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The x-ray crystal structure of recombinant trichodiene synthase from Fusarium sporotrichioides has been determined to 2.5-A resolution, both unliganded and complexed with inorganic pyrophosphate. This reaction product coordinates to three Mg(2+) ions near the mouth of the active site cleft. A comparison of the liganded and unliganded structures reveals a ligand-induced conformational change that closes the mouth of the active site cleft. Binding of the substrate farnesyl diphosphate similarly may trigger this conformational change, which would facilitate catalysis by protecting reactive carbocationic intermediates in the cyclization cascade. Trichodiene synthase also shares significant structural similarity with other sesquiterpene synthases despite a lack of significant sequence identity. This similarity indicates divergence from a common ancestor early in the evolution of terpene biosynthesis.

Overexpression of the zinc enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA; EC ) XII is observed in certain human cancers. This bitopic membrane protein contains an N-terminal extracellular catalytic domain, a membrane-spanning alpha-helix, and a small intracellular C-terminal domain. We have determined the three-dimensional structure of the extracellular catalytic domain of human CA XII by x-ray crystallographic methods at 1.55-A resolution. The structure reveals a prototypical CA fold; however, two CA XII domains associate to form an isologous dimer, an observation that is confirmed by studies of the enzyme in solution. The identification of signature GXXXG and GXXXS motifs in the transmembrane sequence that facilitate helix-helix association is additionally consistent with dimeric architecture. The dimer interface is situated so that the active site clefts of each monomer are clearly exposed on one face of the dimer, and the C termini are located together on the opposite face of the dimer to facilitate membrane interaction. The amino acid composition of the active-site cleft closely resembles that of the other CA isozymes in the immediate vicinity of the catalytic zinc ion, but differs in the region of the nearby alpha-helical "130's segment." The structure of the CA XII-acetazolamide complex is also reported at 1.50-A resolution, and prospects for the design of CA XII-specific inhibitors of possible chemotherapeutic value are discussed.

The crystal structure of recombinant murine liver cytosolic epoxide hydrolase (EC 3.3.2.3) has been determined at 2.8-A resolution. The binding of a nanomolar affinity inhibitor confirms the active site location in the C-terminal domain; this domain is similar to that of haloalkane dehalogenase and shares the alpha/beta hydrolase fold. A structure-based mechanism is proposed that illuminates the unique chemical strategy for the activation of endogenous and man-made epoxide substrates for hydrolysis and detoxification. Surprisingly, a vestigial active site is found in the N-terminal domain similar to that of another enzyme of halocarbon metabolism, haloacid dehalogenase. Although the vestigial active site does not participate in epoxide hydrolysis, the vestigial domain plays a critical structural role by stabilizing the dimer in a distinctive domain-swapped architecture. Given the genetic and structural relationships among these enzymes of xenobiotic metabolism, a structure-based evolutionary sequence is postulated.

The protein component of ribonuclease P (RNase P) binds to the RNA subunit, forming a functional ribonucleoprotein complex in vivo and enhancing the affinity of the precursor tRNA (pre-tRNA) substrate. Photocrosslinking experiments with pre-tRNA bound to RNase P reconstituted with the protein component of Bacillus subtilis ribonuclease P (P protein) site specifically modified with a crosslinking reagent indicate that: (i) the central cleft of P protein directly interacts with the single-stranded 5' leader sequence of pre-tRNA, and (ii) the orientation and register of the pre-tRNA leader sequence in the central cleft places the protein component in close proximity to the active site. This unique mode of interaction suggests that the catalytic active site in RNase P occurs near the interface of RNA and protein. In contrast to other ribonucleoprotein complexes where the protein mainly stabilizes the active tertiary fold of the RNA, a critical function of the protein component of RNase P is to alter substrate specificity and enhance catalytic efficiency.

It has recently been demonstrated that the C-terminal deletion mutant of recombinant human carbonic anhydrase IV (G267X CA IV) converts the normally glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored enzyme into a soluble secretory form which has the same catalytic properties as the membrane-associated enzyme purified from human tissues. We have determined the three-dimensional structure of the secretory form of human CA IV by x-ray crystallographic methods to a resolution of 2.8 A. Although the zinc binding site and the hydrophobic substrate binding pocket of CA IV are generally similar to those of other mammalian isozymes, unique structural differences are found elsewhere in the active site. Two disufide linkages, Cys-6-Cys-11G and Cys-23-Cys-203, stabilize the conformation of the N-terminal domain. The latter disulfide additionally stabilizes an active site loop containing a cis-peptide linkage between Pro-201 and Thr-202 (this loop contains catalytic residue Thr-199). On the opposite side of the active site, the Val-131-Asp-136 segment adopts an extended loop conformation instead of an alpha-helix conformation as found in other isozymes. Finally, the C terminus is surrounded by a substantial electropositive surface potential, which is likely to stabilize the interaction of CA IV with the negatively charged phospholipid headgroups of the membrane. These structural features are unique to CA IV and provide a framework for the design of sulfonamide inhibitors selective for this particular isozyme.

The three-dimensional structure of murine mitochondrial carbonic anhydrase V has been determined and refined at 2.45-A resolution (crystallographic R factor = 0.187). Significant structural differences unique to the active site of carbonic anhydrase V are responsible for differences in the mechanism of catalytic proton transfer as compared with other carbonic anhydrase isozymes. In the prototypical isozyme, carbonic anhydrase II, catalytic proton transfer occurs via the shuttle group His-64; carbonic anhydrase V has Tyr-64, which is not an efficient proton shuttle due in part to the bulky adjacent side chain of Phe-65. Based on analysis of the structure of carbonic anhydrase V, we speculate that Tyr-131 may participate in proton transfer due to its proximity to zinc-bound solvent, its solvent accessibility, and its electrostatic environment in the protein structure. Finally, the design of isozyme-specific inhibitors is discussed in view of the complex between carbonic anhydrase V and acetazolamide, a transition-state analogue. Such inhibitors may be physiologically important in the regulation of blood glucose levels.

We have inserted a fourth protein ligand into the zinc coordination polyhedron of carbonic anhydrase II (CAII) that increases metal affinity 200-fold (Kd = 20 fM). The three-dimensional structures of threonine-199-->aspartate (T199D) and threonine-199-->glutamate (T199E) CAIIs, determined by x-ray crystallographic methods to resolutions of 2.35 Angstrum and 2.2 Angstrum, respectively, reveal a tetrahedral metal-binding site consisting of H94, H96, H119, and the engineered carboxylate side chain, which displaces zinc-bound hydroxide. Although the stereochemistry of neither engineered carboxylate-zinc interaction is comparable to that found in naturally occurring protein zinc-binding sites, protein-zinc affinity is enhanced in T199E CAII demonstrating that ligand-metal separation is a significant determinant of carboxylate-zinc affinity. In contrast, the three-dimensional structure of threonine-199-->histidine (T199H) CAII, determined to 2.25-Angstrum resolution, indicates that the engineered imidazole side chain rotates away from the metal and does not coordinate to zinc; this results in a weaker zinc-binding site. All three of these substitutions nearly obliterate CO2 hydrase activity, consistent with the role of zinc-bound hydroxide as catalytic nucleophile. The engineering of an additional protein ligand represents a general approach for increasing protein-metal affinity if the side chain can adopt a reasonable conformation and achieve inner-sphere zinc coordination. Moreover, this structure-assisted design approach may be effective in the development of high-sensitivity metal ion biosensors.

The mode of binding of the competitive inhibitor 2-benzyl-3-formylpropanoic acid to the active site of carboxypeptidase A has been studied by x-ray diffraction methods to a resolution of 1.7 A. The actual species bound to the enzyme was determined to be the gem-diol resulting from covalent hydration at the aldehyde carbonyl. Details relating to the process of association of inhibitor with enzyme are unknown at this time: the free aldehyde could initially bind to the enzyme and subsequently undergo catalytic hydration; or, the hydrate itself could be the species initially binding to the enzyme, because it does exist to a high degree (25%) in aqueous solution. Nevertheless, the structure of the complex reported is reminiscent of a possible tetrahedral intermediate that would be encountered in a general base hydrolytic mechanism. Of course, other mechanistic proposals, such as the anhydride pathway, cannot be ruled out simply on the basis of the structure of this enzyme-inhibitor complex.

The structure of the complex between carboxypeptidase A alpha (EC 3.4.17.1) and the ketonic substrate analogue 5-benzamido-2-benzyl-4-oxopentanoic acid (BOP) has been determined by x-ray crystallographic methods to a resolution of 1.7 A (final R = 0.191). Interestingly, BOP was observed to bind to the active site of carboxypeptidase A alpha as the covalent hydrate adduct. Because BOP is probably less than 0.2% hydrated in aqueous solution, this result was unexpected. One possibility is that the zinc-bound water of the native enzyme added to the ketone carbonyl. Alternatively, the enzyme may preferentially scavenge the hydrated ketone as it is continuously maintained at equilibrium in the solution in which the carboxypeptidase A alpha crystals were immersed. In either case, this mode of binding of BOP to carboxypeptidase A alpha provides an example of the preferred binding of a model of a structure along the reaction coordinate of a hydrolytic reaction.

A high-resolution x-ray crystallographic investigation of the complex between carboxypeptidase A (CPA; peptidyl-L-amino-acid hydrolase, EC 3.4.17.1) and the slowly hydrolyzed substrate glycyl-L-tyrosine was done at -9 degrees C. Although this enzyme-substrate complex has been the subject of earlier crystallographic investigation, a higher resolution electron-density map of the complex with greater occupancy of the substrate was desired. All crystal chemistry (i.e., crystal soaking and x-ray data collection) was performed on a diffractometer-mounted flow cell, in which the crystal was immobilized. The x-ray data to 1.6-A resolution have yielded a well-resolved structure in which the zinc ion of the active site is five-coordinate: three enzyme residues (glutamate-72, histidine-69, and histidine-196) and the carbonyl oxygen and amino terminus of glycyl-L-tyrosine complete the coordination polyhedron of the metal. These results confirm that this substrate may be bound in a nonproductive manner, because the hydrolytically important zinc-bound water has been displaced and excluded from the active site. It is likely that all dipeptide substrates of carboxypeptidase A that carry an unprotected amino terminus are poor substrates because of such favorable bidentate coordination to the metal ion of the active site.

The complex of carboxypeptidase A (CPA) with 5-amino-(N-t-butoxycarbonyl)-2-benzyl-4-oxo-6-phenylhexanoic acid (BBP), the ketomethylene substrate analogue of the peptide substrate N-(t-butoxycarbonyl)-L-phenylalanyl-L-phenylalanine, was studied by x-ray crystallographic methods. Interestingly, the enzyme specifically binds only one of four stereoisomers of BBP that were present in the buffer solution in which the CPA crystals were soaked. Furthermore, the species observed to bind to the enzyme is the hydrated form of the ketone. This is rather surprising since the hydrated form of BBP is expected to be present in aqueous solution at a concentration of less than 0.2%. Hence, the enzyme-inhibitor complex is most stable with a species resembling a structure along the reaction coordinate of a chemical reaction rather than a species resembling a reactant or a product. Important structural information regarding the catalytic conformations of active-site residues spanning the S'1-S2 subsites of the enzyme is provided from the results of these x-ray diffraction experiments. The structure of the CPA-hydrated BBP complex provides support for a promoted-water hydrolytic mechanism, although it is not certain whether the enzyme has actually participated in the hydration reaction at the ketone carbonyl of BBP.