Wild-type phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthase (PRS) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a bacterial class II PRS?

The 5-phospho-α-D-ribose 1-diphosphate (PRPP) metabolite plays essential roles in several biosynthetic pathways, including histidine, tryptophan, nucleotides, and, in mycobacteria, cell wall precursors. PRPP is synthesized from α-D-ribose 5-phosphate (R5P) and ATP by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis prsA gene product, phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthase (MtPRS). Here, we report amplification, cloning, expression and purification of wild-type MtPRS. Glutaraldehyde cross-linking results suggest that MtPRS predominates as a hexamer, presenting varied oligomeric states due to distinct ligand binding. MtPRS activity measurements were carried out by a novel coupled continuous spectrophotometric assay. MtPRS enzyme activity could be detected in the absence of P(i). ADP, GDP and UMP inhibit MtPRS activity. Steady-state kinetics results indicate that MtPRS has broad substrate specificity, being able to accept ATP, GTP, CTP, and UTP as diphosphoryl group donors. Fluorescence spectroscopy data suggest that the enzyme mechanism for purine diphosphoryl donors follows a random order of substrate addition, and for pyrimidine diphosphoryl donors follows an ordered mechanism of substrate addition in which R5P binds first to free enzyme. An ordered mechanism for product dissociation is followed by MtPRS, in which PRPP is the first product to be released followed by the nucleoside monophosphate products to yield free enzyme for the next round of catalysis. The broad specificity for diphosphoryl group donors and detection of enzyme activity in the absence of P(i) would suggest that MtPRS belongs to Class II PRS proteins. On the other hand, the hexameric quaternary structure and allosteric ADP inhibition would place MtPRS in Class I PRSs. Further data are needed to classify MtPRS as belonging to a particular family of PRS proteins. The data here presented should help augment our understanding of MtPRS mode of action. Current efforts are toward experimental structure determination of MtPRS to provide a solid foundation for the rational design of specific inhibitors of this enzyme.

Preliminary crystallographic analysis of sugar cane phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthase.

Phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthases (PRS; EC 2.7.6.1) are enzymes that are of central importance in several metabolic pathways in all cells. The sugar cane PRS enzyme contains 328 amino acids with a molecular weight of 36.6 kDa and represents the first plant PRS to be crystallized, as well as the first phosphate-independent PRS to be studied in molecular detail. Sugar cane PRS was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Using X-ray diffraction experiments it was determined that the crystals belong to the orthorhombic system, with space group P2(1)2(1)2 and unit-cell parameters a = 213.2, b = 152.6, c = 149.3 A. The crystals diffract to a maximum resolution of 3.3 A and a complete data set to 3.5 A resolution was collected and analysed.