Glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase: anomalous enantiomeric reaction and enzyme mechanism

On the Possibility of Using 5-Aminolevulinic Acid in the Light-Induced Destruction of Microorganisms

Antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (aPDI) is a method that specifically kills target cells by combining a photosensitizer and irradiation with light at the appropriate wavelength. The natural amino acid, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), is the precursor of endogenous porphyrins in the heme biosynthesis pathway. This review summarizes the recent progress in understanding the biosynthetic pathways and regulatory mechanisms of 5-ALA synthesis in biological hosts. The effectiveness of 5-ALA-aPDI in destroying various groups of pathogens (viruses, fungi, yeasts, parasites) was presented, but greater attention was focused on the antibacterial activity of this technique. Finally, the clinical applications of 5-ALA in therapies using 5-ALA and visible light (treatment of ulcers and disinfection of dental canals) were described.

Energy flow and intersubunit signalling in GSAM: A non-equilibrium molecular dynamics study

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of vibrational energy flow induced by the imposition of a thermal gradient have been performed on the μ2-dimeric enzyme glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminomutase (GSAM), the key enzyme in the biosynthesis of chlorophyll, in order to identify energy transport pathways and to elucidate their role as potential allosteric communication networks for coordinating functional dynamics, specifically the negative cooperativity observed in the motion of the two active site gating loops. Fully atomistic MD simulations of thermal diffusion were executed with a GROMACS simulation package on a fully solvated GSAM enzyme by heating various active site target ligands (initially, catalytic intermediates and cofactors) to 300K while holding the remainder of the protein and the solvent bath at 10K and monitoring the temperature T(t) of all the enzyme residues as a function of time over a 1ns observation window. Energy is observed to be deposited in a relatively small number of discrete chains of residues most of which contribute to specific structural or biochemical functionality. Thermal linkages between all thermally active chains were established by isolating a specific pair of chains and performing a thermal diffusion simulation on the pair, one held at 300K and the other at 10K, with the rest of the protein frozen in its initial atomic configuration and thus thermally unresponsive. Proceeding in this way, it was possible to map out multiple pathways of vibrational energy flow leading from one of the active sites through a network of contiguous residues, many of which were evolutionarily conserved and linked by hydrogen bonds, into the other active site and ultimately to the other gating loop.

The many roles of glutamate in metabolism

The amino acid glutamate is a major metabolic hub in many organisms and as such is involved in diverse processes in addition to its role in protein synthesis. Nitrogen assimilation, nucleotide, amino acid, and cofactor biosynthesis, as well as secondary natural product formation all utilize glutamate in some manner. Glutamate also plays a role in the catabolism of certain amines. Understanding glutamate's role in these various processes can aid in genome mining for novel metabolic pathways or the engineering of pathways for bioremediation or chemical production of valuable compounds.

Crystal structure of glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminotransferase from Bacillus subtilis with bound pyridoxamine-5'-phosphate

Glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminotransferase (GSA-AT), also named glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminomutase (GSAM), a pyridoxamine-5'-phosphate (PMP)/pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzyme, catalyses the transamination of the substrate glutamate-1-semialdehyde (GSA) to the product 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) by an unusual intramolecular exchange of amino and oxo groups within the catalytic intermediate 4,5-diaminovalerate (DAVA). This paper presents the crystal structure of GSA-AT from Bacillus subtilis (GSA-ATBsu) in its PMP-bound form at 2.3Å resolution. The structure was determined by molecular replacement using the Synechococcus GSAM (GSAMSyn) structure as a search model. Unlike the previous reported GSAM/GSA-AT structures, GSA-ATBsu is a symmetric homodimer in the PMP-bound form, which shows the structural symmetry at the gating loop region with open state, as well as identical cofactor (PMP) binding in each monomer. This observation of PMP in combination with an "open" lid supports one characteristic feature for this enzyme, as the catalyzed reaction is believed to be initiated by PMP. Furthermore, the symmetry of GSA-ATBsu structure challenges the previously proposed negative cooperativity between monomers of this enzyme.

Enzymic and mechanistic studies on the conversion of glutamate to 5-aminolaevulinate

Higher plants, algae, cyanobacteria and several other photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic bacteria synthesize 5-aminolaevulinate by a tRNA(Glu)-mediated pathway. Glutamate is activated at the alpha-carboxyl by ligation to tRNA(Glu) with an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase. An NADPH-dependent reductase converts glutamyl-tRNA(Glu) to glutamate 1-semialdehyde, which is finally converted to 5-aminolaevulinate by an aminotransferase. These components are soluble and in plants and algae are located in the chloroplast stroma. In plants and algae the tRNA(Glu) is encoded in chloroplast DNA whereas the enzymes are encoded in nuclear DNA. The tRNA(Glu) has a hypermodified 5-methylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine-pseudouridine-C anticodon and probably plays a role in the light-dark regulation of 5-aminolaevulinate synthesis. Ligation of glutamate to tRNA(Glu) requires ATP and Mg2+ and proceeds via a ternary intermediate. Glutamyl-tRNA(Glu) reduction appears to involve formation of a complex. Glutamate 1-semialdehyde non-enzymically synthesized by reductive ozonolysis from gamma-vinyl GABA is used as substrate by the last enzyme. Glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminotransferase contains pyridoxal phosphate as a prosthetic group. The enzyme is converted to spectrally different forms by treatment with 4,5-diaminovalerate or 4,5-dioxovalerate. The pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate form of the enzyme converts (S)-glutamate 1-semialdehyde to 5-aminolaevulinate via 4,5-diaminovalerate through a bi-bi ping-pong mechanism.

Biosynthesis of Hemes

This review is concerned specifically with the structures and biosynthesis of hemes in E. coli and serovar Typhimurium. However, inasmuch as all tetrapyrroles share a common biosynthetic pathway, much of the material covered here is applicable to tetrapyrrole biosynthesis in other organisms. Conversely, much of the available information about tetrapyrrole biosynthesis has been gained from studies of other organisms, such as plants, algae, cyanobacteria, and anoxygenic phototrophs, which synthesize large quantities of these compounds. This information is applicable to E. coli and serovar Typhimurium. Hemes play important roles as enzyme prosthetic groups in mineral nutrition, redox metabolism, and gas-and redox-modulated signal transduction. The biosynthetic steps from the earliest universal precursor, 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), to protoporphyrin IX-based hemes constitute the major, common portion of the pathway, and other steps leading to specific groups of products can be considered branches off the main axis. Porphobilinogen (PBG) synthase (PBGS; also known as ALA dehydratase) catalyzes the asymmetric condensation of two ALA molecules to form PBG, with the release of two molecules of H2O. Protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase (PPX) catalyzes the removal of six electrons from the tetrapyrrole macrocycle to form protoporphyrin IX in the last biosynthetic step that is common to hemes and chlorophylls. Several lines of evidence converge to support a regulatory model in which the cellular level of available or free protoheme controls the rate of heme synthesis at the level of the first step unique to heme synthesis, the formation of GSA by the action of GTR.

Regulation of a glutamyl-tRNA synthetase by the heme status

Glutamyl-tRNA (Glu-tRNA), formed by Glu-tRNA synthetase (GluRS), is a substrate for protein biosynthesis and tetrapyrrole formation by the C(5) pathway. In this route Glu-tRNA is transformed to delta-aminolevulinic acid, the universal precursor of tetrapyrroles (e.g., heme and chlorophyll) by the action of Glu-tRNA reductase (GluTR) and glutamate semialdehyde aminotransferase. GluTR is a target of feedback regulation by heme. In Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, an acidophilic bacterium that expresses two GluRSs (GluRS1 and GluRS2) with different tRNA specificity, the intracellular heme level varies depending on growth conditions. Under high heme requirement for respiration increased levels of GluRS and GluTR are observed. Strikingly, when intracellular heme is in excess, the cells respond by a dramatic decrease of GluRS activity and the level of GluTR. The recombinant GluRS1 enzyme is inhibited in vitro by hemin, but NADPH restores its activity. These results suggest that GluRS plays a major role in regulating the cellular level of heme.

Intersubunit signaling in glutamate-1-semialdehyde-aminomutase

Enzymes are highly dynamic and tightly controlled systems. However, allosteric communication linked to catalytic turnover is poorly understood. We have performed an integrated approach to trap several catalytic intermediates in the alpha2-dimeric key enzyme of chlorophyll biosynthesis, glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminomutase. Our data reveal an active-site "gating loop," which undergoes a dramatic conformational change during catalysis, that is simultaneously open in one subunit and closed in the other. This loop movement requires a beta-sheet-to-alpha-helix transition to assume the closed conformation, thus facilitating transport of substrate toward, and concomitantly forming, an integral part of the active site. The accompanying intersubunit cross-talk, which controls negative cooperativity between the allosteric pair, was explored at the atomic level. The central elements of the communication triad are the cofactor bound to different catalytic intermediates, the interface helix, and the gating loop. Together, they form a molecular switch in which the cofactor acts as a central signal transmitter linking the subunit interface with the gating loop.

A tRNA(Glu) that uncouples protein and tetrapyrrole biosynthesis

Glu-tRNA is either bound to elongation factor Tu to enter protein synthesis or is reduced by glutamyl-tRNA reductase (GluTR) in the first step of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis in most bacteria, archaea and in chloroplasts. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, a bacterium that synthesizes a vast amount of heme, contains three genes encoding tRNA(Glu). All tRNA(Glu) species are substrates in vitro of GluRS1 from A. ferrooxidans.Glu-tRNA(3)(Glu), that fulfills the requirements for protein synthesis, is not substrate of GluTR. Therefore, aminoacylation of tRNA(3)(Glu) might contribute to ensure protein synthesis upon high heme demand by an uncoupling of protein and heme biosynthesis.

Large scale production of biologically active Escherichia coli glutamyl-tRNA reductase from inclusion bodies

Glutamyl-tRNA reductase catalyzes the initial step of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis in plants and prokaryotes. Recombinant Escherichia coli glutamyl-tRNA reductase was purified to apparent homogeneity from an overproducing E. coli strain by a two-step procedure yielding 5.6 mg of enzyme per gram of wet cells with a specific activity of 0.47 micromol min(-1)mg(-1). After recombinant production, denatured glutamyl-tRNA reductase from inclusion bodies was renatured by an on-column refolding procedure. Residual protein aggregates were removed using Superdex 200 gel-filtration chromatography. Solubility, specific activity, and long-term storage properties were improved compared to previous protocols. Obtained enzyme amounts of high purity now allow the research on the recognition mechanism of tRNAGlu and high-throughput inhibitor screening.

tRNA recognition by glutamyl-tRNA reductase

During the first step of porphyrin biosynthesis in Archaea, most bacteria, and in chloroplasts glutamyl-tRNA reductase (GluTR) catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of glutamyl-tRNA to glutamate-1-semialdehyde. Elements in tRNA(Glu) important for utilization by Escherichia coli GluTR were determined by kinetic analysis of 51 variant transcripts of E. coli Glu-tRNA(Glu). Base U8, the U13*G22**A46 base triple, the tertiary Watson-Crick base pair 19*56, and the lack of residue 47 are required for GluTR recognition. All of these bases contribute to the formation of the unique tertiary core of E. coli tRNA-(Glu). Two tRNA(Glu) molecules lacking the entire anticodon stem/loop but retaining the tertiary core structure remained substrates for GluTR, while further decreasing tRNA size toward a minihelix abolished GluTR activity. RNA footprinting experiments revealed the physical interaction of GluTR with the tertiary core of Glu-tRNA(Glu). E. coli GluTR showed clear selectivity against mischarged Glu-tRNA(Gln). We concluded that the unique tertiary core structure of E. coli tRNA(Glu) was sufficient for E. coli GluTR to distinguish specifically its glutamyl-tRNA substrate.

Expression of a Brassic napus glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase in Escherichia coli and characterization of the recombinant protein

Glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase (GSA-AT) is a key regulatory enzyme, which converts glutamate 1-semialdehyde (GSA) to 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in chlorophyll biosynthesis. ALA is the universal precursor for the synthesis of chlorophyll, heme, and other tetrapyrroles. To study the regulation of chlorophyll biosynthesis in Brassica napus, two cDNA clones of GSA-AT were isolated for genetic manipulation. A SalI-XbaI fragment from one of the two cDNA clones of GSA-AT was used for recombinant protein expression by inserting it at the 3' end of a calmodulin-binding-peptide (CBP) tag of the pCaln vector. The CBP tagged recombinant protein, expressed in Escherichia coli, was purified to apparent homogeneity in a one step purification process using a calmodulin affinity column. The purified CBP tagged GSA-AT is biologically active and has a specific activity of 16.6 nmol/min/mg. Cleavage of the CBP tag from the recombinant protein with thrombin resulted in 9.2% loss of specific activity. However, removal of the cleaved CBP tag from the recombinant protein solution resulted in 60% loss of specific activity, suggesting possible interactions between the recombinant protein and the CBP tag. The enzyme activity of the CBP tagless recombinant protein, referred as TR-GSA-AT hereafter, was not affected by the addition of pyridoxamine 5' phosphate (PMP). Addition of glutamate and pyridoxal 5' phosphate (PLP) to the TR-GSA-AT enhanced the enzyme activity by 3-fold and 3.6-fold, respectively. Addition of both glutamate and PLP increased the enzyme activity by 4.6-fold. Similar to the GSA-AT of B. napus, the active TR-GSA-AT is a dimeric protein of 88 kDa with 45.5 kDa subunits. As the SalI-XbaI fragment encodes a biologically active GSA-AT that has the same molecular mass as the native GSA-AT, it is concluded that the SalI-XbaI fragment is the coding sequence of GSA-AT. The highly active polyclonal antibodies generated from TR-GSA-AT were used for the detection of GSA-AT of B. napus.

Escherichia coli glutamyl-tRNA reductase. Trapping the thioester intermediate

In the first step of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis in Escherichia coli, glutamyl-tRNA reductase (GluTR, encoded by hemA) catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of glutamyl-tRNA to glutamate-1-semialdehyde. Soluble homodimeric E. coli GluTR was made by co-expressing the hemA gene and the chaperone genes dnaJK and grpE. During Mg(2+)-stimulated catalysis, the reactive sulfhydryl group of Cys-50 in the E. coli enzyme attacks the alpha-carbonyl group of the tRNA-bound glutamate. The resulting thioester intermediate was trapped and detected by autoradiography. In the presence of NADPH, the end product, glutamate-1-semialdehyde, is formed. In the absence of NADPH, E. coli GluTR exhibited substrate esterase activity. The in vitro synthesized unmodified glutamyl-tRNA was an acceptable substrate for E. coli GluTR. Eight 5-aminolevulinic acid auxotrophic E. coli hemA mutants were genetically selected, and the corresponding mutations were determined. Most of the recombinant purified mutant GluTR enzymes lacked detectable activity. Based on the Methanopyrus kandleri GluTR structure, the positions of the amino acid exchanges are close to the catalytic domain (G7D, E114K, R314C, S22L/S164F, G44C/S105N/A326T, G106N, S145F). Only GluTR G191D (affected in NADPH binding) revealed esterase but no reductase activity.

V-shaped structure of glutamyl-tRNA reductase, the first enzyme of tRNA-dependent tetrapyrrole biosynthesis

Processes vital to life such as respiration and photosynthesis critically depend on the availability of tetrapyrroles including hemes and chlorophylls. tRNA-dependent catalysis generally is associated with protein biosynthesis. An exception is the reduction of glutamyl-tRNA to glutamate-1-semialdehyde by the enzyme glutamyl-tRNA reductase. This reaction is the indispensable initiating step of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis in plants and most prokaryotes. The crystal structure of glutamyl-tRNA reductase from the archaeon Methanopyrus kandleri in complex with the substrate-like inhibitor glutamycin at 1.9 A resolution reveals an extended yet planar V-shaped dimer. The well defined interactions of the inhibitor with the active site support a thioester-mediated reduction process. Modeling the glutamyl-tRNA onto each monomer reveals an extensive protein-tRNA interface. We furthermore propose a model whereby the large void of glutamyl-tRNA reductase is occupied by glutamate-1-semialdehyde-1,2-mutase, the subsequent enzyme of this pathway, allowing for the efficient synthesis of 5-aminolevulinic acid, the common precursor of all tetrapyrroles.

The common origins of the pigments of life-early steps of chlorophyll biosynthesis

The complex pathway of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis can be dissected into five sections: the pathways that produce 5-aminolevulinate (the C-4 and the C-5 pathways), the steps that transform ALA to uroporphyrinogen III, which are ubiquitous in the biosynthesis of all tetrapyrroles, and the three branches producing specialized end products. These end products include corrins and siroheme, chlorophylls and hemes and linear tetrapyrroles. These branches have been subjects of recent reviews. This review concentrates on the early steps leading up to uroporphyrinogen III formation which have been investigated intensively in recent years in animals, in plants, and in a wide range of bacteria.