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Using the membrane impermeant probe NHS-LC-biotin, we show in this report that a fraction of aromatase P450 (P450arom), the enzyme that catalyzes estrogen biosynthesis, is present at the surface of cells in which it is expressed, either endogenously or as a consequence of transfection. The same findings were obtained for a truncated form of P450arom lacking the putative membrane-spanning region, thus suggesting the presence of other membrane-spanning region(s) within its structure. P450arom is not unique in this regard as we find that a fraction of 17 alpha-hydroxylase P450 as well as NADPH:P450 reductase also are present at the cell surface. It is therefore possible that a number of microsomal P450s are expressed at the cell surface in this fashion.

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P450 hemeproteins comprise a large gene superfamily that catalyzes monooxygenase reactions in the presence of a redox partner. Because the mammalian members are, without exception, membrane-bound proteins, they have resisted structure-function analysis by means of X-ray crystallographic methods. Among P450-catalyzed reactions, the aromatase reaction that catalyzes the conversion of C19 steroids to estrogens is one of the most complex and least understood. Thus, to better understand the reaction mechanism, we have constructed a three-dimensional model of P450arom not only to examine the active site and those residues potentially involved in catalysis, but to study other important structural features such as substrate recognition and redox-partner binding, which require examination of the entire molecule (excepting the putative membrane-spanning region). This model of P450arom was built based on a "core structure" identified from the structures of the soluble, bacterial P450s (P450cam, P450terp, and P450BM-P) rather than by molecular replacement, after which the less conserved elements and loops were added in a rational fashion. Minimization and dynamic simulations were used to optimize the model and the reasonableness of the structure was evaluated. From this model we have postulated a membrane-associated hydrophobic region of aliphatic and aromatic residues involved in substrate recognition, a redox-partner binding region that may be unique compared to other P450s, as well as residues involved in active site orientation of substrates and an inhibitor of P450arom, namely vorozole. We also have proposed a scheme for the reaction mechanism in which a "threonine switch" determines whether oxygen insertion into the substrate molecule involves an oxygen radical or a peroxide intermediate.

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Aromatase P450 (P450arom) is the enzyme responsible for estrogen biosynthesis. Studies of the relationship of the function of this enzyme to its structure have been hampered by lack of a suitable preparation. In the present report we describe the expression of a recombinant derivative of P450arom in insect cells by means of the baculovirus vector system. This protein, which lacks the first 41 amino acids from the N-terminus, and hence the membrane-spanning region, has spectral properties and activity similar to that of the wildtype protein. Moreover, the presence of a hexameric histidine tag at the C-terminus permits its facile purification by means of nickel-agarose affinity chromatography. This system permits the synthesis of quantities of a biologically active derivative of P450arom suitable for studies designed to explore the relationship of function to structure.

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The relationship of function to structure of aromatase cytochrome P450 (P450arom; the product of the CYP19 gene) has been examined by means of sequence alignment and site-directed mutagenesis. Comparison has been made between the sequence of P450arom and the two soluble bacterial cytochrome P450 isoforms, whose three-dimensional structure has been determined (P450BM3 and P450cam). From this comparison, it appears that although there is a similarity of overall structure in cytochromes P450, there is enough significant difference in the regions involved in substrate recognition and substrate binding that residues believed to be involved, even in the known structures, must be tested. With this in mind, we have generated a detailed alignment of P450arom, including the definition of putative alpha-helices and beta-sheets based on comparison of the alignments of P450BM3 and P450cam, generated from their three-dimensional structure, and have made mutations in regions we believe to be involved in substrate recognition at the solvent surface and orientation in the heme pocket. We have mutated F116 and F134 to determine if they are present in the heme pocket, and Q225 and L228 to determine if they are a part of the substrate recognition loop. Although F116E is essentially inactive and may be a folding mutant or may inhibit reductase binding, F134E is more active than the wild type and may be located in the heme pocket facilitating the hydrogen abstraction from C2 of androstenedione. Mutations at Q225 and L228 also result in the anticipated changes in the apparent Km and maximum velocity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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Mutagenesis studies indicated that the three cytoplasmic cysteines of the influenza virus A/Japan/305/57 hemagglutinin (HA) are all palmitylated, but to an unequal extent. Replacement of all three cysteines abolished palmitylation, but affected neither HA biosynthesis nor function. Palmitate was not required for HA to be incorporated into virions.

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The oxidation of camphor by cytochrome P-450cam requires the participation of a flavoprotein, putidaredoxin reductase, and an iron-sulfur protein, putidaredoxin, to mediate the transfer of electrons from NADH to P-450 for oxygen activation. A 2.2-kilobase pair BamHI-StuI fragment from whole cell DNA of camphor-grown Pseudomonas putida has been cloned and sequenced. Translation of the sequence revealed two open reading frames that could code for putidaredoxin reductase and putidaredoxin. In the case of putidaredoxin, the translated sequence matched the published sequence (Tanaka, M., Haniu, M., Yasunobu, K. T., Dus, K., and Gunsalus, I. C. (1974) J. Biol. Chem. 249, 3689-3701) with the exception of one amino acid. Codon usage in these proteins, like the proteins of other Pseudomonads, is strongly biased to G + C in the third nucleotide. A potential transcription termination site was found 3' to the putidaredoxin coding region. The "FAD-binding" amino acid consensus sequence, present in other flavoproteins, was found in putidaredoxin reductase beginning at residue 11 and a second occurrence of this sequence was found beginning with amino acid 156. The second sequence could represent the NAD-binding site. The regions encoding putidaredoxin reductase and putidaredoxin were subcloned and independently expressed in Escherichia coli at the level of 0.4 and 4.8 mg of enzymatically active protein/g wet weight of cells, respectively. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to change the rare start codon, GTG, of putidaredoxin reductase to ATG which resulted in an 18-fold increase in the level of expression of this protein to 7.4 mg/g wet weight of cells. The construction of these two clones, which express these important proteins, will facilitate studies of their interaction with each other and with P-450cam.

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