Swapping Interface Contacts in the Homodimeric tRNA-Guanine Transglycosylase: An Option for Functional Regulation

The enzyme tRNA-guanine transglycosylase, a target to fight Shigellosis, recognizes tRNA only as a homodimer and performs full nucleobase exchange at the wobble position. Active-site inhibitors block the enzyme function by competitively replacing tRNA. In solution, the wild-type homodimer dissociates only marginally, whereas mutated variants show substantial monomerization in solution. Surprisingly, one inhibitor transforms the protein into a twisted state, whereby one monomer unit rotates by approximately 130°. In this altered geometry, the enzyme is no longer capable of binding and processing tRNA. Three sugar-type inhibitors have been designed and synthesized, which bind to the protein in either the functionally competent or twisted inactive state. They crystallize with the enzyme side-by-side under identical conditions from the same crystallization well. Possibly, the twisted inactive form corresponds to a resting state of the enzyme, important for its functional regulation.