title: Evidence for an essential serine residue in the active site of the Theta class glutathione transferases.
abstract: A consistent feature of the Alpha-, Mu- and Pi-class glutathione transferases (GSTs) is the presence near the N-terminus of a tyrosine residue that contributes to the activation of glutathione. While this residue appears to be conserved in many Theta-class GSTs, its absence in some suggested that the Theta-class GSTs may have a significantly different structure or catalytic mechanism. The elucidation of the crystal structure of the Theta-class GST from the Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina, has indicated that a serine residue rather than a tyrosine residue can form a hydrogen bond with the glutathionyl sulphur atom. The present studies show that mutation of Ser-9 to alanine substantially inactivates the L. cuprina GST, confirming its importance in the reaction mechanism. As this serine is conserved in all Theta-class enzymes reported so far, it seems that an active-site serine is a significant factor that distinguishes the Theta-class GSTs from members of the Alpha-, Mu- and Pi-class isoenzymes.
authors.affiliation: John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Board
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coggan
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wilce
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D003460:Crystallization; D004175:Diptera / Q000201:enzymology; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D016296:Mutagenesis; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012694:Serine; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D012694:Serine; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D005978:Glutathione