The structure of the carboxypeptidase A complex with the inhibitor (5')-(+)-I-amino-2-phenylethylphosphonic acid has been determined at 0.23 nm resolution. The AF map shows electrondensity peaks both in the S1 and s', sites, where the inhibitor molecule can be modeled in two different orientations with approximate 50% occupancy. In the proposed model, the phosphonate group binds to the zinc ion in a monodentate fashion. Other anchoring groups for the inhibitor molecule are Argl27 (hydrogen bonds with the phosphonate oxygen atoms) and Glu270 (hydrogen bond with the amino group in one of the two orientations).A recent spectroscopic investigation of the complex between cobalt(I1) carboxypeptidase A and (5')-(+)-I -amino-2-phenylethylphosphonic acid is essentially in agreement with our results.The study of inhibitors of carboxypeptidase A (CPA) has received considerable attention owing to their importance in contributing to the elucidation of the mechanism of action of the enzyme, and consequently to constitute a valid model for the design of drugs against pathologies in which other zinc proteases of unknown structure (e. g. angiotensin-converting enzyme, collagenase) are involved [I -41. In this respect, highresolution crystallographic studies of several CPA-inhibitor complexes have led to the recent formulation of a mechanistic proposal for the CPA-catalyzed hydrolysis of peptides [ 5 ] .Together with spectroscopic studies, these investigations have highlighted the structural features of the active-site cavity of the enzyme, which are responsible for the binding of the inhibitor: the S; pocket, specific for a PI hydrophobic side chain; Argl45 which binds a terminal carboxylate; Glu270 which can interact both with amino or amide nitrogens, hydroxyl groups and intact carboxylates; the zinc ion itself, which has the ability to coordinate phosphate, carboxylate and sulphydryl groups. A series of compounds ranging from simple carboxylates to large polypeptides [I, 2, 6 - A recent spectroscopic study on the complex between the title compound and the cobalt derivative of CPA [18] has shown that substitution of the carboxylate group of D-phenylalanine (DPhe) by a phosphonate group causes a 1000-fold increase in the Ki of the inhibitor. A new type of binding for the phosphonic amino acid has been suggested in which the aromatic side chain does not lie in the S; hydrophobic pocket, but is bound in the adjacent S, site. In view of the unique behavior of this inhibitor molecule, we have undertaken an X-ray structural investigation on the complex between CPA and the (S)-(+)-l-amino-2-phenylethylphosphonic acid (Phe-P).
MATERIALS AND METHODSAll the reagents used were of analytical grade. Phe-P, which is the analog of DPhe with a phosphate group in place of the carboxylic group (Scheme l), was a generous gift of Prof. H. Kozlowsky [18, 191. Bovine CPA, prepared by the method of Cox [20], was purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. and used without further purification. CPA was crystallized in space group P21 [21] (a = 5.160 nm, b = ...