Insights into the mechanism of Pseudomonas dacunhae aspartate beta-decarboxylase from rapid-scanning stopped-flow kinetics.

The mechanism of wild-type and R37A mutant Pseudomonas dacunhae aspartate beta-decarboxylase (ABDC) was studied by rapid-scanning stopped-flow spectrophotometry. Mixing wild-type ABDC with 50 mM disodium l-Asp resulted in the formation of a 325 nm absorption peak within the dead time of the stopped-flow instrument, likely the ketimine of pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate and oxaloacetate or pyruvate. After consumption of the l-Asp, the 360 nm feature of the resting enzyme was restored.

The crystal structure of the Pseudomonas dacunhae aspartate-beta-decarboxylase dodecamer reveals an unknown oligomeric assembly for a pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent enzyme.

The Pseudomonas dacunhael-aspartate-beta-decarboxylase (ABDC, aspartate 4-decarboxylase, aspartate 4-carboxylyase, E.C. 4.

Crystal structure of Homo sapiens kynureninase.

Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography.