Substrate specificity of E. coli uridine phosphorylase. Further evidences of high-syn conformation of the substrate in uridine phosphorolysis

Twenty five uridine analogues have been tested and compared with uridine with respect to their potency to bind to E. coli uridine phosphorylase. The kinetic constants of the phosphorolysis reaction of uridine derivatives modified at 2'-, 3'- and 5'-positions of the sugar moiety and 2-, 4-, 5- and 6-positions of the heterocyclic base were determined. The absence of the 2'- or 5'-hydroxyl group is not crucial for the successful binding and phosphorolysis. On the other hand, the absence of both the 2'- and 5'-hydroxyl groups leads to the loss of substrate binding to the enzyme. The same effect was observed when the 3'-hydroxyl group is absent, thus underlining the key role of this group. Our data shed some light on the mechanism of ribo- and 2'-deoxyribonucleoside discrimination by E. coli uridine phosphorylase and E. coli thymidine phosphorylase. A comparison of the kinetic results obtained in the present study with the available X-ray structures and analysis of hydrogen bonding in the enzyme-substrate complex demonstrates that uridine adopts an unusual high-syn conformation in the active site of uridine phosphorylase.

Concerted action of two subunits of the functional dimer of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 uridine phosphorylase derived from a comparison of the C212S mutant and the wild-type enzyme

Uridine phosphorylase (UP; EC 2.4.2.3), a key enzyme in the pyrimidine-salvage pathway, catalyzes the reversible phosphorolysis of uridine to uracil and ribose 1-phosphate. The structure of the C212S mutant of uridine phosphorylase from the facultatively aerobic Gram-negative γ-proteobacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (SoUP) was determined at 1.68 Å resolution. A comparison of the structures of the mutant and the wild-type enzyme showed that one dimer in the mutant hexamer differs from all other dimers in the mutant and wild-type SoUP (both in the free form and in complex with uridine). The key difference is the `maximum open' state of one of the subunits comprising this dimer, which has not been observed previously for uridine phosphorylases. Some conformational features of the SoUP dimer that provide access of the substrate into the active site are revealed. The binding of the substrate was shown to require the concerted action of two subunits of the dimer. The changes in the three-dimensional structure induced by the C212S mutation account for the lower affinity of the mutant for inorganic phosphate, while the affinity for uridine remains unchanged.

High-synconformation of uridine and asymmetry of the hexameric molecule revealed in the high-resolution structures ofShewanella oneidensisMR-1 uridine phosphorylase in the free form and in complex with uridine

Uridine phosphorylase (UP; EC 2.4.2.3), a key enzyme in the pyrimidine-salvage pathway, catalyzes the reversible phosphorolysis of uridine to uracil and ribose 1-phosphate. Expression of UP fromShewanella oneidensisMR-1 (SoUP) was performed inEscherichia coli. The high-resolution X-ray structure of SoUP was solved in the free form and in complex with uridine. A crystal of SoUP in the free form was grown under microgravity and diffracted to ultrahigh resolution. Both forms of SoUP contained sulfate instead of phosphate in the active site owing to the presence of ammonium sulfate in the crystallization solution. The latter can be considered as a good mimic of phosphate. In the complex, uridine adopts a high-synconformation with a nearly planar ribose ring and is present only in one subunit of the hexamer. A comparison of the structures of SoUP in the free form and in complex with the natural substrate uridine showed that the subunits of the hexamer are not identical, with the active sites having either an open or a closed conformation. In the monomers with the closed conformation, the active sites in which uridine is absent contain a glycerol molecule mimicking the ribose moiety of uridine.