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The tryptophan synthase bienzyme complex (alpha2beta2) from Salmonella tryphimurium catalyzes the final steps in the biosynthesis of L-Trp. To investigate the roles played by conformational change in tryptopthan synthase catalysis, the fluorophore 8-anilino-1-naphthalensulfonate (ANS) is used to identify conformational states. The binding of ANS to the alpha2beta2 bienzyme complex is accompanied by a dramatic enhancement of ANS fluorescence and a shift of the emission maximum from 520 to 482 nm. The ANS binding isotherm is biphasic and consists of a class of moderately high-affinity, noninteracting sites with a stoichiometry of 1 site/alpha beta dimeric unit (Kd' = 62 + or - 15 micrometer) and a much weaker set of non-specific interactions with K'd>1mM. Our findings show that the affinity of the enzyme for ANS is strongly decreased (> 10-fold) by interactions at two loci 30 angstroms apart: (i) the binding of the alpha-site ligands, 3-indole-D-glycerol 3'-phosphate or alpha-glycerol phosphate (GP) or (ii) reaction at the beta-subunit to form either the alpha-aminoacrylate Schiff base, E(A-A), or quinonoid species, E(Q). In contrast, formation of the L-Ser and L-Trp external aldimines E(Aex1) and E(Aex2) at the beta-site causes a 2-3 fold decrease in the affinity of the enzyme for ANS. The combination of E(A-A)or E(Q) with GP brings about almost complete displacement of ANS, indicating that these interactions drive a conformation change in alphabeta subunit pairs which prevents the binding of ANS. These results are consistent with a model which postulates that alphabeta subunit pairs undergo ligand-mediated transitions between open and closed conformations during the catalytic cycle. Consistent with the kinetic data showing that binding of alpha-site ligands increases the affinity of the beta site for L-Ser and that formation of E(A-A) activates the alpha reaction [Brzović, P. S., Ngo, K., & Dunn, M. F. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 3831-3839], while mutations in alpha subunit loops 2 and 6 prevent the ligand- mediated transition to a closed structure [Brzović, P.S., Hyde, C.C., Miles, E.W., & Dunn, M.F. (1993) Biochemistry 32, 10404-10413], we conclude that reciprocal ligand-mediated allosteric interactions between the heterologous subunits promote conformational transitions between open and closed structures in alphabeta subunit pairs which function to coordinate catalytic activities and facilitate the channeling of indole between the two catalytic sites.

Photoreleasable molecules are important in studies of various biological phenomena, especially cell signaling. Here we report a generally applicable approach for 'caging' unprotected cysteine-containing or thiophosphorylated peptides in aqueous solution with 2-nitrobenzyl bromides. Photolysis of the caged peptides was achieved with near UV light with product quantum efficiencies of 0.06-0.62 under conditions that produced no damage to attendant biological macromolecules. Yields of uncaged peptides were 55-70%. Selective reaction of the sidechain of thiophosphoryl serine with 2-nitrobenzyl bromide in the presence of a cysteinyl residue was also demonstrated, establishing a means for functional caging of various signal transduction proteins without prior modification or mutagenesis.

No abstract

Substrate channeling in the tryptophan synthase bienzyme complex from Salmonella typhimurium is regulated by allosteric interactions triggered by binding of ligand to the alpha-site and covalent reaction at the beta-site. These interactions switch the enzyme between low-activity forms with open conformations and high-activity forms with closed conformations. Previously, allosteric interactions have been demonstrated between the alpha-site and the external aldimine, alpha-aminoacrylate, and quinonoid forms of the beta-site. Here we employ the chromophoric l-Trp analogue, trans-3-indole-3'-acrylate (IA), and noncleavable alpha-site ligands (ASLs) to probe the allosteric properties of the internal aldimine, E(Ain). The ASLs studied are alpha-d,l-glycerol phosphate (GP) and d-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P), and examples of two new classes of high-affinity alpha-site ligands, N-(4'-trifluoromethoxybenzoyl)-2-aminoethyl phosphate (F6) and N-(4'-trifluoromethoxybenzenesulfonyl)-2-aminoethyl phosphate (F9), that were previously shown to bind to the alpha-site by optical spectroscopy and X-ray crystal structures [Ngo, H., Harris, R., Kimmich, N., Casino, P., Niks, D., Blumenstein, L., Barends, T. R., Kulik, V., Weyand, M., Schlichting, I., and Dunn, M. F. (2007) Synthesis and characterization of allosteric probes of substrate channeling in the tryptophan synthase bienzyme complex, Biochemistry 46, 7713-7727]. The binding of IA to the beta-site is stimulated by the binding of GP, G3P, F6, or F9 to the alpha-site. The binding of ASLs was found to increase the affinity of the beta-site of E(Ain) for IA by 4-5-fold, demonstrating for the first time that the beta-subunit of the E(Ain) species undergoes a switching between low- and high-affinity states in response to the binding of ASLs.