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- Eisenmesser, Elan Z, et al.
(author)
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Intrinsic dynamics of an enzyme underlies catalysis
- 2005
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 438, s. 117-21
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A unique feature of chemical catalysis mediated by enzymes is that the catalytically reactive atoms are embedded within a folded protein. Although current understanding of enzyme function has been focused on the chemical reactions and static three-dimensional structures, the dynamic nature of proteins has been proposed to have a function in catalysis1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The concept of conformational substates has been described6; however, the challenge is to unravel the intimate linkage between protein flexibility and enzymatic function. Here we show that the intrinsic plasticity of the protein is a key characteristic of catalysis. The dynamics of the prolyl cis–trans isomerase cyclophilin A (CypA) in its substrate-free state and during catalysis were characterized with NMR relaxation experiments. The characteristic enzyme motions detected during catalysis are already present in the free enzyme with frequencies corresponding to the catalytic turnover rates. This correlation suggests that the protein motions necessary for catalysis are an intrinsic property of the enzyme and may even limit the overall turnover rate. Motion is localized not only to the active site but also to a wider dynamic network. Whereas coupled networks in proteins have been proposed previously3, 7, 8, 9, 10, we experimentally measured the collective nature of motions with the use of mutant forms of CypA. We propose that the pre-existence of collective dynamics in enzymes before catalysis is a common feature of biocatalysts and that proteins have evolved under synergistic pressure between structure and dynamics.
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2. |
- Gardino, Alexandra K, et al.
(author)
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Transient Non-native Hydrogen Bonds Promote Activation of a Signaling Protein
- 2009
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In: Cell. - : Elsevier BV. - 0092-8674 .- 1097-4172. ; 139:6, s. 1109-18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- SummaryPhosphorylation is a common mechanism for activating proteins within signaling pathways. Yet, the molecular transitions between the inactive and active conformational states are poorly understood. Here we quantitatively characterize the free-energy landscape of activation of a signaling protein, nitrogen regulatory protein C (NtrC), by connecting functional protein dynamics of phosphorylation-dependent activation to protein folding and show that only a rarely populated, pre-existing active conformation is energetically stabilized by phosphorylation. Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) dynamics, we test an atomic scale pathway for the complex conformational transition, inferred from molecular dynamics simulations (Lei et al., 2009). The data show that the loss of native stabilizing contacts during activation is compensated by non-native transient atomic interactions during the transition. The results unravel atomistic details of native-state protein energy landscapes by expanding the knowledge about ground states to transition landscapes.
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3. |
- Wolf-Watz, Magnus, et al.
(author)
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Linkage between dynamics and catalysis in a thermophilic-mesophilic enzyme pair
- 2004
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In: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1545-9993 .- 1545-9985. ; 11, s. 945-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A fundamental question is how enzymes can accelerate chemical reactions. Catalysis is not only defined by actual chemical steps, but also by enzyme structure and dynamics. To investigate the role of protein dynamics in enzymatic turnover, we measured residue-specific protein dynamics in hyperthermophilic and mesophilic homologs of adenylate kinase during catalysis. A dynamic process, the opening of the nucleotide-binding lids, was found to be rate-limiting for both enzymes as measured by NMR relaxation. Moreover, we found that the reduced catalytic activity of the hyperthermophilic enzyme at ambient temperatures is caused solely by a slower lid-opening rate. This comparative and quantitative study of activity, structure and dynamics revealed a close link between protein dynamics and catalytic turnover.
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