Abstract:
To date, there are several investigations on the active site of adGSTD4-4 (Anopheles dirus glutathione transferase, delta class and isoform 4). Mainly, they have focused on the glutathione binding site (G-site) and subunit interface. In the present study, the hydrophobic substrate binding site (H-site) is therefore of interest to reveal the relationships between structure and function of the enzyme. The putative H-site amino acids were proposed and characterized. These residues are Gln-112, Arg-113, Gln-140, Thr-174, Phe-212, Arg-214, Tyr-215 and Phe-216. These residues can be grouped into three regions: 1) Gln-112, Arg-113 and Gln-140, 2) Thr-174 and Phe-212 and 3) Arg-214, Tyr-215 and Phe-216. The first region is located near the subunit interface whereas the second region lies between the G-site and H-site. The last area is situated at the edge of the active site. The results show that the first area did not appear to be significant for catalytic properties of adGSTD4-4. In contrast, the second area seemed to be important in enzymatic catalysis. This area is suggested to be involved in stabilization of the β1-α1 loop where the critical catalytic residue Ser-9 is situated. It also appeared to contribute to the rate-limiting step of nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction (SNAr). Moreover, Phe-212 appears to provide a hydrophobic environment to promote SNAr and substitution nucleophilic bimolecular reaction (SN2). Therefore, this region also plays a role in substrate specificity. Although, the last region showed an effect on enzymatic catalysis it was less than the second region. The results demonstrated that the third region made contributions to the kinetic parameters, rate-determining step and substrate recognition. This region appears to participate in shielding the active site from the bulk solvent by which the local dynamics of the α8-helix would influence the discrimination of hydrophobic substrate size during catalysis. Finally, the results suggest that the residues are not directly involved in catalysis but would influence catalysis through secondary interactions that eventually impact on the catalysis via multiple determinants.