Paper Citing NAMD - Abstract
Zoellner, Andy; Pasquinelli, Melissa A.; Bernhardt, Rita; Beratan, David N.
Protein phosphorylation and intermolecular electron transfer: A joint experimental and computational study of a hormone biosynthesis pathway
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, 129:4206-4216, APR 11 2007
Protein phosphorylation is a common regulator of enzyme activity. Chemical modification of a protein surface, including phosphorylation, could alter the function of biological electron-transfer reactions. However, the sensitivity of intermolecular electron-transfer kinetics to post-translational protein modifications has not been widely investigated. We have therefore combined experimental and computational studies to assess the potential role of phosphorylation in electron-transfer reactions. We investigated the steroid hydroxylating system from bovine adrenal glands, which consists of adrenodoxin (Adx), adrenodoxin reductase (AdR), and a cytochrome P450, CYP11A1. We focused on the phosphorylation of Adx at Thr-71, since this residue is located in the acidic interaction domain of Adx, and a recent study has demonstrated that this residue is phosphorylated by casein kinase 2 (CK2) in vitro.(1) Optical biosensor experiments indicate that the presence of this phosphorylation slightly increases the binding affinity of oxidized Adx with CYP11A1(ox) but not AdR(ox). This tendency was confirmed by K-A values extracted from Adx concentration-dependent stopped-flow experiments that characterize the interaction between AdR(red) and Adx(ox) or between Adx(red) and CYP11A1(ox). In addition, acceleration of the electron-transfer kinetics measured with stopped-flow is seen only for the phosphorylated Adx-CYP11A1 reaction. Biphasic reaction kinetics are observed only when Adx is phosphorylated at Thr-71, and the Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations suggest that this phosphorylation may enhance the formation of a secondary Adx-CYP11A1 binding complex that provides an additional electron-transfer pathway with enhanced coupling.
