title: Probing the presumed catalytic triad of a selenium-containing peroxidase by mutational analysis.
abstract: Glutathione peroxidases (GPx) are characterized by a catalytically active selenium which forms the center of a strictly conserved triad composed of selenocysteine, glutamine, and tryptophan. In order to check the functional relevance of this structural peculiarity, six molecular mutants of phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) were designed, isolated, and investigated kinetically. Replacement of the selenocysteine in position 46 by cysteine decreased k + 1, i.e., the reaction rate of reduced enzyme with hydroperoxide, by three orders of magnitude. The rate of regeneration of the reduced enzyme by glutathione (k' + 2) was similarly affected. Additional substitution of Gln81 or Trp136 by acid residues resulted in a further decrease of k + 1 by three orders of magnitude, whereas histidine or neutral residues in these positions proved to be less deleterious. The data support the hypothesis that the typical triad of selenocysteine, glutamine, and tryptophan is indeed a novel catalytic center in which the reactivity of selenium is optimized by hydrogen bonding provided by the adjacent glutamine and tryptophan residues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maiorino
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Aumann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brigelius-Flohé
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Doria
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van den Heuvel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roveri
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ursini
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Flohé
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002384:Catalysis; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli; D005973:Glutamine; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D017354:Point Mutation; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012643:Selenium / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D017279:Selenocysteine; D013552:Swine; D014364:Tryptophan
chemical_list: D017279:Selenocysteine; D005973:Glutamine; D014364:Tryptophan; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D012643:Selenium