The metal-dependent histone deacetylases (HDACs) catalyze hydrolysis of acetyl groups from acetyllysine side chains and are targets of cancer therapeutics. Two bound monovalent cations (MVCs) of unknown function have been previously observed in crystal structures of HDAC8; site 1 is near the active site, whereas site 2 is located >20 Å from the catalytic metal ion. Here we demonstrate that one bound MVC activates catalytic activity (K 1/2 ‫؍‬ 3.4 mM for K ؉ ), whereas the second, weakerbinding MVC (K 1/2 ‫؍‬ 26 mM for K ؉ ) decreases catalytic activity by 11-fold. The weaker binding MVC also enhances the affinity of the HDAC inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid by 5-fold. The site 1 MVC is coordinated by the side chain of Asp-176 that also forms a hydrogen bond with His-142, one of two histidines important for catalytic activity. The D176A and H142A mutants each increase the K 1/2 for potassium inhibition by >40-fold, demonstrating that the inhibitory cation binds to site 1. Furthermore, the MVC inhibition is mediated by His-142, suggesting that this residue is protonated for maximal HDAC8 activity. Therefore, His-142 functions either as an electrostatic catalyst or a general acid. The activating MVC binds in the distal site and causes a time-dependent increase in activity, suggesting that the site 2 MVC stabilizes an active conformation of the enzyme. Sodium binds more weakly to both sites and activates HDAC8 to a lesser extent than potassium. Therefore, it is likely that potassium is the predominant MVC bound to HDAC8 in vivo.

Summary HDAC8 is a member of the family of Histone Deacetylases (HDAC) that catalyze the deacetylation of acetyl lysine residues within histone and non-histone proteins. The recent identification of novel non-histone HDAC8 substrates such as SMC3, ERRα and ARID1A indicates a complex functionality of this enzyme in cellular homeostasis. To discover additional HDAC8 substrates we developed a comprehensive, structure-based approach based on Rosetta FlexPepBind, a protocol that evaluates peptide-binding ability to a receptor from structural models of this interaction. Here we adapt this protocol to identify HDAC8 substrates using peptide sequences extracted from proteins with known acetylated sites. The many new in vitro HDAC8 peptide substrates identified in this study suggest that numerous cellular proteins are HDAC8 substrates, thus expanding our view of the acetylome and its regulation by HDAC8.

Histone deacetylases catalyze the hydrolysis of an acetyl group from post-translationally modified acetyl-lysine residues in a wide variety of essential cellular proteins, including histones. As these lysine modifications can alter the activity and properties of affected proteins, aberrant acetylation/ deacetylation may contribute to disease states. Many fundamental questions regarding the substrate specificity and regulation of these enzymes have yet to be answered. Here, we optimize an enzyme-coupled assay to measure low micromolar concentrations of acetate, coupling acetate production to the formation of NADH which is measured by changes in either absorbance or fluorescence. Using this assay, we measured the steady-state kinetics of peptides representing the H4 histone tail, and demonstrate that a C-terminally conjugated methylcoumarin enhances the catalytic efficiency of deacetylation catalyzed by Co(II)-HDAC8 compared to peptide substrates containing a C-terminal carboxylate, amide, and tryptophan by 50-fold, 2.8-fold, and 2.3-fold, respectively. This assay can be adapted for a high-throughput screening format to identify HDAC substrates and inhibitors.

Biochemical studies reveal that a conserved arginine residue (R37) at the centre of the 14 Å internal cavity of histone deacetylase (HDAC) 8 is important for catalysis and acetate affinity. Computational studies indicate that R37 forms multiple hydrogen bonding interactions with the backbone carbonyl oxygen atoms of two conserved glycine residues, G303 and G305, resulting in a ‘closed’ form of the channel. One possible rationale for these data is that water or product (acetate) transit through the catalytically crucial internal channel of HDAC8 is regulated by a gating interaction between G139-G303 tethered in position by the conserved R37.

XPB, the largest subunit of the eukaryotic transcription factor TFIIH, is essential for both initiation of transcription by RNA polymerase II and nucleotide excision repair (NER). XPB belongs to the SF2 superfamily of monomeric helicases. XPB helicase is thought to have evolved in eukaryotes; however, a gene highly homologous to human XPB can be found in a number of bacteria. This report is the first biochemical characterization of XPB homologues from bacteria, specifically those from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Kineococcus radiotolerans. Similarly to eukaryotic XPB, bacterial XPB are ATP-dependent 3' --> 5' DNA helicases. The ATPase activity of these XPB helicases is DNA-dependent, requiring a minimum of 4-nucleotide long single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). The maximum rates of ATP hydrolysis are about 10 and 50 molecules per minute by one XPB monomer on a 21-nucleotide ssDNA oligomer and on 5-kb long circular ssDNA, respectively. The ATP hydrolysis by the bacterial XPBs is coupled to their translocation along single-stranded DNA. The hydrolytic activity is strongly dependent on both the nature of a nucleotide triphosphate and that of a divalent metal. The inefficient ATP hydrolysis by bacterial XPB is consistent with nonprocessive functions of its eukaryotic homologue in locally remodeling DNA during transcription initiation and NER.