Pyrococcus abyssi alkaline phosphatase: the dimer is the active form.

Alkaline phosphatases (APs), E.C. 3.1.3.1, are non-specific phosphomonoesterases optimally active under alkaline conditions. They are classically known to be homodimeric metalloenzymes. This quaternary structure has been considered necessary for activity, although the relationship between quaternary structure and activity is not well understood. Recombinant Pyrococcus abyssi AP was previously isolated and characterized, appearing to have two active quaternary structures on native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis: a monomer and a homodimer. The purpose of the present work was to determine the actual quaternary structure of P. abyssi AP in solution, by isolating each of the two quaternary forms and establishing the parameters governing the assembly and dissociation of the dimer. pH appeared to be an important parameter: in acidic media, the monomer/dimer ratio shifted towards monomer. Buffer composition also affected the quaternary structure: at the same pH, in potassium phosphate buffer, the two quaternary structures were observed, whereas in tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane hydrochloride buffer, only the dimer was observed. Metals bound to the enzyme were found to be involved in the stability of the quaternary structure. Indeed, the P. abyssi AP obtained upon removal of the metals was monomeric. Reactivation of the latter was achieved with variable efficiency. From these experiments, no active monomer could be isolated, leading the conclusion that the active form of P. abyssi AP is the homodimer.

Replacement of Asp-162 by Ala prevents the cooperative transition by the substrates while enhancing the effect of the allosteric activator ATP on E. coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

The available crystal structures of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) show that the conserved residue Asp-162 from the catalytic chain interacts with essentially the same residues in both the T- and R-states. To study the role of Asp-162 in the regulatory properties of the enzyme, this residue has been replaced by alanine. The mutant D162A shows a 7700-fold reduction in the maximal observed specific activity, a twofold decrease in the affinity for aspartate, a loss of homotropic cooperativity, and decreased activation by the nucleotide effector adenosine triphosphate (ATP) compared with the wild-type enzyme. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements reveal that the unliganded mutant enzyme adopts the T-quaternary structure of the wild-type enzyme. Most strikingly, the bisubstrate analog N-phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate (PALA) is unable to induce the T to R quaternary structural transition, causing only a small alteration of the scattering pattern. In contrast, addition of the activator ATP in the presence of PALA causes a significant increase in the scattering amplitude, indicating a large quaternary structural change, although the mutant does not entirely convert to the wild-type R structure. Attempts at modeling this new conformation using rigid body movements of the catalytic trimers and regulatory dimers did not yield a satisfactory solution. This indicates that intra- and/or interchain rearrangements resulting from the mutation bring about domain movements not accounted for in the simple model. Therefore, Asp-162 appears to play a crucial role in the cooperative structural transition and the heterotropic regulatory properties of ATCase.

Binding of AMP to two of the four subunits of pig kidney fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase induces the allosteric transition.

To study the allosteric transition in pig kidney fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase), we constructed hybrids in which subunits have either their active or regulatory sites rendered nonfunctional by specific mutations. This was accomplished by the coexpression of the enzyme from a plasmid that contained two slightly different copies of the cDNA. To resolve and purify each of the hybrid enzymes, six aspartic acid codons were added before the termination codon of one of the cDNAs. The addition of these Asp residues to the protein did not alter the kinetic or allosteric properties of the resulting FBPase. Expression of the enzyme from a dual-gene plasmid resulted in the production of a set of five different enzymes (two homotetramers and three hybrid tetramers) that could be purified by a combination of affinity and anion-exchange chromatography because of the differential charge on each of these species. The hybrid with one subunit that only had a functional regulatory site (R) and three subunits that only had a functional active site (A) exhibited biphasic AMP inhibition. Analysis of these data suggest that the binding of AMP to the R subunit is able to globally alter the activity of the other three A subunits. The hybrid composed of two R and two A subunits is completely inhibited at an AMP concentration of approximately 0.5 mM, 100-fold less than the concentration required to fully inhibit the A(4) enzyme. The monophasic nature of this cooperative inhibition suggests that the AMP binding to the two R subunits is sufficient to completely inhibit the enzyme and suggests that the binding of AMP to only two of the four subunits of the enzyme induces the global allosteric transition from the R to the T state.

AMP inhibition of pig kidney fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase.

Lys-112 and Tyr-113 in pig kidney fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) make direct interactions with AMP in the allosteric binding site. Both residues interact with the phosphate moiety of AMP while Tyr-113 also interacts with the 3'-hydroxyl of the ribose ring. The role of these two residues in AMP binding and allosteric inhibition was investigated. Site-specific mutagenesis was used to convert Lys-112 to glutamine (K112Q) and Tyr-113 to phenylalanine (Y113F). These amino acid substitutions result in small alterations in k(cat) and increases in K(m). However, both the K112Q and Y113F enzymes show alterations in Mg(2+) affinity and dramatic reductions in AMP affinity. For both mutant enzymes, the AMP concentration required to reduced the enzyme activity by one-half, [AMP](0.5), was increased more than a 1000-fold as compared to the wild-type enzyme. The K112Q enzyme also showed a 10-fold reduction in affinity for Mg(2+). Although the allosteric site is approximately 28 A from the metal binding sites, which comprise part of the active site, these site-specific mutations in the AMP site influence metal binding and suggest a direct connection between the allosteric and the active sites.

Use of silicate sol-gels to trap the R and T quaternary conformational states of pig kidney fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase.

Encapsulation of the homotetrameric pig kidney fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) in tetramethyl orthosilicate sol-gels was used to dramatically reduce the rate of the allosteric transition of the enzyme between the T and R allosteric states. When assayed in the absence of the allosteric inhibitor AMP, the enzyme encapsulated in the T-state exhibited little activity. The enzyme encapsulated in the R-state exhibited a 4-fold lower k(cat) and V(max) than the enzyme in solution, and the apparent K(m) for this enzyme was 350-fold higher than the corresponding value for the enzyme in solution. The [Mg(2+)](0.5) for the encapsulated enzyme was only 0.1 mM, compared to 0.54 mM for the normal enzyme. Magnesium activation, under both sets of conditions, was cooperative with a Hill coefficient of approximately 2. The activity of enzyme encapsulated in the R-state decreased to about 70% of initial activity within 1 min of adding AMP, it then decreased slowly to about 40% of initial activity over the following 7 h. Under the conditions tested, the encapsulated enzyme never became completely inactivated and AMP inhibition was no longer cooperative. For enzyme encapsulated in the T-state, activity was restored over approximately 7 h after removal of the AMP. The biphasic and slow responses to changing AMP levels suggest that encapsulated enzyme can be used to study the effects of local conformational changes distinct from the global quaternary conformational changes by slowing down the ability of the enzyme to carry out global rotations. The response to AMP exhibited by the encapsulated enzyme is consistent with the ability of AMP, at least partially, to directly influence the activity of the active site within each subunit.

Domain bridging interactions. A necessary contribution to the function and structure of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

Aspartate transcarbamoylase undergoes a domain closure in the catalytic chains upon binding of the substrates that initiates the allosteric transition. Interdomain bridging interactions between Glu(50) and both Arg(167) and Arg(234) have been shown to be critical for stabilization of the R state. A hybrid version of the enzyme has been generated in vitro containing one wild-type catalytic subunit, one catalytic subunit in which Glu(50) in each catalytic chain has been replaced by Ala (E50A), and wild-type regulatory subunits. Thus, the hybrid enzyme has one catalytic subunit capable of domain closure and one catalytic subunit incapable of domain closure. The hybrid does not behave as a simple mixture of the constituent subunits; it exhibits lower catalytic activity and higher aspartate affinity than would be expected. As opposed to the wild-type enzyme, the hybrid is inhibited allosterically by CTP at saturating substrate concentrations. As opposed to the E50A holoenzyme, the hybrid is not allosterically activated by ATP at saturating substrate concentrations. Small angle x-ray scattering showed that three of the six interdomain bridging interactions in the hybrid is sufficient to cause the global structural change to the R state, establishing the critical nature of these interactions for the allosteric transition of aspartate transcarbamoylase.

Direct structural evidence for a concerted allosteric transition in Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

Regulation of protein function, often achieved by allosteric mechanisms, is central to normal physiology and cellular processes. Although numerous models have been proposed to account for the cooperative binding of ligands to allosteric proteins and enzymes, direct structural support has been lacking. Here, we used a combination of X-ray crystallography and small angle X-ray scattering in solution to provide direct structural evidence that the binding of ligand to just one of the six active sites of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase induces a concerted structural transition from the T to the R state.

Characterization of heterodimeric alkaline phosphatases from Escherichia coli: an investigation of intragenic complementation.

Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) belongs to a rare group of enzymes that exhibit intragenic complementation. When certain mutant versions of alkaline phosphatase are combined, the resulting heterodimeric enzymes exhibit a higher level of activity than would be expected based upon the relative activities of the parental enzymes. Nine previously identified alkaline phosphatase complementation mutants were re-examined in this work in order to determine a molecular explanation of intragenic complementation in this experimental system. The locations of these mutations were determined by DNA sequence analysis after PCR amplification of the phosphatase-negative phoA gene. Most of the mutations involved ligands to metal-binding sites. Each of the mutant enzymes was re-created by site-specific mutagenesis, expressed, purified, and kinetically characterized. To investigate cooperativity between the two subunits, we analyzed heterodimeric forms of some of the site-specific mutant enzymes. To enable the isolation of the heterodimeric alkaline phosphatase in pure form, the overall charge of one subunit was altered by replacing the C-terminal Lys residue with three Asp residues. This modification had no effect on the kinetic properties of the enzyme. Heterodimeric alkaline phosphatases were created using two methods: (1) in vitro formation by dissociation at acid pH followed by reassociation at slightly alkaline pH conditions in the presence of zinc and magnesium ions; and (2) in vivo expression from a plasmid carrying two different phoA genes. Increases in k(cat), as well as a large reduction in the p-nitrophenyl phosphate K(m) were observed for certain combinations of mutant enzymes. These results suggest that the structural assembly of E. coli alkaline phosphatase into the dimer induces cooperative interactions between the monomers necessary for the formation of the functional form of the holoenzyme.

Mutation of Arg-166 of alkaline phosphatase alters the thio effect but not the transition state for phosphoryl transfer. Implications for the interpretation of thio effects in reactions of phosphatases.

It has been suggested that the mechanism of alkaline phosphatase (AP) is associative, or triester-like, because phosphorothioate monoesters are hydrolyzed by AP approximately 10(2)-fold slower than phosphate monoesters. This "thio effect" is similar to that observed for the nonenzymatic hydrolysis of phosphate triesters, and is the inverse of that observed for the nonenzymatic hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters. The latter reactions proceed by loose, dissociative transition states, in contrast to reactions of triesters, which have tight, associative transition states. Wild-type alkaline phosphatase catalyzes the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate approximately 70 times faster than p-nitrophenyl phosphorothioate. In contrast, the R166A mutant alkaline phosphatase enzyme, in which the active site arginine at position 166 is replaced with an alanine, hydrolyzes p-nitrophenyl phosphate only about 3 times faster than p-nitrophenyl phosphorothioate. Despite this approximately 23-fold change in the magnitude of the thio effects, the magnitudes of Bronsted beta(lg) for the native AP (-0.77 +/- 0.09) and the R166A mutant (-0.78 +/- 0. 06) are the same. The identical values for the beta(lg) indicate that the transition states are similar for the reactions catalyzed by the wild-type and the R166A mutant enzymes. The fact that a significant change in the thio effect is not accompanied by a change in the beta(lg) indicates that the thio effect is not a reliable reporter for the transition state of the enzymatic phosphoryl transfer reaction. This result has important implications for the interpretation of thio effects in enzymatic reactions.

Crystallization and structure determination of the catalytic trimer of Methanococcus jannaschii aspartate transcarbamoylase.

Aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) catalyzes the first step in the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway, the reaction between carbamoyl phosphate and L-aspartate to form N-carbamoyl-L-aspartate and phosphate. The structural analysis of the ATCase catalytic trimer from Methanococcus jannaschii, a unicellular thermophilic archaeabacterium, has been undertaken in order to gain insight into the structural features that are responsible for the thermostability of the enzyme. As a first step, the catalytic trimer was crystallized in space group R32, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 265.3, c = 195.5 A and two trimers in the asymmetric unit. Its structure was determined using molecular replacement and Patterson methods. In general, structures containing multiple copies of molecules in the asymmetric unit are difficult to determine. In this case, the two trimers in the asymmetric unit are parallel to each other and use of the Patterson function greatly simplified the structure solution.

A cis-proline to alanine mutant of E. coli aspartate transcarbamoylase: kinetic studies and three-dimensional crystal structures.

The only cis-proline residue in Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase has been replaced by alanine using site-specific mutagenesis. The Pro268-->Ala enzyme exhibits a 40-fold reduction in enzyme activity and decreased substrate affinity toward carbamoyl phosphate and aspartate compared to the corresponding values for the wild-type enzyme. The concentration of the bisubstrate analogue N-phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate (PALA) required to activate the mutant enzyme to the same extent as the wild-type enzyme is significantly increased. The heterotropic effects of ATP and CTP upon the Pro268-->Ala enzyme are also altered. Crystal structures of the Pro268-->Ala enzyme in both T- and R-states show that the cis-peptidyl linkage between Leu267 and Ala268 is maintained. However, the tertiary structure of both the catalytic and regulatory chains has been altered by the amino acid substitution, and the mobility of the active-site residues is increased for the R-state structure of Pro268-->Ala enzyme as comparison with the wild-type R-state structure. These structural changes are responsible for the loss of enzyme activity. Thus, Pro268 is required for the proper positioning of catalytically critical residues in the active site and is important for the formation of the high-activity high-affinity R-state of E. coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

The contribution of individual interchain interactions to the stabilization of the T and R states of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

Stabilization of the T and R allosteric states of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase is governed by specific intra- and interchain interactions. The six interchain interactions between Glu-239 in one catalytic chain of one catalytic trimer with both Lys-164 and Tyr-165 of a different catalytic chain in the other catalytic trimer have been shown to be involved in the stabilization of the T state. In this study a series of hybrid versions of aspartate transcarbamoylase was studied to determine the minimum number of these Glu-239 interactions necessary to maintain homotropic cooperativity and the T allosteric state. Hybrids with zero, one, and two Glu-239 stabilizing interactions do not exhibit cooperativity, whereas the hybrids with three or more Glu-239 stabilizing interactions exhibit cooperativity. The hybrid enzymes with one or more of the Glu-239 stabilizing interactions also exhibit heterotropic interactions. Two hybrids with three Glu-239 stabilizing interactions, in different geometric relationships, had identical properties. From this and previous studies, it is concluded that the 239 stabilizing interactions play a critical role in the manifestation of homotropic cooperativity in aspartate transcarbamoylase by the stabilization of the T state of the enzyme. As substrate binding energy is utilized, more and more of the T state stabilizing interactions are relaxed, and finally the enzyme shifts to the R state. In the case of the Glu-239 stabilizing interactions more than three of the interactions must be broken before the enzyme shifts to the R state. The interactions between the catalytic and regulatory chains and between the two catalytic trimers of aspartate transcarbamoylase provide a global set of interlocking interactions that stabilize the T and R states of the enzyme. The substrate-induced local conformational changes observed in the structure of the isolated catalytic subunit drive the quaternary T to R transition of aspartate transcarbamoylase and functionally induced homotropic cooperativity.

Alternate modes of binding in two crystal structures of alkaline phosphatase-inhibitor complexes.

Two high resolution crystal structures of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (AP) in the presence of phosphonate inhibitors are reported. The phosphonate compounds, phosphonoacetic acid (PAA) and mercaptomethylphosphonic acid (MMP), bind competitively to AP with dissociation constants of 5.5 and 0.6 mM, respectively. The structures of the complexes of AP with PAA and MMP were refined at high resolution to crystallographic R-values of 19.0 and 17.5%, respectively. Refinement of the AP-inhibitor complexes was carried out using X-PLOR. The final round of refinement was done using SHELXL-97. Crystallographic analyses of the inhibitor complexes reveal different binding modes for the two phosphonate compounds. The significant difference in binding constants can be attributed to these alternative binding modes observed in the high resolution X-ray structures. The phosphinyl group of PAA coordinates to the active site zinc ions in a manner similar to the competitive inhibitor and product inorganic phosphate. In contrast, MMP binds with its phosphonate moiety directed toward solvent. Both enzyme-inhibitor complexes exhibit close contacts, one of which has the chemical and geometrical potential to be considered an unconventional hydrogen bond of the type C-H...X.

A revised mechanism for the alkaline phosphatase reaction involving three metal ions.

Here, X-ray crystallography has been used to investigate the proposed double in-line displacement mechanism of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase in which two of the three active-site metal ions have a direct role in catalysis. Two new X-ray crystal structures of the wild-type enzyme in the absence and presence of inorganic phosphate have been refined at 1.75 A to final working R-factors of 15.4% and 16.4%, respectively. In the refinement of both structures, residues in the active sites were treated anisotropically. The ellipsoids resulting from the partial anisotropic refinement show a clear route for the binding and release of substrate/product. In addition, a direct comparison of the refined structures with and without phosphate reveal a strong correlation between the occupancy of the third metal-binding site and the conformation of the Ser102 nucleophile. These findings clarify two important and unresolved aspects of the previously proposed catalytic mechanism, how Ser102 is activated for nucleophilic attack and why a magnesium ion in the third metal site is required for catalysis. Analysis of these results suggest that three metal-ion assisted catalysis is a more accurate description of the mechanism of the alkaline phosphatase reaction. A revised mechanism for the catalytic reaction of alkaline phosphatase is proposed on the basis of the two new X-ray crystal structures reported.

Characterization of the aspartate transcarbamoylase from Methanococcus jannaschii.

The genes from the thermophilic archaeabacterium Methanococcus jannaschii that code for the putative catalytic and regulatory chains of aspartate transcarbamoylase were expressed at high levels in Escherichia coli. Only the M. jannaschii PyrB (Mj-PyrB) gene product exhibited catalytic activity. A purification protocol was devised for the Mj-PyrB and M. jannaschii PyrI (Mj-PyrI) gene products. Molecular weight measurements of the Mj-PyrB and Mj-PyrI gene products revealed that the Mj-PyrB gene product is a trimer and the Mj-PyrI gene product is a dimer. Preliminary characterization of the aspartate transcarbamoylase from M. jannaschii cell-free extract revealed that the enzyme has a similar molecular weight to that of the E. coli holoenzyme. Kinetic analysis of the M. jannaschii aspartate transcarbamoylase from the cell-free extract indicates that the enzyme exhibited limited homotropic cooperativity and little if any regulatory properties. The purified Mj-catalytic trimer exhibited hyperbolic kinetics, with an activation energy similar to that observed for the E. coli catalytic trimer. Homology models of the Mj-PyrB and Mj-PyrI gene products were constructed based on the three-dimensional structures of the homologous E. coli proteins. The residues known to be critical for catalysis, regulation, and formation of the quaternary structure from the well characterized E. coli aspartate transcarbamoylase were compared.

The use of nucleotide analogs to evaluate the mechanism of the heterotropic response of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

As an alternative method to study the heterotropic mechanism of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase, a series of nucleotide analogs were used. These nucleotide analogs have the advantage over site-specific mutagenesis experiments in that interactions between the backbone of the protein and the nucleotide could be evaluated in terms of their importance for function. The ATP analogs purine 5'-triphosphate (PTP), 6-chloropurine 5'-triphosphate (Cl-PTP), 6-mercaptopurine 5'-triphosphate (SH-PTP), 6-methylpurine 5'-triphosphate (Me-PTP), and 1-methyladenosine 5'-triphosphate (Me-ATP) were partially synthesized from their corresponding nucleosides. Kinetic analysis was performed on the wild-type enzyme in the presence of these ATP analogs along with GTP, ITP, and XTP. PTP, Cl-PTP, and SH-PTP each activate the enzyme at subsaturating concentrations of L-aspartate and saturating concentrations of carbamoyl phosphate, but not to the same extent as does ATP. These experiments suggest that the interaction between N6-amino group of ATP and the backbone of the regulatory chain is important for orienting the nucleotide and inducing the displacements of the regulatory chain backbone necessary for initiation of the regulatory response. Me-PTP and Me-ATP also activate the enzyme, but in a more complex fashion, which suggests differential binding at the two sites within each regulatory dimer. The purine nucleotides GTP, ITP, and XTP each inhibit the enzyme but to a lesser extent than CTP. The influence of deoxy and dideoxynucleotides on the activity of the enzyme was also investigated. These experiments suggest that the 2' and 3' ribose hydroxyl groups are not of significant importance for binding and orientation of the nucleotide in the regulatory binding site. 2'-dCTP inhibits the enzyme to the same extent as CTP, indicating that the interactions of the enzyme to the O2-carbonyl of CTP are critical for CTP binding, inhibition, and the ability of the enzyme to discriminate between ATP and CTP. Examination of the electrostatic surface potential of the nucleotides and the regulatory chain suggest that the complimentary electrostatic interactions between the nucleotides and the regulatory chain are important for binding and orientation of the nucleotide necessary to induce the local conformational changes that propagate the heterotropic effect.

Three of the six possible intersubunit stabilizing interactions involving Glu-239 are sufficient for restoration of the homotropic and heterotropic properties of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

A hybrid version of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase was investigated in which one catalytic subunit has the wild-type sequence, and the other catalytic subunit has Glu-239 replaced by Gln. Since Glu-239 is involved in intersubunit interactions, this hybrid could be used to evaluate the extent to which T state stabilization is required for homotropic cooperativity and for heterotropic effects. Reconstitution of the hybrid holoenzyme (two different catalytic subunits with three wild-type regulatory subunits) was followed by separation of the mixture by anion-exchange chromatography. To make possible the resolution of the three holoenzyme species formed by the reconstitution, the charge of one of the catalytic subunits was altered by the addition of six aspartic acid residues to the C terminus of each of the catalytic chains (AT-C catalytic subunit). Control experiments indicated that the AT-C catalytic subunit as well as the holoenzyme formed with AT-C and wild-type regulatory subunits had essentially the same homotropic and heterotropic properties as the native catalytic subunit and holoenzyme, indicating that the addition of the aspartate tail did not influence the function of either enzyme. The control reconstituted holoenzyme, in which both catalytic subunits have Glu-239 replaced by Gln, exhibited no cooperativity, an enhanced affinity for aspartate, and essentially no heterotropic response identical to the enzyme isolated without reconstitution. The hybrid containing one normal and one mutant catalytic subunit exhibited homotropic cooperativity with a Hill coefficient of 1.4 and responded to the nucleotide effectors at about 50% of the level of the wild-type enzyme. Small angle x-ray scattering experiments with the hybrid enzyme indicated that in the absence of ligands it was structurally similar, but not identical, to the T state of the wild-type enzyme. In contrast to the wild-type enzyme, addition of carbamoyl phosphate induced a significant alteration in the scattering pattern, whereas the bisubstrate analog N-phosphonoacetyl-L-aspartate induced a significant change in the scattering pattern indicating the transition to the R-structural state. These data indicate that in the hybrid enzyme only three of the usual six interchain interactions involving Glu-239 are sufficient to stabilize the enzyme in a low affinity, low activity state and allow an allosteric transition to occur.

The mechanism of the alkaline phosphatase reaction: insights from NMR, crystallography and site-specific mutagenesis.

The proposed double in-line displacement mechanism of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (AP) involving two-metal ion catalysis is based on NMR spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic studies. This mechanism is further supported by the X-ray crystal structures of the covalent phospho-enzyme intermediate of the H331Q mutant AP and of the transition state complex between the wild-type enzyme and vanadate, a transition state analog. Kinetic and structural studies on several genetically engineered versions of AP illustrate the overall importance of the active site's metal geometry, hydrogen bonding network and electrostatic potential in the catalytic mechanism.

A bicarbonate ion as a general base in the mechanism of peptide hydrolysis by dizinc leucine aminopeptidase.

The active sites of aminopeptidase A (PepA) from Escherichia coli and leucine aminopeptidase from bovine lens are isostructural, as shown by x-ray structures at 2.5 A and 1.6 A resolution, respectively. In both structures, a bicarbonate anion is bound to an arginine side chain (Arg-356 in PepA and Arg-336 in leucine aminopeptidase) very near two catalytic zinc ions. It is shown that PepA is activated about 10-fold by bicarbonate when L-leucine p-nitroanilide is used as a substrate. No activation by bicarbonate ions is found for mutants R356A, R356K, R356M, and R356E of PepA. In the suggested mechanism, the bicarbonate anion is proposed to facilitate proton transfer from a zinc-bridging water nucleophile to the peptide leaving group. Thus, the function of the bicarbonate ion as a general base is similar to the catalytic role of carboxylate side chains in the presumed mechanisms of other dizinc or monozinc peptidases. A mutational analysis shows that Arg-356 influences activity by binding the bicarbonate ion but is not essential for activity. Mutation of the catalytic Lys-282 reduces k(cat)/K(m) about 10,000-fold.

The 80s loop of the catalytic chain of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase is critical for catalysis and homotropic cooperativity.

The X-ray structure of the Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase with the bisubstrate analog phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate (PALA) bound shows that PALA interacts with Lys84 from an adjacent catalytic chain. To probe the function of Lys84, site-specific mutagenesis was used to convert Lys84 to alanine, threonine, and asparagine. The K84N and K84T enzymes exhibited 0.08 and 0.29% of the activity of the wild-type enzyme, respectively. However, the K84A enzyme retained 12% of the activity of the wild-type enzyme. For each of these enzymes, the affinity for aspartate was reduced 5- to 10-fold, and the affinity for carbamoyl phosphate was reduced 10- to 30-fold. The enzymes K84N and K84T exhibited no appreciable cooperativity, whereas the K84A enzyme exhibited a Hill coefficient of 1.8. The residual cooperativity and enhanced activity of the K84A enzyme suggest that in this enzyme another mechanism functions to restore catalytic activity. Modeling studies as well as molecular dynamics simulations suggest that in the case of only the K84A enzyme, the lysine residue at position 83 can reorient into the active site and complement for the loss of Lys84. This hypothesis was tested by the creation and analysis of the K83A enzyme and a double mutant enzyme (DM) that has both Lys83 and Lys84 replaced by alanine. The DM enzyme has no cooperativity and exhibited 0.18% of wild-type activity, while the K83A enzyme exhibited 61% of wild-type activity. These data suggest that Lys84 is not only catalytically important, but is also essential for binding both substrates and creation of the high-activity, high-affinity active site. Since low-angle X-ray scattering demonstrated that the mutant enzymes can be converted to the R-structural state, the loss of cooperativity must be related to the inability of these mutant enzymes to form the high-activity, high-affinity active site characteristic of the R-functional state of the enzyme.