Two mammalian glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminases: a structural and genetic study

Glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase (EC 3.5.99.6) is an allosteric enzyme that catalyzes the reversible conversion of D-glucosamine-6-phosphate into D-fructose-6-phosphate and ammonium. Here we describe the existence of two mammalian glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase enzymes. We present the crystallographic structure of one of them, the long human glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase, at 1.75 A resolution. Crystals belong to the space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) and present a whole hexamer in the asymmetric unit. The active-site lid (residues 162-182) presented significant structural differences among monomers. Interestingly the region with the largest differences, when compared with the Escherichia coli homologue, was found to be close to the active site. These structural differences can be related to the kinetic and allosteric properties of both mammalian enzymes.