Theoretical study of the reduction mechanism of sulfoxides by thiols.

Theoretical computations have been carried out to investigate the reaction mechanism of the sulfoxide reduction by thiols in solution. This reaction is a suitable model for enzymatic processes involving methionine sulfoxide reductases (Msrs). Recent investigations on the Msr mechanism have clearly shown that a sulfenic acid intermediate is formed on the catalytic cysteine of the active site concomitantly to the methionine product. In contrast, experimental studies for the reaction of a number of thiols and sulfoxides in solution did not observe sulfenic acid formation. Only, a disulfide was identified as the final product of the process. The present study has been carried out at the MP2/6-311+G(3d2f,2df,2p)//B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory. The solvent effect in DMSO has been incorporated using a discrete-continuum model. The calculations provide a basic mechanistic framework that allows discussion on the apparent discrepancy existing between experimental data in solution and in the enzymes. They show that, in the early steps of the process in solution, a sulfurane intermediate is formed the rate of which is limiting. Then, a proton transfer from a second thiol molecule to the sulfurane leads to the formation of either a sulfenic acid or a disulfide though the latter is much more stable than the former. If a sulfenic acid is formed in solution, it should react with a thiol molecule making its experimental detection difficult or even unfeasible.

Engineered nonphosphorylating glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase at position 268 binds hydroxylamine and hydrazine as acyl acceptors.

Nonphosphorylating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate)-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) catalyze the oxidation of aldehydes into either nonactivated acids or CoA-activated acids. The NADP-dependent nonphosphorylating glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPN) belongs to the first subclass. It catalyzes the irreversible oxidation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate into 3-phosphoglycerate via a two step mechanism in which deacylation is rate-limiting. Recent studies on GAPN from Streptococcus mutans have shown that residue Glu268 plays an essential role only in the deacylation step [Marchal, S., Rahuel-Clermont, S. & Branlant, G. (2000) Biochemistry 39, 3327-3335]. The substitution of Glu268 by alanine or glutamine leads to mutants in which the attacking water molecule involved in the hydrolytic process is poorly activated. Activity can be restored by the presence of hydroxylamine and hydrazine. Neutral and protonated forms of both nucleophiles are recognized by the deacylating subsite of both mutants. pH rate profiles of deacylation show pK(a) values of 6.3 and 8.1 with hydroxylamine and hydrazine, respectively, which are those of the nucleophiles in solution. The increase in enzymatic rate is probably due to a high local concentration and not to a change of the chemical reactivity of both nucleophiles upon their binding within the active site of both mutants. The deacylation subsite of the wild-type also binds hydroxylamine and hydrazine but as inhibitors of the hydrolytic process and not as acyl acceptors. Altogether, the results point out the crucial role of the carboxyl group of Glu268 in preventing nucleophiles, other than water, from binding as efficient acyl acceptors. This may also explain why CoA-dependent ALDHs never possesses a glutamate residue at position 268.

E. coli methionine sulfoxide reductase with a truncated N terminus or C terminus, or both, retains the ability to reduce methionine sulfoxide.

The monomeric peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase (MsrA) catalyzes the irreversible thioredoxin-dependent reduction of methionine sulfoxide. The crystal structure of MsrAs from Escherichia coli and Bos taurus can be described as a central core of about 140 amino acids that contains the active site. The core is wrapped by two long N- and C-terminal extended chains. The catalytic mechanism of the E. coli enzyme has been recently postulated to take place through formation of a sulfenic acid intermediate, followed by reduction of the intermediate via intrathiol-disulfide exchanges and thioredoxin oxidation. In the present work, truncated MsrAs at the N- or C-terminal end or at both were produced as folded entities. All forms are able to reduce methionine sulfoxide in the presence of dithiothreitol. However, only the N-terminal truncated form, which possesses the two cysteines located at the C-terminus, reduces the sulfenic acid intermediate in a thioredoxin-dependent manner. The wild type displays a ping-pong mechanism with either thioredoxin or dithiothreitol as reductant. Kinetic saturation is only observed with thioredoxin with a low K(M) value of 10 microM. Thus, thioredoxin is likely the reductant in vivo. Truncations do not significantly modify the kinetic properties, except for the double truncated form, which displays a 17-fold decrease in k(cat)/K(MetSO). Alternative mechanisms for sulfenic acid reduction are also presented based on analysis of available MsrA sequences.

Pressure denaturation of phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The effects of hydrostatic pressure on apo wild-type glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (wtGAPDH) from Bacillus stearothermophilus (B. stearothermophilus) have been studied by fluorescence spectroscopy under pressure from 0.1 to 650 MPa. Unlike yeast GAPDH [Ruan, K. C., and Weber, G. (1989) Biochemistry 28, 2144-2153], denaturation of the tetrameric apo wtGAPDH from B. stearothermophilus is likely to precede dissociation into subunits. As expected, denaturation is accompanied by the loss of enzymatic activity. B. stearothermophilus apo wtGAPDH interfaces are less pressure sensitive than apo yeast GAPDH ones, while NAD does not protect B. stearothermophilus wtGAPDH against denaturation by pressure. The pressure effects on B. stearothermophilus GAPDH whose R and Q-axis interfaces were destabilized by disruption of interfacial hydrogen bonds are similar to that of apo wtGAPDH.

Chemical mechanism and substrate binding sites of NADP-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase from Streptococcus mutans.

Non-phosphorylating glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Streptococcus mutans (GAPN) belongs to the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) family, which catalyzes the irreversible oxidation of a wide variety of aldehydes into acidic compounds via a two-step mechanism: first, the acylation step involves the formation of a covalent ternary complex ALDH-cofactor-substrate, followed by the oxidoreduction process which yields a thioacyl intermediate and reduced cofactor and second, the rate-limiting deacylation step. Structural and molecular factors involved in the chemical mechanism of GAPN have recently been examined. Specifically, evidence was put forward for the chemical activation of catalytic Cys-302 upon cofactor binding to the enzyme, through a local conformational rearrangement involving the cofactor and Glu-268. In addition, the invariant residue Glu-268 was shown to play an essential role in the activation of the water molecule in the deacylation step. For E268A/Q mutant GAPNs, nucleophilic compounds like hydrazine and hydroxylamine were shown to bind and act as substrates in this step. Further studies were focused at understanding the factors responsible for the stabilization and chemical activation of the covalent intermediates, using X-ray crystallography, site-directed mutagenesis, kinetic and physico-chemical approaches. The results support the involvement of an oxyanion site including the side-chain of Asn-169. Finally, given the strict substrate-specificity of GAPN compared to other ALDHs with wide substrate specificity, one has also initiated the characterization of the G3P binding properties of GAPN. These results will be presented and discussed from the point of view of the evolution of the catalytic mechanisms of ALDH.

Mass spectrometry as a novel approach to probe cooperativity in multimeric enzymatic systems.

Investigating cooperativity in multimeric enzymes is of utmost interest to improve our understanding of the mechanism of enzymatic regulation. In the present article, we propose a novel approach based on mass spectrometry to probe cooperativity in the binding of a ligand to a multisubunit enzyme. This approach presents the selective advantage of giving a direct insight into all the subsequent ligation states that are formed in solution as the ligand is added to the enzyme. A quantitative interpretation of the electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectra gives the relative abundance of all the distinct enzymatic species, which allows one to directly deduce the cooperativity of the system. The overall method is described for the addition of the oxidized cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) to a dimeric mutant of Bacillus stearothermophilus glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH). It is then applied to four tetrameric enzymes: sturgeon muscle GPDH, wild type and S48G mutant of GPDH from B. stearothermophilus, and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from Bakers yeast. The results illustrate the possibilities offered by this new technique. First, mass spectrometry allows a control of the enzymes before the addition of NAD(+). Second, the cooperative behavior can be drawn from one single ESI mass spectrum, which makes the method highly attractive in terms of the amount of biological material required. Above all, the major benefit lies in the direct visualization of all the enzymatic species that are in equilibrium in solution. The direct measurement of cooperativity readily resolve the inconvenience of the classical approaches employed in this field, which all need to model the experimental data in order to get the cooperative behavior of the system.

Crystal structure of the Escherichia coli peptide methionine sulphoxide reductase at 1.9 A resolution.

BACKGROUND: Peptide methionine sulphoxide reductases catalyze the reduction of oxidized methionine residues in proteins. They are implicated in the defense of organisms against oxidative stress and in the regulation of processes involving peptide methionine oxidation/reduction. These enzymes are found in numerous organisms, from bacteria to mammals and plants. Their primary structure shows no significant similarity to any other known protein. RESULTS: The X-ray structure of the peptide methionine sulphoxide reductase from Escherichia coli was determined at 3 A resolution by the multiple wavelength anomalous dispersion method for the selenomethionine-substituted enzyme, and it was refined to 1.9 A resolution for the native enzyme. The 23 kDa protein is folded into an alpha/beta roll and contains a large proportion of coils. Among the three cysteine residues involved in the catalytic mechanism, Cys-51 is positioned at the N terminus of an alpha helix, in a solvent-exposed area composed of highly conserved amino acids. The two others, Cys-198 and Cys-206, are located in the C-terminal coil. CONCLUSIONS: Sequence alignments show that the overall fold of the peptide methionine sulphoxide reductase from E. coli is likely to be conserved in many species. The characteristics observed in the Cys-51 environment are in agreement with the expected accessibility of the active site of an enzyme that reduces methionine sulphoxides in various proteins. Cys-51 could be activated by the influence of an alpha helix dipole. The involvement of the two other cysteine residues in the catalytic mechanism requires a movement of the C-terminal coil. Several conserved amino acids and water molecules are discussed as potential participants in the reaction.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of the peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase from Escherichia coli.

Peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase mediates the reduction of protein sulfoxide methionyl residues back to methionines and could thus be implicated in the antioxidant defence of organisms. Hexagonal crystals of the Escherichia coli enzyme (MsrA) were obtained by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion technique. They belong to space group P6(5)22, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 102.5, c = 292.3 A, gamma = 120 degrees. A native data set was collected at 1.9 A resolution. Crystals of selenomethionine-substituted MsrA were also grown under the same crystallization conditions. A three-wavelength MAD experiment has led to the elucidation of the positions of the Se atoms and should result in a full structure determination.

A sulfenic acid enzyme intermediate is involved in the catalytic mechanism of peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase from Escherichia coli.

Methionine oxidation into methionine sulfoxide is known to be involved in many pathologies and to exert regulatory effects on proteins. This oxidation can be reversed by a ubiquitous monomeric enzyme, the peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase (MsrA), whose activity in vivo requires the thioredoxin-regenerating system. The proposed chemical mechanism of Escherichia coli MsrA involves three Cys residues (positions 51, 198, and 206). A fourth Cys (position 86) is not important for catalysis. In the absence of a reducing system, 2 mol of methionine are formed per mole of enzyme for wild type and Cys-86 --> Ser mutant MsrA, whereas only 1 mol is formed for mutants in which either Cys-198 or Cys-206 is mutated. Reduction of methionine sulfoxide is shown to proceed through the formation of a sulfenic acid intermediate. This intermediate has been characterized by chemical probes and mass spectrometry analyses. Together, the results support a three-step chemical mechanism in vivo: 1) Cys-51 attacks the sulfur atom of the sulfoxide substrate leading, via a rearrangement, to the formation of a sulfenic acid intermediate on Cys-51 and release of 1 mol of methionine/mol of enzyme; 2) the sulfenic acid is then reduced via a double displacement mechanism involving formation of a disulfide bond between Cys-51 and Cys-198, followed by formation of a disulfide bond between Cys-198 and Cys-206, which liberates Cys-51, and 3) the disulfide bond between Cys-198 and Cys-206 is reduced by thioredoxin-dependent recycling system process.

Structural and biochemical investigations of the catalytic mechanism of an NADP-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase from Streptococcus mutans.

The NADP-dependent non-phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Streptococcus mutans (abbreviated Sm-ALDH) belongs to the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) family. Its catalytic mechanism proceeds via two steps, acylation and deacylation. Its high catalytic efficiency at neutral pH implies prerequisites relative to the chemical mechanism. First, the catalytic Cys284 should be accessible and in a thiolate form at physiological pH to attack efficiently the aldehydic group of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P). Second, the hydride transfer from the hemithioacetal intermediate toward the nicotinamide ring of NADP should be efficient. Third, the nucleophilic character of the water molecule involved in the deacylation should be strongly increased. Moreover, the different complexes formed during the catalytic process should be stabilised. The crystal structures presented here (an apoenzyme named Apo2 with two sulphate ions bound to the catalytic site, the C284S mutant holoenzyme and the ternary complex composed of the C284S holoenzyme and G3P) together with biochemical results and previously published apo and holo crystal structures (named Apo1 and Holo1, respectively) contribute to the understanding of the ALDH catalytic mechanism. Comparison of Apo1 and Holo1 crystal structures shows a Cys284 side-chain rotation of 110 degrees, upon cofactor binding, which is probably responsible for its pK(a) decrease. In the Apo2 structure, an oxygen atom of a sulphate anion interacts by hydrogen bonds with the NH2 group of a conserved asparagine residue (Asn154 in Sm-ALDH) and the Cys284 NH group. In the ternary complex, the oxygen atom of the aldehydic carbonyl group of the substrate interacts with the Ser284 NH group and the Asn154 NH2 group. A substrate isotope effect on acylation is observed for both the wild-type and the N154A and N154T mutants. The rate of the acylation step strongly decreases for the mutants and becomes limiting. All these results suggest the involvement of Asn154 in an oxyanion hole in order to stabilise the tetrahedral intermediate and likely the other intermediates of the reaction. In the ternary complex, the cofactor conformation is shifted in comparison with its conformation in the C284S holoenzyme structure, likely resulting from its peculiar binding mode to the Rossmann fold (i.e. non-perpendicular to the plane of the beta-sheet). This change is likely favoured by a characteristic loop of the Rossmann fold, longer in ALDHs than in other dehydrogenases, whose orientation could be constrained by a conserved proline residue. In the ternary and C284S holenzyme structures, as well as in the Apo2 structure, the Glu250 side-chain is situated less than 4 A from Cys284 or Ser284 instead of 7 A in the crystal structure of the wild-type holoenzyme. It is now positioned in a hydrophobic environment. This supports the pK(a) assignment of 7.6 to Glu250 as recently proposed from enzymatic studies.

Two glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases with opposite physiological roles in a nonphotosynthetic bacterium.

Bacillus subtilis possesses two similar putative phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) encoding genes, gap (renamed gapA) and gapB. A gapA mutant was unable to grow on glycolytic carbon sources, although it developed as well as the wild-type strain on gluconeogenic carbon sources. A gapB mutant showed the opposite phenotype. Purified GapB showed a 50-fold higher GAPDHase activity with NADP(+) than with NAD(+), with K(m) values of 0.86 and 5.7 mm, respectively. lacZ reporter gene fusions revealed that the gapB gene is transcribed during gluconeogenesis and repressed during glycolysis. Conversely, gapA transcription is 5-fold higher under glycolytic conditions than during gluconeogenesis. GAPDH activity assays in crude extracts of wild-type and mutant strains confirmed this differential expression pattern at the enzymatic level. Genetic analyses demonstrated that gapA transcription is repressed by the yvbQ (renamed cggR) gene product and indirectly stimulated by CcpA. Thus, the same enzymatic step is catalyzed in B. subtilis by two enzymes specialized, through the regulation of their synthesis and their enzymatic characteristics, either in catabolism (GapA) or in anabolism (GapB). Such a dual enzymatic system for this step of the central carbon metabolism is described for the first time in a nonphotosynthetic eubacterium, but genomic analyses suggest that it could be a widespread feature.

The crystal structure of d-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Methanothermus fervidus in the presence of NADP(+) at 2.1 A resolution.

The crystal structure of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) from the archaeon Methanothermus fervidus has been solved in the holo form at 2.1 A resolution by molecular replacement. Unlike bacterial and eukaryotic homologous enzymes which are strictly NAD(+)-dependent, GAPDH from this organism exhibits a dual-cofactor specificity, with a marked preference for NADP(+) over NAD(+). The present structure is the first archaeal GAPDH crystallized with NADP(+). GAPDH from M. fervidus adopts a homotetrameric quaternary structure which is topologically similar to that observed for its bacterial and eukaryotic counterparts. Within the cofactor-binding site, the positively charged side-chain of Lys33 decisively contributes to NADP(+) recognition through a tight electrostatic interaction with the adenosine 2'-phosphate group. Like other GAPDHs, GAPDH from archaeal sources binds the nicotinamide moiety of NADP(+) in a syn conformation with respect to the adjacent ribose and so belongs to the B-stereospecific class of oxidoreductases. Stabilization of the syn conformation is principally achieved through hydrogen bonding of the carboxamide group with the side-chain of Asp171, a structural feature clearly different from what is observed in all presently known GAPDHs from bacteria and eukaryotes. Within the catalytic site, the reported crystal structure definitively confirms the essential role previously assigned to Cys140 by site-directed mutagenesis studies. In conjunction with new mutation results reported in this paper, inspection of the crystal structure gives reliable evidence for the direct implication of the side-chain of His219 in the catalytic mechanism. M. fervidus grows optimally at 84 degrees C with a maximal growth temperature of 97 degrees C. The paper includes a detailed comparison of the present structure with four other homologous enzymes extracted from mesophilic as well as thermophilic organisms. Among the various phenomena related to protein thermostabilization, reinforcement of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions as well as a more efficient molecular packing appear to be essentially promoted by the occurrence of two additional alpha-helices in the archaeal GAPDHs. The first one, named alpha4, is located in the catalytic domain and participates in the enzyme architecture at the quaternary structural level. The second one, named alphaJ, occurs at the C terminus and contributes to the molecular packing within each monomer by filling a peripherical pocket in the tetrameric assembly.

Role of glutamate-268 in the catalytic mechanism of nonphosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Streptococcus mutans.

Nonphosphorylating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate)- [NAD(P)-] dependent aldehyde dehydrogenases share a number of conserved amino acid residues, several of which are directly implicated in catalysis. In the present study, the role of Glu-268 from nonphosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPN) from Streptococcus mutans was investigated. Its substitution by Ala resulted in a k(cat) decrease by 3 orders of magnitude. Pre-steady-state analysis showed that, for both the wild-type and E268A GAPNs, the rate-limiting step of the reaction is associated with deacylation. The pH dependence of the rate of acylation of wild-type GAPN is characterized by the contributions of distinct enzyme protonic species with two pK(a)s of 6.2 and 7.5. Substitution of Glu-268 by Ala resulted in a monosigmoidal pH dependence of the rate constant of acylation with a pK(a) of 6.2, which suggested the assignment of pK(a) 7.5 to Glu-268. Moreover, the E268A substitution did not significantly affect the efficiency of acylation of GAPN, showing that Glu-268 is not critically involved in the acylation, which includes Cys-302 nucleophilic activation and hydride transfer. On the contrary, the drastic decrease of the steady-state rate constant for the E268A GAPN demonstrated the essential role of Glu-268 in the deacylation. At basic pH, the solvent isotope effect of 2.3, characterized by a unique pK(a) of 7.7, and the linearity of the proton inventory showed that the rate-limiting process for deacylation is associated with the hydrolysis step and suggested that the glutamate form of Glu-268 acts as a base catalyst in this process. Surprisingly, the double-sigmoidal form of the pH-steady-state rate constant profile, characterized by pK(a) values of 6.1 and 7.4, revealed the high efficiency of the deacylation even at pH lower than 7.4. Therefore, we propose that the major role of Glu-268 is to promote deacylation through activation and orientation of the attacking water molecule, and in addition to act as a base catalyst at basic pH. From these results in relation to those recently described [Marchal, S., and Branlant, G. (1999) Biochemistry 38, 12950-12958], a scenario for the chemical catalysis of GAPN is proposed.

Dimers generated from tetrameric phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus are inactive but exhibit cooperativity in NAD binding.

Tetrameric phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) from Bacillus stearothermophilus has been described as a "dimer of dimers" with three nonequivalent interfaces, P-axis (between subunits O and P and between subunits Q and R), Q-axis (between subunits O and Q and between subunits P and R), and R-axis interface (between subunits O and R and between subunits P and Q). O-P dimers, the most stable and the easiest to generate, have been created by selective disruption of hydrogen bonds across the R- and Q-axis interfaces by site-directed mutagenesis. Asp-186 and Ser-48, and Glu-276 and Tyr-46, which are hydrogen bond partners across the R- and Q-axis interfaces, respectively, have been replaced with glycine residues. All mutated residues are highly conserved among GAPDHs from different species and are located in loops. Both double mutants D186G/E276G and Y46G/S48G were dimeric, while all single mutants remained tetrameric. As previously described [Clermont, S., Corbier, C., Mely, Y., Gerard, D., Wonacott, A., and Branlant, G. (1993) Biochemistry 32, 10178-10184], NAD binding to wild type GAPDH (wtGAPDH) was interpreted according to the induced-fit model and exhibited negative cooperativity. However, NAD binding to wtGAPDH can be adequately described in terms of two independent dimers with two interacting binding sites in each dimer. Single mutants D186G, E276G, and Y46G exhibited behavior in NAD binding similar to that of the wild type, while both dimeric mutants D186G/E276G and Y46G/S48G exhibited positive cooperativity in binding the coenzyme NAD. The fact that O-P dimer mutants retained cooperative behavior shows that (1) the P-axis interface is important in transmitting the information induced upon NAD binding inside the O-P dimer from one subunit to the other and (2) the S-loop of the R-axis-related subunit is not directly involved in cooperative binding of NAD in the O-P dimer. In both O-P dimer mutants, the absorption band of the binary enzyme-NAD complex had a highly decreased intensity compared to that of the wild type and, in addition, totally disappeared in the presence of G3P or 1,3-dPG. However, no enzymatic activity was detected, indicating that the formed ternary enzyme-NAD-G3P or -1, 3-dPG complex was not catalytically efficient. In the O-P dimers, the interaction with the S-loop of the R-axis-related subunit is disrupted, and therefore, the S-loop should be less structured. This resulted in increased accessibility of the active site to the solvent, particularly for the adenosine-binding site of NAD. Thus, together, this is likely to explain both the lowered affinity of the dimeric enzyme for NAD and the absence of activity.

Evidence for the chemical activation of essential cys-302 upon cofactor binding to nonphosphorylating glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Streptococcus mutans.

Nonphosphorylating glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPN) from Streptococcus mutans which catalyzes the irreversible oxidation of D-glyceraldehyde-3 phosphate (D-G3P) into 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA) in the presence of NADP belongs to the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) superfamily. Oxidation of D-G3P into 3-PGA by GAPN involves the formation of a covalent enzyme intermediate via the nucleophilic attack of the invariant Cys-302. Titration of Cys-302 in the apo-enzyme by two different kinetic probes, iodoacetamide and 2,2'-dipyridyl disulfide, shows a pK(app) of 8.5 and a chemical reactivity surprisingly low compared to a reactive and accessible thiolate. Binding of NADP causes a strong increase of the reactivity of Cys-302-which is time dependent-with a pK(app) shift from 8.5 to 6.1. Concomitant with the increase in the Cys-302 reactivity, an additional protein fluorescence quenching is observed. These data suggest that cofactor binding induces at least a local conformational rearrangement within the active site. The efficiency of the rearrangement depends on the structure of the cofactors and on the protonation of an amino acid with a pK(app)( )()of 5.7. The rate of the rearrangement also strongly increases when temperature decreases. The data on the conformational rearrangement also reveal an amino acid with a pK(app) of 7.6 whose deprotonation increases the reactivity of the thiolate of Cys-302 by a 3-fold factor. The nature of the amino acid involved-which should be located close to Cys-302 in the holo-active form-is likely the invariant Glu-268. Changing Glu-268 into Ala or Cys-302 into Ala leads to mutants in which the rearrangement is only efficient in the presence of saturating concentrations of both NADP and G3P. The structural aspects of the conformational rearrangement occurring during the catalytic process in the wild-type GAPN should include at least reorientation of both Cys-302 and Glu-268 side chains and repositioning of the nicotinamide ring of the cofactor to permit the chemical activation of Cys-302 and the formation of an efficient ternary complex. Thus, it is likely that the conformation of the active site in the reported X-ray structures of ALDHs determined so far in the presence of cofactor, in which the side chains of Cys-302 and Glu-268 are 6.7 A apart from each other, does not represent the biological active form.

Functional characterization of the phosphorylating D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the archaeon Methanothermus fervidus by comparative molecular modelling and site-directed mutagenesis.

Phosphorylating archaeal D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenases (GraP-DHs) share only 15-20% identity with their glycolytic bacterial and eukaryotic counterparts. Unlike the latter which are NAD-specific, archaeal GraP-DHs exhibit a dual-cofactor specificity with a marked preference for NADP. In the present study, we have constructed a three-dimensional model of the Methanothermus fervidus GraP-DH based upon the X-ray structures of the Bacillus stearothermophilus and Escherichia coli GraP-DHs. The overall structure of the archaeal enzyme is globally similar to homology modelling-derived structures, in particular for the cofactor binding domain, which might adopt a classical Rossmann fold. M. fervidus GraP-DH can be considered as a dimer of dimers which exhibits negative and positive cooperativity in binding the coenzymes NAD and NADP, respectively. As expected, the differences between the model and the templates are located mainly within the loops. Based on the predictions derived from molecular modelling, site-directed mutagenesis was performed to characterize better the cofactor binding pocket and the catalytic domain. The Lys32Ala, Lys32Glu and Lys32Asp mutants led to a drastic increase in the Km value for NADP (i.e. 165-, 500- and 1000-fold, respectively), thus demonstrating that the invariant Lys32 residue is one of the most important determinants favouring the adenosine 2'-PO42- binding of NADP. The involvement of the side chain of Asn281, which was postulated to play a role equivalent to that of the Asn313 of bacterial and eukaryotic GraP-DHs in fixing the position of the nicotinamide ring in a syn orientation [Fabry, S. & Hensel, R. (1988) Gene 64, 189-197], was ruled out. Most of the amino acids involved in catalysis and in substrate recognition in bacterial and eukaryotic GraP-DHs are not conserved in the archaeal enzyme except for the essential Cys149. Inspection of our model suggests that side chains of invariant residues Asn150, Arg176, Arg177 and His210 are located in or near the active site pocket. The Arg177Asn mutation induced strong allosteric properties with the Pi, indicating that this residue should be located near to the intersubunit interfaces. The Arg176Asn mutation led to a 10-fold decrease in the kcat, a 35-fold increase in the Km value for D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and a 1000-fold decrease in the acylation rate. These results strongly suggest that Arg176 is involved in the Ps site. The His210Asn mutation increased the pKapp of the catalytic Cys149 from 6.3 to 7.6, although no Cys-/His+ ion pair was detectable [Talfournier, F., Colloc'h, N., Mornon, J.P. & Branlant, G. (1998) Eur. J. Biochem. 252, 447-457]. No other invariant amino acid which can play a role as a base catalyst to favour the hydride transfer is located in the active site. The fact that the efficiency of phosphorolysis is 1000-fold lower when compared to the B. stearothermophilus GraP-DH suggests significant differences in the nature of the Pi site. Despite these differences, it is likely that the archaeal GraP-DHs and their bacterial and eukaryotic counterparts have evolved from a common ancestor.

Thermal unfolding of phosphorylating D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase studied by differential scanning calorimetry.

Thermal unfolding parameters were determined for a two-domain tetrameric enzyme, phosphorylating D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and for its isolated NAD(+)-binding domain. At pH 8.0, the transition temperatures (t(max)) for the apoforms of the native Bacillus stearothermophilus GAPDH and the isolated domain were 78.3 degrees C and 61.9 degrees C, with calorimetric enthalpies (DeltaH(cal)) of 4415 and 437 kJ/mol (or 30.7 and 22.1 J/g), respectively. In the presence of nearly saturating NAD(+) concentrations, the t(max) and the DeltaH(cal) increased by 13.6 degrees C and by 2365 kJ/mol, respectively, for the native apoenzyme, and by 2.8 degrees C and 109 kJ/mol for the isolated domain. These results indicate that interdomain interactions are essential for NAD(+) to produce its stabilizing effect on the structure of the native enzyme. The thermal stability of the isolated NAD(+)-binding domain increased considerably upon transition from pH 6.0 to 8.0. By contrast, native GAPDH exhibited greater stability at pH 6.0; similar pH-dependencies of thermal stability were displayed by GAPDHs isolated from rabbit muscle and Escherichia coli. The binding of NAD(+) to rabbit muscle apoenzyme increased t(max) and DeltaH(cal) and diminished the widths of the DSC curves; the effect was found to grow progressively with increasing coenzyme concentrations. Alkylation of the essential Cys149 with iodoacetamide destabilized the apoenzyme and altered the effect of NAD(+). Replacement of Cys149 by Ser or by Ala in the B. stearothermophilus GAPDH produced some stabilization, the effect of added NAD(+) being basically similar to that observed with the wild-type enzyme. These data indicate that neither the ion pairing between Cys149 and His176 nor the charge transfer interaction between Cys149 and NAD(+) make any significant contribution to the stabilization of the enzyme's native tertiary structure and the accomplishment of NAD(+)-induced conformational changes. The H176N mutant exhibited dramatically lower heat stability, as reflected in the values of both DeltaH(cal) and t(max). Interestingly, NAD(+) binding resulted in much wider heat capacity curves, suggesting diminished cooperativity of the unfolding transition.

Mildly oxidized GAPDH: the coupling of the dehydrogenase and acyl phosphatase activities.

The hydrogen peroxide-induced 'non-phosphorylating' activity of D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is shown to be a result of the successive action of two forms of the enzyme subunits: one catalyzing production of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate, and the other performing its hydrolytic decomposition. The latter form is produced by mild oxidation of GAPDH in the presence of a low hydrogen peroxide concentration when essential Cys-149 is oxidized to the sulfenate derivative. The results obtained with a C153S mutant of Bacillus stearothermophilus GAPDH rule out the possibility that intrasubunit acyl transfer between Cys-149 and a sulfenic form of Cys-153 is required for the 'non-phosphorylating' activity of the enzyme.

Apo and holo crystal structures of an NADP-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase from Streptococcus mutans.

The aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) are a superfamily of multimeric enzymes which catalyse the oxidation of a broad range of aldehydes into their corresponding carboxylic acids with the reduction of their cofactor, NAD or NADP, into NADH or NADPH. At present, the only known structures concern NAD-dependent ALDHs. Three structures are available in the Protein Data Bank: two are tetrameric and the other is a dimer. We solved by molecular replacement the first structure of an NADP-dependent ALDH isolated from Streptococcus mutans, in its apo form and holo form in complex with NADP, at 1.8 and 2.6 A resolution, respectively. Although the protein sequence shares only approximately 30 % identity with the other solved tetrameric ALDHs, the structures are very similar. However, a large local conformational change in the region surrounding the 2' phosphate group of the adenosine moiety is observed when the enzyme binds NADP, in contrast to the NAD-dependent ALDHs. Structure and sequence analyses reveal several properties. A small number of residues seem to determine the oligomeric state. Likewise, the nature (charge and volume) of the residue at position 180 (Thr in ALDH from S. mutans) determines the cofactor specificity in comparison with the structures of NAD-dependent ALDHs. The presence of a hydrogen bond network around the cofactor not only allows it to bind to the enzyme but also directs the side-chains in a correct orientation for the catalytic reaction to take place. Moreover, a specific part of this network appears to be important in substrate binding. Since the enzyme oxidises the same substrate, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P), as NAD-dependent phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases (GAPDH), the active site of GAPDH was compared with that of the S. mutans ALDH. It was found that Arg103, Arg283 and Asp440 might be key residues for substrate binding.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Methanothermus fervidus.

The homotetrameric holo-D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Methanothermus fervidus has been crystallized in the presence of NADP+ using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Crystals grew from a solution containing 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol and magnesium acetate. A native data set has been collected to 2.1 A using synchrotron radiation and cryocooling. Diffraction data have been processed in the orthorhombic system (space group P21212) with unit-cell dimensions a = 136.7, b = 153.3, c = 74.9 A and one tetramer per asymmetric unit.