Structural insights into the glycosyltransferase activity of the Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae HMW1C-like protein

J Biol Chem. 2011 Nov 4;286(44):38546-38557. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M111.237602. Epub 2011 Sep 9.

Abstract

Glycosylation of proteins is a fundamental process that influences protein function. The Haemophilus influenzae HMW1 adhesin is an N-linked glycoprotein that mediates adherence to respiratory epithelium, an essential early step in the pathogenesis of H. influenzae disease. HMW1 is glycosylated by HMW1C, a novel glycosyltransferase in the GT41 family that creates N-glycosidic linkages with glucose and galactose at asparagine residues and di-glucose linkages at sites of glucose modification. Here we report the crystal structure of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae HMW1C (ApHMW1C), a functional homolog of HMW1C. The structure of ApHMW1C contains an N-terminal all α-domain (AAD) fold and a C-terminal GT-B fold with two Rossmann-like domains and lacks the tetratricopeptide repeat fold characteristic of the GT41 family. The GT-B fold harbors the binding site for UDP-hexose, and the interface of the AAD fold and the GT-B fold forms a unique groove with potential to accommodate the acceptor protein. Structure-based functional analyses demonstrated that the HMW1C protein shares the same structure as ApHMW1C and provided insights into the unique bi-functional activity of HMW1C and ApHMW1C, suggesting an explanation for the similarities and differences of the HMW1C-like proteins compared with other GT41 family members.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae / metabolism*
  • Adhesins, Bacterial / chemistry*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Binding Sites
  • Crystallography, X-Ray / methods
  • Glycoproteins / chemistry
  • Glycosylation
  • Glycosyltransferases / chemistry*
  • Haemophilus influenzae / metabolism
  • Hexoses / chemistry
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Uridine Diphosphate / chemistry

Substances

  • Adhesins, Bacterial
  • Glycoproteins
  • HMW1 protein, bacteria
  • Hexoses
  • Uridine Diphosphate
  • Glycosyltransferases

Associated data

  • PDB/3Q3E
  • PDB/3Q3H
  • PDB/3Q3I