Browsing by Subject "tyrosine hydroxylase"
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Item Identification of Structural Changes Associated with Regulation of Tyrosine Hydroxylase(2011-10-21) Wang, ShanzhiTyrosine hydroxylase (TyrH) is the first and rate-limiting enzyme of catecholamine synthetic pathway, and its regulation is critical for controlling catecholamine synthesis. The well recognized regulatory mechanisms are inhibition by catecholamine binding and re-activation upon Ser40 phosphorylation. Catecholamines bind to TyrH tightly, while phosphorylation of TyrH at Ser40 decreases the binding affinity by several hundred-fold. Regulation of TyrH is accompanied by conformational changes of the protein. This study focuses on the identification of the conformational changes of TyrH upon dopamine binding and Ser40 phosphorylation, using hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDMS) and fluorescence spectroscopy. HDMS identifies three peptides undergoing conformational changes upon dopamine binding, peptide 35-41, 42-71 and 295-299. Peptides 35-41 and 42-71 are on the regulatory domain, while peptide 295-299 is at the active site entrance. Upon dopamine binding, all three peptides are protected from exchange; phosphorylation of TyrH at Ser40 has opposite effects on the exchange kinetics of peptide 295-299, but peptides 35-41 and 42-71 could not be detected by MS after phosphorylation. This suggests that the structural effects of dopamine binding and Ser40 phosphorylation are opposite. The fluorescence spectroscopy of mutant enzymes containing a single tryptophan at position 14, 34 or 74 was performed before and after phosphorylation. F34W/F3W TyrH has a significant decrease in steady-state fluorescence anisotropy, an increase in the bimolecular quenching rate constant kq and dynamic anisotropy upon phosphorylation at Ser40, while F14W/F3W TyrH and F74W/F3W TyrH exhibit much smaller differences. This suggests that phosphorylation of TyrH at Ser40 increases the flexibility of the regulatory domain. The results are consistent with TyrH existing in two conformations, a closed conformation stabilized by dopamine in which the N-terminal regulator domain of TyrH covers the active site entrance and an open conformation stabilized by phosphorylation in which the regulatory domain has moved away from the active site entrance.Item Serotonin 5-HT2C receptors: Role in (+)-MDMA sensitization and distribution in the ventral tegmental area(2005-03-09) Marcy Jo Bubar; Kathryn A. Cunningham, Ph.D.; T. Celeste Napier, Ph.D.; Mary L. Thomas, Ph.D.; Joel P. Gallagher, Ph.D.; Golda A. Kevetter-Leonard, Ph.D.Serotonin (5-HT) released consequent to acute (+)-3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine [(+)-MDMA; \"ecstasy\"] administration stimulates 5-HT2C receptors (5-HT2CR) to exert inhibitory influence on (+)-MDMA-induced behaviors. Thus, changes in 5-HT2CR responsiveness upon repeated intermittent exposure to (+)-MDMA may contribute to the development and/or expression of behavioral sensitization. We tested the hypothesis that intermittent exposure to (+)-MDMA or the 5-HT2CR agonist MK 212 results in enhanced (+)-MDMA-evoked locomotor activity (\"behavioral sensitization\") concurrent with decreased functional responsiveness of the 5-HT2CR. Male Sprague-Dawley rats pretreated with saline, (+)-MDMA, or MK 212 for 7 days revealed that (+)-MDMA or MK 212 pretreatment results in transient tolerance to MK 212-induced hypomotility, indicating loss of 5-HT2CR responsiveness, that coincides with enhanced (+)-MDMA-evoked hyperactivity at an early (24 h) withdrawal time-point. This suggests a role for 5-HT2CR in the induction and early expression of (+)-MDMA sensitization. While behavioral sensitization in (+)-MDMA-pretreated rats was transient and paralleled the time-course of diminished 5-HT2CR responsiveness, MK 212-pretreated rats displayed persistent (> 2 wks) enhancement of (+)-MDMA-evoked hyperactivity despite recovery of 5-HT2CR responsiveness. The loss of 5-HT2CR responsiveness at 24h withdrawal was not linked to reduced 5-HT2CR protein expression in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), nucleus accumbens (NAc), or prefrontal cortex in either (+)-MDMA- or MK 212-pretreated rats. However, an up-regulation of 5-HT2CR protein expression was observed in the VTA at 2 wks withdrawal in MK 212-pretreated rats, which may contribute to the persistence of (+)-MDMA-evoked hyperactivity. The ability of 5-HT2CR to limit the expression of (+)-MDMA-evoked hyperactivity is attributable to the inhibitory influence of 5-HT2CR upon VTA dopamine (DA) neuron firing and DA release in the NAc. This effect may be mediated indirectly via depolarization of GABA neurons. However, we revealed (via double-label immunofluorescence and retrograde tracing) that 5-HT2CR are located on both GABA and DA neurons in the VTA, a subset of which project to the NAc. Thus, the potential for a direct stimulatory effect of 5-HT2CR upon DA mesocorticoaccumbens pathway activation also exists. This may predominate under certain conditions, such as in response to repeated 5-HT2CR stimulation, as a result of modifications in 5-HT2CR responsiveness.Item Studies of the relationship of protein structure to regulation and catalysis in tyrosine hydroxylase(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Sura, Giri RajuTyrosine hydroxylase (TyrH) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of the catecholamine neurotransmitters dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Phosphorylation of Ser40 of rat TyrH activates the enzyme by decreasing the affinity for catecholamines. In humans, there are four different TyrH isoforms with varying lengths for the regulatory domain. DOPA and dopamine binding studies were performed on the phosphorylated and unphosphorylated human isoforms. The Kd for DOPA was increased two times upon phosphorylation of hTyrH1, but no change was seen for hTyrH4; the Kd value decreased with the increase in the size of regulatory domain. The small effect on the Kd value for DOPA upon phosphorylation of hTyrH suggests that DOPA does not regulate the activity of hTyrH. Dopamine binds very tightly and upon phosphorylation the affinity for dopamine is decreased. This Kd value decreases with the increase in the length of the regulatory domain. The crystal structures of substrate complexes of the homologous enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PheH) show a large movement of a surface loop (residues 131-155) upon amino acid binding. The corresponding loop residues (175-200) in TyrH play an important role in DOPA formation. This conformational change in TyrH loop was studied with fluorescence anisotropy. Three tryptophan residues in the TyrH, at positions 166, 233, and 372, were mutated to phenylalanine, and Phe184 was mutated to tryptophan. An increase in anisotropy was observed in the presence of phenylalanine and 6-methyl-5-deazatetrahydropterin (6M5DPH4), but the magnitude of the change of anisotropy with 6M5DPH4 was greater than that with phenylalanine. Further characterization of the sole tryptophan in the loop showed a decrease in the amplitude of the local motion only in the presence of 6M5DPH4 alone. The conformational change in wild type TyrH was examined by H/D exchange LC/MS spectroscopy in the presence of the natural ligands. Time-course dependent deuterium incorporation into the loop in the presence of ligands indicated that the pterin alone can induce the conformational change in the loop irrespective of whether iron is reduced or oxidized. From these results, one can conclude that the loop undergoes a conformational change upon pterin binding, making the active site better for amino acid binding.