scholarly journals Identification of amino acids imparting acceptor substrate selectivity to human arylamine acetyltransferases NAT1 and NAT2

2000 ◽  
Vol 348 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey H. GOODFELLOW ◽  
Jean-Marie DUPRET ◽  
Denis M. GRANT

The human arylamine N-acetyltransferases NAT1 and NAT2 catalyse the acetyl-CoA-dependent N- and O-acetylation of primary arylamine and hydrazine xenobiotics and their N-hydroxylated metabolites. We previously used a panel of recombinant NAT1/NAT2 chimaeric proteins to identify linear amino acid segments that have roles in imparting the distinct catalytic specificities to these proteins [Dupret, Goodfellow, Janezic and Grant (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 26830-26835]. These studies indicated that a conserved central region (residues 112-210) distinct from that containing the active-site cysteine residue Cys68 was important in determining NAT substrate selectivity. In the present study we have refined our analysis through further chimaera generation of this conserved region and by subsequent site-directed mutagenesis of individual amino acids. Enzyme-kinetic analysis of these mutant proteins with the NAT1-selective and NAT2-selective substrates p-aminosalicylic acid (PAS) and sulphamethazine (SMZ) respectively suggests that residues 125, 127 and 129 are important determinants of NAT1-type and NAT2-type substrate selectivity. Modification of Arg127 had the greatest effect on specificity for PAS, whereas changing Phe125 had the greatest effect on specificity for SMZ. Selected NAT mutants exhibited Km values for acetyl-CoA that were comparable with those of the wild-type NATs, implying that the mutations affected acceptor substrate specificity rather than cofactor binding affinity. Taken together with previous observations, these results suggest that residues 125, 127 and 129 might contribute to the formation of the active-site pocket surrounding Cys68 and function as important determinants of NAT substrate selectivity.

1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (18) ◽  
pp. 4799-4803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédérique Pompeo ◽  
Jean van Heijenoort ◽  
Dominique Mengin-Lecreulx

ABSTRACT The glucosamine-1-phosphate acetyltransferase activity but not the uridyltransferase activity of the bifunctional GlmU enzyme fromEscherichia coli was lost when GlmU was stored in the absence of β-mercaptoethanol or incubated with thiol-specific reagents. The enzyme was protected from inactivation in the presence of its substrate acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA), suggesting the presence of an essential cysteine residue in or near the active site of the acetyltransferase domain. To ascertain the role of cysteines in the structure and function of the enzyme, site-directed mutagenesis was performed to change each of the four cysteines to alanine, and plasmids were constructed for high-level overproduction and one-step purification of histidine-tagged proteins. Whereas the kinetic parameters of the bifunctional enzyme appeared unaffected by the C296A and C385A mutations, 1,350- and 8-fold decreases of acetyltransferase activity resulted from the C307A and C324A mutations, respectively. TheKm values for acetyl-CoA and GlcN-1-P of mutant proteins were not modified, suggesting that none of the cysteines was involved in substrate binding. The uridyltransferase activities of wild-type and mutant GlmU proteins were similar. From these studies, the two cysteines Cys307 and Cys324 appeared important for acetyltransferase activity and seemed to be located in or near the active site.


1985 ◽  
Vol 232 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
D M Lowe ◽  
P K Tubbs

Succinyl-CoA (3-carboxypropionyl-CoA) inactivates ox liver mitochondrial 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase (EC 4.1.3.5) in a time-dependent manner, which is partially prevented by the presence of substrates of the enzyme. The inactivation is due to the enzyme catalysing its own succinylation. Complete inactivation corresponds to about 0.5 mol of succinyl group bound/mol of enzyme dimer. The succinyl-enzyme linkage appears to be a thioester bond and is probably formed with the active-site cysteine residue that is normally acetylated by acetyl-CoA. Succinyl-CoA binds to 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase with a binding constant of 340 microM and succinylation occurs with a rate constant of 0.57 min-1. Succinyl-enzyme breaks down with a half-life of about 40 min (k = 0.017 min-1) at 30 degrees C and pH 7 and is destabilized by the presence of acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA. A control mechanism is postulated in which flux through the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA cycle of ketogenesis is regulated according to the extent of succinylation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase.


1997 ◽  
Vol 322 (3) ◽  
pp. 771-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas HUMM ◽  
Erich FRITSCHE ◽  
Karlheinz MANN ◽  
Martin GÖHL ◽  
Robert HUBER

Creatine and its phosphorylated form play a central role in the energy metabolism of muscle and nerve tissues. l-Arginine: glycine amidinotransferase (AT) catalyses the committed step in the formation of creatine. The mitochondrial and cytosolic forms of the enzyme are believed to derive from the same gene by alternative splicing. We have expressed recombinant human AT in Escherichia coliwith two different N-termini, resembling the longest two forms of the enzyme that we had isolated recently from porcine kidney mitochondria as a mixture. The enzymes were expressed with N-terminal histidine tags followed by factor Xa-cleavage sites. We established a new method for the removal of N-terminal fusion peptides by means of an immobilized snake venom prothrombin activator. We identified cysteine-407 as the active-site residue of AT by radioactive labelling and isolation of labelled peptides, and by site-directed mutagenesis of the protein.


1988 ◽  
Vol 254 (1) ◽  
pp. 235-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
R W Pickersgill ◽  
P W Goodenough ◽  
I G Sumner ◽  
M E Collins

The active sites of actinidin (EC 3.4.22.14) and papain (EC 3.4.22.2) display different reactivity characteristics to probes targeted at the active-site cysteine residue despite the close structural similarity of their active sites. The calculated electrostatic fields in the active-site clefts of actinidin and papain differ significantly and may explain the reactivity characteristics of these enzymes. Calculation of electrostatic potential also focuses attention on the electrostatic properties that govern formation of the active-site thiolate-imidazolium ion-pair. These calculations will guide the modification of the pH-activity profile of the cysteine proteinases by site-directed mutagenesis.


Genetics ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 637-644
Author(s):  
C G Cupples ◽  
J H Miller

Abstract Forty-nine amino acid substitutions were made at four positions in the Escherichia coli enzyme beta-galactosidase; three of the four targeted amino acids are thought to be part of the active site. Many of the substitutions were made by converting the appropriate codon in lacZ to an amber codon, and using one of 12 suppressor strains to introduce the replacement amino acid. Glu-461 and Tyr-503 were replaced, independently, with 13 amino acids. All 26 of the strains containing mutant enzymes are Lac-. Enzyme activity is reduced to less than 10% of wild type by substitutions at Glu-461 and to less than 1% of wild type by substitutions at Tyr-503. Many of the mutant enzymes have less than 0.1% wild-type activity. His-464 and Met-3 were replaced with 11 and 12 amino acids, respectively. Strains containing any one of these mutant proteins are Lac+. The results support previous evidence that Glu-461 and Tyr-503 are essential for catalysis, and suggest that His-464 is not part of the active site. Site-directed mutagenesis was facilitated by construction of an f1 bacteriophage containing the complete lacZ gene on a single EcoRI fragment.


1996 ◽  
Vol 320 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
David COMMUNI ◽  
Christophe ERNEUX

Chemical modification using thiol-directed agents and site-directed mutagenesis have been used to investigate the crucial role of an active site cysteine residue within the substrate-binding domain of human type I Ins(1,4,5)P3 5-phosphatase. Irreversible inhibition of enzymic activity is provoked by chemical modification of the enzyme by N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), 5,5´-dithio-2-nitrobenzoic acid, iodoacetate and to a much smaller extent by iodoacetamide. The alkylation reaction by NEM is prevented in the presence of Ins(1,4,5)P3. The results indicate that NEM binds at the active site of the enzyme with a stoichiometry of 0.9 mol of NEM per mol of enzyme. A single [14C]NEM-modified peptide was isolated after α-chymotrypsin proteolysis of the radiolabelled enzyme and reverse-phase HPLC. Sequence analysis of the active site-labelled peptide (i.e. MNTRCPAWCD) demonstrated that Cys348 contained the radiolabel. Furthermore two mutant enzymes were obtained by site-directed mutagenesis of the cysteine residue to serine and alanine respectively. Both mutant enzymes had identical UV CD spectra. The two mutants (i.e. Cys348 → Ser and Cys348 → Ala) show a marked loss of enzymic activity (more than 98% compared with the wild-type enzyme). Thus we have directly identified a reactive cysteine residue as part of the active site, i.e. the substrate-binding domain, of Ins(1,4,5)P3 5-phosphatase. This cysteine residue is part of a sequence 10 amino acids long that is well conserved among the primary structures of inositol and phosphatidylinositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases.


Blood ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 102 (8) ◽  
pp. 3028-3034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soohee Lee ◽  
Asim K. Debnath ◽  
Colvin M. Redman

Abstract In addition to its importance in transfusion, Kell protein is a member of the M13 family of zinc endopeptidases and functions as an endothelin-3–converting enzyme. To obtain information on the structure of Kell protein we built a model based on the crystal structure of the ectodomain of neutral endopeptidase 24.11 (NEP). Similar to NEP, the Kell protein has 2 globular domains consisting mostly of α-helical segments. The domain situated closest to the membrane contains both the N- and C-terminal sequences and the enzyme-active site. The outer domain contains all of the amino acids whose substitutions lead to different Kell blood group phenotypes. In the model, the zinc peptidase inhibitor, phosphoramidon, was docked in the active site. Site-directed mutagenesis of amino acids in the active site was performed and the enzymatic activities of expressed mutant Kell proteins analyzed and compared with NEP. Our studies indicate that Kell and NEP use the same homologous amino acids in the coordination of zinc and in peptide hydrolysis. However, Kell uses different amino acids than NEP in substrate binding and appears to have more flexibility in the composition of amino acids allowed in the active site.


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