Cytochrome P450 (P450, CYP) 17A1 plays a critical role in steroid metabolism, catalyzing both the 17α-hydroxylation of pregnenolone and progesterone and the subsequent 17α,20-lyase reactions to form dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and androstenedione (Andro), respectively, critical for generating glucocorticoids and androgens. Human P450 17A1 reaction rates examined are enhanced by the accessory protein cytochrome (), but the exact role of in P450 17A1-catalyzed reactions is unclear as are several details of these reactions. Here, we examined in detail the processivity of the 17α-hydroxylation and lyase steps. did not enhance reaction rates by decreasing the rates of any of the steroids. Steroid binding to P450 17A1 was more complex than a simple two-state system. Pre-steady-state experiments indicated lag phases for Andro production from progesterone and for DHEA from pregnenolone, indicating a distributive character of the enzyme. However, we observed processivity in pregnenolone/DHEA pulse-chase experiments. ()-Orteronel was three times more inhibitory toward the conversion of 17α-hydroxypregnenolone to DHEA than toward the 17α-hydroxylation of pregnenolone. IC values for ()-orteronel were identical for blocking DHEA formation from pregnenolone and for 17α-hydroxylation, suggestive of processivity. Global kinetic modeling helped assign sets of rate constants for individual or groups of reactions, indicating that human P450 17A1 is an inherently distributive enzyme but that some processivity is present, some of the 17α-OH pregnenolone formed from pregnenolone did not dissociate from P450 17A1 before conversion to DHEA. Our results also suggest multiple conformations of P450 17A1, as previously proposed on the basis of NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography.

Edited by John M. Denu Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) catalyzes the reversible NADP؉ -dependent conversion of isocitrate (ICT) to ␣-ketoglutarate (␣KG) in the cytosol and peroxisomes. Mutations in IDH1 have been implicated in >80% of lower grade gliomas and secondary glioblastomas and primarily affect residue 132, which helps coordinate substrate binding. However, other mutations found in the active site have also been identified in tumors. IDH1 mutations typically result in a loss of catalytic activity, but many also can catalyze a new reaction, the NADPH-dependent reduction of ␣KG to D-2-hydroxyglutarate (D2HG). D2HG is a proposed oncometabolite that can competitively inhibit ␣KG-dependent enzymes. Some kinetic parameters have been reported for several IDH1 mutations, and there is evidence that mutant IDH1 enzymes vary widely in their ability to produce D2HG. We report that most IDH1 mutations identified in tumors are severely deficient in catalyzing the normal oxidation reaction, but that D2HG production efficiency varies among mutant enzymes up to ϳ640-fold. Common IDH1 mutations have moderate catalytic efficiencies for D2HG production, whereas rarer mutations exhibit either very low or very high efficiencies. We then designed a series of experimental IDH1 mutants to understand the features that support D2HG production. We show that this new catalytic activity observed in tumors is supported by mutations at residue 132 that have a smaller van der Waals volume and are more hydrophobic. We report that one mutation can support both the normal and neomorphic reactions. These studies illuminate catalytic features of mutations found in the majority of patients with lower grade gliomas.Metabolic changes in tumors have been described for nearly a century (1-3), but only relatively recently have enzymes involved in metabolic processes been established as tumor suppressors or oncoproteins. One of the more striking examples of metabolic enzymes playing a role in tumorigenesis includes isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 (IDH1 and IDH2).3 These homodimeric enzymes are responsible for the reversible NADP ϩ -and Mg 2ϩ -dependent conversion of ICT to ␣KG (Fig. 1A) in the cytosol and peroxisomes (IDH1), or mitochondria (IDH2). IDH3 is responsible for the same reaction within the context of the TCA cycle, although the oxidative decarboxylation catalyzed by this enzyme is non-reversible and NAD ϩ -dependent. Mutations in IDH1 and IDH2 were identified in glioblastoma multiforme in a large sequencing effort (4), and soon Ͼ80% of adult grade II/III gliomas and secondary glioblastomas were found to have IDH1 mutations, commonly R132H or R132C IDH1 (5, 6) (reviewed in Refs. 7-9). Subsequently ϳ10 -20% of acute myeloid leukemias were shown to have primarily IDH2 mutations, typically R140Q or R172K IDH2 (10). Early mechanisms of tumorigenesis focused on deficient conversion of ICT to ␣KG (11), suggesting that IDH serves as a tumor suppressor, in part through altering levels of hypoxia-inducible transcription factor-1␣ (12). However,...

Background: Fish (and human) P450 17A1 catalyze both steroid 17␣-hydroxylation and 17␣,20-lyase reactions. A second fish P450, 17A2 (51% identical), catalyzes only 17␣-hydroxylation. Results: Crystal structures of zebrafish P450 17A1 and 17A2 and human P450 17A1 are very similar. Conclusion: In kinetic analysis, the two-step oxidation of progesterone is more distributive than for pregnenolone. Significance: Small structural differences are associated with activities of the two fish P450s.

We propose three mechanisms that can involve the FeO 3؉ entity and that explain the 18 O label in the acetic acid, two involving the intermediacy of an acetyl radical and one a steroid 17,20-dioxetane. P450 17A1 was found to perform 16-hydroxylation reactions on its 17␣-hydroxylated products to yield 16,17␣-dihydroxypregnenolone and progesterone, suggesting the presence of an active perferryloxo active species of P450 17A1 when its lyase substrate is bound. The 6␤-hydroxylation of 16␣,17␣-dihydroxyprogesterone and the oxidation of both 16␣,17␣-dihydroxyprogesterone and 16␣,17␣-dihydroxypregnenolone to 16-hydroxy lyase products were also observed. We provide evidence for the contribution of a compound I mechanism, although contribution of a ferric peroxide pathway in the 17␣,20-lyase reaction cannot be excluded. Cytochrome P450 (P450)3 enzymes catalyze oxidations of more chemicals than any other group of proteins (1). The list of reactions includes aliphatic and aromatic hydroxylations, heteroatom oxidations, epoxidations, and reactions involving both ring formation and cleavage (2-4). Many P450 reactions are important in the biosynthesis and degradation of steroids and sterols (4, 5), including several critical C-C bond cleavage reactions, i.e. those catalyzed by P450s 11A1, 17A1 (Fig. 1), 19A1, and 51A1 (6, 7).The mechanisms of the C-C cleavage reactions have been the subject of considerable interest and debate. One of the questions with P450s 17A1, 19A1, and 51A1 has been whether the active oxidant is a ferric peroxide (FeO 2 Ϫ ), which is an early intermediate following oxygen addition to the iron (Fig. 2, step 4) or the FeO 3ϩ species (Fig. 2, step 6), often referred to as compound I (4, 10, 11). With P450s 17A1 and 19A1, a variety of approaches has been applied, including theoretical calculations, biomimetic models, spectroscopy, substrate atom labeling, and kinetics (12-32).These C-C bond cleavage reactions are complex, and many of the results are ambiguous; also, a "mixed" mechanism would not be discerned in many of these experiments. One powerful approach originally used by Akhtar and co-workers (27-31) analyzes the actual reaction and can provide discrimination between the nucleophilic FeO 2 Ϫ and electrophilic FeO 3ϩ reactions (Fig. 2), based on the incorporation of 18 O label from O 2 into the carboxylic acid products (Fig. 3) (7). However, these experiments are complicated due to the ubiquitous presence of formic acid (P450 19A1 and 51A1 reactions) and acetic acid (P450 17A1) in laboratory settings. Thus, the data from such experiments are interpreted with the most confidence when the steroid substrates are labeled with 2 H or 13 C isotopes to facilitate analysis (15,33). Even then, the mass spectrometry results can be problematic, particularly if a shift of only one atomic mass unit is introduced and isotopologues derived from 18 O incorporation are not discriminated from molecules containing natural abundance 13 C atoms (33). The incorporation of one atom of 18 O label from O 2 into formic acid (F...

Cytochrome P450 (P450) 17A1 catalyzes the oxidations of progesterone and pregnenolone and is the major source of androgens. The enzyme catalyzes both 17α-hydroxylation and a subsequent 17α,20-lyase reaction, and several mechanisms have been proposed for the latter step. Zebrafish P450 17A2 catalyzes only the 17α-hydroxylations. We previously reported high similarity of the crystal structures of zebrafish P450 17A1 and 17A2 and human P450 17A1. Five residues near the heme, which differed, were changed. We also crystallized this five-residue zebrafish P450 17A1 mutant, and the active site still resembled the structure in the other proteins, with some important differences. These P450 17A1 and 17A2 mutants had catalytic profiles more similar to each other than did the wildtype proteins. Docking with these structures can explain several minor products, which require multiple enzyme conformations. The 17α-hydroperoxy (OOH) derivatives of the steroids were used as oxygen surrogates. Human P450 17A1 and zebrafish P450s 17A1 and P450 17A2 readily converted these to the lyase products in the absence of other proteins or cofactors (with catalytically competent kinetics) plus hydroxylated 17α-hydroxysteroids. The 17α-OOH results indicate that a "Compound I" (FeO) intermediate is capable of formation and can be used to rationalize the products. We conclude that zebrafish P450 17A2 is capable of lyase activity with the 17α-OOH steroids because it can achieve an appropriate conformation for lyase catalysis in this system that is precluded in the conventional reaction.