title: Specificity of natural and artificial substrates for human Cdc25A.
abstract: Cdc25A is a dual-specific protein phosphatase involved in the regulation of the kinase activity of Cdk-cyclin complexes in the eukaryotic cell cycle. To understand the mechanism of this important regulator, we have generated highly purified biochemical reagents to determine the kinetic constants for human Cdc25A with respect to a set of peptidic, artificial, and natural substrates. Cdc25A and its catalytic domain (dN25A) demonstrate very similar kinetics toward the artificial substrates p-nitrophenyl phosphate (k(cat)/K(m) = 15-25 M(-1) s(-1)) and 3-O-methylfluorescein phosphate (k(cat)/K(m) = 1.1-1.3 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1)). Phospho-peptide substrates exhibit extremely low second-order rate constants and a flat specificity profile toward Cdc25A and dN25A (k(cat)/K(m) = 1 to 10 M(-1) s(-1)). In contrast to peptidic substrates, Cdc25A and dN25A are highly active phosphatases toward the natural substrate, T14- and Y15-bis-phosphorylated Cdk2/CycA complex (Cdk2-pTpY/CycA) with k(cat)/K(m) values of 1.0-1.1 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1). In the context of the Cdk2-pTpY/CycA complex, phospho-threonine is preferred over phospho-tyrosine by more than 10-fold. The highly homologous catalytic domain of Cdc25c is essentially inactive toward Cdk2-pTpY/CycA. Taken together these data indicate that a significant degree of the specificity of Cdc25 toward its Cdk substrate resides within the catalytic domain itself and yet is in a region(s) that is outside the phosphate binding site of the enzyme.
authors.affiliation: Mitotix, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. rudolph@biochem.duke.edu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rudolph
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eckstein
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001345:Autoradiography; D001483:Base Sequence; D042846:CDC2-CDC28 Kinases; D002384:Catalysis; D051357:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D017931:DNA Primers; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D014982:Xenopus laevis; D020687:cdc25 Phosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D010455:Peptides; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D042846:CDC2-CDC28 Kinases; C495894:CDK2 protein, human; C495891:Cdk2 protein, Xenopus; D051357:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases; C517004:CDC25A protein, human; D020687:cdc25 Phosphatases