Formylglycine-generating enzyme binds substrate directly at a mononuclear Cu(I) center to initiate O2activation.
Appel, M.J., Meier, K.K., Lafrance-Vanasse, J., Lim, H., Tsai, C.L., Hedman, B., Hodgson, K.O., Tainer, J.A., Solomon, E.I., Bertozzi, C.R.(2019) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 116: 5370-5375
- PubMed: 30824597 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1818274116
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
6MUJ - PubMed Abstract: 
The formylglycine-generating enzyme (FGE) is required for the posttranslational activation of type I sulfatases by oxidation of an active-site cysteine to C α -formylglycine. FGE has emerged as an enabling biotechnology tool due to the robust utility of the aldehyde product as a bioconjugation handle in recombinant proteins. Here, we show that Cu(I)-FGE is functional in O 2 activation and reveal a high-resolution X-ray crystal structure of FGE in complex with its catalytic copper cofactor. We establish that the copper atom is coordinated by two active-site cysteine residues in a nearly linear geometry, supporting and extending prior biochemical and structural data. The active cuprous FGE complex was interrogated directly by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These data unambiguously establish the configuration of the resting enzyme metal center and, importantly, reveal the formation of a three-coordinate tris(thiolate) trigonal planar complex upon substrate binding as furthermore supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Critically, inner-sphere substrate coordination turns on O 2 activation at the copper center. These collective results provide a detailed mechanistic framework for understanding why nature chose this structurally unique monocopper active site to catalyze oxidase chemistry for sulfatase activation.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.