Search

The crystal structure of bacterial oligopeptidase B from Serratia proteamaculans (SpOpB) in complex with a chloromethyl ketone inhibitor was determined at 2.2 Å resolution. SpOpB was crystallized in a closed (catalytically active) conformation. A single inhibitor molecule bound simultaneously to the catalytic residues S532 and H652 mimicked a tetrahedral intermediate of the catalytic reaction. A comparative analysis of the obtained structure and the structure of OpB from Trypanosoma brucei (TbOpB) in a closed conformation showed that in both enzymes, the stabilization of the D-loop (carrying the catalytic D) in a position favorable for the formation of a tetrahedral complex occurs due to interaction with the neighboring loop from the β-propeller. However, the modes of interdomain interactions were significantly different for bacterial and protozoan OpBs. Instead of a salt bridge (as in TbOpB), in SpOpB, a pair of polar residues following the catalytic D617 and a pair of neighboring arginine residues from the β-propeller domain formed complementary oppositely charged surfaces. Bioinformatics analysis and structural modeling show that all bacterial OpBs can be divided into two large groups according to these two modes of D-loop stabilization in closed conformations.

A unique property was found for oligopeptidase B from Serratia proteamaculans (PSP) as well as its mutants: they can undergo reversible thermal inactivation at 37C, with activity being restored or even increased with respect to the initial one upon subsequent cooling. The process can be repeated several times, with the same results achieved (up to 5 cycles). This effect can be explained by a shift in the equilibrium between the inactive open form of the enzyme and the active closed one upon variation of the incubation temperature.

Oligopeptidases B (OpdBs) are trypsin-like peptidases from protozoa and bacteria that belong to the prolyl oligopeptidase (POP) family. All POPs consist of C-terminal catalytic domain and N-terminal β-propeller domain and exist in two major conformations: closed (active), where the domains and residues of the catalytic triad are positioned close to each other, and open (non-active), where two domains and residues of the catalytic triad are separated. The interdomain interface, particularly, one of its salt bridges (SB1), plays a role in the transition between these two conformations. However, due to double amino acid substitution (E/R and R/Q), this functionally important SB1 is absent in γ-proteobacterial OpdBs including peptidase from Serratia proteamaculans (PSP). In this study, molecular dynamics was used to analyze inter- and intradomain interactions stabilizing PSP in the closed conformation, in which catalytic H652 is located close to other residues of the catalytic triad. The 3D models of either wild-type PSP or of mutant PSPs carrying activating mutations E125A and D649A in complexes with peptide-substrates were subjected to the analysis. The mechanism that regulates transition of H652 from active to non-active conformation upon domain separation in PSP and other γ-proteobacterial OpdB was proposed. The complex network of polar interactions within H652-loop/C-terminal α-helix and between these areas and β-propeller domain, established in silico, was in a good agreement with both previously published results on the effects of single-residue mutations and new data on the effects of the activating mutations on each other and on the low active mutant PSP-K655A. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Oligopeptidase B (OpdB; EC 3.4.21.83) is a trypsin-like peptidase belonging to the family of serine prolyl oligopeptidases; two-domain structure of the enzyme includes C-terminal peptidase catalytic domain and N-terminal seven-bladed β-propeller domain. Importance of the interface between these domains and particularly of the 5 salt bridges for enzyme activity was established for protozoan OpdBs. However, these salt bridges are not conserved in γ -proteobacterial OpdBs including the peptidase from Serratia proteamaculans (PSP). In this work, using comparative modelling and protozoan OpdBs' crystal structures we created 3D models of PSP in open and closed forms to elucidate the mechanism underlying inactivation of the truncated form of PSP1-655 obtained earlier. Analysis of the models shows that in the closed form of PSP charged amino acid residues of histidine loop, surrounding the catalytic triad His652, participate in formation of the inter-domain contact interface between catalytic and β-propeller domains, while in the open form of PSP disconnection of the catalytic triad and distortion of these contacts can be observed. Complete destruction of this interface by site-directed mutagenesis causes inactivation of PSP while elimination of the individual contacts leads to differential effects on the enzyme activity and substrate specificity. Thus, we identified structural factors regulating activity of PSP and supposedly of other γ-proteobacterial OpdBs and discovered the possibility of directed modulation of their enzymatic features.