The functions of crucial cysteine residues in the arsenite methylation catalyzed by recombinant human arsenic (III) methyltransferase

PLoS One. 2014 Oct 28;9(10):e110924. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110924. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Arsenic (III) methyltransferase (AS3MT) is a cysteine (Cys)-rich enzyme that catalyzes the biomethylation of arsenic. To investigate how these crucial Cys residues promote catalysis, we used matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) to analyze Cys residues in recombinant human arsenic (III) methyltransferase (hAS3MT). We detected two disulfide bonds, Cys250-Cys32 and Cys368-Cys369, in hAS3MT. The Cys250-Cys32 disulfide bond was reduced by glutathione (GSH) or other disulfide bond reductants before the enzymatic methylation of arsenite (iAs3+). In addition to exposing residues around the active sites, cleavage of the Cys250-Cys32 pair modulated the conformation of hAS3MT. This adjustment may stabilize the binding of S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) and favor iAs3+ binding to hAS3MT. Additionally, we observed the intermediate of Cys250-S-adenosylhomocysteine (AdoHcy), suggesting that Cys250 is involved in the transmethylation. In recovery experiments, we confirmed that trivalent arsenicals were substrates for hAS3MT, methylation of arsenic occurred on the enzyme, and an intramolecular disulfide bond might be formed after iAs3+ was methylated to dimethylarsinous acid (DMA3+). In this work, we clarified both the functional roles of GSH and the crucial Cys residues in iAs3+ methylation catalyzed by hAS3MT.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arsenic / chemistry
  • Arsenites / chemistry*
  • Cacodylic Acid / analogs & derivatives
  • Cacodylic Acid / chemistry
  • Catalysis
  • Catalytic Domain
  • Cysteine / chemistry*
  • Disulfides / chemistry
  • Glutathione / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Methionine / chemistry
  • Methyltransferases / chemistry*
  • Mutation
  • Recombinant Proteins / chemistry*
  • S-Adenosylhomocysteine / chemistry
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

Substances

  • Arsenites
  • Disulfides
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • dimethylarsinous acid
  • S-Adenosylhomocysteine
  • Methionine
  • Cacodylic Acid
  • Methyltransferases
  • AS3MT protein, human
  • Glutathione
  • Cysteine
  • arsenite
  • Arsenic

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB922102) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21275072 and 21201101). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.