Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic investigations of avian 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide transformylase-inosine monophosphate cyclohydrolase expressed in Escherichia coli.

ATIC [5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide transformylase (AICAR Tfase)-inosine monophosphate cyclohydrolase (IMPCH)] is a bifunctional enzyme that catalyzes the penultimate and final steps in the de novo purine biosynthesis pathway and thus is an attractive anticancer target. Recombinant avian ATIC has been purified from an Escherichia coli expression system and crystallized in a binary complex with methotrexate (MTX). Crystals were obtained from PEG 4000 or MPEG 5000 buffered at pH 7.0-7.2 and data were collected from a single crystal at 96 K to 2.3 A resolution at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL). The crystals are monoclinic and belong to space group P2(1), with unit-cell dimensions a = 65.17, b = 105.93, c = 103.47 A, beta = 108.27 degrees. Assuming two molecules per asymmetric unit, the Matthews coefficient V(m) is 2.63 A(3) Da(-1) and the solvent volume is 52.9%.