Crystallographic study of Glu58Ala RNase T1 x 2'-guanosine monophosphate at 1.9-A resolution

Mechanism of RNase T1: concerted triester-like phosphoryl transfer via a catalytic three-centered hydrogen bond

BACKGROUND

The microscopic events of ribonuclease (RNase) catalyzed phosphoryl transfer reactions are still a matter of debate in which the contenders adhere to either the classical concerted acid-base mechanism or a more sequential triester-like mechanism. In the case of RNase A, small thio-effects of the nonbridging oxygens have been invoked in favor of the classical mechanism. However, the RNase T1 catalyzed transphosphorylation of phosphorothioate RNA is highly stereoselective. R(P) thio-substituted RNA is depolymerized 60000 times faster than S(P) thio-substituted RNA by this enzyme, whereas the uncatalyzed cleavage of both substrates occurs at comparable rates. We combined site-directed mutagenesis in the RNase active site and stereospecific thio-substitution of an RNA substrate to probe the intermolecular interactions of the enzyme with the nonbridging pro-S(P) oxygen that bring about this stereoselectivity of RNase T1.

RESULTS

Thio-substitution of the nonbridging pro-S(P) oxygen in the substrate afflicts chemical turnover but not ground state binding whereas thio-substitution of the nonbridging pro-R(P) oxygen does not affect the kinetics of RNase T1. Site-directed mutagenesis of the catalytic base Glu58 impairs the enzyme's ability to discriminate both phosphorothioate diastereomers. Glu58Ala RNase T1 cleaves R(P) and S(P) phosphorothioate RNA with similar rates. The dependence of the pro-S(P) thio-effect on the presence of the Glu58 carboxylate evidences a strong rate-limiting interaction between the nonbridging pro-S(P) oxygen and the catalytic base Glu58 in the wild type enzyme.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these results, we put forward a new triester-like mechanism for the RNase T1 catalyzed reaction that involves a three-centered hydrogen bond between the 2'-OH group, the nonbridging pro-S(P) oxygen and one of the carboxylate oxygens of Glu58. This interaction allows nucleophilic attack on an activated phosphate to occur simultaneously with general base catalysis, ensuring concerted phosphoryl transfer via a triester-like mechanism.

Conserved water molecules in a large family of microbial ribonucleases

We systematically analyzed the crystallographically determined water molecules of all known structures of RNase T1 and compared them to the ordered solvent in a large number of related microbial nucleases. To assess the crystallographers' impact on the interpretation of the solvent structure, we independently refined five validation structures from diffraction data derived from five isomorphous crystals of RNase T1. We also compared the positions of water molecules found in 11 published isomorphous RNase T1 inhibitor complexes. These data suggest that the positions of most of the waters located on the surface of a protein and that are well-determined in the experimental electron density maps are determined primarily by crystal packing forces. Water molecules with less well-defined electron density are in general unique to one or a small number of crystal structures. Only a small number of the well-defined waters are found to be independent of the crystal environment. These waters have a low accessible surface area and B-factor, and tend to be conserved in the crystal structures of a number of evolutionary related ribonucleases as well. A single water molecule is found conserved in all known microbial ribonucleases.

A decade of protein engineering on ribonuclease T1--atomic dissection of the enzyme-substrate interactions

During the last decade, protein engineering has been used to identify the residues that contribute to the ribonuclease-T1-catalyzed transesterification. His40, Glu58 and His92 accelerate the associative nucleophilic displacement at the phosphate atom by the entering 2'-oxygen downstream guanosines in a highly cooperative manner. Glu58, assisted by the protonated His40 imidazole, abstracts a proton from the 2'-oxygen, while His92 protonates the leaving group. Tyr38, Arg77 and Phe100 further stabilize the transition state of the reaction. A functionally independent subsite, including Asn36 and Asn98, contributes to chemical turnover by aligning the substrate relative to the catalytic side chains upon binding of the leaving group. An invariant structural motive, involving residues 42-46, renders ribonuclease T1 guanine specific through a series of intermolar hydrogen bonds. Tyr42 contributes significantly to guanine binding through a parallel face-to-face stacking interaction. Tyr45, often referred to as the lid of the guanine-binding site, does not contribute to the binding of the base.

Crystal structure of ribonuclease T1 carboxymethylated at Glu58 in complex with 2'-GMP

The carboxymethylation of RNase T1 at the gamma-carboxyl group of Glu58 leads to a complete loss of the enzymatic activity while it retains substrate-binding ability. Accompanying the carboxymethylation, RNase T1 undergoes a remarkable thermal stabilization of 9 degrees C in the melting temperature (Tm). In order to clarify the inactivation and stabilization mechanisms of RNase T1 by carboxymethylation, the crystal structure of carboxymethylated RNase T1 (CM-RNase T1) complexed with 2'-GMP was determined at 1.8 A resolution. The structure, including 79 water molecules and two Na+, was refined to an R factor of 0.194 with 10 354 reflections > 1 sigma (F). The carboxyl group of CM-Glu58, which locates in the active site, occupies almost the same position as the phosphate group of 2'-GMP in the crystal structure of intact RNase T1.2'-GMP complex. Therefore, the phosphate group of 2'-GMP cannot locate in the active site but protrudes toward the solvent. This forces 2'-GMP to adopt an anti form, which contrasts with the syn form in the crystal of the intact RNase T1.2'-GMP complex. The inaccessibility of the phosphate group to the active site can account for the lack of the enzymatic activity in CM-RNase T1. One of the carboxyl oxygen atoms of CM-Glu58 forms two hydrogen bonds with the side-chains of Tyr38 and His40. These hydrogen bonds are considered to mainly contribute to the higher thermal stability of CM-RNase T1. Another carboxyl oxygen atoms of CM-Glu58 is situated nearby His40 and Arg77. This may provide additional electrostatic stabilization.

Are turns required for the folding of ribonuclease T1?

Ribonuclease T1 (RNase T1) is a small, globular protein of 104 amino acids for which extensive thermodynamic and structural information is known. To assess the specific influence of variations in amino acid sequence on the mechanism for protein folding, circularly permuted variants of RNase T1 were constructed and characterized in terms of catalytic activity and thermodynamic stability. The disulfide bond connecting Cys-2 and Cys-10 was removed by mutation of these residues to alanine (C2, 10A) to avoid potential steric problems imposed by the circular permutations. The original amino-terminus and carboxyl-terminus of the mutant (C2, 10A) were subsequently joined with a tripeptide linker to accommodate a reverse turn and new termini were introduced throughout the primary sequence in regions of solvent-exposed loops at Ser-35 (cp35S1), Asp-49 (cp49D1), Gly-70 (cp70G1), and Ser-96 (cp96S1). These circularly permuted RNase T1 mutants retained 35-100% of the original catalytic activity for the hydrolysis of guanylyl(3'-->5')cytidine, suggesting that the overall tertiary fold of these mutants is very similar to that of wild-type protein. Chemical denaturation curves indicated thermodynamic stabilities at pH 5.0 of 5.7, 2.9, 2.6, and 4.6 kcal/mol for cp35S1, cp49D1, cp70G1, and cp96S1, respectively, compared to a value of 10.1 kcal/mol for wild-type RNase T1 and 6.4 kcal/mol for (C2, 10A) T1. A fifth set of circularly permuted variants was attempted with new termini positioned in a tight beta-turn between Glu-82 and Gln-85. New termini were inserted at Asn-83 (cp83N1), Asn-84 (cp84N1), and Gln-85 (cp85Q1). No detectable amount of protein was ever produced for any of the mutations in this region, suggesting that this turn may be critical for the proper folding and/or thermodynamic stability of RNase T1.

The structures of RNase A complexed with 3'-CMP and d(CpA): active site conformation and conserved water molecules

The interactions of RNase A with cytidine 3'-monophosphate (3'-CMP) and deoxycytidyl-3',5'-deoxyadenosine (d(CpA)) were analyzed by X-ray crystallography. The 3'-CMP complex and the native structure were determined from trigonal crystals, and the d(CpA) complex from monoclinic crystals. The differences between the overall structures are concentrated in loop regions and are relatively small. The protein-inhibitor contacts are interpreted in terms of the catalytic mechanism. The general base His 12 interacts with the 2' oxygen, as does the electrostatic catalyst Lys 41. The general acid His 119 has 2 conformations (A and B) in the native structure and is found in, respectively, the A and the B conformation in the d(CpA) and the 3'-CMP complex. From the present structures and from a comparison with RNase T1, we propose that His 119 is active in the A conformation. The structure of the d(CpA) complex permits a detailed analysis of the downstream binding site, which includes His 119 and Asn 71. The comparison of the present RNase A structures with an inhibitor complex of RNase T1 shows that there are important similarities in the active sites of these 2 enzymes, despite the absence of any sequence homology. The water molecules were analyzed in order to identify conserved water sites. Seventeen water sites were found to be conserved in RNase A structures from 5 different space groups. It is proposed that 7 of those water molecules play a role in the binding of the N-terminal helix to the rest of the protein and in the stabilization of the active site.