Elinor T. Adman

Copper protein structures.

The structural comparison of copper-containing proteins has provided a new dimension to the relationships suggested by sequence similarities. Ryden (1988) summarized the putative relationships, suggesting that a primordial single-domain cupredoxin evolved into the multidomain copper oxidases. The structures have revealed the fact that the differences reside primarily in insertions and deletions at junctions between secondary-structure elements. The mechanism of evolution (e.g., integration of new sequences into regions not essential to the Greek key fold) remains unknown. Which of the properties of a cupredoxin fold are necessary for function is the subject of site-directed mutagenesis studies. Can two of the ligands be interchanged (e.g., the upstream histidine and partially answered by the multidomain copper oxidase structure. The Tyr-Cys-Thr sequence in plastocyanin (in which threonine is a member of the hydrogen-bonding pair) is homologous with the His-Cys-His sequence in ascorbate oxidase. In the latter electron transfer is believed to flow from the type I copper (bound by the cysteine) to the trinuclear cluster, probably via these histidine residues. Hence, one might infer that the tyrosine and threonine have some role in electron transfer. Tyr-83 has been previously implicated in NMR studies as a primary site of electron transfer. The multi-copper protein structures have revealed interesting new features. The extra coppers are bound at domain interfaces, and can be single metals or the novel trinuclear cluster, depending on the availability of liganding histidines. A structural model of ceruloplasmin suggests that it will have at least two type I sites and, possibly, a third type I site such as stellacyanin (no methionine ligand), as well as a binding site for a trinuclear cluster. The similarity of the sequences of N2O reductases and a domain of cytochrome oxidase to the sequences of proteins with known structures suggests that these, too, will have Greek key domains. Galactose oxidase and hemocyanin do not have Greek key folds in their functional domains, although each does have a Greek key domain. The need for a Greek key fold remains obscure. The apoproteins are clearly stable without metals; there are examples other than immunoglobulins of Greek key folds. So far copper seems to be found in a very limited subset of structures; other chapters in this volume show that zinc, for example, has a much wider variety of environments in proteins, as does iron. It may be that the copper-containing Greek key proteins represent a very small evolutionary niche.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

A crystallographic model for azurin at 3 Å resolution

Abstract The structure of the blue copper protein azurin (Mr 14,000) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been determined from a 3.0 A resolution electron density map computed with phases based on a uranyl derivative to 3 A resolution and a platinum derivative to 3.7 A. Interpretation of the somewhat noisy map was based on comparison of the density of the four molecules in the asymmetric unit with their averaged density. The polypeptide chain folds into an eight-strand β barrel with an additional flap containing a short helix. The copper atom is bound at one end and on the inside of the barrel, probably to a cysteine, a methionine, and two histidine residues.

Structure of nitrite bound to copper-containing nitrite reductase from Alcaligenes faecalis. Mechanistic implications.

The structures of oxidized, reduced, nitrite-soaked oxidized and nitrite-soaked reduced nitrite reductase from Alcaligenes faecalis have been determined at 1.8–2.0 Å resolution using data collected at −160 °C. The active site at cryogenic temperature, as at room temperature, contains a tetrahedral type II copper site liganded by three histidines and a water molecule. The solvent site is empty when crystals are reduced with ascorbate. A fully occupied oxygen-coordinate nitrite occupies the solvent site in crystals soaked in nitrite. Ascorbate-reduced crystals soaked in a glycerol-methanol solution and nitrite at −40 °C remain colorless at −160 °C but turn amber-brown when warmed, suggesting that NO is released. Nitrite is found at one-half occupancy. Five new solvent sites in the oxidized nitrite bound form exhibit defined but different occupancies in the other three forms. These results support a previously proposed mechanism by which nitrite is bound primarily by a single oxygen atom that is protonable, and after reduction and cleavage of that N–O bond, NO is released leaving the oxygen atom bound to the Cu site as hydroxide or water.

A Single Highly Mutable Catalytic Site Amino Acid Is Critical for DNA Polymerase Fidelity

DNA polymerases contain active sites that are structurally superimposable and conserved in amino acid sequence. To probe the biochemical and structure-function relationship of DNA polymerases, a large library (200,000 members) of mutant Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase I (Taq pol I) was created containing random substitutions within a portion of the dNTP binding site (Motif A; amino acids 605–617), and a fraction of all selected active Taq pol I (291 out of 8000) was tested for base pairing fidelity; seven unique mutants that efficiently misincorporate bases and/or extend mismatched bases were identified and sequenced. These mutants all contain substitutions of one specific amino acid, Ile-614, which forms part of the hydrophobic pocket that binds the base and ribose portions of the incoming nucleotide. Mutant Taqpol Is containing hydrophilic substitution I614K exhibit 10-fold lower base misincorporation fidelity, as well as a high propensity to extend mispairs. In addition, these low fidelity mutants containing hydrophilic substitution for Ile-614 can bypass damaged templates that include an abasic site and vinyl chloride adduct ethenoA. During polymerase chain reaction, Taq pol I mutant I614K exhibits an error rate that is >20-fold higher relative to the wild-type enzyme and efficiently catalyzes both transition and transversion errors. These studies have generated polymerase chain reaction-proficient mutant polymerases containing substitutions within the active site that confers low base pairing fidelity and a high error rate. Considering the structural and sequence conservation of Motif A, it is likely that a similar substitution will yield active low fidelity DNA polymerases that are mutagenic.

Refined crystal structure of ferredoxin II from Desulfovibrio gigas at 1·7 Å☆

The crystal structure of ferredoxin II from Desulfovibrio gigas has been determined using phasing from anomalous scattering data at a resolution of 1.7 A and refined to an R-factor of 0.157. The molecule has an overall chain fold similar to that of the other bacterial ferredoxins of known structure. The molecule contains a single 3Fe-4S cluster with geometry indistinguishable from the 4Fe-4S clusters, and a disulfide bond near the site corresponding to the position of the second cluster of two-cluster ferredoxins. The cluster is bound by cysteine residues 8, 14 and 50. The side-chain of cysteine 11 extends away from the cluster, but could rotate to become the fourth cysteine ligand in the four-iron form of the molecule given a local adjustment of the polypeptide chain. This residue is modified, however, by what appears to be a methanethiol group. There are a total of eight NH . . . S bonds to the inorganic and cysteine sulfur atoms of the Fe-S cluster. There is an additional residue found that is not reported for the chemical sequence: according to the electron density a valine residue should be inserted after residue 55.

NEW HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS, TYPE 1 REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE (HIV-1 RT) MUTANTS WITH INCREASED FIDELITY OF DNA SYNTHESIS: ACCURACY, TEMPLATE BINDING , AND PROCESSIVITY

Infidelity of DNA synthesis by human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1 RT) is a presumptive determinant of HIV-1 hypervariability and is incompletely understood at the mechanistic and structural levels. Amino acid substitution at only three residues, including Asp-76 (Kim, B., Hathaway, T. R., and Loeb, L. A. (1996)Biochemistry 37, 5831–5839), is known to increase fidelity. We report here that substitution at Arg-78 can also increase accuracy. Mutant R78A RT showed reduced primer extension in misincorporation assays lacking a complementary dNTP and exhibited a 9-fold decrease in mutation frequency in the M13mp2 lacZforward mutation assay. Previous structural studies indicate that Arg-78 and Asp-76 lie in a region that interacts with template nucleotides. Interestingly, R78A RT exhibited 6- to 8-fold decreases in binding affinity (K d ) for RNA and DNA templates relative to wild type RT. In contrast, D76V RT, which also increases fidelity (Kim et al., 1996), showed a 6- to 7-fold increased affinity. The processivity of R78A RT on both RNA and DNA templates was substantially reduced relative to wild type RT, whereas the processivity of D76V RT was increased. We discuss relationships of fidelity, template binding, and processivity in these and other HIV RT mutants.

Thermus aquaticus DNA Polymerase I Mutants with Altered Fidelity INTERACTING MUTATIONS IN THE O-HELIX

Phe667 in the conserved O-helix of Thermus aquaticus (Taq) DNA polymerase I (pol I) is known to be important for discrimination against dideoxy-NTPs. We show here that Phe667 is also important for base selection fidelity. In a forward mutation assay at high polymerase concentration, wild type pol I catalyzed frequent A → T and G → T transversions and −1 frameshifts at nonreiterated sites involving loss of a purine immediately downstream of a pyrimidine. The mutants F667L and A661E,I665T,F667L exhibited large decreases in A → T and G → T transversions, and the triple mutant displayed reduction in the aforementioned −1 frameshifts as well. Kinetic analysis showed that the F667L and A661E,I665T,F667L polymerases discriminated against synthesis of A:A mispairs more effectively and catalyzed less extension of A:A mispairs than the wild type enzyme. These data indicate that Phe667 functions in maintaining the error frequency and spectrum, and the catalytic efficiency, of wild type pol I. We also found that the strong general mutator activity conferred by the single A661E substitution was entirely suppressed in the A661E, I665T,F667L polymerase, exemplifying how interactions among O-helix residues can contribute to fidelity. We discuss the mutator and anti-mutator mutations in light of recently obtained three-dimensional structures of T. aquaticus pol I.

A structural model of rubredoxin from Desulfovibrio vulgaris at 2 A resolution.

The structure of the iron-sulfur protein rubredoxin from Desulfovibrio vulgaris has been determined from X-ray diffraction data by the molecular replacement method. The starting model was derived from the one for Clostridium pasteurianum rubredoxin on the basis of atoms common to the two rubredoxins according to the chemical sequence. Partial refinement has been carried out by difference Fourier methods with 350 of the 389 atoms in the molecule, the conventional R factor being 0·31 for the 2 A resolution data set. Positions have been found for most of the remaining atoms. The two rubredoxin structures differ mainly in groups on the surface of the molecule, no major differences in conformation or internal hydrogen bonding being apparent at this point.

Structure of Alcaligenes faecalis nitrite reductase and a copper site mutant, M150E, that contains zinc.

The structures at 2.0 and 2.25 A resolution of native and recombinant nitrite reductase from Alcaligenes faecalis show that they are identical to each other and very similar to nitrite reductase from Achromobacter cycloclastes. The crystallographic structure of a mutant, M150E, which unlike the wild-type protein cannot be reduced by pseudoazurin, shows that the glutamate replacement for methionine binds to a metal at the type I Cu site via only one oxygen. Anomalous scattering data collected at wavelengths of 1.040 and 1.377 A reveal that the metal at the type I site is a Zn. No significant differences from the native structure other than local perturbations at the type I site are seen. A local pseudo 2-fold axis relates the two domains of different monomers which form the active site. The two residues, Asp98 and His255, believed to be involved in catalysis are related by this 2-fold. An unusual (+)-(+) charge interaction between Lys269, Glu279, and His100 helps to orient the active site Cu ligand, His100. A number of negatively charged surface residues create an electrostatic field whose shape suggests that it may serve to direct incoming negatively charged nitrite as well as to dock the electron donor partner, pseudoazurin.

1.3-Å Resolution structure of human glutathione S-transferase with S-hexyl glutathione bound reveals possible extended ligandin binding site

Cytosolic glutathione S‐transferases (GSTs) play a critical role in xenobiotic binding and metabolism, as well as in modulation of oxidative stress. Here, the high‐resolution X‐ray crystal structures of homodimeric human GSTA1‐1 in the apo form and in complex with S‐hexyl glutathione (two data sets) are reported at 1.8, 1.5, and 1.3Å respectively. At this level of resolution, distinct conformations of the alkyl chain of S‐hexyl glutathione are observed, reflecting the nonspecific nature of the hydrophobic substrate binding site (H‐site). Also, an extensive network of ordered water, including 75 discrete solvent molecules, traverses the open subunit–subunit interface and connects the glutathione binding sites in each subunit. In the highest‐resolution structure, three glycerol moieties lie within this network and directly connect the amino termini of the glutathione molecules. A search for ligand binding sites with the docking program Molecular Operating Environment identified the ordered water network binding site, lined mainly with hydrophobic residues, suggesting an extended ligand binding surface for nonsubstrate ligands, the so‐called ligandin site. Finally, detailed comparison of the structures reported here with previously published X‐ray structures reveal a possible reaction coordinate for ligand‐dependent conformational changes in the active site and the C‐terminus. Proteins 2002;48:618–627.