Making or Breaking Metal- Dependent Catalytic Activity: The Role of Stammers in Designed Three- Stranded Coiled Coils

Abstract

While many life- critical reactions would be infeasibly slow without metal cofactors, a detailed understanding of how protein structure can influence catalytic activity remains elusive. Using de novo designed three- stranded coiled coils (TRI and Grand peptides formed using a heptad repeat approach), we examine how the insertion of a three residue discontinuity, known as a stammer insert, directly adjacent to a (His)3 metal binding site alters catalytic activity. The stammer, which locally alters the twist of the helix, significantly increases copper- catalyzed nitrite reductase activity (CuNiR). In contrast, the well- established zinc- catalyzed carbonic anhydrase activity (p- nitrophenyl acetate, pNPA) is effectively ablated. This study illustrates how the perturbation of the protein sequence using non- coordinating and non- acid base residues in the helical core can perturb metalloenzyme activity through the simple expedient of modifying the helical pitch adjacent to the catalytic center.The addition of a stammer discontinuity within a de novo designed three- stranded coiled coil containing a symmetric (His)3 metal binding site enhances copper nitrite reductase activity and ablates zinc esterase activity. These results suggest catalytic activity of designed α- helical systems can be modulated by inclusion of discontinuity insertions and deletions.