Cooperative interaction between the GTP binding sites of glutamate dehydrogenase

Glutamate dehydrogenase: Potential therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative disease

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) is a key enzyme in mammalian glutamate metabolism. It is located at the intersection of multiple metabolic pathways and participates in a variety of cellular activities. GDH activity is strictly regulated by a variety of allosteric compounds. Here, we review the unique distribution and expressions of GDH in the brain nervous system. GDH plays an essential role in the glutamate-glutamine-GABA cycle between astrocytes and neurons. The dysfunction of GDH may induce the occurrence of many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and frontotemporal dementia. GDH activators and gene therapy have been found to protect neurons and improve motor disorders in neurodegenerative diseases caused by glutamate metabolism disorders. To date, no medicine has been discovered that specifically targets neurodegenerative diseases, although several potential medicines are used clinically. Targeting GDH to treat neurodegenerative diseases is expected to provide new insights and treatment strategies.

The structure of bovine glutamate dehydrogenase provides insights into the mechanism of allostery

BACKGROUND

Bovine glutamate dehydrogenase (boGDH) is a homohexameric, mitochondrial enzyme that reversibly catalyzes the oxidative deamination of L-glutamate to 2-oxoglutarate using either NADP(H) or NAD(H) with comparable efficacy. GDH represents a key enzymatic link between catabolic and biosynthetic pathways, and is therefore ubiquitous in both higher and lower organisms. Only mammalian GDH exhibits strong negative cooperativity with respect to the coenzyme, however, and is regulated by a large number of allosteric effectors.

RESULTS

The atomic structure of boGDH in complex with NADH, glutamate, and the allosteric inhibitor GTP has been determined to 2.8 A resolution. The major difference between the bacterial and bovine GDH structures is the presence of an additional 'antenna' in boGDH that protrudes from each trimer, twisting counterclockwise along the threefold axis. NADH and glutamate are clearly observed in the active site, but the contacts differ slightly from those observed in Clostridium symbiosum GDH. A second, inhibitory NADH molecule lies buried in the core of the hexamer. Finally, two GTP molecules bind near the hinge region connecting the NAD(+)- and glutamate-binding domains.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose that the antenna serves as an intersubunit communication conduit during negative cooperativity and allosteric regulation. GTP and NADH inhibit GDH by keeping the catalytic cleft in a closed conformation. In contrast, ADP probably binds to the back of the NAD(+)-binding domain and activates the enzyme by keeping the catalytic cleft open. Extensive contacts between antennae within the crystal lattice may represent hexamer interactions in solution and, perhaps, with other enzymes within the mitochondrial matrix.

Crystallization and characterization of bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase

Bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase has been crystallized as an abortive complex with glutamic acid, NADH, and an inhibitor, GTP. Crystals of this complex were grown using the sitting drop vapor diffusion method with PEG 8000 as the precipitant and diffract to better than 2.5 A resolution. The crystals belong to the space group P2(1) with an entire enzyme hexamer in the crystallographic asymmetric unit. Self-rotation and self-Patterson functions clearly define the orientation and position of this hexameric enzyme.

Electron spin resonance and nuclear relaxation studies on spin-labeled glutamate dehydrogenase

The reaction of glutamate dehydrogenase with two different stable nitroxides (spin labels) is reported. The two compounds contain a carbonyl and an iodoacetamide group as their reactive parts. The carbonyl compound inactivates the enzyme by the formation of a 1:1 covalent complex after NaBH4 reduction of an intermediate Schiff's base. Evidence indicates that the enzyme is modified at lysine-126 in the active site. The electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrum of spin-labeled enzyme indicates a high degree of immobilization of the nitroxide. The binding of reduced coenzyme NADPH is reflected by a change (immobilization) of the ESR spectrum. Nuclear relaxation of bound substrate, oxidized coenzyme, and inhibitor by the paramagnetic group is observed. This shows the existence of a binding site for these compounds close to the active site. The distances of selected protons of the binding ligands to the nitroxide are calculated. The iodoacetamide spin label reacts with several groups, one of which is not a sulfhydryl. The reaction of this particular group causes inactivation of the enzyme. Protection against this inactivation could be achieved with certain ligands. Only enzyme that was spin labeled without such protection caused paramagnetic relaxation of bound substrate and coenzyme.

Affinity labeling of a regulatory site of bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase

A new adenosine analog, 3'-p-fluorosulfonyl-benzoyladenosine (3'-FSBA), has been synthesized which reacts covalently with bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase. Native glutamate dehydrogenase is activated by ADP and inhibited by high concentrations of DPNH. Both of these effects are irreversibly decreased upon incubation of the enzyme with the adenosine analog, 3'-p-fluorosulfonyl-benzoyladenosine (3'-FSBA), while the intrinsic enzymatic activity as measured in the absence of regulatory compounds remains unaltered. A plot of the rate constant for modification as a function of the 3'-FSBA concentration is not linear, suggesting that the adenosine derivative binds to the enzyme (Ki equals 1.0 times 10-4 M) prior to the irreversible modification. Protection against modification by 3'-FSBA is provided by ADP and by high concentrations of DPNH, but not by the inhibitor GTP, the substrate alpha-keto glutarate, the coenzyme TPNH, or low concentrations of the coenzyme DPNH. The isolated altered enzyme contains approximately 1 mol of sulfonylbenzoyladenosine per peptide chain, indicating that a single specific regulatory site has reacted with 3'-tfsba. the modified enzyme exhibits normal Michaelis constants for its substrates and is still inhibited by GTP, albeit at a higher concentration, but it is not inhibited by high concentrations of DPNH. Although ADP does not appreciably activate the modified enzyme, it does (as in the case of the native enzyme) overcome the inhibition of the modified enzyme by GTP. These results suggest that ADP can bind to the modified enzyme, but that its ability to activate is affected indirectly by the modification of the adjacent tdpnh inhibitory site. It is proposed that the regulatory sites for ADP and DPNH are partially overlapping and that 3'FSBA functions as a specific affinity label for the DPNH inhibitory site of glutamate dehydrogenase. It is anticipated that 3'-p-fluorosulfonylbenzolyadenosine may act as an affinity label of other dehydrogenases as well as of other classes of enzymes which use adenine nucleotides as substrates or regulators.

The effect of modifying lysine-126 on the physical, catalytic and regulatory properties of bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase

1. The reaction of 4-iodoacetamidosalicylate with bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase is dependent on pH. The pH-activity curve is bell-shaped and can be described by apparent pK values of 7.8+/-0.2 and 9.1+/-0.2. 2. Enzyme in which lysine-126 has been modified by 4-iodoacetamidosalicylate has unaltered sedimentation characteristics except when measured in the presence of GTP and NADH. 3. GTP binding to the inhibited enzyme is unaltered. However, GTP can no longer promote the binding of a second molecule of NADH, since this is already bound to the inhibited enzyme without GTP. 4. The equilibrium binding of ADP, GTP, NAD-sulphite and NADH (when measured at low concentrations) was largely unchanged by modification. 5. The number of binding sites for 2-oxoglutarate to the enzyme-NADH complex were decreased by 60% in an enzyme that has been inhibited by 70%.