Urate Oxidase (urate + oxidase)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Near-atomic resolution structures of urate oxidase complexed with its substrate and analogues: the protonation state of the ligand

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 6 2010
Laure Gabison
Urate oxidase (uricase; EC 1.7.3.3; UOX) from Aspergillus flavus catalyzes the oxidation of uric acid in the presence of molecular oxygen to 5-hydroxyisourate in the degradation cascade of purines; intriguingly, catalysis proceeds using neither a metal ion (Fe, Cu etc.) nor a redox cofactor. UOX is a tetrameric enzyme with four active sites located at the interface of two subunits; its structure was refined at atomic resolution (1,Å) using new crystal data in the presence of xanthine and at near-atomic resolution (1.3,1.7,Å) in complexes with the natural substrate (urate) and two inhibitors: 8-nitroxanthine and 8-thiouric acid. Three new features of the structural and mechanistic behaviour of the enzyme were addressed. Firstly, the high resolution of the UOX,xanthine structure allowed the solution of an old structural problem at a contact zone within the tetramer; secondly, the protonation state of the substrate was determined from both a halochromic inhibitor complex (UOX,8-nitroxanthine) and from the H-atom distribution in the active site, using the structures of the UOX,xanthine and the UOX,uric acid complexes; and thirdly, it was possible to extend the general base system, characterized by the conserved catalytic triad Thr,Lys,His, to a large water network that is able to buffer and shuttle protons back and forth between the substrate and the peroxo hole along the reaction pathway. [source]


Urate oxidase from Aspergillus flavus: new crystal-packing contacts in relation to the content of the active site

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 3 2005
Pascal Retailleau
Urate oxidase from Aspergillus flavus (uricase or Uox; EC 1.7.3.3) is a 135,kDa homotetramer with a subunit consisting of 301 amino acids. It catalyses the first step of the degradation of uric acid into allantoin. The structure of the extracted enzyme complexed with a purine-type inhibitor (8-azaxanthin) had been solved from high-resolution X-ray diffraction of I222 crystals. Expression of the recombinant enzyme in Saccharomyces cerevisiae followed by a new purification procedure allowed the crystallization of both unliganded and liganded enzymes utilizing the same conditions but in various crystal forms. Here, four different crystal forms of Uox are analyzed. The diversity of the Uox crystal forms appears to depend strongly on the chemicals used as inhibitors. In the presence of uracil and 5,6-diaminouracil crystals usually belong to the trigonal space group P3121, the asymmetric unit (AU) of which contains one tetramer of Uox (four subunits). Chemical oxidation of 5,6-diaminouracil within the protein may occur, leading to the canonical (I222) packing with one subunit per AU. Coexistence of two crystal forms, P21 with two tetramers per AU and I222, was found in the same crystallization drop containing another inhibitor, guanine. Finally, a fourth form, P21212 with one tetramer per AU, resulted fortuitously in the presence of cymelarsan, an additive. Of all the reported forms, the I222 crystal forms present by far the best X-ray diffraction resolution (,1.6,Å resolution compared with 2.3,3.2,Å for the other forms). The various structures and contacts in all crystalline lattices are compared. The backbones are essentially conserved except for the region near the active site. Its location at the dimer interface is thus likely to be at the origin of the crystal contact changes as a response to the various bound inhibitors. [source]


Degradation of normal and proliferated peroxisomes in rat hepatocytes: Regulation of peroxisomes quantity in cells

MICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 2 2003
Sadaki Yokota
Abstract Degradation and turnover of peroxisomes is reviewed. First, we describe the historical aspects of peroxisome degradation research and the two major concepts for breakdown of peroxisomes, i.e., autophagy and autolysis. Next, the comprehensive knowledge on autophagy of peroxisomes in mammalian and yeast cells is reviewed. It has been shown that proliferated peroxisomes are degraded by selective autophagy, and studies using yeast cells have been especially helpful in shedding light on the molecular mechanisms of this process. The degradation of extraperoxisomal urate oxidase crystalloid is noted. Overexpressed wild-type urate oxidase in cultured cells has been shown to be degraded through an unknown proteolytic pathway distinct from the lysosomal system including autophagy or the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Finally, peroxisome autolysis mediated by 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX) is described. 15-LOX is integrated into the peroxisome membrane causing focal membrane disruptions. The content of the peroxisomes is then exposed to cytosol proteases and seems to be digested quickly. In conclusion, the number of peroxisomes appears to be regulated by two selective pathways, autophagy, including macro- and microautophagy, and 15-LOX-mediated autolysis. Microsc. Res. Tech. 61:151,160, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Site-specific incorporation of unnatural amino acids into urate oxidase in Escherichia coli

PROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 10 2008
Mingjie Chen
Abstract Urate oxidase catalyzes the oxidation of uric acid with poor solubility to produce 5-hydroxyisourate and allantoin. Since allantoin is excreted in vivo, urate oxidase has the potential to be a therapeutic target for the treatment of gout. However, its severe immunogenicity limits its clinical application. Furthermore, studies on the structure,function relationships of urate oxidase have proven difficult. We developed a method for genetically incorporating p -azido-L-phenylalanine into target protein in Escherichia coli in a site-specific manner utilizing a tyrosyl suppressor tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase system. We substituted p -azido-L-phenylalanine for Phe170 or Phe281 in urate oxidase. The products were purified and their enzyme activities were analyzed. In addition, we optimized the system by adding a "Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence" and tandem suppressor tRNA. This method has the benefit of site-specifically modifying urate oxidase with homogeneous glycosyl and PEG derivates, which can provide new insights into structure,function relationships and improve pharmacological properties of urate oxidase. [source]


Precise mapping of breakpoints in conserved synteny between human chromosome 1 and pig chromosomes 4, 6 and 9

ANIMAL GENETICS, Issue 2 2002
H. S. Sun
Previous comparative mapping suggested that at least five pig chromosomes (Sscr4, 6, 9, 10 and 14) share homology with human chromosome 1 (Hsap1). A significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) for fat deposition has been identified on Sscr4 that appears to be near the junction region between Sscr4 and Sscr9 relative to Hsap1. It is of interest to define the boundaries of conserved synteny between pig chromosomes and Hsap1 to use human map information to identify putative comparative positional candidates for this QTL. Eleven genes, including Janus kinase 1 (JAK1), Prostaglandin E receptor3 (PTGER3), urate oxidase (UOX), coagulation factor 3 (F3), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1), ribosomal protein L5 (RPL5), POU domain, class 2, transcription factor 1 (POU2F1), coagulation factor 5 (F5), Prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase-2 (PTGS2), myosin binding protein H (MYBPH) and Antithrombin III (SERPINC1), were selected to refine the boundaries of the blocks of conserved synteny between Hsap1 and pig chromosomes. Pig sequence tagged sites (STSs) were developed and used to physically map these 11 genes using a somatic cell hybrid panel. Eight loci have been mapped by using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to improve map resolution. Heterologous FISH was used to refine the location of VCAM1 on human chromosomes. In addition, human yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) were mapped by heterologous FISH on pig metaphases to refine the boundaries of the regions of homology between Sscr4 and Sscr9 on Hsap1. Results from this study suggest the precise break in conserved synteny on Hsap1 corresponding to the Sscr4/6 and Sscr4/9 transitions are most likely on the Hsap1p22 and Hsap1q24,25 regions, respectively. Further, our data predict that Hsap1q21,24 is a candidate region for the backfat QTL localized to Sscr4. [source]


A dipicolinate lanthanide complex for solving protein structures using anomalous diffraction

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 7 2010
Guillaume Pompidor
Tris-dipicolinate lanthanide complexes were used to prepare derivative crystals of six proteins: hen egg-white lysozyme, turkey egg-white lysozyme, thaumatin from Thaumatococcus daniellii, urate oxidase from Aspergillus flavus, porcine pancreatic elastase and xylanase from Trichoderma reesei. Diffraction data were collected using either synchrotron radiation or X-rays from a laboratory source. In all cases, the complex turned out to be bound to the protein and the phases determined using the anomalous scattering of the lanthanide led to high-quality electron-density maps. The binding mode of the complex was characterized from the refined structures. The lanthanide tris-dipicolinate was found to bind through interactions between carboxylate groups of the dipicolinate ligands and hydrogen-bond donor groups of the protein. In each binding site, one enantiomeric form of the complex is selected from the racemic solution according to the specific site topology. For hen egg-white lysozyme and xylanase, derivative crystals obtained by cocrystallization belonged to a new monoclinic C2 crystal form that diffracted to high resolution. [source]


Polymorphism of microcrystalline urate oxidase from Aspergillus flavus

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 5 2010
Ines Collings
Different polymorphs of rasburicase, a recombinant urate oxidase enzyme (Uox) from Aspergillus flavus, were obtained as a series of polycrystalline precipitates. Different crystallization protocols were followed in which the salt type, pH and polyethylene glycol 8000 (PEG 8000) concentration were varied. The related crystalline phases were characterized by means of high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. In all cases, Uox complexed with the inhibitor 8-azaxanthine (AZA) was not altered from its robust orthorhombic I222 phase by variation of any of the factors listed above. However, in the absence of AZA during crystallization ligand-free Uox was significantly affected by the type of salt, resulting in different crystal forms for the four salts tested: sodium chloride, potassium chloride, ammonium chloride and ammonium sulfate. Remarkable alterations of some of these phases were observed upon gradual increase of the exposure time of the sample to the synchrotron beam in addition to variation of the PEG 8000 concentration. When Uox was crystallized in Tris buffer or pure water in the absence of salt, a distinct polymorph of orthorhombic symmetry (P21212) was obtained that was associated with significantly altered lattice dimensions in comparison to a previously reported isosymmetrical structure. The latter form of Uox exhibits enhanced stability to variation of pH and PEG 8000 concentration accompanied by minor modifications of the unit-cell dimensions in the ranges under study. Accurate lattice parameters were extracted for all crystalline phases. This study reveals the rich phase diagram of Uox, a protein of high pharmaceutical importance, which is associated with an enhanced degree of polymorphism. The outcome of our analysis verifies previously reported results as well as demonstrating polymorphs that have altered unit-cell dimensions with respect to known structural models. [source]


Structures of Arthrobacter globiformis urate oxidase,ligand complexes

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 8 2008
Ella Czarina Magat Juan
The enzyme urate oxidase catalyzes the conversion of uric acid to 5-hydroxyisourate, one of the steps in the ureide pathway. Arthrobacter globiformis urate oxidase (AgUOX) was crystallized and structures of crystals soaked in the substrate uric acid, the inhibitor 8-azaxanthin and allantoin have been determined at 1.9,2.2,Å resolution. The biological unit is a homotetramer and two homotetramers comprise the asymmetric crystallographic unit. Each subunit contains two T-fold domains of ,,,,,, topology, which are usually found in purine- and pterin-binding enzymes. The uric acid substrate is bound tightly to the enzyme by interactions with Arg180, Leu222 and Gln223 from one subunit and with Thr67 and Asp68 of the neighbouring subunit in the tetramer. In the other crystal structures, lithium borate, 8-azaxanthin and allantoate are bound to the enzyme in a similar manner as uric acid. Based on these AgUOX structures, the enzymatic reaction mechanism of UOX has been proposed. [source]


A preliminary neutron diffraction study of rasburicase, a recombinant urate oxidase enzyme, complexed with 8-azaxanthin

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2006
Monika Budayova-Spano
Crystallization and preliminary neutron diffraction measurements of rasburicase, a recombinant urate oxidase enzyme expressed by a genetically modified Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain, complexed with a purine-type inhibitor (8-­azaxanthin) are reported. Neutron Laue diffraction data were collected to 2.1,Å resolution using the LADI instrument from a crystal (grown in D2O) with volume 1.8,mm3. The aim of this neutron diffraction study is to determine the protonation states of the inhibitor and residues within the active site. This will lead to improved comprehension of the enzymatic mechanism of this important enzyme, which is used as a protein drug to reduce toxic uric acid accumulation during chemotherapy. This paper illustrates the high quality of the neutron diffraction data collected, which are suitable for high-resolution structural analysis. In comparison with other neutron protein crystallography studies to date in which a hydrogenated protein has been used, the volume of the crystal was relatively small and yet the data still extend to high resolution. Furthermore, urate oxidase has one of the largest primitive unit-cell volumes (space group I222, unit-cell parameters a = 80, b = 96, c = 106,Å) and molecular weights (135,kDa for the homotetramer) so far successfully studied with neutrons. [source]