Publication Abstract from PubMed
We report the crystal structure of a binary complex of human peroxisomal carnitine acetyltransferase and the substrate l-carnitine, refined to a resolution of 1.8 Angstrom with an R(factor) value of 18.9% (R(free)=22.3%). L-carnitine binds to a preformed pocket in the active site tunnel of carnitine acetyltransferase aligned with His(322). The quaternary nitrogen of carnitine forms a pi-cation interaction with Phe(545), while Arg(497) forms an electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged carboxylate group. An extensive hydrogen bond network also occurs between the carboxylate group and Tyr(431), Thr(444), and a bound water molecule. Site-directed mutagenesis and kinetic characterization reveals that Tyr(431), Thr(444), Arg(497), and Phe(545) are essential for high affinity binding of L-carnitine.
Structural and mutational characterization of L-carnitine binding to human carnitine acetyltransferase.,Govindasamy L, Kukar T, Lian W, Pedersen B, Gu Y, Agbandje-McKenna M, Jin S, McKenna R, Wu D J Struct Biol. 2004 Jun;146(3):416-24. PMID:15099582[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
