Structures of human peptidylarginine deiminase type III provide insights into substrate recognition and inhibitor design.

Peptidylarginine deiminase type III (PAD3) is an isozyme belonging to the PAD enzyme family that converts arginine to citrulline residue(s) within proteins. PAD3 is expressed in most differentiated keratinocytes of the epidermis and hair follicles, while S100A3, trichohyalin, and filaggrin are its principal substrates. In this study, the X-ray crystal structures of PAD3 in six states, including its complex with the PAD inhibitor Cl-amidine, were determined. This structural analysis identified a large space around Gly374 in the PAD3-Ca2+-Cl-amidine complex, which may be used to develop novel PAD3-selective inhibitors. In addition, similarities between PAD3 and PAD4 were found based on the investigation of PAD4 reactivity with S100A3 in vitro. A comparison of the structures of PAD1, PAD2, PAD3, and PAD4 implied that the flexibility of the structures around the active site may lead to different substrate selectivity among these PAD isozymes.

Structural characterization of human peptidyl-arginine deiminase type III by X-ray crystallography.

The Ca2+-dependent enzyme peptidyl-arginine deiminase type III (PAD3) catalyses the deimination of arginine residues to form citrulline residues in proteins such as keratin, filaggrin and trichohyalin. This is an important post-translation modification that is required for normal hair and skin formation in follicles and keratocytes. The structure of apo human PAD3 was determined by X-ray crystallography to a resolution of 2.8 Å. The structure of PAD3 revealed a similar overall architecture to other PAD isoforms: the N-terminal and middle domains of PAD3 show sequence and structural variety, whereas the sequence and structure of the C-terminal catalytic domain is highly conserved. Structural analysis indicates that PAD3 is a dimer in solution, as is also the case for the PAD2 and PAD4 isoforms but not the PAD1 isoform.