scholarly journals Reaction Mechanism of Hydroxynitrile Lyases of the α/β-Hydrolase Superfamily

2004 ◽  
Vol 279 (19) ◽  
pp. 20501-20510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Gruber ◽  
Günter Gartler ◽  
Barbara Krammer ◽  
Helmut Schwab ◽  
Christoph Kratky

The hydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs) fromHevea brasiliensis(HbHNL) and fromManihot esculenta(MeHNL) are both members of the α/β-hydrolase superfamily. Mechanistic proposals have been put forward in the past for both enzymes; they differed with respect to the role of the active-site lysine residue for which a catalytic function was claimed for theHeveaenzyme but denied for theManihotenzyme. We applied a freeze-quench method to prepare crystals of the complex ofHbHNL with the biological substrate acetone cyanohydrin and determined its three-dimensional structure. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to prepare the mutant K236L, which is inactive although its three-dimensional structure is similar to the wild-type enzyme. However, the structure of the K236L-acetone cyanohydrin complex shows the substrate in a different orientation from the wild-type complex. Finite difference Poisson-Boltzmann calculations show that in the absence of Lys236the catalytic base His235would be protonated at neutral pH. All of this suggests that Lys236is instrumental for catalysis in several ways,i.e.by correctly positioning the substrate, by stabilizing the negatively charged reaction product CN-, and by modulating the basicity of the catalytic base. These data complete the elucidation of the reaction mechanism of α/β-hydrolase HNLs, in which the catalytic triad acts as a general base rather than as a nucleophile; proton abstraction from the substrate is performed by the serine, and reprotonation of the product cyanide is performed by the histidine residues. Together with a threonine side chain, the active-site serine and lysine are also involved in substrate binding.

1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Heckel ◽  
K M Hasselbach

Up to now the three-dimensional structure of t-PA or parts of this enzyme is unknown. Using computer graphical methods the spatial structure of the enzymatic part of t-PA is predicted on the hypothesis, the three-dimensional backbone structure of t-PA being similar to that of other serine proteases. The t-PA model was built up in three steps:1) Alignment of the t-PA sequence with other serine proteases. Comparison of enzyme structures available from Brookhaven Protein Data Bank proved elastase as a basis for modeling.2) Exchange of amino acids of elastase differing from the t-PA sequence. The replacement of amino acids was performed such that backbone atoms overlapp completely and side chains superpose as far as possible.3) Modeling of insertions and deletions. To determine the spatial arrangement of insertions and deletions parts of related enzymes such as chymotrypsin or trypsin were used whenever possible. Otherwise additional amino acid sequences were folded to a B-turn at the surface of the proteine, where all insertions or deletions are located. Finally the side chain torsion angles of amino acids were optimised to prevent close contacts of neigh bouring atoms and to improve hydrogen bonds and salt bridges.The resulting model was used to explain binding of arginine 560 of plasminogen to the active site of t-PA. Arginine 560 interacts with Asp 189, Gly 19 3, Ser 19 5 and Ser 214 of t-PA (chymotrypsin numbering). Furthermore interaction of chromo-genic substrate S 2288 with the active site of t-PA was studied. The need for D-configuration of the hydrophobic amino acid at the N-terminus of this tripeptide derivative could be easily explained.


1999 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 1144-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Ren Yuan ◽  
Yong-Ning He ◽  
Jian-Ping Xiong ◽  
Zong-Xiang Xia

β-Momorcharin (Mr ≃ 29 kDa) is a single-chained ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) with a branched hexasaccharide bound to Asn51. The crystal structure of β-momorcharin has been determined using the molecular-replacement method and refined to 2.55 Å resolution. The final structural model gave an R factor of 17.2% and root-mean-square deviations of 0.016 Å and 1.76° from ideal bond lengths and bond angles, respectively. β-Momorcharin contains nine α-helices, two 310 helices and three β-sheets, and its overall structure is similar to those of other single-chained RIPs. Residues Tyr70, Tyr109, Glu158 and Arg161 are expected to define the active site of β-momorcharin as an rRNA N-glycosidase. The oligosaccharide is linked to the protein through an N-glycosidic bond, β-GlcNAc–(1-N)-Asn51, and stretches from the surface of the N-terminal domain far from the active site, which suggests that it should not play a role in enzymatic function. The oligosaccharide of each β-momorcharin molecule interacts with the protein through hydrogen bonds, although in the crystals most of these are intermolecular interactions with the protein atoms in an adjacent unit cell. This is the first example of an RIP structure which provides information about the three-dimensional structure and binding site of the oligosaccharide in the active chains of RIPs.


1995 ◽  
Vol 310 (2) ◽  
pp. 507-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Zeng ◽  
C Weiss ◽  
T T Yao ◽  
J Huang ◽  
L Siconolfi-Baez ◽  
...  

Bovine NAD(+)-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase was shown previously to contain four subunits of approx. 40 kDa (subunits 1-4) possessing different peptide maps and electrophoretic properties [Rushbrook and Harvey (1978) Biochemistry 17, 5339-5346]. In this study the heterogeneity is confirmed using enzyme purified by updated methods and from single animals, ruling out allelic variability. Subunits 1 and 2 were differentiated from each other and from subunits 3 and 4 by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. Subunits 3 and 4 (subunits 3/4) were identical in sequence over 30 residues. The N-terminal residues of subunits 1 and 2 were homologous but not identical with the beta- and gamma-subunits respectively of the comparable pig heart enzyme. Subunits 3/4 were identical over 30 residues with the N-terminus of the pig heart alpha-subunit. Full-length sequence, including that for mitochondrial import, is presented for a protein with the processed N-terminus of subunits 3/4, deduced from cloned cDNA obtained utilizing the N-terminal sequence information. The derived amino acid sequence for the mature protein contains 339 amino acids and has a molecular mass of 36,685 Da. Complete identity with N-terminal and Cys-containing peptides totalling 92 residues from the alpha-subunit of the pig heart enzyme [Huang and Colman (1990) Biochemistry 29, 8266-8273] suggests that maintenance of a particular three-dimensional structure in this subunit is crucial to the function of the enzyme. An electrophoretic heterogeneity within the pig heart alpha-subunit, similar to that shown by bovine subunits 3/4, was demonstrated. One reordering of the Cys-containing peptides of the pig heart alpha-subunit is indicated. Sequence comparison with the distantly related NADP(+)-dependent enzyme from Escherichia coli, for which the three-dimensional structure is known [Stoddard, Dean and Koshland (1993) Biochemistry 32, 9310-9316] shows strong conservation of residues binding isocitrate, Mg2+ and the NAD+ moiety of NADP+, consistent with a catalytic function.


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