Comparative thermodynamic studies on substrate and product binding of O-Acetylserine Sulfhydrylase reveals two different ligand recognition modes†

Shrijita Banerjee,Mary K Ekka,Sangaralingam Kumaran

doi:10.1186/1471-2091-12-31

Abstract

BackgroundThe importance of understanding the detailed mechanism of cysteine biosynthesis in bacteria is underscored by the fact that cysteine is the only sulfur donor for all cellular components containing reduced sulfur. O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase (OASS) catalyzes this crucial last step in the cysteine biosynthesis and has been recognized as an important gene for the survival and virulence of pathogenic bacteria. Structural and kinetic studies have contributed to the understanding of mechanistic aspects of OASS, but details of ligand recognition features of OASS are not available. In the absence of any detailed study on the energetics of ligand binding, we have studied the thermodynamics of OASS from Salmonella typhimurium (StOASS), Haemophilus influenzae (HiOASS), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MtOASS) binding to their substrate O-acetylserine (OAS), substrate analogue (methionine), and product (cysteine).ResultsLigand binding properties of three OASS enzymes are studied under defined solution conditions. Both substrate and product binding is an exothermic reaction, but their thermodynamic signatures are very different. Cysteine binding to OASS shows that both enthalpy and entropy contribute significantly to the binding free energy at all temperatures (10-30°C) examined. The analyses of interaction between OASS with OAS (substrate) or methionine (substrate analogue) revealed a completely different mode of binding. Binding of both OAS and methionine to OASS is dominated by a favorable entropy change, with minor contribution from enthalpy change (ΔHSt-Met = -1.5 ± 0.1 kJ/mol; TΔSSt-Met = 8.2 kJ/mol) at 20°C. Our salt dependent ligand binding studies indicate that methionine binding affinity is more sensitive to [NaCl] as compared to cysteine affinity.ConclusionsWe show that OASS from three different pathogenic bacteria bind substrate and product through two different mechanisms. Results indicate that predominantly entropy driven methionine binding is not mediated through classical hydrophobic binding, instead, may involve desolvation of the polar active site. We speculate that OASS in general, may exhibit two different binding mechanisms for recognizing substrates and products.

Highlights

The importance of understanding the detailed mechanism of cysteine biosynthesis in bacteria is underscored by the fact that cysteine is the only sulfur donor for all cellular components containing reduced sulfur
In the absence of any detailed study to understand the energetics of substrate and product interaction with O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase (OASS), we present here a detailed thermodynamic description of ligand binding by OASS from S. typhimurium, M. tuberculosis, and H. influenzae
We have examined the binding of O-acetyl serine (OAS), Lcysteine, L-methionine, L-serine, and L-isoleucine to OASS by monitoring the changes in fluorescence properties of the protein

Summary

Introduction

The importance of understanding the detailed mechanism of cysteine biosynthesis in bacteria is underscored by the fact that cysteine is the only sulfur donor for all cellular components containing reduced sulfur. O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase (OASS) catalyzes this crucial last step in the cysteine biosynthesis and has been recognized as an important gene for the survival and virulence of pathogenic bacteria. Structural and kinetic studies have contributed to the understanding of mechanistic aspects of OASS, but details of ligand recognition features of OASS are not available. In the absence of any detailed study on the energetics of ligand binding, we have studied the thermodynamics of OASS from Salmonella typhimurium (StOASS), Haemophilus influenzae (HiOASS), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MtOASS) binding to their substrate O-acetylserine (OAS), substrate analogue (methionine), and product (cysteine). Inhibition of OASS using specific inhibitors should result in reduced survival of bacteria inside the macrophage. A recent study has exploited the protein-protein interaction properties of OASS and SAT to design small peptides that selectively bind to OASS with higher affinity and inhibit its activity [13]

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