Reactions of serine palmitoyltransferase with serine and molecular mechanisms of the actions of serine derivatives as inhibitors.

Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) is a key enzyme in sphingolipid biosynthesis and catalyzes the decarboxylative condensation of L-serine and palmitoyl coenzyme A to 3-ketodihydrosphingosine. We have succeeded in the overproduction of a water-soluble homodimeric SPT from Sphingomonas paucimobilis EY2395(T) in Escherichia coli. The recombinant SPT showed the characteristic absorption and circular dichroism spectra derived from its coenzyme pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. On the basis of the spectral changes of SPT, we have analyzed the reactions of SPT with compounds related to L-serine and product, and showed the following new aspects: First, we analyzed the binding of L-serine and 3-hydroxypropionate and found that the spectral change in SPT by the substrate is caused by the formation of an external aldimine intermediate and not by the formation of the Michaelis complex. Second, various serine analogues were also examined; the data indicated that the alpha-carboxyl group of L-serine was quite important for substrate recognition by SPT. Third, we focused on a series of SPT inhibitors, which have been used as convenient tools to study the cell responses caused by sphingolipid depletion. The interaction of SPT with myriocin suggested that such product-related compounds would strongly and competitively inhibit enzyme activity by forming an external aldimine in the active site of the enzyme. Beta-chloro-L-alanine and L-cycloserine were found to generate characteristic PLP-adducts that produced inactivation of SPT in an irreversible manner. The detailed mechanisms for the SPT inactivation were discussed. This is the first analysis of the inhibition mechanisms of SPT by these compounds, which will provide an enzymological basis for the interpretation of the results from cell biological experiments.