Download MendeleyThe N-Terminal Pre-A Region of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis 2/2Hbn Promotes No-Dioxygenase Activity.
Pesce, A., Bustamante, J.P., Bidon-Chanal, A., Boechi, L., Estrin, D.A., Luque, F.J., Sebilo, A., Guertin, M., Bolognesi, M., Ascenzi, P., Nardini, M.(2016) FEBS J 283: 305
- PubMed: 26499089
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.13571
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
5AB8 - PubMed Abstract:
A unique defense mechanisms by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis protects itself from nitrosative stress is based on the O2 -dependent NO-dioxygenase (NOD) activity of truncated hemoglobin 2/2HbN (Mt2/2HbN). The NOD activity largely depends on the efficiency of ligand migration to the heme cavity through a two-tunnel (long and short) system; recently, it was also correlated with the presence at the Mt2/2HbN N-terminus of a short pre-A region, not conserved in most 2/2HbNs, whose deletion results in a drastic reduction of NO scavenging. In the present study, we report the crystal structure of Mt2/2HbN-ΔpreA, lacking the pre-A region, at a resolution of 1.53 Å. We show that removal of the pre-A region results in long range effects on the protein C-terminus, promoting the assembly of a stable dimer, both in the crystals and in solution. In the Mt2/2HbN-ΔpreA dimer, access of heme ligands to the short tunnel is hindered. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the long tunnel branch is the only accessible pathway for O2 -ligand migration to/from the heme, and that the gating residue Phe(62)E15 partly restricts the diameter of the tunnel. Accordingly, kinetic measurements indicate that the kon value for peroxynitrite isomerization by Mt2/2HbN-ΔpreA-Fe(III) is four-fold lower relative to the full-length protein, and that NO scavenging by Mt2/2HbN-ΔpreA-Fe(II)-O2 is reduced by 35-fold. Therefore, we speculate that Mt2/2HbN evolved to host the pre-A region as a mechanism for preventing dimerization, thus reinforcing the survival of the microorganism against the reactive nitrosative stress in macrophages.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Genova, Italy.
