A crystallographic investigation of citrate synthase from pig and chicken heart muscle

Comparative studies of Aspergillus fumigatus 2-methylcitrate synthase and human citrate synthase

Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitous fungus that is not only a problem in agriculture, but also in healthcare. Aspergillus fumigatus drug resistance is becoming more prominent which is mainly attributed to the widespread use of fungicides in agriculture. The fungi-specific 2-methylcitrate cycle is responsible for detoxifying propionyl-CoA, a toxic metabolite produced as the fungus breaks down proteins and amino acids. The enzyme responsible for this detoxification is 2-methylcitrate synthase (mcsA) and is a potential candidate for the design of new anti-fungals. However, mcsA is very similar in structure to human citrate synthase (hCS) and catalyzes the same reaction. Therefore, both enzymes were studied in parallel to provide foundations for design of mcsA-specific inhibitors. The first crystal structures of citrate synthase from humans and 2-methylcitrate synthase from A. fumigatus are reported. The determined structures capture various conformational states of the enzymes and several inhibitors were identified and characterized. Despite a significant homology, mcsA and hCS display pronounced differences in substrate specificity and cooperativity. Considering that the active sites of the enzymes are almost identical, the differences in reactions catalyzed by enzymes are caused by residues that are in the vicinity of the active site and influence conformational changes of the enzymes.

Crystal structure analysis of the tetragonal crystal form are preliminary molecular model of pig-heart citrate synthase

The crystal structure of pig heart citrate synthase was analyzed at 0.35-nm resolution. Chain tracing was possible and an initial molecular model constructed. The dimensions of the dimer molecule (located on a crystallographic diad) are 7.5 x 6.0 x 9.0 nm. The chain folding is characterized by the predominance of helices and the absence of sheet structure. The electron density accounts for 355 residues per monomer, so that about 80 residues must be disordered in the crystal. The disordered segment in probably N-terminal. The ordered part consists of two closely associated domains, a large domain with 300 residues and a C-terminal domain of 55 residues consisting of 3(anti)parallel helices. The large domain is built from 12 helical segments, some of which are buried in the interior of the molecule. Inhibitor binding studies with citrate and CoA revealed citrate binding sites but showed no electron density for CoA. It is suggested that CoA binds to the disordered, flexible N-terminal domain. Experiments of limited proteolysis with trypsin showed that under conditions a segment of Mr 9000 is cleaved off selectively. The remaining 35 000-Mr part is dimeric.