Dihydrohpoamide acetyl transferase (E2), a catalytic and structural component of a multienzyme complex that catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate, forms the central core to which the other components are bound. We have utilized protein engineering and 3-D electron microscopy to study the structural organization of the largest multienzyme complex known (Mr ∼ 107). The structures of the truncated 60-mer core (tE2) and complexes of the tE2 associated with a binding protein (BP), and the BP associated with its dihydrohpoamide dehydrogenase (BP'E3) and the intact E2 associated with BP and the pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1) were determined (Figs. 1 and 2). The tE2 core is a pentagonal dodecahedron consisting of 20 cone-shaped trimers interconnected by 30 bridges.Previous studies have given rise to the generally accepted belief that BP and BP'E3 components are bound on the outside of the E2 scaffold and that E1 is similarly bound to the core in variable positions by flexible tethers.
Direct Evidence for the Size and Conformational Variability of the Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Revealed by Three-dimensional Electron Microscopy
