Impact of Hydrogen Peroxide on the Activity, Structure, and Conformational Stability of the Oxidized Protein Repair Enzyme Methionine Sulfoxide Reductase A

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The oxidized protein repair methionine sulfoxide reductase (Msr) system has been implicated in aging, in longevity, and in the protection against oxidative stress. This system is made of two different enzymes (MsrA and MsrB) that catalyze the reduction of the two diastereoisomers S- and R-methionine sulfoxide back to methionine within proteins, respectively. Due to its role in cellular protection against oxidative stress that is believed to originate from its reactive oxygen species scavenging ability in combination with exposed methionine at the surface of proteins, the susceptibility of MsrA to hydrogen-peroxide-mediated oxidative inactivation has been analyzed. This study is particularly relevant to the oxidized protein repair function of MsrA in both fighting against oxidized protein formation and being exposed to oxidative stress situations. The enzymatic properties of MsrA indeed rely on the activation of the catalytic cysteine to the thiolate anion form that is potentially susceptible to oxidation by hydrogen peroxide. The residual activity and the redox status of the catalytic cysteine were monitored before and after treatment. These experiments showed that the enzyme is only inactivated by high doses of hydrogen peroxide. Although no significant structural modification was detected by near- and far-UV circular dichroism, the conformational stability of oxidized MsrA was decreased as compared to that of native MsrA, making it more prone to degradation by the 20S proteasome. Decreased conformational stability of oxidized MsrA may therefore be considered as a key factor for determining its increased susceptibility to degradation by the proteasome, hence avoiding its intracellular accumulation upon oxidative stress.