Phosphopantetheine, structure

Phosphine(s), chirality of, 314 Phosphite, DNA synthesis and, 1115 oxidation of, 1116 Phospholipid, 1066-1067 classification of, 1066 Phosphopantetheine, coenzyme A from. 817 structure of, 1127 Phosphoramidite, DNA synthesis and, 1115 Phosphoranc, 720 Phosphoric acid, pKa of, 51 Phosphoric acid anhydride, 1127 Phosphorus, hybridization of, 20 Phosphorus oxychloride, alcohol dehydration with. 620-622 Phosphorus tribromide, reaction with alcohols. 344. 618 Photochemical reaction, 1181 Photolithography, 505-506 resists for, 505-506 Photon, 419 energy- of. 420 Photosynthesis, 973-974 Phthalic acid, structure of, 753 Phthalimide, Gabriel amine synthesis and, 929... 

Phosphopantetheine tethering is a posttranslational modification that takes place on the active site serine of carrier proteins - acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) and peptidyl carrier proteins (PCPs), also termed thiolation (T) domains - during the biosynthesis of fatty acids (FAs) (use ACPs) (Scheme 23), polyketides (PKs) (use ACPs) (Scheme 24), and nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) (use T domain) (Scheme 25). It is only after the covalent attachment of the 20-A Ppant arm, required for facile transfer of the various building block constituents of the molecules to be formed, that the carrier proteins can interact with the other components of the different multi-modular assembly lines (fatty acid synthases (FASs), polyketide synthases (PKSs), and nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs)) on which the compounds of interest are assembled. The structural organizations of FASs, PKSs, and NRPSs are analogous and can be divided into three broad classes the types I, II, and III systems. Even though the role of the carrier proteins is the same in all systems, their mode of action differs from one system to another. In the type I systems the carrier proteins usually only interact in cis with domains to which they are physically attached, with the exception of the PPTases and external type II thioesterase (TEII) domains that act in trans. In the type II systems the carrier proteins selectively interact... 

Figure 11 Structurai representatives of the core NRPS domains from X-ray crystallographic analysis, (a) Two conformations (brown box) of A domains differing in the orientation of the subdomains. The top structure (PDB code, 1 AMU) is postuiated to be the conformation responsible for activating the amino acid and the lower (PDB code, 3CW9) for loading the amino acid onto the phosphopantetheine arm. (b) X-ray structure of the VibH condensation domain (PDB code, 1L5A) and (c) the TE domain from surfactin synthetase (PDB code, 1JMK) are also illustrated in ribbon format.

This enzyme catalyzes the NADPH- and dioxygen-dependent insertion of cis double bonds into the methylene region of fatty acyl structures covalently attached to the phosphopantetheine portion of an acyl carrier protein. 

Phosphopantetheine coenzymes are the biochemically active forms of the vitamin pantothenic acid. In figure 10.11, 4 -phosphopantetheine is shown as covalently linked to an adenylyl group in coenzyme A or it can also be linked to a protein such as a serine hydroxyl group in acyl carrier protein (ACP). It is also found bonded to proteins that catalyze the activation and polymerization of amino acids to polypeptide antibiotics. Coenzyme A was discovered, purified, and structurally characterized by Fritz Lipmann and colleagues in work for which Lipmann was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1953. 

Phosphopantetheine, lipoic acid, and biotin, by virtue of their long, flexible structures, facilitate the physical translocation of chemically reactive species among separate catalytic sites. 

The synthetase consists of the three modules E1, E2, and E3 (for a complete description, see Sec. II. A). Each module is composed of an activation site forming the acyl or aminoacyl adenylate, a carrier domain which is posttranslationally modified with 4 -phosphopantetheine (Sp), and a condensation domain (Cl, C2) or, alternatively, a structurally similar epimerization domain (Ep). Activation of aminoadipate (Aad) leads to an acylated enzyme intermediate, in which Aad is attached to the terminal cysteamine of the cofactor (El-Spl-Aad) [reactions (1) and (2)]. Likewise, activation of cysteine (Cys) leads to cysteinylated module 2 [reactions (3) and (4)]. For the condensation reaction to occur between aminoadipate as donor and cysteine as acceptor, both intermediates are thought to react at the condensation site of module 1 (Cl). Each condensation site is composed, in analogy to ribosomal peptide formation, of an aminoacyl and a peptidyl site. In this case of initiation, the thioester of Aad enters the P-site, while the thioester of Cys enters the A-site. Condensation occurs and leaves the dipeptidyl intermediate Aad-Cys at the carrier protein of the second module [reaction (5)]. The third amino acid valine is activated on module 3, and Val is attached to the carrier protein 3 [reactions (6) and (7)]. Formation of the tripeptide occurs at the second condensation site C2, with the dipeptidyl intermediate entering the P-site and the valiny 1-intermediate the A-site [reaction (8)]. 

Polyketide synthases, fatty acid synthases, and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases are a structurally and mechanistically related class of enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of biopolymers in the absence of a nucleic acid or other template. These enzymes utilize the common mechanistic feature of activating monomers for condensation via covalently-bound thioesters of phosphopantetheine prosthetic groups. The information for the sequence and length of the resulting polymer appears to be encoded entirely within the responsible proteins. 

Once the hexameric structure of the yeast FAS was established, the number of functional active sites still remained to be determined. Earlier studies had shown that the functional complex contains approximately six equivalents each of two prosthetic groups 4 -phosphopantetheine [60,63], necessary for the AGP functionality, and flavin mononucleotide [64], an essential component of the enoyl reductase activity. These studies provided an early indication that each of the six active sites in the complex has a full set of the chemical groups necessary for fatty acid synthesis. Nevertheless, conflicting reports appeared in the literature as to the competence of six active sites. Whereas some reports suggested the possibility of half-sites reactivity (only three of the six sites are catalytically competent) [65, 66], others proposed that all six active sites could synthesize fatty acids [62]. Subsequent active site titration experiments were performed which quantitated the amount of fatty acyl products formed in the absence of turnover [67]. Single-turnover conditions were achieved through the use of... 

Although the above experiments established the dimeric structure of the animal FASs, further work was necessary to establish that each of the two active sites is competent for the synthesis of fatty acids. Active site titrations, performed by inhibiting the thioesterase domain of the synthase and quantitating the bound fatty acyl products that accumulate as a result, indicated that 1 mole of fatty acyl product is formed for each mole of phosphopantetheine present [82]. Thus, each of the two subunits is chemically competent to perform all the necessary reactions of fatty acid synthesis. 

The reactions of CoA involve only the thiol group and the acyl moieties attached to the thiol group as thioesters, with the remainder of the structure serving as a recognition element that facilitates binding to the appropriate enzymes. The notable exception is the phosphopanetheinyl transferases that catalyze transfer of the phosphopantetheine moiety of CoA to a serine... 

The success, albeit limited, of incorporation studies of polyketide assembly intermediates has resulted from feeding these in the form of their NAC thioesters which structurally mimic the thiol end of the phosphopantetheine moiety found in coenzyme A and the acyl carrier protein component of the PKS. This will be discussed further below, but it has also been shown that there are advantages to feeding starter units in the form of their NAC thioesters. 

The structure of the phosphopantetheine group, the reactive group common to coenzyme A and acyl carrier protein, is highlighted in yellow. 

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