ThDP-dependent Enzymes Research Articles

Thiamine Deficiency Decreases Steady-State Transketolase and Pyruvate Dehydrogenase but not α-Ketoglutarate Dehydrogenase mRNA Levels in Three Human Cell Types ,

Reductions in the levels and activities of enzymes that utilize thiamine diphosphate (ThDP) as a cofactor are thought to be responsible for the tissue damage suffered during thiamine deficiency. Although loss of cofactor can account in part for loss of enzyme activity, thiamine and its phosphorylated derivatives may also regulate the expression of the genes encoding these proteins. To examine this possibility, steady-state mRNA levels for three ThDP-dependent enzymes were measured in human fibroblasts, lymphoblasts and neuroblastoma cells cultured under conditions of thiamine sufficiency and deficiency. In all three cell types, the mRNA levels of transketolase and the E1β subunit of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex were lower in thiamine-deficient cultures. In contrast, mRNA levels for a ThDP-binding subunit of α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, the E1 subunit did not differ. These results indicate that thiamine or a thiamine metabolite regulates the expression in humans of some, but not all, genes encoding ThDP-utilizing enzymes.

The role of residues glutamate-50 and phenylalanine-496 in Zymomonas mobilis pyruvate decarboxylase

Several enzymes require thiamine diphosphate (ThDP) as an essential cofactor, and we have used one of these, pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC; EC 4.1.1.1) from Zymomonas mobilis, as a model for this group of enzymes. It is well suited for this purpose because of its stability, ease of purification, homotetrameric subunit structure and simple kinetic properties. Crystallographic analyses of three ThDP-dependent enzymes [Müller, Lindqvist, Furey, Schulz, Jordan and Schneider (1993) Structure 1, 95-103] have suggested that an invariant glutamate participates in catalysis. In order to evaluate the role of this residue, identified in PDC from Zymomonas mobilis as Glu-50, it has been altered to glutamine and aspartate by site-directed mutagenesis of the cloned gene. The mutant proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli. Here we demonstrate that substitution with aspartate yields an enzyme with 3% of the activity of the wild-type, but with normal kinetics for pyruvate. Replacement of Glu-50 with glutamine yields an enzyme with only 0.5% of the catalytic activity of the wild-type enzyme. Each of these mutant enzymes has a decreased affinity for both ThDP and Mg2+. It has been reported that the binding of cofactors to apoPDC quenches the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence [Diefenbach and Duggleby (1991) Biochem. J. 276, 439-445] and we have identified the residue responsible as Trp-487 [Diefenbach, Candy, Mattick and Duggleby (1992) FEBS Lett. 296, 95-98]. Although this residue is some distance from the cofactor binding site, it lies in the dimer interface, and the proposal has been put forward [Dyda, Furey, Swaminathan, Sax, Farrenkopf and Jordan (1993) Biochemistry 32, 6165-6170] that alteration of ring stacking with Phe-496 of the adjacent subunit is the mechanism of fluorescence quenching when cofactors bind. The closely related enzyme indolepyruvate decarboxylase (from Enterobacter cloacae) has a leucine residue at the position corresponding to Phe-496 but shows fluorescence quenching properties that are similar to those of PDC. This suggests that the fluorescence quenching is due to some perturbation of the local environment of Trp-487 rather than to a specific interaction with Phe-496. This latter hypothesis is supported by our data: mutation of this phenylalanine to leucine, isoleucine or histidine in PDC does not eliminate the fluorescence quenching upon addition of cofactors.