Glutamate 170 of Human L-3-Hydroxyacyl-CoA Dehydrogenase is Required for Proper Orientation of the Catalytic Histidine and Structural Integrity of the Enzyme

Joseph J. Barycki, Laurie K. O'Brien, Arnold W. Strauss, Leonard J. Banaszak

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

L-3-Hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HAD), the penultimate enzyme in the β-oxidation spiral, reversibly catalyzes the conversion of L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA to the corresponding 3-ketoacyl-CoA. Similar to other dehydrogenases, HAD contains a general acid/base, His158, which is within hydrogen bond distance of a carboxylate, Glu170. To investigate its function in this catalytic dyad, Glu170 was replaced with glutamine (E170Q), and the mutant enzyme was characterized. Whereas substrate and cofactor binding were unaffected by the mutation, E170Q exhibited diminished catalytic activity. Protonation of the catalytic histidine did not restore wild-type activity, indicating that modulation of the pKa of His158 is not the sole function of Glu170. The pH profile of charge transfer complex formation, an independent indicator of active site integrity, was unaltered by the amino acid substitution, but the intensity of the charge transfer band was diminished. This observation, coupled with significantly reduced enzymatic stability of the E170Q mutant, implicates Glu170 in maintenance of active site architecture. Examination of the crystal structure of E170Q in complex with NAD+ and acetoacetyl-CoA (R = 21.9%, Rfree = 27.6%, 2.2 A) reveals that Gln170 no longer hydrogen bonds to the side chain of His 158. Instead, the imidazole ring is nearly perpendicular to its placement in the comparable native complex and no longer positioned for efficient catalysis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)36718-36726
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume276
Issue number39
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 28 2001
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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