In the recently identified cholesterol catabolic pathway of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 2-hydroxy-6-oxo-6-phenylhexa-2,4-dienoate hydrolase (HsaD) is proposed to catalyze the hydrolysis of a carbon-carbon bond in 4,5-9,10-diseco-3-hydroxy-5,9,17-tri-oxoandrosta-1(10),2-diene-4-oic acid (DSHA), the cholesterol meta-cleavage product (MCP) and has been implicated in the intracellular survival of the pathogen. Herein, purified HsaD demonstrated 4 -33 times higher specificity for DSHA (k cat /K m ؍ 3.3 ؎ 0.3 ؋ 10 4 M ؊1 s ؊1 ) than for the biphenyl MCP 2-hydroxy-6-oxo-6-phenylhexa-2,4-dienoic acid (HOPDA) and the synthetic analogue 8-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-hydroxy-5-methyl-6-oxoocta-2,4-dienoic acid (HOPODA), respectively. The S114A variant of HsaD, in which the active site serine was substituted with alanine, was catalytically impaired and bound DSHA with a K d of 51 ؎ 2 M. The S114A⅐DSHA species absorbed maximally at 456 nm, 60 nm red-shifted versus the DSHA enolate. Crystal structures of the variant in complex with HOPDA, HOPODA, or DSHA to 1.8 -1.9 Å indicate that this shift is due to the enzyme-induced strain of the enolate. These data indicate that the catalytic serine catalyzes tautomerization. A second role for this residue is suggested by a solvent molecule whose position in all structures is consistent with its activation by the serine for the nucleophilic attack of the substrate. Finally, the ␣-helical lid covering the active site displayed a ligand-dependent conformational change involving differences in side chain carbon positions of up to 6.7 Å , supporting a two-conformation enzymatic mechanism. Overall, these results provide novel insights into the determinants of specificity in a mycobacterial cholesterol-degrading enzyme as well as into the mechanism of MCP hydrolases.Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the leading cause of bacterial mortality, causing an estimated 2 million deaths/year (1). The mechanisms underlying the remarkable ability of this pathogen to survive for long periods of time within the host are poorly understood (2). Although it was well known that saprophytic mycobacteria could metabolize cholesterol (3), it was only recently demonstrated that pathogenic strains can also utilize this nutrient as a growth substrate (4, 5). Interestingly, cholesterol has been found in high concentrations within caseating granulomas in both humans and mice (6, 7), and bacteria have been observed congregating around cholesterol foci (7). Highlighting the importance of cholesterol in bacterial pathogenesis, the deletion of genes involved in cholesterol metabolism reduces the virulence of M. tuberculosis (5,8). Therefore, further knowledge of cholesterol metabolism in M. tuberculosis is crucial to our understanding of bacterial virulence.M. tuberculosis catabolizes cholesterol using a metabolic pathway similar to that identified in Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 (4, 9). In this pathway, the aerobic degradation of the fourringed steroid nucleus occurs through the opening of ring B, aromatization of ring A, and hydroxyla...