Role of Arginine 285 in the Active Site of Rhodotorula gracilis d-Amino Acid Oxidase A SITE-DIRECTED MUTAGENESIS STUDY

Abstract Arg285, one of the very few conserved residues in the active site of d-amino acid oxidases, has been mutated to lysine, glutamine, aspartate, and alanine in the enzyme from the yeast Rhodotorula gracilis (RgDAAO). The mutated proteins are all catalytically competent. Mutations of Arg285 result in an increase (≈300-fold) ofK m for the d-amino acid and in a large decrease (≈500-fold) of turnover number. Stopped-flow analysis shows that the decrease in turnover is paralleled by a similar decrease in the rate of flavin reduction (k 2), the latter still being the rate-limiting step of the reaction. In agreement with data from the protein crystal structure, loss of the guanidinium group of Arg285 in the mutated DAAOs drastically reduces the binding of several carboxylic acids (e.g. benzoate). These results highlight the importance of this active site residue in the precise substrate orientation, a main factor in this redox reaction. Furthermore, Arg285 DAAO mutants have spectral properties similar to those of the wild-type enzyme, but show a low degree of stabilization of the flavin semiquinone and a change in the redox properties of the free enzyme. From this, we can unexpectedly conclude that Arg285 in the free enzyme form is involved in the stabilization of the negative charge on the N(1)-C(2)=O locus of the isoalloxazine ring of the flavin. We also suggest that the residue undergoes a conformational change in order to bind the carboxylate portion of the substrate/ligand in the complexed enzyme

Cholesterol oxidase from Brevibacterium sterolicum : the relationship between covalent flavinylation and redox properties

Brevibacterium sterolicum possesses two forms of cholesterol oxidase, one containing noncovalently bound FAD, the second containing a FAD covalently linked to His69 of the protein backbone. The functional role of the histidyl-FAD bond in the latter cholesterol oxidase was addressed by studying the properties of the H69A mutant in which the FAD is bound tightly, but not covalently, and by comparison with native enzyme. The mutant retains catalytic activity, but with a turnover rate decreased 35-fold; the isomerization step of the intermediate 3-ketosteroid to the final product is also preserved. Stabilization of the flavin semiquinone and binding of sulfite are markedly decreased, this correlates with a lower midpoint redox potential (-204 mV compared with -101 mV for wild-type). Reconstitution with 8-chloro-FAD led to a holoenzyme form of H69A cholesterol oxidase with a midpoint redox potential of -160 mV. In this enzyme form, flavin semiquinone is newly stabilized, and a 3.5-fold activity increase is observed, this mimicking the thermodynamic effects induced by the covalent flavin linkage. It is concluded that the flavin 8α-linkage to a (N1)histidine is a pivotal factor in the modulation of the redox properties of this cholesterol oxidase to increase its oxidative power

Structure-function correlation in glycine oxidase from Bacillus subtilis

Structure-function relationships of the flavoprotein glycine oxidase (GO), which was recently proposed as the first enzyme in the biosynthesis of thiamine in Bacillus subtilis, has been investigated by a combination of structural and functional studies. The structure of the GO-glycolate complex was determined at 1.8 Å, a resolution at which a sketch of the residues involved in FAD binding and in substrate interaction can be depicted. GO can be considered a member of the amine oxidase class of flavoproteins, such as D-amino acid oxidase and monomeric sarcosine oxidase. With the obtained model of GO the monomer-monomer interactions can be analyzed in detail, thus explaining the structural basis of the stable tetrameric oligomerization state of GO, which is unique for the GR2 subfamily of flavooxidases. On the other hand, the three-dimensional structure of GO and the functional experiments do not provide the functional significance of such an oligomerization state; GO does not show an allosteric behavior. The results do not clarify the metabolic role of this enzyme in B. subtilis; the broad substrate specificity of GO cannot be correlated with the inferred function in thiamine biosynthesis, and the structure does not show how GO could interact with ThiS, the following enzyme in thiamine biosynthesis. However, they do let a general catabolic role of this enzyme on primary or secondary amines to be excluded because the expression of GO is not inducible by glycine, sarcosine, or D-alanine as carbon or nitrogen sources

Relevance of the flavin binding to the stability and folding of engineered cholesterol oxidase containing noncovalently bound FAD

The flavoprotein cholesterol oxidase (CO) from Brevibacterium sterolicum is a monomeric flavoenzyme containing one molecule of FAD cofactor covalently linked to His69. The elimination of the covalent link following the His69Ala substitution was demonstrated to result in a significant decrease in activity, in the midpoint redox potential of the flavin, and in stability with respect to the wild-type enzyme, but does not modify the overall structure of the enzyme. We used CO as a model system to dissect the changes due to the elimination of the covalent link between the flavin and the protein (by comparing the wild-type and H69A CO holoproteins) with those due to the elimination of the cofactor (by comparing the holo- and apoprotein forms of H69A CO). The apoprotein of H69A CO lacks the characteristic tertiary structure of the holoprotein and displays larger hydrophobic surfaces; its urea-induced unfolding does not occur by a simple two-state mechanism and is largely nonreversible. Minor alterations in the flavin binding region are evident between the native and the refolded proteins, and are likely responsible for the low refolding yield observed. A model for the equilibrium unfolding of H69A CO that also takes into consideration the effects of cofactor binding and dissociation, and thus may be of general significance in terms of the relationships between cofactor uptake and folding in flavoproteins, is presented