Purification and properties of Escherichia coli 4'-phosphopantothenoylcysteine decarboxylase: presence of covalently bound pyruvate

Biosynthesis of Pantothenic Acid and Coenzyme A

Pantothenate is vitamin B5 and is the key precursor for the biosynthesis of coenzyme A (CoA), a universal and essential cofactor involved in a myriad of metabolic reactions, including the synthesis of phospholipids, the synthesis and degradation of fatty acids, and the operation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. CoA is also the only source of the phosphopantetheine prosthetic group for enzymes that shuttle intermediates between the active sites of enzymes involved in fatty acid, nonribosomal peptide, and polyketide synthesis. Pantothenate can be synthesized de novo and/or transported into the cell through a pantothenatepermease. Pantothenate uptake is essential for those organisms that lack the genes to synthesize this vitamin. The intracellular levels of CoA are controlled by the balance between synthesis and degradation. In particular, CoA is assembled in five enzymatic steps, starting from the phosphorylation of pantothenate to phosphopantothenatecatalyzed by pantothenate kinase, the product of the coaA gene. In some bacteria, the production of phosphopantothenate by pantothenate kinase is the rate limiting and most regulated step in the biosynthetic pathway. CoA synthesis additionally networks with other vitamin-associated pathways, such as thiamine and folic acid.

On the origin of biochemistry at an alkaline hydrothermal vent

A model for the origin of biochemistry at an alkaline hydrothermal vent has been developed that focuses on the acetyl-CoA (Wood-Ljungdahl) pathway of CO2 fixation and central intermediary metabolism leading to the synthesis of the constituents of purines and pyrimidines. The idea that acetogenesis and methanogenesis were the ancestral forms of energy metabolism among the first free-living eubacteria and archaebacteria, respectively, stands in the foreground. The synthesis of formyl pterins, which are essential intermediates of the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway and purine biosynthesis, is found to confront early metabolic systems with steep bioenergetic demands that would appear to link some, but not all, steps of CO2 reduction to geochemical processes in or on the Earth's crust. Inorganically catalysed prebiotic analogues of the core biochemical reactions involved in pterin-dependent methyl synthesis of the modern acetyl-CoA pathway are considered. The following compounds appear as probable candidates for central involvement in prebiotic chemistry: metal sulphides, formate, carbon monoxide, methyl sulphide, acetate, formyl phosphate, carboxy phosphate, carbamate, carbamoyl phosphate, acetyl thioesters, acetyl phosphate, possibly carbonyl sulphide and eventually pterins. Carbon might have entered early metabolism via reactions hardly different from those in the modern Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, the pyruvate synthase reaction and the incomplete reverse citric acid cycle. The key energy-rich intermediates were perhaps acetyl thioesters, with acetyl phosphate possibly serving as the universal metabolic energy currency prior to the origin of genes. Nitrogen might have entered metabolism as geochemical NH3 via two routes: the synthesis of carbamoyl phosphate and reductive transaminations of alpha-keto acids. Together with intermediates of methyl synthesis, these two routes of nitrogen assimilation would directly supply all intermediates of modern purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis. Thermodynamic considerations related to formyl pterin synthesis suggest that the ability to harness a naturally pre-existing proton gradient at the vent-ocean interface via an ATPase is older than the ability to generate a proton gradient with chemistry that is specified by genes.

Crystal structure of the plant PPC decarboxylase AtHAL3a complexed with an ene-thiol reaction intermediate

The Arabidopsis thaliana protein AtHAL3a decarboxylates 4'-phosphopantothenoylcysteine to 4'-phosphopantetheine, a step in coenzyme A biosynthesis. Surprisingly, this decarboxylation reaction is carried out as an FMN-dependent redox reaction. In the first half-reaction, the side-chain of the cysteine residue of 4'-phosphopantothenoylcysteine is oxidised and the thioaldehyde intermediate decarboxylates spontaneously to the 4'-phosphopantothenoyl-aminoethenethiol intermediate. In the second half-reaction this compound is reduced to 4'-phosphopantetheine and the FMNH(2) cofactor is re-oxidised. The active site mutant C175S is unable to perform this reductive half-reaction. Here, we present the crystal structure of the AtHAL3a mutant C175S in complex with the reaction intermediate pantothenoyl-aminoethenethiol and FMNH(2). The geometry of binding suggests that reduction of the C(alpha)=C(beta) double bond of the intermediate can be performed by direct hydride-transfer from N5 of FMNH(2) to C(beta) of the aminoethenethiol-moiety supported by a protonation of C(alpha) by Cys175. The binding mode of the substrate is very similar to that previously observed for a pentapeptide to the homologous enzyme EpiD that introduces the aminoethenethiol-moiety as final reaction product at the C terminus of peptidyl-cysteine residues. This finding further supports our view that these homologous enzymes form a protein family of homo-oligomeric flavin-containing cysteine decarboxylases, which we have termed HFCD family.

Molecular characterization of the 4'-phosphopantothenoylcysteine synthetase domain of bacterial dfp flavoproteins

In bacteria, coenzyme A is synthesized in five steps from pantothenate. The flavoprotein Dfp catalyzes the synthesis of the coenzyme A precursor 4'-phosphopantetheine in the presence of 4'-phosphopantothenate, cysteine, CTP, and Mg(2+) (Strauss, E., Kinsland, C., Ge, Y., McLafferty, F. W., and Begley, T. P. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 13513-13516). It has been shown that the NH(2)-terminal domain of Dfp has 4'-phosphopantothenoylcysteine decarboxylase activity (Kupke, T., Uebele, M., Schmid, D., Jung, G., Blaesse, M., and Steinbacher, S. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 31838-31846). Here I demonstrate that the COOH-terminal CoaB domain of Dfp catalyzes the synthesis of 4'-phosphopantothenoylcysteine. The exchange of conserved amino acid residues within the CoaB domain revealed that the synthesis of 4'-phosphopantothenoylcysteine occurs in two half-reactions. Using the mutant protein His-CoaB N210D the putative acyl-cytidylate intermediate of 4'-phosphopantothenate was detectable. The same intermediate was detectable for the wild-type CoaB enzyme if cysteine was omitted in the reaction mixture. Exchange of the conserved Lys(289) residue, which is part of the strictly conserved (289)KXKK(292) motif of the CoaB domain, resulted in complete loss of activity with neither the acyl-cytidylate intermediate nor 4'-phosphopantothenoylcysteine being detectable. Gel filtration experiments indicated that CoaB forms dimers. Residues that are important for dimerization are conserved in CoaB proteins from eubacteria, Archaea, and eukaryotes.

Arabidopsis thaliana flavoprotein AtHAL3a catalyzes the decarboxylation of 4'-Phosphopantothenoylcysteine to 4'-phosphopantetheine, a key step in coenzyme A biosynthesis

The Arabidopsis thaliana flavoprotein AtHAL3a is related to plant growth and salt and osmotic tolerance. AtHAL3a shows sequence homology to the bacterial flavoproteins EpiD and Dfp. EpiD, Dfp, and AtHAL3a are members of the homo-oligomeric flavin-containing Cys decarboxylase (HFCD) protein family. We demonstrate that AtHAL3a catalyzes the decarboxylation of (R)-4'-phospho-N-pantothenoylcysteine to 4'-phosphopantetheine. This key step in coenzyme A biosynthesis is catalyzed in bacteria by the Dfp proteins. Exchange of His-90 of AtHAL3a for Asn led to complete inactivation of the enzyme. Dfp and AtHAL3a are characterized by a shortened substrate binding clamp compared with EpiD. Exchange of the cysteine residue of the conserved ACGD motif of this binding clamp resulted in loss of (R)-4'-phospho-N-pantothenoylcysteine decarboxylase activity. Based on the crystal structures of EpiD H67N with bound substrate peptide and of AtHAL3a, we present a model for the binding of (R)-4'-phospho-N-pantothenoylcysteine to AtHAL3a.

The biosynthesis of coenzyme A in bacteria

Coenzyme A (I) and enzyme-bound phosphopantetheine (II) function as acyl carriers and as carbonyl activating groups for Claisen reactions as well as for amide-, ester-, and thioester-forming reactions in the cell. In so doing, these cofactors play a key role in the biosynthesis and breakdown of fatty acids and in the biosynthesis of polyketides and nonribosomal peptides. Coenzyme A is biosynthesized in bacteria in nine steps. The biosynthesis begins with the decarboxylation of aspartate to give beta-alanine. Pantoic acid is formed by the hydroxymethylation of alpha-ketoisovalerate followed by reduction. These intermediates are then condensed to give pantothenic acid. Phosphorylation of pantothenic acid followed by condensation with cysteine and decarboxylation gives 4'-phosphopantetheine. Adenylation and phosphorylation of 4'-phosphopantetheine completes the biosynthesis of coenzyme A. This review will focus on the mechanistic enzymology of coenzyme A biosynthesis in bacteria.

Phosphopantothenoylcysteine synthetase from Escherichia coli. Identification and characterization of the last unidentified coenzyme A biosynthetic enzyme in bacteria

Phosphopantothenoylcysteine synthase catalyzes the formation of (R)-4'-phospho-N-pantothenoylcysteine from 4'-phosphopantothenate and l-cysteine: this enzyme, involved in the biosynthesis of coenzyme A (CoA), has not previously been identified. Recently it was shown that the NH(2)-terminal domain of the Dfp protein from bacteria catalyzes the next step in CoA biosynthesis, the decarboxylation of (R)-4'-phospho-N-pantothenoylcysteine to form 4'-phosphopantetheine (Kupke, T., Uebele, M., Schmid, D., Jung, G., Blaesse, M., and Steinbacher, S. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 31838-31846). We have partially purified phosphopantothenoylcysteine decarboxylase from Escherichia coli and demonstrated that the protein encoded by the dfp gene, here renamed coaBC, also has phosphopantothenoylcysteine synthetase activity, using CTP rather than ATP as the activating nucleoside 5'-triphosphate. This discovery completes the identification of all the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of coenzyme A in bacteria.

Molecular characterization of lantibiotic-synthesizing enzyme EpiD reveals a function for bacterial Dfp proteins in coenzyme A biosynthesis

The lantibiotic-synthesizing flavoprotein EpiD catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of peptidylcysteines to peptidyl-aminoenethiols. The sequence motif responsible for flavin coenzyme binding and enzyme activity is conserved in different proteins from all kingdoms of life. Dfp proteins of eubacteria and archaebacteria and salt tolerance proteins of yeasts and plants belong to this new family of flavoproteins. The enzymatic function of all these proteins was not known, but our experiments suggested that they catalyze a similar reaction like EpiD and/or may have similar substrates and are homododecameric flavoproteins. We demonstrate that the N-terminal domain of the Escherichia coli Dfp protein catalyzes the decarboxylation of (R)-4'-phospho-N-pantothenoylcysteine to 4'-phosphopantetheine. This reaction is essential for coenzyme A biosynthesis.

Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidases: some biochemical properties and general considerations

Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidases with a high affinity for benzylamine (Bz.SSAO) (E.C.1.4.3.6) have been biochemically described in many mammalian tissues (adipose tissue, lung, heart, blood vessels). The enzymic activity appears to be expressed by mesenchymal cells (fibroblasts, adipocytes, smooth muscles). Although the physiological role of this enzymic activity is still unclear, some possible physiological substrates such as histamine are discussed. Some enzymes of this class (SSAO) have been purified. They share many similarities, among which are that they contain copper and a carbonyl active site. The nature of the organic cofactor of these enzymes is discussed and data are presented which have identified pyridoxal in pig kidney diamine oxidase and in pig plasma benzylamine oxidase by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Purification, cloning, and cofactor independence of glutamate racemase from Lactobacillus

Glutamate racemase has been purified more than 12,000-fold from Lactobacillus fermenti. The racemase gene has been cloned using standard hybridization techniques combined with a novel selection for in vivo glutamate racemase activity, and the racemase has been expressed in Escherichia coli as 20-25% of the total soluble cell protein. The cloned gene product is indistinguishable from that purified from Lactobacillus and is a monomer of M(r) 28,300. Both a coupled enzymatic assay and a circular dichroism assay show that the enzyme follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics, with a Km of 0.3 mM and a kcat of 70 s-1 in each reaction direction. Investigations into the cofactor dependence of glutamate racemase indicate that the enzyme employs neither pyridoxal phosphate nor a pyruvoyl group in the labilization of the proton at the stereogenic center of glutamate. Furthermore, the racemase activity is unaffected by the presence of the metal-chelating reagent EDTA. The gene sequence of the racemase is 24% identical to that of aspartate racemase from Streptococcus thermophilus and 30% identical to that of an unidentified open reading frame in the rrnB ribosomal RNA operon of E. coli. Because the two cysteine residues in glutamate racemase and their surrounding regions are well-conserved in both of these sequences, and since glutamate racemase is stabilized by the presence of reduced thiols, these residues are possible candidates for the enzymic bases that deprotonate glutamate at C-2.

Alkylation of an active-site cysteinyl residue during substrate-dependent inactivation of Escherichia coli S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase

S-Adenosylmethionine decarboxylase from Escherichia coli is a member of a small class of enzymes that uses a pyruvoyl prosthetic group. The pyruvoyl group is proposed to form a Schiff base with the substrate and then act as an electron sink facilitating decarboxylation. We have previously shown that once every 6000-7000 turnovers the enzyme undergoes an inactivation that results in a transaminated pyruvoyl group and the formation of an acrolein-like species from the methionine moiety. The acrolein then covalently alkylates the enzyme [Anton, D. L., & Kutny, R. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 6444]. After reduction of the alkylated enzyme with NaBH4, a tryptic peptide with the sequence Ala-Asp-Ile-Glu-Val-Ser-Thr-[S-(3-hydroxypropyl)Cys]-Gly-Val-Ile-Ser-Pro - Leu-Lys was isolated. This corresponds to acrolein alkylation of a cysteine residue in the second tryptic peptide from the NH2 terminal of the alpha-subunit [Anton, D. L., & Kutny, R. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 2817-2822]. The modified residue derived is from Cys-140 of the proenzyme [Tabor, C. W., & Tabor, H. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 16037-16040] and lies in the only sequence conserved between rat liver and E. coli S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase [Pajunen et al. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 17040-17049]. We suggest that the alkylated Cys residue could have a role in the catalytic mechanism.

Functional residues at the active site of horse liver phosphopantothenoylcysteine decarboxylase

Horse liver phosphopantothenoylcysteine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.36) is rapidly inactivated by N-acetoacetylation with diketene following a pseudo-first-order kinetics: the presence of substrate quantitatively protects against this inactivation. Histidine photo-oxidation with methylene blue or rose bengal brings about the total loss of activity. These results indicate the presence of functional lysyl and histidyl groups at the active site of the enzyme. The substrate sulphydryl group is essential for enzyme activity. Enzymatic decarboxylation is proposed to result from a combined action of the keto group of the enzyme-bound pyruvate protonated by an essential histidine and a protonated amino group of a lysine.

Structural and mechanistic properties of E. coli adenosylmethionine decarboxylase

Adenosylmethionine decarboxylase catalyzes one of the first committed steps in polyamine biosynthesis. It is a member of a small class of decarboxylases that use a pyruvovyl prosthetic group rather than the more common pyridoxal cofactor. We have recently shown that AdoMet decarboxylase from E. coli is composed of stoichiometric amounts of two types of subunits; alpha (Mr = 19,000), and beta (Mr = 14,000). The NH2-terminal of the alpha subunit is blocked by the pyruvoyl group and can be sequenced only after reductive amination, which converts this to an alanine residue. The beta subunit, on the other hand, has an unblocked NH2-terminal and sequences normally. The molecular weight of the holoenzyme, estimated by gel filtration, is 136,000 suggesting that the enzyme is an alpha 4 beta 4 octamer. AdoMet decarboxylase undergoes a time dependent inactivation during turnover. The mechanism of this inactivation involves a transamination from the product, decarboxylated AdoMet, and the pyruvoyl group generating an NH2-terminal alanine. The nascent product aldehyde then eliminates methylthioadenosine, resulting in the formation of acrolein, which covalently labels the alpha subunit. How this mechanism may explain AdoMet decarboxylase turned over, and how AdoMet decarboxylase inhibitors can affect its half life will be discussed.