Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii pyrE gene, overproduction, purification and characterization of orotate phosphoribosyltransferase

Molecular, kinetic and thermodynamic characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis orotate phosphoribosyltransferase

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious disease caused mainly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The worldwide emergence of drug-resistant strains, the increasing number of infected patients among immune compromised populations, and the large number of latent infected individuals that are reservoir to the disease have underscored the urgent need of new strategies to treat TB. The nucleotide metabolism pathways provide promising molecular targets for the development of novel drugs against active TB and may, hopefully, also be effective against latent forms of the pathogen. The orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRT) enzyme of the de novo pyrimidine synthesis pathway catalyzes the reversible phosphoribosyl transfer from 5'-phospho-α-D-ribose 1'-diphosphate (PRPP) to orotic acid (OA), forming pyrophosphate and orotidine 5'-monophosphate (OMP). Here we describe cloning and characterization of pyrE-encoded protein of M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain as a homodimeric functional OPRT enzyme. The M. tuberculosis OPRT true kinetic constants for forward reaction and product inhibition results suggest a Mono-Iso Ordered Bi-Bi kinetic mechanism, which has not been previously described for this enzyme family. Absence of detection of half reaction and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) data support the proposed mechanism. ITC data also provided thermodynamic signatures of non-covalent interactions between substrate/product and M. tuberculosis OPRT. These data provide a solid foundation on which to base target-based rational design of anti-TB agents and should inform us how to better design inhibitors of M. tuberculosis OPRT.

Orotate phosphoribosyltransferase from Corynebacterium ammoniagenes lacking a conserved lysine

The pyrE gene, encoding orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRTase), was cloned by nested PCR and colony blotting from Corynebacterium ammoniagenes ATCC 6872, which is widely used in nucleotide production. Sequence analysis shows that there is a lack of an important conserved lysine (Lys 73 in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium OPRTase) in the C. ammoniagenes OPRTase. This lysine has been considered to contribute to the initiation of catalysis. The enzyme was overexpressed and purified from a recombinant Escherichia coli strain. The molecular mass of the purified OPRTase was determined to be 45.4 +/- 1.5 kDa by gel filtration. Since the molecular mass for the subunit of the enzyme was 21.3 +/- 0.6 kDa, the native enzyme exists as a dimer. Divalent magnesium was necessary for the activity of the enzyme and can be substituted for by Mn2+ and Co2+. The optimal pH for the forward (phosphoribosyl transfer) reaction is 10.5 to 11.5, which is higher than that of other reported OPRTases, and the optimal pH for the reverse (pyrophosphorolysis) reaction is 5.5 to 6.5. The Km values for the four substrates were determined to be 33 microM for orotate, 64 microM for 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP), 45 microM for orotidine-5-phosphate (OMP), and 36 microM for pyrophosphate. The Km value for OMP is much larger than those of other organisms. These differences may be due to the absence of Lys 73, which is present in the active sites of other OPRTases and is known to interact with OMP and PRPP.

Human malaria parasite orotate phosphoribosyltransferase: functional expression, characterization of kinetic reaction mechanism and inhibition profile

Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of the most lethal form of human malaria, relies on de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. A gene encoding orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRT), the fifth enzyme of the de novo pathway catalyzing formation of orotidine 5'-monophosphate (OMP) and pyrophosphate (PP(i)) from 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP) and orotate, was identified from P. falciparum (pfOPRT). The deduced amino acid sequence for pfOPRT was compared with OPRTs from other organisms and found to be most similar to that of Escherichia coli. The catalytic residues and consensus sequences for substrate binding in the enzyme were conserved among other organisms. The pfOPRT was exceptional in that it contained a unique insertion of 20 amino acids and an amino-terminal extension of 66 amino acids, making the longest amino acid sequence (281 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 33kDa). The cDNA of the pfOPRT gene was cloned, sequenced and functionally expressed in soluble form. The recombinant pfOPRT was purified from the E. coli lysate by two steps, nickel metal-affinity and gel-filtration chromatography. From 1l E. coli culture, 1.2-1.5mg of pure pfOPRT was obtained. SDS-PAGE revealed that the pfOPRT had a molecular mass of 33kDa and analytical gel-filtration chromatography showed that the enzyme activity eluted at approximately 67kDa. Using dimethyl suberimidate to cross-link neighboring subunits of the pfOPRT, it was confirmed that the native enzyme exists in a dimeric form. The steady state kinetics of initial velocity and product inhibition studies indicate that the enzyme pfOPRT follows a random sequential kinetic mechanism. Compounds aimed at the pfOPRT nexus may act against the parasite through at least two mechanisms: by directly inhibiting the enzyme activity, or be processed to an inhibitor of thymidylate synthase. This study provides a working system with which to investigate new antimalarial agents targeted against P. falciparum OPRT.

A nonradioactive high-performance liquid chromatographic microassay for uridine 5'-monophosphate synthase, orotate phosphoribosyltransferase, and orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase

A novel nonradioactive, microassay method has been developed to determine simultaneously the two enzymatic activities of orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRTase) and orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase (ODCase), either as a bifunctional protein (uridine 5'-monophosphate synthase, UMPS) or as separate enzymes. Substrates (orotate for OPRTase or orotidine 5'-monophosphate for ODCase) and a product (UMP) of the enzymatic assay were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a reversed-phase column and an ion-pairing system; the amount of UMP was quantified by dual-wavelength uv detection at 260 and 278 nm. This HPLC assay can easily detect picomole levels of UMP in enzymatic reactions using low specific activity UMPS of mammalian cell extracts, which is difficult to do with the other nonradioactive assays that have been described. The HPLC assay is suitable for use in protein purification and for kinetic study of these enzymes.