ACTIVE SITE PREDICTION FOR COMPARATIVE MODEL STRUCTURES WITH THEMATICS

2005 ◽  
Vol 03 (01) ◽  
pp. 127-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
IHSAN A. SHEHADI ◽  
ALEXEJ ABYZOV ◽  
ALPER UZUN ◽  
YING WEI ◽  
LEONEL F. MURGA ◽  
...  

THEMATICS (Theoretical Microscopic Titration Curves) is a simple, reliable computational predictor of the active sites of enzymes from structure. Our method, based on well-established Finite Difference Poisson–Boltzmann techniques, identifies the ionisable residues with anomalous predicted titration behavior. A cluster of two or more such perturbed residues is a very reliable predictor of the active site. The protein does not have to bear any resemblance in sequence or structure to any previously characterized protein, but the method does require the three-dimensional structure. We now present evidence that THEMATICS can also locate the active site in structures built by comparative modeling from similar structures. Results are given for a total of 21 sets of proteins, including 21 templates and 83 comparative model structures. Detailed results are presented for three sets of orthologous proteins (Triosephosphate isomerase, 6-Hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin pyrophosphokinase, and Aspartate aminotransferase) and for one set of human homologues of Aldose reductase with different functions. THEMATICS correctly locates the active site in the model structures. This suggests that the method can be applicable to a much larger set of proteins for which an experimentally determined structure is unavailable. With a few exceptions, the predicted active sites in the comparative model structures are similar to that of the corresponding template structure.

2022 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. e2109235119
Author(s):  
Jacob B. Holmes ◽  
Viktoriia Liu ◽  
Bethany G. Caulkins ◽  
Eduardo Hilario ◽  
Rittik K. Ghosh ◽  
...  

NMR-assisted crystallography—the integrated application of solid-state NMR, X-ray crystallography, and first-principles computational chemistry—holds significant promise for mechanistic enzymology: by providing atomic-resolution characterization of stable intermediates in enzyme active sites, including hydrogen atom locations and tautomeric equilibria, NMR crystallography offers insight into both structure and chemical dynamics. Here, this integrated approach is used to characterize the tryptophan synthase α-aminoacrylate intermediate, a defining species for pyridoxal-5′-phosphate–dependent enzymes that catalyze β-elimination and replacement reactions. For this intermediate, NMR-assisted crystallography is able to identify the protonation states of the ionizable sites on the cofactor, substrate, and catalytic side chains as well as the location and orientation of crystallographic waters within the active site. Most notable is the water molecule immediately adjacent to the substrate β-carbon, which serves as a hydrogen bond donor to the ε-amino group of the acid–base catalytic residue βLys87. From this analysis, a detailed three-dimensional picture of structure and reactivity emerges, highlighting the fate of the L-serine hydroxyl leaving group and the reaction pathway back to the preceding transition state. Reaction of the α-aminoacrylate intermediate with benzimidazole, an isostere of the natural substrate indole, shows benzimidazole bound in the active site and poised for, but unable to initiate, the subsequent bond formation step. When modeled into the benzimidazole position, indole is positioned with C3 in contact with the α-aminoacrylate Cβ and aligned for nucleophilic attack. Here, the chemically detailed, three-dimensional structure from NMR-assisted crystallography is key to understanding why benzimidazole does not react, while indole does.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A.E. Naas ◽  
A.K. MacKenzie ◽  
B. Dalhus ◽  
V.G.H. Eijsink ◽  
P.B. Pope

Abstract Previous gene-centric analysis of a cow rumen metagenome revealed the first potentially cellulolytic polysaccharide utilization locus, of which the main catalytic enzyme (AC2aCel5A) was identified as a glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 5 endo-cellulase. Here we present the 1.8 Å three-dimensional structure of AC2aCel5A and characterization of its enzymatic activities. The enzyme possesses the archetypical (β/α)8-barrel found throughout the GH5 family and contains the two strictly conserved catalytic glutamates located at the C-terminal ends of β-strands 4 and 7. The enzyme is active on insoluble cellulose and acts exclusively on linear β-(1,4)-linked glucans. Co-crystallization of a catalytically inactive mutant with substrate yielded a 2.4 Å structure showing cellotriose bound in the −3 to −1 subsites. Additional electron density was observed between Trp178 and Trp254, two residues that form a hydrophobic “clamp”, potentially interacting with sugars at the +1 and +2 subsites. The enzyme’s active-site cleft was narrower compared to the closest structural relatives, which in contrast to AC2aCel5A, are also active on xylans, mannans and/or xyloglucans. Interestingly, the structure and function of this enzyme seem adapted to less-substituted substrates such as cellulose, presumably due to the insufficient space to accommodate the side-chains of branched glucans in the active-site cleft.


1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Heckel ◽  
K M Hasselbach

Up to now the three-dimensional structure of t-PA or parts of this enzyme is unknown. Using computer graphical methods the spatial structure of the enzymatic part of t-PA is predicted on the hypothesis, the three-dimensional backbone structure of t-PA being similar to that of other serine proteases. The t-PA model was built up in three steps:1) Alignment of the t-PA sequence with other serine proteases. Comparison of enzyme structures available from Brookhaven Protein Data Bank proved elastase as a basis for modeling.2) Exchange of amino acids of elastase differing from the t-PA sequence. The replacement of amino acids was performed such that backbone atoms overlapp completely and side chains superpose as far as possible.3) Modeling of insertions and deletions. To determine the spatial arrangement of insertions and deletions parts of related enzymes such as chymotrypsin or trypsin were used whenever possible. Otherwise additional amino acid sequences were folded to a B-turn at the surface of the proteine, where all insertions or deletions are located. Finally the side chain torsion angles of amino acids were optimised to prevent close contacts of neigh bouring atoms and to improve hydrogen bonds and salt bridges.The resulting model was used to explain binding of arginine 560 of plasminogen to the active site of t-PA. Arginine 560 interacts with Asp 189, Gly 19 3, Ser 19 5 and Ser 214 of t-PA (chymotrypsin numbering). Furthermore interaction of chromo-genic substrate S 2288 with the active site of t-PA was studied. The need for D-configuration of the hydrophobic amino acid at the N-terminus of this tripeptide derivative could be easily explained.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinrong Lu ◽  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Huiyuan Gao ◽  
Wenquan Cui

Three-dimensional PANI/CdSNRs-SiO2 hydrogel (CdS NRs-PANI-SiO2) was synthesized by loading polyaniline (PANI) onto the semiconductor CdS nanorods (NRs) surface and loading the binary complex on SiO2 gel. The structure, optical properties, and electrochemical properties of the composite were studied in detail. The hydrogen production amount of CdS NRs-PANI (3%)-SiO2 (20%) increased in comparison with CdS NRs and reached 43.25 mmol/g in 3 h under visible light. The three-dimensional structure of SiO2 hydrogel increased the specific surface area of the catalyst, which was conducive to exposing more active sites of the catalyst. In addition, the conductive polymer PANI coated on CdS NRs played the role of conductive charge and effectively inhibited the photo-corrosion of CdS NRs. In addition, the recovery experiment showed that the recovery rate of the composite catalyst reached 90% and hydrogen production efficiency remained unchanged after five cycles, indicating that the composite catalyst had excellent stability.


1998 ◽  
Vol 333 (3) ◽  
pp. 811-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio PÁRRAGA ◽  
Isabel GARCÍA-SÁEZ ◽  
Sinead B. WALSH ◽  
Timothy J. MANTLE ◽  
Miquel COLL

The structure of mouse liver glutathione S-transferase P1-1 complexed with its substrate glutathione (GSH) has been determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. No conformational changes in the glutathione moiety or in the protein, other than small adjustments of some side chains, are observed when compared with glutathione adduct complexes. Our structure confirms that the role of Tyr-7 is to stabilize the thiolate by hydrogen bonding and to position it in the right orientation. A comparison of the enzyme–GSH structure reported here with previously described structures reveals rearrangements in a well-defined network of water molecules in the active site. One of these water molecules (W0), identified in the unliganded enzyme (carboxymethylated at Cys-47), is displaced by the binding of GSH, and a further water molecule (W4) is displaced following the binding of the electrophilic substrate and the formation of the glutathione conjugate. The possibility that one of these water molecules participates in the proton abstraction from the glutathione thiol is discussed.


1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 1123-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
K M Ruppel ◽  
J A Spudich

We used random mutagenesis to create 21 point mutations in a highly conserved region of the motor domain of Dictyostelium myosin and classified them into three distinct groups based on the ability to complement myosin null cell phenotypes: wild type, intermediate, and null. Biochemical analysis of the mutated myosins also revealed three classes of mutants that correlated well with the phenotypic classification. The mutated myosins that were not fully functional showed defects ranging from ATP nonhydrolyzers to myosins whose enzymatic and mechanical properties are uncoupled. Placement of the mutations onto the three-dimensional structure of myosin showed that the mutated region lay along the cleft that separates the active site from the actin-binding domain and that has been shown to move in response to changes at the active site. These results demonstrate that this region of myosin plays a key role in transduction of chemical energy to mechanical displacement.


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