title: Chaperone domains convert prolyl isomerases into generic catalysts of protein folding.
abstract: The cis/trans isomerization of peptide bonds before proline (prolyl bonds) is a rate-limiting step in many protein folding reactions, and it is used to switch between alternate functional states of folded proteins. Several prolyl isomerases of the FK506-binding protein family, such as trigger factor, SlyD, and FkpA, contain chaperone domains and are assumed to assist protein folding in vivo. The prolyl isomerase activity of FK506-binding proteins strongly depends on the nature of residue Xaa of the Xaa-Pro bond. We confirmed this in assays with a library of tetrapeptides in which position Xaa was occupied by all 20 aa. A high sequence specificity seems inconsistent with a generic function of prolyl isomerases in protein folding. Accordingly, we constructed a library of protein variants with all 20 aa at position Xaa before a rate-limiting cis proline and used it to investigate the performance of trigger factor and SlyD as catalysts of proline-limited folding. The efficiencies of both prolyl isomerases were higher than in the tetrapeptide assays, and, intriguingly, this high activity was almost independent of the nature of the residue before the proline. Apparently, the almost indiscriminate binding of the chaperone domain to the refolding protein chain overrides the inherently high sequence specificity of the prolyl isomerase site. The catalytic performance of these folding enzymes is thus determined by generic substrate recognition at the chaperone domain and efficient transfer to the active site in the prolyl isomerase domain.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorium für Biochemie und Bayreuther Zentrum für Molekulare Biowissenschaften, Universität Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Roman P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Jakob
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zoldák
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aumüller
authors.forename: Franz X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Schmid
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D004926:Escherichia coli; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000737:chemistry*; D019696:Peptidylprolyl Isomerase / Q000737:chemistry*; D017510:Protein Folding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary / Q000235:genetics*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D022061:Tacrolimus Binding Protein 1A / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; C085606:SlyD protein, E coli; D022061:Tacrolimus Binding Protein 1A; D019696:Peptidylprolyl Isomerase