title: Acid-base catalysis in the mechanism of thioredoxin reductase from Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: Thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) catalyzes the reduction of thioredoxin (Trx) by NADPH. Like other members of the pyridine nucleotide-disulfide oxidoreductase enzyme family, the enzyme from Drosophila melanogaster is a homodimer, and each catalytically active unit consists of three redox centers: FAD and an N-terminal Cys-57/Cys-62 redox-active disulfide from one monomer and a Cys-489'/Cys-490' C-terminal redox-active disulfide from the second monomer. Because dipteran insects such as D. melanogaster lack glutathione reductase, thioredoxin reductase (DmTrxR) is particularly important; in addition to its normal functions, it also reduces GSSG for antioxidant protection. DmTrxR, used as a model for the enzyme from the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae, has been shown to cycle in catalysis between the two-electron and four-electron reduced states, EH2 and EH4 [Bauer, H. et al. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 33020-33028]. His-464' acts as an acid-base catalyst of the dithiol-disulfide interchange reactions required in catalysis. The H464'Q enzyme has only 2% of the wild-type activity, emphasizing the importance of this residue. The pH dependence of Vmax for wild-type DmTrxR has pKa values of 6.4 and 9.3 on the DmTrxR-DmTrx-2 complex, whereas H464'Q DmTrxR only has an observable pKa at 6.4, indicating that the pKa at pH 9.3 is contributed mainly by His-464'. The pKa at pH 6.4 has been assigned to Cys-57 and Cys-490'; the thiolate on Cys-490' is the nucleophile in the reduction of Trx. In contrast to wild-type DmTrxR, H464'Q DmTrxR does not stabilize a thiolate-FAD charge-transfer complex in the presence of excess NADPH. The rates of steps in both the reductive and the oxidative half-reactions are markedly diminished in H464'Q DmTrxR as compared to those of wild-type enzyme, indicating that His-464' is involved in both half-reactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0606, USA.
authors.forename: Hsin-Hung
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: L David
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Arscott
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Ballou
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002384:Catalysis; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D013880:Thioredoxin-Disulfide Reductase / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D013880:Thioredoxin-Disulfide Reductase