, although some similarities exist.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

The lac repressor protein: molecular shape, subunit structure, and proposed model for operator interaction based on structural studies of microcrystals.

Electron microscopic and powder x-ray diffraction studies of small crystals of the lac repressor protein provide evidence on its molecular shape and subunit structure which in turn suggests a possible mode of repressor-operator interaction. The crystals are probably orthorhombic space group P222(1) with unit cell dimensions of a = 140, b = 91, c = 117 A. This tetrameric protein appears rather asymmetric, having approximate molecular dimensions of 140 A by 60 A by 45 A. The dumbbell shape of the projected molecular outline observed in the electron micrographs can be explained by assuming that the subunits are related by 222 symmetry and are placed at the corners of a plane rectangle. We propose a model for repressor-operator interaction in which the DNA binds to the repressor with its long axis aligned with that of the repressor and with its 2-fold axis coincident with a twofold axis of the repressor.

Bacterial Proteins↗