Structural basis of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase C2α function

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase type 2α (PI3KC2α) is an essential member of the structurally unresolved class II PI3K family with crucial functions in lipid signaling, endocytosis, angiogenesis, viral replication, platelet formation and a role in mitosis. The molecular basis of these activities of PI3KC2α is poorly understood. Here, we report high-resolution crystal structures as well as a 4.4-Å cryogenic-electron microscopic (cryo-EM) structure of PI3KC2α in active and inactive conformations. We unravel a coincident mechanism of lipid-induced activation of PI3KC2α at membranes that involves large-scale repositioning of its Ras-binding and lipid-binding distal Phox-homology and C-C2 domains, and can serve as a model for the entire class II PI3K family. Moreover, we describe a PI3KC2α-specific helical bundle domain that underlies its scaffolding function at the mitotic spindle. Our results advance our understanding of PI3K biology and pave the way for the development of specific inhibitors of class II PI3K function with wide applications in biomedicine

Laboratory-Evolved Mutants of an Exogenous Global Regulator, IrrE from Deinococcus radiodurans, Enhance Stress Tolerances of Escherichia coli

The tolerance of cells toward different stresses is very important for industrial strains of microbes, but difficult to improve by the manipulation of single genes. Traditional methods for enhancing cellular tolerances are inefficient and time-consuming. Recently, approaches employing global transcriptional or translational engineering methods have been increasingly explored. We found that an exogenous global regulator, irrE from an extremely radiation-resistant bacterium, Deinococcus radiodurans, has the potential to act as a global regulator in Escherichia coli, and that laboratory-evolution might be applied to alter this regulator to elicit different phenotypes for E. coli.To extend the methodology for strain improvement and to obtain higher tolerances toward different stresses, we here describe an approach of engineering irrE gene in E. coli. An irrE library was constructed by randomly mutating the gene, and this library was then selected for tolerance to ethanol, butanol and acetate stresses. Several mutants showing significant tolerances were obtained and characterized. The tolerances of E. coli cells containing these mutants were enhanced 2 to 50-fold, based on cell growth tests using different concentrations of alcohols or acetate, and enhanced 10 to 100-fold based on ethanol or butanol shock experiments. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) assays showed that intracellular ROS levels were sharply reduced for cells containing the irrE mutants. Sequence analysis of the mutants revealed that the mutations distribute cross all three domains of the protein.To our knowledge, this is the first time that an exogenous global regulator has been artificially evolved to suit its new host. The successes suggest the possibility of improving tolerances of industrial strains by introducing and engineering exogenous global regulators, such as those from extremophiles. This new approach can be applied alone or in combination with other global methods, such as global transcriptional machinery engineering (gTME) for strain improvements

Structural and functional investigations of Lactobacillus reuteri glucansucrase : ... with crystallographic studies on an α-amylase and a prolyl endoprotease from Aspergillus niger

The main topic of this thesis are relatively large extracellular enzymes (~160kDa) named glucansucrases (GS)(EC 2.4.5.1) secreted by lactic acid bacteria. Using sucrose as a substrate they synthesize high molecular mass glucose polymers, called α-glucans. Additionally, in presence of suitable acceptor molecules (e.g. maltose) α-glyco-conjugates are synthesized at the expense of a polymeric product. Due to a vast product specificity of GH70 glucansucrases their products have markedly different properties which make them interesting targets for various industrial applications. Based on amino acid sequence similarity these enzymes (currently 60, CAZy database) have been classified in the Glycoside Hydrolase (GH) family, but no structural information on any of those has been available until now. Lack of structural data severely hampered in-depth understanding of the product specificity determinants of these enzymes.

Structure and Function of Glucansucrases

Glucansucrases are relatively large (∼160 kDa) extracellular enzymes produced by lactic acid bacteria. Using sucrose as a substrate they synthesize high molecular mass glucose polymers, called α‐glucans, which allow the bacteria to adhere to surfaces and create a biofilm. The glucan polymers are of importance for the food and dairy industry as thickening and jellying agents. An overview is given of the current insights into the structure and functioning of these and related enzymes

Structure of the alpha-1,6/alpha-1,4-specific glucansucrase GTFA from Lactobacillus reuteri 121

The reuteransucrase GTFA from Lactobacillus reuteri 121, which belongs to glycosyl hydrolase family GH70, synthesizes branched alpha-glucans with both alpha-1,6-and alpha-1,4-glycosidic linkages (reuteran) from sucrose. The crystal structure of GTFA-Delta N, a 118 kDa fragment of GTFA comprising residues 745-1763 and including the catalytic domain, was determined at 3.6 angstrom resolution by molecular replacement. The crystals have large solvent channels and an unusually high solvent content of 85%. GTFA-Delta N has the same domain arrangement and domain topologies as observed in previously determined GH70 glucansucrase structures. The architecture of the GTFA-Delta N active site and binding pocket confirms that glucansucrases have a conserved substrate specificity for sucrose. However, this first crystal structure of an alpha-1,6/alpha-1,4-specific glucansucrase shows that residues from conserved sequence motif IV (1128-1136 in GTFA-Delta N) contribute to the acceptor-binding subsites and that they display differences compared with other structurally characterized glucansucrases. In particular, the structure clarifies the importance of residues following the transition-state stabilizer for product specificity, and especially residue Asn1134, which is in a position to interact with sugar units in acceptor subsite +2

Flexibility of truncated and full-length glucansucrase GTF180 enzymes from Lactobacillus reuteri 180

Glucansucrase enzymes synthesize high-molecular-mass extracellular -glucan polysaccharides from sucrose. Previously, the crystal structure of truncated glucansucrase glucosyltransferase (GTF)180-N from Lactobacillusreuteri 180 (lacking the N-terminal domain) revealed an elongated overall structure with two remote domains (IV and V) extending away from the core. By contrast, a new crystal form of the -1,6/-1,3 specific glucansucrase GTF180-N shows an approximate 120(o) rotation of domain V about a hinge located between domains IV and V, giving a much more compact structure than before. Positional variability of domain V in solution is confirmed by small angle X-ray scattering experiments and rigid-body ensemble calculations. In addition, small angle X-ray scattering measurements of full-length GTF180 also provide the first structural data for a full-length glucansucrase, showing that the enzyme has an almost symmetric boomerang-like molecular shape, with a bend likely located between domains IV and V. The similar to 700-residue N-terminal domain, which is not present in the crystal structures, extends away from domain V and the catalytic core of the enzyme. We conclude that, as a result of the hinge region, in solution, GTF180-N (and likely also the full-length GTF180) shows conformational flexibility; this may be a general feature of GH70 glucansucrases. Database center dot Structural data for GTF180-N II have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank under accession code

Residue Leu940 Has a Crucial Role in the Linkage and Reaction Specificity of the Glucansucrase GTF180 of the Probiotic Bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri 180

Highly conserved GH70 family glucansucrases are able to catalyze the synthesis of α-glucans with different structure from sucrose. The structural determinants of glucansucrase specificity have remained unclear. Residue L940 in domain B of GTF180, the glucansucrase of the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri 180, was shown to vary in different glucansucrases and is close to the +1 glucosyl unit in the crystal structure of GTF180-ΔN in complex with maltose. Herein, we show that mutations in L940 of wild-type GTF180-ΔN all caused an increased percentage of (α1→6) linkages and a decreased percentage of (α1→3) linkages in the products. α-Glucans with potential different physico-chemical properties [containing 67% to 100% of (α1→6) linkages] were produced by GTF180 and its L940 mutants. Mutant L940W was unable to form (α1→3) linkages and synthesized a smaller and linear glucan polysaccharide with only (α1→6) linkages. Docking studies revealed that the introduction of the large aromatic amino acid residue tryptophan at position 940 partially blocked the binding groove, preventing the isomalto-oligosaccharide acceptor to bind in an favorable orientation for the formation of (α1→3) linkages. Our data showed that the reaction specificity of GTF180 mutant was shifted either to increased polysaccharide synthesis (L940A, L940S, L940E and L940F) or increased oligosaccharide synthesis (L940W). The L940W mutant is capable of producing a large amount of isomalto-oligosaccharides using released glucose from sucrose as acceptors. Thus, residue L940 in domain B is crucial for linkage and reaction specificity of GTF180. This study provides clear and novel insights into the structure-function relationships of glucansucrase enzymes