beta2-microglobulin H31Y variant 3D structure highlights the protein natural propensity towards intermolecular aggregation.

beta2-Microglobulin (beta2m) is the non-covalently bound light chain of the human class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I). The natural turnover of MHC-I gives rise to the release of beta2m into plasmatic fluids and to its catabolism in the kidney. beta2m dissociation from the heavy chain of the complex is a severe complication in patients receiving prolonged hemodialysis. As a consequence of renal failure, the increasing beta2m concentrations can lead to deposition of the protein as amyloid fibrils. Here we characterize the His31-->Tyr human beta2m mutant, a non-natural form of beta2m that is more stable than the wild-type protein, displaying a ten-fold acceleration of the slow phase of folding. We report the 2.9A resolution crystal structure and the NMR characterization of the mutant beta2m, focussing on selected structural features and on the molecular packing observed in the crystals. Juxtaposition of the four mutant beta2m molecules contained in the crystal asymmetric unit, and specific hydrogen bonds, stabilize a compact protein assembly. Conformational heterogeneity of the four independent molecules, some of their mutual interactions and partial unpairing of the N-terminal beta-strand in one protomer are in keeping with the amyloidogenic properties displayed by the mutant beta2m.

Kinetic and crystallographic analyses support a sequential-ordered bi bi catalytic mechanism for Escherichia coli glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase.

Glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase is the first enzyme in the biosynthesis of dTDP-l-rhamnose, the precursor of l-rhamnose, an essential component of surface antigens, such as the O-lipopolysaccharide, mediating virulence and adhesion to host tissues in many microorganisms. The enzyme catalyses the formation of dTDP-glucose, from dTTP and glucose 1-phosphate, as well as its pyrophosphorolysis. To shed more light on the catalytic properties of glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase from Escherichia coli, specifically distinguishing between ping pong and sequential ordered bi bi reaction mechanisms, the enzyme kinetic properties have been analysed in the presence of different substrates and inhibitors. Moreover, three different complexes of glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase (co-crystallized with dTDP, with dTMP and glucose-1-phosphate, with d-thymidine and glucose-1-phosphate) have been analysed by X-ray crystallography, in the 1.9-2.3 A resolution range (R-factors of 17.3-17.5 %). The homotetrameric enzyme shows strongly conserved substrate/inhibitor binding modes in a surface cavity next to the topological switch-point of a quasi-Rossmann fold. Inspection of the subunit tertiary structure reveals relationships to other enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of nucleotide-sugars, including distant proteins such as the molybdenum cofactor biosynthesis protein MobA. The precise location of the substrate relative to putative reactive residues in the catalytic center suggests that, in keeping with the results of the kinetic measurements, both catalysed reactions, i.e. dTDP-glucose biosynthesis and pyrophosphorolysis, follow a sequential ordered bi bi catalytic mechanism.