Properties of bacteriophage T4 thymidylate synthase following mutagenic changes in the active site and folate binding region

Biochemistry ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 29 (41) ◽  
pp. 9561-9572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura LaPat-Polasko ◽  
Gladys F. Maley ◽  
Frank Maley
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Bou-Nader ◽  
Frederick W. Stull ◽  
Ludovic Pecqueur ◽  
Philippe Simon ◽  
Vincent Guérineau ◽  
...  

AbstractFolate enzyme cofactors and their derivatives have the unique ability to provide a single carbon unit at different oxidation levels for the de novo synthesis of amino-acids, purines, or thymidylate, an essential DNA nucleotide. How these cofactors mediate methylene transfer is not fully settled yet, particularly with regard to how the methylene is transferred to the methylene acceptor. Here, we uncovered that the bacterial thymidylate synthase ThyX, which relies on both folate and flavin for activity, can also use a formaldehyde-shunt to directly synthesize thymidylate. Combining biochemical, spectroscopic and anaerobic crystallographic analyses, we showed that formaldehyde reacts with the reduced flavin coenzyme to form a carbinolamine intermediate used by ThyX for dUMP methylation. The crystallographic structure of this intermediate reveals how ThyX activates formaldehyde and uses it, with the assistance of active site residues, to methylate dUMP. Our results reveal that carbinolamine species promote methylene transfer and suggest that the use of a CH2O-shunt may be relevant in several other important folate-dependent reactions.


Biochemistry ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 29 (45) ◽  
pp. 10317-10322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lennart Nilsson ◽  
Agneta Aahgren-Staalhandske ◽  
Ann Sofie Sjoegren ◽  
Solveig Hahne ◽  
Britt Marie Sjoeberg

Biochemistry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (30) ◽  
pp. 3302-3313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Sapienza ◽  
Konstantin I. Popov ◽  
David D. Mowrey ◽  
Bradley T. Falk ◽  
Nikolay V. Dokholyan ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Hoon Park ◽  
Jaehyun Park ◽  
Sang Jae Lee ◽  
Woo Seok Yang ◽  
Sehan Park ◽  
...  

Abstract The hydroxymethylation of cytosine bases plays a vital role in the phage DNA protection system inside the host Escherichia coli. This modification is known to be catalyzed by the dCMP hydroxymethylase from bacteriophage T4 (T4dCH); structural information on the complexes with the substrate, dCMP and the co-factor, tetrahydrofolate is currently available. However, the detailed mechanism has not been understood clearly owing to a lack of structure in the complex with a reaction intermediate. We have applied the X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) technique to determine a high-resolution structure of a T4dCH D179N active site mutant. The XFEL structure was determined at room temperature and exhibited several unique features in comparison with previously determined structures. Unexpectedly, we observed a bulky electron density at the active site of the mutant that originated from the physiological host (i.e., E. coli). Mass-spectrometric analysis and a cautious interpretation of an electron density map indicated that it was a dTMP molecule. The bound dTMP mimicked the methylene intermediate from dCMP to 5′-hydroxymethy-dCMP, and a critical water molecule for the final hydroxylation was convincingly identified. Therefore, this study provides information that contributes to the understanding of hydroxymethylation.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1362
Author(s):  
Cecilia Pozzi ◽  
Stefania Ferrari ◽  
Rosaria Luciani ◽  
Maria Costi ◽  
Stefano Mangani

Human thymidylate synthase (hTS) is pivotal for cell survival and proliferation, indeed it provides the only synthetic source of dTMP, required for DNA biosynthesis. hTS represents a validated target for anticancer chemotherapy. However, active site-targeting drugs towards hTS have limitations connected to the onset of resistance. Thus, new strategies have to be applied to effectively target hTS without inducing resistance in cancer cells. Here, we report the generation and the functional and structural characterization of a new hTS interface variant in which Arg175 is replaced by a cysteine. Arg175 is located at the interface of the hTS obligate homodimer and protrudes inside the active site of the partner subunit, in which it provides a fundamental contribution for substrate binding. Indeed, the R175C variant results catalytically inactive. The introduction of a cysteine at the dimer interface is functional for development of new hTS inhibitors through innovative strategies, such as the tethering approach. Structural analysis, performed through X-ray crystallography, has revealed that a cofactor derivative is entrapped inside the catalytic cavity of the hTS R175C variant. The peculiar binding mode of the cofactor analogue suggests new clues exploitable for the design of new hTS inhibitors.


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