Eight fluorinated isosteric α-d-glucopyranosyl 1-phosphate (Glc 1P) analogues have been synthesized. A promiscuity investigation of the thymidylyltransferase Cps2L and the guanidylyltansferase GDP-ManPP with these analogues showed that all were accepted by either enzyme, with the exception of 1,6-diphosphate 6. Kinetic parameters were determined for these analogues using a continuous coupled assay. These data demonstrated the broad substrate promiscuity of Cps2L, with k/K changes for monofluoro substitution at C-2, C-4, and C-6 and difluoro substitution at C-2 within two orders of magnitude. In contrast, the kinetic analysis of GDP-ManPP was only possible with three out of eight analogues. The pKa values of analogues (1-3) were determined by proton decoupled P andF NMR titration experiments. Counterintuitively, the axial fluoro substituent in 3 did not change chemical shift upon titration, and there was no significant increase in acidity for the difluoro analogue over the monofluoro analogues. No strong Brønsted linear free-energy correlations were observed among all five substrates (1-3, Glc 1P, and Man 1P) for either enzyme-catalyzed reactions. However, Brønsted correlations were observed among selected substrates, indicating that the acidity of the nucleophilic phosphate and the configuration of the hexose each plays a significant role in determining the substrate specificity.

α-Phosphomannomutase/phosphoglucomutase (αPMM/PGM) from P. aeruginosa is involved in bacterial cell wall assembly and is implicated in P. aeruginosa virulence, yet few studies have addressed αPMM/PGM inhibition from this important Gram-negative bacterial human pathogen. Four structurally different α-d-glucopyranose 1-phosphate (αG1P) derivatives including 1-C-fluoromethylated analogues (1–3), 1,2-cyclic phosph­(on)­ate analogues (4–6), isosteric methylene phosphono analogues (7 and 8), and 6-fluoro-αG1P (9), were synthesized and assessed as potential time-dependent or reversible αPMM/PGM inhibitors. The resulting kinetic data were consistent with the crystallographic structures of the highly homologous Xanthomonas citri αPGM with inhibitors 3 and 7–9 binding to the enzyme active site (1.65–1.9 Å). These structural and kinetic insights will enhance the design of future αPMM/PGM inhibitors.

Glucokinase phosphorylated a series of C-1 fluorinated α- d -gluco-heptuloses. These phosphorylated products were discovered to be inhibitors of α-phosphomannomutase/phosphoglucomutase (αPMM/PGM) and β-phosphoglucomutase (βPGM). Inhibition potency with both mutases inversely correlated to the degree of fluorination. Structural analysis with αPMM demonstrated the inhibitor binding to the active site, with the phosphate in the phosphate binding site and the anomeric hydroxyl directed to the catalytic site.

Enzymes are known to adopt various conformations at different points along their catalytic cycles. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of 15 isomorphous, high resolution crystal structures of the enzyme phosphoglucomutase from the bacterium Xanthomonas citri . The protein was captured in distinct states critical to function, including enzyme-substrate, enzyme-product, and enzyme-intermediate complexes. Key residues in ligand recognition and regions undergoing conformational change are identified and correlated with the various steps of the catalytic reaction. In addition, we use principal component analysis to examine various subsets of these structures with two goals: (1) identifying sites of conformational heterogeneity through a comparison of room temperature and cryogenic structures of the apo-enzyme and (2) a priori clustering of the enzyme-ligand complexes into functionally related groups, showing sensitivity of this method to structural features difficult to detect by traditional methods. This study captures, in a single system, the structural basis of diverse substrate recognition, the subtle impact of covalent modification, and the role of ligand-induced conformational change in this representative enzyme of the α-D-phosphohexomutase superfamily.

Missense variants of human phosphoglucomutase 1 (PGM1) cause the inherited metabolic disease known as PGM1 deficiency. This condition is categorised as both a glycogen storage disease and a congenital disorder of glycosylation. Approximately 20 missense variants of PGM1 are linked to PGM1 deficiency, and biochemical studies have suggested that they fall into two general categories: those affecting the active site and catalytic efficiency, and those that appear to impair protein folding and/or stability. In this study, we characterise a novel variant of Arg422, a residue distal from the active site of PGM1 and the site of a previously identified disease‐related variant (Arg422Trp). In prior studies, the R422W variant was found to produce insoluble protein in a recombinant expression system, precluding further in vitro characterisation. Here we investigate an alternative variant of this residue, Arg422Gln, which is amenable to experimental characterisation presumably due to its more conservative physicochemical substitution. Biochemical, crystallographic, and computational studies of R422Q establish that this variant causes only minor changes in catalytic efficiency and 3D structure, but is nonetheless dramatically reduced in stability. Unexpectedly, binding of a substrate analog is found to further destabilise the protein, in contrast to its stabilising effect on wild‐type PGM1 and several other missense variants. This work establishes Arg422 as a lynchpin residue for the stability of PGM1 and supports the impairment of protein stability as a pathomechanism for variants that cause PGM1 deficiency. Synopsis Biochemical and structural studies of a missense variant far from the active site of human PGM1 identify a residue with a key role in enzyme stability.