Crystallization and preliminary X-ray study of pig lens aldose reductase

Purification and electrospray mass spectrometry of aldose reductase from pig lens

Aldose reductase (alditol: NADP+ 1-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.21) has been purified from pig lens to homogeneity by a rapid and efficient three-step procedure involving poly(ethylene glycol) fractionation, ion-exchange chromatography and chromatofocusing. The homogeneity of the purified enzyme was examined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under native and denaturing conditions, by isoelectric focusing and by high-performance liquid chromatography on a size-exclusion column. The highly purified enzyme is a monomeric protein with a molecular mass of 35,775 +/- 3 Da as determined by electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS). This purification procedure is particularly suited for the preparation of triclinic single crystals of pig lens aldose reductase, which are currently used in X-ray studies of this enzyme.

Novel NADPH-binding domain revealed by the crystal structure of aldose reductase

Aldose reductase is the first enzyme in the polyol pathway and catalyses the NADPH-dependent reduction of D-glucose to D-sorbitol. Under normal physiological conditions aldose reductase participates in osmoregulation, but under hyperglycaemic conditions it contributes to the onset and development of severe complications in diabetes. Here we present the crystal structure of pig lens aldose reductase refined to an R-factor of 0.232 at 2.5-A resolution. It exhibits a single domain folded in an eight-stranded parallel alpha/beta barrel, similar to that in triose phosphate isomerase and a score of other enzymes. Hence, aldose reductase does not possess the expected canonical dinucleotide-binding domain. Crystallographic analysis of the binding of 2'-monophospho-adenosine-5'-diphosphoribose, which competitively inhibits NADPH binding reveals that it binds into a cleft located at the C-terminal end of the strands of the alpha/beta barrel. This represents a new type of binding for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide coenzymes.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of porcine aldose reductase

Large crystals of porcine aldose reductase have been grown from polyethylene glycol solutions. The crystals are triclinic, space-group P1, with a = 81.3 A, b = 85.9 A, c = 56.6 A, alpha = 102.3 degrees, beta = 103.3 degrees and gamma = 79.0 degrees. The crystals grow within ten days to dimensions of 0.6 mm x 0.4 mm x 0.2 mm and diffract to at least 2.5 A. There are four molecules in the unit cell related by a set of three mutually perpendicular non-crystallographic 2-fold axes.

Enhancement of aldose reductase activity by modification of an active site lysine: a possible mechanism for in vivo activation

Reaction of aldose reductase (ALR2) from pig muscle with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (pyridoxal-P) and other lysine modifying reagents resulted in activation of the enzyme. The activation by pyridoxal-P showed pH and concentration dependence that was prevented by incubation with NADPH and various cofactor analogues but not by the aldehyde substrate. Spectral analysis of the reaction showed characteristic peaks associated with Schiff's base formation between a lysine amino group and the aldehyde of pyridoxal-P. Subsequent reduction produced spectra characteristic of a phosphopyridoxyllysine bond. Phosphopyridoxyllysine was isolated by amino acid analysis of modified ALR2. Determination of the stoichiometry of bound phosphopyridoxyllysine indicated one mole of pyridoxal-P per mole of enzyme under conditions that produced maximal activation. A single [3H]phosphopyridoxyllysine containing peptide was isolated by high performance liquid chromatography after enzymatic cleavage of the modified enzyme. This 34 residue peptide exhibited considerable sequence homology to the region comprising residues 242 to 275 of human liver ALR1 and a similar region in rat lens ALR2, human muscle ALR2 and human placental ALR2. The activation of ALR2 via formation of a Schiff's base suggests a possible mechanism of activation of the enzyme in vivo by glucose.