Publications

• Crystal structure of human ornithine decarboxylase at 2.1 A resolution: structural insights to antizyme binding.

  Almrud J.J., Oliveira M.A., Kern A.D., Grishin N.V., Phillips M.A., Hackert M.L.

  The polyamines spermidine and spermine are ubiquitous and required for cell growth and differentiation in eukaryotes. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC, EC 4.1.1.17) performs the first step in polyamine biosynthesis, the decarboxylation of ornithine to putrescine. Elevated polyamine levels can lead to ... >> More

  The polyamines spermidine and spermine are ubiquitous and required for cell growth and differentiation in eukaryotes. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC, EC 4.1.1.17) performs the first step in polyamine biosynthesis, the decarboxylation of ornithine to putrescine. Elevated polyamine levels can lead to down-regulation of ODC activity by enhancing the translation of antizyme mRNA, resulting in subsequent binding of antizyme to ODC monomers which targets ODC for proteolysis by the 26S proteasome. The crystal structure of ornithine decarboxylase from human liver has been determined to 2.1 A resolution by molecular replacement using truncated mouse ODC (Delta425-461) as the search model and refined to a crystallographic R-factor of 21.2% and an R-free value of 28.8%. The human ODC model includes several regions that are disordered in the mouse ODC crystal structure, including one of two C-terminal basal degradation elements that have been demonstrated to independently collaborate with antizyme binding to target ODC for degradation by the 26S proteasome. The crystal structure of human ODC suggests that the C terminus, which contains basal degradation elements necessary for antizyme-induced proteolysis, is not buried by the structural core of homodimeric ODC as previously proposed. Analysis of the solvent-accessible surface area, surface electrostatic potential, and the conservation of primary sequence between human ODC and Trypanosoma brucei ODC provides clues to the identity of potential protein-binding-determinants in the putative antizyme binding element in human ODC. << Less

  J. Mol. Biol. 295:7-16(2000) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Ornithine decarboxylase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Purification, properties, and regulation of activity.

  Tyagi A.K., Tabor C.W., Tabor H.

  Ornithine decarboxylase has been purified 1,500-fold to homogeneity from a spe2 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae which lacks S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase and is derepressed for ornithine decarboxylase. The ornithine decarboxylase is a single polypeptide (Mr = 68,000) and requires a thiol a ... >> More

  Ornithine decarboxylase has been purified 1,500-fold to homogeneity from a spe2 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae which lacks S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase and is derepressed for ornithine decarboxylase. The ornithine decarboxylase is a single polypeptide (Mr = 68,000) and requires a thiol and pyridoxal phosphate for activity. Addition of 10(-4) M spermidine and 10(-4) M spermine to the growth medium reduces the activity of the enzyme by 90% in 4 h. However, immunoprecipitation studies showed that the extracts of polyamine-treated cells contain as much enzyme protein as normal cell extracts. This loss of ornithine decarboxylase activity is probably due to a post-translational modification of enzyme protein because we found no evidence for any inhibitor of activity in the polyamine-treated cells. << Less

  J. Biol. Chem. 256:12156-12163(1981) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Studies on bacterial amino-acid decarboxylases: 6. Codecarboxylase content and action of inhibitors.

  Taylor E.S., Gale E.F.

  Biochem J 39:52-58(1945) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• A structural insight into the inhibition of human and Leishmania donovani ornithine decarboxylases by 1-amino-oxy-3-aminopropane.

  Dufe V.T., Ingner D., Heby O., Khomutov A.R., Persson L., Al-Karadaghi S.

  The critical role of polyamines in key processes such as cell growth, differentiation and macromolecular synthesis makes the enzymes involved in their synthesis potential targets in the treatment of certain types of cancer and parasitic diseases. Here we present a study on the inhibition of human ... >> More

  The critical role of polyamines in key processes such as cell growth, differentiation and macromolecular synthesis makes the enzymes involved in their synthesis potential targets in the treatment of certain types of cancer and parasitic diseases. Here we present a study on the inhibition of human and Leishmania donovani ODC (ornithine decarboxylase), the first committed enzyme in the polyamine biosynthesis pathway, by APA (1-amino-oxy-3-aminopropane). The present study shows APA to be a potent inhibitor of both human and L. donovani ODC with a K(i) value of around 1.0 nM. We also show that L. donovani ODC binds the substrate, the co-enzyme pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and the irreversible inhibitor alpha-difluoromethylornithine (a curative agent of West African sleeping sickness) with less affinity than human ODC. We have also determined the three-dimensional structure of human ODC in complex with APA, which revealed the mode of the inhibitor binding to the enzyme. In contrast with earlier reports, the structure showed no indication of oxime formation between APA and PLP (pyridoxal 5'-phosphate). Homology modelling suggests a similar mode of binding of APA to L. donovani ODC. A comparison of the ODC-APA-PLP structure with earlier ODC structures also shows that the protease-sensitive loop (residues 158-168) undergoes a large conformational change and covers the active site of the protein. The understanding of the structural mode of APA binding may constitute the basis for the development of more specific inhibitors of L. donovani ODC. << Less

  Biochem. J. 405:261-268(2007) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Altering the reaction specificity of eukaryotic ornithine decarboxylase.

  Jackson L.K., Brooks H.B., Osterman A.L., Goldsmith E.J., Phillips M.A.

  Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) catalyzes the first committed step in the biosynthesis of polyamines, and it has been identified as a drug target for the treatment of African sleeping sickness, caused by Trypanosoma brucei. ODC is a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzyme and an obligate homod ... >> More

  Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) catalyzes the first committed step in the biosynthesis of polyamines, and it has been identified as a drug target for the treatment of African sleeping sickness, caused by Trypanosoma brucei. ODC is a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzyme and an obligate homodimer. X-ray structural analysis of the complex of the T. brucei wild-type enzyme with the product putrescine reveals two structural changes that occur upon ligand binding: Lys-69 is displaced by putrescine and forms new interactions with Glu-94 and Asp-88, and the side chain of Cys-360 rotates into the active site to within 3.4 A of the imine bond. Mutation of Cys-360 to Ala or Ser reduces the k(cat) of the decarboxylation reaction by 50- and 1000-fold, respectively. However, HPLC analysis of the products demonstrates that the mutant enzymes almost exclusively catalyze a decarboxylation-dependent transamination reaction to form pyridoxamine 5-phosphate (PMP) and gamma-aminobutyraldehyde, instead of PLP and putrescine. This side reaction arises when the decarboxylated substrate intermediate is protonated at C4' of PLP instead of at the C(alpha) of substrate. For the reaction catalyzed by the wild-type enzyme, this side reaction occurs infrequently (<0.01% of the turnovers). Single turnover analysis and multiwavelength stopped-flow spectroscopic studies suggest that for the mutant ODCs protonation at C4' occurs either very rapidly or in a concerted reaction with decarboxylation and that the rate-limiting step in the steady-state reaction is Schiff base hydrolysis/product release. These studies demonstrate a role for Cys-360 in the control of the C(alpha) protonation step that catalyzes the formation of the physiological product putrescine. The results further provide insight into the mechanism by which this class of PLP-dependent enzymes controls reaction specificity. << Less

  Biochemistry 39:11247-11257(2000) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Studies on ornithine decarboxylase from the liver of thioacetamide-treated rats. Purification and some properties.

  Ono M., Inoue H., Suzuki F., Takeda Y.

  Biochim Biophys Acta 284:285-297(1972) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]