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The crystal structure of eucaryotic lipoamide dehydrogenase from yeast has been determined by an X-ray analysis at 2.7 (partially at 2.4) A resolution. The enzyme has two identical subunits related by a pseudo twofold symmetry. The tertiary structure is similar to those of other procaryotic enzymes. The active site, consisting of FAD, Cys44, and Cys49 from one subunit and His457' from the other subunit, is highly conserved. This enzyme is directly bound to the core protein E2 of the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex, whereas it is bound to the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex through a protein X. The calculated electrostatic potential suggests two characteristic regions for binding with these two proteins.

Dihydrolipoamide acyltransferase (E2), a catalytic and structural component of the three functional classes of multienzyme complexes that catalyze the oxidative decarboxylation of alpha-keto acids, forms the central core to which the other components attach. We have determined the structures of the truncated 60-mer core dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (tE2) of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and complexes of the tE2 core associated with a truncated binding protein (tBP), intact binding protein (BP), and the BP associated with its dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (BP.E3). The tE2 core is a pentagonal dodecahedron consisting of 20 cone-shaped trimers interconnected by 30 bridges. Previous studies have given rise to the generally accepted belief that the other components are bound on the outside of the E2 scaffold. However, this investigation shows that the 12 large openings in the tE2 core permit the entrance of tBP, BP, and BP.E3 into a large central cavity where the BP component apparently binds near the tip of the tE2 trimer. The bone-shaped E3 molecule is anchored inside the central cavity through its interaction with BP. One end of E3 has its catalytic site within the surface of the scaffold for interaction with other external catalytic domains. Though tE2 has 60 potential binding sites, it binds only about 30 copies of tBP, 15 of BP, and 12 of BP.E3. Thus, E2 is unusual in that the stoichiometry and arrangement of the tBP, BP, and E3.BP components are determined by the geometric constraints of the underlying scaffold.

The dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase-binding protein (E3BP), a component of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae and mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complexes, anchors an E3 homodimer inside each of the 12 pentagonal faces of the 60-mer dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2). To gain further insight into the number and localization of binding sites for E3BP on the 60-mer E2, truncated forms of the E3BP lacking the lipoyl and E3-binding domains were engineered by deletion mutagenesis. The recombinant proteins contained a polyhistidine extension on the amino terminus to facilitate purification to near-homogeneity. The stoichiometry of binding of the truncation mutants to a truncated form (inner core) of E2 (tE2, residues 181-454), lacking the lipoyl domain and the E1-binding domain, was determined. Mixtures containing tE2 and excess intact or truncated forms of E3BP were subjected to ultracentrifugation to separate the large complexes from unbound E3BP or tE3BP, and the complexes were subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. After staining with Coomassie brilliant blue and destaining, the gels were analyzed with a video area densitometer. The results showed that tE2 binds about 20 copies of intact E3BP-H, about 24 copies of tE3BP-H144 (residues 144-380), lacking the lipoyl domain, and about 31 copies of tE3BP-H218 (residues 218-380), lacking both the lipoyl and E3-binding domains. The results indicate that there apparently is a binding site for E3BP on each E2 subunit and that steric hindrance by segments of E3BP prevents full stoichiometric binding of E3BP to the pentagonal dodecahedron-like E2.

Genes encoding dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3) and the E3-binding protein (E3BP, protein X), components of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex, were coexpressed in Escherichia coli to produce an E3BP-E3 complex, thereby minimizing proteolysis of E3BP and facilitating its purification. The 2 genes were linked into a single transcriptional unit separated by a 31-nucleotide segment containing a ribosome-binding sequence. The E3BP-E3 complex was highly purified and then separated into E3 and E3BP by chromatography on hydroxylapatite in the presence of 5 M urea. The E3BP-E3 complex combined rapidly with a pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1)-dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2) subcomplex (E1-E2 subcomplex) to reconstitute a functional PDH complex, with pyruvate oxidation activity similar to that of PDH complex from bakers' yeast. The stoichiometry of binding of E3BP and E3BP-E3 complex to the 60-subunit pentagonal dodecahedron-like E2 was determined with a truncated form of E2 (tE2, residues 206-454) lacking the lipoyl domain and the E1-binding domain, and with E1-E2 subcomplex, which contains intact E2. Mixtures containing tE2 or E1-E2 subcomplex and excess E3BP or E3BP-E3 complex were subjected to ultracentrifugation to separate the large complexes from unbound E3BP or E3BP-E3, and the complexes were subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. After staining with Coomassie brilliant blue and destaining, the gels were analyzed with a video area densitometer. The results showed that the E1-E2 subcomplex binds about 12 E3BP monomers attached to 12 E3 homodimers. Similar results were obtained by analysis of highly purified PDH complex from bakers' yeast.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The gene encoding the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) beta subunit (E1 beta) of the PDH complex from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been cloned, sequenced, disrupted, and expressed. Two overlapping DNA fragments were generated from a yeast genomic DNA library by the polymerase chain reaction with synthetic oligonucleotide primers based on amino acid sequences of the yeast and human E1 beta subunits. The DNA fragments were subcloned and sequenced. The composite sequence has an open reading frame of 1098 nucleotides encoding a putative presequence of 33 amino acid residues and a mature protein of 333 residues with a calculated M(r) = 36,486. Yeast and human E1 beta exhibit 62% sequence identity. The size of the mRNA is approximately 1.5 kilobases. Hybridization analysis showed that the E1 beta gene (PDH beta 1) is localized to chromosome II. Disruption of PDH beta 1 is not lethal under vegetative growth conditions. The null mutant transformed with PDH beta 1 on a unit-copy plasmid produced mature E1 beta and a functional PDH complex.

Dihydrolipoamide acyltransferase (E2), a catalytic and structural component of the three functional classes of multienzyme complexes that catalyze the oxidative decarboxylation of alpha-keto acids, forms the central core to which the other components are attached. We have imaged by negative stain and cryoelectron microscopy the truncated dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase core (60 subunits; M(r) = 2.7 x 10(6)) of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Using icosahedral particle reconstruction techniques, we determined its structure to 25 A resolution. Although the model derived from the negative stain reconstruction was approximately 20% smaller than the model derived from the frozen-hydrated data, when corrected for the effects of the electron microscope contrast transfer functions, the reconstructions showed excellent correspondence. The pentagonal dodecahedron-shaped macromolecule has a maximum diameter, as measured along the 3-fold axis, of approximately 226 A (frozen-hydrated value), and 12 large openings (approximately 63 A in diameter) on the 5-fold axes that lead into a large solvent-accessible cavity (approximately 76-140 A diameter). The 20 vertices consist of cone-shaped trimers, each with a flattened base on the outside of the structure and an apex directed toward the center. The trimers are interconnected by 20 A thick "bridges" on the 2-fold axes. These studies also show that the highest resolution features apparent in the frozen-hydrated reconstruction are revealed in a filtered reconstruction of the stained molecule.

The LAT1 gene encoding the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase component (E2) of the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was disrupted, and the lat1 null mutant was used to analyze the structure and function of the domains of E2. Disruption of LAT1 did not affect the viability of the cells. Apparently, flux through the PDH complex is not required for growth of S. cerevisiae under the conditions tested. The wild-type and mutant PDH complexes were purified to near-homogeneity and were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoblotting, and enzyme assays. Mutant cells transformed with LAT1 on a unit-copy plasmid produced a PDH complex very similar to that of the wild-type PDH complex. Deletion of most of the putative lipoyl domain (residues 8-84) resulted in loss of about 85% of the overall activity, but did not affect the acetyltransferase activity of E2 or the binding of pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1), dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3), and protein X to the truncated E2. Similar results were obtained by deleting the lipoyl domain plus the first hinge region (residues 8-145) and by replacing lysine-47, the putative site of covalent attachment of the lipoyl moiety, by arginine. Although the lipoyl domain of E2 and/or its covalently bound lipoyl moiety were removed, the mutant complexes retained 12-15% of the overall activity of the wild-type PDH complex. Replacement of both lysine-47 in E2 and the equivalent lysine-43 in protein X by arginine resulted in complete loss of overall activity of the mutant PDH complex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Disruption of the PDX1 gene encoding the protein X component of the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae did not affect viability of the cells. However, extracts of mitochondria from the mutant, in contrast to extracts of wild-type mitochondria, did not catalyze a CoA- and NAD(+)-linked oxidation of pyruvate. The PDH complex isolated from the mutant cells contained pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1 alpha + E1 beta) and dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2) but lacked protein X and dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3). Mutant cells transformed with the gene for protein X on a unit-copy plasmid produced a PDH complex that contained protein X and E3, as well as E1 alpha, E1 beta, and E2, and exhibited overall activity similar to that of the wild-type PDH complex. These observations indicate that protein X is not involved in assembly of the E2 core nor is it an integral part of the E2 core. Rather, protein X apparently plays a structural role in the PDH complex; i.e., it binds and positions E3 to the E2 core, and this specific binding is essential for a functional PDH complex. Additional evidence for this conclusion was obtained with deletion mutations. Deletion of most of the lipoyl domain (residues 6-80) of protein X had little effect on the overall activity of the PDH complex. This observation indicates that the lipoyl domain, and its covalently bound lipoyl moiety, is not essential for protein X function. However, deletion of the putative subunit binding domain (residues approximately 144-180) of protein X resulted in loss of high-affinity binding of E3 and concomitant loss of overall activity of the PDH complex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The inner core domain (residues approximately 221-454) of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase component (E2P) of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli strain JM105 via the expression vector pKK233-2. The truncated E2p was purified to apparent homogeneity. It exhibited catalytic activity (acetyl transfer from [1-14C]acetyl-CoA to dihydrolipoamide) very similar to that of wild-type E2p. The appearance of the truncated and wild-type E2p was also very similar, as observed by negative-stain electron microscopy, namely, a pentagonal dodecahedron. These findings demonstrate that the active site of E2p from S. cerevisiae resides in the inner core domain, i.e., catalytic domain, and that this domain alone can undergo self-assembly. The purified truncated E2p showed a tendency to aggregate. Aggregation was prevented by genetically engineered attachment of the interdomain linker segment (residues approximately 181-220) to the catalytic domain. All dihydrolipoamide acyltransferases contain the sequence His-Xaa-Xaa-Xaa-Asp-Gly near their carboxyl termini. By analogy with chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, the highly conserved His and Asp residues were postulated to be involved in the catalytic mechanism [Guest, J. R. (1987) FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 44, 417-422]. Substitution of the sole His residue in the S. cerevisiae truncated E2p, His-427, by Asn or Ala by site-directed mutagenesis did not have a significant effect on the kcat or Km values of the truncated E2p. However, the Asp-431----Asn, Ala, or Glu substitutions resulted in a 16-, 24-, and 3.7-fold reduction, respectively, in kcat, with little change in Km values.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Rabbit antiserum to the dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (dihydrolipoamide:NAD+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.8.1.4) component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from bakers' yeast was used to screen plaques produced by a lambda gt11 yeast cDNA library. A 2.1-kilobase insert was isolated that also hybridized to a 17-base mixed oligonucleotide probe corresponding to the amino-terminal sequence of the yeast dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase. The cDNA has a coding sequence of 499 amino acids that corresponds to a 21-residue signal peptide and a 478-residue mature protein (Mr = 51,558). Computer analysis shows that yeast dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase has about 41% amino acid identity with Escherichia coli dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase. Particularly striking is the conservation of sequence in the active site region of the dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenases from E. coli, yeast, and pig heart.

A 413-base cDNA insert encoding a portion of the alpha subunit of pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1 alpha; EC 1.2.4.1) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was isolated from a lambda gt11 cDNA library by immunoscreening and by hybridization with an oligonucleotide probe which corresponded to the amino acid sequence around the phosphorylation site of E1 alpha. This cDNA was subcloned, sequenced and used as a probe to isolate two additional cDNA inserts which were subcloned and sequenced. These overlapping clones comprised the carboxyl-terminal part of E1 alpha. To identify the missing nucleotide sequence, the polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify yeast genomic DNA with synthetic oligonucleotide primers based on the amino-terminal sequence of E1 alpha and the 5' end of one of the cDNA clones. Three DNA fragments were isolated and sequenced. The composite nucleotide sequence has an open reading frame of 1260 nucleotides encoding a putative presequence of 33 amino acids and a mature protein of 387 amino acids (Mr = 42,703). Hybridization analysis showed that the size of the mRNA is about 1.4 kilobases.

A 537-base cDNA encoding a portion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (acetyl-CoA:dihydrolipoamide S-acetyltransferase, EC 2.3.1.12) was isolated from a lambda gt11 yeast cDNA library by immunoscreening. This cDNA was subcloned and used as a probe to screen a lambda gt11 yeast genomic DNA library. Two overlapping clones were used to determine the complete sequence of the acetyltransferase gene. The composite sequence has an open reading frame of 1446 nucleotides encoding a presequence of 28 amino acids and a mature protein of 454 amino acids (Mr = 48,546). The deduced amino acid sequence contains the experimentally determined amino acid sequences of the amino terminus and two internal peptide fragments of the acetyltransferase. Hybridization analysis of yeast genomic DNA showed that the gene has a single copy. A 915-base segment of the acetyltransferase gene hybridized to a yeast mRNA of approximately equal to 1.6 kilobases. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase revealed a multidomain structure similar to those reported for the corresponding acetyltransferases from Escherichia coli and rat liver, and extensive sequence similarity among the three enzymes. However, the yeast enzyme contains only one lipoyl domain, in contrast to three lipoyl domains reported for the E. coli enzyme and apparently two for the rat liver enzyme.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was purified to homogeneity from bakers' yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). No pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase activity was detected at any stage of the purification. However, the purified pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was phosphorylated and inactivated with purified pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase from bovine kidney. The protein-bound radioactivity was localized in the pyruvate dehydrogenase alpha subunit. The phosphorylated, inactive pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was dephosphorylated and reactivated with purified pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase from bovine heart. Tryptic digestion of the 32P-labeled complex yielded a single phosphopeptide, which was purified to homogeneity. The sequence of the phosphopeptide was established to be Tyr-Gly-Gly-His-Ser(P)-Met-Ser-Asp-Pro-Gly-Thr-Thr-Tyr-Arg. This sequence is very similar to the sequence of a tryptic phosphotetradecapeptide derived from the alpha subunit of bovine kidney and heart pyruvate dehydrogenase: Tyr-His-Gly-His-Ser(P)-Met-Ser-Asp-Pro-Gly-Val-Ser-Tyr-Arg.

The gene encoding the protein X component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been cloned and sequenced. A 487-base fragment of yeast genomic DNA encoding the amino-terminal region of protein X was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction using synthetic oligonucleotide primers based on amino-terminal and internal amino acid sequences. This DNA fragment was used as a probe to select two genomic DNA restriction fragments, which were cloned and sequenced. A 2.1-kilobase insert contains the complete sequence of the protein X gene. This insert has an open reading frame of 1230 nucleotides encoding a presequence of 30 amino acid residues and a mature protein of 380 amino acid residues (Mr, 42,052). Hybridization analysis showed that there is a single copy of the protein X gene and that the size of the mRNA is approximately 1.5 kilobases. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of yeast protein X and dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase indicates that the two proteins evolved from a common ancestor. The amino-terminal part of protein X (residues 1-195) resembles the acetyltransferase, but the remainder is quite different. There is strong homology between protein X and the acetyltransferase in the amino-terminal region (residues 1-84) that corresponds to the putative lipoyl domain. Protein X lacks the highly conserved sequence His-Xaa-Xaa-Xaa-Asp-Gly near the carboxyl terminus, which is thought to be part of the active site of all dihydrolipoamide acyltransferases.