A flexible loop controlling the enzymatic activity and specificity in a glycosyl hydrolase family 19 endochitinase from barley seeds (Hordeum vulgare L.).

To examine the role of the loop structure consisting of residues 70-82 (70-82 loop) localized to +3/4 subsite of the substrate binding cleft of a family GH-19 endochitinase from barley seeds, Trp72 and Trp82 were mutated, and the mutated enzymes (W72A, W82A, and W72A/W82A) were characterized. Thermal stability and specific activities toward glycol chitin and chitin hexasaccharide were significantly affected by the individual mutations. When N-acetylglucosamine hexamer was hydrolyzed by the wild type, the beta-anomer of the substrate was preferentially hydrolyzed, producing the trimer predominantly and the dimer and tetramer in lesser amounts. When the mutated enzymes were used instead of the wild type, the enzyme cleavage sites in the hexamer substrate were clearly shifted, and the beta-anomer selectivity was eliminated. The mutation effects on the enzymatic activity and stability were much more substantial in W82A than in W72A, but surprisingly the effects of the W82A/W72A double mutation were intermediate between those of the two single mutations. A molecular dynamics simulation of the wild type and the Trp-mutated enzymes indicated that the 70-82 loop becomes more flexible upon mutation and the flexibility increases in the order of W72A, W72A/W82A and W82A. We conclude that Trp72 interacts with the sugar residue but Trp82 modulates the loop flexibility, which controls the protein stability and enzymatic properties. These tryptophan residues are likely to interact with each other, resulting in the non-additivity of mutational effects.

A previously unobserved conformation for the human Pex5p receptor suggests roles for intrinsic flexibility and rigid domain motions in ligand binding.

BACKGROUND: The C-terminal tetratricopeptide (TPR) repeat domain of Pex5p recognises proteins carrying a peroxisomal targeting signal type 1 (PTS1) tripeptide in their C-terminus. Previously, structural data have been obtained from the TPR domain of Pex5p in both the liganded and unliganded states, indicating a conformational change taking place upon cargo protein binding. Such a conformational change would be expected to play a major role both during PTS1 protein recognition as well as in cargo release into the peroxisomal lumen. However, little information is available on the factors that may regulate such structural changes. RESULTS: We have used a range of biophysical and computational methods to further analyse the conformational flexibility and ligand binding of Pex5p. A new crystal form for the human Pex5p C-terminal domain (Pex5p(C)) was obtained in the presence of Sr2+ ions, and the structure presents a novel conformation, distinct from all previous liganded and apo crystal structures for Pex5p(C). The difference relates to a near-rigid body movement of two halves of the molecule, and this movement is different from that required to reach a ring-like conformation upon PTS1 ligand binding. The bound Sr2+ ion changes the dynamic properties of Pex5p(C) affecting its conformation, possibly by making the Sr2+-binding loop - located near the hinge region for the observed domain motions - more rigid. CONCLUSION: The current data indicate that Pex5p(C) is able to sample a range of conformational states in the absence of bound PTS1 ligand. The domain movements between various apo conformations are distinct from those involved in ligand binding, although the differences between all observed conformations so far can be characterised by the movement of the two halves of Pex5p(C) as near-rigid bodies with respect to each other.

Crystal structure of yeast peroxisomal multifunctional enzyme: structural basis for substrate specificity of (3R)-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase units.

(3R)-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase is part of multifunctional enzyme type 2 (MFE-2) of peroxisomal fatty acid beta-oxidation. The MFE-2 protein from yeasts contains in the same polypeptide chain two dehydrogenases (A and B), which possess difference in substrate specificity. The crystal structure of Candida tropicalis (3R)-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase AB heterodimer, consisting of dehydrogenase A and B, determined at the resolution of 2.2A, shows overall similarity with the prototypic counterpart from rat, but also important differences that explain the substrate specificity differences observed. Docking studies suggest that dehydrogenase A binds the hydrophobic fatty acyl chain of a medium-chain-length ((3R)-OH-C10) substrate as bent into the binding pocket, whereas the short-chain substrates are dislocated by two mechanisms: (i) a short-chain-length 3-hydroxyacyl group ((3R)-OH-C4) does not reach the hydrophobic contacts needed for anchoring the substrate into the active site; and (ii) Leu44 in the loop above the NAD(+) cofactor attracts short-chain-length substrates away from the active site. Dehydrogenase B, which can use a (3R)-OH-C4 substrate, has a more shallow binding pocket and the substrate is correctly placed for catalysis. Based on the current structure, and together with the structure of the 2-enoyl-CoA hydratase 2 unit of yeast MFE-2 it becomes obvious that in yeast and mammalian MFE-2s, despite basically identical functional domains, the assembly of these domains into a mature, dimeric multifunctional enzyme is very different.