Crystal structure of cutinase covalently inhibited by a triglyceride analogue

Cutinase from Fusarium solani is a lipolytic enzyme that hydrolyses triglycerides efficiently. All the inhibited forms of lipolytic enzymes described so far are based on the use of small organophosphate and organophosphonate inhibitors, which bear little resemblance to a natural triglyceride substrate. In this article we describe the crystal structure of cutinase covalently inhibited by (R)-1,2-dibutyl-carbamoylglycero-3-O-p-nitrophenylbutyl-phos phonate, a triglyceride analogue mimicking the first tetrahedral intermediate along the reaction pathway. The structure, which has been solved at 2.3 A, reveals that in both the protein molecules of the asymmetric unit the inhibitor is almost completely embedded in the active site crevice. The overall shape of the inhibitor is that of a fork: the two dibutyl-carbamoyl chains point towards the surface of the protein, whereas the butyl chain bound to the phosphorous atom is roughly perpendicular to the sn-1 and sn-2 chains. The sn-3 chain is accommodated in a rather small pocket at the bottom of the active site crevice, thus providing a structural explanation for the preference of cutinase for short acyl chain substrates.