Treponema denticola cystalysin is a pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP) enzyme that catalyzes the ␣,-elimination of L-cysteine to pyruvate, ammonia, and H 2 S. Similar to other PLP enzymes, an active site Lys residue (Lys-238) forms an internal Schiff base with PLP. The mechanistic role of this residue has been studied by an analysis of the mutant enzymes in which Lys-238 has been replaced by Ala (K238A) and Arg (K238R). Both apomutants reconstituted with PLP bind noncovalently ϳ50% of the normal complement of the cofactor and have a lower affinity for the coenzyme than that of wild-type. Kinetic analyses of the reactions of K238A and K238R mutants with glycine compared with that of wild-type demonstrate the decrease of the rate of Schiff base formation by 10 3 -and 7.5 ؋ 10 4 -fold, respectively, and, to a lesser extent, a decrease of the rate of Schiff base hydrolysis. Thus, a role of Lys-238 is to facilitate formation of external aldimine by transimination. Kinetic data reveal that the K238A mutant is inactive in the ␣,-elimination of L-cysteine and -chloro-L-alanine, whereas K238R retains 0.3% of the wild-type activity. These data, together with those derived from a spectral analysis of the reaction of Lys-238 mutants with unproductive substrate analogues, indicate that Lys-238 is an essential catalytic residue, possibly participating as a general base abstracting the C␣-proton from the substrate and possibly as a general acid protonating the -leaving group.
Cystalysin utilizes pyridoxal 5Ј-phosphate (PLP)1 as its coenzyme and is categorized as a member of the ␣ subfamily of PLP-dependent enzymes that include aspartate aminotransferase. The cDNA from Treponema denticola has been heterologously cloned in Escherichia coli, the recombinant enzyme has been crystallized, and the three-dimensional structure solved (1). The PLP cofactor in the active site forms a Schiff base with the ⑀-amino group of Lys-238 of cystalysin (2). The spectrum of cystalysin exhibits absorption maxima at 418 and 320 nm, in addition to the protein band at 281 nm. The 418-nm band is due to the protonated internal aldimine, whereas the 320-nm band is due to a substituted aldamine. The apparent pK spec of this spectral transition is ϳ8.4 (2).Cystalysin catalyzes the ␣,-elimination of L-cysteine to generate pyruvate, ammonia, and H 2 S (3). A catalytic mechanism has been suggested in which, after transaldimination, the released Lys-238 abstracts the C␣ proton from the substrate with its deprotonated ⑀-amino group, producing a carbanionic intermediate stabilized as the characteristic quinonoid intermediate. Then, after reaching an optimal position within hydrogen bonding distance to S␥, Lys-238 protonates the sulfur atom, and the resulting thiol is released. Finally, reverse transaldimination of the PLP aminoacrylate takes place; Lys-238 attacks the C4Ј atom, converting the aminoacrylate into an iminoproprionate, which is released and hydrolyzed to pyruvate and ammonia (1). Recently, substrate specificity studies reveal that cystalysin displays ...