Structural and functional studies on Salmonella typhimurium pyridoxal kinase: the first structural evidence for the formation of Schiff base with the substrate.

A large number of enzymes depend on the ubiquitous cofactor pyridoxal 5' phosphate (PLP) for their activity. Pyridoxal kinase (PLK) is the key enzyme involved in the synthesis of PLP from the three forms of vitamin B6 via the salvage pathway. In the present work, we determined the unliganded structure of StPLK in a monoclinic form and its ternary complex with bound pyridoxal (PL), ADP and Mg2+ in two different tetragonal crystal forms (Form I and Form II). We found that, in the ternary complex structure of StPLK, the active site Lys233 forms a Schiff base linkage with the substrate (PL). Although formation of a Schiff base with the active site Lys229 was demonstrated in the Escherichia coli enzyme based on biochemical studies, the ternary complex of StPLK represents the first crystal structure where the Schiff bond formation has been observed. We also identified an additional site for PLP binding away from the active site in one of the ternary complexes (crystal Form I), suggesting a probable route for the product release. This is the first ternary complex structure where the modeled γ-phosphate of ATP is close enough to PL for the phosphorylation of the substrate. StPLK prefers PL over pyridoxamine as its substrate and follows a sequential mechanism of catalysis. Surface plasmon resonance studies suggest that StPLK interacts with apo-PLP-dependent enzymes with µm affinity supporting the earlier proposed direct transfer mechanism of PLP from PLK to PLP-dependent enzymes.

Crystal structure and catalytic mechanism of pyridoxal kinase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pyridoxal kinase is a ubiquitous enzyme essential for pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) homeostasis since PLP is required for the catalytic activity of a variety of PLP-dependent enzymes involved in amino acid, lipid, and sugar metabolism as well as neurotransmitter biosynthesis. Previously, two catalytic mechanisms were proposed with regard to Pdx kinases, in which either the aspartate or the cysteine residue is involved as a catalytic residue. Because the Pdx kinase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PaPdxK) contains both residues, the catalytic mechanism of PaPdxK remains elusive. To elucidate the substrate-recognition and catalytic mechanisms of PaPdxK, the crystal structure of PaPdxK was determined at a 2.0 Å resolution. The PaPdxK structure possesses a channel that can accommodate substrates and a metallic cofactor. Our structure-based biochemical and mutational analyses in combination with modeling studies suggest that PaPdxK catalysis is mediated by an acid-base mechanism through the catalytic acid Asp225 and a helical dipole moment.

Arrangement of the substrates at the active site of brain pyridoxal kinase.

The distances between enzyme-bound paramagnetic CrATP (a stable, beta, gamma-bidentate complex of Cr3+ and ATP) at the active site of sheep brain pyridoxal kinase and the protons of bound inhibitor 4-dPyr (4-deoxypyridoxine) were determined in the ternary enzyme-CrATP.4-dPyr complex by measuring the paramagnetic effects of Cr3+ on the longitudinal relaxation rates (1/T1p) of the protons of 4-dPyr. The correlation time for the Cr(3+)-4-dPyr dipolar interaction on the enzyme was estimated as 1.59 ns by the frequency dependence of 1/T1p of water protons. Temperature dependence of 1/T1p values indicated the fast exchange of 4-dPyr from the paramagnetic enzyme.CrATP.4-dPyr complex; hence the measured 1/T1p values can be used for metalnucleus distance determinations. The distances from the Cr3+ of the enzyme-bound CrATP to the 2-methyl (7.19 A), 4-methyl (7.18 A), and H6 proton (6.18 A) of the 4-dPyr are too great to permit a direct coordination of any group from 4-dPyr. However, these distances can be built into a model in which phosphorus of the gamma-phosphoryl group of ATP is 4 A away from the oxygen atom of the 5-CH2OH group of the 4-dPyr. This suggests that phosphorylation of pyridoxal can occur via direct transfer of the phosphoryl group between the bound substrates at the active site of pyridoxal kinase.