Utilization of an active serine 101----cysteine mutant to demonstrate the proximity of the catalytic serine 101 and histidine 237 residues in thioesterase II.

Thioesterase II is a 29-kDa monomer which, in certain specialized tissues, acts as a chain terminator in fatty acid synthesis by hydrolyzing medium-chain fatty acids from the fatty acid synthase. As with serine proteases, hydrolysis appears to involve acylation of the active site serine residue (Ser-101) assisted by a histidine, tentatively identified as His-237. To determine whether in the folded protein His-237 is close enough to accept a proton from the Ser-101 hydroxyl, we have made use of a Ser101Cys mutant which retains up to 90% of catalytic activity. Unlike the wild-type enzyme, the S101C thioesterase is inhibited with stoichiometric amounts of the bifunctional alkylating reagent 1,3-dibromopropanone. To facilitate identification of the alkylated residue(s), the keto group introduced into the dibromopropanone-modified S101C mutant was radiolabeled by reduction with sodium [3H] borohydride. The protein was then digested and the radiolabeled peptides analyzed by amino acid sequencing and mass spectrometry. The experimental data unambiguously showed that dibromopropanone cross-linked the active site Cys-101 with His-237, demonstrating that these residues are positioned within 5 A of each other. These data strongly support the hypothesis that in the wild-type thioesterase His-237 accepts a proton from Ser-101, thus increasing its nucleophilic character and improving the catalytic efficiency of the enzyme. The possibility that exchange of cysteine and serine active site residues has occurred in the evolution of thioesterases is discussed.