Crystal structure of a concentrative nucleoside transporter from Vibrio cholerae at 2.4 Å.

Nucleosides are required for DNA and RNA synthesis, and the nucleoside adenosine has a function in a variety of signalling processes. Transport of nucleosides across cell membranes provides the major source of nucleosides in many cell types and is also responsible for the termination of adenosine signalling. As a result of their hydrophilic nature, nucleosides require a specialized class of integral membrane proteins, known as nucleoside transporters (NTs), for specific transport across cell membranes. In addition to nucleosides, NTs are important determinants for the transport of nucleoside-derived drugs across cell membranes. A wide range of nucleoside-derived drugs, including anticancer drugs (such as Ara-C and gemcitabine) and antiviral drugs (such as zidovudine and ribavirin), have been shown to depend, at least in part, on NTs for transport across cell membranes. Concentrative nucleoside transporters, members of the solute carrier transporter superfamily SLC28, use an ion gradient in the active transport of both nucleosides and nucleoside-derived drugs against their chemical gradients. The structural basis for selective ion-coupled nucleoside transport by concentrative nucleoside transporters is unknown. Here we present the crystal structure of a concentrative nucleoside transporter from Vibrio cholerae in complex with uridine at 2.4 Å. Our functional data show that, like its human orthologues, the transporter uses a sodium-ion gradient for nucleoside transport. The structure reveals the overall architecture of this class of transporter, unravels the molecular determinants for nucleoside and sodium binding, and provides a framework for understanding the mechanism of nucleoside and nucleoside drug transport across cell membranes.

Engineering splicing factors with designed specificities.

Alternative splicing is generally regulated by trans-acting factors that specifically bind pre-mRNA to activate or inhibit the splicing reaction. This regulation is critical for normal gene expression, and dysregulation of splicing is closely associated with human diseases. Here we engineered artificial splicing factors by combining sequence-specific RNA-binding domains of human Pumilio1 with functional domains that regulate splicing. We applied these factors to modulate different types of alternative splicing in selected targets, to examine the activity of effector domains from natural splicing factors and to modulate splicing of an endogenous human gene, Bcl-X, an anticancer target. The designer factor targeted to Bcl-X increased the amount of pro-apoptotic Bcl-xS splice isoform, thus promoting apoptosis and increasing chemosensitivity of cancer cells to common antitumor drugs. Our approach permitted the creation of artificial factors to target virtually any pre-mRNA, providing a strategy to study splicing regulation and to manipulate disease-associated splicing events.

Engineering RNA sequence specificity of Pumilio repeats.

Puf proteins bind RNA sequence specifically and regulate translation and stability of target mRNAs. A "code" for RNA recognition has been deduced from crystal structures of the Puf protein, human Pumilio1, where each of eight repeats binds an RNA base via a combination of three side chains at conserved positions. Here, we report the creation of seven soluble mutant proteins with predictably altered sequence specificity, including one that binds tightly to adenosine-uracil-rich element RNA. These data show that Pumilio1 can be used as a scaffold to engineer RNA-binding proteins with designed sequence specificity.

Structural insights into the human and avian IMP cyclohydrolase mechanism via crystal structures with the bound XMP inhibitor.

Within de novo purine biosynthesis, the AICAR transformylase and IMP cyclohydrolase activities of the bifunctional enzyme ATIC convert the intermediate AICAR to the final product of the pathway, IMP. Identification of the AICAR transformylase active site and a proposed formyl transfer mechanism have already resulted from analysis of crystal structures of avian ATIC in complex with substrate and/or inhibitors. Herein, we focus on the IMPCH active site and the cyclohydrolase mechanism through comparison of crystal structures of XMP inhibitor complexes of human ATIC at 1.9 A resolution with the previously determined avian enzyme. This first human ATIC structure was also determined to ascertain whether any subtle structural differences, compared to the homologous avian enzyme, should be taken into account for structure-based inhibitor design. These structural comparisons, as well as comparative analyses with other IMP and XMP binding proteins, have enabled a catalytic mechanism to be formulated. The primary role of the IMPCH active site appears to be to induce a reconfiguration of the substrate FAICAR to a less energetically favorable, but more reactive, conformer. Backbone (Arg64 and Lys66) and side chain interactions (Thr67) in the IMPCH active site reorient the 4-carboxamide from the preferred conformer that binds to the AICAR Tfase active site to one that promotes intramolecular cyclization. Other backbone amides (Ile126 and Gly127) create an oxyanion hole that helps orient the formyl group for nucleophilic attack by the 4-carboxamide amine and then stabilize the anionic intermediate. Several other residues, including Lys66, Tyr104, Asp125, and Lys137', provide substrate specificity and likely enhance the catalytic rate through contributions to acid-base catalysis.

Crystal structures of human bifunctional enzyme aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide transformylase/IMP cyclohydrolase in complex with potent sulfonyl-containing antifolates.

Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR) transformylase/IMP cyclohydrolase (ATIC) is a bifunctional enzyme with folate-dependent AICAR transformylase and IMP cyclohydrolase activities that catalyzes the last two steps of purine biosynthesis. The AICAR transformylase inhibitors BW1540 and BW2315 are sulfamido-bridged 5,8-dideazafolate analogs with remarkably potent K(i) values of 8 and 6 nm, respectively, compared with most other antifolates. Crystal structures of ATIC at 2.55 and 2.60 A with each inhibitor, in the presence of substrate AICAR, revealed that the sulfonyl groups dominate inhibitor binding and orientation through interaction with the proposed oxyanion hole. These agents then appear to mimic the anionic transition state and now implicate Asn(431') in the reaction mechanism along with previously identified key catalytic residues Lys(266) and His(267). Potent and selective inhibition of the AICAR transformylase active site, compared with other folate-dependent enzymes, should therefore be pursued by further design of sulfonyl-containing antifolates.

Capture of a labile substrate by expulsion of water molecules from the active site of nicotinate mononucleotide:5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole phosphoribosyltransferase (CobT) from Salmonella enterica.

Nicotinate mononucleotide (NaMN):5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole (DMB) phosphoribosyltransferase (CobT) from Salmonella enterica plays a central role in the synthesis of alpha-ribazole-5'-phosphate, an intermediate for the lower ligand of cobalamin. In earlier studies it proved difficult to obtain the structure of CobT bound to NaMN because it is hydrolyzed in the crystal lattice in the absence of the second substrate DMB. In an effort to map the reaction pathway of this enzyme, NaMN was captured in the active site with the substrate analogs 4,5-dimethyl-1,2-phenylenediamine, 4-methylcatechol, indole, 3,4-dimethylaniline, 2,5-dimethylaniline, 3,4-dimethylphenol, and 2-amino-p-cresol. Structures of these complexes reveal that they exclude water molecules responsible for the hydrolysis from the active site. These structures, together with the early complexes with alpha-ribazole-5'-phosphate and DMB, provide a complete description of the reaction pathway. They demonstrate that the nicotinate moiety and phosphate do not appear to move significantly between reactants and products but that the aromatic base and ribose moiety each move approximately 1.2 A toward each other in the transformation. This study also reveals that, like many other nucleotide binding proteins, coordination of DMB is accompanied by a disorder-order transition in a surface loop. The structure of apo-CobT is also reported.

Structural studies of the L-threonine-O-3-phosphate decarboxylase (CobD) enzyme from Salmonella enterica: the apo, substrate, and product-aldimine complexes.

The evolution of biosynthetic pathways is difficult to reconstruct in hindsight; however, the structures of the enzymes that are involved may provide insight into their development. One enzyme in the cobalamin biosynthetic pathway that appears to have evolved from a protein with different function is L-threonine-O-3-phosphate decarboxylase (CobD) from Salmonella enterica, which is structurally similar to histidinol phosphate aminotransferase [Cheong, C. G., Bauer, C. B., Brushaber, K. R., Escalante-Semerena, J. C., and Rayment, I. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 4798-4808]. This enzyme is responsible for synthesizing (R)-1-amino-2-propanol phosphate which is the precursor for the linkage between the nucleotide loop and the corrin ring in cobalamin. To understand the relationship between this decarboxylase and the aspartate aminotransferase family to which it belongs, the structures of CobD in its apo state, the apo state complexed with the substrate, and its product external aldimine complex have been determined at 1.46, 1.8, and 1.8 A resolution, respectively. These structures show that the enzyme steers the breakdown of the external aldimine toward decarboxylation instead of amino transfer by positioning the carboxylate moiety of the substrate out of the plane of the pyridoxal ring and by placing the alpha-hydrogen out of reach of the catalytic base provided by the lysine that forms the internal aldimine. It would appear that CobD evolved from a primordial PLP-dependent aminotransferase, where the selection was based on similarities between the stereochemical properties of the substrates rather than preservation of the fate of the external aldimine. These structures provide a sequence signature for distinguishing between L-threonine-O-3-phosphate decarboxylase and histidinol phosphate aminotransferases, many of which appear to have been misannotated.

Three-dimensional structure of the L-threonine-O-3-phosphate decarboxylase (CobD) enzyme from Salmonella enterica.

The three-dimensional structure of the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent L-threonine-O-3-phosphate decarboxylase (CobD) from Salmonella enterica is described here. This enzyme is responsible for synthesizing (R)-1-amino-2-propanol phosphate which is the precursor for the linkage between the nucleotide loop and the corrin ring in cobalamin. The molecule is a molecular dimer where each subunit consists of a large and small domain. Overall the protein is very similar to the members of the family of aspartate aminotransferases. Indeed, the arrangement of the ligands surrounding the cofactor and putative substrate binding site are remarkably close to that observed in histidinol phosphate aminotransferase, which suggests that this latter enzyme might have been its progenitor. The only significant differences in structure occur at the N-terminus, which is approximately 12 residues shorter in CobD and does not form the same type of interdomain interaction common to other aminotransferases. CobD is unusual since within the aspartate aminotransferase subfamily of PLP-dependent enzymes the chemical transformations are substantially conserved, where the only exceptions are 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase and CobD. Although there are a large number of PLP-dependent amino acid decarboxylases, these are generally larger and structurally distinct from the members of the aspartate aminotransferase subfamily of enzymes. The structure of CobD suggests that the chemical fate of the external aldimine can be redirected by modifications at the N-terminus of the protein. This study provides insight into the evolutionary history of the cobalamin biosynthetic pathway and raises the question of why most PLP-dependent decarboxylases are considerably larger enzymes.