Structure of active site carboxymethylated D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Palinurus versicolor

Structure determination and analyses of the GAPDH from the parasite Schistosoma mansoni, the first one from a platyhelminth

The enzyme Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase from Schistosoma mansoni (SmGAPDH) is characterized as a therapeutical target for schistosomiasis. In this context, we report here the experimental structure, structural analyses and comparisons of SmGAPDH, the first one from a Platyhelminth. The enzyme was expressed, purified and assayed for crystallization, what allowed the obtainment of crystals of sufficient quality to collect X-ray diffraction data up to 2.51 Å resolution. SmGAPDH is the only GAPDH to present the sequence NNR (its residues 114-116) which leads to (especially R116) a hydrogen bond network that possibly reflects on the flexibility of residues to interact with the adenine part of NAD⁺, speculated to be important for differential drug design.

Predicting flavin and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-binding sites in proteins using the fragment transformation method

We developed a computational method to identify NAD- and FAD-binding sites in proteins. First, we extracted from the Protein Data Bank structures of proteins that bind to at least one of these ligands. NAD-/FAD-binding residue templates were then constructed by identifying binding residues through the ligand-binding database BioLiP. The fragment transformation method was used to identify structures within query proteins that resembled the ligand-binding templates. By comparing residue types and their relative spatial positions, potential binding sites were identified and a ligand-binding potential for each residue was calculated. Setting the false positive rate at 5%, our method predicted NAD- and FAD-binding sites at true positive rates of 67.1% and 68.4%, respectively. Our method provides excellent results for identifying FAD- and NAD-binding sites in proteins, and the most important is that the requirement of conservation of residue types and local structures in the FAD- and NAD-binding sites can be verified.

Identification of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase sequence and expression profiles in tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri)

The tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri) diverged from the primate order (Primates) and are classified as Scandentia, a separate taxonomic group of mammals. The tree shrew has been suggested to use an animal model to study human disease but the genomic sequences of tree shrew is largely unidentified. Here we identified the full-length cDNA sequence of a housekeeping gene, Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH), in tree shrew. We further constructed a phylogenetic family tree base on GAPDH molecules of various organisms and compared GAPDH sequences with human and other small experimental animals. These study revealed that tree shrew was closer to human than mouse, rat, rabbit and guinea pig. The Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR and western blot analysis further demonstrated that GAPDH expressed in various tissues in tree shrew as a general conservative housekeeping proteins as in human. Our findings provide the novel genetic knowledge of the tree shrew and strong evidences that tree shrew can be an experimental model system to study human disorders.

Positive selection in glycolysis among Australasian stick insects

BACKGROUND

The glycolytic pathway is central to cellular energy production. Selection on individual enzymes within glycolysis, particularly phosphoglucose isomerase (Pgi), has been associated with metabolic performance in numerous organisms. Nonetheless, how whole energy-producing pathways evolve to allow organisms to thrive in different environments and adopt new lifestyles remains little explored. The Lanceocercata radiation of Australasian stick insects includes transitions from tropical to temperate climates, lowland to alpine habitats, and winged to wingless forms. This permits a broad investigation to determine which steps within glycolysis and what sites within enzymes are the targets of positive selection. To address these questions we obtained transcript sequences from seven core glycolysis enzymes, including two Pgi paralogues, from 29 Lanceocercata species.

RESULTS

Using maximum likelihood methods a signature of positive selection was inferred in two core glycolysis enzymes. Pgi and Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Gaphd) genes both encode enzymes linking glycolysis to the pentose phosphate pathway. Positive selection among Pgi paralogues and orthologues predominately targets amino acids with residues exposed to the protein's surface, where changes in physical properties may alter enzyme performance.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that, for Lancerocercata stick insects, adaptation to new stressful lifestyles requires a balance between maintaining cellular energy production, efficiently exploiting different energy storage pools and compensating for stress-induced oxidative damage.

Structure of NADP-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Synechococcus PCC7942 complexed with NADP

The crystal structure of NADP-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (NADP-GAPDH) from Synechococcus PCC 7942 (S. 7942) in complex with NADP was solved by molecular replacement and refined to an R factor of 19.1% and a free R factor of 24.0% at 2.5 A resolution. The overall structure of NADP-GAPDH from S. 7942 was quite similar to those of other bacterial and eukaryotic GAPDHs. The nicotinamide ring of NADP, which is involved in the redox reaction, was oriented toward the catalytic site. The 2'-phosphate O atoms of NADP exhibited hydrogen bonds to the hydroxyl groups of Ser194 belonging to the S-loop and Thr37. These residues are therefore considered to be essential in the discrimination between NADP and NAD molecules. The C-terminal region was estimated to have an extremely flexible conformation and to play an important role in the formation of the supramolecular complex phosphoribulokinase (PRK)-regulatory peptide (CP12)-GAPDH, which regulates enzyme activities.

Breaking symmetry in protein dimers: designs and functions

Symmetry, and in particular point group symmetry, is generally the rule for the global arrangement between subunits in homodimeric and other oligomeric proteins. The structures of fragments of tropomyosin and bovine fibrinogen are recently published examples, however, of asymmetric interactions between chemically identical chains. Their departures from strict twofold symmetry are based on simple and generalizable chemical designs, but were not anticipated prior to their structure determinations. The current review aims to improve our understanding of the structural principles and functional consequences of asymmetric interactions in proteins. Here, a survey of >100 diverse homodimers has focused on the structures immediately adjacent to the twofold axis. Five regular frameworks in alpha-helical coiled coils and antiparallel beta-sheets accommodate many of the twofold symmetric axes. On the basis of these frameworks, certain sequence motifs can break symmetry in geometrically defined manners. In antiparallel beta-sheets, these asymmetries include register slips between strands of repeating residues and the adoption of different side-chain rotamers to avoid steric clashes of bulky residues. In parallel coiled coils, an axial stagger between the alpha-helices is produced by clusters of core alanines. Such simple designs lead to a basic understanding of the functions of diverse proteins. These functions include regulation of muscle contraction by tropomyosin, blood clot formation by fibrin, half-of-site reactivity of caspase-9, and adaptive protein recognition in the matrix metalloproteinase MMP9. Moreover, asymmetry between chemically identical subunits, by producing multiple equally stable conformations, leads to unique dynamic and self-assembly properties.

Structure of apo-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Palinurus versicolor

d-Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) shows cooperative properties for binding coenzymes. The structure of apo-GAPDH from Palinurus versicolor has been solved at 2.0 A resolution by X-ray crystallography. The final model gives a crystallographic R factor of 0.178 in the resolution range 8 to 2 A. The structural comparison with holo-GAPDH from the same species reveals a conformational change induced by coenzyme binding similar to that observed in Bacillus stearothermophilus GAPDH but to a lesser extent. The differences in magnitude during the apo-holo transition between these two enzymes were analyzed with respect to the change of the amino acid composition in the coenzyme binding pocket. In the crystalline state of apo-GAPDH, the overall structures of the subunits are similar to each other; however, significant differences in temperature factors and minor differences in domain rotation upon coenzyme binding were observed for different subunits. These structural features are discussed in relation to the environmental asymmetry of crystallographically independent subunits.