Structural highlights
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Phospholipids are elemental building-block molecules for biological membranes. Biosynthesis of phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylserine requires a central liponucleotide intermediate named cytidine-diphosphate diacylglycerol (CDP-DAG). The CDP-DAG synthetase (Cds) is an integral membrane enzyme catalysing the formation of CDP-DAG, an essential step for phosphoinositide recycling during signal transduction. Here we report the structure of the Cds from Thermotoga maritima (TmCdsA) at 3.4 A resolution. TmCdsA forms a homodimer and each monomer contains nine transmembrane helices arranged into a novel fold with three domains. An unusual funnel-shaped cavity penetrates half way into the membrane, allowing the enzyme to simultaneously accept hydrophilic substrate (cytidine 5'-triphosphate (CTP)/deoxy-CTP) from cytoplasm and hydrophobic substrate (phosphatidic acid) from membrane. Located at the bottom of the cavity, a Mg(2+)-K(+) hetero-di-metal centre coordinated by an Asp-Asp dyad serves as the cofactor of TmCdsA. The results suggest a two-metal-ion catalytic mechanism for the Cds-mediated synthesis of CDP-DAG at the membrane-cytoplasm interface.
Structure and mechanism of an intramembrane liponucleotide synthetase central for phospholipid biosynthesis.,Liu X, Yin Y, Wu J, Liu Z Nat Commun. 2014 Jun 27;5:4244. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5244. PMID:24968740[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Liu X, Yin Y, Wu J, Liu Z. Structure and mechanism of an intramembrane liponucleotide synthetase central for phospholipid biosynthesis. Nat Commun. 2014 Jun 27;5:4244. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5244. PMID:24968740 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5244
