Characterization of the hydrophobic substrate-binding site of the bacterial beta class glutathione transferase from Proteus mirabilis

Protein Eng Des Sel. 2010 Sep;23(9):743-50. doi: 10.1093/protein/gzq048. Epub 2010 Jul 27.

Abstract

Since their discovery, bacterial glutathione (GSH)transferases have been characterized in terms of their ability to catalyse a variety of different reactions on a large set of toxic molecules of xenobiotic or endobiotic origin. Furthermore the contribution of different residues in the GSH-binding site to GSH activation has been extensively investigated. Little is known, however, about the contribution to catalysis and overall stability of single residues shaping the hydrophobic co-substrate binding site (H-site). Here we tackle this problem by site-directed mutagenesis of residues facing the H-site in the bacterial beta class GSH transferase from Proteus mirabilis. We investigate the behaviour of these mutants under a variety of conditions and analyse their activity against several co-substrates, representative of the different reactions catalyzed by bacterial GSH transferases. Our work shows that mutations at the H-site can be used to modulate activity at the level of the different catalytic mechanisms operating on the chosen substrates, each mutation showing a different fingerprint. This work paves the way for future studies aimed at improving the catalytic properties of beta class GSH transferases against selected substrates for bioremediation purposes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Benzene Derivatives / chemistry
  • Benzene Derivatives / metabolism
  • Binding Sites
  • Circular Dichroism
  • Enzyme Stability
  • Glutathione / chemistry
  • Glutathione / metabolism
  • Glutathione Transferase / chemistry*
  • Glutathione Transferase / genetics
  • Glutathione Transferase / metabolism
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Kinetics
  • Models, Molecular
  • Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
  • Mutation
  • Protein Folding
  • Proteus mirabilis / enzymology*
  • Proteus mirabilis / genetics
  • Temperature

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Benzene Derivatives
  • Glutathione Transferase
  • Glutathione