Analysis of the Structure and Function of FOX-4 Cephamycinase.

Class C ß-lactamases poorly hydrolyze cephamycins (e.g., cefoxitin, cefotetan, and moxalactam). In the past 2 decades, a new family of plasmid-based AmpC ß-lactamases conferring resistance to cefoxitin, the FOX family, has grown to include nine unique members descended from the Aeromonas caviae chromosomal AmpC. To understand the basis for the unique cephamycinase activity in the FOX family, we determined the first X-ray crystal structures of FOX-4, apo enzyme and the acyl-enzyme with its namesake compound, cefoxitin, using the Y150F deacylation-deficient variant. Notably, recombinant expression of N-terminally tagged FOX-4 also yielded an inactive adenylylated enzyme form not previously observed in ß-lactamases. The posttranslational modification (PTM), which occurs on the active site Ser64, would not seem to provide a selective advantage, yet might present an opportunity for the design of novel antibacterial drugs. Substantial ligand-induced changes in the enzyme are seen in the acyl-enzyme complex, particularly the R2 loop and helix H10 (P289 to N297), with movement of F293 by 10.3 Å. Taken together, this study provides the first picture of this highly proficient class C cephamycinase, uncovers a novel PTM, and suggests a possible cephamycin resistance mechanism involving repositioning of the substrate due to the presence of S153P, N289P, and N346I substitutions in the ligand binding pocket.

The crystal structure of a five-stranded coiled coil in COMP: a prototype ion channel?

Oligomerization by the formation of alpha-helical bundles is common in many proteins. The crystal structure of a parallel pentameric coiled coil, constituting the oligomerization domain in the cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), was determined at 2.05 angstroms resolution. The same structure probably occurs in two other extracellular matrix proteins, thrombospondins 3 and 4. Complementary hydrophobic interactions and conserved disulfide bridges between the alpha helices result in a thermostable structure with unusual properties. The long hydrophobic axial pore is filled with water molecules but can also accommodate small apolar groups. An "ion trap" is formed inside the pore by a ring of conserved glutamines, which binds chloride and probably other monatomic anions. The oligomerization domain of COMP has marked similarities with proposed models of the pentameric transmembrane ion channels in phospholamban and the acetylcholine receptor.

New crystal form of cytosolic chicken aspartate aminotransferase suitable for high-resolution X-ray analysis.

Four new crystal forms of chicken cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase have been grown from polyethylene glycol solutions. Crystals of the unliganded enzyme and of enzyme liganded with maleate diffract to 1.8 A resolution. Both the free and maleate-liganded enzymes crystallize in space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), but display slightly different cell dimensions (a = 56.9 A, b = 126.9 A and c = 124.6 A versus a = 56.5 A, b = 126.1 A and c = 124.6 A). The influence of various divalent metal ions, dioxane and non-ionic detergent beta-octylglucoside on crystallization has been investigated. The best crystals of liganded enzyme were obtained in the presence of Mg2+ ions, and these crystals were used for data collection to 1.9 A resolution.

Crystal structure of GCN4-pIQI, a trimeric coiled coil with buried polar residues.

Coiled coils consist of two or more alpha-helices wrapped around each other with a superhelical twist. The interfaces between helices of a coiled coil are formed by hydrophobic amino acid residues packed in a "knobs-into-holes" arrangement. Most naturally occurring coiled coils, however, also contain buried polar residues, as do the cores of the majority of naturally occurring globular proteins. Two common buried polar residues in both dimeric and trimeric coiled coils are asparagine and glutamine. In dimeric coiled coils, buried asparagine, but not glutamine, residues have been shown to confer specificity of oligomerization. We have placed a glutamine residue in the otherwise hydrophobic interior of a stable trimeric coiled coil, GCN4-pII, to study the effect of this buried polar residue in a trimeric coiled-coil environment. The resulting peptide, GCN4-pIQI, is a discrete, trimeric coiled coil with a lower stability than GCN4-pII. The crystal structure determined to 1.8 A shows that GCN4-pIQI is a trimeric coiled coil with a chloride ion coordinated by one buried glutamine residue from each monomer.

Crystal structure of the carbohydrate recognition domain of the H1 subunit of the asialoglycoprotein receptor.

The human asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR), also called hepatic lectin, is an integral membrane protein and is responsible for the clearance of desialylated, galactose-terminal glycoproteins from the circulation by receptor-mediated endocytosis. It can be subdivided into four functional domains: the cytosolic domain, the transmembrane domain, the stalk and the carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). The galactose-binding domains belong to the superfamily of C-type (calcium-dependent) lectins, in particular to the long-form subfamily with three conserved intramolecular disulphide bonds. It is able to bind terminal non-reducing galactose residues and N-acetyl-galactosamine residues of desialated tri or tetra-antennary N-linked glycans. The ASGPR is a potential liver-specific receptor for hepatitis B virus and Marburg virus and has been used to target exogenous molecules specifically to hepatocytes for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.Here, we present the X-ray crystal structure of the carbohydrate recognition domain of the major subunit H1 at 2.3 A resolution. While the overall fold of this and other known C-type lectin structures are well conserved, the positions of the bound calcium ions are not, indicating that the fold is stabilised by alternative mechanisms in different branches of the C-type lectin family. It is the first CRD structure where three calcium ions form an intergral part of the structure. In addition, the structure provides direct confirmation for the conversion of the ligand-binding site of the mannose-binding protein to an asialoglycoprotein receptor-like specificity suggested by Drickamer and colleagues. In agreement with the prediction that the coiled-coil domain of the ASGPR is separated from the CRD and its N-terminal disulphide bridge by several residues, these residues are indeed not alpha-helical, while in tetranectin they form an alpha-helical coiled-coil.

Crystal structure of the closed form of chicken cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase at 1.9 A resolution.

The crystal structure of chicken cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase (cAATase; EC 2.6.1.1) has been solved and refined at 1.9 A resolution. Orthorhombic crystals, space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), a = 56.4 A, b = 126.0 A and c = 142.3 A, were grown from polyethylene glycol solutions in the presence of maleate, a dicarboxylic inhibitor that forms a Michaelis-like complex. The pyridoxal form of the enzyme was used for crystallization. Diffraction data were collected using synchrotron radiation. The structure of the new orthorhombic crystal form was solved by molecular replacement using the partially refined 2.8 A resolution structure of the high-salt crystal form as a search model. The final value of the crystallographic R-factor after rigid body and restrained least-squares refinement is 0.175 with very good model geometry. The two 2-fold-related subunits of cAATase have distinct environments in the crystal lattice. Domain movement is strictly hindered by the lattice contacts in one subunit, while the second one possesses conformational freedom. Despite their different environments, both subunits were found in the closed conformation with one maleate molecule tightly bound in each active site. The present study allows a detailed comparison of the highly refined structures of the aspartate aminotransferase isozymes, and thus provide better insight into the role of conserved and variable residues in substrate recognition and catalysis.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of pig kidney DOPA decarboxylase.

DOPA decarboxylase from pig kidney, an alpha 2 dimeric enzyme of Mr = 107,000, has been crystallized by the vapour diffusion method with ammonium sulphate as precipitant. The crystals belong to the space group P6(2) (or its enantiomer P6(4)) and have unit cell dimensions of a = b = 155.9 A, c = 87.7 A, alpha = beta = 90 degrees, gamma = 120 degrees. They diffract to 2.6 A resolution. There is one dimeric molecule per asymmetric unit. Rotation function studies have revealed the orientation of the non-crystallographic 2-fold axis of the dimer in the asymmetric unit.

Crystal structures of dialkylglycine decarboxylase inhibitor complexes.

The crystal structures of four inhibitor complexes of dialkylglycine decarboxylase are reported. The enzyme does not undergo a domain closure, as does aspartate aminotransferase, upon inhibitor binding. Two active-site conformations have been observed in previous structures that differ in alkali metal ion content, and two active-site conformations have been shown to coexist in solution when a single type of metal ion is present. There is no indication of coexisting conformers in the structures reported here or in the previously reported structures, and the observed conformation is that expected based on the presence of potassium in the enzyme. Thus, although two active-site conformations coexist in solution, a single conformation, corresponding to the more active enzyme, predominates in the crystal. The structure of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate bound in the active site shows the aldimine double bond to the pyridoxal phosphate cofactor to be fully out of the plane of the coenzyme ring, whereas the Calpha-CO2(-) bond lies close to it. This provides an explanation for the observed lack of decarboxylation reactivity with this amino acid. The carboxylate groups of both 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate and 5'-phosphopyridoxyl-2-methylalanine interact with Ser215 and Arg406 as previously proposed. This demonstrates structurally that alternative binding modes, which constitute substrate inhibition, occur in the decarboxylation half-reaction. The structures of d and l-cycloserine bound to the active-site show that the l-isomer is deprotonated at C(alpha), presumably by Lys272, while the d-isomer is not. This difference explains the approximately 3000-fold greater potency of the l versus the d-isomer as a competitive inhibitor of dialkylglycine decarboxylase.

[Preparation of crystals of chicken cytosolic aspartate amino- transferase, suitable for high resolution x-ray structural analysis]. / Poluchenie kristallov tsitozol'noi aspartataminotransferazy kur, prigodnykh dlia rentgenostrukturnogo issledovaniia pri vysokom razreshenii.

The crystals of cytosolic chicken aspartate aminotransferase were grown from polyethylene glycol solutions. Two of the four crystal modifications obtained diffract to 1.8 A resolution. The crystals of the free holoenzyme belong to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with unit cell dimensions of a = 56.9, b = 126.9, c = 124.6 A. The crystals of the enzyme-maleate complex belong to the same space group with slightly different unit cell dimensions of a = 56.5, b = 126.1, c = 124.6 A. The influence of ions of several divalent metals, dioxane and non-ionic detergent beta-octylglucoside on crystallization have been investigated. The best crystals were obtained in the presence of Mg2+ ions. These crystals were used for data collection on the diffractometer.

[Structural basis for differences in substrate specificity of aspartate aminotransferase isoenzymes]. / Strukturnye osnovy nekotorykh razlichii v substratnoi spetsifichnosti izofermentov aspartat-aminotransferazy.

X-Ray structural data concerning the substrate binding site of cytosolic chicken aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) are reported. The structure of the complex of AspAT with the substrate-like inhibitor maleate has been refined at 2.2 A resolution. The lengths of hydrogen bonds between a bound molecule of maleate and side chains of amino acid residues in the active site are presented as well as other interatomic distances in the substrate binding site. The data obtained for the cytosolic AspAT have been compared with those for the mitochondrial chicken AspAT. It has been inferred that differences in substrate specificity of the AspAT isoenzymes are determined by interactions involving amino acid residues which are situated in the immediate vicinity of the active site and influence ionization or orientation of functional groups interacting with substrate. An explanation is suggested for different rates of transamination of aromatic amino acids in the active sites of the cytosolic and mitochondrial isoenzymes.

[Cytosol aspartate aminotransferase from the chicken heart: three-dimensional structure at 2.8 angstroms resolution and the characteristic conformation of various enzyme forms]. / Tsitozol'naia aspartat-aminotransferaza iz serdtsa kuritsy: trekhmernaia struktura pri razreshenii 2,8 angstrom i osobennosti konformatsii nekotorykh form fermenta.

The spatial structure of cytosolic chicken aspartate aminotransferase (AAT) has been determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis at 2.8 A resolution. AAT consists of two chemically identical subunits. Each subunit can be subdivided into the large pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) binding domain and the small domain. The two active sites of AAT are situated in deep clefts at the subunit interface. The binding of PLP and 2-oxoglutarate is described. Conformations of the following enzyme forms have been compared by difference Fourier syntheses: the nonliganded PLP-form in phosphate and acetate buffers; the non-liganded pyridoxamine phosphate (PMP) form; complexes of the PLP-form with glutarate and 2-oxoglutarate. Lattice-induced dynamic asymmetry of the dimeric AAT molecules was revealed. In one subunit the small domain is mobile and shifted either toward the active site ("closed" conformation) or in the opposite direction ("open" conformation). The closed conformation is induced by the binding of dicarboxylate anions. In the second subunit the small domain is immobile and shifted toward the active site in all enzyme forms or complexes studied. In this subunit, there occurs a rotation of the PLP ring by approximately 20 degrees toward the substrate site. The rotation is observed when crystals are soaked in 0.6 saturated (NH4)2SO4 solution buffered with 0.3 M potassium phosphate, pH 7.5; it was explained by formation of an external aldimine between PLP and NH3. This aldimine is not formed in the presence of dicarboxylates or acetate. It was inferred that dicarboxylate or acetate anions stabilize the internal PLP-lysine aldimine and prevent its reaction with ammonia. Conversion of AAT from the PLP- to PMP-form is accompanied by rotation of the coenzyme ring by approximately 20 degrees; the rotation occurs in both subunits.

Crystal structures of true enzymatic reaction intermediates: aspartate and glutamate ketimines in aspartate aminotransferase.

The crystal structures of the stable, closed complexes of chicken mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase with the natural substrates L-aspartate and L-glutamate have been solved and refined at 2.4- and 2.3-A resolution, respectively. In both cases, clear electron density at the substrate-coenzyme binding site unequivocally indicates the presence of a covalent intermediate. The crystallographically identical environments of the two subunits of the alpha 2 dimer allow a simple, direct correlation of the coenzyme absorption spectra of the crystalline enzyme with the diffraction results. Deconvolution of the spectra of the crystalline complexes using lognormal curves indicates that the ketimine intermediates constitute 76% and 83% of the total enzyme populations with L-aspartate and L-glutamate, respectively. The electron density maps accommodate the ketimine structures best in agreement with the independent spectral data. Crystalline enzyme has a much higher affinity for keto acid substrates compared to enzyme in solution. The increased affinity is interpreted in terms of a perturbation of the open/closed conformational equilibrium by the crystal lattice, with the closed form having greater affinity for substrate. The crystal lattice contacts provide energy required for domain closure normally supplied by the excess binding energy of the substrate. In solution, enzyme saturated with amino/keto acid substrate pairs has a greater total fraction of intermediates in the aldehyde oxidation state compared to crystalline enzyme. Assuming the only difference between the solution and crystalline enzymes is in conformational freedom, this difference suggests that one or more substantially populated, aldehydic intermediates in solution exist in the open conformation. Quantitative analyses of the spectra indicate that the value of the equilibrium constant for the open-closed conformational transition of the liganded, aldehydic enzyme in solution is near 1. The C4' pro-S proton in the ketimine models is oriented nearly perpendicularly to the plane of the pyridine ring, suggesting that the enzyme facilitates its removal by maximizing sigma-pi orbital overlap. The absence of a localized water molecule near Lys258 dictates that ketimine hydrolysis occurs via a transiently bound water molecule or from an alternative, possibly more open, structure in which water is appropriately bound. A prominent mechanistic role for flexibility of the Lys258 side chain is suggested by the absence of hydrogen bonds to the amino group in the aspartate structure and the relatively high temperature factors for these atoms in both structures.

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of the pentamerizing domain from cartilage oligomeric matrix protein: a five-stranded alpha-helical bundle.

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a pentameric glycoprotein of the thrombospondin family found in cartilage and tendon. Self-association of COMP is achieved through the formation of a five-stranded alpha-helical bundle that involves 64 N-terminal residues (from 20 to 83). The complex is further stabilized by the interchain disulfide bonds between cysteines 68 and 71. We have prepared, by expression in Escherichia coli, several peptides of different lengths from the N-terminal region of COMP and studied their amenability to crystallization. Crystals of the best quality were obtained with a peptide spanning COMP residues 28-72. This peptide forms disulfide linked pentamers with 87% of alpha-helical structure. Crystals were grown by the hanging drop vapor diffusion method, using polyethylene glycol 1500 as a precipitant. The crystals belong to space group P2(1) with unit cell dimensions a = 38.47 angstroms, b = 49.47 angstroms, c = 54.98 angstroms, beta = 103.84 degrees and contain one pentamer per asymmetric unit. They diffract strongly to at least 1.8 angstrom resolution.

The trimer-of-hairpins motif in membrane fusion: Visna virus.

Structural studies of viral membrane fusion proteins suggest that a "trimer-of-hairpins" motif plays a critical role in the membrane fusion process of many enveloped viruses. In this motif, a coiled coil (formed by homotrimeric association of the N-terminal regions of the protein) is surrounded by three C-terminal regions that pack against the coiled coil in an oblique antiparallel manner. The resulting trimer-of-hairpins structure serves to bring the viral and cellular membranes together for fusion. learncoil-vmf, a computational program developed to recognize coiled coil-like regions that form the trimer-of-hairpins motif, predicts these regions in the membrane fusion protein of the Visna virus. Peptides corresponding to the computationally identified sequences were synthesized, and the soluble core of the Visna membrane fusion protein was reconstituted in solution. Its crystal structure at 1.5-A resolution demonstrates that a trimer-of-hairpins structure is formed. Remarkably, despite less than 23% sequence identity, the ectodomains in Visna and HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins show detailed structural conservation, especially within the area of a hydrophobic pocket in the central coiled coil currently being targeted for the development of new anti-HIV drugs.

Buried polar residues in coiled-coil interfaces.

Coiled coils, estimated to constitute 3-5% of the encoded residues in most genomes, are characterized by a heptad repeat, (abcdefg)(n), where the buried a and d positions form the interface between multiple alpha-helices. Although generally hydrophobic, a substantial fraction ( approximately 20%) of these a- and d-position residues are polar or charged. We constructed variants of the well-characterized coiled coil GCN4-p1 with a single polar residue (Asn, Gln, Ser, or Thr) at either an a or a d position. The stability and oligomeric specificity of each variant were measured, and crystal structures of coiled-coil trimers with threonine or serine at either an a or a d position were determined. The structures show how single polar residues in the interface affect not only local packing, but also overall coiled-coil geometry as seen by changes in the Crick supercoil parameters and core cavity volumes.

Structural characterization of the human respiratory syncytial virus fusion protein core.

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is a major cause of a number of severe respiratory diseases, including bronchiolitis and pneumonia, in infants and young children. The HRSV F protein, a glycoprotein essential for viral entry, is a primary target for vaccine and drug development. Two heptad-repeat regions within the HRSV F sequence were predicted by the computer program learncoil-vmf. These regions are thought to form trimer-of-hairpins-like structures, similar to those found in the fusion proteins of several enveloped viruses. The hairpin structure likely brings the viral and cellular membranes into close apposition, thereby facilitating membrane fusion and subsequent viral entry. Here, we show that peptides, denoted HR-N and HR-C, corresponding to the heptad-repeat regions from the N-terminal and C-terminal segments of the HRSV F protein, respectively, form a stable alpha-helical trimer of heterodimers. The HRSV N/C complex was crystallized and its x-ray structure was determined at 2.3-A resolution. As anticipated, the complex is a six-helix bundle in which the HR-N peptides form a three-stranded, central coiled coil, and the HR-C peptides pack in an antiparallel manner into hydrophobic grooves on the coiled-coil surface. There is remarkable structural similarity between the HRSV N/C complex and the fusion protein core of other viruses, including HIV-1 gp41. In addition, earlier work has shown that HRSV HR-C peptides, like the HIV-1 gp41 C peptides, inhibit viral infection. Thus, drug discovery and vaccine development strategies aimed at inhibiting viral entry by blocking hairpin formation may be applied to the inhibition of HRSV.

Substitution of apolar residues in the active site of aspartate aminotransferase by histidine. Effects on reaction and substrate specificity.

In an attempt to change the reaction and substrate specificity of aspartate aminotransferase, several apolar active-site residues were substituted in turn with a histidine residue. Aspartate aminotransferase W140H (of Escherichia coli) racemizes alanine seven times faster (Kcat' = 2.2 x 10(-4) s-1) than the wild-type enzyme, while the aminotransferase activity toward L-alanine was sixfold decreased. X-ray crystallographic analysis showed that the structural changes brought about by the mutation are limited to the immediate environment of H140. In contrast to the tryptophan side chain in the wild-type structure, the imidazole ring of H140 does not form a stacking interaction with the coenzyme pyridine ring. The angle between the two ring planes is about 50 degrees. Pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate dissociates 50 times more rapidly from the W140H mutant than from the wild-type enzyme. A model of the structure of the quinonoid enzyme substrate intermediate indicates that H140 might assist in the reprotonation of C alpha of the amino acid substrate from the re side of the deprotonated coenzyme-substrate adduct in competition with si-side reprotonation by K258. In aspartate aminotransferase I17H (of chicken mitochondria), the substituted residue also lies on the re side of the coenzyme. This mutant enzyme slowly decarboxylates L-aspartate to L-alanine (Kcat' = 8 x 10(-5) s-1). No beta-decarboxylase activity is detectable in the wild-type enzyme. In aspartate aminotransferase V37H (of chicken mitochondria), the mutated residue lies besides the coenzyme in the plane of the pyridine ring; no change in reaction specificity was observed. All three mutations, i.e. W140-->H, I17-->H and V37--H, decreased the aminotransferase activity toward aromatic amino acids by 10-100-fold, while decreasing the activity toward dicarboxylic substrates only moderately to 20%, 20% and 60% of the activity of the wild-type enzymes, respectively. In all three mutant enzymes, the decrease in aspartate aminotransferase activity at pH values lower than 6.5 was more pronounced than in the wild-type enzyme, apparently due to the protonation of the newly introduced histidine residues. The study shows that substitutions of single active-site residues may result in altered reaction and substrate specificities of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent enzymes.

Alternating arginine-modulated substrate specificity in an engineered tyrosine aminotransferase.

Mutation of six residues of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase results in substantial acquisition of the transamination properties of tyrosine amino-transferase without loss of aspartate transaminase activity. X-ray crystallographic analysis of key inhibitor complexes of the hexamutant reveals the structural basis for this substrate selectivity. It appears that tyrosine aminotransferase achieves nearly equal affinities for a wide range of amino acids by an unusual conformational switch. An active-site arginine residue either shifts its position to electrostatically interact with charged substrates or moves aside to allow access of aromatic ligands.

Crystal structure of the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) gp41 core: conserved helical interactions underlie the broad inhibitory activity of gp41 peptides.

The gp41 subunit of the envelope protein complex from human and simian immunodeficiency viruses (HIV and SIV) mediates membrane fusion during viral entry. The crystal structure of the HIV-1 gp41 ectodomain core in its proposed fusion-active state is a six-helix bundle. Here we have reconstituted the core of the SIV gp41 ectodomain with two synthetic peptides called SIV N36 and SIV C34, which form a highly helical trimer of heterodimers. The 2.2 A resolution crystal structure of this SIV N36/C34 complex is very similar to the analogous structure in HIV-1 gp41. In both structures, three N36 helices form a central trimeric coiled coil. Three C34 helices pack in an antiparallel orientation into highly conserved, hydrophobic grooves along the surface of this coiled coil. The conserved nature of the N36-C34 interface suggests that the HIV-1 and SIV peptides are functionally interchangeable. Indeed, a heterotypic complex between HIV-1 N36 and SIV C34 peptides is highly helical and stable. Moreover, as with HIV-1 C34, the SIV C34 peptide is a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 infection. These results identify conserved packing interactions between the N and C helices of gp41 and have implications for the development of C peptide analogs with broad inhibitory activity.