scholarly journals Insights into the molecular basis for substrate binding and specificity of the wild-type L-arginine/agmatine antiporter AdiC

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (37) ◽  
pp. 10358-10363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hüseyin Ilgü ◽  
Jean-Marc Jeckelmann ◽  
Vytautas Gapsys ◽  
Zöhre Ucurum ◽  
Bert L. de Groot ◽  
...  

Pathogenic enterobacteria need to survive the extreme acidity of the stomach to successfully colonize the human gut. Enteric bacteria circumvent the gastric acid barrier by activating extreme acid-resistance responses, such as the arginine-dependent acid resistance system. In this response, l-arginine is decarboxylated to agmatine, thereby consuming one proton from the cytoplasm. In Escherichia coli, the l-arginine/agmatine antiporter AdiC facilitates the export of agmatine in exchange of l-arginine, thus providing substrates for further removal of protons from the cytoplasm and balancing the intracellular pH. We have solved the crystal structures of wild-type AdiC in the presence and absence of the substrate agmatine at 2.6-Å and 2.2-Å resolution, respectively. The high-resolution structures made possible the identification of crucial water molecules in the substrate-binding sites, unveiling their functional roles for agmatine release and structure stabilization, which was further corroborated by molecular dynamics simulations. Structural analysis combined with site-directed mutagenesis and the scintillation proximity radioligand binding assay improved our understanding of substrate binding and specificity of the wild-type l-arginine/agmatine antiporter AdiC. Finally, we present a potential mechanism for conformational changes of the AdiC transport cycle involved in the release of agmatine into the periplasmic space of E. coli.

1987 ◽  
Vol 241 (2) ◽  
pp. 609-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
C A B Wilson ◽  
N Hardman ◽  
L A Fothergill-Gilmore ◽  
S J Gamblin ◽  
H C Watson

A salt link buried in the domain interface of phosphoglycerate kinase has been implicated as being important in controlling the conformational transition from the open, or substrate-binding, to the closed, or catalytically competent, form of the enzyme. The residues contributing to the salt link are remote from the active site, but are connected to the substrate-binding sites through strands of beta-sheet. It has been suggested that these residues may also mediate sulphate and anion activation. These assumptions have been tested by examining the properties of a site-directed mutant (histidine-388----glutamine-388). The expression and overall structural integrity of the mutant, produced in yeast from a multicopy plasmid, remains essentially unaltered from the wild-type enzyme. However, the mutant enzyme has a kcat. reduced by 5-fold. The Km for ATP is lowered by 3-fold, and the Km for 3-phosphoglycerate is unaffected. The effects of sulphate on activity over a wide range of substrate concentrations appear to be the same for both the mutant and wild-type enzymes. These results lead to a reappraisal of the mechanistic role of the inter-domain histidine-glutamate interaction, as well as a refinement of the kinetic model of the enzyme.


Author(s):  
Balaji Selvam ◽  
Ya-Chi Yu ◽  
Liqing Chen ◽  
Diwakar Shukla

<p>The SWEET family belongs to a class of transporters in plants that undergoes large conformational changes to facilitate transport of sugar molecules across the cell membrane. However, the structures of their functionally relevant conformational states in the transport cycle have not been reported. In this study, we have characterized the conformational dynamics and complete transport cycle of glucose in OsSWEET2b transporter using extensive molecular dynamics simulations. Using Markov state models, we estimated the free energy barrier associated with different states as well as 1 for the glucose the transport mechanism. SWEETs undergoes structural transition to outward-facing (OF), Occluded (OC) and inward-facing (IF) and strongly support alternate access transport mechanism. The glucose diffuses freely from outside to inside the cell without causing major conformational changes which means that the conformations of glucose unbound and bound snapshots are exactly same for OF, OC and IF states. We identified a network of hydrophobic core residues at the center of the transporter that restricts the glucose entry to the cytoplasmic side and act as an intracellular hydrophobic gate. The mechanistic predictions from molecular dynamics simulations are validated using site-directed mutagenesis experiments. Our simulation also revealed hourglass like intermediate states making the pore radius narrower at the center. This work provides new fundamental insights into how substrate-transporter interactions actively change the free energy landscape of the transport cycle to facilitate enhanced transport activity.</p>


Glycobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margrethe Gaardløs ◽  
Sergey A Samsonov ◽  
Marit Sletmoen ◽  
Maya Hjørnevik ◽  
Gerd Inger Sætrom ◽  
...  

Abstract Mannuronan C-5 epimerases catalyse the epimerization of monomer residues in the polysaccharide alginate, changing the physical properties of the biopolymer. The enzymes are utilized to tailor alginate to numerous biological functions by alginate-producing organisms. The underlying molecular mechanisms that control the processive movement of the epimerase along the substrate chain is still elusive. To study this, we have used an interdisciplinary approach combining molecular dynamics simulations with experimental methods from mutant studies of AlgE4, where initial epimerase activity and product formation were addressed with NMR spectroscopy, and characteristics of enzyme-substrate interactions were obtained with isothermal titration calorimetry and optical tweezers. Positive charges lining the substrate-binding groove of AlgE4 appear to control the initial binding of poly-mannuronate, and binding also seems to be mediated by both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. After the catalytic reaction, negatively charged enzyme residues might facilitate dissociation of alginate from the positive residues, working like electrostatic switches, allowing the substrate to translocate in the binding groove. Molecular simulations show translocation increments of two monosaccharide units before the next productive binding event resulting in MG-block formation, with the epimerase moving with its N-terminus towards the reducing end of the alginate chain. Our results indicate that the charge pair R343-D345 might be directly involved in conformational changes of a loop that can be important for binding and dissociation. The computational and experimental approaches used in this study complement each other, allowing for a better understanding of individual residues’ roles in binding and movement along the alginate chains.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (37) ◽  
pp. 11571-11576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivek Sharma ◽  
Galina Belevich ◽  
Ana P. Gamiz-Hernandez ◽  
Tomasz Róg ◽  
Ilpo Vattulainen ◽  
...  

Complex I functions as a redox-linked proton pump in the respiratory chains of mitochondria and bacteria, driven by the reduction of quinone (Q) by NADH. Remarkably, the distance between the Q reduction site and the most distant proton channels extends nearly 200 Å. To elucidate the molecular origin of this long-range coupling, we apply a combination of large-scale molecular simulations and a site-directed mutagenesis experiment of a key residue. In hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations, we observe that reduction of Q is coupled to its local protonation by the His-38/Asp-139 ion pair and Tyr-87 of subunit Nqo4. Atomistic classical molecular dynamics simulations further suggest that formation of quinol (QH2) triggers rapid dissociation of the anionic Asp-139 toward the membrane domain that couples to conformational changes in a network of conserved charged residues. Site-directed mutagenesis data confirm the importance of Asp-139; upon mutation to asparagine the Q reductase activity is inhibited by 75%. The current results, together with earlier biochemical data, suggest that the proton pumping in complex I is activated by a unique combination of electrostatic and conformational transitions.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balaji Selvam ◽  
Ya-Chi Yu ◽  
Liqing Chen ◽  
Diwakar Shukla

<p>The SWEET family belongs to a class of transporters in plants that undergoes large conformational changes to facilitate transport of sugar molecules across the cell membrane. However, the structures of their functionally relevant conformational states in the transport cycle have not been reported. In this study, we have characterized the conformational dynamics and complete transport cycle of glucose in OsSWEET2b transporter using extensive molecular dynamics simulations. Using Markov state models, we estimated the free energy barrier associated with different states as well as 1 for the glucose the transport mechanism. SWEETs undergoes structural transition to outward-facing (OF), Occluded (OC) and inward-facing (IF) and strongly support alternate access transport mechanism. The glucose diffuses freely from outside to inside the cell without causing major conformational changes which means that the conformations of glucose unbound and bound snapshots are exactly same for OF, OC and IF states. We identified a network of hydrophobic core residues at the center of the transporter that restricts the glucose entry to the cytoplasmic side and act as an intracellular hydrophobic gate. The mechanistic predictions from molecular dynamics simulations are validated using site-directed mutagenesis experiments. Our simulation also revealed hourglass like intermediate states making the pore radius narrower at the center. This work provides new fundamental insights into how substrate-transporter interactions actively change the free energy landscape of the transport cycle to facilitate enhanced transport activity.</p>


2007 ◽  
Vol 282 (49) ◽  
pp. 36037-36047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stina Lundgren ◽  
Birgit Andersen ◽  
Jure Piškur ◽  
Doreen Dobritzsch

β-Alanine synthase is the final enzyme of the reductive pyrimidine catabolic pathway, which is responsible for the breakdown of uracil and thymine in higher organisms. The fold of the homodimeric enzyme from the yeast Saccharomyces kluyveri identifies it as a member of the AcyI/M20 family of metallopeptidases. Its subunit consists of a catalytic domain harboring a di-zinc center and a smaller dimerization domain. The present site-directed mutagenesis studies identify Glu159 and Arg322 as crucial for catalysis and His262 and His397 as functionally important but not essential. We determined the crystal structures of wild-type β-alanine synthase in complex with the reaction product β-alanine, and of the mutant E159A with the substrate N-carbamyl-β-alanine, revealing the closed state of a dimeric AcyI/M20 metallopeptidase-like enzyme. Subunit closure is achieved by a ∼30° rigid body domain rotation, which completes the active site by integration of substrate binding residues that belong to the dimerization domain of the same or the partner subunit. Substrate binding is achieved via a salt bridge, a number of hydrogen bonds, and coordination to one of the zinc ions of the di-metal center.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 124-124
Author(s):  
Samira B. Jeimy ◽  
Rachael A. Woram ◽  
Nola Fuller ◽  
Mary Anne Quinn-Allen ◽  
Gerard Nicolaes ◽  
...  

Abstract Activated coagulation factor V is a key non-enzymatic cofactor that is an essential component of the prothrombinase complex. In blood, much of the procoagulant factor V is stored in platelets, as a complex with the α-granule protein multimerin, for activation-induced release during clot formation. Presently, the molecular nature of multimerin - factor V binding has not been determined, although multimerin is known to interact with the light chain of factor V and Va. Using modified enzyme-linked immunoassays and recombinant factor V constructs, we previously found that discontinuous regions in the C2 domain of factor V were important for binding multimerin, and that these regions overlapped with areas in factor V important for its procoagulant function. Specifically, four (S2183T, W2063A/W2064A, K2060Q/K2061Q, K2060Q/K2061Q/W2063A/ W2064A) full-length, site-directed C2 mutants, and 12 (W2063A, W2064A (W2063, W2064)A, R2074A (R2072, R2074)A (K2101, K2103, K2104)A, L2116A (K2157, H2159, K2161)A, R2171A, R2174A, E2189A (R2187, E2189)A) B domain deleted, charge to alanine constructs had significantly reduced multimerin binding (p&lt; 0.01), relative to the corresponding wild-type. In the present study, we evaluated multimerin-factor V binding with a new assay that used affinity purified, recombinant multimerin immobilized onto microtitre wells to test the binding of recombinant factor V constructs. Because results from the new binding assays were in agreement on the regions of the C2 domain important for multimerin binding, the new assay was used to examine the effect of thrombin on factor V-multimerin binding. Thrombin exposure led to significant dissociation of preformed multimerin-factor V complexes (p&lt;0.01). In addition, thrombin cleaved factor Va had significantly reduced multimerin-binding in assays using antibodies against the factor Va heavy chain and light chain (p&lt;0.01). Recently, our lab identified that platelets contain forms of factor V covalently linked to multimerin via cysteine 1085 in the factor V B-domain. After recombinant factor V was activated by thrombin, there was no detectable binding of the liberated B-domain to multimerin (p&lt;0.001). Nonetheless, the B domain of factor V appeared to enhance factor V binding to multimerin, as factor V constructs synthesized without the B-domain had reduced multimerin binding even after conversion to factor Va, compared to wild-type factor V. Based on the overlap between multimerin-binding and procoagulant, PS binding regions in the C2 domain of factor V, we assessed the effect of multimerin on factor V procoagulant activity in one stage and two stage prothrombinase assays. However, multimerin did not neutralize factor V procoagulant activity when tested in molar excess. Our study indicates that multimerin binding of factor V is modulated by conformational changes in factor V upon activation, and that the factor V B-domain may function to enhance binding to multimerin. The dissociation of multimerin-factor V complexes by thrombin suggests multimerin might be important for delivering and localizing factor V onto platelets, prior to prothrombinase assembly.


1998 ◽  
Vol 333 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil A. RANSON ◽  
Helen E. WHITE ◽  
Helen R. SAIBIL

The molecular chaperones are a diverse set of protein families required for the correct folding, transport and degradation of other proteins in vivo. There has been great progress in understanding the structure and mechanism of action of the chaperonin family, exemplified by Escherichia coli GroEL. The chaperonins are large, double-ring oligomeric proteins that act as containers for the folding of other protein subunits. Together with its co-protein GroES, GroEL binds non-native polypeptides and facilitates their refolding in an ATP-dependent manner. The action of the ATPase cycle causes the substrate-binding surface of GroEL to alternate in character between hydrophobic (binding/unfolding) and hydrophilic (release/folding). ATP binding initiates a series of dramatic conformational changes that bury the substrate-binding sites, lowering the affinity for non-native polypeptide. In the presence of ATP, GroES binds to GroEL, forming a large chamber that encapsulates substrate proteins for folding. For proteins whose folding is absolutely dependent on the full GroE system, ATP binding (but not hydrolysis) in the encapsulating ring is needed to initiate protein folding. Similarly, ATP binding, but not hydrolysis, in the opposite GroEL ring is needed to release GroES, thus opening the chamber. If the released substrate protein is still not correctly folded, it will go through another round of interaction with GroEL.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. eaaz2309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kartik L. Rallapalli ◽  
Alexis C. Komor ◽  
Francesco Paesani

Adenine base editors, which were developed by engineering a transfer RNA adenosine deaminase enzyme (TadA) into a DNA editing enzyme (TadA*), enable precise modification of A:T to G⋮C base pairs. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations to uncover the structural and functional roles played by the initial mutations in the onset of the DNA editing activity by TadA*. Atomistic insights reveal that early mutations lead to intricate conformational changes in the structure of TadA*. In particular, the first mutation, Asp108Asn, induces an enhancement in the binding affinity of TadA to DNA. In silico and in vivo reversion analyses verify the importance of this single mutation in imparting functional promiscuity to TadA* and demonstrate that TadA* performs DNA base editing as a monomer rather than a dimer.


1999 ◽  
Vol 337 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulu A. BRIX ◽  
Ronald G. DUGGLEBY ◽  
Andrea GAEDIGK ◽  
Michael E. McMANUS

Human aryl sulphotransferase (HAST) 1, HAST3, HAST4 and HAST4v share greater than 90% sequence identity, but vary markedly in their ability to catalyse the sulphonation of dopamine and p-nitrophenol. In order to investigate the amino acid(s) involved in determining differing substrate specificities of HASTs, a range of chimaeric HAST proteins were constructed. Analysis of chimaeric substrate specificities showed that enzyme affinities are mainly determined within the N-terminal end of each HAST protein, which includes two regions of high sequence divergence, termed Regions A (amino acids 44–107) and B (amino acids 132–164). To investigate the substrate-binding sites of HASTs further, site-directed mutagenesis was performed on HAST1 to change 13 individual residues within these two regions to the HAST3 equivalent. A single amino acid change in HAST1 (A146E) was able to change the specificity for p-nitrophenol to that of HAST3. The substrate specificity of HAST1 towards dopamine could not be converted into that of HAST3 with a single amino acid change. However, compared with wild-type HAST1, a number of the mutations resulted in interference with substrate binding, as shown by elevated Ki values towards the co-substrate 3´-phosphoadenosine 5´-phosphosulphate, and in some cases loss of activity towards dopamine. These findings suggest that a co-ordinated change of multiple amino acids in HAST proteins is needed to alter the substrate specificities of these enzymes towards dopamine, whereas a single amino acid at position 146 determines p-nitrophenol affinity. A HAST1 mutant was constructed to express a protein with four amino acids deleted (P87–P90). These amino acids were hypothesized to correspond to a loop region in close proximity to the substrate-binding pocket. Interestingly, the protein showed substrate specificities more similar to wild-type HAST3 than HAST1 and indicates an important role of these amino acids in substrate binding.


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