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Chitotriosidase (CHIT1) is a human chitinase belonging to the highly conserved glycosyl hydrolase family 18 (GH18). GH18 enzymes hydrolyze chitin, an N-acetylglucosamine polymer synthesized by lower organisms for structural purposes. Recently, CHIT1 has attracted attention owing to its upregulation in immune-system disorders and as a marker of Gaucher disease. The 39 kDa catalytic domain shows a conserved cluster of three acidic residues, Glu140, Asp138 and Asp136, involved in the hydrolysis reaction. Under an excess concentration of substrate, CHIT1 and other homologues perform an additional activity, transglycosylation. To understand the catalytic mechanism of GH18 chitinases and the dual enzymatic activity, the structure and mechanism of CHIT1 were analyzed in detail. The resolution of the crystals of the catalytic domain was improved from 1.65 Å (PDB entry ) to 0.95-1.10 Å for the apo and pseudo-apo forms and the complex with chitobiose, allowing the determination of the protonation states within the active site. This information was extended by hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations. The results suggest a new mechanism involving changes in the conformation and protonation state of the catalytic triad, as well as a new role for Tyr27, providing new insights into the hydrolysis and transglycosylation activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the successful structure determination of 293 K of fully perdeuterated type 3 antifreeze proteins (AFPs) by joint X-ray and neutron diffraction and provides a detailed description of the protein and its solvent structure. It cites the use of the synthetic gene of type 3 AFP that corresponds to the sequence of the 1HG7 PDB entry. It highlights the importance of neutron diffraction for a reliable identification of hydration features in macromolecules particularly those slightly disordered.

The article reports on the LADI-III, a diffractometer dedicated to neutron macromolecular crystallography that is operated by the Institut Laue-Langevin since March 2007. The miniature reader has an improved detector and readout system that enables it to scan the image plate, study crystal biological systems and reduce the time for data collection. An illustration of the study of antifreeze protein is presented.

The article discusses research on X-ray-induced deterioration of disulfide bridges at atomic resolution at temperatures of 100 and 15 degrees Kelvin (K). The study showed that the changes occur at doses below 1.4 X 107 gray (Gy) and small changes occur at higher doses. The study found that the dose, required to induce the same deterioration of the disulfide bonds and atomic displacements at 15 K, is more than two times higher than those at 100 K.

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are found in different species from polar, alpine and subarctic regions, where they serve to inhibit ice-crystal growth by adsorption to ice surfaces. Recombinant North Atlantic ocean pout ( Macrozoarces americanus) AFP has been used as a model protein to develop protocols for amino-acid-specific hydrogen reverse-labelling of methyl groups in leucine and valine residues using Escherichia coli high-density cell cultures supplemented with the amino-acid precursor α-ketoisovalerate. Here, the successful methyl protonation (methyl reverse-labelling) of leucine and valine residues in AFP is reported. Methyl-protonated AFP was expressed in inclusion bodies, refolded in deuterated buffer and purified by cation-exchange chromatography. Crystals were grown in D2O buffer by the sitting-drop method. Preliminary neutron Laue diffraction at 293 K using LADI-III at ILL showed in a few 24 h exposures a very low background and clear small spots up to a resolution of 1.80 Å from a crystal of dimensions 1.60 × 0.38 × 0.38 mm corresponding to a volume of 0.23 mm3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The highly homologous type III antifreeze protein (AFP) subfamily share the capability to inhibit ice growth at subzero temperatures. Extensive studies by X-ray crystallography have been conducted, mostly on AFPs from polar fishes. Although interactions between a defined flat ice-binding surface and a particular lattice plane of an ice crystal have now been identified, the fine structural features underlying the antifreeze mechanism still remain unclear owing to the intrinsic difficulty in identifying H atoms using X-ray diffraction data alone. Here, successful perdeuteration ( i.e. complete deuteration) for neutron crystallographic studies of the North Atlantic ocean pout ( Macrozoarces americanus) AFP in Escherichia coli high-density cell cultures is reported. The perdeuterated protein (AFP D) was expressed in inclusion bodies, refolded in deuterated buffer and purified by cation-exchange chromatography. Well shaped perdeuterated AFP D crystals have been grown in D2O by the sitting-drop method. Preliminary neutron Laue diffraction at 293 K using LADI-III at ILL showed that with a few exposures of 24 h a very low background and clear small spots up to a resolution of 1.85 Å were obtained using a `radically small' perdeuterated AFP D crystal of dimensions 0.70 × 0.55 × 0.35 mm, corresponding to a volume of 0.13 mm3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results of combined studies of the enzyme human aldose reductase (h-AR, 36 kDa) using single-crystal x-ray data (0.66 Å, 100K; 0.80 Å, 15K; 1.75 Å, 293K), neutron Laue data (2.2 Å, 293K), and quantum mechanical modeling. These complementary techniques unveil the internal organization and mobility of the hydrogen bond network that defines the properties of the catalytic engine, explaining how this promiscuous enzyme overcomes the simultaneous requirements of efficiency and promiscuity offering a general mechanistic view for this class of enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two X-ray data sets for a complex of human aldose reductase (h-AR) with the inhibitor IDD 594 and the cofactor NADP+ were collected from two different parts of the same crystal to a resolution of 0.81 Å at 15 and 60 K using cold helium gas as cryogen. The contribution of temperature to the atomic B values was estimated by comparison of the independently refined models. It was found that although being slightly different for different kinds of atoms, the differences (δ B) in the isotropic equivalents B of atomic displacement parameters (ADPs) were approximately constant (about 1.7 Å2) for well ordered atoms as the temperature was increased from 15 to 60 K. The mean value of this difference varied according to the number of non-H atoms covalently bound to the parent atom. Atoms having a B value of higher than 8 Å2 at 15 K showed much larger deviations of δ B from the average value, which might reflect partial occupancy of atomic sites. An analysis of the anisotropy of ADPs for individual atoms revealed an increase in the isotropy of ADPs with the increase of the temperature from 15 to 60 K. In a separate experiment, a 0.93 Å resolution data set was collected from a different crystal of the same complex at 100 K using cold nitrogen as a cryogen. The effects of various errors on the atomic B values were estimated by comparison of the refined models and the temperature-dependent component was inferred. It was found that both decreasing the data redundancy and increasing the resolution cutoff led to an approximately constant increase in atomic B values for well ordered atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The X-ray crystal structure of human aldose reductase (ALR2) in complex with the inhibitor IDD552 was determined using crystals obtained from two crystallization conditions with different pH values (pH 5 and 8). In both structures the charged carboxylic head of the inhibitor binds to the active site, making hydrogen-bond interactions with His110 and Tyr48 and electrostatic interactions with NADP+ There is an important difference between the two structures: the observation of a double conformation of the carboxylic acid moiety of the inhibitor at pH 8, with one water molecule interacting with the main configuration. This is the first time that a water molecule has been observed deep inside the ALR2 active site. Furthermore, in the configuration with the lower occupancy factor the difference electron-density map shows a clear peak (2.5σ) for the H atom in the hydrogen bond between the inhibitor's carboxylic acid and the Tyr48 side-chain O atom. The position of this peak implies that this H atom is shared between both O atoms, indicating possible direct proton transfer from this residue to the inhibitor. This fact agrees with the model of the catalytic mechanism, in which the proton is donated by the Tyr48 hydroxyl to the substrate. These observations are useful both in drug design and in understanding the ALR2 mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The X-ray structures of human aldose reductase holoenzyme in complex with the inhibitors Fidarestat (SNK-860) and Minalrestat (WAY-509) were determined at atomic resolutions of 0.92 Å and 1.1 Å, respectively. The hydantoin and succinimide moieties of the inhibitors interacted with the conserved anion-binding site located between the nicotinamide ring of the coenzyme and active site residues Tyr48, His110, and Trp111. Minalrestat's hydrophobic isoquinoline ring was bound in an adjacent pocket lined by residues Trp20, Phe122, and Trp219, with the bromo-fluorobenzyl group inside the 'specificity' pocket. The interactions between Minalrestat's bromo-fluorobenzyl group and the enzyme include the stacking against the side-chain of Trp111 as well as hydrogen bonding distances with residues Leu300 and Thr113. The carbamoyl group in Fidarestat formed a hydrogen bond with the main-chain nitrogen atom of Leu300. The atomic resolution refinement allowed the positioning of hydrogen atoms and accurate determination of bond lengths of the inhibitors, coenzyme NADP+ and active-site residue His110. The 1′-position nitrogen atom in the hydantoin and succinimide moieties of Fidarestat and Minalrestat, respectively, form a hydrogen bond with the Nϵ2 atom of His 110. For Fidarestat, the electron density indicated two possible positions for the H-atom in this bond. Furthermore, both native and anomalous difference maps indicated the replacement of a water molecule linked to His110 by a Cl-ion. These observations suggest a mechanism in which Fidarestat is bound protonated and becomes negatively charged by donating the proton to His110, which may have important implications on drug design. Proteins 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which reported the crystal structures of a type of ligand-binding domain bound to some types of enantiomers. Materials and methods; Results and discussion.