The Cu(II)-soaked crystal structure of tyrosinase that is present in a complex with a protein, designated "caddie," which we previously determined, possesses two copper ions at its catalytic center. We had identified two copper-binding sites in the caddie protein and speculated that copper bound to caddie may be transported to the tyrosinase catalytic center. In our present study, at a 1.16 -1.58 Å resolution, we determined the crystal structures of tyrosinase complexed with caddie prepared by altering the soaking time of the copper ion and the structures of tyrosinase complexed with different caddie mutants that display little or no capacity to activate tyrosinase. Based on these structures, we propose a molecular mechanism by which two copper ions are transported to the tyrosinase catalytic center with the assistance of caddie acting as a metallochaperone.Among the many biological systems that employ transition metal ions for their function, it is a requirement that specific metal co-factors be transported into the correct metalloenzyme. Proteins known as "metallochaperones" play key roles in this process. Although a few structures of the metallochaperone have now been determined (1-6), the molecular mechanisms underlying specific metal transfers remain unclear with

Tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1), a copper-containing monooxygenase, catalyzes the conversion of phenol to the corresponding ortho-quinone. The Streptomyces tyrosinase is generated as a complex with a “caddie” protein that facilitates the transport of two copper ions into the active center. In our previous study, the Tyr98 residue in the caddie protein, which is accommodated in the pocket of active center of tyrosinase, has been found to be converted to a reactive quinone through the formations of the μ-η2:η2-peroxo-dicopper(II) and Cu(II)-dopasemiquinone intermediates. Until now—despite extensive studies for the tyrosinase reaction based on the crystallographic analysis, low-molecular-weight models, and computer simulations—the catalytic mechanism has been unable to be made clear at an atomic level. To make the catalytic mechanism of tyrosinase clear, in the present study, the cryo-trapped crystal structures were determined at very high resolutions (1.16–1.70 Å). The structures suggest the existence of an important step for the tyrosinase reaction that has not yet been found: that is, the hydroxylation reaction is triggered by the movement of CuA, which induces the syn-to-anti rearrangement of the copper ligands after the formation of μ-η2:η2-peroxo-dicopper(II) core. By the rearrangement, the hydroxyl group of the substrate is placed in an equatorial position, allowing the electrophilic attack to the aromatic ring by the Cu2O2 oxidant.

Tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1), which possesses two copper ions at the active center, catalyzes a rate-limiting reaction of melanogenesis, that is, the conversion of a phenol to the corresponding ortho-quinone. The enzyme from the genus Streptomyces is generated as a complex with a "caddie" protein that assists the transport of two copper ions into the active center. In this complex, the Tyr residue in the caddie protein was found to be accommodated in the pocket of the active center of tyrosinase, probably in a manner similar to that of l-tyrosine as a genuine substrate of tyrosinase. Under physiological conditions, the addition of the copper ion to the complex releases tyrosinase from the complex, in accordance with the aggregation of the caddie protein. The release of the copper-bound tyrosinase was found to be accelerated by adding reducing agents under aerobic conditions. Mass spectroscopic analysis indicated that the Tyr residue was converted to a reactive quinone, and resonance Raman spectroscopic analysis indicated that the conversion occurred through the formations of μ-η:η-peroxo-dicopper(II) and Cu(II)-semiquinone. Electron paramagnetic resonance analysis under anaerobic conditions and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis using CO as a structural probe under anaerobic conditions indicated that the copper transportation process to the active center is a reversible event in the tyrosinase/caddie complex. Aggregation of the caddie protein, which is triggered by the conversion of the Tyr residue to dopaquinone, may ensure the generation of fully activated tyrosinase.