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Alternatives to the isomerase-dependent pathway for the beta-oxidation of oleic acid are dispensable in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Identification of YOR180c/DCI1 encoding peroxisomal delta(3,5)-delta(2,4)-dienoyl-CoA isomerase.

Fatty acids with double bonds at odd-numbered positions such as oleic acid can enter beta-oxidation via a pathway relying solely on the auxiliary enzyme Delta(3)-Delta(2)-enoyl-CoA isomerase, termed the isomerase-dependent pathway. Two novel alternative pathways have recently been postulated to exist in mammals, and these additionally depend on Delta(3,5)-Delta(2,4)-dienoyl-CoA isomerase (di-isomerase-dependent) or on Delta(3,5)-Delta(2,4)-dienoyl-CoA isomerase and 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase (reductase-dependent). We report the identification of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae oleic acid-inducible DCI1 (YOR180c) gene encoding peroxisomal di-isomerase. Enzyme assays conducted on soluble extracts derived from yeast cells overproducing Dci1p using 3,5,8,11,14-eicosapentenoyl-CoA as substrate demonstrated a specific di-isomerase activity of 6 nmol x min(-1) per mg of protein. Similarly enriched extracts from eci1Delta cells lacking peroxisomal 3,2-isomerase additionally contained an intrinsic 3,2-isomerase activity that could generate 3, 5,8,11,14-eicosapentenoyl-CoA from 2,5,8,11,14-eicosapentenoyl-CoA but not metabolize trans-3-hexenoyl-CoA. Amplification of this intrinsic activity replaced Eci1p since it restored growth of the eci1Delta strain on petroselinic acid for which di-isomerase is not required whereas Eci1p is. Heterologous expression in yeast of rat di-isomerase resulted in a peroxisomal protein that was enzymatically active but did not re-establish growth of the eci1Delta mutant on oleic acid. A strain devoid of Dci1p grew on oleic acid to wild-type levels, whereas one lacking both Eci1p and Dci1p grew as poorly as the eci1Delta mutant. Hence, we reasoned that yeast di-isomerase does not additionally represent a physiological 3,2-isomerase and that Dci1p and the postulated alternative pathways in which it is entrained are dispensable for degrading oleic acid.

Acyl Coenzyme A↗

The structure of rhamnose isomerase from Escherichia coli and its relation with xylose isomerase illustrates a change between inter and intra-subunit complementation during evolution.

Using a new expression construct, rhamnose isomerase from Escherichia coli was purified and crystallized. The crystal structure was solved by multiple isomorphous replacement and refined to a crystallographic residual of 17.4 % at 1.6 A resolution. Rhamnose isomerase is a tight tetramer of four (beta/alpha)(8)-barrels. A comparison with other known structures reveals that rhamnose isomerase is most similar to xylose isomerase. Alignment of the sequences of the two enzymes based on their structures reveals a hitherto undetected sequence identity of 13 %, suggesting that the two enzymes evolved from a common precursor. The structure and arrangement of the (beta/alpha)(8)-barrels of rhamnose isomerase are very similar to xylose isomerase. Each enzyme does, however, have additional alpha-helical domains, which are involved in tetramer association, and largely differ in structure. The structures of complexes of rhamnose isomerase with the inhibitor l-rhamnitol and the natural substrate l-rhamnose were determined and suggest that an extended loop, which is disordered in the native enzyme, becomes ordered on substrate binding, and may exclude bulk solvent during catalysis. Unlike xylose isomerase, this loop does not extend across a subunit interface but contributes to the active site of its own subunit. It illustrates how an interconversion between inter and intra-subunit complementation can occur during evolution. In the crystal structure (although not necessarily in vivo) rhamnose isomerase appears to bind Zn(2+) at a "structural" site. In the presence of substrate the enzyme also binds Mn(2+) at a nearby "catalytic" site. An array of hydrophobic residues, not present in xylose isomerase, is likely to be responsible for the recognition of l-rhamnose as a substrate. The available structural data suggest that a metal-mediated hydride-shift mechanism, which is generally favored for xylose isomerase, is also feasible for rhamnose isomerase.

Aldose-Ketose Isomerases↗

Affinity alkylation of human placental 3 beta-hydroxy-5-ene-steroid dehydrogenase and steroid 5----4-ene-isomerase by 2 alpha-bromoacetoxyprogesterone: evidence for separate dehydrogenase and isomerase sites on one protein.

We have copurified human placental 3 beta-hydroxy-5-ene-steroid dehydrogenase and steroid 5----4-ene-isomerase, which synthesize progesterone from pregnenolone and androstenedione from fetal dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, from microsomes as a homogeneous protein based on electrophoretic and NH2-terminal sequencing data. The affinity alkylator, 2 alpha-bromoacetoxyprogesterone, simultaneously inactivates the pregnene and androstene dehydrogenase activities as well as the C21 and C19 isomerase activities in a time-dependent, irreversible manner following first order kinetics. At four concentrations (50/1-20/1 steroid/enzyme M ratios), the alkylator inactivates the dehydrogenase activity (t1/2 = 1.5-3.7 min) 2-fold faster than the isomerase activity. Pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone protect the dehydrogenase activity, while 5-pregnene-3,20-dione, progesterone, and androstenedione protect isomerase activity from inactivation. The protection studies and competitive kinetics of inhibition demonstrate that the affinity alkylator is active site-directed. Kitz and Wilson analyses show that 2 alpha-bromoacetoxyprogesterone inactivates the dehydrogenase activity by a bimolecular mechanism (k3' = 160.9 l/mol.s), while the alkylator inactivates isomerase by a unimolecular mechanism (Ki = 0.14 mM, k3 = 0.013 s-1). Pregnenolone completely protects the dehydrogenase activity but does not slow the rate of isomerase inactivation by 2 alpha-bromoacetoxyprogesterone at all. NADH completely protects both activities from inactivation by the alkylator, while NAD+ protects neither. From Dixon analysis, NADH competitively inhibits NAD+ reduction by dehydrogenase activity. Mixed cofactor studies show that isomerase binds NAD+ and NADH at a common site. Therefore, NADH must not protect either activity by simply binding at the cofactor site. We postulate that NADH binding as an allosteric activator of isomerase protects both the dehydrogenase and isomerase activities from affinity alkylation by inducing a conformational change in the enzyme protein. The human placental enzyme appears to express the pregnene and androstene dehydrogenase activities at one site and the C21 and C19 isomerase activities at a second site on the same protein.

3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗

Xylose (glucose) isomerase gene from the thermophile Thermus thermophilus: cloning, sequencing, and comparison with other thermostable xylose isomerases.

The xylose isomerase gene from the thermophile Thermus thermophilus was cloned by using a fragment of the Streptomyces griseofuscus gene as a probe. The complete nucleotide sequence of the gene was determined. T. thermophilus is the most thermophilic organism from which a xylose isomerase gene has been cloned and characterized. The gene codes for a polypeptide of 387 amino acids with a molecular weight of 44,000. The Thermus xylose isomerase is considerably more thermostable than other described xylose isomerases. Production of the enzyme in Escherichia coli, by using the tac promoter, increases the xylose isomerase yield 45-fold compared with production in T. thermophilus. Moreover, the enzyme from E. coli can be purified 20-fold by simply heating the cell extract at 85 degrees C for 10 min. The characteristics of the enzyme made in E. coli are the same as those of enzyme made in T. thermophilus. Comparison of the Thermus xylose isomerase amino acid sequence with xylose isomerase sequences from other organisms showed that amino acids involved in substrate binding and isomerization are well conserved. Analysis of amino acid substitutions that distinguish the Thermus xylose isomerase from other thermostable xylose isomerases suggests that the further increase in thermostability in T. thermophilus is due to substitution of amino acids which react during irreversible inactivation and results also from increased hydrophobicity.

Aldose-Ketose Isomerases↗

Protein-disulphide isomerase and prolyl isomerase act differently and independently as catalysts of protein folding.

Two enzymes are now known that catalyse slow steps in protein folding. Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase catalyses the cis-trans isomerization of Xaa-Pro peptide bonds in oligopeptides and during the refolding of several proteins. The other enzyme, protein-disulphide isomerase, accelerates the reactivation of reduced proteins, presumably by catalysis of thiol-disulphide exchange reactions. Recent evidence indicates that the beta-subunit of prolyl 4-hydroxylase, an enzyme involved in collagen biosynthesis, is identical with disulphide isomerase. On the basis of this important finding, it was suggested that disulphide isomerase accelerates protein folding, not by 'reshuffling' incorrect disulphide bonds, but in the same way as prolyl isomerase by catalysing proline isomerization which is known to be important for the folding of collagen and other proteins. Here we show that the catalytic activities of these two enzymes are different. Disulphide isomerase accelerates the reformation of native disulphide bonds during protein reoxidation. We find no evidence that this enzyme can catalyse the isomerization of proline peptide bonds, a reaction efficiently accelerated by prolyl isomerase. When both enzymes are present simultaneously during protein folding, they act independently of one another.

Amino Acid Isomerases↗

Different contributions of the three CXXC motifs of human protein-disulfide isomerase-related protein to isomerase activity and oxidative refolding.

Human protein-disulfide isomerase (hPDI)-related protein (hPDIR), which we previously cloned from a human placental cDNA library (Hayano, T., and Kikuchi, M. (1995) FEBS Lett. 372, 210-214), and its mutants were expressed in the Escherichia coli pET system and purified by sequential nickel affinity resin chromatography. Three thioredoxin motifs (CXXC) of purified hPDIR were found to contribute to its isomerase activity with a rank order of CGHC > CPHC > CSMC, although both the isomerase and chaperone activities of this protein were lower than those of hPDI. Screening for hPDIR-binding proteins using a T7 phage display system revealed that alpha1-antitrypsin binds to hPDIR. Surface plasmon resonance experiments demonstrated that alpha1-antitrypsin interacts with hPDIR, but not with hPDI or human P5 (hP5). Interestingly, the rate of oxidative refolding of alpha1-antitrypsin with hPDIR was much higher than with hPDI or hP5. Thus, the substrate specificity of hPDIR differed from that associated with isomerase activity, and the contribution of the CSMC motif to the oxidative refolding of alpha1-antitrypsin was the most definite of the three (CSMC, CGHC, CPHC). Substitution of SM and PH in the CXXC motifs with GH increased isomerase activity and decreased oxidative refolding. In contrast, substitution of GH and PH with SM decreased isomerase activity and increased oxidative refolding. Because CXXC motif mutants lacking isomerase activity retain chaperone activity for the substrate rhodanese, it is clear that, similar to PDI and hP5, the isomerase and chaperone activities of hPDIR are independent. These results suggest that the central dipeptide of the CXXC motif is critical for both redox activity and substrate specificity.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Phosphoglucose isomerase: a ketol isomerase with aldol C2-epimerase activity.

With 13C NMR, phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI; D-glucose-6-phosphate ketol-isomerase, EC 5.3.1.9) is shown to produce mannose 6-phosphate (M6P) slowly from a much more rapidly catalyzed equilibrium between glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) and fructose 6-phosphate (F6P). The identity of M6P and its formation from G6P plus F6P are confirmed by 1H NMR and by the ability of PGI to convert M6P to F6P plus G6P. The possibility of contaminating phosphomannose isomerase (PMI, D-mannose-6-phosphate ketol-isomerase, EC 5.3.1.8) is ruled out by finding no exchange of the C1 proton of G6P or of M6P, whereas exchange occurs with a mixture of PMI and PGI in 2H2O. The pro-R and pro-S protons of F6P become the anomeric protons of M6P and G6P through the actions of PMI and PGI, respectively. Both isomerases exchange the C2 proton of their substrate with the medium; hence, when PGI and PMI are added together to hexose phosphate solutions in 2H2O, both the substrate and anomeric protons are exchange rapidly with deuterons from the medium. The rates of C2-epimerization of G6P and M6P by PGI are shown to be proportional to enzyme concentration and inhibited by 5-phosphoarabinoate, a competitive inhibitor of the previously demonstrated isomerase and anomerase activities of PGI. These data show that the epimerization is enzymatically catalyzed and suggest the involvement of the same active site for all three activities. A primary kinetic isotope effect of 7.5 (H/2H) on the rate constant kcat of the M6P C2-epimerase activity was determined by using a coupled enzymatic assay. A model of the mechanism of PGI is offered, which relates C2-epimerase activity to the isomerase and anomerase activities by allowing the cis-enediol intermediate to rotate about the C2-C3 bond axis followed by protonation at C2 but not at C1 from the si face.

Animals↗

Combinations of protein-disulfide isomerase domains show that there is little correlation between isomerase activity and wild-type growth.

Protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI) has five domains: a, b, b', a' and c, all of which except c have a thioredoxin fold. A single catalytic domain (a or a') is effective in catalyzing oxidation of a reduced protein but not isomerization of disulfides (Darby, N. J., and Creighton, T. E. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 11725-11735). To examine the structural basis for this oxidase and isomerase activity of PDI, shuffled domain mutants were generated using a method that should be generally applicable to multidomain proteins. Domains a and a' along with constructs ab, aa', aba', ab'a' display low disulfide isomerase activity, but all show significant reactivity with mammalian thioredoxin reductase, suggesting that the structure is not seriously compromised. The only domain order that retains significant isomerase activity has the b' domain coupled to the N terminus of the a' domain. This b'a'c has 38% of the isomerase activity of wild-type PDI, equivalent to the activity of full-length PDI with one of the active sites inactivated by mutation (Walker, K. W., Lyles, M. M., and Gilbert, H. F. (1996) Biochemistry 35, 1972-1980). Individual a and a' domains, despite their very low isomerase activities in vitro, support wild-type growth of a pdi1Delta Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain yeast. Thus, most of the PDI structure is dispensable for its essential function in yeast, and high-level isomerase activity appears not required for viability or rapid growth.

Binding Sites↗

Human triosephosphate isomerase cDNA and protein structure. Studies of triosephosphate isomerase deficiency in man.

Nine cDNA clones of human adult liver triosephosphate (TP) isomerase have been isolated and characterized. All nine appear to be derived from a single mRNA species. DNA sequencing of one clone, designated pHTPI-5a, defined the last two nucleotides of the methionine initiation codon, the entire 744-nucleotide coding region of the mature polypeptide, and the entire 448-nucleotide 3' untranslated region. The frequency of TP isomerase clones in the cDNA library suggests that TP isomerase mRNA is present in adult liver at approximately 25 copies/cell. A single, low abundance TP isomerase mRNA species was detected in RNA isolated from normal human fibroblast cell lines. Analysis of TP isomerase mRNA levels in cultured fibroblasts of individuals that are homozygous for TP isomerase deficiency revealed normal levels in one and approximately 40% of normal levels in another. From this small patient sampling, it can be concluded that the genetic basis for TP isomerase deficiency is heterogeneous.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Cloning and overexpression of rhamnose isomerase and fucose isomerase.

Rhamnose isomerase and fucose isomerase were overexpressed in E. coli, purified and characterized. The rhamnose isomerase gene was ligated to the restriction sites of PstI and Hind III of vector pTrcHis and the fucose isomerase gene was ligated to the EcoRI and PstI sites of vector pKK223-3 for overexpression of the enzymes in E. coli XL1-Blue MRF. Approximately 16,500 U of active fucose isomerase and 2400 of rhamnose isomerase can be obtained per liter of culture from these expression systems.

Aldose-Ketose Isomerases↗

Liberation of the triosephosphate isomerase reaction intermediate and its trapping by isomerase, yeast aldolase, and methylglyoxal synthase.

When a mixture of triosephosphate isomerase (rabbit muscle) and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) is quenched with acid, a compound is liberated, presumed to be the cis-enediol 3-phosphate, that decomposes to inorganic phosphate (Pi) and methylglyoxal [Iyengar, R., & Rose, I.A. (1981) Biochemistry (preceding paper is this issue)]. The decomposition can be prevented by rapid neutralization if a catalytic amount of fresh isomerase is present. Varying the time between acidification and rescue gave a half-life of the liberate compound of approximately 12-17 ms. Varying the concentration of enzyme used for rescue gave a minimum second-order rate constant for trapping of 10(9)M(-1)s(-1). These results add further evidence favoring a stepwise mechanism for the aldose-ketose isomerase reactions in which a chemically defined enzyme-bound intermediate is found. The high rate of trapping over a wide pH range indicates that the enediol phosphate, not the enediolate phosphate, is the intermediate. One property of the enzyme is to stabilize the intermediate with respect to its fragmentation in solution by greater than 1000-fold. Yeast aldolase is also able to rescue all of the isomerase intermediate, though higher concentrations of enzyme are required. Although different enantiotopic protons of DHAP are abstracted by isomerase and aldolase, both enzymes use the same enediol phosphate intermediate. Methylglyoxal synthase at a 50-fold greater concentration was unable to compete with triosephosphate isomerase for cis-enediol phosphate. Either the synthetase has a low V/K for the cis isomer or it uses the trans-enediol phosphate form specifically. A new strategy for the chemical and enzymological characterization of enzyme reaction intermediates is proved here based on the liberation of the intermediate from the reaction equilibrium and its recovery by fresh enzyme or another enzyme species.

Animals↗

Delta 3,5,delta 2,4-dienoyl-CoA isomerase is a multifunctional isomerase. A structural and mechanistic study.

Delta(3,5),Delta(2,4)-Dienoyl-CoA isomerase (DI), an auxiliary enzyme of unsaturated fatty acid beta-oxidation, was purified from rat mitochondria and peroxisomes and subjected to N-terminal sequencing to facilitate a mechanistic study of this enzyme. The mature mitochondrial DI from rat heart was lacking its 34 N-terminal amino acid residues that have the properties of a mitochondrial targeting sequence. The peroxisomal isomerase was identified as a product of the same gene with a truncated and ragged N terminus. Expression of the cDNA coding for the mature mitochondrial DI in Escherichia coli yielded an enzyme preparation that was as active as the native DI. Because the recombinant DI also exhibited Delta(3,5,7),Delta(2,4,6)-trienoyl-CoA isomerase (TI) activity, both isomerases reside on the same protein. Mutations of any of the 3 acidic amino acid residues located at the active site (Modis, Y., Filppula, S. A., Novikov, D. K., Norledge, B., Hiltunen, J. K., and Wierenga, R. K. (1998) Structure 6, 957-970) caused activity losses. In contrast to only a 10-fold decrease in activity upon replacement of Asp(176) by Ala, substitutions of Asp(204) by Asn and of Glu(196) by Gln resulted in 10(5)-fold lower activities. Such activity losses are consistent with the direct involvement of these latter two residues in the proposed proton transfers at carbons 2 and 6 or 8 of the substrates. Probing of the wild-type and mutants forms of the enzyme with 2,5-octadienoyl-CoA as substrate revealed low Delta(2),Delta(3)-enoyl-CoA isomerase and Delta(5),Delta(4)-enoyl-CoA isomerase activities catalyzed by Glu(196) and Asp(204), respectively. Altogether, these data reveal that positional isomerizations of the diene and triene are facilitated by simultaneous proton transfers involving Glu(196) and Asp(204), whereas each residue alone can catalyze, albeit less efficiently, a monoene isomerization.

Acyl Coenzyme A↗

Isomerase and chaperone activities of protein disulfide isomerase are both required for its function as a foldase.

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) is not only an isomerase catalyzing the formation of native disulfide bond(s) of nascent peptide, but also a molecular chaperone assisting chain folding. The intrinsic chaperone activity of PDI is independent of its isomerase activity as shown by its ability of promoting in vitro reactivation and suppressing aggregation during refolding of denatured proteins containing no disulfide. The -CGHC- active sites of PDI are not required for its chaperone activity and a mutant PDI with no isomerase activity does function in vitro and in vivo. The peptide binding site of PDI is responsible for its chaperone activity. Both isomerase and chaperone activities are required for PDI to function as a foldase in assisting protein folding, in other words, the foldase activity of PDI consists of both isomerase and chaperone activities.

Animals↗

The purification and characterization of delta 5-3-ketosteroid isomerase from Pseudomonas putida, a cysteine-containing isomerase.

A delta 5-3-ketosteroid isomerase (EC 5.3.3.1) has been isolated from Pseudomonas putida Biotype B and purified to homogeneity. This previously undescribed steroid isomerase resembles that isolated from Pseudomonas testosteroni (Talalay, P., and Wang, V.S. (1955) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 18, 300-301). The enzyme is induced by various steroids, has a subunit molecular weight of 13,750 +/- 250, a pI of 4.8 +/- 0.1 has a specific activity of 40,000 units/mg, using 5-androstene-3,17-dione as the substrate. The amino acid composition of the enzyme subunit is Lys 2, His 2, Arg 8, Asp 11, Thr 5, Ser 4, Glu 17, Pro 8, Gly 12, Ala 12, Val 10, Met 5, Ile 6, Leu 8, Tyr 4, Phe 4, and Cys 4. The amino acid sequence has been determined for the NH2-terminal 50 residues. This portion of the polypeptide chain is approximately 47% homologous with the amino acid sequence of the first 50 residues of the delta 5-3-ketosteroid isomerase from P. testosteroni. The amino acid sequence of residues 33 to 41 of the P. putida isomerase is identical with the region Ala 31 through Pro 39 in the P. testosteroni enzyme. Residue 40 of the P. putida enzyme is aspartic acid and corresponds in the sequence to Asp 38 of the P. testosteroni isomerase, which has been shown to be essential for enzymatic activity (Ogez, J.R., Tivol, W.F., and Benisek, W.F. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 6151-6155).

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase improves the efficiency of protein disulfide isomerase as a catalyst of protein folding.

The cis-trans isomerization of prolyl peptide bonds and the formation of disulfide bonds are both slow steps in protein folding. By using ribonuclease T1 as a model system, we show that these two processes can become linked in the oxidative folding of reduced proteins and that the formation of the correct disulfide bonds is facilitated in the presence of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase. In particular, the efficiency of protein disulfide isomerase (EC 5.3.4.1) as a catalyst of disulfide bond formation in the course of oxidative folding is markedly improved when peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase is present simultaneously. Possibly, unfolded or partially folded protein chains with correct prolyl isomers are better substrates for catalysis by protein disulfide isomerase. The interdependence of the two enzymatic activities detected during in vitro folding experiments could be of importance for the de novo folding and disulfide bond formation of nascent proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Amino Acid Isomerases↗

The Caenorhabditis elegans ERp60 homolog protein disulfide isomerase-3 has disulfide isomerase and transglutaminase-like cross-linking activity and is involved in the maintenance of body morphology.

A novel protein disulfide isomerase gene, pdi-3, was isolated from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This gene encodes an enzyme related to the ERp60 class of thioredoxin proteins and was found to exhibit unusual enzymatic properties. Recombinant protein displayed both disulfide bond isomerase activity and calcium-dependent transglutaminase-like cross-linking activity. The pdi-3 transcript was developmentally constitutively expressed, and the encoded protein is present in many tissues including the gut and the hypodermis. The nematode hypodermis synthesizes the essential collagenous extracellular matrix (ECM) called the cuticle. Transcript disruption via double-stranded RNA interference resulted in dramatic and specific synthetic phenotypes in several C. elegans mutant alleles with weakened cuticles: sqt-3(e2117), dpy-18(e364, ok162, and bx26). These nematodes displayed severe dumpy phenotypes and disrupted lateral alae, a destabilized cuticle and abnormal male and hermaphrodite tail morphologies. These defects were confirmed to be consistent with hypodermal seam cell abnormalities and corresponded with the severe disruption of a cuticle collagen. Wild type nematodes did not exhibit observable morphological defects; however, cuticle collagen localization was mildly disrupted following pdi-3 RNA interference. The unusual thioredoxin enzyme, protein disulfide isomerase-3, may therefore play a role in ECM assembly. This enzyme is required for the proper maintenance of post-embryonic body shape in strains with a weakened cuticle, perhaps through ECM stabilization via cross-linking activity, disulfide isomerase protein folding activity, protein disulfide isomerase chaperone activity, or via multifunctional events.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Isopentenyl pyrophosphate isomerase:dimethylallyl pyrophosphate isomerase: isolation from Claviceps sp. SD 58 and comparison to the mammalian enzyme.

Isopentenyl pyrophosphate isomerase:dimethyl pyrophosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.3.2) has been purified to near homogeneity from Claviceps sp. A molecular weight of 35,000 was found by gel exclusion chromatography as well as by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This indicates that the enzyme consists of a single subunit and is in contrast to the Mr 22,000 that we have found for the enzyme from liver. The lability of isomerase from liver, often reported, has been found to be due to its susceptibility to proteolysis. Nine compounds have been tested as inhibitors of both isomerases. The binding of analogs requires the pyrophosphate moiety which may be substituted by a variety of alkyl groups. Inclusion of a polar function in the hydrocarbon portion of the analog greatly reduces interaction with the enzyme. Reversibility of the reaction was not found with a higher homolog of the substrate.

Animals↗

Expression and site-directed mutagenesis of human protein disulfide isomerase in Escherichia coli. This multifunctional polypeptide has two independently acting catalytic sites for the isomerase activity.

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI, EC 5.3.4.1) is a highly unusual multifunctional polypeptide, being identical to the beta subunit of prolyl 4-hydroxylase, a cellular thyroid hormone binding protein and a component of the microsomal triglyceride transfer protein complex, and highly similar to a polypeptide acting in vitro as a glycosylation site binding protein. It has two -Cys-Gly-His-Cys- sequences which, it has been proposed, act as catalytic sites for the isomerase activity, but few data have been available to indicate whether one or both of them do indeed act as catalytic sites and whether the two presumed catalytic sites act independently or cooperatively. We report here on the expression of human PDI in Escherichia coli with three different signal sequences. All three polypeptide variants were secreted into the periplasmic space as fully active enzymes. Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis was used to convert either one or both of the -Cys-Gly-His-Cys- sequences to -Ser-Gly-His-Cys-. The PDI activity of both polypeptides containing a single modified sequence was about 50% of that of the wild-type polypeptide, whereas the polypeptide with two modified sequences had no isomerase activity. It is thus concluded that both -Cys-Gly-His-Cys- sequences act as catalytic sites for the isomerase activity, and the two catalytic sites appear to operate independently of one another.

Amino Acid Sequence↗