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Succinyl-CoA synthetase (SCS) catalyzes the following reversible reaction via a phosphorylated histidine intermediate (His 246alpha): succinyl-CoA + P(i) + NDP succinate + CoA + NTP (N denotes adenosine or guanosine). To determine the structure of the enzyme with nucleotide bound, crystals of phosphorylated Escherichia coli SCS were soaked in successive experiments adopting progressive strategies. In the first experiment, 1 mM ADP (>15 x K(d)) was added; Mg(2+) ions were omitted to preclude the formation of an insoluble precipitate with the phosphate and ammonium ions. X-ray crystallography revealed that the enzyme was dephosphorylated, but the nucleotide did not remain bound to the enzyme (R(working) = 17.2%, R(free) = 22.8% for data to 2.9 A resolution). Catalysis requires Mg(2+) ions; hence, the "true" nucleotide substrate is probably an ADP-Mg(2+) complex. In the successful experiment, the phosphate buffer was exchanged with MOPS, the concentration of sulfate ions was lowered, and the concentrations of ADP and Mg(2+) ions were increased to 10.5 and 50 mM, respectively. X-ray diffraction data revealed an ADP-Mg(2+) complex bound in the ATP-grasp fold of the N-terminal domain of each beta-subunit (R(working) = 19.1%, R(free) = 24.7% for data to 3.3 A resolution). We describe the specific interactions of the nucleotide-Mg(2+) complex with SCS, compare these results with those for other proteins containing the ATP-grasp fold, and present a hypothetical model of the histidine-containing loop in the "down" position where it can interact with the nucleotide approximately 35 A from where His 246alpha is seen in both phosphorylated and dephosphorylated SCS.

Picornaviruses are a family of viruses which belong to the large group of positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses (RUECKERT 1996). It was realized 30 years ago that the product of the translation of the RNA genome of these viruses is proteolytically processed to yield the mature viral proteins (SUMMERS) and (MAIZEL 1968; KORANT 1972). Subsequently, it could be shown for two different picornaviruses that the processing enzyme is a specific, virally encoded proteinase (PELHAM 1978; GORBALENYA et al. 1979; KORANT et al. 1979; PALMENBERG et al. 1979). Once the amino-acid sequences of the viral proteinases became available, predictions were made concerning the structure of the picornaviral 3C proteinases (GROBALENYA et al. 1986; BAZAN and FLETTERICK 1988; GORBALENYA et al. 1989). These predictions were remarkable. Based on an analysis of several conserved sequence motifs within the amino-acid sequence of the 3C proteinases, it was suggested that these proteinases are structurally related to the chymotrypsin-like proteinases but with a cysteine residue as the active-site nucleophile. Crystal structures of 3C proteinases from two picornaviruses confirmed this prediction (ALLAIRE et al. 1994; MATTHEWS et al. 1994). At present, crystal structures of 3C proteinases from viruses, belonging to three different genera of the picornaviruses, have been published (MATTHEWS et al. 1994; BERGMANN et al. 1997; MOSIMANN et al. 1997).

Succinyl-CoA synthetase (SCS) catalyzes the reversible interchange of purine nucleoside diphosphate, succinyl-CoA, and Pi with purine nucleoside triphosphate, succinate, and CoA via a phosphorylated histidine (H246alpha) intermediate. Two potential nucleotide-binding sites were predicted in the beta-subunit, and have been differentiated by photoaffinity labeling with 8-N3-ATP and by site-directed mutagenesis. It was demonstrated that 8-N3-ATP is a suitable analogue for probing the nucleotide-binding site of SCS. Two tryptic peptides from the N-terminal domain of the beta-subunit were labeled with 8-N3-ATP. These corresponded to residues 107-119beta and 121-146beta, two regions lying along one side of an ATP-grasp fold. A mutant protein with changes on the opposite side of the fold (G53betaV/R54betaE) was unable to be phosphorylated using ATP or GTP, but could be phosphorylated by succinyl-CoA and Pi. A mutant protein designed to probe nucleotide specificity (P20betaQ) had a Km(app) for GTP that was more than 5 times lower than that of wild-type SCS, whereas parameters for the other substrates remained unchanged. Mutations of residues in the C-terminal domain of the beta-subunit designed to distrupt one loop of the Rossmann fold (I322betaA, and R324betaN/D326betaA) had the greatest effect on the binding of succinate and CoA. They did not disrupt the phosphorylation of SCS with nucleotides. It was concluded that the nucleotide-binding site is located in the N-terminal domain of the beta-subunit. This implies that there are two active sites approximately 35 A apart, and that the H246alpha loop moves between them during catalysis.

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with proteolytic enzymes of the viruses of the family picornaviridae. The picornaviral 3C proteinases constitute an ideal target for the rational design of antiviral drugs. The chapter discusses the chymotrypsin-like cysteine proteinases, which constitute a unique class of enzymes with a distinct substrate specificity, and are so far only found in +RNA viruses. Within these viruses the 3C proteinases perform a central and indispensable role during the viral life cycle and 3C proteinase inhibitors have the potential to limit the spread of viral infections. The chapter concludes that there is a wealth of experimental information available for the best-studied examples of the viruses of the Picornaviridae. This information provides an opportunity to design inhibitors against the viral 3C proteinase. Effective inhibitors of the picornaviral 3C proteinase have the potential to become effective antiviral drugs against human diseases such as the common cold, HAV, enteroviral infections, and diseases caused by related + RNA viruses.

This Handbook of Proteolytic Enzymes is a massive undertaking by Alan Barrett, Neil Rawlings, and Fred Woessner, the book's three editors. Not only was the multi-author Handbook designed and edited by them, but also they have made significant contributions in writing major sections of the book. The Handbook consists of 1666 pages, 569 chapters organized into four major catalytic peptidase classes: serine (threonine), cysteine, aspartic, and metallopeptidases. An additional category deals with presently unclassified peptidases. Within each of the above mechanistic categories, the peptidases are grouped into clans and families, the members of which derive from a common evolutionary ancestor. The members of a family have statistically significant similarities in the amino acid sequences of the peptidase portion of the molecules. That the individual families of a clan are derived from a common evolutionary ancestor is usually not detectable at the level of amino acid sequence. This classification scheme was the brain-child of Rawlings and Barrett (1993) and has gained wide acceptance as the major system to unify the previously rather arbitrary nomenclature of proteolytic enzymes.

C 12 H 15 ClN 2 O 5 cristallise dans P2 1 avec a=5,0406, b=16,363, c=7,962 A, β=90,66°, Z=2; affinement jusqu'a R=0,028. La configuration absolue autour de C(7) et C(9) du cycle cyclopropane est S. La pyrimidine substituee en 5' est anti par rapport au desoxyribose, qui est dans la forme plissee endo en 2'. L'angle de torsion autour de C(4')−C(5') est gauche gauche

The human digestive enzyme progastricsin (hPGC) is an aspartic proteinase zymogen that is synthesized as an inactive precursor, having a positively charged and inhibitory N-terminal prosegment of 43 residues (Ala1p to Leu43p; the “p” suffix refers to the prosegment). Conversion of progastricsin to mature gastricsin occurs upon the lowering of pH, and involves conformational changes that uncover the active site.1 The initial hydrolytic event is the uni-molecular, auto-catalytic cleavage of the peptide bond between Phe26p and Leu27p in the prosegment.1,3 Further proteolytic processing is then initiated, ultimately resulting in the removal of the entire prosegment and formation of the mature enzyme. Our lab has previously determined the crystal structure of hPGC.2 The structure of mature gastricsin is currently undetermined, although it is expected to resemble human pepsin and the other aspartic proteinases.

Human pepsinogen A is the inactive protein precursor of pepsin, an aspartic proteinase found in the stomach. Pepsinogen is synthesized in the chief cells and secreted into the gastric lumen. After pepsinogen has been exposed to the acidic pH of the stomach, a 47 amino acid, N-terminal prosegment is removed by autolytic cleavage to form the active enzyme.

Ascaris suum is an intestinal endoparasitic nematode found in pigs. In order to avoid proteolytic digestion by the host the nematode has developed a large battery of proteinase inhibitors. Among those is the aspartic proteinase inhibitor PI-3. PI-3 consists of a single polypeptide chain containing 149 residues with a molecular weight of 16.4 kD. It has three disulfide bridges. CD and secondary structure predictions indicate that the fold of PI-3 is mixed alpha/beta.1 Until now only a very few larger aspartic proteinase inhibitors have been characterized. Aspartic proteinase inhibitors from the Filarie family of parasites have been reported (Dirofilaria, Brugia and Onchocerca). These inhibitors are more closely related to each other (~60% sequence identity) than PI-3 (less than 20%).2 The inhibitor form Ascaris suum show a broad specificity towards members from the pepsin related family of aspartic proteinases having Ki’s in the range of 0.2—15 nM (porcine and human pepsin and cathepsin E). Cathepsin D however, is not inhibited by PI-3, although it shares up to 45 identity to the above mentioned aspartic proteinases.3 This has important aspects as it might be used to distinguish between cathepsin D and E. The following report describes the progress in the structure determination of the molecular complex between porcine pepsin and PI-3.

One way to improve the binding of a ligand to its protein receptor is by forcing the unbound ligand to adopt the same conformation as it has when bound to the receptor. The conformational constraint then reduces the entropic disadvantage of ordered binding to the protein. The constraint should change the structure of the ligand as little as possible, so as to retain the favourable enthalpic interactions of the ligand with the receptor. Including a ring structure in the design of a ligand can reduce its conformational flexibility and it may be possible to introduce the ring without changing how the ligand binds to the receptor.

We have solved and refined the crystal and molecular structures of the calcium-saturated N-terminal domain of troponin C (TnC) to 1.75 A resolution. This has allowed for the first detailed analysis of the calcium binding sites of this molecular switch in the calcium-loaded state. The results provide support for the proposed binding order and qualitatively, for the affinity of calcium in the two regulatory calcium binding sites. Based on a comparison with the high-resolution apo-form of TnC we propose a possible mechanism for the calcium-mediated exposure of a large hydrophobic surface that is central to the initiation of muscle contraction within the cell.

The virally encoded 3C proteinases of picornaviruses process the polyprotein produced by the translation of polycistronic viral mRNA. The X-ray crystallographic structure of a catalytically active mutant of the hepatitis A virus (HAV) 3C proteinase (C24S) has been determined. Crystals of this mutant of HAV 3C are triclinic with unit cell dimensions a = 53.6 A, b = 53.5 A, c = 53.2 A, alpha = 99.1 degrees, beta = 129.0 degrees, and gamma = 103.3 degrees. There are two molecules of HAV 3C in the unit cell of this crystal form. The structure has been refined to an R factor of 0.211 (Rfree = 0.265) at 2.0-A resolution. Both molecules fold into the characteristic two-domain structure of the chymotrypsin-like serine proteinases. The active-site and substrate-binding regions are located in a surface groove between the two beta-barrel domains. The catalytic Cys 172 S(gamma) and His 44 N(epsilon2) are separated by 3.9 A; the oxyanion hole adopts the same conformation as that seen in the serine proteinases. The side chain of Asp 84, the residue expected to form the third member of the catalytic triad, is pointed away from the side chain of His 44 and is locked in an ion pair interaction with the epsilon-amino group of Lys 202. A water molecule is hydrogen bonded to His 44 N(delta1). The side-chain phenolic hydroxyl group of Tyr 143 is close to this water and to His 44 N(delta1) and may be negatively charged. The glutamine specificity for P1 residues of substrate cleavage sites is attributed to the presence of a highly conserved His 191 in the S1 pocket. A very unusual environment of two water molecules and a buried glutamate contribute to the imidazole tautomer believed to be important in the P1 specificity. HAV 3C proteinase has the conserved RNA recognition sequence KFRDI located in the interdomain connection loop on the side of the molecule diametrically opposite the proteolytic site. This segment of polypeptide is located between the N- and C-terminal helices, and its conformation results in the formation of a well-defined surface with a strongly charged electrostatic potential. Presumably, this surface of HAV 3C participates in the recognition of the 5' and 3' nontranslated regions of the RNA genome during viral replication.

Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is a key intra- and extra-cellular protease which contributes to several oxidative stress related pathologies. A molecular understanding of 72 kDa MMP-2 activity, directly mediated by S-glutathiolation of its cysteine residues in the presence of peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) and by phosphorylation of its serine and threonine residues, is essential to develop new generation inhibitors of intracellular MMP-2. Within its propeptide and collagen binding domains there is an interesting juxtaposition of predicted phosphorylation sites with nearby cysteine residues which form disulfide bonds. However, the combined effect of these two post-translational modifications on MMP-2 activity has not been studied. The activity of human recombinant 72 kDa MMP-2 (hrMMP-2) following in vitro treatments was measured by troponin I proteolysis assay and a kinetic activity assay using a fluorogenic peptide substrate. ONOO(-) treatment in the presence of 30 µM glutathione resulted in concentration-dependent changes in MMP-2 activity, with 0.1-1 µM increasing up to twofold and 100 µM attenuating its activity. Dephosphorylation of MMP-2 with alkaline phosphatase markedly increased its activity by sevenfold, either with or without ONOO(-). Dephosphorylation of MMP-2 also affected the conformational structure of the enzyme as revealed by circular dichroism studies, suggesting an increase in the proportion of α-helices and a decrease in β-strands compared to the phosphorylated form of MMP-2. These results suggest that ONOO(-) activation (at low µM) and inactivation (at high µM) of 72 kDa MMP-2, in the presence or absence of glutathione, is also influenced by its phosphorylation status. These insights into the role of post-translational modifications in the structure and activity of 72 kDa MMP-2 will aid in the development of inhibitors specifically targeting intracellular MMP-2.

International audience; The structure of TEM-1 beta-lactamase complex with the inhibitor BLIP has been determined at 1.7 angstrom resolution. The two tandemly repeated domains of BLIP form a polar, concave surface that docks onto a predominantly polar, convex protrusion on the enzyme. The ability of BLIP to adapt to a variety of class A beta-lactamases is most likely due to an observed flexibility between the two domains of the inhibitor and to an extensive layer of water molecules entrapped between the enzyme and inhibitor. A beta-hairpin loop from domain 1 of BLIP is inserted into the active site of the beta-lactamase. The carboxylate of Asp 49 forms hydrogen bonds to four conserved, catalytic residues in the beta-lactamase, thereby mimicking the position of the penicillin G carboxylate observed in the acyl-enzyme complex of TEM-1 with substrate. This beta-hairpin may serve as a template with which to create a new family of peptide-analogue beta-lactamase inhibitors.

The crystallographically-determined structure of the non-fluorescent flavoprotein (NFP) from Photobacterium leiognathi, a homolog of the bacterial luciferase subunits, has been refined to a conventional R-factor [formula: see text] of 0.175 using synchrotron data between 10.0 and 1.60 A resolution. The molecular structure is a homodimer of beta/alpha domains, the monomer having structural similarities to (beta alpha)8 barrel proteins. However, one beta-strand and three alpha-helices of a typical (beta alpha)8 domain are not present in the NFP structure. The refined structure of NFP consists of the 228 amino acid polypeptide, 191 water molecules, a sulfate ion, and two flavin mononucleotides (FMNs) each with a covalently-attached myristate (C14 fatty acid). Both flavin adducts are well-ordered and have exceptional electron density for both the FMN and the myristate moieties. Each flavin mononucleotide-myristate adduct is characterized by a stereospecific linkage (the S enantiomer) between C-6 of the flavin isoalloxazine ring and the C-3' atom of the fatty acyl chain. The stereospecific nature of this flavin-fatty acid linkage suggests that it is the result of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction, most likely the bioluminescence reaction itself. The myristate chains are buried from solvent in hydrophobic pockets in the interior of the protein. Four amino acid side-chains of the NFP polypeptide have been modeled with alternate conformations. Five of the protein's seven alpha-helices have classical C-capping boxes. NFP is dimeric and many of the extensive contacts at the dimer interface are mediated by hydrogen-bonded water molecules as well as by hydrophobic interactions. One of the myristate acyl chains sits between NFP monomers and contributes a significant portion of the hydrophobic interactions at the NFP dimer interface.

The three-dimensional crystal structure of human pepsin and that of its complex with pepstatin have been solved by X-ray crystallographic methods. The native pepsin structure has been refined with data collected to 2.2 A resolution to an R-factor of 19.7%. The pepsin:pepstatin structure has been refined with data to 2.0 A resolution to an R-factor of 18.5%. The hydrogen bonding interactions and the conformation adopted by pepstatin are very similar to those found in complexes of pepstatin with other aspartic proteinases. The enzyme undergoes a conformational change upon inhibitor binding to enclose the inhibitor more tightly. The analysis of the binding sites indicates that they form an extended tube without distinct binding pockets. By comparing the residues on the binding surface with those of the other human aspartic proteinases, it has been possible to rationalize some of the experimental data concerning the different specificities. At the S1 site, valine at position 120 in renin instead of isoleucine, as in the other enzymes, allows for binding of larger hydrophobic residues. The possibility of multiple conformations for the P2 residue makes the analysis of the S2 site difficult. However, it is possible to see that the specific interactions that renin makes with histidine at P2 would not be possible in the case of the other enzymes. At the S3 site, the smaller volume that is accessible in pepsin compared to the other enzymes is consistent with its preference for smaller residues at the P3 position.

Mammalian aspartic proteinases are synthesized as inactive precursors or zymogens. Stomach zymogens undergo a conversion to the active enzyme form autocatalytically at pH < 5.0 (1). The human gastric juice has two major groups of aspartic proteinases, the pepsins (EC3.4.23.1) and the gastricsins (EC3.4.23.3). Progastricsin or pepsinogen C (PGC) is converted to gastricsin by removal of the 43 amino-terminal residues of the prosegment. The resulting mature gastricsin has 329 amino acid residues. The sequence of human PGC has been determined independently in two laboratories by nucleotide sequencing of the gene (2) and of cDNA clones (3).

A molecular dynamics (MD) simulation on the contents of two asymmetric units of the crystal structure of the bacterial serine proteinase, Streptomyces griseus proteinase A (SGPA), resulted in four dihydrogen phosphate anions migrating to form a cluster in a solvent region far removed from the protein surface. In an effort to provide experimental verification for this unexpected phenomenon, native SGPA crystals were soaked in 2·0 M KH 2 AsO 4 ; intensity data were collected and difference electron density maps examined for evidence of H 2 AsO - 4 ion clusters. These maps did not corroborate the cluster observed in the MD simulation. They did, however, show positive electron density features located in the active site cavity that could be interpreted as a tetrapeptide. Gly-Ala-Ser (β-OH)Asp, covalently bonded to O γ of Ser195 as an acyl-enzyme intermediate. There was also a peak of electron density corresponding to an ideal position for the hydrolytic water in the deacylation reaction. This density is centred 3·1 A from His57 N 2 and 2·7 A from the carbonyl-carbon atom of the planar acyl-ester bond of the complex. The carbonyl-oxygen atom of the ester is located in the oxyanion pocket and participates in hydrogen bonds with Gly193 NH (2·6 A) and Ser195 NH (3·0 A).

THE picornavirus family includes several pathogens such as poliovirus, rhinovirus (the major cause of the common cold), hepat-itis A virus and the foot-and-mouth disease virus. Picornaviral proteins are expressed by direct translation of the genomic RNA into a single, large polyprotein precursor1,2. Proteolysis of the viral polyprotein into the mature proteins is assured by the viral 3C enzymes, which are cysteine proteinases3–6. Here we report the X-ray crystal structure at 2.3 A resolution of the 3C proteinase from hepatitis A virus (HAV-3C). The overall architecture of HAV-3C reveals a fold resembling that of the chymotrypsin family of serine proteinases, which is consistent with earlier predictions7,8. Cata-lytic residues include Cys 172 as nucleophile and His 44 as general base. The 3C cleavage specificity for glutamine residues is defined primarily by His 191. The overall structure suggests that an inter-molecular (trans) cleavage releases 3C and that there is an active proteinase in the polyprotein.

The past decade has seen an alarming worldwide increase in resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics among many pathogenic bacteria, which is due mainly to plasmid- or chromosomally encoded beta-lactamases that specifically cleave penicillin and cephalosporins, rendering them inactive. There is therefore a need to develop new strategies in the design of effective inhibitors of beta-lactamase. All the small-molecule inhibitors in clinical use are not very effective and are rapidly degraded. Furthermore, newly characterized mutants of the plasmid-mediated beta-lactamase TEM-1 are highly resistant to these small-molecule inhibitors, including clavulanic acid and tazobactam. It has been shown that Streptomyces clavuligerus produces an exocellular beta-lactamase inhibitory protein (BLIP; M(r) 17.5 K). Here we present data defining BLIP as the most effective known inhibitor of a variety of beta-lactamases, with Ki values in the subnanomolar to picomolar range. To identify those features in BLIP that make it such a potent inhibitor, we have determined its molecular structure at 2.1 A resolution. BLIP is a relatively flat molecule with a unique fold, comprising a tandem repeat of a 76-amino-acid domain. Each domain consists of a helix-loop-helix motif that packs against a four-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet (Fig. 1a). To our knowledge, BLIP is the first example of a protein inhibitor having two similarly folded domains that interact with and inhibit a single target enzyme.

The X-ray crystallographic structure of P-30 protein (Onconase) has been solved by multiple isomorphous replacement and the structure has been refined at 1.7 A resolution to a conventional R-factor of 0.178. The molecular model comprises all 826 non-hydrogen protein atoms, 96 solvent molecules and a sulfate anion that is bound at the active site. The molecular structure is similar to that of ribonuclease A. The active site cleft is located at the junction of two three-stranded beta-sheets and the N-terminal helix. A sulfate anion is non-covalently bound by Lys9, His10, His97, Phe98 and an intermolecular contact involving Lys55' from a neighboring molecule. The N-terminal pyroglutamyl (Pyr) residue is part of the active site and its O epsilon 1 atom forms a hydrogen bond with the Lys9 N zeta. The previously constructed comparative molecular model of P-30 based on ribonuclease A correctly predicted the overall fold of P-30 and the conformation of its active site residues. The model failed to predict the conformation of Pyr1 and the conformation of the two loops following helix alpha 3 and strand beta 3.

We present here the X-ray crystal structure of the rat α-parvalbumin from fast twitch muscle. This protein ( M r 11·8kDa) crystallizes in space group P 2 1 2 1 2 1 with unit cell dimensions of a =34·3 A, b =55·0 A, c =156·1 A and three molecules in the asymmetric unit. The protein structure was solved by the molecular replacement method and has been refined to a crystallographic R -factor ( R =Σ∥ F o |-| F c ∥/Σ| F o |)) of 0·181 for all reflections with I/σ(I) (l) ≥ 2 ( I =intensity) between 8·0 and 2·0 A resolution. The molecules located most easily in the molecular replacement rotation function had lower overall thermal motion parameters and higher numbers of intermolecular crystal packing contacts. The overall fold of the polypeptide chain for the rat α-parvalbumin is similar to other known parvalbumin structures (root-mean-square deviations in α-carbon atom positions range from 0·60 to 0·87 A). There are two Ca 2+ -binding sites in parvalbumins, and them is some evidence for a third ion-binding site, adjacent to the CD site, in the rat species. The level of structural variability among the best-ordered regions of the three independent rat, α-parvalbumin molecules in the crystallographic asymmetric unit, is two to three times higher than the mean coordinate error (0·10 A), indicating flexibility in the molecule. Sequence differences between α and β-lineage parvalbumins result in repacking of the hydrophobic core and some shifts in the protein backbone. The shifts are localized, however, and entire helices do not shift as rigid units.

Shigella dysenteriae is the pathogen responsible for the severe form of dysentery in humans. It produces Shiga toxin, the prototype of a family of closely related bacterial protein toxins. We have determined the structure of the holotoxin, an AB5 hexamer, by X-ray crystallography. The five B subunits form a pentameric ring, encircling a helix at the carboxy terminus of the A subunit. The A subunit interacts with the B pentamer via this C-terminal helix and a four-stranded mixed beta-sheet. The fold of the rest of the A subunit is similar to that of the A chain of the plant toxin ricin; both are N-glycosidases. However, the active site in the bacterial holotoxin is blocked by a segment of polypeptide chain. These residues of the A subunit would be released as part of the activation mechanism of the toxin.

Several isoforms of the wild-type and three mutant hepatitis A virus (HAV) 3C proteinases have been isolated and characterized. The active site cysteine residue (residue 172) was found to be responsible for the formation of some of these isoforms. The double mutant C24S/C172A of the HAV 3C proteinase, in which both cysteine residues have been replaced by site-directed mutagenesis, was crystallized. The crystals belong to the hexagonal space group P6(1)22 (or its enantiomorph, P6(5)22) with unit cell dimensions a = b = 65.2 A, c = 246.1 A and diffract X-rays to 2.3 A resolution.

Monophenyl and diphenyl pseudoxazolone derivatives of glycine and alanine were prepared and found to be time-dependent inhibitors of hepatitis A virus (HAV) 3C and human rhinovirus (HRV) 3C proteinases with IC50 values in the micromolar range.

The X-ray crystal structure of the molecular complex of penicillin G with a deacylation-defective mutant of the RTEM-1 beta-lactamase from Escherichia coli shows how these antibiotics are recognized and destroyed. Penicillin G is covalently bound to Ser 70 0 gamma as an acyl-enzyme intermediate. The deduced catalytic mechanism uses Ser 70 0 gamma as the attacking nucleophile during acylation. Lys 73 N zeta acts as a general base in abstracting a proton from Ser 70 and transferring it to the thiazolidine ring nitrogen atom via Ser 130 0 gamma. Deacylation is accomplished by nucleophilic attack on the penicilloyl carbonyl carbon by a water molecule assisted by the general base, Glu 166.

beta-Hexosaminidase is a lysosomal hydrolase that is important in the metabolism of sphingoglycolipids. beta-Hexosaminidase B and beta-hexosaminidase A are the major isozymes in normal human tissue. beta-Hexosaminidase B is a homodimer of beta subunits, and beta-hexosaminidase A is a heterodimer composed of an alpha and a beta subunit. Crystals of beta-hexosaminidase B (M(r) 112,000) have been grown using the handling drop technique. They are elongated hexagonal prisms with maximum dimensions of 0.2 mm x 0.2 mm x 0.7 mm. The space group is P6(1)22 (or enantiomorph); the unit cell dimensions are a = b = 114.2 A, c = 402.2 A, alpha = beta = 90 degrees, gamma = 120 degrees. The molecular mass and cell dimensions suggest that there is one dimer per asymmetric unit. Crystals diffract to 3.2 A resolution.

Single crystals of the non-fluorescent flavoprotein (NFP) purified from Photobacterium leiognathi strain S1 have been grown from ammonium sulphate solutions using the hanging drop vapour diffusion technique. The crystals grow as thin (0·06 mm) plates and belong to the orthorhombic space group C2221: a = 57·06(3) A , b = 92·41(6) A , c = 99·52(6) A . There is one NFP monomer per asymmetric unit and crystals diffract to 2·2 A spacings on film. A complete native data set to 2·5 A resolution has been collected on a San Diego Multiwire Detector system at the University of Alberta and a heavy-atom derivative search is presently in progress.

A structure of the trisaccharide 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-muramic acid-beta (1----4)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose-beta (1----4)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-muramic acid (NAM-NAG-NAM), bound to subsites B, C and D in the active-site cleft of hen egg-white lysozyme has been determined and refined at 1.5 A resolution. The resulting atomic co-ordinates indicate that the NAM residue in site D is distorted from the full 4C1 chair conformation to one in which the ring atoms C-1, C-2, O-5 and C-5 are approximately coplanar, and the hydroxymethyl group is positioned axially (a conformation best described as a sofa). This finding supports the original proposals that suggested the ground-state conformation of the sugar bound in site D is strained to one that more closely resembles the geometry required for the oxocarbonium-ion transition state, the next step along the reaction pathway. Additionally, detailed analysis at 1.5 A resolution of the environments of the catalytic residues Glu35 and Asp52 provides new information on the properties that may allow lysozyme to promote the stabilization of an unusually long-lived oxocarbonium-ion transition state. Intermolecular interactions between the N-acetylmuramic acid residue in site D and the lysozyme molecule that contribute to the saccharide ring distortion include: close packing of the O-3' lactyl group with a hydrogen-bonded "platform" of enzyme residues (Asp52, Asn46, Asn59, Ser50 and Asp48), a close contact between the hydroxymethyl group of ring D and the 2'-acetamido group of ring C and a strong hydrogen-bonded interaction between the NH group of Val109 and O-6 of ring D that stabilizes the observed quasi-axial orientation of the -CH2OH group. Additionally, the structure of this complex shows a strong hydrogen bond between the carboxyl group of Glu35 and the beta-anomeric hydroxyl group of the NAM residue in site D. The hydrogen-bonded environment of Asp52 in the native enzyme and in the complex coupled with the very unfavorable direction of approach of the potential carboxylate nucleophile makes it most unlikely that there is a covalent glycosylenzyme intermediate on the hydrolysis pathway of hen egg-white lysozyme.

This article describes investigations of several aspects of the molecular biology of the human renin gene and the three-dimensional structure of renin and its precursor, prorenin. Because of the importance of the RAS in hypertension, heart failure, renal failure, and possibly other disorders such as atherosclerosis, it is critical to understand the detailed control of this system. This control involves regulation at the transcriptional level, folding of prorenin, sorting of prorenin to a regulated pathway where it is proteolytically cleaved to renin and released in response to secretogogues, constitutive release of uncleaved prorenin, and nonproteolytic activation of prorenin. Currently there is great interest not only in the control of renin in the kidney, the sole source of circulating renin, but also at extrarenal sites where RAS activity may regulate cardiovascular functions. The renin gene was found to be expressed significantly in the renal juxtaglomerular cells and several other cell types. Most tissue culture cells did not express the gene; exceptions were cultured SK-LMS-1 cells and cAMP-stimulated human lung fibroblasts. Cultured human uterine-placental cells expressed the human renin gene at levels higher than in other cell types assessed. Renin mRNA had the same start site in the placental cells as the kidney and was regulated by calcium ionophores and cAMP. Thus, these cells provide primary nontransformed human cells to study the homologous human promoter. Transfected renin promoters showed cell type-specific expression and cAMP responsiveness in these cells in constructs containing as few as 102 bp of 5'-flanking DNA. DNA upstream from this appears to contain an inhibitory element(s) that may have some tissue specificity in its distribution. The cAMP response is not due to cAMP induction of a transcription factor that secondarily affects the renin promoter. A novel element may be involved, since the promoter does not contain a CRE element that mediates many cAMP responses, and the cells do not appear to respond to another known cAMP-responsive transcription factor, AP-2. Studies with transfected vectors expressing a mutant cAMP-responsive protein kinase A regulatory subunit suggest that cAMP is not responsible for basal renin promoter activity in the placental cells. By contrast, cAMP induces in essence gene activation in WI26VA4 transformed human lung fibroblasts in which renin mRNA levels increase by up to 150-fold in response to forskolin. Thus, cAMP may activate renin gene expression under certain circumstances and tissue-specific renin gene expression may be directed by more than one mechanism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The multigene family human pepsinogen A (PGA) consists of several isozymogens.1,2 DNA sequences for PGA-3, 4, and 5 have previously been reported.3 The substitutions between the various allozymogens (PGA residue numbering according to Evers et al.) are (1) PGA-3: Glu43, Val77,Gln207, Ala250, Leu338; (2) PGA-4: Glu43, Leu77,Lys207,Thr250,Val338 and (3) PGA-5: Lys43, Leu77, Gln207, Ala250, Leu338.

Pepsin has several properties which are markedly different from those common for other proteins. It has a very low pH optimum for the hydrolysis of different substrates and a high activity at pH 2. This implies a very stable tertiary structure under conditions in which many proteins are fully denatured. These properties of pepsin are critical for its physiological function which takes place in the extreme acid conditions of the gastric lumen. There the unfolded hydrophobic cores of the proteins to be cleaved are exposed to the first hydrolytic attack by pepsin. Another very specific property of pepsin is its extremely low isoelectric point. It has a net negative charge in the range of low pH values including the pH optimum for catalytic activity. The proteins to be cleaved have a net positive charge in this range of pH. These molecular features of pepsin are closely interdependent as all of them are the consequence of the specific arrangements and interaction of the charged groups in the three-dimensional fold of the enzyme. Data on the refined porcine pepsin A structure at 1.8 A resolution (Sielecki et al., 1990) have pointed towards their explanation. Porcine pepsin has also been refined at 2.3 A resolution in the monoclinic crystal form by Abad-Zapatero et al. (1990) and in the hexagonal crystal form by Cooper et al. (1990).

Publisher Summary This chapter describes and compares the calcium (Ca 2+ )-binding sites in proteins, attempting to extract common features from them. It determines the functional and structural parameters of a regular protein Ca 2+ -binding site by helix–loop–helix proteins, serine proteinases, and other Ca 2+ -binding proteins. Three broad classes of functions are: (1) Ca 2+ modulation of protein action, (2) Ca 2+ stabilization of protein structure, and (3) involvement of the Ca 2+ ion in enzymatic catalysis. The Ca 2+ -modulated proteins have altered interactions with other proteins on binding of Ca 2+ . Binding Ca 2+ stabilizes some proteins against thermal or chaotropic denaturation, or proteolytic degradation. The chapter also discusses on what are the structural correlates of stronger or weaker Ca 2+ binding and how Ca 2+ - binding sites distinguish between Ca 2+ and the very similar Mg 2+ or other ions. Ca 2+ may be the ion of choice in so many biological roles because of its relative flexibility in preferred coordination number and ligand geometry. The relationships between the protein structure at a Ca 2+ -binding site and the function of the ion within the protein are both subtle and complex.

The molecular structure of the archetypal aspartic proteinase, porcine pepsin (EC 3.4.23.1), has been refined using data collected from a single monoclinic crystal on a twin multiwire detector system to 1.8 A resolution. The current crystallographic R-factor (= sigma parallel to Fo/-/Fc parallel to/sigma/Fo/) is 0.174 for the 20,519 reflections with /Fo/ greater than or equal to 3 sigma (Fo) in the range 8.0 to 1.8 A (/Fo/ and /Fc/ are the observed and calculated structure factor amplitudes respectively). The refinement has shown conclusively that there are only 326 amino acid residues in porcine pepsin. Ile230 is not present in the molecule. The two catalytic residues Asp32 and Asp215 have dispositions in porcine pepsin very similar to the dispositions of the equivalent residues in the other aspartic proteinases of known structure. A bound solvent molecule is associated with both carboxyl groups at the active site. No bound ethanol molecule could be identified conclusively in the structure. The average thermal motion parameter of the residues that comprise the C-terminal domain of pepsin is approximately twice that of the residues in the N-terminal domain. Comparisons of the tertiary structure of pepsin with porcine pepsinogen, penicillopepsin, rhizopus pepsin and endothia pepsin reveal that the N-terminal domains are topographically more similar than the conformationally flexible C-terminal domains. The conformational differences may be modeled as rigid-body movements of "reduced" C-terminal domains (residues 193 to 212 and 223 to 298 in pepsin numbering). A similar movement of the C-terminal domain of endothia pepsin has been observed upon inhibitor binding. A phosphoryl group covalently attached to Ser68 O gamma has been identified in the electron density map of porcine pepsin. The low pKa1 value for this group, coupled with unusual microenvironments for several of the aspartyl carboxylate groups, ensures a net negative charge on porcine pepsin in a strongly acid medium. Thus, there is a structural explanation for the very early observations of "anodic migration" of porcine pepsin at pH 1. In the crystals, the molecules are packed tightly into a monoclinic unit cell. There are 190 direct contacts (less than or equal to 4.0 A) between a central pepsin molecule and the five unique symmetry-related molecules surrounding it in the crystalline lattice. The tight packing in this cell makes pepsin's active site and binding cleft relatively inaccessible to substrate analogs or inhibitors.

Crystals of troponin C are stabilized by an intermolecular interaction that involves the packing of helix A from the N-terminal domain of one molecule onto the exposed hydrophobic cleft of the C-terminal domain of a symmetry related molecule. Analysis of this molecular recognition interaction in troponin C suggests a possible mode for the binding of amphiphilic helical molecules to troponin C and to calmodulin. From the template provided by this troponin C packing, it has been possible to build a model of the contact region of mastoporan as it might be bound to the two Ca2+ binding proteins. A possible binding mode of melittin to calmodulin is also proposed. Although some of the characteristics of binding are similar for the two amphiphilic peptides, the increased length of melittin requires a significant bend in the calmodulin central helix similar to that suggested recently for the myosin light chain kinase calmodulin binding peptide (Persechini and Kretsinger: Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology 12:501-512, 1988). Not only are the hydrophobic interactions important in this model, but there are several favorable electrostatic interactions that are predicted as a result of the molecular modeling. The regions of troponin-C and calmodulin to which amphiphilic helices bind are similar to the regions to which the neuroleptic drugs such as trifluoperazine have been predicted to bind (Strynadka and James: Proteins 3:1-17, 1988).

Succinyl-CoA synthetase (SCS) carries out the substrate-level phosphorylation of GDP or ADP in the citric acid cycle. A molecular model of the enzyme from Escherichia coli, crystallized in the presence of CoA, has been refined against data collected to 2.3 A resolution. The crystals are of space group P4322, having unit cell dimensions a=b=98.68 A, c=403.76 A and the data set includes the data measured from 23 crystals. E. coli SCS is an (alphabeta)2-tetramer; there are two copies of each subunit in the asymmetric unit of the crystals. The crystal packing leaves two choices for which pair of alphabeta-dimers form the physiologically relevant tetramer. The copies of the alphabeta-dimer are similar, each having one active site where the phosphorylated histidine residue and the thiol group of CoA are found. CoA is bound in an extended conformation to the nucleotide-binding motif in the N-terminal domain of the alpha-subunit. The phosphoryl group of the phosphorylated histidine residue is positioned at the amino termini of two alpha-helices, one from the C-terminal domain of the alpha-subunit and the other from the C-terminal domain of the beta-subunit. These two domains have similar topologies, despite only 14 % sequence identity. By analogy to other nucleotide-binding proteins, the binding site for the nucleotide may reside in the N-terminal domain of the beta-subunit. If this is so, the catalytic histidine residue would have to move about 35 A to react with the nucleotide.

Human pepsinogen A is the inactive protein precursor of pepsin, an aspartic proteinase found in the stomach. Pepsinogen is synthesized in the chief cells and secreted into the gastric lumen. After pepsinogen has been exposed to the acidic pH of the stomach, a 47 amino acid, N-terminal prosegment is removed by autolytic cleavage to form the active enzyme.