• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.23 no.12
• /
• pp.1699-1707
• /
• 2013

During the fermentative production of 1,3-propanediol under high substrate concentrations, accumulation of intracellular 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde will cause premature cessation of cell growth and glycerol consumption. Discovery of oxidoreductases that can convert 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde to 1,3-propanediol using NADPH as cofactor could serve as a solution to this problem. In this paper, the yqhD gene from Klebsiella pneumoniae DSM2026, which was found encoding an aldehyde reductase (KpAR), was cloned and characterized. KpAR showed broad substrate specificity under physiological direction, whereas no catalytic activity was detected in the oxidation direction, and both NADPH and NADH can be utilized as cofactors. The cofactor binding mechanism was then investigated employing homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulations. Hydrogen-bond analysis showed that the hydrogen-bond interactions between KpAR and NADPH are much stronger than that for NADH. Free-energy decomposition dedicated that residues Gly37 to Val41 contribute most to the cofactor preference through polar interactions. In conclusion, this work provides a novel aldehyde reductase that has potential applications in the development of novel genetically engineered strains in the 1,3-propanediol industry, and gives a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in cofactor binding.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.226-232
• /
• 2016

Dihydrodipicolinate reductase is an enzyme that converts dihydrodipicolinate to tetrahydrodipicolinate using an NAD(P)H cofactor in L-lysine biosynthesis. To increase the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of lysine biosynthesis, we determined the crystal structure of dihydrodipicolinate reductase from Corynebacterium glutamicum (CgDapB). CgDapB functions as a tetramer, and each protomer is composed of two domains, an Nterminal domain and a C-terminal domain. The N-terminal domain mainly contributes to nucleotide binding, whereas the C-terminal domain is involved in substrate binding. We elucidated the mode of cofactor binding to CgDapB by determining the crystal structure of the enzyme in complex with NADP⁺ and found that CgDapB utilizes both NADH and NADPH as cofactors. Moreover, we determined the substrate binding mode of the enzyme based on the coordination mode of two sulfate ions in our structure. Compared with Mycobacterium tuberculosis DapB in complex with its cofactor and inhibitor, we propose that the domain movement for active site constitution occurs when both cofactor and substrate bind to the enzyme.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.44 no.5
• /
• pp.341-346
• /
• 2011

The single-stranded DNA binding activity of the Escherichia coli RecA protein is crucial for homologous recombination to occur. This and other biochemical activities of ssDNA binding proteins may be affected by various factors. In this study, we analyzed the effect of $CaCl_2$, NaCl and $NH_4NO_3$ salts in combination with the pH and nucleotide cofactor effect on the ssDNA-binding activity of RecA. The studies revealed that, in addition to the inhibitory effect, these salts exert also a stimulatory effect on RecA. These effects occur only under very strict conditions, and the presence or absence and the type of nucleotide cofactor play here a major role. It was observed that in contrast to ATP, ATP${\gamma}$S prevented the inhibitory effect of NaCl and $NH_4NO_3$, even at very high salt concentration. These results indicate that ATP${\gamma}$S most likely stabilizes the structure of RecA required for DNA binding, making it resistant to high salt concentrations.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.583-588
• /
• 2012

Functional interaction between Drosophila orphan receptor FTZ-F1 (NR5A3) and a segmentation gene product fushi tarazu (FTZ) is crucial for regulating genes related to define the identities of alternate segmental regions in the Drosophila embryo. FTZ binding to the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of FTZ-F1 is of essence in activating its transcription process. We determined solution structures of the cofactor peptide ($FTZ^{PEP}$) derived from FTZ by NMR spectroscopy. The cofactor peptide showed a nascent helical conformation in aqueous solution, however, the helicity was increased in the presence of TFE. Furthermore, $FTZ^{PEP}$ formed ${\alpha}$-helical conformation upon FTZ-F1 binding, which provides a receptor bound structure of $FTZ^{PEP}$. The solution structure of $FTZ^{PEP}$ in the presence of FTZ-F1 displays a long stretch of the ${\alpha}$-helix with a bend in the middle of helix.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
• /
• 2007.10a
• /
• pp.107.1-107.1
• /
• 2007

See Full Text

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.43-48
• /
• 2000

4-Aminobutyrate aminotransferase is a key enzyme of the 4-aminobutyric acid shunt. It converts the neurotransmitter 4-aminobutyric acid to succinic semialdehyde. In order to study the structural and functional aspects of catalytically active Cys residues of pig brain 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase, we purified the active form in E. coli by coproduction of thioredoxin. The structural arrangement for functional requirements of a dimeric protein using a bifunctional sultbydryl reagent was then characterized, and the spatial proximity between the essential SH groups and a cofactor (pyridoxal-5'-phosphate) binding site was determined. The bifunctional sultbydryl reagent DMDS reacted with the enzyme at the ratio of one molecule per enzyme dimer. This resulted in an approximately 50% loss of enzymatic activity. The spatial proximity of the distance between the essential SH groups and the cofactor-binding site was determined by the energy transfer measurement technique. The result (approximate 20 ${\AA}$) suggested that cross-linking of two sulfhydryl groups with DMDS is not near a PLP binding site.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.150-157
• /
• 2002

Background: Although Tat plays a role as a potent transactivator in the viral gene expression from the Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 long terminal repeat (HIV-1 LTR), it does not function efficiently in rodent cells implying the absence of a human specific factor essential for Tat-medicated transactivation in rodent cells. In previous experiments, we demonstrated that one of chimeric forms of TAR (transacting responsive element) of HIV-1 LTR compensated the restriction in rodent cells. Methods: To characterize the nature of the compensation, we tested the effects of several upstream binding factors of HIV-1 LTR by simple substitution, and also examined the role of the configuration of the upstream binding factor(s) indirectly by constructing spacing mutants that contained insertions between Sp1 and TATA box on Tat-mediated transactivation. Results: Human Sp1 had no effect whereas its associated factors displayed differential effects in human and rodent cells. In addition, none of the spacing mutants tested overcame the restriction in rodent cells. Rather, when the secondary structure of the chimeric HIV-1 TAR construct was destroyed, the compensation in rodent cells was disappeared. Interestingly, the proper interaction between Sp1 and TATA box binding proteins, which is essential for Tat-dependent transcription, was dispensable in rodent cells. Conclusion: This result suggests that the human-specific Tat cofactor acts to allow Tat to interact effectively in a ribonucleoprotein complex that includes Tat, cellular factors, and TAR RNA, rather than be associated with the HIV-1 LTR upstream DNA binding factors.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.1023-1031
• /
• 2017

The conformational change of cellular prion protein ($PrP^C$) to its misfolded counterpart, termed $PrP^{Sc}$, is mediated by a hypothesized cellular cofactor. This cofactor is believed to interact directly with certain amino acid residues of $PrP^C$. When these are mutated into cationic amino acid residues, $PrP^{Sc}$ formation and prion replication halt in a dominant negative (DN) manner, presumably due to strong binding of the cofactor to mutated $PrP^C$, designated as DN PrP mutants. Previous studies demonstrated that plasminogen and its kringle domains bind to PrP and accelerate $PrP^{Sc}$ generation. In this study, in vitro binding analysis of kringle domains of plasminogen to Q167R DN mutant PrP (PrPQ167R) was performed in parallel with the wild type (WT) and Q218K DN mutant PrP (PrPQ218K). The binding affinity of PrPQ167R was higher than that of WT PrP, but lower than that of PrPQ218K. Scatchard analysis further indicated that, like PrPQ218K and WT PrP, PrPQ167R interaction with plasminogen occurred at multiple sites, suggesting cooperativity in this interaction. Competitive binding analysis using $\small{L}$-lysine or $\small{L}$-arginine confirmed the increase of the specificity and binding affinity of the interaction as PrP acquired DN mutations. Circular dichroism spectroscopy demonstrated that the recombinant PrPs used in this study retained the ${\alpha}$-helix-rich structure. The ${\alpha}$-helix unfolding study revealed similar conformational stability for WT and DN-mutated PrPs. This study provides an additional piece of biochemical evidence concerning the interaction of plasminogen with DN mutant PrPs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.24 no.7
• /
• pp.954-958
• /
• 2014

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) catalyzes the oxidation of succinic semialdehyde (SSA) into succinic acid in the final step of ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid degradation. Here, we characterized Bacillus subtilis SSADH (BsSSADH) regarding its cofactor discrimination and substrate inhibition. BsSSADH showed similar values of the catalytic efficiency ($k_{ca}t/K_m$) in both $NAD^+$ and $NADP^+$ as cofactors, and exhibited complete uncompetitive substrate inhibition at higher SSA concentrations. Further analyses of the sequence alignment and homology modeling indicated that the residues of catalytic and cofactor-binding sites in other SSADHs were highly conserved in BsSSADH.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.23 no.10
• /
• pp.1395-1402
• /
• 2013

Reductases convert some achiral ketone compounds into chiral alcohols, which are important materials for the synthesis of chiral drugs. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae reductase YOR120W converts ethyl-4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (ECOB) enantioselectively into (R)-ethyl-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ((R)-ECHB), an intermediate of a pharmaceutical. As YOR120W requires NADPH as a cofactor for the reduction reaction, a cofactor recycling system using Bacillus subtilis glucose dehydrogenase was employed. Using this coupling reaction system, 100 mM ECOB was converted to (R)-ECHB. A homology modeling and site-directed mutagenesis experiment were performed to determine the NADPH-binding site of YOR120W. Four residues (Q29, K264, N267, and R270) were suggested by homology and docking modeling to interact directly with 2'-phosphate of NADPH. Among them, two positively charged residues (K264 and R270) were experimentally demonstrated to be necessary for NADPH 2'-phosphate binding. A mutant enzyme (Q29E) showed an enhanced enantiomeric excess value compared with that of the wild-type enzyme.