Cysteine pK[subscript a] Depression by a Protonated Glutamic Acid in Human DJ-1
- Maryland
Human DJ-1, a disease-associated protein that protects cells from oxidative stress, contains an oxidation-sensitive cysteine (C106) that is essential for its cytoprotective activity. The origin of C106 reactivity is obscure, due in part to the absence of an experimentally determined pK{sub a} value for this residue. We have used atomic-resolution X-ray crystallography and UV spectroscopy to show that C106 has a depressed pK{sub a} of 5.4 {+-} 0.1 and that the C106 thiolate accepts a hydrogen bond from a protonated glutamic acid side chain (E18). X-ray crystal structures and cysteine pK{sub a} analysis of several site-directed substitutions at residue 18 demonstrate that the protonated carboxylic acid side chain of E18 is required for the maximal stabilization of the C106 thiolate. A nearby arginine residue (R48) participates in a guanidinium stacking interaction with R28 from the other monomer in the DJ-1 dimer and elevates the pK{sub a} of C106 by binding an anion that electrostatically suppresses thiol ionization. Our results show that the ionizable residues (E18, R48, and R28) surrounding C106 affect its pK{sub a} in a way that is contrary to expectations based on the typical ionization behavior of glutamic acid and arginine. Lastly, a search of the Protein Data Bank (PDB) produces several candidate hydrogen-bonded aspartic/glutamic acid-cysteine interactions, which we propose are particularly common in the DJ-1 superfamily.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 1006715
- Journal Information:
- Biochemistry-US, Vol. 47, Issue (28) ; 07, 2008; ISSN 0006-2960
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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