DsbA is a bacterial thiol disulfide oxidoreductase (TDOR). DsbA is a key component of the Dsb (disulfide bond) family of enzymes. DsbA catalyzes intrachain disulfide bond formation as peptides emerge into the cell's periplasm. Structurally, DsbA contains a thioredoxin domain with an inserted helical domain of unknown function. Like other thioredoxin-based enzymes, DsbA's catalytic site is a CXXC motif (CPHC in ''

E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escherichia'' that is commonly foun ...

'' DsbA). The pair of

cysteine Cysteine (; symbol Cys or C) is a semiessential proteinogenic amino acid with the chemical formula, formula . The thiol side chain in cysteine enables the formation of Disulfide, disulfide bonds, and often participates in enzymatic reactions as ...

s may be oxidized (forming an internal

disulfide In chemistry, a disulfide (or disulphide in British English) is a compound containing a functional group or the anion. The linkage is also called an SS-bond or sometimes a disulfide bridge and usually derived from two thiol groups. In inorg ...

) or reduced (as free thiols), and thus allows for oxidoreductase activity by serving as an electron pair donor or acceptor, depending on oxidation state. This reaction generally proceeds through a mixed-disulfide intermediate, in which a cysteine from the enzyme forms a bond to a cysteine on the substrate. DsbA is responsible for introducing

disulfide bonds In chemistry, a disulfide (or disulphide in British English) is a compound containing a functional group or the anion. The linkage is also called an SS-bond or sometimes a disulfide bridge and usually derived from two thiol groups. In in ...

into nascent proteins. In equivalent terms, it catalyzes the oxidation of a pair of cysteine residues on the substrate protein. Most of the substrates for DsbA are eventually secreted, and include important toxins, virulence factors, adhesion machinery, and motility structures DsbA is localized in the

periplasm The periplasm is a concentrated gel-like matrix in the space between the inner cytoplasmic membrane and the bacterial outer membrane called the ''periplasmic space'' in Gram-negative (more accurately "diderm") bacteria. Using cryo-electron micros ...

, and is more common in

Gram-negative bacteria Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that, unlike gram-positive bacteria, do not retain the Crystal violet, crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. Their defining characteristic is that their cell envelo ...

than in

Gram-positive bacteria In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. The Gram stain ...

. Within the thioredoxin family, DsbA is the most strongly oxidizing member. Using glutathione oxidation as a metric, DsbA is ten times more oxidizing than

protein disulfide-isomerase Protein disulfide isomerase (), or PDI, is an enzyme in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in eukaryotes and the periplasm of bacteria that catalyzes the formation and breakage of disulfide bonds between cysteine residues within proteins as the ...

(the eukaryotic equivalent of DsbA). The extremely oxidizing nature of DsbA is due to an increase in stability upon reduction of DsbA, thereby imparting a decrease in energy of the enzyme when it oxidizes substrate. This feature is incredibly rare among proteins, as nearly all proteins are stabilized by the formation of disulfide bonds. DsbA's highly oxidizing nature is a result of hydrogen bond, electrostatic and helix-dipole interactions that favour the thiolate over the disulfide at the active site. After donating its disulfide bond, DsbA is regenerated by the membrane-bound protein DsbB.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dsba Enzymes

See also

References