Structural evidence for the dopamine-first mechanism of norcoclaurine synthase

Keep, Nicholas H. and Sula, Altin (2017) Structural evidence for the dopamine-first mechanism of norcoclaurine synthase. Biochemistry 56 (40), pp. 5274-5277. ISSN 0006-2960.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.7b00769

Abstract

Norcoclaurine synthase (NCS) is a Pictet-Spenglerase that catalyzes the first key step in plant benzylisoquinoline alkaloid metabolism, a compound family that includes bioactive natural products such as morphine. The enzyme has also shown great potential as a biocatalyst for the formation of chiral isoquinolines. Here we present new high-resolution X-ray crystallography data describing Thalictrum flavum NCS bound to a mechanism inspired ligand. The structure supports two key features of the NCS ‘dopamine-first’ mechanism: the binding of dopamine catechol to Lys-122 and the position of the carbonyl substrate binding site at the active site entrance. The catalytically vital residue Glu-110 occupies a previously unobserved ligand-bound conformation which may be catalytically significant. The potential roles of inhibitory binding and alternative amino acid conformations in the mechanism have also been revealed. This work significantly advances our understanding of the NCS mechanism and will aid future efforts to engineer the substrate scope and catalytic properties of this useful biocatalyst.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
School:	Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences
Research Centres and Institutes:	Structural Molecular Biology, Institute of (ISMB)
Depositing User:	Nick Keep
Date Deposited:	29 Sep 2017 13:20
Last Modified:	02 Aug 2023 17:35
URI:	https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/19778