An Unusual Member of the Papain Superfamily: Mapping the Catalytic Cleft of the Marasmius oreades agglutinin (MOA) with a Caspase Inhibitor

PLoS One. 2016 Feb 22;11(2):e0149407. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149407. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Papain-like cysteine proteases (PLCPs) constitute the largest group of thiol-based protein degrading enzymes and are characterized by a highly conserved fold. They are found in bacteria, viruses, plants and animals and involved in a number of physiological and pathological processes, parasitic infections and host defense, making them interesting targets for drug design. The Marasmius oreades agglutinin (MOA) is a blood group B-specific fungal chimerolectin with calcium-dependent proteolytic activity. The proteolytic domain of MOA presents a unique structural arrangement, yet mimicking the main structural elements in known PLCPs. Here we present the X-ray crystal structure of MOA in complex with Z-VAD-fmk, an irreversible caspase inhibitor known to cross-react with PLCPs. The structural data allow modeling of the substrate binding geometry and mapping of the fundamental enzyme-substrate interactions. The new information consolidates MOA as a new, yet strongly atypical member of the papain superfamily. The reported complex is the first published structure of a PLCP in complex with the well characterized caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agglutinins / chemistry*
  • Caspase Inhibitors / chemistry*
  • Catalysis
  • Marasmius / enzymology*
  • Papain / chemistry
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary

Substances

  • Agglutinins
  • Caspase Inhibitors
  • Papain

Grants and funding

The work was funded by the University of Oslo and carried out as part of the GlycoNor consortium. This work was supported in part by the Norwegian Research Council (grant number: 216625; www.forskningsradet.no) and BioStruct-X (www.biostruct-x.eu). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.