A glutamate/aspartate switch controls product specificity in a protein arginine methyltransferase

Trypanosoma brucei PRMT7 (TbPRMT7) is a protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) that strictly monomethylates various substrates, thus classifying it as a type III PRMT. However, the molecular basis of its unique product specificity has remained elusive. Here, we present the structure of TbPRMT7 in complex with its cofactor product S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine (AdoHcy) at 2.8 Å resolution and identify a glutamate residue critical for its monomethylation behavior. TbPRMT7 comprises the conserved methyltransferase and β-barrel domains, an N-terminal extension, and a dimerization arm. The active site at the interface of the N-terminal extension, methyltransferase, and β-barrel domains is stabilized by the dimerization arm of the neighboring protomer, providing a structural basis for dimerization as a prerequisite for catalytic activity. Mutagenesis of active-site residues highlights the importance of Glu181, the second of the two invariant glutamate residues of the double E loop that coordinate the target arginine in substrate peptides/proteins and that increase its nucleophilicity. Strikingly, mutation of Glu181 to aspartate converts TbPRMT7 into a type I PRMT, producing asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) using a histone H4 peptide showed that the Glu181Asp mutant has markedly increased affinity for monomethylated peptide with respect to the WT, suggesting that the enlarged active site can favorably accommodate monomethylated peptide and provide sufficient space for ADMA formation. In conclusion, these findings yield valuable insights into the product specificity and the catalytic mechanism of protein arginine methyltransferases and have important implications for the rational (re)design of PRMTs.

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Structure based protein engineering to confer selectivity of guanine deaminase

Acta Crystallographica Section A Foundations and Advances ◽

10.1107/s205327331409562x ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 70 (a1) ◽

pp. C437-C437

Author(s):

Aruna Bitra ◽

Ruchi Anand

Keyword(s):

Crystal Structures ◽

Active Site ◽

Catalytic Mechanism ◽

Catalytic Efficiency ◽

Structural Basis ◽

Active Site Residues ◽

X Ray ◽

Secondary Activity ◽

Guanine Deaminase ◽

Differential Selectivity

Guanine deaminases (GDs) are important enzymes involved in both purine metabolism and nucleotide anabolism pathways. Here we present the molecular and catalytic mechanism of NE0047 and use the information obtained to engineer specific enzyme activities. NE0047 from Nitrosomonas europaea was found to be a high fidelity guanine deaminase (catalytic efficiency of 1.2 × 105 M–1 s–1). However; it exhibited secondary activity towards the structurally non-analogous triazine based compound ammeline. The X-ray structure of NE0047 in the presence of the substrate analogue 8-azaguanine help establish that the enzyme exists as a biological dimer and both the proper closure of the C-terminal loop and cross talk via the dimeric interface is crucial for conferring catalytic activity. It was further ascertained that the highly conserved active site residues Glu79 and Glu143 facilitate the deamination reaction by serving as proton shuttles. Moreover, to understand the structural basis of dual substrate specificity, X-ray structures of NE0047 in complex with a series of nucleobase analogs, nucleosides and substrate ammeline were determined. The crystal structures demonstrated that any substitutions in the parent substrates results in the rearrangement of the ligand in a catalytically unfavorable orientation and also impede the closure of catalytically important loop, thereby abrogating activity. However, ammeline was able to adopt a catalytically favorable orientation which, also allowed for proper loop closure. Based on the above knowledge of the crystal structures and the catalytic mechanism, the active site was subsequently engineered to fine-tune NE0047 activity. The mutated versions of the enzyme were designed so that they can function either exclusively as a GD or serve as specific ammeline deaminases. For example, mutations in the active site E143D and N66A confer the enzyme to be an unambiguous GD with no secondary activity towards ammeline. On the other hand, the N66Q mutant of NE0047 only deaminates ammeline. Additionally, a series of crystal structures of the mutant versions were solved that shed light on the structural basis of this differential selectivity.

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Protein Arginine Methyltransferase Product Specificity Is Mediated by Distinct Active-site Architectures

Journal of Biological Chemistry ◽

10.1074/jbc.m116.740399 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 291 (35) ◽

pp. 18299-18308 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Kanishk Jain ◽

Rebeccah A. Warmack ◽

Erik W. Debler ◽

Andrea Hadjikyriacou ◽

Peter Stavropoulos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Active Site ◽

Protein Arginine Methyltransferase ◽

Arginine Methyltransferase ◽

Product Specificity

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Catalytic Mechanism and Product Specificity of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase PRMT7: A Study from QM/MM Molecular Dynamics and Free Energy Simulations

Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation ◽

10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00156 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. 5301-5312

Author(s):

Wan-Sheng Ren ◽

Kai-Bin Jiang ◽

Hao Deng ◽

Nan Lu ◽

Tao Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Molecular Dynamics ◽

Free Energy ◽

Catalytic Mechanism ◽

Protein Arginine Methyltransferase ◽

Arginine Methyltransferase ◽

Product Specificity ◽

Energy Simulations

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Structures of c-di-GMP/cGAMP degrading phosphodiesterase VcEAL: identification of a novel conformational switch and its implication

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bcj20190399 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 476 (21) ◽

pp. 3333-3353 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Malti Yadav ◽

Kamalendu Pal ◽

Udayaditya Sen

Keyword(s):

Active Site ◽

Metal Binding ◽

Metal Ion ◽

Triosephosphate Isomerase ◽

Catalytic Mechanism ◽

Degradation Mechanism ◽

Structural Basis ◽

Conserved Residues ◽

Phosphodiester Bond ◽

Cyclic Dinucleotides

Cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) have emerged as the central molecules that aid bacteria to adapt and thrive in changing environmental conditions. Therefore, tight regulation of intracellular CDN concentration by counteracting the action of dinucleotide cyclases and phosphodiesterases (PDEs) is critical. Here, we demonstrate that a putative stand-alone EAL domain PDE from Vibrio cholerae (VcEAL) is capable to degrade both the second messenger c-di-GMP and hybrid 3′3′-cyclic GMP–AMP (cGAMP). To unveil their degradation mechanism, we have determined high-resolution crystal structures of VcEAL with Ca2+, c-di-GMP-Ca2+, 5′-pGpG-Ca2+ and cGAMP-Ca2+, the latter provides the first structural basis of cGAMP hydrolysis. Structural studies reveal a typical triosephosphate isomerase barrel-fold with substrate c-di-GMP/cGAMP bound in an extended conformation. Highly conserved residues specifically bind the guanine base of c-di-GMP/cGAMP in the G2 site while the semi-conserved nature of residues at the G1 site could act as a specificity determinant. Two metal ions, co-ordinated with six stubbornly conserved residues and two non-bridging scissile phosphate oxygens of c-di-GMP/cGAMP, activate a water molecule for an in-line attack on the phosphodiester bond, supporting two-metal ion-based catalytic mechanism. PDE activity and biofilm assays of several prudently designed mutants collectively demonstrate that VcEAL active site is charge and size optimized. Intriguingly, in VcEAL-5′-pGpG-Ca2+ structure, β5–α5 loop adopts a novel conformation that along with conserved E131 creates a new metal-binding site. This novel conformation along with several subtle changes in the active site designate VcEAL-5′-pGpG-Ca2+ structure quite different from other 5′-pGpG bound structures reported earlier.

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Transcriptional perturbation of protein arginine methyltransferase-5 exhibits MTAP-selective oncosuppression

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-86834-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sara Busacca ◽

Qi Zhang ◽

Annabel Sharkey ◽

Alan G. Dawson ◽

David A. Moore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Small Molecule ◽

Selective Vulnerability ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Histone H4 ◽

Wild Type ◽

Protein Arginine Methyltransferase ◽

Arginine Methyltransferase ◽

Methylthioadenosine Phosphorylase ◽

Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5

AbstractWe hypothesized that small molecule transcriptional perturbation could be harnessed to target a cellular dependency involving protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) in the context of methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) deletion, seen frequently in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Here we show, that MTAP deletion is negatively prognostic in MPM. In vitro, the off-patent antibiotic Quinacrine efficiently suppressed PRMT5 transcription, causing chromatin remodelling with reduced global histone H4 symmetrical demethylation. Quinacrine phenocopied PRMT5 RNA interference and small molecule PRMT5 inhibition, reducing clonogenicity in an MTAP-dependent manner. This activity required a functional PRMT5 methyltransferase as MTAP negative cells were rescued by exogenous wild type PRMT5, but not a PRMT5E444Q methyltransferase-dead mutant. We identified c-jun as an essential PRMT5 transcription factor and a probable target for Quinacrine. Our results therefore suggest that small molecule-based transcriptional perturbation of PRMT5 can leverage a mutation-selective vulnerability, that is therapeutically tractable, and has relevance to 9p21 deleted cancers including MPM.

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Catalytic and structural contributions for glutathione-binding residues in a Delta class glutathione S-transferase

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bj20040697 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 382 (2) ◽

pp. 751-757 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Pakorn WINAYANUWATTIKUN ◽

Albert J. KETTERMAN

Keyword(s):

Binding Site ◽

Active Site ◽

Structural Integrity ◽

Catalytic Mechanism ◽

Tertiary Structure ◽

Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽

Active Site Residues ◽

Anopheles Dirus ◽

Steady State Kinetics ◽

Cellular Detoxification

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are dimeric proteins that play a major role in cellular detoxification. The GSTs in mosquito Anopheles dirus species B, an important malaria vector in South East Asia, are of interest because they can play an important role in insecticide resistance. In the present study, we characterized the Anopheles dirus (Ad)GST D3-3 which is an alternatively spliced product of the adgst1AS1 gene. The data from the crystal structure of GST D3-3 shows that Ile-52, Glu-64, Ser-65, Arg-66 and Met-101 interact directly with glutathione. To study the active-site function of these residues, alanine substitution site-directed mutagenesis was performed resulting in five mutants: I52A (Ile-52→Ala), E64A, S65A, R66A and M101A. Interestingly, the E64A mutant was expressed in Escherichia coli in inclusion bodies, suggesting that this residue is involved with the tertiary structure or folding property of this enzyme. However, the I52A, S65A, R66A and M101A mutants were purified by glutathione affinity chromatography and the enzyme activity characterized. On the basis of steady-state kinetics, difference spectroscopy, unfolding and refolding studies, it was concluded that these residues: (1) contribute to the affinity of the GSH-binding site (‘G-site’) for GSH, (2) influence GSH thiol ionization, (3) participate in kcat regulation by affecting the rate-limiting step of the reaction, and in the case of Ile-52 and Arg-66, influenced structural integrity and/or folding of the enzyme. The structural perturbations from these mutants are probably transmitted to the hydrophobic-substrate-binding site (‘H-site’) through changes in active site topology or through effects on GSH orientation. Therefore these active site residues appear to contribute to various steps in the catalytic mechanism, as well as having an influence on the packing of the protein.

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Mutagenesis of Two Acidic Active Site Residues in Human Muscle Creatine Kinase: Implications for the Catalytic Mechanism†

Biochemistry ◽

10.1021/bi0020980 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 40 (10) ◽

pp. 3056-3061 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

John S. Cantwell ◽

Walter R. Novak ◽

Pan-Fen Wang ◽

Michael J. McLeish ◽

George L. Kenyon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Creatine Kinase ◽

Active Site ◽

Catalytic Mechanism ◽

Human Muscle ◽

Active Site Residues ◽

Muscle Creatine Kinase ◽

Muscle Creatine

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Catalytic Mechanism of SHCHC Synthase in the Menaquinone Biosynthesis ofEscherichia coli: Identification and Mutational Analysis of the Active Site Residues

Biochemistry ◽

10.1021/bi900897h ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 48 (29) ◽

pp. 6921-6931 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Ming Jiang ◽

Xiaolei Chen ◽

Xian-Hui Wu ◽

Minjiao Chen ◽

Yun-Dong Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Active Site ◽

Catalytic Mechanism ◽

Mutational Analysis ◽

Ofescherichia Coli ◽

Active Site Residues

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Characterization of Self-Processing Activities and Substrate Specificities of Porcine Torovirus 3C-Like Protease

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.01282-20 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 94 (20) ◽

Author(s):

Shangen Xu ◽

Junwei Zhou ◽

Yingjin Chen ◽

Xue Tong ◽

Zixin Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Active Site ◽

Catalytic Mechanism ◽

Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽

Active Site Residues ◽

Hydrophobic Force ◽

Substrate Specificities ◽

Consensus Sequences ◽

Cleavage Activity ◽

Porcine Torovirus

ABSTRACT The 3C-like protease (3CLpro) of nidovirus plays an important role in viral replication and manipulation of host antiviral innate immunity, which makes it an ideal antiviral target. Here, we characterized that porcine torovirus (PToV; family Tobaniviridae, order Nidovirales) 3CLpro autocatalytically releases itself from the viral precursor protein by self-cleavage. Site-directed mutagenesis suggested that PToV 3CLpro, as a serine protease, employed His53 and Ser160 as the active-site residues. Interestingly, unlike most nidovirus 3CLpro, the P1 residue plays a less essential role in N-terminal self-cleavage of PToV 3CLpro. Substituting either P1 or P4 residue of substrate alone has little discernible effect on N-terminal cleavage. Notably, replacement of the two residues together completely blocks N-terminal cleavage, suggesting that N-terminal self-cleavage of PToV 3CLpro is synergistically affected by both P1 and P4 residues. Using a cyclized luciferase-based biosensor, we systematically scanned the polyproteins for cleavage sites and identified (FXXQ↓A/S) as the main consensus sequences. Subsequent homology modeling and biochemical experiments suggested that the protease formed putative pockets S1 and S4 between the substrate. Indeed, mutants of both predicted S1 (D159A, H174A) and S4 (P62G/L185G) pockets completely lost the ability of cleavage activity of PToV 3CLpro. In conclusion, the characterization of self-processing activities and substrate specificities of PToV 3CLpro will offer helpful information for the mechanism of nidovirus 3C-like proteinase’s substrate specificities and the rational development of the antinidovirus drugs. IMPORTANCE Currently, the active-site residues and substrate specificities of 3C-like protease (3CLpro) differ among nidoviruses, and the detailed catalytic mechanism remains largely unknown. Here, porcine torovirus (PToV) 3CLpro cleaves 12 sites in the polyproteins, including its N- and C-terminal self-processing sites. Unlike coronaviruses and arteriviruses, PToV 3CLpro employed His53 and Ser160 as the active-site residues that recognize a glutamine (Gln) at the P1 position. Surprisingly, mutations of P1-Gln impaired the C-terminal self-processing but did not affect N-terminal self-processing. The “noncanonical” substrate specificity for its N-terminal self-processing was attributed to the phenylalanine (Phe) residue at the P4 position in the N-terminal site. Furthermore, a double glycine (neutral) substitution at the putative P4-Phe-binding residues (P62G/L185G) abolished the cleavage activity of PToV 3CLpro suggested the potential hydrophobic force between the PToV 3CLpro and P4-Phe side chains.

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