RESUMO
l -Methionine decarboxylase (MetDC) from Streptomyces sp. 590 is a vitamin B6 -dependent enzyme and catalyzes the non-oxidative decarboxylation of l -methionine to produce 3-methylthiopropylamine and carbon dioxide. We present here the crystal structures of the ligand-free form of MetDC and of several enzymatic reaction intermediates. Group II amino acid decarboxylases have many residues in common around the active site but the residues surrounding the side chain of the substrate differ. Based on information obtained from the crystal structure, and mutational and biochemical experiments, we propose a key role for Gln64 in determining the substrate specificity of MetDC, and for Tyr421 as the acid catalyst that participates in protonation after the decarboxylation reaction.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Bactérias , Carboxiliases , Aminoácidos/química , Aminoácidos/genética , Proteínas de Bactérias/química , Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Proteínas de Bactérias/metabolismo , Carboxiliases/química , Carboxiliases/genética , Carboxiliases/metabolismo , Domínio Catalítico/genética , Modelos Moleculares , Mutagênese Sítio-Dirigida , Streptomyces/enzimologia , Streptomyces/genética , Especificidade por Substrato/genéticaRESUMO
Fasted mice show torpor-like hypothermia in the cold in their inactive phase. The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether leptin and/or ghrelin are involved in this reaction and to identify its neurophysiological mechanisms. In ob/ob mice, which lack leptin, metabolic heat production (oxygen consumption, Vo(2)) was suppressed in 20°C cold in both the light and dark phases, resulting in hypothermia. When wild-type mice received a systemic injection of 8 µg ghrelin in the early light phase, followed by a 2-h cold exposure to 10°C, their core body temperature (T(b)) decreased by 1.7°C, and they displayed a less marked increase in Vo(2) compared with vehicle-injected mice. However, ghrelin injection in the early dark phase resulted in the maintenance of T(b) and increased Vo(2) in the mice, which was similar to the result observed in the vehicle-injected mice. The number of doubly labeled neurons with cFos and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the suprachiasmatic nucleus was greater in the light phase in the ghrelin-injected mice, which may suggest that ghrelin activates NPY neurons. On the contrary, in the paraventricular nucleus, the counts became greater only when they were exposed to the cold in the dark phase. These results indicate that ghrelin plays an important role in inducing time-dependent changes in thermoregulation in the cold via hypothalamic pathways.
