Isolation of the bifunctional enzyme lysine 2-oxoglutarate reductase-saccharopine dehydrogenase from Phaseolus vulgaris.

Lysine is catabolyzed by the bifunctional enzyme lysine 2-oxoglutarate reductase-saccharopine dehydrogenase (LOR-SDH) in both animals and plants. LOR condenses lysine and 2-oxoglutarate into saccharopine, using NADPH as cofactor and SDH converts saccharopine into alpha-aminoadipate delta-semialdehyde and glutamic acid, using NAD as cofactor. The distribution pattern of LOR and SDH among different tissues of Phaseolus vulgaris was determined. The hypocotyl contained the highest specific activity, whereas in seeds the activities of LOR and SDH were below the limit of detection. Precipitation of hypocotyl proteins with increasing concentrations of PEG 8000 revealed one broad peak of SDH activity, indicating that two isoforms may be present, a bifunctional LOR-SDH and possibly a monofunctional SDH. During the purification of the hypocotyl enzyme, the LOR activity proved to be very unstable, following ion-exchange chromatography. Depending on the purification procedure, the protein eluted as a monomer of 91-94 kDa containing only SDH activity, or as a dimer of 190 kDa with both, LOR and SDH activities, eluting together.

Hormone selectivity in thyroid hormone receptors.

Separate genes encode thyroid hormone receptor subtypes TRalpha (NR1A1) and TRbeta (NR1A2). Products from each of these contribute to hormone action, but the subtypes differ in tissue distribution and physiological response. Compounds that discriminate between these subtypes in vivo may be useful in treating important medical problems such as obesity and hypercholesterolemia. We previously determined the crystal structure of the rat (r) TRalpha ligand-binding domain (LBD). In the present study, we determined the crystal structure of the rTRalpha LBD in a complex with an additional ligand, Triac (3,5, 3'-triiodothyroacetic acid), and two crystal structures of the human (h) TRbeta receptor LBD in a complex with either Triac or a TRbeta-selective compound, GC-1 [3,5-dimethyl-4-(4'-hydroy-3'-isopropylbenzyl)-phenoxy acetic acid]. The rTRalpha and hTRbeta LBDs show close structural similarity. However, the hTRbeta structures extend into the DNA-binding domain and allow definition of a structural "hinge" region of only three amino acids. The two TR subtypes differ in the loop between helices 1 and 3, which could affect both ligand recognition and the effects of ligand in binding coactivators and corepressors. The two subtypes also differ in a single amino acid residue in the hormone-binding pocket, Asn (TRbeta) for Ser (TRalpha). Studies here with TRs in which the subtype-specific residue is exchanged suggest that most of the selectivity in binding derives from this amino acid difference. The flexibility of the polar region in the TRbeta receptor, combined with differential recognition of the chemical group at the 1-carbon position, seems to stabilize the complex with GC-1 and contribute to its beta-selectivity. These results suggest a strategy for development of subtype-specific compounds involving modifications of the ligand at the 1-position.