Heterogeneity of sites in isolated catalytic subunits of aspartate transcarbamoylase

Charge neutralization in the active site of the catalytic trimer of aspartate transcarbamoylase promotes diverse structural changes

A classical model for allosteric regulation of enzyme activity posits an equilibrium between inactive and active conformations. An alternative view is that allosteric activation is achieved by increasing the potential for conformational changes that are essential for catalysis. In the present study, substitution of a basic residue in the active site of the catalytic (C) trimer of aspartate transcarbamoylase with a non-polar residue results in large interdomain hinge changes in the three chains of the trimer. One conformation is more open than the chains in both the wild-type C trimer and the catalytic chains in the holoenzyme, the second is closed similar to the bisubstrate-analog bound conformation and the third hinge angle is intermediate to the other two. The active-site 240s loop conformation is very different between the most open and closed chains, and is disordered in the third chain, as in the holoenzyme. We hypothesize that binding of anionic substrates may promote similar structural changes. Further, the ability of the three catalytic chains in the trimer to access the open and closed active-site conformations simultaneously suggests a cyclic catalytic mechanism, in which at least one of the chains is in an open conformation suitable for substrate binding whereas another chain is closed for catalytic turnover. Based on the many conformations observed for the chains in the isolated catalytic trimer to date, we propose that allosteric activation of the holoenzyme occurs by release of quaternary constraint into an ensemble of active-site conformations.

New paradigm for allosteric regulation of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase

For nearly 60 years, the ATP activation and the CTP inhibition of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) has been the textbook example of allosteric regulation. We present kinetic data and five X-ray structures determined in the absence and presence of a Mg(2+) concentration within the physiological range. In the presence of 2 mM divalent cations (Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Zn(2+)), CTP does not significantly inhibit the enzyme, while the allosteric activation by ATP is enhanced. The data suggest that the actual allosteric inhibitor of ATCase in vivo is the combination of CTP, UTP, and a divalent cation, and the actual allosteric activator is a divalent cation with ATP or ATP and GTP. The structural data reveals that two NTPs can bind to each allosteric site with a divalent cation acting as a bridge between the triphosphates. Thus, the regulation of ATCase is far more complex than previously believed and calls many previous studies into question. The X-ray structures reveal that the catalytic chains undergo essentially no alternations; however, several regions of the regulatory chains undergo significant structural changes. Most significant is that the N-terminal region of the regulatory chains exists in different conformations in the allosterically activated and inhibited forms of the enzyme. Here, a new model of allosteric regulation is proposed.

Allostery and cooperativity in Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase

The allosteric enzyme aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) from Escherichia coli has been the subject of investigations for approximately 50 years. This enzyme controls the rate of pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis by feedback inhibition, and helps to balance the pyrimidine and purine pools by competitive allosteric activation by ATP. The catalytic and regulatory components of the dodecameric enzyme can be separated and studied independently. Many of the properties of the enzyme follow the Monod, Wyman Changeux model of allosteric control thus E. coli ATCase has become the textbook example. This review will highlight kinetic, biophysical, and structural studies which have provided a molecular level understanding of how the allosteric nature of this enzyme regulates pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis.

A single mutation in the regulatory chain of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase results in an extreme T-state structure

Kinetic analysis of a mutant version of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase in which Thr82 in the regulatory chain (Thr82r) was replaced by Ala results in a shift in the T <==> R equilibrium towards the T-state. In order to understand the structural determinants of this T-state stabilization, the X-ray structure of the unliganded Thr82r-->Ala enzyme was determined at 2. 6 A resolution and refined to a crystallographic residual of 0.175. The structure of the mutant r1 regulatory chain is more similar to that of the r6 regulatory chain than observed for the wild-type enzyme, resulting in a more symmetric structure. Furthermore, the structural changes in the mutant enzyme appears to occur only in the r1 chain, while the r6 chain is almost identical in structure to that of the r6 chain of the wild-type enzyme. The structure of the mutant enzyme exhibits alterations in the subunit interfaces between the regulatory and catalytic chains, as well as in the interface between the allosteric and zinc domains within the regulatory chain. Moreover, the regulatory dimers are rotated around their respective 2-fold axes approximately 1 degrees beyond the rotation which occurs in the wild-type T-state enzyme. The structural analysis indicates that the enzyme is an "extreme" T-state, in which a larger rotation of the regulatory dimers is required for the T to R transition compared to the wild-type enzyme. This extreme T-state structure correlates well with the kinetic parameters determined for the mutant enzyme, showing a stabilized T-state. Furthermore, the structural analysis of the mutant enzyme suggests that replacement of Thr82r with Ala alters the local conformation of the nucleotide binding pocket and therefore offers a plausible explanation for the reduced affinity of the enzyme for nucleotides.