Crystal structures of substrate-bound and substrate-free cytochrome P450 46A1, the principal cholesterol hydroxylase in the brain.

ABSTRACT: By converting cholesterol to 24S-hydroxycholesterol, cytochrome P450 46A1 (CYP46A1) initiates the major pathway for cholesterol removal from the brain. Two crystal structures of CYP46A1 were determined. First is the 1.9-A structure of CYP46A1 complexed with a high-affinity substrate cholesterol 3-sulfate (CH-3S). The second structure is that of the substrate-free CYP46A1 at 2.4-A resolution. CH-3S is bound in the productive orientation and occupies the entire length of the banana-shaped hydrophobic active-site cavity. A unique helix B'-C loop insertion (residues 116-120) contributes to positioning cholesterol for oxygenation catalyzed by CYP46A1. A comparison with the substrate-free structure reveals substantial substrate-induced conformational changes in CYP46A1 and suggests that structur

SUBMITTER: Mast N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2474539 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature