Masahiro Fujihashi

Crystal structure of cis-prenyl chain elongating enzyme, undecaprenyl diphosphate synthase

Undecaprenyl diphosphate synthase (UPS) catalyzes the cis-prenyl chain elongation onto trans, trans-farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) to produce undecaprenyl diphosphate (UPP), which is indispensable for the biosynthesis of bacterial cell walls. We report here the crystal structure of UPS as the only three-dimensional structure among cis-prenyl chain elongating enzymes. The structure is classified into a protein fold family and is completely different from the so-called “isoprenoid synthase fold” that is believed to be a common structure for the enzymes relating to isoprenoid biosynthesis. Conserved amino acid residues among cis-prenyl chain elongating enzymes are located around a large hydrophobic cleft in the UPS structure. A structural P-loop motif, which frequently appears in the various kinds of phosphate binding site, is found at the entrance of this cleft. The catalytic site is determined on the basis of these structural features, from which a possible reaction mechanism is proposed.

The Crystal Structure of (S)-3-O-Geranylgeranylglyceryl Phosphate Synthase Reveals an Ancient Fold for an Ancient Enzyme

We report crystal structures of the citrate and sn-glycerol-1-phosphate (G1P) complexes of (S)-3-O-geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase from Archaeoglobus fulgidus (AfGGGPS) at 1.55 and 2.0 Å resolution, respectively. AfGGGPS is an enzyme that performs the committed step in archaeal lipid biosynthesis, and it presents the first triose phosphate isomerase (TIM)-barrel structure with a prenyltransferase function. Our studies provide insight into the catalytic mechanism of AfGGGPS and demonstrate how it selects for the sn-G1P isomer. The replacement of “Helix 3” by a “strand” in AfGGGPS, a novel modification to the canonical TIM-barrel fold, suggests a model of enzyme adaptation that involves a “greasy slide” and a “swinging door.” We propose functions for the homologous PcrB proteins, which are conserved in a subset of pathogenic bacteria, as either prenyltransferases or being involved in lipoteichoic acid biosynthesis. Sequence and structural comparisons lead us to postulate an early evolutionary history for AfGGGPS, which may highlight its role in the emergence of Archaea.

Crystal structure of human cyclophilin D in complex with its inhibitor, cyclosporin A at 0.96‐Å resolution

Crystal structure of human cyclophilin D in complex with its inhibitor, cyclosporin A at 0.96-Å resolution Kenji Kajitani, Masahiro Fujihashi, Yukiko Kobayashi, Shigeomi Shimizu, Yoshihide Tsujimoto, and Kunio Miki* 1Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan 2 Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Department of Medical Genetics, Osaka University Medical School and SORST of JST, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan

Structure and Mutation Analysis of Archaeal Geranylgeranyl Reductase

The crystal structure of geranylgeranyl reductase (GGR) from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius was determined in order to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the catalytic reaction. The enzyme is a flavoprotein and is involved in saturation of the double bonds on the isoprenoid moiety of archaeal membranes. The structure determined in this study belongs to the p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase family in the glutathione reductase superfamily. GGR functions as a monomer and is divided into the FAD-binding, catalytic and C-terminal domains. The catalytic domain has a large cavity surrounded by a characteristic YxWxFPx(7-8)GxG motif and by the isoalloxazine ring of an FAD molecule. The cavity holds a lipid molecule, which is probably derived from Escherichia coli cells used for over-expression. One of the two forms of the structure clarifies the presence of an anion pocket holding a pyrophosphate molecule, which might anchor the phosphate head of the natural ligands. Mutational analysis supports the suggestion that the three aromatic residues of the YxWxFPx(7-8)GxG motif hold the ligand in the appropriate position for reduction. Cys47, which is widely conserved in GGRs, is located at the si-side of the isoalloxazine ring of FAD and is shown by mutational analysis to be involved in catalysis. The catalytic cycle, including the FAD reducing factor binding site, is proposed on the basis of the detailed analysis of the structure.

Dynamic, ligand-dependent conformational change triggers reaction of ribose-1,5-bisphosphate isomerase from Thermococcus kodakarensis KOD1

Background: Ribose-1,5-bisphosphate isomerase (R15Pi) converts ribose 1,5-bisphosphate into ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate in a novel AMP metabolic pathway. Results: Crystal structures of reaction-ready and -completed states are determined. Conclusion: R15Pi undergoes an open-closed conformational change upon substrate binding, and the reaction proceeds via a cis-phosphoenolate intermediate. Significance: The mechanism of ribose isomerization revealed in this study could be applied on other 1-phosphorylated ribose isomerases. Ribose-1,5-bisphosphate isomerase (R15Pi) is a novel enzyme recently identified as a member of an AMP metabolic pathway in archaea. The enzyme converts d-ribose 1,5-bisphosphate into ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate, providing the substrate for archaeal ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenases. We here report the crystal structures of R15Pi from Thermococcus kodakarensis KOD1 (Tk-R15Pi) with and without its substrate or product. Tk-R15Pi is a hexameric enzyme formed by the trimerization of dimer units. Biochemical analyses show that Tk-R15Pi only accepts the α-anomer of d-ribose 1,5-bisphosphate and that Cys133 and Asp202 residues are essential for ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate production. Comparison of the determined structures reveals that the unliganded and product-binding structures are in an open form, whereas the substrate-binding structure adopts a closed form, indicating domain movement upon substrate binding. The conformational change to the closed form optimizes active site configuration and also isolates the active site from the solvent, which may allow deprotonation of Cys133 and protonation of Asp202 to occur. The structural features of the substrate-binding form and biochemical evidence lead us to propose that the isomerase reaction proceeds via a cis-phosphoenolate intermediate.

Crystal structure of heterodimeric hexaprenyl diphosphate synthase from Micrococcus luteus B-P 26 reveals that the small subunit is directly involved in the product chain length regulation.

Hexaprenyl diphosphate synthase from Micrococcus luteus B-P 26 (Ml-HexPPs) is a heterooligomeric type trans-prenyltransferase catalyzing consecutive head-to-tail condensations of three molecules of isopentenyl diphosphates (C5) on a farnesyl diphosphate (FPP; C15) to form an (all-E) hexaprenyl diphosphate (HexPP; C30). Ml-HexPPs is known to function as a heterodimer of two different subunits, small and large subunits called HexA and HexB, respectively. Compared with homooligomeric trans-prenyltransferases, the molecular mechanism of heterooligomeric trans-prenyltransferases is not yet clearly understood, particularly with respect to the role of the small subunits lacking the catalytic motifs conserved in most known trans-prenyltransferases. We have determined the crystal structure of Ml-HexPPs both in the substrate-free form and in complex with 7,11-dimethyl-2,6,10-dodecatrien-1-yl diphosphate ammonium salt (3-DesMe-FPP), an analog of FPP. The structure of HexB is composed of mostly antiparallel α-helices joined by connecting loops. Two aspartate-rich motifs (designated the first and second aspartate-rich motifs) and the other characteristic motifs in HexB are located around the diphosphate part of 3-DesMe-FPP. Despite the very low amino acid sequence identity and the distinct polypeptide chain lengths between HexA and HexB, the structure of HexA is quite similar to that of HexB. The aliphatic tail of 3-DesMe-FPP is accommodated in a large hydrophobic cleft starting from HexB and penetrating to the inside of HexA. These structural features suggest that HexB catalyzes the condensation reactions and that HexA is directly involved in the product chain length control in cooperation with HexB.

Structural characterization of a ligand-bound form of Bacillus subtilis FadR involved in the regulation of fatty acid degradation.

Bacillus subtilis FadR (FadRBs), a member of the TetR family of bacterial transcriptional regulators, represses five fad operons including 15 genes, most of which are involved in β‐oxidation of fatty acids. FadRBs binds to the five FadRBs boxes in the promoter regions and the binding is specifically inhibited by long‐chain (C14–C20) acyl‐CoAs, causing derepression of the fad operons. To elucidate the structural mechanism of this regulator, we have determined the crystal structures of FadRBs proteins prepared with and without stearoyl(C18)‐CoA. The crystal structure without adding any ligand molecules unexpectedly includes one small molecule, probably dodecyl(C12)‐CoA derived from the Escherichia coli host, in its homodimeric structure. Also, we successfully obtained the structure of the ligand‐bound form of the FadRBs dimer by co‐crystallization, in which two stearoyl‐CoA molecules are accommodated, with the binding mode being essentially equivalent to that of dodecyl‐CoA. Although the acyl‐chain‐binding cavity of FadRBs is mainly hydrophobic, a hydrophilic patch encompasses the C1–C10 carbons of the acyl chain. This accounts for the previous report that the DNA binding of FadRBs is specifically inhibited by the long‐chain acyl‐CoAs but not by the shorter ones. Structural comparison of the ligand‐bound and unliganded subunits of FadRBs revealed three regions around residues 21–31, 61–76, and 106–119 that were substantially changed in response to the ligand binding, and particularly with respect to the movements of Leu108 and Arg109. Site‐directed mutagenesis of these residues revealed that Arg109, but not Leu108, is a key residue for maintenance of the DNA‐binding affinity of FadRBs. Proteins 2014; 82:1301–1310.

Structure-based catalytic optimization of a type III Rubisco from a hyperthermophile

The Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle is responsible for carbon dioxide fixation in all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. The enzyme that catalyzes the carbon dioxide-fixing reaction is ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco). Rubisco from a hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis (Tk-Rubisco) belongs to the type III group, and shows high activity at high temperatures. We have previously found that replacement of the entire α-helix 6 of Tk-Rubisco with the corresponding region of the spinach enzyme (SP6 mutant) results in an improvement of catalytic performance at mesophilic temperatures, both in vivo and in vitro, whereas the former and latter half-replacements of the α-helix 6 (SP4 and SP5 mutants) do not yield such improvement. We report here the crystal structures of the wild-type Tk-Rubisco and the mutants SP4 and SP6, and discuss the relationships between their structures and enzymatic activities. A comparison among these structures shows the movement and the increase of temperature factors of α-helix 6 induced by four essential factors. We thus supposed that an increase in the flexibility of the α-helix 6 and loop 6 regions was important to increase the catalytic activity of Tk-Rubisco at ambient temperatures. Based on this structural information, we constructed a new mutant, SP5-V330T, which was designed to have significantly greater flexibility in the above region, and it proved to exhibit the highest activity among all mutants examined to date. The thermostability of the SP5-V330T mutant was lower than that of wild-type Tk-Rubisco, providing further support on the relationship between flexibility and activity at ambient temperatures.

Involvement of Tyrosines at Fucose-binding Sites of Aleuria aurantia Lectin : Non-equal Response to Site-directed Mutagenesis among Five Sites

Since the involvement of Tyr residues in the fucose-binding of Aleuria aurantia lectin (AAL) was proved by chemical modification using the Tyr-specific reagent tetranitromethane, site-directed mutagenesis was attempted. Since the tertiary structure of AAL was determined recently to be a six-bladed β-propeller fold, and five fucose-binding sites per subunit were found, based on positions of Tyr residues in the tertiary structure, three classes of mutants were constructed: 1) Tyr on the 2nd β-strand of each blade (β-2 mutants), 2) Tyr or Trp on the 3rd β-strand (β-3 mutants), and 3) Tyr outside of binding sites (other-Y mutants). The mutagenized cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli as His-tag-AAL, and the hemagglutinating activity was assayed. Among 14 mutants, three β-2 mutants (Y26A, Y79A, and Y181A), and three β-3 mutants (Y92A, W149A, and Y241A) showed decreased activity. These mutated residues resided at Sites 1, 2, and 4, at the same locations relatively in the binding sites. Mutagenesis of Tyr or Trp at the corresponding locations in Sites 3 and 5 did not lead to a reduction in activity. Results indicate that the properties of Sites 1, 2, and 4 are different from those of Sites 3 and 5, and that the contribution of these two sites to the hemagglutination reaction was minor.

Atomic resolution structure of the orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase product complex combined with surface plasmon resonance analysis: implications for the catalytic mechanism.

Background: Low binding affinity of product UMP is used to argue against substrate distortion contributing to orotidine-5′-monophosphate decarboxylase catalysis. Results: Atomic resolution structure and surface plasmon resonance analysis reveal strong repulsion between active site residue and UMP. Conclusion: Low UMP affinity does not disprove contribution of substrate distortion to catalysis. Significance: Substrate distortion can still be considered as a mechanistic feature of this most proficient enzyme. Orotidine 5′-monophosphate decarboxylase (ODCase) accelerates the decarboxylation of its substrate by 17 orders of magnitude. One argument brought forward against steric/electrostatic repulsion causing substrate distortion at the carboxylate substituent as part of the catalysis has been the weak binding affinity of the decarboxylated product (UMP). The crystal structure of the UMP complex of ODCase at atomic resolution (1.03 Å) shows steric competition between the product UMP and the side chain of a catalytic lysine residue. Surface plasmon resonance analysis indicates that UMP binds 5 orders of magnitude more tightly to a mutant in which the interfering side chain has been removed than to wild-type ODCase. These results explain the low affinity of UMP and counter a seemingly very strong argument against a contribution of substrate distortion to the catalytic reaction mechanism of ODCase.