Structural basis for tetrapyrrole coordination by uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase.

ABSTRACT: Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (URO-D), an essential enzyme that functions in the heme biosynthetic pathway, catalyzes decarboxylation of all four acetate groups of uroporphyrinogen to form coproporphyrinogen. Here we report crystal structures of URO-D in complex with the I and III isomer coproporphyrinogen products. Crystallization required use of a novel enzymatic approach to generate the highly oxygen-sensitive porphyrinogen substrate in situ. The tetrapyrrole product adopts a domed conformation that lies against a collar of conserved hydrophobic residues and allows formation of hydrogen bonding interactions between a carboxylate oxygen atom of the invariant Asp86 residue and the pyrrole NH groups. Structural and biochemical analyses of URO-D proteins mutated at Asp86 support the conclu

SUBMITTER: Phillips JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC291847 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature