The tetrameric structure of nucleotide-regulated pyrophosphatase and its modulation by deletion mutagenesis and ligand binding

The inorganic pyrophosphatases of microorganisms: a structural and functional review

Pyrophosphatases (PPases) are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate (PPi), a byproduct of the synthesis and degradation of diverse biomolecules. The accumulation of PPi in the cell can result in cell death. Although the substrate is the same, there are variations in the catalysis and features of these enzymes. Two enzyme forms have been identified in bacteria: cytoplasmic or soluble pyrophosphatases and membrane-bound pyrophosphatases, which play major roles in cell bioenergetics. In eukaryotic cells, cytoplasmic enzymes are the predominant form of PPases (c-PPases), while membrane enzymes (m-PPases) are found only in protists and plants. The study of bacterial cytoplasmic and membrane-bound pyrophosphatases has slowed in recent years. These enzymes are central to cell metabolism and physiology since phospholipid and nucleic acid synthesis release important amounts of PPi that must be removed to allow biosynthesis to continue. In this review, two aims were pursued: first, to provide insight into the structural features of PPases known to date and that are well characterized, and to provide examples of enzymes with novel features. Second, the scientific community should continue studying these enzymes because they have many biotechnological applications. Additionally, in this review, we provide evidence that there are m-PPases present in fungi; to date, no examples have been characterized. Therefore, the diversity of PPase enzymes is still a fruitful field of research. Additionally, we focused on the roles of H+/Na+ pumps and m-PPases in cell bioenergetics. Finally, we provide some examples of the applications of these enzymes in molecular biology and biotechnology, especially in plants. This review is valuable for professionals in the biochemistry field of protein structure-function relationships and experts in other fields, such as chemistry, nanotechnology, and plant sciences.

Specific Mutations Reverse Regulatory Effects of Adenosine Phosphates and Increase Their Binding Stoichiometry in CBS Domain-Containing Pyrophosphatase

Regulatory cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) domains are widespread in proteins; however, difficulty in structure determination prevents a comprehensive understanding of the underlying regulation mechanism. Tetrameric microbial inorganic pyrophosphatase containing such domains (CBS-PPase) is allosterically inhibited by AMP and ADP and activated by ATP and cell alarmones diadenosine polyphosphates. Each CBS-PPase subunit contains a pair of CBS domains but binds cooperatively to only one molecule of the mono-adenosine derivatives. We used site-directed mutagenesis of Desulfitobacterium hafniense CBS-PPase to identify the key elements determining the direction of the effect (activation or inhibition) and the "half-of-the-sites" ligand binding stoichiometry. Seven amino acid residues were selected in the CBS1 domain, based on the available X-ray structure of the regulatory domains, and substituted by alanine and other residues. The interaction of 11 CBS-PPase variants with the regulating ligands was characterized by activity measurements and isothermal titration calorimetry. Lys100 replacement reversed the effect of ADP from inhibition to activation, whereas Lys95 and Gly118 replacements made ADP an activator at low concentrations but an inhibitor at high concentrations. Replacement of these residues for alanine increased the stoichiometry of mono-adenosine phosphate binding by twofold. These findings identified several key protein residues and suggested a "two non-interacting pairs of interacting regulatory sites" concept in CBS-PPase regulation.

The Structure and Nucleotide-Binding Characteristics of Regulated Cystathionine β-Synthase Domain-Containing Pyrophosphatase without One Catalytic Domain

Regulatory adenine nucleotide-binding cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) domains are widespread in proteins; however, information on the mechanism of their modulating effects on protein function is scarce. The difficulty in obtaining structural data for such proteins is ascribed to their unusual flexibility and propensity to form higher-order oligomeric structures. In this study, we deleted the most movable domain from the catalytic part of a CBS domain-containing bacterial inorganic pyrophosphatase (CBS-PPase) and characterized the deletion variant both structurally and functionally. The truncated CBS-PPase was inactive but retained the homotetrameric structure of the full-size enzyme and its ability to bind a fluorescent AMP analog (inhibitor) and diadenosine tetraphosphate (activator) with the same or greater affinity. The deletion stabilized the protein structure against thermal unfolding, suggesting that the deleted domain destabilizes the structure in the full-size protein. A "linear" 3D structure with an unusual type of domain swapping predicted for the truncated CBS-PPase by Alphafold2 was confirmed by single-particle electron microscopy. The results suggest a dual role for the CBS domains in CBS-PPase regulation: they allow for enzyme tetramerization, which impedes the motion of one catalytic domain, and bind adenine nucleotides to mitigate or aggravate this effect.

Thermophilic Inorganic Pyrophosphatase Ton1914 from Thermococcus onnurineus NA1 Removes the Inhibitory Effect of Pyrophosphate

Pyrophosphate (PP_i) is a byproduct of over 120 biosynthetic reactions, and an overabundance of PP_i can inhibit industrial synthesis. Pyrophosphatases (PPases) can effectively hydrolyze pyrophosphate to remove the inhibitory effect of pyrophosphate. In the present work, a thermophilic alkaline inorganic pyrophosphatase from Thermococcus onnurineus NA1 was studied. The optimum pH and temperature of Ton1914 were 9.0 and 80 °C, respectively, and the half-life was 52 h at 70 °C and 2.5 h at 90 °C. Ton1914 showed excellent thermal stability, and its relative enzyme activity, when incubated in Tris-HCl 9.0 containing 1.6 mM Mg²⁺ at 90 °C for 5 h, was still 100%, which was much higher than the control, whose relative activity was only 37%. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) results showed that the promotion of Ton1914 on long-chain DNA was more efficient than that on short-chain DNA when the same concentration of templates was supplemented. The yield of long-chain products was increased by 32-41%, while that of short-chain DNA was only improved by 9.5-15%. Ton1914 also increased the yields of UDP-glucose and UDP-galactose enzymatic synthesis from 40.1% to 84.8% and 20.9% to 35.4%, respectively. These findings suggested that Ton1914 has considerable potential for industrial applications.