Modeling cytochrome P450 14 alpha demethylase (Candida albicans) from P450cam

The tertiary structure of cytochrome P450 14 alpha demethylase--Candida albicans (P450 CA) is modeled on the basis of sequence alignment with two closely related proteins and the crystallographic structure of Pseudomonas putida P450cam. The secondary structure prediction system used combines the information from several algorithms and trains the data to offer an optimized prediction of the known P450cam. The trained algorithm was then used to predict the secondary structure of the other P450 sequences. The prediction of the surface coil regions was aided by an alignment between P450 CA and the homologous sequences P450 14 alpha demethylase--Saccharomyces cerevisiae (66 SD) and P450 14 alpha demethylase--Candida tropicalis (72 SD). The prediction and alignment information was combined to establish an alignment between P450 CA and P450cam, and to assign full secondary structure to the target protein. This secondary structure was folded from the template of P450cam and the predicted structure was relaxed by molecular dynamics. Model checking highlighted minor adjustments in the alignment, correctly orienting hydrophobic and hydrophilic side chains. The model offers explanations for several known experimental results and suggests further investigations that may prove fruitful in understanding the structure and mechanisms of the P450 family (Porter, T.D. and Coon, M.J. Minireview cytochrome P450. J. Biol. Chem. 1991, 266, 13469-13472. Waterman, M.R. Cytochrome P450 cellular distribution and structural considerations. Current Opinion in Structural Biology 1992, 2, 384-387. Aoyama, Y., Yoshida, Y., Sonohdo, Y. and Sato, Y. Structural analysis of the interaction between the side-chain of substrates and the active site of lanosterol 14 alpha demethylase (P450 14DM) of yeast. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1992, 1122, 251-255.).