Crystallization and preliminary X-ray study of Vibrio cholerae uridine phosphorylase in complex with 6-methyluracil.

Uridine phosphorylase catalyzes the phosphorolysis of ribonucleosides, with the nitrogenous base and ribose 1-phosphate as products. Additionally, it catalyzes the reverse reaction of the synthesis of ribonucleosides from ribose 1-phosphate and a nitrogenous base. However, the enzyme does not catalyze the synthesis of nucleosides when the substrate is a nitrogenous base substituted at the 6-position, such as 6-methyluracil (6-MU). In order to explain this fact, it is essential to investigate the three-dimensional structure of the complex of 6-MU with uridine phosphorylase. 6-MU is a pharmaceutical agent that improves tissue nutrition and enhances cell regeneration by normalization of nucleotide exchange in humans. 6-MU is used for the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, including infectious diseases. Here, procedures to obtain the uridine phosphorylase from the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio cholerae (VchUPh), purification of this enzyme, crystallization of the complex of VchUPh with 6-MU, and X-ray data collection and preliminary X-ray analysis of the VchUPh-6-MU complex at atomic resolution are reported.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of uridine phosphorylase from Salmonella typhimurium.

The structural udp gene encoding uridine phosphorylase (UPh) was cloned from the Salmonella typhimurium chromosome and overexpressed in Escherichia coli cells. S. typhimurium UPh (StUPh) was purified to apparent homogeneity and crystallized. The primary structure of StUPh has high homology to the UPh from E. coli, but the enzymes differ substantially in substrate specificity and sensitivity to the polarity of the medium. Single crystals of StUPh were grown using hanging-drop vapor diffusion with PEG 8000 as the precipitant. X-ray diffraction data were collected to 2.9 A resolution. Preliminary analysis of the diffraction data indicated that the crystal belonged to space group P6(1(5)), with unit-cell parameters a = 92.3, c = 267.5 A. The solvent content is 37.7% assuming the presence of one StUPh hexamer per asymmetric unit.