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UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA STRUCTURAL STUDIES OF MALARIAL ASPARTIC PROTEINASE ACTIVATION NINA KHAZANOVICH BERNSTEIN O A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDES AND RESEARCH IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY EDMONTON, ALBERTA SPFüNG, 2000 National tibraiy Bibliothbque nationale 141 dc-da du Canada A uisitionsarid Acquisitions et B8o9raphic Services services bibliographiques 385 ~eüingbmçtreet 395, rue WeUingtori Ottawa ON KIA ON4 OttawaON KIAW Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la Natioaal Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distriiute or sell reproduire, prêter, distri'buer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Dedicated to my parents. Abstract Malaria is a complex and devastating disease that is a major public heaith problem in many areas of the world During the blood stage of the malaria infection, the malaria parasite, Plasmodium, lives in the human host's erythrocytes, where it digests large quantities of hernoglobin as a source of nutrients. Hemoglobin digestion is an ordered and highly efficient process that is cdedout in a specialized acidic cornpartment by several of the parasite's proteolytic enzymes. These enzymes, the hemoglobinases. include a cysteine proteinase, a metalloproteinase and at least two aspartic proteinases. The aspartic proteinases, plasmepsins, are the subject of this thesis. Like al1 known eukaryotic aspartic proteinases, the plasmepsins are produced as inactive precursors, or zymogens, called proplasrnepsins. Proteolytic removal of the amino-terminal extension, or prosegment, at acidic pH converts the inactive zymogen into the active proteinase. We detemined the X-ray crystal structure of pmplasmepsin II frorn the most dangerous human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Comparison of the structure of this zymogen to the swcture of the corresponding mature enzyme, plasmepsin LI, reveaied the basis of inactivity of proplasmepsin II. The prosegment and the first 15 amino acids of the mamsequence enforce a major domain rotation in the zymogen relative to the mature enzyme. This domain shift severely distorts the active site in proplasmepsin II relative to plasmepsin II. At this "immature" active site, the catalytic machinery is in the wrong orientation to carry out proteolysis. The crystal structure of proplasmepsin II was used to propose a possible pathway of autocatalytic activation that occurs at low pH in vitro, and to rationalize the need for acidic pH for maturase-assisted activation in vivo. Until recently, our understanding of aspartic proteinase activation had ken Limited, on a structural level, to the gastric aspartic proteinase zymogens, human and porcine pepsinogen and human progasnicsin. In all of these zymogens, the prosegrnent prevents activity at neutral pH by blocking a pre-assembled active site. Disruption of severai salt bridges at acidic pH clears the prosegrnent out of the proteinase's active site, leading to autaiatalyzed activation. In proplasmepsin II, the method of inactivation is fundamentally different. In this case, the active site is accessible, but incornpletely formed, and therefore unable to catalyze peptide bond hydrolysis. We also investigated the activation of plasmepsin in another human malaria parasite, P. vivax, by determining the crystal structures of plasmepsin and proplasmepsin. P. vivcur plasmepsin has the structure of a typical aspartic proteinase. P. vivar proplasmepsin possesses many of the structural feanires that were observed in P. faicipartrm proplasmepsin II, including the same method of inactivation. Thus, the domain shift that prevents the formation of a functional active site in the zymogen is established as a common mode of inactivation for the propiasmepsins. The hemoglobinases of Plasmodium have been recognized as targets for anti- malarial dmg design, since inhibition of these enzymes kills the parasites in culture. Crystal structures of the proplasmepsins suggest that their unusual active site architecture may also render these zyrnogens potential dnig design targets. Acknowledgements 1 would like to thank my supervisor, Michael James, for his guidance and support during my graduate studies. It was wondemil to have him share his extensive knowledge of protein structure and function, and it has ken a pleasure to leam from him. 1would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of our collaboraton, Hansrnedi Loetscher and Robert Eüdley at Hoffmann La Roche who provided P. falciparzcm proplasmepsin II, and Charles Yowell and John Dame at the University of monda, Gainesville, who provided P. vivar proplasmepsin. 1 also appreciate the many helpful discussions that 1 have had with John Darne and Daniel Bur (Hoffmann La Roche). A very specid note of thanks io Maia Chemey, not only for al1 her hard work in growing the crystals that 1 used in my experiments, but also for always sharing great enthusiasm for the projects. 1 appreciate a11 the help that 1 received from the members of our group and from Randy Read's group. Marie, Masao, Jens, Katherine, Ernst, Steve, Craig, Ken, Natalie, Stan, Marc, Hong, Bart and Jonathan have helped me lem various aspects of protein crystallography and biochemistry. 1 would also like to rhank Mae Wylie for help with various administrative tasks (which were usually sprung on her with little or no waming), and Janet Wright for ail her help in organizing my parental leave and de fense. I would like to thank my supervisory and examination comrnittee, Dr. Bleackley, Dr. Sykes and Dr. Ryan, as well as the extemal examines Dr. Hindsgaul and Dr. Dunn. 1thank my friends, especially Kathy, JOand Gregory who have been able to make grad school ever so much more interesting. I am grateful to the University of Alberta, NSERC and AHFMR for financial support, and I especially appreciate AHFMFCs wonderfully progressive policy of paid parental leaves. Finally, and very importantly, 1would like to thank my family: Alex for ail his support, Nathan for never failing to make me smile, and my parents for dl their hard work and patience. Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: GENEML INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1 1. I MALARIA .PAST AND PRESENT.............................................................................................................. t 1.2 BIOLOGY OF MALARIA .............................................................................................................................. 6 1.2.1 LEE CYCLE OF THE PLAS~~OD~U~IPARASITE ........................................................................................ 7 13.2 HE~~OGLOBINDEGRADATION 8Y PLAShI0DIUh.f ....................................................................................... 9 1.2.3 PRO~ASESOF PWSMODIUM .................... .... ................................................................................ 10 1.3 REFERENCES ........................... ,.. ........................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2: CRYSTAL STRUCTURE OF P . VIV'PLASMEPSIN ............................................... 20 2.1.1 Bro~ffirc$,.~ROLE OFASPARTIC PROTEINASES ...................................................................................... 20 2.1.2 STRUCIVRE AND biECHANIShl OF ASPARTiC PROTEINASES .................................................................... 21 2.1.3 FLEXIBILITYIN ASPARTIC PROTEINASES .................................*....,. .......*.............*................................31 2.1.4 MURIAL PUSMEPSINS ........................................................................................................................ 35 2.3. f ACI~VAT~ONAND CRYSTUIWTION ..................................................................................................... 39 2.2.2 DATAcou~crro~ .................................................................................................................................. 40 2.2.3 STRUCTUREDETERMINATION AND REFINEMENT ................................................................................... 40 2.2.3 MODELLINGOF P . OVALEAND P .MAURIAE PLASXIEPSINS ................................................*..................45 23 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................... 45 2.3.1 DESCRIP~ONOF STRUCTURE.................................................................................................................. 45 2.3.2 COMPARISONOF THE NCS-REWTEDMOEC~LES ................................................................................. 49 2.3.3 RPSTATIN A BINDING ............................................................................................................................ 53 .. 2.3.4 COMPARISONTO PFP~III .........................................................................................................................