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PubMed1999

The UDP-glucose:p-hydroxymandelonitrile-O-glucosyltransferase that catalyzes the last step in synthesis of the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin in Sorghum bicolor. Isolation, cloning, heterologous expression, and substrate specificity.

The final step in the biosynthesis of the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin in Sorghum bicolor is the transformation of the labile cyanohydrin into a stable storage form by O-glucosylation of (S)-p-hydroxymandelonitrile at the cyanohydrin function. The UDP-glucose:p-hydroxymandelonitrile-O-glucosyltransferase was isolated from etiolated seedlings of S. bicolor employing Reactive Yellow 3 chromatography with UDP-glucose elution as the critical step. Amino acid sequencing allowed the cloning of a full-length cDNA encoding the glucosyltransferase. Among the few characterized glucosyltransferases, the deduced translation product showed highest overall identity to Zea mays flavonoid-glucosyltransferase (Bz-Mc-2 allele). The substrate specificity of the enzyme was established using isolated recombinant protein. Compared with endogenous p-hydroxymandelonitrile, mandelonitrile, benzyl alcohol, and benzoic acid were utilized at maximum rates of 78, 13, and 4%, respectively. Surprisingly, the monoterpenoid geraniol was glucosylated at a maximum rate of 11% compared with p-hydroxymandelonitrile. The picture that is emerging regarding plant glucosyltransferase substrate specificity is one of limited but extended plasticity toward metabolites of related structure. This in turn ensures that a relatively high, but finite, number of glucosyltransferases can give rise to the large number of glucosides found in plants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

[Substrate specificity of collagenolytic proteases from the hepatopancreas of the of the Kamchatka crab].

The substrate specificity of two isozymes of collagenolytic protease of the crab (Paralithodes camtschatica) was studied. It was found that both proteases can effectively hydrolyze type I and III collagens, as well as gelatin, the set of products yielded by enzymatic hydrolysis being different for isozymes A and C. Hydrolysis of some well-known peptides revealed that isozyme A predominantly cleaves the peptide bonds containing arginine and lysine residues, whereas isozyme C predominantly hydrolyzes bonds containing hydrophobic amino acids. The catalytic constants for the hydrolysis of several low molecular weight substrates in the presence of P. camtschatica proteases were determined, which allowed to attribute isozyme A to trypsin-like, and isozyme C to chymotrypsin-like proteinases. The peptide substrates of collagenase, Pz-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-D-Arg and Z-Gly-Pro-Ala-Gly-Pro-Ala are not hydrolyzed isozymes of crab collagenolytic protease.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2003

Ribozyme-based gene-inactivation systems require a fine comprehension of their substrate specificities; the case of delta ribozyme.

The ability of ribozymes (i.e. RNA enzymes) to specifically recognize and subsequently catalyze the cleavage of an RNA substrate makes them attractive for the development of therapeutic tools for the inactivation of both viral RNAs and mRNAs associated with various diseases. Several applicable ribozyme models have been tested both in vitro and in a cellular environment, and have shown significant promise. However, several hurdles remain to be surpassed before we generate a useful gene-inactivation system based on a ribozyme. Among the most important requirements for further progress are a better understanding of the features that contribute to defining the substrate specificity for cleavage by a ribozyme, and the identification of the potential cleavage sites in a given target RNA. The goal of this review is to illustrate the importance of both of these factors at the RNA level in the development of any type of ribozyme based gene-therapy. This is achieved by reviewing the recent progress in both the structure-function relationships and the development of a gene-inactivation system of a model ribozyme, specifically delta ribozyme.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2004

Characterization and investigation of substrate specificity of the sugar aminotransferase WecE from E. coli K12.

WecE gene, encoding a sugar aminotransferase (SAT), has been cloned from E. coli K12 and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The enzyme was purified and characterized. WecE used TDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose (TDP-D-Glc4O) and L-glutamate as a good amino acceptor and donor, respectively, leading to the production of TDP-4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-D-galactose (TDP-Fuc4N), which was identified by NMR studies. WecE also showed a similar activity for TDP-4-keto 6-deoxy-D-mannose (TDP-D-Man4O), but no activity for GDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-mannose (GDP-D-Man4O), suggesting that the nucleotide moiety would become a key determinant to the substrate specificity of amine acceptor for the activity of the SAT. Multiple alignments showed that SATs have four highly conserved motifs located around the active site and could be divided into three subgroups (VIalpha, VIbeta, and VIgamma) that might be closely related with their substrate specificities.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

Complementary substrate specificities of class I and class II collagenases from Clostridium histolyticum.

The substrate specificities of three class I (beta, gamma, and eta) and three class II (sigma, epsilon, and zeta) collagenases from Clostridium histolyticum have been investigated by quantitating the kcat/KM values for the hydrolysis of 53 synthetic peptides with collagen-like sequences covering the P3 through P3 subsites of the substrate. For both classes of collagenases, there is a strong preference for Gly in subsites P1' and P3. All six enzymes also prefer substrates that contain Pro and Ala in subsites P2 and P2' and Hyp, Ala, or Arg in subsite P3'. This agrees well with the occupancies of these sites by these residues in type I collagen. However, peptides with Glu in subsites P2 or P2' are not good substrates, even though Glu occurs frequently in these positions in collagen. Conversely, all six enzymes prefer aromatic amino acids in subsite P1, even though such residues do not occur in this position in type I collagen. In general, the class II enzymes have a broader specificity than the class I enzymes. However, they are much less active toward sequences containing Hyp in subsites P1 and P3'. Thus, the two classes of collagenases have similar but complementary sequence specificities. This accounts for the ability of the two classes of enzymes to synergistically digest collagen.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

The substrate specificity of the enzyme endo-alpha-N-acetyl-D-galactosaminidase from Diplococcus pneumonia.

The substrate specificity of the enzyme endo-alpha-N-acetyl-D-galactosaminidase from Diplococcus pneumonia was re-examined using bovine submaxillary mucin and remodelled antifreeze glycoprotein as substrates. Incubation with desialylated bovine submaxillary mucin, which contains six O-linked core types, indicated that the disaccharide Gal beta1-3GalNAc, which is present in very small amount, was the only glycan released, while the disaccharide GlcNAc beta1-3GalNAc, which is the major structure present, and other disaccharides, were not released. To test whether the core disaccharide Gal beta1-3GalNAc with sialic acid linked alpha2-3 to the Gal or linked alpha2-6 to the GalNAc was released, the enzyme was incubated with remodelled antifreeze glycoprotein containing (1) [3H]NeuAc alpha2-3Gal beta1-3GalNAc and (2) Gal beta1-3[[14C]NeuAc alpha2-6]GalNAc as substrates. No NeuAc-containing trisaccharide was released. These results serve to clarify the doubts of many researchers regarding the activity of this enzyme on some newly-described core types and on sialylated substrates.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

The substrate specificity of hormone-sensitive lipase from adipose tissue of the Antarctic fish Trematomus newnesi.

Antarctic fishes of the suborder Notothenioidei characteristically possess large stores of neutral lipids that have been shown to be important both in conferring buoyant lift and as a caloric resource for energy metabolism. Previous work has established that the aerobic energy metabolism of Antarctic fish is fueled predominantly by the catabolism of fatty acids, with the catabolic machinery displaying a preference for the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. The composition of the fatty acids released from adipose tissue of Antarctic fish during lipolysis, however, has not previously been demonstrated. Employing a substrate competition assay, we have characterized the substrate specificity of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) from adipose tissue of the Antarctic fish Trematomus newnesi. Rates of oleic acid release from radiolabeled triolein were quantified in the presence and absence of a nonradiolabeled cosubstrate. Polyunsaturated species of triacylglycerols (TAGs) containing 18:2 or 20:4 depressed rates of oleate release by 70-75% below control values. Most of the molecular species of TAG containing monoenoic fatty acids (i.e. those containing 14:1, 16:1 or 20:1) had no significant effect on rates of oleate release. By contrast, oleate release from triolein was actually stimulated (by 2-4-fold) by both saturated species of TAG (i.e. those containing 14:0, 16:0 and 18:0) and those possessing long-chain (22:1 and 24:1) monoenes (by 1.2-1.5-fold). Thus, the rank order of substrate preference for adipose tissue HSL was: polyunsaturates > monoenes > saturates. Degree of fatty acid unsaturation had a more marked effect on rates of hydrolysis than did fatty acid chain length. In addition, the enzyme displayed a preference for the hydrolysis of sn-1,2 rather than sn-1,3 diacylglycerols. These data indicate that the substrate specificity of adipose tissue HSL may be an important factor in determining which fatty acids are mobilized during stimulated lipolysis and which are made available for catabolism by other tissues of Antarctic fishes. Our data further suggest that TAGs containing some saturated fatty acids may be sufficiently poor substrates for catabolism by HSL to explain their disproportionate accumulation in adipose tissue. Such a mechanism could also contribute to the ontogenetic accumulation of fats that has been reported as an underlying basis for the positive correlation of buoyancy with increasing body mass in this group.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1993

The substrate specificity of brain microsomal phospholipase D.

Neurotransmitters activate a phospholipase D that is though to specifically hydrolyse phosphatidylcholine. This enzyme has a unique property known as transphosphatidylation: in the presence of an appropriate nucleophilic receptor such as an alcohol, phospholipase D will catalyse the production of phosphatidyl-alcohol. We have studied phospholipase D using an in vitro assay that uses [3H]butanol of high specific radioactivity (15 Ci/mmol) as an acceptor. In the presence of [3H]butanol and phosphatidylcholine, a microsomal membrane fraction from rat brain catalysed the production of phosphatidyl[3H]butanol. Phospholipase D activity was dependent upon the presence of a detergent; the optimal sodium oleate concentration was between 4 and 6 mM. The RF of the phosphatidyl[3H]butanol on t.l.c. was identical to the RF of the phosphatidylbutanol formed when [3H]phosphatidylcholine was incubated with 100 mM butanol. These data confirm the identity of phosphatidyl[3H]butanol. One important advantage of this assay is that the substrate does not need to be labelled. We have used this advantage to examine the substrate specificity of phospholipase D. Microsomal phospholipase D appears to hydrolyse phosphatidylcholine most efficiently. There is a relatively small but significant activity against phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine, and there is no significant activity against phosphatidylinositol. As the head-group becomes more like choline, the phospholipid becomes a better substrate for phospholipase D. The addition of one methyl group leads to a large increase in activity. Fatty acid composition does not play a role in determining the substrate specificity. This assay should be useful in furthering our understanding of this important enzyme.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Mutations of charged amino acids in or near the transmembrane helices of the second membrane spanning domain differentially affect the substrate specificity and transport activity of the multidrug resistance protein MRP1 (ABCC1).

Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) belongs to the ATP-binding cassette superfamily of transport proteins. In addition to drugs, MRP1 mediates the active transport of many conjugated and unconjugated organic anions. MRP1 consists of two membrane-spanning domains (MSD2 and MSD3) each followed by a nucleotide binding domain plus a third NH2-terminal MSD1. MSD2 contains transmembrane (TM) helices 6 through 11, and previously, we identified two charged residues in TM6 as having important but markedly different roles in MRP1 transport activity and substrate specificity by characterizing mutants containing nonconservative substitutions of Lys332 and Asp336. We have now extended these studies and found that the same-charge TM6 mutant K332R, like the nonconservatively substituted Lys332 mutants, exhibits a selective decrease in leukotriene C4 (LTC4) transport, associated with substantial changes in both Km and Vmax and LTC4 binding. The overall organic anion transport activity of the same-charge mutant of Asp336 (D336E) also remained very low, as observed for D336R. In addition, nonconservative substitutions of TM6-associated Lys319 and Lys347 resulted in a selective decrease in GSH transport. Of eight other charged residues in or proximal to TM7 to TM11 that were investigated, nonconservative substitutions of three of them [Lys396 (TM7), Asp436 (TM8), and Arg593 (TM11)] caused a substantial and global reduction in transport activity. However, unlike TM6 Asp336, wild-type transport activity could be reestablished in these MRP1 mutants by conservative substitutions. We conclude that MSD2-charged residues in or proximal to TM6, TM7, TM8, and TM11 play critical but differential roles in MRP1 transport activity and substrate specificity.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Mechanism of DNA secondary postradiation degradation in the thymocytes of irradiated rats. 1. The substrate specificity of alkaline endonucleases].

The spectrophotometric and viscosimetric methods were used to study the substrate specificity and optimum pH of alkaline endonucleases in irradiated and nonirradiated cell homogenates of rat thymocytes. It was shown that activation of alkaline endonucleases in cell homogenates of thymocytes, as determined by the spectrophotometric method, was connected with the increase in DNAase I activity. The viscosimetric method fixed the activation of several alkaline endonucleases including DNAase I.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

A region within a lumenal loop of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ycf1p directs proteolytic processing and substrate specificity.

Ycf1p, a member of the yeast multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) subfamily of ATP-binding cassette proteins, is a vacuolar membrane transporter that confers resistance to a variety of toxic substances such as cadmium and arsenite. Ycf1p undergoes a PEP4-dependent processing event to yield N- and C-terminal cleavage products that remain associated with one another. In the present study, we sought to determine whether proteolytic cleavage is required for Ycf1p activity. We have identified a unique region within lumenal loop 6 of Ycf1p, designated the loop 6 insertion (L6(ins)), which appears to be necessary and sufficient for proteolytic cleavage, since L6(ins) can promote processing when moved to new locations in Ycf1p or into a related transporter, Bpt1p. Surprisingly, mutational results indicate that proteolytic processing is not essential for Ycf1p transport activity. Instead, the L6(ins) appears to regulate substrate specificity of Ycf1p, since certain mutations in this region lower cellular cadmium resistance with a concomitant gain in arsenite resistance. Although some of these L6(ins) mutations block processing, there is no correlation between processing and substrate specificity. The activity profiles of the Ycf1p L6(ins) mutants are dramatically affected by the strain background in which they are expressed, raising the possibility that another cellular component may functionally impact Ycf1p activity. A candidate component may be a new full-length MRP-type transporter (NFT1), reported in the Saccharomyces Genome Database as two adjacent open reading frames, YKR103w and YKR104w, but which we show here is present in most Saccharomyces strains as a single open reading frame.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗
PubMed1998

Engineering subtilisin YaB: restriction of substrate specificity by the substitution of Gly124 and Gly151 with Ala.

The 3-D structure of subtilisin YaB was computer modelled using the structures of subtilisin BPN', subtilisin Carlsberg and thermitase as templates. Gly124 and Gly151 located on both sides of the waist of the S1 pocket were selected for site-directed mutagenesis based on the modelled structure. The mutated ale genes coding for the mutant subtilisin YaB were expressed in Bacillus subtilis DB104. All of the G124 and G151 series of mutants exhibited an increase of relative catalytic activity for elastin-orcein against casein and myofibrillar proteins. The S1 substrate specificity of G124A, G124V and G151A mutants were assessed using various carbobenzoxy-amino acid-nitrophenyl esters and succinyl-Ala-Ala-(Pro or Val)-(Ala, Phe or Leu)-p-nitroanilide [AA(P/V) (A/F/L)]. While G124A and G124V mutants hydrolyzed only Ala and Gly esters, G151A mutant hydrolyzed Ala, Leu and Gly esters. The G124A and G124V mutants did not hydrolyze AAPF and AAPL. However, these two mutants hydrolyzed AAPA and AAVA with kcat/Km values approximately 3-10-fold higher than those of the wild-type enzyme. The G151A mutant did not hydrolyze AAPF, but hydrolyzed AAPL, AAPA and AAVA with kcat/Km values approximately 1-4-fold higher than those of the wild-type enzyme. These results clearly indicate that the S1 substrate specificity of G124A and G124V mutants was restricted to Ala and Gly, and G151A mutant to Ala, Gly and Leu.

Alanine↗
PubMed2003

Differential substrate specificity of monoamine oxidase in the rat heart and renal cortex.

Although it is known that substrate specificities differ with species and within each species with the tissues, in the rat heart no natural substrate was found for MAO-B. beta-phenylethylamine (beta-PEA) has always been considered the "endogenous" substrate of MAO B. We thought worthwide to evaluate the effect of Ro 41-1049 and lazabemide, both members of a class of highly selective, mechanism-based and reversible inhibitors for MAO-A and MAO B, respectively on the metabolization of beta-PEA by the rat heart. Also the lack of molecular data on rat heart MAOs, prompted us to better characterize rat heart MAOs, both kinetically and using molecular biology techniques. K(m) values for deamination of beta-PEA in the rat heart were 13-fold those in the kidney, by contrast, K(m) values for deamination of 5-HT were quite similar in both tissues. Unexpectedly, the selective MAO-A inhibitor Ro 41-1049 was by far the most potent inhibitor of beta-PEA (20 microM) deamination in the rat heart, while clorgyline, another MAO A inhibitor, and lazabemide, a MAO B inhibitor, had intermediate efficacy; selegiline was found unable to inhibit deamination of beta-PEA. In the rat renal cortex lazabemide and selegiline both inhibited beta-PEA deamination. The reduction of beta-PEA concentration to just 200 nM, the use of heart membranes instead of tissue homogenates or the use of heart membranes pre-treated with 1% digitonine failed to change this pattern of inhibition. Semicarbazide was found not to alter deamination of beta-PEA. Western blot showed the presence of both isoforms (55 kd and 61 kd) in the renal cortex. In the heart there was a predominance of the A form, the B form being undetected. The RT-PCR products for both MAO-A and MAO-B, were found to have the expected sizes. In conclusion, we found mRNA for MAO-B but were unable to detect the protein itself or its activity when using beta-PEA as the substrate.

Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing)↗
PubMed2003

Engineering the primary substrate specificity of Streptomyces griseus trypsin.

Streptomyces griseus trypsin (SGT) was chosen as a model scaffold for the development of serine proteases with enhanced substrate specificity. Recombinant SGT has been produced in a Bacillus subtilis expression system in a soluble active form and purified to homogeneity. The recombinant and native proteases have nearly identical enzymatic properties and structures. Four SGT mutants with alterations in the S1 substrate binding pocket (T190A, T190P, T190S, and T190V) were also expressed. The T190P mutant demonstrated the largest shift to a preference for Arg versus Lys in the P1 site. This was shown by a minor reduction in catalytic activity toward an Arg-containing substrate (k(cat) reduction of 25%). The crystal structures of the recombinant SGT and the T190P mutant in a complex with the inhibitor benzamidine were obtained at high resolution (approximately 1.9 A). The increase in P1 specificity, achieved with minimal effect on the catalytic efficiency, demonstrates that the T190P mutant is an ideal candidate for the design of additional substrate specificity engineered into the S2 to S4 binding pockets.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed1998

Sequence characteristics, subcellular localization, and substrate specificity of DYRK-related kinases, a novel family of dual specificity protein kinases.

DYRK1 is a dual specificity protein kinase presumably involved in brain development. Here we show that the kinase belongs to a new family of protein kinases comprising at least seven mammalian isoforms (DYRK1A, DYRK1B, DYRK1C, DYRK2, DYRK3, DYRK4A, and DYRK4B), the yeast homolog Yak1p, and the Drosophila kinase minibrain (MNB). In rat tissues, DYRK1A is expressed ubiquitously, whereas transcripts for DYRK1B, DYRK2, DYRK3, and DYRK4 were detected predominantly in testes of adult but not prepuberal rats. By fluorescence microscopy and subcellular fractionation, a green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein of DYRK1A was found to accumulate in the nucleus of transfected COS-7 and HEK293 cells, whereas GFP-DYRK2 was predominantly detected in the cytoplasm. DYRK1A exhibited a punctate pattern of GFP fluorescence inside the nucleus and was co-purified with the nuclear matrix. Analysis of GFP-DYRK1A deletion constructs showed that the nuclear localization of DYRK1A was mediated by its nuclear targeting signal (amino acids 105-139) but that its characteristic subnuclear distribution depended on additional N-terminal elements (amino acids 1-104). When expressed in Escherichia coli, DYRK1A, DYRK2, DYRK3, MNB, and Yak1p catalyzed their autophosphorylation on tyrosine residues. The kinases differed in their substrate specificity in that DYRK2 and DYRK3, but not DYRK1A and MNB, catalyzed phosphorylation of histone H2B. The heterogeneity of their subcellular localization and substrate specificity suggests that the kinases are involved in different cellular functions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

PACE4 is a member of the mammalian propeptidase family that has overlapping but not identical substrate specificity to PACE.

Proteins that transit the constitutive pathway of secretion frequently require proteolytic processing after a pair of basic amino acids to attain their full functional activity. A ubiquitously expressed calcium-dependent subtilisin-like serine protease, named PACE or furin, can cleave precursor polypeptides specifically at pairs of basic amino acids where an arginine residue is present in the P4 position. Another member of this protease family, PACE4, was cloned recently by a PCR-based strategy and was also shown to be ubiquitously expressed. We have expressed PACE4 by transient DNA transfection of COS-1 cells and have shown that the cDNA encodes a 120-kDa polypeptide that is present in cell extracts but not in conditioned medium of transfected cells. The substrate specificities of PACE and PACE4 for cleavage of pro-von Willebrand factor were studied in parallel using a transient DNA cotransfection system. Like PACE, PACE4 was able to process pro-vWF to its mature form, and efficient cleavage required both the P4 arginine and the P2 lysine. These data, taken together with previously published data showing that PACE4 cannot process pro-factor IX, demonstrate that PACE and PACE4 have overlapping but not identical substrate specificities. Further differences between PACE and PACE4 specificities were elucidated by monitoring inhibition of processing activity mediated by the serine protease inhibitor alpha 1-antitrypsin Pittsburgh mutant. Pro-vWF processing by PACE was inhibited by expression of the alpha 1-antitrypsin Pittsburgh mutant, whereas processing of pro-vWF by PACE4 was not affected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2003

Characterisation of preYvaY export reveals differences in the substrate specificities of Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli leader peptidases.

Translocation, processing and secretion of YvaY, a Bacillus subtilis protein of unknown function, were characterised both in B. subtilis and in Escherichia coli. In its natural host B. subtilis, YvaY was transiently synthesised at the end of the exponential growth phase. It was efficiently secreted into the culture supernatant in spite of a calculated membrane spanning domain in the mature part of the protein. In E. coli, despite the high conservation of Sec-dependent transport components, processing of preYvaY was strongly impaired. To uncover which elements of E. coli and B. subtilis translocation systems are responsible for the observed substrate specificity, components of the B. subtilis Sec-system were co-expressed besides yvaY in E. coli. Expression of B. subtilis secA or secYEG genes did not affect processing, but expression of B. subtilis signal peptidase genes significantly enhanced processing of preYvaY in E. coli. While the major signal peptidases SipS or SipT had a strong stimulatory effect on preYvaY processing, the minor signal peptidases SipU, SipV or SipW had a far less stimulatory effect in E. coli. These results reveal that targeting and translocation of preYvaY is mediated by the E. coli Sec proteins but processing of preYvaY is not performed by E. coli signal peptidase LepB. Thus, differences in substrate specificities of E. coli LepB and the B. subtilis Sip proteins provide the bottleneck for export of YvaY in E. coli. Significant slower processing of preYvaY in absence of SecB indicated that SecB mediates targeting of the B. subtilis precursor.

Bacillus subtilis↗
PubMed2000

Structural determination of the substrate specificities and regioselectivities of the rat and human fatty acid omega-hydroxylases.

The substrate and regiospecificities of the known CYP4A enzymes from rat (CYP4A1, -4A2, -4A3, and -4A8) and human (CYP4A11) have been determined using lauric (C12), myristic (C14), palmitic (C16), oleic (C18:1), and arachidonic (C20:4) acids. The CYP4A2 and CYP4A8 cDNAs required to complete the enzyme set were cloned from a rat kidney library. All five proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli and were purified with the help of a six-histidine tag at the carboxyl terminus. Two complementary CYP4A2-CYP4A3 chimeras fused at residue 119 (CYP4A2) and 122 (CYP4A3) were constructed to explore the roles of the 18 amino acid differences between the parent proteins in determining their catalytic profiles. The chimera in which the first 119 amino acids are from CYP4A2 indicates that the first 120 amino acids control the substrate specificity. The chimera in which the first 122 amino acids are from CYP4A3 is inactive due to a defect in electron transfer to the heme group. The highest activity for lauric acid was obtained with CYP4A1 and CYP4A8, but for all the proteins the activity decreased with increasing fatty acid chain length. The fact that none of the rat and human CYP4A enzymes exhibits a high activity with arachidonic acid appears to limit their role as catalysts for the physiologically important conversion of arachidonic acid to 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE).

Amino Acid Sequence↗