The serine proteases are among the most thoroughly studied enzymes, and numerous crystal structures representing the enzymesubstrate complex and intermediates in the hydrolysis reactions have been reported. Some aspects of the catalytic mechanism remain controversial, however, especially the role of conformational changes in the reaction. We describe here a high-resolution (1.46 Å) crystal structure of a complex formed between a cleaved form of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) and a catalytically inactive trypsin variant with the BPTI cleavage site ideally positioned in the active site for resynthesis of the peptide bond. This structure defines the positions of the newly generated amino and carboxyl groups following the 2 steps in the hydrolytic reaction. Comparison of this structure with those representing other intermediates in the reaction demonstrates that the residues of the catalytic triad are positioned to promote each step of both the forward and reverse reaction with remarkably little motion and with conservation of hydrogen-bonding interactions. The results also provide insights into the mechanism by which inhibitors like BPTI normally resist hydrolysis when bound to their target proteases.trypsin ͉ bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor ͉ enzyme mechanisms S erine proteases are found throughout all 3 domains of cellular life and function in a wide range of physiological processes, including digestion, protein maturation and turnover, hemostasis, and immune responses (1). Approximately 0.6% of human protein-encoding genes are predicted to specify serine proteases, and this family is even more prevalent in other organisms, notably the arthropods (2, 3). A large body of biochemical and structural data have established a 2-step mechanism for hydrolysis of peptide bonds by this class of proteases (4), as shown in Scheme 1.The first step of the reaction is a nucleophilic attack by the catalytic serine residue (Ser-195 in trypsin and other members of the chymotrypsin, or S1, family) on the carbonyl carbon atom of the residue labeled P1, generating a covalent acyl-enzyme intermediate and a new peptide amino terminus, on the P1Ј residue. A second nucleophilic attack, by a water molecule, leads to hydrolysis of the acyl-enzyme, releasing the new carboxyl group and restoring the catalytic Ser residue to its initial state.
The disulfide bond between Cys14 and Cys38 of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) lies on the surface of the inhibitor and forms part of the protease binding region. The functional properties of three variants lacking this disulfide, with one or both of the Cys residues replaced with Ser, were examined, and x-ray crystal structures of the complexes with bovine trypsin were determined and refined to the 1.58 Å resolution limit. The crystal structure of the complex formed with the mutant with both Cys residues replaced was nearly identical to that of the complex containing the wild-type protein, with the Ser oxygen atoms positioned to replace the disulfide bond with a hydrogen bond. The two structures of the complexes with single replacements displayed small local perturbations with alternate conformations of the Ser side chains. Despite the absence of the disulfide bond, the crystallographic temperature factors show no evidence of increased flexibility in the complexes with the mutant inhibitors. All three of the variants were cleaved by trypsin more rapidly than the wildtype inhibitor, by as much as 10,000-fold, indicating that the covalent constraint normally imposed by the disulfide contributes to the remarkable resistance to hydrolysis displayed by the wild-type protein. The rates of hydrolysis display an unusual dependence on pH over the range from 3.5 to 8, decreasing at the more alkaline values, as compared to the increased hydrolysis rates for normal substrates under these conditions. These observations can be accounted for by a model for inhibition in which an acyl-enzyme intermediate forms at a significant rate but is rapidly converted back to the enzyme-inhibitor complex by nucleophilic attack by the newly created amino group. The model suggests that a lack of flexibility in the acyl-enzyme intermediate, rather than the enzyme-inhibitor complex, may be a key factor in the ability of BPTI and similar inhibitors to resist hydrolysis.
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