Human P450 CYP17A1: Control of Substrate Preference by Asparagine 202

Authors

Michael C. Gregory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Piotr J. Mak, Marquette UniversityFollow
Yogan Khatri, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
James R. Kincaid, Marquette UniversityFollow
Stephen G. Sligar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Document Type

Article

Language

Eng

Publication Date

2018

Publisher

American Chemical Society

Source Publication

Biochemistry

Source ISSN

0006-2960

Abstract

CYP17A1 is a key steroidogenic enzyme known to conduct several distinct chemical transformations on multiple substrates. In its hydroxylase activity, this enzyme adds a hydroxyl group at the 17α position of both pregnenolone and progesterone at approximately equal rates. However, the subsequent 17,20 carbon–carbon scission reaction displays variable substrate specificity in the numerous CYP17A1 isozymes operating in vertebrates, manifesting as different K_d and k_cat values when presented with 17α-hydroxypregnenlone (OHPREG) versus 17α-hydroxyprogesterone (OHPROG). Here we show that the identity of the residue at position 202 in human CYP17A1, thought to form a hydrogen bond with the A-ring alcohol substituent on the pregnene- nucleus, is a key driver of this enzyme’s native preference for OHPREG. Replacement of asparagine 202 with serine completely reverses the preference of CYP17A1, more than doubling the rate of turnover of the OHPROG to androstenedione reaction and substantially decreasing the rate of formation of dehydroepiandrosterone from OHPREG. In a series of resonance Raman experiments, it was observed that, in contrast with the case for the wild-type protein, in the mutant the 17α alcohol of OHPROG tends to form a H-bond with the proximal rather than terminal oxygen of the oxy–ferrous complex. When OHPREG was a substrate, the mutant enzyme was found to have a H-bonding interaction with the proximal oxygen that is substantially weaker than that of the wild type. These results demonstrate that a single-point mutation in the active site pocket of CYP17A1, even when far from the heme, has profound effects on steroidogenic selectivity in androgen biosynthesis.

Comments

Accepted version. Biochemistry, Vol. 57, No. 5 (2018): 764-771. DOI. © 2017 American Chemical Society. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Gregory, Michael C.; Mak, Piotr J.; Khatri, Yogan; Kincaid, James R.; and Sligar, Stephen G., "Human P450 CYP17A1: Control of Substrate Preference by Asparagine 202" (2018). Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications. 890.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/chem_fac/890