Wanisa Salaemae. Contribution of active site residues to key enzyme-substrate interactions of the dengue virus NS3 serine protease . Master's Degree(Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2006.
Contribution of active site residues to key enzyme-substrate interactions of the dengue virus NS3 serine protease
Abstract:
Dengue virus NS3 protease represents an attractive target for the development
of antiviral inhibitors. Although the three-dimensional structure and active sites of the
NS3 protease domain have been determined, the mechanism of substrate recognition is
characterized only to a limited extent. To elucidate enzyme-substrate interactions, in
this study, nine residues at the S1 and S2 pockets in the active site of dengue virus
protease were targeted. Residues Leu115, Asp129, Gly133, Thr134, Tyr150, Gly151,
Ser163, and Ile165 at S1 and Asn152 at S2 were replaced with alanine by site-specific
mutagenesis. From SDS-PAGE analysis of autoproteolytic cleavage at the NS2B/NS3
junction, compared to the wild-type, the L115A, D129A, G133A, T134A, N152A,
S163A, and I165A mutants demonstrated inefficient autoprocessing to several
degrees, whereas in the Y150A and G151A mutants enzyme activity appeared to be
almost completely abolished. Kinetic constants obtained with GRR-AMC substrate
indicate that only L115A mutant has slightly higher catalytic efficiency than wildtype,
whereas the others present lower activity as shown by reduced kcat/Km in the rank
order of L115A (254.00 ± 65.08 M-1s-1) > wild-type (220.95 ± 37.96 M-1s-1) > T134A
(98.94 ± 11.67 M-1s-1) > S163A (18.61 ± 0.79 M-1s-1) > G133A (15.67 ± 1.22 M-1s-1) >
D129A (5.69 ± 0.95 M-1s-1) > N152A (3.64 ± 0.60 M-1s-1) > I165A (0.46 ± 0.06 M-1s-
1). The significant higher Km values reveal that the mutant residues are important for
binding of the substrate. However, L115A had a reduced catalytic activity similar to
the others, demonstrated by lower kcat value than wild-type. Interestingly, similar to
autoprocessing, Y150A and G151A substitutions inactivate the enzyme; therefore both
residues are critical for interaction and optimal substrate binding of the NS3 protease,
respectively. These findings have defined the function of critical residues for
enzymatic activity that are useful for the structural based design of NS3 inhibitors.