S. Ramaswamy Lab

New

17947229 Johnston JW, Coussens NP, Allen S, Houtman JC, Turner KH, Zaleski A, Ramaswamy S, Gibson BW, Apicella MA. Characterization of the N-acetyl-5-neuraminic acid-binding site of the extracytoplasmic solute receptor (SiaP) of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae strain 2019. J Biol Chem. 2008 Jan 11;283(2):855-65. Epub 2007 Oct 18. Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae is an opportunistic human pathogen causing otitis media in children and chronic bronchitis and pneumonia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The outer membrane of nontypeable H. influenzae is dominated by lipooligosaccharides (LOS), many of which incorporate sialic acid as a terminal nonreducing sugar. Sialic acid has been demonstrated to be an important factor in the survival of the bacteria within the host environment. H. influenzae is incapable of synthesizing sialic acid and is dependent on scavenging free sialic acid from the host environment. To achieve this, H. influenzae utilizes a tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic transporter. In this study, we characterize the binding site of the extracytoplasmic solute receptor (SiaP) from nontypeable H. influenzae strain 2019. A crystal structure of N-acetyl-5-neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac)-bound SiaP was determined to 1.4A resolution. Thermodynamic characterization of Neu5Ac binding shows this interaction is enthalpically driven with a substantial unfavorable contribution from entropy. This is expected because the binding of SiaP to Neu5Ac is mediated by numerous hydrogen bonds and has several buried water molecules. Point mutations targeting specific amino acids were introduced in the putative binding site. Complementation with the mutated siaP constructs resulted either in full, partial, or no complementation, depending on the role of specific residues. Mass spectrometry analysis of the O-deacylated LOS of the R127K point mutation confirmed the observation of reduced incorporation of Neu5Ac into the LOS. The decreased ability of H. influenzae to import sialic acid had negative effects on resistance to complement-mediated killing and viability of biofilms in vitro, confirming the importance of sialic acid transport to the bacterium. [doi: 10.1074/jbc.M706603200]

Dioxygenase

17349044 Ferraro DJ, Brown EN, Yu CL, Parales RE, Gibson DT, Ramaswamy S. Structural investigations of the ferredoxin and terminal oxygenase components of the biphenyl 2,3-dioxygenase from Sphingobium yanoikuyae B1. BMC Struct Biol. 2007 Mar 9;7:10. BACKGROUND: The initial step involved in oxidative hydroxylation of monoaromatic and polyaromatic compounds by the microorganism Sphingobium yanoikuyae strain B1 (B1), previously known as Sphingomonas yanoikuyae strain B1 and Beijerinckia sp. strain B1, is performed by a set of multiple terminal Rieske non-heme iron oxygenases. These enzymes share a single electron donor system consisting of a reductase and a ferredoxin (BPDO-FB1). One of the terminal Rieske oxygenases, biphenyl 2,3-dioxygenase (BPDO-OB1), is responsible for B1's ability to dihydroxylate large aromatic compounds, such as chrysene and benzo[a]pyrene. RESULTS: In this study, crystal structures of BPDO-OB1 in both native and biphenyl bound forms are described. Sequence and structural comparisons to other Rieske oxygenases show this enzyme to be most similar, with 43.5 % sequence identity, to naphthalene dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIB 9816-4. While structurally similar to naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase, the active site entrance is significantly larger than the entrance for naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase. Differences in active site residues also allow the binding of large aromatic substrates. There are no major structural changes observed upon binding of the substrate. BPDO-FB1 has large sequence identity to other bacterial Rieske ferredoxins whose structures are known and demonstrates a high structural homology; however, differences in side chain composition and conformation around the Rieske cluster binding site are noted. CONCLUSION: This is the first structure of a Rieske oxygenase that oxidizes substrates with five aromatic rings to be reported. This ability to catalyze the oxidation of larger substrates is a result of both a larger entrance to the active site as well as the ability of the active site to accommodate larger substrates. While the biphenyl ferredoxin is structurally similar to other Rieske ferredoxins, there are distinct changes in the amino acids near the iron-sulfur cluster. Because this ferredoxin is used by multiple oxygenases present in the B1 organism, this ferredoxin-oxygenase system provides the structural platform to dissect the balance between promiscuity and selectivity in protein-protein electron transport systems. [doi: 10.1186/1472-6807-7-10]

17211635 Yu CL, Liu W, Ferraro DJ, Brown EN, Parales JV, Ramaswamy S, Zylstra GJ, Gibson DT, Parales RE. Purification, characterization, and crystallization of the components of a biphenyl dioxygenase system from Sphingobium yanoikuyae B1. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2007 Apr;34(4):311-24. Epub 2007 Jan 9. Sphingobium yanoikuyae B1 initiates the catabolism of biphenyl by adding dioxygen to the aromatic nucleus to form (+)-cis-(2R, 3S)-dihydroxy-1-phenylcyclohexa-4,6-diene. The present study focuses on the biphenyl 2,3-dioxygenase system, which catalyzes the dioxygenation reaction. This enzyme has been shown to have a broad substrate range, catalyzing the dioxygenation of not only biphenyl, but also three- and four-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Extracts prepared from biphenyl-grown B1 cells contained three protein components that were required for the oxidation of biphenyl. The genes encoding the three components (bphA4, bphA3 and bphA1f,A2f) were expressed in Escherichia coli. Biotransformations of biphenyl, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and benzo[a]pyrene as substrates using the recombinant E. coli strain resulted in the formation of the expected cis-dihydrodiol products previously shown to be produced by biphenyl-induced strain B1. The three protein components were purified to apparent homogeneity and characterized in detail. The reductase component (bphA4), designated reductase(BPH-B1), was a 43 kD monomer containing one mol FAD/mol reductase(BPH-B1). The ferredoxin component (bphA3), designated ferredoxin(BPH-B1), was a 12 kD monomer containing approximately 2 g-atoms each of iron and acid-labile sulfur. The oxygenase component (bphA1f,A2f), designated oxygenase(BPH-B1), was a 217 kD heterotrimer consisting of alpha and beta subunits (approximately 51 and 21 kD, respectively). The iron and acid-labile sulfur contents of oxygenase(BPH-B1) per alphabeta were 2.4 and 1.8 g-atom per mol, respectively. Reduced ferredoxin(BPH-B1) and oxygenase(BPH-B1) each gave EPR signals typical of Rieske [2Fe-2S] proteins. Crystals of reductase(BPH-B1), ferredoxin(BPH-B1) and oxygenase(BPH-B1 )diffracted to 2.5 A, 2.0 A and 1.75 A, respectively. The structures of the three proteins are currently being determined. [doi: 10.1007/s10295-006-0199-8]

16980501 Ferraro DJ, Okerlund AL, Mowers JC, Ramaswamy S. Structural basis for regioselectivity and stereoselectivity of product formation by naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase. J Bacteriol. 2006 Oct;188(19):6986-94. Rieske oxygenase (RO) systems are two- and three-component enzyme systems that catalyze the formation of cis-dihydrodiols from aromatic substrates. Degradation of pollutants in contaminated soil and generation of chiral synthons have been the major foci of RO research. Substrate specificity and product regio- and stereoselectivity have been shown to vary between individual ROs. While directed evolution methods for altering RO function have been successful in the past, rational engineering of these enzymes still poses a challenge due to the lack of structural understanding. Here we examine the structural changes induced by mutation of Phe-352 in naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIB 9816-4 (NDO-O(9816-4)). Structures of the Phe-352-Val mutant in native form and in complex with phenanthrene and anthracene, along with those of wild-type NDO-O(9816-4) in complex with phenanthrene, anthracene, and 3-nitrotoluene, are presented. Phenanthrene was shown to bind in a different orientation in the Phe-352-Val mutant active site from that in the wild type, while anthracene was found to bind in similar positions in both enzymes. Two orientations of 3-nitrotoluene were observed, i.e., a productive and a nonproductive orientation. These orientations help explain why NDO-O(9816-4) forms different products from 3-nitrotoluene than those made from nitrobenzene dioxygenase. Comparison of these structures among themselves and with other known ROs bound to substrates reveals that the orientation of substrate binding at the active site is the primary determinant of product regio- and stereoselectivity. [doi: 10.1128/JB.00707-06]

16511124 Lee K, Friemann R, Parales JV, Gibson DT, Ramaswamy S. Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of the three components of the toluene 2,3-dioxygenase enzyme system. Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun. 2005 Jul 1;61(Pt 7):669-72. Epub 2005 Jun 15. Pseudomonas putida F1 can grow with toluene as its sole source of carbon and energy. The initial reaction of the degradation of toluene is catalyzed by a three-component toluene dioxygenase enzyme system consisting of a reductase (ReductaseTOL), a ferredoxin (FerredoxinTOL) and a Rieske non-heme iron dioxygenase (OxygenaseTOL). The three components and the apoenzyme of the dioxygenase (apo-OxygenaseTOL) were overexpressed, purified and crystallized. ReductaseTOL diffracts to 1.8 A and belongs to space group P4(1)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 77.1, c = 156.3 A. Ferredoxin(TOL) diffracts to 1.2 A and belongs to space group P2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 30.5, b = 52.0, c = 30.95 A, beta = 113.7 degrees. Apo-OxygenaseTOL and OxygenaseTOL diffract to 3.2 A and belong to space group P4(3)32, with unit-cell parameters a = 235.9 A and a = 234.5 A, respectively. [doi: 10.1107/S1744309105017549]

16168954 Ferraro DJ, Gakhar L, Ramaswamy S. Rieske business: structure-function of Rieske non-heme oxygenases. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2005 Dec 9;338(1):175-90. Epub 2005 Sep 8. Rieske non-heme iron oxygenases (RO) catalyze stereo- and regiospecific reactions. Recently, an explosion of structural information on this class of enzymes has occurred in the literature. ROs are two/three component systems: a reductase component that obtains electrons from NAD(P)H, often a Rieske ferredoxin component that shuttles the electrons and an oxygenase component that performs catalysis. The oxygenase component structures have all shown to be of the alpha3 or alpha3beta3 types. The transfer of electrons happens from the Rieske center to the mononuclear iron of the neighboring subunit via a conserved aspartate, which is shown to be involved in gating electron transport. Molecular oxygen has been shown to bind side-on in naphthalene dioxygenase and a concerted mechanism of oxygen activation and hydroxylation of the ring has been proposed. The orientation of binding of the substrate to the enzyme is hypothesized to control the substrate selectivity and regio-specificity of product formation. [doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2005.08.222]

16237006 Gakhar L, Malik ZA, Allen CC, Lipscomb DA, Larkin MJ, Ramaswamy S. Structure and increased thermostability of Rhodococcus sp. naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase. J Bacteriol. 2005 Nov;187(21):7222-31. Rieske nonheme iron oxygenases form a large class of aromatic ring-hydroxylating dioxygenases found in microorganisms. These enzymes enable microorganisms to tolerate and even exclusively utilize aromatic compounds for growth, making them good candidates for use in synthesis of chiral intermediates and bioremediation. Studies of the chemical stability and thermostability of these enzymes thus become important. We report here the structure of free and substrate (indole)-bound forms of naphthalene dioxygenase from Rhodococcus sp. strain NCIMB12038. The structure of the Rhodococcus enzyme reveals that, despite a approximately 30% sequence identity between these naphthalene dioxygenases, their overall structures superpose very well with a root mean square deviation of less than 1.6 A. The differences in the active site of the two enzymes are pronounced near the entrance; however, indole binds to the Rhodococcus enzyme in the same orientation as in the Pseudomonas enzyme. Circular dichroism spectroscopy experiments show that the Rhodococcus enzyme has higher thermostability than the naphthalene dioxygenase from Pseudomonas species. The Pseudomonas enzyme has an apparent melting temperature of 55 degrees C while the Rhodococcus enzyme does not completely unfold even at 95 degrees C. Both enzymes, however, show similar unfolding behavior in urea, and the Rhodococcus enzyme is only slightly more tolerant to unfolding by guanidine hydrochloride. Structure analysis suggests that the higher thermostability of the Rhodococcus enzyme may be attributed to a larger buried surface area and extra salt bridge networks between the alpha and beta subunits in the Rhodococcus enzyme. [doi: 10.1128/JB.187.21.7222-7231.2005]

15942729 Karlsson A, Parales JV, Parales RE, Gibson DT, Eklund H, Ramaswamy S. NO binding to naphthalene dioxygenase. J Biol Inorg Chem. 2005 Aug;10(5):483-9. Epub 2005 Sep 23. Nitric oxide (NO) is commonly used as an analogue for dioxygen in structural and spectroscopic studies of oxygen binding and oxygen activation. In this study, crystallographic structures of naphthalene dioxygenase (NDO) in complex with nitric oxide are reported. In the presence of the aromatic substrate indole, NO is bound end-on to the active-site mononuclear iron of NDO. The structural observations correlate well with spectroscopic measurements of NO binding to NDO in solution. However, the end-on binding of NO is in contrast to the recently reported structure of oxygen to the active-site iron of NDO that binds side-on. While NO is a good oxygen analogue with many similarities to O(2), the different binding mode of NO to the active-site iron atom leads to different mechanistic implications. Hence, caution needs to be used in extrapolating NO as an analogue to O(2) binding. [doi: 10.1007/s00775-005-0657-1]

15854650 Friemann R, Ivkovic-Jensen MM, Lessner DJ, Yu CL, Gibson DT, Parales RE, Eklund H, Ramaswamy S. Structural insight into the dioxygenation of nitroarene compounds: the crystal structure of nitrobenzene dioxygenase. J Mol Biol. 2005 May 20;348(5):1139-51. Epub 2005 Apr 7. Nitroaromatic compounds are used extensively in many industrial processes and have been released into the environment where they are considered environmental pollutants. Nitroaromatic compounds, in general, are resistant to oxidative attack due to the electron-withdrawing nature of the nitro groups and the stability of the benzene ring. However, the bacterium Comamonas sp. strain JS765 can grow with nitrobenzene as a sole source of carbon, nitrogen and energy. Biodegradation is initiated by the nitrobenzene dioxygenase (NBDO) system. We have determined the structure of NBDO, which has a hetero-hexameric structure similar to that of several other Rieske non-heme iron dioxygenases. The catalytic subunit contains a Rieske iron-sulfur center and an active-site mononuclear iron atom. The structures of complexes with substrates nitrobenzene and 3-nitrotoluene reveal the structural basis for its activity with nitroarenes. The substrate pocket contains an asparagine residue that forms a hydrogen bond to the nitro-group of the substrate, and orients the substrate in relation to the active-site mononuclear iron atom, positioning the molecule for oxidation at the nitro-substituted carbon. [doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2005.03.052]

12586937 Karlsson A, Parales JV, Parales RE, Gibson DT, Eklund H, Ramaswamy S. Crystal structure of naphthalene dioxygenase: side-on binding of dioxygen to iron. Science. 2003 Feb 14;299(5609):1039-42. Binding of oxygen to iron is exploited in several biological and chemical processes. Although computational and spectroscopic results have suggested side-on binding, only end-on binding of oxygen to iron has been observed in crystal structures. We have determined structures of naphthalene dioxygenase that show a molecular oxygen species bound to the mononuclear iron in a side-on fashion. In a complex with substrate and dioxygen, the dioxygen molecule is lined up for an attack on the double bond of the aromatic substrate. The structures reported here provide the basis for a reaction mechanism and for the high stereospecificity of the reaction catalyzed by naphthalene dioxygenase. [doi: 10.1126/science.1078020]

12454491 Malik ZA, Allen CC, Gakhar L, Lipscomb DA, Larkin MJ, Ramaswamy S. Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of naphthalene dioxygenase from Rhodococcus sp. strain NCIMB 12038. Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr. 2002 Dec;58(Pt 12):2173-4. Epub 2002 Nov 23. The three-component naphthalene dioxygenase (NDO) enzyme system carries out the first step in the aerobic degradation of naphthalene to (+)-cis-(1R,2S)-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydronaphthalene by Rhodococcus sp. strain NCIMB 12038. The terminal oxygenase component (naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase) that catalyzes this reaction belongs to the aromatic ring hydroxylating dioxygenase family and has been crystallized. These enzymes utilize a mononuclear non-heme iron centre to catalyze the addition of dioxygen to their respective substrates. In this reaction, two electrons, two protons and a dioxygen molecule are consumed. The Rhodococcus enzyme has only 33 and 29% sequence identity to the corresponding alpha- and beta-subunits of the NDO system of Pseudomonas putida NCIMB 9816-4, for which the tertiary structure has been reported. In order to determine the three-dimensional structure of the Rhodococcus NDO, diffraction-quality crystals have been prepared by the hanging-drop method. The crystals belongs to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 87.5, b = 144, c = 185.6 A, alpha = beta = gamma = 90 degrees, and diffract to 2.3 A resolution.

12051836 Karlsson A, Beharry ZM, Matthew Eby D, Coulter ED, Neidle EL, Kurtz DM Jr, Eklund H, Ramaswamy S. X-ray crystal structure of benzoate 1,2-dioxygenase reductase from Acinetobacter sp. strain ADP1. J Mol Biol. 2002 Apr 26;318(2):261-72. One of the major processes for aerobic biodegradation of aromatic compounds is initiated by Rieske dioxygenases. Benzoate dioxygenase contains a reductase component, BenC, that is responsible for the two-electron transfer from NADH via FAD and an iron-sulfur cluster to the terminal oxygenase component. Here, we present the structure of BenC from Acinetobacter sp. strain ADP1 at 1.5 A resolution. BenC contains three domains, each binding a redox cofactor: iron-sulfur, FAD and NADH, respectively. The [2Fe-2S] domain is similar to that of plant ferredoxins, and the FAD and NADH domains are similar to members of the ferredoxin:NADPH reductase superfamily. In phthalate dioxygenase reductase, the only other Rieske dioxygenase reductase for which a crystal structure is available, the ferredoxin-like and flavin binding domains are sequentially reversed compared to BenC. The BenC structure shows significant differences in the location of the ferredoxin domain relative to the other domains, compared to phthalate dioxygenase reductase and other known systems containing these three domains. In BenC, the ferredoxin domain interacts with both the flavin and NAD(P)H domains. The iron-sulfur center and the flavin are about 9 A apart, which allows a fast electron transfer. The BenC structure is the first determined for a reductase from the class IB Rieske dioxygenases, whose reductases transfer electrons directly to their oxygenase components. Based on sequence similarities, a very similar structure was modeled for the class III naphthalene dioxygenase reductase, which transfers electrons to an intermediary ferredoxin, rather than the oxygenase component. [doi: 10.1016/S0022-2836(02)00039-6]

10713518 Carredano E, Kauppi B, Choudhury D, Ramaswamy S. Pseudo-symmetry characterization and refinement of a trigonal crystal form of naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase. Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr. 2000 Mar;56(Pt 3):313-21. Two trigonal crystal structures of naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816-4 have been refined at 2.6 A resolution. The space group is R3, with four heterodimers in the asymmetric unit. The crystallographic threefold axis coincides with the symmetry axis of the active molecule, a mushroom-shaped alpha(3)beta(3) hexamer. The crystal is formed by symmetrical contacts between the hexamers on three different interaction surfaces, one on the beta-subunit and the other two on the alpha--subunits. Nickel ions mediate one of the alpha-subunit interactions. The two other types of packing contacts sustain two interlaced and almost independent crystal patterns with significantly different temperature factors. The space group of the individual crystal patterns is R32, with the corresponding twofold axes parallel to each other. The interactions between the crystal patterns separate the two parallel twofolds, eliminating the twofold symmetry for the whole crystal. The differences in temperature factors among the molecules in the asymmetric unit have been refined and are different for the two refined structures. An analysis of the structure factors of the pseudo-equivalent reflections showed that their differences lie in their phases and not in their amplitudes, suggesting that R(merge) is not an appropriate indicator for revealing the correct point group.

10714709 Karlsson A, Parales JV, Parales RE, Gibson DT, Eklund H, Ramaswamy S. The reduction of the Rieske iron-sulfur cluster in naphthalene dioxygenase by X-rays. J Inorg Biochem. 2000 Jan 15;78(1):83-7. Naphthalene 1,2 dioxygenase (NDO) displays characteristic UV-Vis spectra depending on the oxidation state of the Rieske center. Investigations on crystals of NDO grown for X-ray diffraction experiments showed spectra characteristic of the oxidized form. Crystals reduced in an anaerobic glovebox using sodium-dithionite showed a characteristic reduced spectrum. Spectra of crystals (cooled to 100 K) after being exposed to X-rays for data collection showed spectra corresponding to a reduced Rieske iron center, demonstrating the ability of X-rays to change the oxidation state of the Rieske iron-sulfur cluster in NDO.

10669618 Carredano E, Karlsson A, Kauppi B, Choudhury D, Parales RE, Parales JV, Lee K, Gibson DT, Eklund H, Ramaswamy S. Substrate binding site of naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase: functional implications of indole binding. J Mol Biol. 2000 Feb 18;296(2):701-12. The three-dimensional structure of the aromatic hydroxylating enzyme naphthalene dioxygenase (NDO) from Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816-4 was recently determined. The refinement of the structure together with cyclic averaging showed that in the active site of the enzyme there is electron density for a flat aromatic compound. This compound appears to be an indole adduct, which in Escherichia coli is derived from tryptophan present in the rich culture medium. An indole-dioxygen adduct has been built which fits the electron density convincingly. Support for this interpretation was obtained from crystals of the enzyme purified from cells grown in the absence of tryptophan which had an empty substrate pocket. These types of crystals were soaked in indole solutions and the position of indole in this complex was similar to the corresponding part in the modelled indole-oxygen adduct. This suggests that a peroxide bound to iron end-on attacks the substrate and forms this intermediate. The substrate position has implications for the substrate specificity of the enzyme. Docking studies with indole, naphthalene and biphenyl inside the substrate pocket of NDO suggest the presence of subpockets where the one close to the active site iron is reserved for the binding of the aromatic ring which is hydroxylated upon catalysis. The plausible location for the binding of dioxygen is between this pocket and the catalytic iron. This is in accordance with the enantiospecificity of the products. [doi: 10.1006/jmbi.1999.3462]

9634695 Kauppi B, Lee K, Carredano E, Parales RE, Gibson DT, Eklund H, Ramaswamy S. Structure of an aromatic-ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase-naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase. Structure. 1998 May 15;6(5):571-86. BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816-4 utilizes a multicomponent enzyme system to oxidize naphthalene to (+)-cis-(1R,2S)-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydronaphthalene. The enzyme component catalyzing this reaction, naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase (NDO), belongs to a family of aromatic-ring-hydroxylating dioxygenases that oxidize aromatic hydrocarbons and related compounds to cis-arene diols. These enzymes utilize a mononuclear non-heme iron center to catalyze the addition of dioxygen to their respective substrates. The present study was conducted to provide essential structural information necessary for elucidating the mechanism of action of NDO. RESULTS: The three-dimensional structure of NDO has been determined at 2.25 A resolution. The molecule is an alpha 3 beta 3 hexamer. The alpha subunit has a beta-sheet domain that contains a Rieske [2Fe-2S] center and a catalytic domain that has a novel fold dominated by an antiparallel nine-stranded beta-pleated sheet against which helices pack. The active site contains a non-heme ferrous ion coordinated by His208, His213, Asp362 (bidentate) and a water molecule. Asn201 is positioned further away, 3.75 A, at the missing axial position of an octahedron. In the Rieske [2Fe-2S] center, one iron is coordinated by Cys81 and Cys101 and the other by His83 and His104. CONCLUSIONS: The domain structure and iron coordination of the Rieske domain is very similar to that of the cytochrome bc1 domain. The active-site iron center of one of the alpha subunits is directly connected by hydrogen bonds through a single amino acid, Asp205, to the Rieske [2Fe-2S] center in a neighboring alpha subunit. This is likely to be the main route for electron transfer.

9425309 Lee K, Kauppi B, Parales RE, Gibson DT, Ramaswamy S. Purification and crystallization of the oxygenase component of naphthalene dioxygenase in native and selenomethionine-derivatized forms. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1997 Dec 18;241(2):553-7. A new procedure was developed for the purification of the terminal oxygenase component (ISPNAP) of naphthalene dioxygenase. From a five liter culture of Escherichia coli JM109(DE3)(pDTG121), 91 mg of pure protein were obtained with a specific activity of 2.48 mumol/ min/mg protein. ISPNAP was crystallized in the rhombohedral space group R32 with cell dimensions of a = b = 179.2 A; c = 322.5 A in the hexagonal setting. The crystals are brown, indicating the presence of an intact Rieske iron-sulfur center. Problems with non-isomorphism between native data sets necessitated the preparation of a selenomethionine-substituted protein. Complete replacement of methionine with selenomethionine was achieved and the purified protein had a specific activity almost identical to native ISPNAP. Crystals from this preparation belong to the same space group and have similar cell dimensions to native ISPNAP. [doi: 10.1006/bbrc.1997.7863]

Innate Immunity

17173864 Coussens NP, Mowers JC, McDonald C, Nunez G, Ramaswamy S. Crystal structure of the Nod1 caspase activation and recruitment domain. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007 Feb 2;353(1):1-5. Epub 2006 Dec 6. Nod-like receptors (NLRs), Nod1 and Nod2 are cytosolic detectors of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Nod1 is a three-domain protein, consisting of a caspase activation and recruitment domain (CARD), a nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD), and a leucine-rich repeat domain (LRR). The binding of PAMPs to the LRR results in the activation of signaling through homophilic CARD-CARD interactions. Several CARD structures have been determined, including a recent NMR structure of Nod1 CARD. In contrast to the reported NMR structure, the crystal structure reported here is a dimer, where the sixth helix is swapped between two monomers. While the overall structure is very similar to the known CARD structures, this is the first report of a homodimeric CARD structure. The ability of the CARD to exist in monomeric and dimeric forms suggests another level of regulation in the activation of NLR proteins. [doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.11.122]

15010525 Gioannini TL, Teghanemt A, Zhang D, Coussens NP, Dockstader W, Ramaswamy S, Weiss JP. Isolation of an endotoxin-MD-2 complex that produces Toll-like receptor 4-dependent cell activation at picomolar concentrations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Mar 23;101(12):4186-91. Epub 2004 Mar 9. Host proinflammatory responses to minute amounts of endotoxins derived from many Gram-negative bacteria require the interaction of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), CD14, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and MD-2. Optimal sensitivity to endotoxin requires an ordered series of endotoxin-protein and protein-protein interactions. At substoichiometric concentrations, LBP facilitates delivery of endotoxin aggregates to soluble CD14 (sCD14) to form monomeric endotoxin-sCD14 complexes. Subsequent interactions of endotoxin-sCD14 with TLR4 and/or MD-2 have not been specifically defined. This study reports the purification of a stable, monomeric, bioactive endotoxin-MD-2 complex generated by treatment of endotoxin-sCD14 with recombinant MD-2. Efficient generation of this complex occurred at picomolar concentrations of endotoxin and nanogram per milliliter doses of MD-2 and required presentation of endotoxin to MD-2 as a monomeric endotoxin-CD14 complex. TLR4-dependent delivery of endotoxin to human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells and cell activation at picomolar concentrations of endotoxin occurred with the purified endotoxin-MD-2 complex, but not with purified endotoxin aggregates with or without LBP and/or sCD14. The presence of excess MD-2 inhibited delivery of endotoxin-MD-2 to HEK/TLR4 cells and cell activation. These findings demonstrate that TLR4-dependent activation of host cells by picomolar concentrations of endotoxin occurs by sequential interaction and transfer of endotoxin to LBP, CD14, and MD-2 and simultaneous engagement of endotoxin and TLR4 by MD-2. [doi: 10.1073/pnas.0306906101]

Alcohol Dehydrogenase

15023053 LeBrun LA, Park DH, Ramaswamy S, Plapp BV. Participation of histidine-51 in catalysis by horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase. Biochemistry. 2004 Mar 23;43(11):3014-26. Histidine-51 in horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is part of a hydrogen-bonded system that appears to facilitate deprotonation of the hydroxyl group of water or alcohol ligated to the catalytic zinc. The contribution of His-51 to catalysis was studied by characterizing ADH with His-51 substituted with Gln (H51Q). The steady-state kinetic constants for ethanol oxidation and acetaldehyde reduction at pH 8 are similar for wild-type and H51Q enzymes. In contrast, the H51Q substitution significantly shifts the pH dependencies for steady-state and transient reactions and decreases by 11-fold the rate constant for the transient oxidation of ethanol at pH 8. Modest substrate deuterium isotope effects indicate that hydride transfer only partially limits the transient oxidation and turnover. Transient data show that the H51Q substitution significantly decreases the rate of isomerization of the enzyme-NAD(+) complex and becomes a limiting step for ethanol oxidation. Isomerization of the enzyme-NAD(+) complex is rate limiting for acetaldehyde reduction catalyzed by the wild-type enzyme, but release of alcohol is limiting for the H51Q enzyme. X-ray crystallography of doubly substituted His51Gln:Lys228Arg ADH complexed with NAD(+) and 2,3- or 2,4-difluorobenzyl alcohol shows that Gln-51 isosterically replaces histidine in interactions with the nicotinamide ribose of the coenzyme and that Arg-228 interacts with the adenosine monophosphate of the coenzyme without affecting the protein conformation. The difluorobenzyl alcohols bind in one conformation. His-51 participates in, but is not essential for, proton transfers in the mechanism. [doi: 10.1021/bi036103m]

12604209 Karlsson A, El-Ahmad M, Johansson K, Shafqat J, Jornvall H, Eklund H, Ramaswamy S. Tetrameric NAD-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase. Chem Biol Interact. 2003 Feb 1;143-144:239-45. Three-dimensional structures of the ethanol-induced, tetrameric alcohol dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli have recently been determined in the absence and presence of NAD. The structure of the E. coli enzyme is similar to those of the dimeric mammalian alcohol dehydrogenases, but it has a deletion of 21 residues located at the surface of the catalytic domain. The catalytic zinc ions have two different types of coordination, which are also observed in the class III dimeric mammalian alcohol dehydrogenase. Comparison of the structures provide new insights into the relationship between tetrameric and dimeric alcohol dehydrogenases and provide a link to the structure of the tetrameric yeast alcohol dehydrogenase.

11601993 Rubach JK, Ramaswamy S, Plapp BV. Contributions of valine-292 in the nicotinamide binding site of liver alcohol dehydrogenase and dynamics to catalysis. Biochemistry. 2001 Oct 23;40(42):12686-94. The participation of Val-292 in catalysis by alcohol dehydrogenase and the involvement of dynamics were investigated. Val-292 interacts with the nicotinamide ring of the bound coenzyme and may facilitate hydride transfer. The substitution of Val-292 with Ser (V292S) increases the dissociation constants for the coenzymes (NAD(+) by 50-fold, NADH by 75-fold) and the turnover numbers by 3-7-fold. The V292S enzyme crystallized in the presence of NAD(+) and 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl alcohol has an open conformation similar to the structure of the wild-type apo-enzyme, rather than the closed conformation observed for ternary complexes with wild-type enzyme. The V292S substitution perturbs the conformational equilibrium of the enzyme and decreases the kinetic complexity, which permits study of the hydride transfer step with steady-state kinetics. Eyring plots show that the DeltaH for the oxidation (V(1)) of the protio and deuterio benzyl alcohols is 13 kcal/mol and that the kinetic isotope effect of 4.1 is essentially temperature-independent. Eyring plots for the catalytic efficiency for reduction of benzaldehyde (V(2)/K(p)) with NADH or NADD are distinctly convex, being temperature-dependent from 5 to 25 degrees C and temperature-independent from 25 to 50 degrees C; the kinetic isotope effect of 3.2 for V(2)/K(p) is essentially independent of the temperature. The temperature dependencies and isotope effects for V(1) and V(2)/K(p) are not adequately explained by semiclassical transition state theory and are better explained by hydride transfer occurring through vibrationally assisted tunneling.

11306057 Johansson K, El-Ahmad M, Kaiser C, Jornvall H, Eklund H, Hoog J, Ramaswamy S. Crystal structure of sorbitol dehydrogenase. Chem Biol Interact. 2001 Jan 30;130-132(1-3):351-8. Sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) is a distant relative to the alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) with sequence identities around 20%. SDH is a tetramer with one zinc ion per subunit. We have crystallized rat SDH and determined the structure by molecular replacement using a tetrameric bacterial ADH as search object. The conformation of the bound coenzyme is extended and similar to NADH bound to mammalian ADH but the interactions with the NMN-part have several differences with those of ADH. The active site zinc coordination in SDH is significantly different than in mammalian ADH but similar to the one found in the bacterial tetrameric NADP(H)-dependent ADH of Clostridiim beijerinckii. The substrate cleft is significantly more polar than for mammalian ADH and a number of residues are ideally located to position the sorbitol molecule in the active site. The SDH molecule can be considered to be a dimer of dimers, with subunits A-B and C-D, where the dimer interactions are similar to those in mammalian ADH. The tetramers are composed of two of these dimers, which interact with their surfaces opposite the active site clefts, which are accessible on the opposite side. In contrast to the dimer interactions, the tetramer-forming interactions are small with only few hydrogen bonds between side-chains.

10529241 Ramaswamy S, Park DH, Plapp BV. Substitutions in a flexible loop of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase hinder the conformational change and unmask hydrogen transfer. Biochemistry. 1999 Oct 19;38(42):13951-9. When horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase binds coenzyme, a rotation of about 10 degrees brings the catalytic domain closer to the coenzyme binding domain and closes the active site cleft. The conformational change requires that a flexible loop containing residues 293-298 in the coenzyme binding domain rearranges so that the coenzyme and some amino acid residues from the catalytic domain can be accommodated. The change appears to control the rate of dissociation of the coenzyme and to be necessary for installation of the proton relay system. In this study, directed mutagenesis produced the activated Gly293Ala/Pro295Thr enzyme. X-ray crystallography shows that the conformations of both free and complexed forms of the mutated enzyme and wild-type apoenzyme are very similar. Binding of NAD(+) and 2,2, 2-trifluoroethanol do not cause the conformational change, but the nicotinamide ribose moiety and alcohol are not in a fixed position. Although the Gly293Ala and Pro295Thr substitutions do not disturb the apoenzyme structure, molecular modeling shows that the new side chains cannot be accommodated in the closed native holoenzyme complex without steric alterations. The mutated enzyme may be active in the "open" conformation. The turnover numbers with ethanol and acetaldehyde increase 1.5- and 5.5-fold, respectively, and dissociation constants for coenzymes and other kinetic constants increase 40-2,000-fold compared to those of the native enzyme. Substrate deuterium isotope effects on the steady state V or V/K(m) parameters of 4-6 with ethanol or benzyl alcohol indicate that hydrogen transfer is a major rate-limiting step in catalysis. Steady state oxidation of benzyl alcohol is most rapid above a pK of about 9 for V and V/K(m) and is 2-fold faster in D(2)O than in H(2)O. The results are consistent with hydride transfer from a ground state zinc alkoxide that forms a low-barrier hydrogen bond with the hydroxyl group of Ser48.

10352696 Ramaswamy S. Dynamics in alcohol dehydrogenase elucidated from crystallographic investigations. Adv Exp Med Biol. 1999;463:275-84.

10352698 Plapp BV, Chadha VK, Leidal KG, Cho H, Scholze M, Schindler JF, Berst KB, Ramaswamy S. Uncompetitive inhibitors of alcohol dehydrogenases. Adv Exp Med Biol. 1999;463:295-303.

10194350 Johansson K, Ramaswamy S, Saarinen M, Lemaire-Chamley M, Issakidis-Bourguet E, Miginiac-Maslow M, Eklund H. Structural basis for light activation of a chloroplast enzyme: the structure of sorghum NADP-malate dehydrogenase in its oxidized form. Biochemistry. 1999 Apr 6;38(14):4319-26. Some key chloroplast enzymes are activated by light via a ferredoxin-thioredoxin reduction system which reduces disulfide bridges in the enzymes. We describe for the first time the structural basis for the redox activation of a chloroplast enzyme, the NADP-dependent malate dehydrogenase (MDH) from Sorghum vulgare whose structure has been determined and refined at 2.4 A resolution. In addition to the normal structural components of MDHs, the enzyme exhibits extensions at both the N- and C-termini, each of which contains a regulatory disulfide bridge which must be reduced for activation. The N-terminal disulfide motif is inserted in a cleft between the two subunits of the dimer, thereby locking the domains in each subunit. The C-terminal disulfide keeps the C-terminal residues tight to the enzyme surface and blocks access to the active site. Reduction of the N-terminal disulfide would release the stopper between the domains and give the enzyme the necessary flexibility. Simultaneous reduction of the C-terminal disulfide would free the C-terminal residues from binding to the enzyme and make the active site accessible. [doi: 10.1021/bi982876c]

9792097 Johansson K, El-Ahmad M, Ramaswamy S, Hjelmqvist L, Jornvall H, Eklund H. Structure of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase at 2.1 A resolution. Protein Sci. 1998 Oct;7(10):2106-17. The three-dimensional structure of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase, the most abundant aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) of cod liver, has been determined at 2.1 A resolution by the X-ray crystallographic method of molecular replacement. This enzyme represents a novel structure of the highly multiple ALDH, with at least 12 distinct classes in humans. This betaine ALDH of class 9 is different from the two recently determined ALDH structures (classes 2 and 3). Like these, the betaine ALDH structure has three domains, one coenzyme binding domain, one catalytic domain, and one oligomerization domain. Crystals grown in the presence or absence of NAD+ have very similar structures and no significant conformational change occurs upon coenzyme binding. This is probably due to the tight interactions between domains within the subunit and between subunits in the tetramer. The oligomerization domains link the catalytic domains together into two 20-stranded pleated sheet structures. The overall structure is similar to that of the tetrameric bovine class 2 and dimeric rat class 3 ALDH, but the coenzyme binding with the nicotinamide in anti conformation, resembles that of class 2 rather than of class 3.

9132002 Ramaswamy S, Scholze M, Plapp BV. Binding of formamides to liver alcohol dehydrogenase. Biochemistry. 1997 Mar 25;36(12):3522-7. Amides are analogs of aldehydes and potent inhibitors of liver alcohol dehydrogenases. They can be used for structural studies and for inhibiting the metabolism of alcohols that form toxic products. We studied N-alkyl amides that bind to the enzyme-NADH complex and act as uncompetitive inhibitors against varied concentrations of ethanol (millimolar Kii values, at pH 8 and 25 degrees C): N-propylacetamide (16), delta-valerolactam (1.6), N-formylpiperidine (0.14), N-isobutylformamide (0.028), N-(cyclohexylmethyl)-formamide (0.011), and N-cyclohexylformamide (0.0087). The lower affinity of delta-valerolactam and N-propylacetamide can be explained by steric hindrance with Phe93 of the enzyme. Replacing Phe93 with Ala in the S48T/F93A mutated enzyme, which resembles the natural alpha-isoenzyme of primates, improved binding of delta-valerolactam by 210-fold. The structures of horse liver enzyme complexed with NADH and N-cyclohexylformamide or N-formylpiperidine were determined by X-ray crystallography at 2.5 A resolution. In both complexes, the carbonyl oxygens of the inhibitors bind to the catalytic zinc and form a hydrogen bond to the hydroxyl group of Ser48 of the enzyme. The six-membered rings bind in overlapping, but rotated, positions that optimize hydrophobic interactions. The binding modes of the unreactive formamides appear to resemble the Michaelis complexes of the analogous substrates, with the re face of the carbonyl carbon suitably positioned to accept a hydrogen from NADH. [doi: 10.1021/bi962491z]

9003191 Cho H, Ramaswamy S, Plapp BV. Flexibility of liver alcohol dehydrogenase in stereoselective binding of 3-butylthiolane 1-oxides. Biochemistry. 1997 Jan 14;36(2):382-9. Thiolane 1-oxides are analogs of the carbonyl substrates that bind to the alcohol dehydrogenase-NADH complex and are potent uncompetitive inhibitors against alcohol [Chadha, V. K., et al. (1985) J. Med. Chem. 28, 36-40]. The four stereoisomers of 3-butylthiolane 1-oxide (BTO) were separated by chiral phase chromatography. CD and 1H-NMR spectra identified the enantiomeric pairs. 1H-NMR chemical shifts were assigned on the basis of COSY spectra of both diastereoisomers and confirmed by HMQC spectra. Coupling constants were determined through one-dimensional decoupling experiments. NMR with chiral shift reagents, Eu(hfc)3 [europium tris [3-[(heptafluoropropyl)hydroxymethylene]-(+)-camphorate]] or (R)-(-)-N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)-alpha-methylbenzylamine, determined that the most inhibitory isomer is either 1S,3R or 1R,3S. The chemical shifts of protons in the thiolane 1-oxide ring were influenced by the whole structure and were not correlated with the computed Mulliken charges. X-ray crystallography at 2.1 and 1.66 A resolution of the ternary enzyme complexes with NADH demonstrated that the absolute configuration of the most inhibitory (Kii = 0.31 microM) stereoisomer is 1S,3R and the next best inhibitor (Kii = 0.73 microM) is 1S,3S. The thiolane 1-oxide rings bind in the same position, in the substrate binding site, but the geometry of the complexes suggests that the sulfoxides are not transition state analogs. Significantly, the butyl groups of the two isomers are accommodated differently by flexible amino acid side chains adopting alternative rotameric conformations. [doi: 10.1021/bi9624604]

8845755 Ramaswamy S, el Ahmad M, Danielsson O, Jornvall H, Eklund H. Crystal structure of cod liver class I alcohol dehydrogenase: substrate pocket and structurally variable segments. Protein Sci. 1996 Apr;5(4):663-71. The structural framework of cod liver alcohol dehydrogenase is similar to that of horse and human alcohol dehydrogenases. In contrast, the substrate pocket differs significantly, and main differences are located in three loops. Nevertheless, the substrate pocket is hydrophobic like that of the mammalian class I enzymes and has a similar topography in spite of many main-chain and side-chain differences. The structural framework of alcohol dehydrogenase is also present in a number of related enzymes like glucose dehydrogenase and quinone oxidoreductase. These enzymes have completely different substrate specificity, but also for these enzymes, the corresponding loops of the substrate pocket have significantly different structures. The domains of the two subunits in the crystals of the cod enzyme further differ by a rotation of the catalytic domains by about 6 degrees. In one subunit, they close around the coenzyme similarly as in coenzyme complexes of the horse enzyme, but form a more open cleft in the other subunit, similar to the situation in coenzyme-free structures of the horse enzyme. The proton relay system differs from the mammalian class I alcohol dehydrogenases. His 51, which has been implicated in mammalian enzymes to be important for proton transfer from the buried active site to the surface is not present in the cod enzyme. A tyrosine in the corresponding position is turned into the substrate pocket and a water molecule occupies the same position in space as the His side chain, forming a shorter proton relay system.

8062909 Ramaswamy S, el-Ahmad M, Danielsson O, Jornvall H, Eklund H. Crystallisation and crystallographic investigations of cod alcohol dehydrogenase class I and class III enzymes. FEBS Lett. 1994 Aug 15;350(1):122-4. Cod liver alcohol dehydrogenase of class-hybrid properties has been crystallized as an NAD(+)-pyrazole complex in the monoclinic space group P2(1) with cell dimensions a = 103.3 A, b = 47.4 A, c = 80.7 A, beta = 104.6 degrees, and with one dimer in the asymmetric unit. The position of the dimer molecule in the crystal was determined by molecular replacement methods at 3.0 A resolution. The successful search model was the poly-alanine structure of the horse enzyme. Side chains were then replaced according to the amino acid sequence of the cod enzyme, and the structure has been refined at 2.8 A to an R-factor of 0.26. Cod liver class III alcohol dehydrogenase crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2 with cell dimensions a = 127.5 A, b = 76.6 A, c = 93.4 A, beta = 99.4 degrees and with probably one dimer in the asymmetric unit.

8032158 Eklund H, Ramaswamy S, Plapp BV, el-Ahmad M, Danielsson O, Hoog JO, Jornvall H. Crystallographic investigations of alcohol dehydrogenases. EXS. 1994;71:269-77. The structures of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase class I in its apoenzyme form and in different ternary complexes have been determined at high resolution. The complex with NAD+ and the substrate analogue pentafluorobenzyl alcohol gives a detailed picture of the interactions in an enzyme-substrate complex. The alcohol is bound to the zinc and positioned so that the hydrogen atom can be directly transferred to the C4 atom of the nicotinamide ring. The structure of cod liver alcohol dehydrogenase with hybrid properties (functionally of class I but structurally overall closer to class III) has been determined by molecular replacement methods to 3 A resolution. Yeast alcohol dehydrogenase has been crystallized, and native data have been collected to 3 A resolution.

8172897 Ramaswamy S, Eklund H, Plapp BV. Structures of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase complexed with NAD+ and substituted benzyl alcohols. Biochemistry. 1994 May 3;33(17):5230-7. Structures of the enzyme complexed with NAD+ and 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl alcohol were determined by X-ray crystallography at a resolution of 2.1 A and to a refinement R value of 18.3% for a monoclinic (P2(1)) form and to 2.4 A and an R value of 18.9% for a triclinic crystal form. The pentafluorobenzyl alcohol does not react, due to electron withdrawal by the fluorine atoms. A structure with NAD+ and p-bromobenzyl alcohol in the monoclinic form was also determined at 2.5 A and an R value of 16.7%. The conformations of the subunits in the monoclinic and triclinic crystal forms are very similar. The dimer is the asymmetric unit, and a rigid body rotation closes the cleft between the coenzyme and catalytic domains upon complex formation. In the monoclinic form, this conformational change is described by a rotation of 9 degrees in one subunit and 10 degrees in the other. The pentafluoro- and p-bromobenzyl alcohols bind in overlapping positions. The hydroxyl group of each alcohol is ligated to the catalytic zinc and participates in an extensive hydrogen-bonded network that includes the imidazole group of His-51, which can act as a base and shuttle a proton to solvent. The hydroxymethyl carbon of the pentafluorobenzyl alcohol is 3.4 A from C4 of the nicotinamide ring, and the pro-R hydrogen is in a good position for direct transfer to C4. The p-bromobenzyl alcohol may react after small rotations around single bonds of the alcohol. These structures should approximate the active Michaelis-Menten complexes.

8289298 Ramaswamy S, Kratzer DA, Hershey AD, Rogers PH, Arnone A, Eklund H, Plapp BV. Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic studies of Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol dehydrogenase I. J Mol Biol. 1994 Jan 14;235(2):777-9. The cytoplasmic yeast alcohol dehydrogenase I crystallized at 5 degrees C as hexagonal plates or short columns in the presence of NAD+ and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol, in sodium N-tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl-3-aminopropanesulfonate buffer at pH 8.2 to 8.6, using polyethylene glycol 4000 as precipitant. X-ray diffraction data to 3.2 A resolution show that the crystals are hexagonal in space group P622 with unit cell dimensions a = b = 147.9 A, c = 69.1 A. There is one subunit of the tetrameric enzyme per asymmetric unit, giving a packing density of 2.9 A3/Da. [doi: 10.1006/jmbi.1994.1031]

Other

17704562 Brown EN, Ramaswamy S. Quality of protein crystal structures. Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr. 2007 Sep;63(Pt 9):941-50. Epub 2007 Aug 17. The genomics era has seen the propagation of numerous databases containing easily accessible data that are routinely used by investigators to interpret results and generate new ideas. Most investigators consider data extracted from scientific databases to be error-free. However, data generated by all experimental techniques contain errors and some, including the coordinates in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), also integrate the subjective interpretations of experimentalists. This paper explores the determinants of protein structure quality metrics used routinely by protein crystallographers. These metrics are available for most structures in the database, including the R factor, R(free), real-space correlation coefficient, Ramachandran violations etc. All structures in the PDB were analyzed for their overall quality based on nine different quality metrics. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that while technological improvements have increased the number of structures determined, the overall quality of structures has remained constant. The quality of structures deposited by structural genomics initiatives are generally better than the quality of structures from individual investigator laboratories. The most striking result is the association between structure quality and the journal in which the structure was first published. The worst offenders are the apparently high-impact general science journals. The rush to publish high-impact work in the competitive atmosphere may have led to the proliferation of poor-quality structures. [doi: 10.1107/S0907444907033847]

16647719 Ferraro DM, Ferraro DJ, Ramaswamy S, Robertson AD. Structures of ubiquitin insertion mutants support site-specific reflex response to insertions hypothesis. J Mol Biol. 2006 Jun 2;359(2):390-402. Epub 2006 Apr 5. We previously concluded that, judging from NMR chemical shifts, the effects of insertions into ubiquitin on its conformation appear to depend primarily on the site of insertion rather than the sequence of the insertion. To obtain a more complete and atomic-resolution understanding of how these insertions modulate the conformation of ubiquitin, we have solved the crystal structures of four insertional mutants of ubiquitin. Insertions between residues 9 and 10 of ubiquitin are minimally perturbing to the remainder of the protein, while larger alterations occur when the insertion is between residues 35 and 36. Further, the alterations in response to insertions are very similar for each mutant at a given site. Two insertions, one at each site, were designed from structurally homologous proteins. Interestingly, the secondary structure within these five to seven amino acid residue insertions is conserved in the new protein. Overall, the crystal structures support the previous conclusion that the conformational effects of these insertions are determined largely by the site of insertion and only secondarily by the sequence of the insert. [doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2006.03.047]

16437158 Pashkova N, Jin Y, Ramaswamy S, Weisman LS. Structural basis for myosin V discrimination between distinct cargoes. EMBO J. 2006 Feb 22;25(4):693-700. Epub 2006 Jan 26. Myosin V molecular motors move cargoes on actin filaments. A myosin V may move multiple cargoes to distinct places at different times. The cargoes attach to the globular tail of myosin V via cargo-specific receptors. Here we report the crystal structure at 2.2 A of the myosin V globular tail. The overall tertiary structure has not been previously observed. There are several patches of highly conserved regions distributed on the surface of the tail. These are candidate attachment sites for cargo-specific receptors. Indeed, we identified a region of five conserved surface residues that are solely required for vacuole inheritance. Likewise, we identified a region of five conserved surface residues that are required for secretory vesicle movement, but not vacuole movement. These two regions are at opposite ends of the oblong-shaped cargo-binding domain, and moreover are offset by 180 degrees. The fact that the cargo-binding areas are distant from each other and simultaneously exposed on the surface of the globular tail suggests that major targets for the regulation of cargo attachment are organelle-specific myosin V receptors. [doi: 10.1038/sj.emboj.7600965]

16300786 Schrift GL, Waldron TT, Timmons MA, Ramaswamy S, Kearney WR, Murphy KP. Molecular basis for nucleotide-binding specificity: role of the exocyclic amino group "N2" in recognition by a guanylyl-ribonuclease. J Mol Biol. 2006 Jan 6;355(1):72-84. Epub 2005 Oct 28. Proteins interact with nucleotides to perform a multitude of functions within cells. These interactions are highly specific; however, the molecular basis for this specificity is not well understood. To identify factors critical for protein-guanine nucleotide recognition the binding of two closely related ligands, guanosine 3'-monophosphate (3'GMP) and inosine 3'-monophosphate (3'IMP), to Ribonuclease Sa (RNase Sa), a small, guanylyl-endoribonuclease from Streptomyces aureofaciens, was compared using isothermal titration calorimetry, NMR, X-ray crystallography and molecular dynamics simulations. This comparison has allowed for the determination of the contribution of the exocyclic amino group "N2" of the guanine base to nucleotide binding specificity. Calorimetric measurements indicate that RNase Sa has a higher affinity for 3'GMP (K=(1.5+/-0.2)x10(5)) over 3'IMP (K=(3.1+/-0.2)x10(4)) emphasizing the importance of N2 as a key determinant of RNase Sa guanine binding specificity. This result was unexpected as the published structural data for RNase Sa in complex with 3'GMP showed only a potential long-range interaction (>3.3A) between N2 and the side-chain of Glu41 of RNase Sa. The observed difference in affinity is largely due to a reduction in the favorable enthalpy change by 10 kJ/mol for 3'IMP binding as compared to 3'GMP that is accompanied by a significant difference in the heat capacity changes observed for binding the two ligands. To aid interpretation of the calorimetric data, the first crystal structure of a small, guanylyl ribonuclease bound to 3'IMP was determined to 2.0 A resolution. This structure has revealed small yet unexpected changes in the ligand conformation and differences in the conformations of the side-chains contacting the sugar and phosphate moieties as compared to the 3'GMP complex. The structural data suggest the less favorable enthalpy change is due to an overall lengthening of the contacts between RNase Sa and 3'IMP as compared to 3'GMP. The long-range interaction between N2 and Glu41 is critical for positioning of the nucleotide in the binding cleft for optimal contact formation. Thus, combined, the data demonstrate how a long-range interaction can have a significant impact on nucleotide binding affinity and energetics. [doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2005.10.019]

14736872 Hoy JA, Kundu S, Trent JT 3rd, Ramaswamy S, Hargrove MS. The crystal structure of Synechocystis hemoglobin with a covalent heme linkage. J Biol Chem. 2004 Apr 16;279(16):16535-42. Epub 2004 Jan 21. The x-ray crystal structure of Synechocystis hemoglobin has been solved to a resolution of 1.8 A. The conformation of this structure is surprisingly different from that of the previously reported solution structure, probably due in part to a covalent linkage between the heme 2-vinyl and His117 that is present in the crystal structure but not in the structure solved by NMR. Synechocystis hemoglobin is a hexacoordinate hemoglobin in which the heme iron is coordinated by both the proximal and distal histidines. It is also a member of the "truncated hemoglobin" family that is much shorter in primary structure than vertebrate and plant hemoglobins. In contrast to other truncated hemoglobins, the crystal structure of Synechocystis hemoglobin displays no "ligand tunnel" and shows that several important amino acid side chains extrude into the solvent instead of residing inside the heme pocket. The stereochemistry of hexacoordination is compared with other hexacoordinate hemoglobins and cytochromes in an effort to illuminate factors contributing to ligand affinity in hexacoordinate hemoglobins. [doi: 10.1074/jbc.M313707200]

14623083 Friemann R, Schmidt H, Ramaswamy S, Forstner M, Krauth-Siegel RL, Eklund H. Structure of thioredoxin from Trypanosoma brucei brucei. FEBS Lett. 2003 Nov 20;554(3):301-5. The three-dimensional structure of thioredoxin from Trypanosoma brucei brucei has been determined at 1.4 A resolution. The overall structure is more similar to that of human thioredoxin than to any other thioredoxin structure. The most striking difference to other thioredoxins is the absence of a buried carboxylate behind the active site cysteines. Instead of the common Asp, there is a Trp that binds an ordered water molecule probably involved in the protonation/deprotonation of the more buried cysteine during catalysis. The conserved Trp in the WCGPC sequence motif has an exposed position that can interact with target proteins.

12888355 Horn JR, Ramaswamy S, Murphy KP. Structure and energetics of protein-protein interactions: the role of conformational heterogeneity in OMTKY3 binding to serine proteases. J Mol Biol. 2003 Aug 8;331(2):497-508. Proteins with flexible binding surfaces can interact with numerous binding partners. However, this promiscuity is more difficult to understand in "rigid-body" proteins, whose binding results in little, or no, change in the position of backbone atoms. The binding of Kazal inhibitors to serine proteases is considered a classic case of rigid-body binding, although they bind to a wide range of proteases. We have studied the thermodynamics of binding of the Kazal serine protease inhibitor, turkey ovomucoid third domain (OMTKY3), to the serine protease subtilisin Carlsberg using isothermal titration calorimetry and have determined the crystal structure of the complex at very high resolution (1.1A). Comparison of the binding energetics and structure to other OMTKY3 interactions demonstrates that small changes in the position of side-chains can make significant contributions to the binding thermodynamics, including the enthalpy of binding. These effects emphasize that small, "rigid-body" proteins are still dynamic structures, and these dynamics make contributions to both the enthalpy and entropy of binding interactions.

12777781 Uppsten M, Farnegardh M, Jordan A, Ramaswamy S, Uhlin U. Expression and preliminary crystallographic studies of R1E, the large subunit of ribonucleotide reductase from Salmonella typhimurium. Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr. 2003 Jun;59(Pt 6):1081-3. Epub 2003 May 23. The nrdE gene product R1E, the large subunit of the class 1b Salmonella typhimurium ribonucleotide reductase, has been overexpressed, purified and crystallized. Initially, the protein crystallized in two orthorhombic space groups, C222(1) and P2(1)2(1)2, using tartrate and PEG 6000 as precipitants, respectively. Better diffracting crystals belonging to the tetrahedral space group P4(3)2(1)2 were obtained using sodium malonate as precipitant. The P4(3)2(1)2 crystals could only be obtained after seeding from a drop containing C222(1) crystals grown in sodium tartrate. Thus, streak-seeding resulted in crystals of a supergroup to C222(1). Data to 2.8 A resolution have been collected on the P4(3)2(1)2 crystals which contained one R1E subunit in the asymmetric unit.

11717489 Terwisscha van Scheltinga AC, Valegard K, Ramaswamy S, Hajdu J, Andersson I. Multiple isomorphous replacement on merohedral twins: structure determination of deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase. Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr. 2001 Dec;57(Pt 12):1776-85. Epub 2001 Nov 21. Merohedral twinning is a packing anomaly that seriously impairs the determination of macromolecular crystal structures. Crystals of deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase (DAOCS), an enzyme involved in the expansion of the penicillin nucleus to form the core structure of the cephalosporin antibiotics, were found to be merohedrally twinned by many diagnostic criteria. Here, the structure determination of DAOCS from twinned crystals based on a combination of isomorphous replacement and the use of a multiple-wavelength diffraction data set is described.

11427893 Johansson K, Ramaswamy S, Ljungcrantz C, Knecht W, Piskur J, Munch-Petersen B, Eriksson S, Eklund H. Structural basis for substrate specificities of cellular deoxyribonucleoside kinases. Nat Struct Biol. 2001 Jul;8(7):616-20. Deoxyribonucleoside kinases phosphorylate deoxyribonucleosides and activate a number of medically important nucleoside analogs. Here we report the structure of the Drosophila deoxyribonucleoside kinase with deoxycytidine bound at the nucleoside binding site and that of the human deoxyguanosine kinase with ATP at the nucleoside substrate binding site. Compared to the human kinase, the Drosophila kinase has a wider substrate cleft, which may be responsible for the broad substrate specificity of this enzyme. The human deoxyguanosine kinase is highly specific for purine substrates; this is apparently due to the presence of Arg 118, which provides favorable hydrogen bonding interactions with the substrate. The two new structures provide an explanation for the substrate specificity of cellular deoxyribonucleoside kinases. [doi: 10.1038/89661]

11075389 Dai S, Schwendtmayer C, Johansson K, Ramaswamy S, Schurmann P, Eklund H. How does light regulate chloroplast enzymes? Structure-function studies of the ferredoxin/thioredoxin system. Q Rev Biophys. 2000 Feb;33(1):67-108.

10649999 Dai S, Schwendtmayer C, Schurmann P, Ramaswamy S, Eklund H. Redox signaling in chloroplasts: cleavage of disulfides by an iron-sulfur cluster. Science. 2000 Jan 28;287(5453):655-8. Light generates reducing equivalents in chloroplasts that are used not only for carbon reduction, but also for the regulation of the activity of chloroplast enzymes by reduction of regulatory disulfides via the ferredoxin:thioredoxin reductase (FTR) system. FTR, the key electron/thiol transducer enzyme in this pathway, is unique in that it can reduce disulfides by an iron-sulfur cluster, a property that is explained by the tight contact of its active-site disulfide and the iron-sulfur center. The thin, flat FTR molecule makes the two-electron reduction possible by forming on one side a mixed disulfide with thioredoxin and by providing on the opposite side access to ferredoxin for delivering electrons.

10353815 Ingelman M, Ramaswamy S, Niviere V, Fontecave M, Eklund H. Crystal structure of NAD(P)H:flavin oxidoreductase from Escherichia coli. Biochemistry. 1999 Jun 1;38(22):7040-9. Flavin reductases use flavins as substrates and are distinct from flavoenzymes which have tightly bound flavins. The reduced flavin can serve to reduce ferric complexes and iron proteins. In Escherichia coli, reactivation of ribonucleotide reductase is achieved by reduced flavins produced by flavin reductase. The crystal structure of E. coli flavin reductase reveals that the enzyme structure is similar to the structures of the ferredoxin reductase family of flavoproteins despite very low sequence similarities. The main difference between flavin reductase and structurally related flavoproteins is that there is no binding site for the AMP moiety of FAD. The direction of the helix in the flavin binding domain, corresponding to the phosphate binding helix in the flavoproteins, is also slightly different and less suitable for phosphate binding. Interactions for flavin substrates are instead provided by a hydrophobic isoalloxazine binding site that also contains a serine and a threonine, which form hydrogen bonds to the isoalloxazine of bound riboflavin in a substrate complex. [doi: 10.1021/bi982849m]

9723623 Valegard K, van Scheltinga AC, Lloyd MD, Hara T, Ramaswamy S, Perrakis A, Thompson A, Lee HJ, Baldwin JE, Schofield CJ, Hajdu J, Andersson I. Structure of a cephalosporin synthase. Nature. 1998 Aug 20;394(6695):805-9. Penicillins and cephalosporins are among the most widely used therapeutic agents. These antibiotics are produced from fermentation-derived materials as their chemical synthesis is not commercially viable. Unconventional steps in their biosynthesis are catalysed by Fe(II)-dependent oxidases/oxygenases; isopenicillin N synthase (IPNS) creates in one step the bicyclic nucleus of penicillins, and deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase (DAOCS) catalyses the expansion of the penicillin nucleus into the nucleus of cephalosporins. Both enzymes use dioxygen-derived ferryl intermediates in catalysis but, in contrast to IPNS, the ferryl form of DAOCS is produced by the oxidative splitting of a co-substrate, 2-oxoglutarate (alpha-ketoglutarate). This route of controlled ferryl formation and reaction is common to many mononuclear ferrous enzymes, which participate in a broader range of reactions than their well-characterized counterparts, the haem enzymes. Here we report the first crystal structure of a 2-oxoacid-dependent oxygenase. High-resolution structures for apo-DAOCS, the enzyme complexed with Fe(II), and with Fe(II) and 2-oxoglutarate, were obtained from merohedrally twinned crystals. Using a model based on these structures, we propose a mechanism for ferryl formation. [doi: 10.1038/29575]

9604284 Carredano E, Westerlund B, Persson B, Saarinen M, Ramaswamy S, Eaker D, Eklund H. The three-dimensional structures of two toxins from snake venom throw light on the anticoagulant and neurotoxic sites of phospholipase A2. Toxicon. 1998 Jan;36(1):75-92. The three-dimensional structures of the class II anticoagulant phospholipase A2 (PLA2) toxin RVV-VD from the venom of Russell's viper, Vipera russelli russelli, and the class I neurotoxic PLA2 Notechis II-5 from the, Australian tiger snake, Notechis scutatus scutatus, were determined to 2.2 A and 3.0 A resolution, respectively. Both enzymes are monomeric and consist of 121 and 119 residues, respectively. A comparison of ten class I/II PLA2 structures showed, among other differences, that the beta-sheet of these enzymes (residues 76-83) is about 90 degrees less twisted in class I than in class II PLA2s. This, along with the insertion of some residues in the region 57-59 in class I enzymes (the elapid loop), could be the main reason for the significant difference in the anticoagulant and (presynaptic) neurotoxic properties between the two classes of PLA2. It seems apparent from sequence and structural comparisons that the toxic site of PLA2 responsible for the strong anticoagulancy of these toxins consists of a negatively charged part, Glu53, together with a positively charged ridge of lysine residues free for intermolecular interactions. These lysines differ between the two classes of PLA2.

9309223 Eriksson M, Uhlin U, Ramaswamy S, Ekberg M, Regnstrom K, Sjoberg BM, Eklund H. Binding of allosteric effectors to ribonucleotide reductase protein R1: reduction of active-site cysteines promotes substrate binding. Structure. 1997 Aug 15;5(8):1077-92. BACKGROUND: Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) is an essential enzyme in DNA synthesis, catalyzing all de novo synthesis of deoxyribonucleotides. The enzyme comprises two dimers, termed R1 and R2, and contains the redox active cysteine residues, Cys462 and Cys225. The reduction of ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides involves the transfer of free radicals. The pathway for the radical has previously been suggested from crystallographic results, and is supported by site-directed mutagenesis studies. Most RNRs are allosterically regulated through two different nucleotide-binding sites: one site controls general activity and the other controls substrate specificity. Our aim has been to crystallographically demonstrate substrate binding and to locate the two effector-binding sites. RESULTS: We report here the first crystal structure of RNR R1 in a reduced form. The structure shows that upon reduction of the redox active cysteines, the sulfur atom of Cys462 becomes deeply buried. The more accessible Cys225 moves to the former position of Cys462 making room for the substrate. In addition, the structures of R1 in complexes with effector, effector analog and effector plus substrate provide information about these binding sites. The substrate GDP binds in a cleft between two domains with its beta-phosphate bound to the N termini of two helices; the ribose forms hydrogen bonds to conserved residues. Binding of dTTP at the allosteric substrate specificity site stabilizes three loops close to the dimer interface and the active site, whereas the general allosteric binding site is positioned far from the active site. CONCLUSIONS: Binding of substrate at the active site of the enzyme is structurally regulated in two ways: binding of the correct substrate is regulated by the binding of allosteric effectors and binding of the actual substrate occurs primarily when the active-site cysteines are reduced. One of the loops stabilized upon binding of dTTP participates in the formation of the substrate-binding site through direct interaction with the nucleotide base. The general allosteric effector site, located far from the active site, appears to regulate subunit interactions within the holoenzyme.

9038359 Westerlund B, Saarinen M, Person B, Ramaswamy S, Eaker D, Eklund H. Crystallographic investigation of the dependence of calcium and phosphate ions for notexin. FEBS Lett. 1997 Feb 10;403(1):51-6. The crystal structure of the neurotoxic phospholipase A2, notexin, revealed three binding sites for sulphate ions which were suggested to be phosphate binding sites of importance for the activity of the toxin. The present investigation shows that the sulphate ion bound to the major binding site alters the structure of residues 60-75. In the absence of sulphate and phosphate, the structure of this loop has a conformation which partly resembles the non-neurotoxic PLA2s. The affinity of notexin for phosphate is 17 microM, as measured by the increase in fluorescence at 345 nm. Since the concentrations of phosphate and sulphate ions in blood plasma are 3 and 1 mM, respectively, the binding site must be occupied under physiological conditions. This major sulphate/phosphate binding site explains the specific affinity labelling by pyridoxal phosphate. Pyridoxal phosphate binds to this anion binding site which allows the reaction with Lys-88 or Lys-89. The structure of notexin in the presence and absence of Ca2+ shows only small local structural differences.

9000629 Dai S, Saarinen M, Ramaswamy S, Meyer Y, Jacquot JP, Eklund H. Crystal structure of Arabidopsis thaliana NADPH dependent thioredoxin reductase at 2.5 A resolution. J Mol Biol. 1996 Dec 20;264(5):1044-57. Thioredoxin exists in all organisms and is responsible for the hydrogen transfer to important enzymes for ribonucleotide reduction and the reduction of methionine sulphoxide and sulphate. Thioredoxins have also been shown to regulate enzyme activity in plants and are also involved in the regulation of transcription factors and several other regulatory activities. Thioredoxin is reduced by the flavoenzyme thioredoxin reductase using NADPH. We have now determined the first structure of a eukaryotic thioredoxin reductase, from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, at 2.5 A resolution. The dimeric A. thaliana thioredoxin reductase is structurally similar to that of the Escherichia coli enzyme, and most differences occur in the loops. Because the plant and E. coli enzymes have the same architecture, with the same dimeric structure and the same position of the redox active disulphide bond, a similar mechanism that involves very large domain rotations is likely for the two enzymes. The subunit is divided into two domains, one that binds FAD and one that binds NADPH. The relative positions of the domains in A. thaliana thioredoxin reductase differ from those of the E. coli reductase. When the FAD domains are superimposed, the NADPH domain of A. thaliana thioredoxin reductase must be rotated by 8 degrees to superimpose on the corresponding domain of the E. coli enzyme. The domain rotation we now observe is much smaller than necessary for the thioredoxin reduction cycle. [doi: 10.1006/jmbi.1996.0695]

8876648 Kauppi B, Nielsen BB, Ramaswamy S, Larsen IK, Thelander M, Thelander L, Eklund H. The three-dimensional structure of mammalian ribonucleotide reductase protein R2 reveals a more-accessible iron-radical site than Escherichia coli R2. J Mol Biol. 1996 Oct 11;262(5):706-20. The three-dimensional structure of mouse ribonucleotide reductase R2 has been determined at 2.3 A resolution using molecular replacement and refined to an R-value of 19.1% (Rfree = 25%) with good stereo-chemistry. The overall tertiary structure architecture of mouse R2 is similar to that from Escherichia coli R2. However, several important structural differences are observed. Unlike the E. coli protein, the mouse dimer is completely devoid of beta-strands. The sequences differ significantly between the mouse and E. coli R2s, but there is high sequence identity among the eukaryotic R2 proteins, and the identities are localized over the whole sequence. Therefore, the three-dimensional structures of other mammalian ribonucleotide reductase R2 proteins are expected to be very similar to that of the mouse enzyme. In mouse R2 a narrow hydrophobic channel leads to the proposed binding site for molecular oxygen near to the iron-radical site in the interior of the protein. In E. coli R2 this channel is blocked by the phenyl ring of a tyrosine residue, which in mouse R2 is a serine. These structural variations may explain the observed differences in sensitivity to radical scavengers. The structure determination is based on diffraction data from crystals grown at pH 4.7. Unexpectedly, the protein is not iron-free, but contains one iron ion bound at one of the dinuclear iron sites. This ferric ion is bound with partial occupancy and is coordinated by three glutamic acids (one bidentate) and one histidine in a bipyramidal coordination that has a free apical coordination position. Soaking of crystals in a solution of ferrous salt at pH 4.7 increased the occupancy on the already occupied site, but without any detectable binding at the second site.