Plant thionins--the structural perspective.

Thionins belong to a rapidly growing family of biologically active peptides in the plant kingdom. Thionins are small ( approximately 5 kDA), cysteine-rich peptides with toxic and antimicrobial properties. They show a broad cellular toxicity against wide range of organisms and eukaryotic cell lines; while possessing some selectivity. Thionins are believed to be involved in protection against plant pathogens, including bacteria and fungi, by working directly at the membrane. The direct mechanism of action is still surrounded by controversy. Here the results of structural studies are reviewed and confronted with recent results of biophysical studies aimed at defining the function of thionins. The proposed toxicity mechanisms are reviewed and the attempt to reconcile competing hypotheses with a wealth of structural and functional studies is made.

Proposal for molecular mechanism of thionins deduced from physico-chemical studies of plant toxins.

We propose a molecular model for phospholipid membrane lysis by the ubiquitous plant toxins called thionins. Membrane lysis constitutes the first major effect exerted by these toxins that initiates a cascade of cytoplasmic events leading to cell death. X-ray crystallography, solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies, small angle X-ray scattering and fluorescence spectroscopy provide evidence for the mechanism of membrane lysis. In the crystal structures of two thionins in the family, alpha(1)- and beta-purothionins (MW: approximately 4.8 kDa), a phosphate ion and a glycerol molecule are modeled bound to the protein. (31)P NMR experiments on the desalted toxins confirm phosphate-ion binding in solution. Evidence also comes from phospholipid partition experiments with radiolabeled toxins and with fluorescent phospholipids. This data permit a model of the phospholipid-protein complex to be built. Further, NMR experiments, one-dimensional (1D)- and two-dimensional (2D)-total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY), carried out on the model compounds glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) and short chain phospholipids, supported the predicted mode of phospholipid binding. The toxins' high positive charge, which renders them extremely soluble (>300 mg/mL), and the phospholipid-binding specificity suggest the toxin-membrane interaction is mediated by binding to patches of negatively charged phospholipids [phosphatidic acid (PA) or phosphatidyl serine (PS)] and their subsequent withdrawal. The formation of proteolipid complexes causes solubilization of the membrane and its lysis. The model suggests that the oligomerization may play a role in toxin's activation process and provides insight into the structural principles of protein-membrane interactions.

Model studies of the function of blockers on the small conductance potassium ion channel.

A correlation between KI (equilibrium dissociation constants) and IC50 (concentration at 50% inhibition) inhibitors for the family of blockers of the small conductance potassium ion channels and their intrinsic characteristics like molecular mass and volume have been investigated. Most of the blockers in the family are not selective, in contrast to apamin - an 18 amino acid bee venom toxin - that is known to be a highly potent and selective blocker of these channels. Differences and similarities between the blockers have been analyzed, pointing toward the origin of their selectivity and relative potency. In conclusion, an ion channel blocking is a process controlled mainly by diffusion, in accordance with previous experimental results.

On the nature of a glassy state of matter in a hydrated protein: Relation to protein function.

Diverse biochemical and biophysical experiments indicate that all proteins, regardless of size or origin, undergo a dynamic transition near 200 K. The cause of this shift in dynamic behavior, termed a "glass transition," and its relation to protein function are important open questions. One explanation postulated for the transition is solidification of correlated motions in proteins below the transition. We verified this conjecture by showing that crambin's radius of gyration (Rg) remains constant below approximately 180 K. We show that both atom position and dynamics of protein and solvent are physically coupled, leading to a novel cooperative state. This glassy state is identified by negative slopes of the Debye-Waller (B) factor vs. temperature. It is composed of multisubstate side chains and solvent. Based on generalization of Adam-Gibbs' notion of a cooperatively rearranging region and decrease of the total entropy with temperature, we calculate the slope of the Debye-Waller factor. The results are in accord with experiment.

How the CO in myoglobin acquired its bend: lessons in interpretation of crystallographic data.

Contrary to the expectation of chemists, the first X-ray structures of carbon monoxide bound to myoglobin (Mb) showed a highly distorted Fe-C-O bond system. These results appeared to support the idea of a largely steric mechanism for discrimination by the protein against CO binding, a lethal act for the protein in terms of its physiological function. The most recent independently determined high-resolution structures of Mb-CO have allowed the 25 year old controversy concerning the mode of CO binding to be resolved. The CO is now seen to bind in a roughly linear fashion without substantial bending, consistent with chemical expectations and spectroscopic measurements. Access to deposited diffraction data prompted a reevaluation of the sources of the original misinterpretation. A series of careful refinements of models against the data at high (1.1 A) and modest resolutions (1.5 A) have been performed in anisotropic versus isotropic modes. The results suggest that the original artifact was a result of lower quality crystals combined with anisotropic motion and limited resolution of the diffraction data sets. This retrospective analysis should serve as a caution for all researchers using structural tools to draw far-reaching biochemical conclusions.

Direct structural evidence for a concerted allosteric transition in Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

Regulation of protein function, often achieved by allosteric mechanisms, is central to normal physiology and cellular processes. Although numerous models have been proposed to account for the cooperative binding of ligands to allosteric proteins and enzymes, direct structural support has been lacking. Here, we used a combination of X-ray crystallography and small angle X-ray scattering in solution to provide direct structural evidence that the binding of ligand to just one of the six active sites of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase induces a concerted structural transition from the T to the R state.

Crystal structure and catalytic mechanism of the MJ0109 gene product: a bifunctional enzyme with inositol monophosphatase and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase activities.

Inositol monophosphatase (EC 3.1.3.25) in hyperthermophilic archaea is thought to play a role in the biosynthesis of di-myo-inositol-1,1'-phosphate (DIP), an osmolyte unique to hyperthermophiles. The Methanococcus jannaschii MJ109 gene product, the sequence of which is substantially homologous to that of human inositol monophosphatase, exhibits inositol monophosphatase activity but with substrate specificity that is broader than those of bacterial and eukaryotic inositol monophosphatases (it can also act as a fructose bisphosphatase). To understand its substrate specificity as well as the poor inhibition by Li(+) (a potent inhibitor of the mammalian enzyme), we have crystallized the enzyme and determined its three-dimensional structure. The overall fold, as expected, is similar to that of the mammalian enzyme, but the details suggest a closer relationship to fructose 1,6-bisphosphatases. Three complexes of the MJ0109 protein with substrate and/or product and inhibitory as well as activating metal ions suggest that the phosphatase mechanism is a three-metal ion assisted catalysis which is in variance with that proposed previously for the human inositol monophosphatase.

MJ0109 is an enzyme that is both an inositol monophosphatase and the 'missing' archaeal fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase.

In sequenced genomes, protein coding regions with unassigned function constitute between 10 and 50% of all open reading frames. Often key enzymes cannot be identified using sequence homology searches. For example, despite the fact that methanogens have an apparently functional gluconeogenesis pathway, standard tools have been unable to identify a fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) gene in the sequenced Methanoccocus jannaschii genome. Using a combination of functional and structural tools, we have shown that the protein product of the M. jannaschii gene MJ0109, which had been tentatively annotated as an inositol monophosphatase (IMPase), has both IMPase and FBPase activities. Moreover, several gene products annotated as IMPases from different thermophilic organisms also possess FBPase activity. Thus, we have found the FBPase that was 'missing' in thermophiles and shown that it also functions as an IMPase.

Crystal structure of a nonsymbiotic plant hemoglobin.

BACKGROUND: Nonsymbiotic hemoglobins (nsHbs) form a new class of plant proteins that is distinct genetically and structurally from leghemoglobins. They are found ubiquitously in plants and are expressed in low concentrations in a variety of tissues including roots and leaves. Their function involves a biochemical response to growth under limited O(2) conditions. RESULTS: The first X-ray crystal structure of a member of this class of proteins, riceHb1, has been determined to 2.4 A resolution using a combination of phasing techniques. The active site of ferric riceHb1 differs significantly from those of traditional hemoglobins and myoglobins. The proximal and distal histidine sidechains coordinate directly to the heme iron, forming a hemichrome with spectral properties similar to those of cytochrome b(5). The crystal structure also shows that riceHb1 is a dimer with a novel interface formed by close contacts between the G helix and the region between the B and C helices of the partner subunit. CONCLUSIONS: The bis-histidyl heme coordination found in riceHb1 is unusual for a protein that binds O(2) reversibly. However, the distal His73 is rapidly displaced by ferrous ligands, and the overall O(2) affinity is ultra-high (K(D) approximately 1 nM). Our crystallographic model suggests that ligand binding occurs by an upward and outward movement of the E helix, concomitant dissociation of the distal histidine, possible repacking of the CD corner and folding of the D helix. Although the functional relevance of quaternary structure in nsHbs is unclear, the role of two conserved residues in stabilizing the dimer interface has been identified.

A cis-proline to alanine mutant of E. coli aspartate transcarbamoylase: kinetic studies and three-dimensional crystal structures.

The only cis-proline residue in Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase has been replaced by alanine using site-specific mutagenesis. The Pro268-->Ala enzyme exhibits a 40-fold reduction in enzyme activity and decreased substrate affinity toward carbamoyl phosphate and aspartate compared to the corresponding values for the wild-type enzyme. The concentration of the bisubstrate analogue N-phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate (PALA) required to activate the mutant enzyme to the same extent as the wild-type enzyme is significantly increased. The heterotropic effects of ATP and CTP upon the Pro268-->Ala enzyme are also altered. Crystal structures of the Pro268-->Ala enzyme in both T- and R-states show that the cis-peptidyl linkage between Leu267 and Ala268 is maintained. However, the tertiary structure of both the catalytic and regulatory chains has been altered by the amino acid substitution, and the mobility of the active-site residues is increased for the R-state structure of Pro268-->Ala enzyme as comparison with the wild-type R-state structure. These structural changes are responsible for the loss of enzyme activity. Thus, Pro268 is required for the proper positioning of catalytically critical residues in the active site and is important for the formation of the high-activity high-affinity R-state of E. coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

Alternate modes of binding in two crystal structures of alkaline phosphatase-inhibitor complexes.

Two high resolution crystal structures of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (AP) in the presence of phosphonate inhibitors are reported. The phosphonate compounds, phosphonoacetic acid (PAA) and mercaptomethylphosphonic acid (MMP), bind competitively to AP with dissociation constants of 5.5 and 0.6 mM, respectively. The structures of the complexes of AP with PAA and MMP were refined at high resolution to crystallographic R-values of 19.0 and 17.5%, respectively. Refinement of the AP-inhibitor complexes was carried out using X-PLOR. The final round of refinement was done using SHELXL-97. Crystallographic analyses of the inhibitor complexes reveal different binding modes for the two phosphonate compounds. The significant difference in binding constants can be attributed to these alternative binding modes observed in the high resolution X-ray structures. The phosphinyl group of PAA coordinates to the active site zinc ions in a manner similar to the competitive inhibitor and product inorganic phosphate. In contrast, MMP binds with its phosphonate moiety directed toward solvent. Both enzyme-inhibitor complexes exhibit close contacts, one of which has the chemical and geometrical potential to be considered an unconventional hydrogen bond of the type C-H...X.

A revised mechanism for the alkaline phosphatase reaction involving three metal ions.

Here, X-ray crystallography has been used to investigate the proposed double in-line displacement mechanism of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase in which two of the three active-site metal ions have a direct role in catalysis. Two new X-ray crystal structures of the wild-type enzyme in the absence and presence of inorganic phosphate have been refined at 1.75 A to final working R-factors of 15.4% and 16.4%, respectively. In the refinement of both structures, residues in the active sites were treated anisotropically. The ellipsoids resulting from the partial anisotropic refinement show a clear route for the binding and release of substrate/product. In addition, a direct comparison of the refined structures with and without phosphate reveal a strong correlation between the occupancy of the third metal-binding site and the conformation of the Ser102 nucleophile. These findings clarify two important and unresolved aspects of the previously proposed catalytic mechanism, how Ser102 is activated for nucleophilic attack and why a magnesium ion in the third metal site is required for catalysis. Analysis of these results suggest that three metal-ion assisted catalysis is a more accurate description of the mechanism of the alkaline phosphatase reaction. A revised mechanism for the catalytic reaction of alkaline phosphatase is proposed on the basis of the two new X-ray crystal structures reported.

The 80s loop of the catalytic chain of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase is critical for catalysis and homotropic cooperativity.

The X-ray structure of the Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase with the bisubstrate analog phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate (PALA) bound shows that PALA interacts with Lys84 from an adjacent catalytic chain. To probe the function of Lys84, site-specific mutagenesis was used to convert Lys84 to alanine, threonine, and asparagine. The K84N and K84T enzymes exhibited 0.08 and 0.29% of the activity of the wild-type enzyme, respectively. However, the K84A enzyme retained 12% of the activity of the wild-type enzyme. For each of these enzymes, the affinity for aspartate was reduced 5- to 10-fold, and the affinity for carbamoyl phosphate was reduced 10- to 30-fold. The enzymes K84N and K84T exhibited no appreciable cooperativity, whereas the K84A enzyme exhibited a Hill coefficient of 1.8. The residual cooperativity and enhanced activity of the K84A enzyme suggest that in this enzyme another mechanism functions to restore catalytic activity. Modeling studies as well as molecular dynamics simulations suggest that in the case of only the K84A enzyme, the lysine residue at position 83 can reorient into the active site and complement for the loss of Lys84. This hypothesis was tested by the creation and analysis of the K83A enzyme and a double mutant enzyme (DM) that has both Lys83 and Lys84 replaced by alanine. The DM enzyme has no cooperativity and exhibited 0.18% of wild-type activity, while the K83A enzyme exhibited 61% of wild-type activity. These data suggest that Lys84 is not only catalytically important, but is also essential for binding both substrates and creation of the high-activity, high-affinity active site. Since low-angle X-ray scattering demonstrated that the mutant enzymes can be converted to the R-structural state, the loss of cooperativity must be related to the inability of these mutant enzymes to form the high-activity, high-affinity active site characteristic of the R-functional state of the enzyme.

Crystal structure of C-phycocyanin from Cyanidium caldarium provides a new perspective on phycobilisome assembly.

The crystal structure of the light-harvesting protein phycocyanin from the cyanobacterium Cyanidium caldarium with novel crystal packing has been solved at 1.65-A resolution. The structure has been refined to an R value of 18.3% with excellent backbone and side-chain stereochemical parameters. In crystals of phycocyanin used in this study, the hexamers are offset rather than aligned as in other phycocyanins that have been crystallized to date. Analysis of this crystal's unique packing leads to a proposal for phycobilisome assembly in vivo and for a more prominent role for chromophore beta-155. This new role assigned to chromophore beta-155 in phycocyanin sheds light on the numerical relationships among and function of external chromophores found in phycoerythrins and phycoerythrocyanins.

A model of the transition state in the alkaline phosphatase reaction.

A high resolution crystal structure of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase in the presence of vanadate has been refined to 1.9 A resolution. The vanadate ion takes on a trigonal bipyramidal geometry and is covalently bound by the active site serine nucleophile. A coordinated water molecule occupies the axial position opposite the serine nucleophile, whereas the equatorial oxygen atoms of the vanadate ion are stabilized by interactions with both Arg-166 and the zinc metal ions of the active site. This structural complex supports the in-line displacement mechanism of phosphomonoester hydrolysis by alkaline phosphatase and provides a model for the proposed transition state in the enzyme-catalyzed reaction.

Insights into the mechanisms of catalysis and heterotropic regulation of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase based upon a structure of the enzyme complexed with the bisubstrate analogue N-phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate at 2.1 A.

A high-resolution structure of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase has been determined to 2.1 A; resolution in the presence of the bisubstrate analog N-phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate (PALA). The structure was refined to a free R-factor of 23.4% and a working R-factor of 20.3%. The PALA molecule is completely saturated with interactions to side chain and backbone groups in the active site, including two interactions that are contributed from the 80s loop of the adjacent catalytic chain. The charge neutralization of the bound PALA molecule (and presumably the substrates as well) induced by the electrostatic field of the highly positively charged active site is an important factor in the high binding affinity of PALA and must be important for catalysis. The higher-resolution structure reported here departs in a number of ways from the previously determined structure at lower resolution. These modifications include alterations in the backbone conformation of the C-terminal of the catalytic chains, the N- and C-termini of the regulatory chains, and two loops of the regulatory chain. The high-resolution of this structure has allowed a more detailed description of the binding of PALA to the active site of the enzyme and has allowed a detailed model of the tetrahedral intermediate to be constructed. This model becomes the basis of a description of the catalytic mechanism of the transcarbamoylase reaction. The R-structural state of the enzyme-PALA complex is an excellent representation of the form of the enzyme that occurs at the moment in the catalytic cycle when the tetrahedral intermediate is formed. Finally, improved electron density in the N-terminal region of the regulatory chain (residues 1 to 7) has allowed tracing of the entire regulatory chain. The N-terminal segments of the R1 and R6 chains are located in close proximity to each other and to the regulatory site. This portion of the molecule may be involved in the observed asymmetry between the regulatory binding sites as well as in the heterotropic response of the enzyme.

A single mutation in the regulatory chain of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase results in an extreme T-state structure.

Kinetic analysis of a mutant version of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase in which Thr82 in the regulatory chain (Thr82r) was replaced by Ala results in a shift in the T <==> R equilibrium towards the T-state. In order to understand the structural determinants of this T-state stabilization, the X-ray structure of the unliganded Thr82r-->Ala enzyme was determined at 2. 6 A resolution and refined to a crystallographic residual of 0.175. The structure of the mutant r1 regulatory chain is more similar to that of the r6 regulatory chain than observed for the wild-type enzyme, resulting in a more symmetric structure. Furthermore, the structural changes in the mutant enzyme appears to occur only in the r1 chain, while the r6 chain is almost identical in structure to that of the r6 chain of the wild-type enzyme. The structure of the mutant enzyme exhibits alterations in the subunit interfaces between the regulatory and catalytic chains, as well as in the interface between the allosteric and zinc domains within the regulatory chain. Moreover, the regulatory dimers are rotated around their respective 2-fold axes approximately 1 degrees beyond the rotation which occurs in the wild-type T-state enzyme. The structural analysis indicates that the enzyme is an "extreme" T-state, in which a larger rotation of the regulatory dimers is required for the T to R transition compared to the wild-type enzyme. This extreme T-state structure correlates well with the kinetic parameters determined for the mutant enzyme, showing a stabilized T-state. Furthermore, the structural analysis of the mutant enzyme suggests that replacement of Thr82r with Ala alters the local conformation of the nucleotide binding pocket and therefore offers a plausible explanation for the reduced affinity of the enzyme for nucleotides.

Kinetic and X-ray structural studies of three mutant E. coli alkaline phosphatases: insights into the catalytic mechanism without the nucleophile Ser102.

Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) is a non-specific phosphomonoesterase that catalyzes the hydrolysis reaction via a phosphoseryl intermediate to produce inorganic phosphate and the corresponding alcohol. We investigated the nature of the primary nucleophile, fulfilled by the deprotonated Ser102, in the catalytic mechanism by mutating this residue to glycine, alanine and cysteine. The efficiencies of the S102G, S102A and S102C enzymes were 6 x 10(5)-fold, 10(5)-fold and 10(4)-fold lower than the wild-type enzyme, respectively, as measured by the kcat/Km ratio, still substantially higher than the non-catalyzed reaction. In order to investigate the structural details of the altered active site, the enzymes were crystallized and their structures determined. The enzymes crystallized in a new crystal form corresponding to the space group P6322. Each structure has phosphate at each active site and shows little departure from the wild-type model. For the S102G and S102A enzymes, the phosphate occupies the same position as in the wild-type enzyme, while in the S102C enzyme it is displaced by 2.5 A. This kinetic and structural study suggests an explanation for differences in catalytic efficiency of the mutant enzymes and provides a means to study the nature and strength of different nucleophiles in the same environment. The analysis of these results provides insight into the mechanisms of other classes of phosphatases that do not utilize a serine nucleophile.

Trapping and visualization of a covalent enzyme-phosphate intermediate.

Using a mutant version of E. coli alkaline phosphatase, we succeeded in trapping and determining the structure of the phospho-enzyme intermediate. The X-ray structure also revealed the catalytic water molecule, bound to one of the active site zinc ions, positioned ideally for the apical attack necessary for the hydrolysis of the intermediate.

The road less travelled: taming phosphatases.

Phosphatases are important in signal transduction, bacterial pathogenesis and several human diseases. So far, however, it is their opposite numbers, the kinases, that have received more attention from chemists. Recent progress in inhibitor development offers hope that new probes of cellular processes, and perhaps novel therapeutic agents, may soon become available.