Publications

• Biochemical role of the Cryptococcus neoformans ADE2 protein in fungal de novo purine biosynthesis.

  Firestine S.M., Misialek S., Toffaletti D.L., Klem T.J., Perfect J.R., Davisson V.J.

  Comparative studies of 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (AIR) carboxylases from Escherichia coli and Gallus gallus have identified this central step in de novo purine biosynthesis as a case for unusual divergence in primary metabolism. Recent discoveries establish the fungal AIR carboxylase, encode ... >> More

  Comparative studies of 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (AIR) carboxylases from Escherichia coli and Gallus gallus have identified this central step in de novo purine biosynthesis as a case for unusual divergence in primary metabolism. Recent discoveries establish the fungal AIR carboxylase, encoded by the ADE2 gene, as essential for virulence in certain pathogenic organisms. This investigation is a biochemical analysis that links the fungal ADE2 protein to the function of the E. coli AIR carboxylase system. A cDNA clone of ADE2 from Cryptococcus neoformans was isolated by genetic complementation of a purE-deficient strain of E. coli. High-level expression of the C. neoformans ADE2 was achieved, which enabled the production and purification of AIR carboxylase. Amino acid sequence alignments, C-terminal deletion mutants, and biochemical assays indicate that the ADE2 enzyme is a two-domain, bifunctional protein. The N-terminal domain is related to E. coli PurK and a series of kinetic experiments show that the ADE2-PurK activity uses AIR, ATP, and HCO3-as substrates. The biosynthetic product of the ADE2-PurK reaction was identified as N5-carboxyaminoimidazole ribonucleotide (N5-CAIR) by 1H NMR, thus confirming that the C-terminal domain contains a catalytic activity similar to that of the E. coli PurE. By using an in situ system for substrate production, the steady-state kinetic constants for turnover of N5-CAIR by ADE2 were determined and together with stoichiometry measurements, these data indicate that ADE2 has a balance in the respective catalytic turnovers to ensure efficient flux. Distinctive features of the PurE active site were probed using 4-nitro-5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (NAIR), an analog of the product 4-carboxy-5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (CAIR). NAIR was shown to be a selective inhibitor of the ADE2-PurE activity (K1 = 2.4 microM), whereas it is a slow-binding inhibitor of the G. gallus enzyme which further distinguishes the fungal ADE2 from the G. gallus AIR carboxylase. As such, this enzyme represents a novel intracellular target for the discovery of antifungal agents. << Less

  Arch Biochem Biophys 351:123-134(1998) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Treponema denticola PurE is a bacterial AIR carboxylase.

  Tranchimand S., Starks C.M., Mathews I.I., Hockings S.C., Kappock T.J.

  De novo purine biosynthesis proceeds by two divergent paths. In bacteria, yeasts, and plants, 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (AIR) is converted to 4-carboxy-AIR (CAIR) by two enzymes: N(5)-carboxy-AIR (N(5)-CAIR) synthetase (PurK) and N(5)-CAIR mutase (class I PurE). In animals, the conversion of ... >> More

  De novo purine biosynthesis proceeds by two divergent paths. In bacteria, yeasts, and plants, 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (AIR) is converted to 4-carboxy-AIR (CAIR) by two enzymes: N(5)-carboxy-AIR (N(5)-CAIR) synthetase (PurK) and N(5)-CAIR mutase (class I PurE). In animals, the conversion of AIR to CAIR requires a single enzyme, AIR carboxylase (class II PurE). The CAIR carboxylate derives from bicarbonate or CO(2), respectively. Class I PurE is a promising antimicrobial target. Class I and class II PurEs are mechanistically related but bind different substrates. The spirochete dental pathogen Treponema denticola lacks a purK gene and contains a class II purE gene, the hallmarks of CO(2)-dependent CAIR synthesis. We demonstrate that T. denticola PurE (TdPurE) is AIR carboxylase, the first example of a prokaryotic class II PurE. Steady-state and pre-steady-state experiments show that TdPurE binds AIR and CO(2) but not N(5)-CAIR. Crystal structures of TdPurE alone and in complex with AIR show a conformational change in the key active site His40 residue that is not observed for class I PurEs. A contact between the AIR phosphate and a differentially conserved residue (TdPurE Lys41) enforces different AIR conformations in each PurE class. As a consequence, the TdPurE·AIR complex contains a portal that appears to allow the CO(2) substrate to enter the active site. In the human pathogen T. denticola, purine biosynthesis should depend on available CO(2) levels. Because spirochetes lack carbonic anhydrase, the corresponding reduction in bicarbonate demand may confer a selective advantage. << Less

  Biochemistry 50:4623-4637(2011) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Octameric structure of the human bifunctional enzyme PAICS in purine biosynthesis.

  Li S.-X., Tong Y.-P., Xie X.-C., Wang Q.-H., Zhou H.-N., Han Y., Zhang Z.-Y., Gao W., Li S.-G., Zhang X.C., Bi R.-C.

  Phosphoribosylaminoimidazole carboxylase/phosphoribosylaminoimidazole succinocarboxamide synthetase (PAICS) is an important bifunctional enzyme in de novo purine biosynthesis in vertebrate with both 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide carboxylase (AIRc) and 4-(N-succinylcarboxamide)-5-aminoimidazole r ... >> More

  Phosphoribosylaminoimidazole carboxylase/phosphoribosylaminoimidazole succinocarboxamide synthetase (PAICS) is an important bifunctional enzyme in de novo purine biosynthesis in vertebrate with both 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide carboxylase (AIRc) and 4-(N-succinylcarboxamide)-5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide synthetase (SAICARs) activities. It becomes an attractive target for rational anticancer drug design, since rapidly dividing cancer cells rely heavily on the purine de novo pathway for synthesis of adenine and guanine, whereas normal cells favor the salvage pathway. Here, we report the crystal structure of human PAICS, the first in the entire PAICS family, at 2.8 A resolution. It revealed that eight PAICS subunits, each composed of distinct AIRc and SAICARs domains, assemble a compact homo-octamer with an octameric-carboxylase core and four symmetric periphery dimers formed by synthetase domains. Based on structural comparison and functional complementation analyses, the active sites of SAICARs and AIRc were identified, including a putative substrate CO(2)-binding site. Furthermore, four symmetry-related, separate tunnel systems in the PAICS octamer were found that connect the active sites of AIRc and SAICARs. This study illustrated the octameric nature of the bifunctional enzyme. Each carboxylase active site is formed by structural elements from three AIRc domains, demonstrating that the octamer structure is essential for the carboxylation activity. Furthermore, the existence of the tunnel system implies a mechanism of intermediate channeling and suggests that the quaternary structure arrangement is crucial for effectively executing the sequential reactions. In addition, this study provides essential structural information for designing PAICS-specific inhibitors for use in cancer chemotherapy. << Less

  J. Mol. Biol. 366:1603-1614(2007) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Reactions catalyzed by 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide carboxylases from Escherichia coli and Gallus gallus: a case for divergent catalytic mechanisms.

  Firestine S.M., Poon S.W., Mueller E.J., Stubbe J., Davisson V.J.

  A comparative investigation of the substrate requirements for the enzyme 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (AIR) carboxylase from E. coli and G. gallus has been conducted using in vivo and in vitro studies. In Escherichia coli, two enzymes PurK and PurE are required for the transformation of AIR to ... >> More

  A comparative investigation of the substrate requirements for the enzyme 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (AIR) carboxylase from E. coli and G. gallus has been conducted using in vivo and in vitro studies. In Escherichia coli, two enzymes PurK and PurE are required for the transformation of AIR to 4-carboxy-5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (CAIR). The Gallus gallus PurCE is a bifunctional enzyme containing AIR carboxylase and 4-[(N-succinylamino)carbonyl]-5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (SAICAR) synthetase. The E. coli PurE and the C-terminal domain of the G. gallus PurCE protein maintain a significant degree of amino acid sequence identity and also share CAIR as a product of their enzymatic activities. The substrate requirements of AIR carboxylases from E. coli and G. gallus have been compared by a series of in vitro experiments. The carbamic acid, N5-carboxyaminoimidazole ribonucleotide (N5-CAIR) is a substrate for the E. coli PurE (Mueller et al., 1994) but not for the G. gallus AIR carboxylase. In contrast, AIR and CO2 are substrates for the G. gallus AIR carboxylase. The recognition properties of the two proteins were also compared using inhibition studies with 4-nitro-5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (NAIR). NAIR is a tight-binding inhibitor of the G. gallus AIR carboxylase (K(i) = 0.34 nM) but only a steady-state inhibitor (K(i) = 0.5 microM) of the E. coli PurE. These data suggest significant differences in the transition states for the reactions catalyzed by these two evolutionarily related enzymes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) << Less

  Biochemistry 33:11927-11934(1994) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]