Functional characterization of Legionella pneumophila Cu+ transport ATPase. The activation by Cu+ and ATP.

Cu+-ATPases are integral membrane proteins belonging to the IB subfamily of the P-type ATPases that couple Cu+ transport to the hydrolysis of ATP. As some structural and functional particularities arise for Cu+-ATPases, several authors suggest that some of the reaction steps of the Albers-Post model postulated for other P-ATPases may be different. In this work we describe a functional characterization of Legionella pneumophila Cu+-ATPase (LpCopA), the first PIB-ATPase whose structure was determined by X-ray crystallography. Cu+-ATPase activity of the enzyme presents a maximum at ∼37 °C and pH 6.6-6.8. Phospholipids enhance LpCopA Cu+-ATPase activity in a non-essential mode where optimal activity is achieved at an asolectin molar fraction of 0.15 and an amphiphile-protein ratio of ~30,000. As described for other P-ATPases, Mg2+ acts as an essential activator. Furthermore, Cu+-ATPase activity dependence on [Cu+] and [ATP] can both be described by a sum of two hyperbolic functions. Based on that, and the [Cu+] and [ATP] dependencies of the best fitting parameters of the hyperbolae pointed above, we propose a minimal reaction scheme for the catalytic mechanism that shares the basic reaction steps of the Albers-Post model for P-type ATPases. The reaction scheme postulated contemplates two different binding affinities for a single ATP (apparent affinities of 0.66 and 550 µM at [Cu+] â†’ ∞) and binding of at least 2 Cu+ with different affinities as well (apparent affinities of 1.4 and 102.5 µM at [ATP] â†’ ∞).

Nitro-fatty acids as activators of hSIRT6 deacetylase activity.

Sirtuin 6, SIRT6, is critical for both glucose and lipid homeostasis and is involved in maintaining genomic stability under conditions of oxidative DNA damage such as those observed in age-related diseases. There is an intense search for modulators of SIRT6 activity, however, not many specific activators have been reported. Long acyl-chain fatty acids have been shown to increase the weak in vitro deacetylase activity of SIRT6 but this effect is modest at best. Herein we report that electrophilic nitro-fatty acids (nitro-oleic acid and nitro-conjugated linoleic acid) potently activate SIRT6. Binding of the nitro-fatty acid to the hydrophobic crevice of the SIRT6 active site exerted a moderate activation (2-fold at 20 µm), similar to that previously reported for non-nitrated fatty acids. However, covalent Michael adduct formation with Cys-18, a residue present at the N terminus of SIRT6 but absent from other isoforms, induced a conformational change that resulted in a much stronger activation (40-fold at 20 µm). Molecular modeling of the resulting Michael adduct suggested stabilization of the co-substrate and acyl-binding loops as a possible additional mechanism of SIRT6 activation by the nitro-fatty acid. Importantly, treatment of cells with nitro-oleic acid promoted H3K9 deacetylation, whereas oleic acid had no effect. Altogether, our results show that nitrated fatty acids can be considered a valuable tool for specific SIRT6 activation, and that SIRT6 should be considered as a molecular target for in vivo actions of these anti-inflammatory nitro-lipids.

Acidity and nucleophilic reactivity of glutathione persulfide.

Persulfides (RSSH/RSS-) participate in sulfur trafficking and metabolic processes, and are proposed to mediate the signaling effects of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Despite their growing relevance, their chemical properties are poorly understood. Herein, we studied experimentally and computationally the formation, acidity, and nucleophilicity of glutathione persulfide (GSSH/GSS-), the derivative of the abundant cellular thiol glutathione (GSH). We characterized the kinetics and equilibrium of GSSH formation from glutathione disulfide and H2S. A pKa of 5.45 for GSSH was determined, which is 3.49 units below that of GSH. The reactions of GSSH with the physiologically relevant electrophiles peroxynitrite and hydrogen peroxide, and with the probe monobromobimane, were studied and compared with those of thiols. These reactions occurred through SN2 mechanisms. At neutral pH, GSSH reacted faster than GSH because of increased availability of the anion and, depending on the electrophile, increased reactivity. In addition, GSS- presented higher nucleophilicity with respect to a thiolate with similar basicity. This can be interpreted in terms of the so-called α effect, i.e. the increased reactivity of a nucleophile when the atom adjacent to the nucleophilic atom has high electron density. The magnitude of the α effect correlated with the Brønsted nucleophilic factor, ßnuc, for the reactions with thiolates and with the ability of the leaving group. Our study constitutes the first determination of the pKa of a biological persulfide and the first examination of the α effect in sulfur nucleophiles, and sheds light on the chemical basis of the biological properties of persulfides.

Spatially remote motifs cooperatively affect substrate preference of a ruminal GH26-type endo-ß-1,4-mannanase.

ß-Mannanases from the glycoside hydrolase 26 (GH26) family are retaining hydrolases that are active on complex heteromannans and whose genes are abundant in rumen metagenomes and metatranscriptomes. These enzymes can exhibit distinct modes of substrate recognition and are often fused to carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs), resulting in a molecular puzzle of mechanisms governing substrate preference and mode of action that has not yet been pieced together. In this study, we recovered a novel GH26 enzyme with a CBM35 module linked to its N terminus (CrMan26) from a cattle rumen metatranscriptome. CrMan26 exhibited a preference for galactomannan as substrate and the crystal structure of the full-length protein at 1.85 Å resolution revealed a unique orientation of the ancillary domain relative to the catalytic interface, strategically positioning a surface aromatic cluster of the ancillary domain as an extension of the substrate-binding cleft, contributing to galactomannan preference. Moreover, systematic investigation of nonconserved residues in the catalytic interface unveiled that residues Tyr195 (-3 subsite) and Trp234 (-5 subsite) from distal negative subsites have a key role in galactomannan preference. These results indicate a novel and complex mechanism for substrate recognition involving spatially remote motifs, distal negative subsites from the catalytic domain, and a surface-associated aromatic cluster from the ancillary domain. These findings expand our molecular understanding of the mechanisms of substrate binding and recognition in the GH26 family and shed light on how some CBMs and their respective orientation can contribute to substrate preference.

The Reaction Mechanism of Metallo-ß-Lactamases Is Tuned by the Conformation of an Active-Site Mobile Loop.

Carbapenems are "last resort" ß-lactam antibiotics used to treat serious and life-threatening health care-associated infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Unfortunately, the worldwide spread of genes coding for carbapenemases among these bacteria is threatening these life-saving drugs. Metallo-ß-lactamases (MßLs) are the largest family of carbapenemases. These are Zn(II)-dependent hydrolases that are active against almost all ß-lactam antibiotics. Their catalytic mechanism and the features driving substrate specificity have been matter of intense debate. The active sites of MßLs are flanked by two loops, one of which, loop L3, was shown to adopt different conformations upon substrate or inhibitor binding, and thus are expected to play a role in substrate recognition. However, the sequence heterogeneity observed in this loop in different MßLs has limited the generalizations about its role. Here, we report the engineering of different loops within the scaffold of the clinically relevant carbapenemase NDM-1. We found that the loop sequence dictates its conformation in the unbound form of the enzyme, eliciting different degrees of active-site exposure. However, these structural changes have a minor impact on the substrate profile. Instead, we report that the loop conformation determines the protonation rate of key reaction intermediates accumulated during the hydrolysis of different ß-lactams in all MßLs. This study demonstrates the existence of a direct link between the conformation of this loop and the mechanistic features of the enzyme, bringing to light an unexplored function of active-site loops on MßLs.

A kinetic comparison between E2P and the E2P-like state induced by a beryllium fluoride complex in the Na,K-ATPase. Interactions with Rb.

Metal-fluoride complexes have been used to induce E2P-like states with the aim of studying the events that occur during E2P hydrolysis in P-type ATPases. In the present work, we compared the E2P-like state induced by a beryllium fluoride complex (BeFx) with the actual E2P state formed through backdoor phosphorylation of the Na,K-ATPase. Formation of E2P and E2P-like states were investigated employing the styryl dye RH421. We found that BeFx is the only fluorinated phosphate analog that, like Pi, increases the RH421 fluorescence. The observed rate constant, kobs, for the formation of E2P decreases with [Pi] whereas that of E2BeFx increases with [BeFx]. This might wrongly be taken as evidence of a mechanism where the binding of BeFx induces a conformational transition. Here, we rather propose that, like for Pi, binding of BeFx follows a conformational-selection mechanism, i.e. it binds to the E2 conformer forming a complex that is much more stable than E2P, as seen from its impaired capacity to return to E1 upon addition of Na+. Although E2P and E2BeFx are able to form states with 2 occluded Rb+, both enzyme complexes differ in that the affinity for the binding and occlusion of the second Rb+ is much lower in E2BeFx than in E2P. The higher rates of Rb+ occlusion and deocclusion observed for E2BeFx, as compared to those observed for other E2P-like transition and product states suggest a more open access to the cation transport sites, supporting the idea that E2BeFx mimics the E2P ground state.

Structural determinant of functionality in acyl lipid desaturases.

Little is known about the structure-function relationship of membrane-bound lipid desaturases. Using a domain-swapping strategy, we found that the N terminus (comprising the two first transmembrane segments) region of Bacillus cereus DesA desaturase improves Bacillus subtilis Des activity. In addition, the replacement of the first two transmembrane domains from Bacillus licheniformis inactive open reading frame (ORF) BL02692 with the corresponding domain from DesA was sufficient to resurrect this enzyme. Unexpectedly, we were able to restore the activity of ORF BL02692 with a single substitution (Cys40Tyr) of a cysteine localized in the first transmembrane domain close to the lipid-water interface. Substitution of eight residues (Gly90, Trp104, Lys172, His228, Pro257, Leu275, Tyr282, and Leu284) by site-directed mutagenesis produced inactive variants of DesA. Homology modeling of DesA revealed that His228 is part of the metal binding center, together with the canonical His boxes. Trp104 shapes the hydrophobic tunnel, whereas Gly90 and Lys172 are probably involved in substrate binding/recognition. Pro257, Leu275, Tyr282, and Leu284 might be relevant for the structural arrangement of the active site or interaction with electron donors. This study reveals the role of the N-terminal region of Δ5 phospholipid desaturases and the individual residues necessary for the activity of this class of enzymes.

Study of the Cys-His bridge electron transfer pathway in a copper-containing nitrite reductase by site-directed mutagenesis, spectroscopic, and computational methods.

The Cys-His bridge as electron transfer conduit in the enzymatic catalysis of nitrite to nitric oxide by nitrite reductase from Sinorhizobium meliloti 2011 (SmNir) was evaluated by site-directed mutagenesis, steady state kinetic studies, UV-vis and EPR spectroscopic measurements as well as computational calculations. The kinetic, structural and spectroscopic properties of the His171Asp (H171D) and Cys172Asp (C172D) SmNir variants were compared with the wild type enzyme. Molecular properties of H171D and C172D indicate that these point mutations have not visible effects on the quaternary structure of SmNir. Both variants are catalytically incompetent using the physiological electron donor pseudoazurin, though C172D presents catalytic activity with the artificial electron donor methyl viologen (kcat=3.9(4) s-1) lower than that of wt SmNir (kcat=240(50) s-1). QM/MM calculations indicate that the lack of activity of H171D may be ascribed to the Nδ1H…OC hydrogen bond that partially shortcuts the T1-T2 bridging Cys-His covalent pathway. The role of the Nδ1H…OC hydrogen bond in the pH-dependent catalytic activity of wt SmNir is also analyzed by monitoring the T1 and T2 oxidation states at the end of the catalytic reaction of wt SmNir at pH6 and 10 by UV-vis and EPR spectroscopies. These data provide insight into how changes in Cys-His bridge interrupts the electron transfer between T1 and T2 and how the pH-dependent catalytic activity of the enzyme are related to pH-dependent structural modifications of the T1-T2 bridging chemical pathway.

The mechanistic study of Leishmania major dihydro-orotate dehydrogenase based on steady- and pre-steady-state kinetic analysis.

Leishmania major dihydro-orotate dehydrogenase (DHODHLm) has been considered as a potential therapeutic target against leishmaniasis. DHODHLm, a member of class 1A DHODH, oxidizes dihydro-orotate (DHO) to orotate (ORO) during pyrimidine biosynthesis using fumarate (FUM) as the oxidizing substrate. In the present study, the chemistry of reduction and reoxidation of the flavin mononucleotide (FMN) cofactor in DHODHLm was examined by steady- and pre-steady state kinetics under both aerobic and anaerobic environments. Our results provide for the first time the experimental evidence of co-operative behaviour in class 1A DHODH regulated by DHO binding and reveal that the initial reductive flavin half-reaction follows a mechanism with two steps. The first step is consistent with FMN reduction and shows a hyperbolic dependence on the DHO concentration with a limiting rate (kred) of 110±6 s(-1) and a K(DHO) d of 180±27 µM. Dissociation of the reduced flavin-ORO complex corresponds to the second step, with a limiting rate of 6 s(-1). In the oxidative half-reaction, the oxygen-sensitive reoxidation of the reduced FMN cofactor of DHODHLm by FUM exhibited a hyperbolic saturation profile dependent on FUM concentration allowing estimation of K(FUM) d and the limiting rate (kreox) of 258±53 µM and 35±2 s(-1), respectively. Comparison between steady- and pre-steady-state parameters together with studies of interaction for DHODHLm with both ORO and succinate (SUC), suggests that ORO release is the rate-limiting step in overall catalysis. Our results provide evidence of mechanistic differences between class 1A and class 2 individual half-reactions to be exploited for the development of selective inhibitors.

Isothermal titration calorimetry determination of individual rate constants of trypsin catalytic activity.

Determination of individual rate constants for enzyme-catalyzed reactions is central to the understanding of their mechanism of action and is commonly obtained by stopped-flow kinetic experiments. However, most natural substrates either do not fluoresce/absorb or lack a significant change in their spectra while reacting and, therefore, are frequently chemically modified to render adequate molecules for their spectroscopic detection. Here, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was used to obtain Michaelis-Menten plots for the trypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis of several substrates at different temperatures (278-318K): four spectrophotometrically blind lysine and arginine N-free esters, one N-substituted arginine ester, and one amide. A global fitting of these data provided the individual rate constants and activation energies for the acylation and deacylation reactions, and the ratio of the formation and dissociation rates of the enzyme-substrate complex, leading also to the corresponding free energies of activation. The results indicate that for lysine and arginine N-free esters deacylation is the rate-limiting step, but for the N-substituted ester and the amide acylation is the slowest step. It is shown that ITC is able to produce quality kinetic data and is particularly well suited for those enzymatic reactions that cannot be measured by absorption or fluorescence spectroscopy.

Role of Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase supports mitochondrial metabolism and host-cell invasion of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Proline is crucial for energizing critical events throughout the life cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. The proline breakdown pathway consists of two oxidation steps, both of which produce reducing equivalents as follows: the conversion of proline to Δ(1)-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C), and the subsequent conversion of P5C to glutamate. We have identified and characterized the Δ(1)-pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase from T. cruzi (TcP5CDH) and report here on how this enzyme contributes to a central metabolic pathway in this parasite. Size-exclusion chromatography, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and small angle x-ray scattering analysis of TcP5CDH revealed an oligomeric state composed of two subunits of six protomers. TcP5CDH was found to complement a yeast strain deficient in PUT2 activity, confirming the enzyme's functional role; and the biochemical parameters (Km, kcat, and kcat/Km) of the recombinant TcP5CDH were determined, exhibiting values comparable with those from T. cruzi lysates. In addition, TcP5CDH exhibited mitochondrial staining during the main stages of the T. cruzi life cycle. mRNA and enzymatic activity levels indicated the up-regulation (6-fold change) of TcP5CDH during the infective stages of the parasite. The participation of P5C as an energy source was also demonstrated. Overall, we propose that this enzymatic step is crucial for the viability of both replicative and infective forms of T. cruzi.

Kinetic mechanism and energetics of binding of phosphoryl group acceptors to Mycobacterium tuberculosis cytidine monophosphate kinase.

Cytidine monophosphate kinase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MtCMK) likely plays a role in supplying precursors for nucleic acid synthesis. MtCMK catalyzes the ATP-dependent phosphoryl group transfer preferentially to CMP and dCMP. Initial velocity studies and Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) measurements showed that MtCMK follows a random-order mechanism of substrate (CMP and ATP) binding, and an ordered mechanism for product release, in which ADP is released first followed by CDP. The thermodynamic signatures of CMP and CDP binding to MtCMK showed favorable enthalpy and unfavorable entropy, and ATP binding was characterized by favorable changes in enthalpy and entropy. The contribution of linked protonation events to the energetics of MtCMK:phosphoryl group acceptor binary complex formation suggested a net gain of protons. Values for the pKa of a likely chemical group involved in proton exchange and for the intrinsic binding enthalpy were calculated. The Asp187 side chain of MtCMK is suggested as the likely candidate for the protonation event. Data on thermodynamics of binary complex formation were collected to evaluate the contribution of 2'-OH group to intermolecular interactions. The data are discussed in light of functional and structural comparisons between CMP/dCMP kinases and UMP/CMP ones.