Juthamart Piromjitpong. Characterization of the subunit interface residues and their effects on enzyme properties of glutathione S-transferases . Master's Degree(Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2004.
Characterization of the subunit interface residues and their effects on enzyme properties of glutathione S-transferases
Abstract:
The purpose of this research was to investigate the molecular basis for catalytic
differences between closely related GSTs from the same class which have nucleotide
and amino acid sequence similarities. Two closely related GSTs, namely adGSTD3-3
and adGSTD4-4, purified from Anopheles dirus, are of interest because they arise
from alternate splicing and their crystal structures are available. These two isozymes
have 68% amino acid identity and have very similar tertiary structures. Among 77
different amino acid residues in these two isozymes, there are nine residues at the
subunit interface where the same residue position from both subunits fold to interact
with each other. The interface interactions demonstrate three major areas; the
conserved square electrostatic interactions at the top, the hydrophobic interactions at
the center and the ionic interactions at the edge of the subunit interface. The results of
the present work demonstrate that the conserved electrostatic interactions at the top of
the subunit interface, which are formed by two glutamate75 and two arginine96 of
adGSTD4-4, as well as the charge-charge network interactions at the edge of
adGSTD4-4 subunit interface between glutamate116 and arginine134 are critical
interactions that help to maintain the catalytic activity and conformation of the
enzymes as shown by altering the kinetic parameters, refolding properties, thermal
stability and florescence spectra. Moreover, we also observed that three variant
hydrophobic amino acids at the center of the subunit interface influenced the specific
properties of the adGSTD3-3 and adGSTD4-4. This was shown by amino acid
replacement that changed the protein properties although the replacement did not
differ much in amino acid properties; that is, tyrosine and phenylalanine, methionine
and valine, and glycine and alanine.
Although adGSTD3-3 and adGSTD4-4 are highly homologous proteins, they
display non-identical conformational dynamics. AdGSTD3-3 is soluble in the
unfolding solution and the unfolding occurs via four-state pathway (N2 I2 2I
2U) while adGSTD4-4 is aggregated in various concentrations of the unfolding
solutions. Therefore, the unfolding pathway of adGSTD4-4 is still unknown. The
native tertiary structures of adGSTD3-3 and adGSTD4-4 are similar as shown by
similar tryptophan environments. However, their N2 subunit interfaces are not
identical as reflected by their different fluorescent dye binding spectra and the
electrostatic field and the solvent-exposed cleft at the subunit interface. The subunit
interface of adGSTD4-4 showes less polarity and provides a greater amount of
fluorescent dye binding sites when compared with adGSTD3-3. This feature may be a
factor that influences the different folding dynamics of the two splicing products