Mode of action of recombinant hypoxanthine–guanine phosphoribosyltransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is the second most important cause of mortality worldwide due to a single infectious agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A better understanding of the purine salvage pathway can unveil details of the biology of M. tuberculosis that might be used to develop new strategies to combat this pathogen. Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) is an enzyme from the purine phosphoribosyltransferase (PRTase) family and catalyzes the conversion of hypoxanthine or guanine and 5-phospho-alpha-D-ribose 1-diphosphate (PRPP) to, respectively, inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP) or guanosine 5'-monophosphate (GMP), and pyrophosphate (PPi). Gel filtration chromatography has shown that recombinant M. tuberculosis HGPRT (MtHGPRT) is homodimeric. A sequential compulsory ordered enzyme mechanism with PRPP as the substrate that binds to free MtHGPRT enzyme and PPi as the first product to dissociate is proposed based on kinetic data and thermodynamics of ligand binding from isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) results. ITC data have also provided thermodynamic signatures of non-covalent interactions for PRPP, IMP and GMP binding to free MtHGPRT. Thermodynamic activation parameters (E-a, Delta G(#), Delta S-#, Delta H-#) for the MtHGPRT-catalyzed chemical reaction, pre-steady-state kinetics, solvent kinetic isotope effects, equilibrium constants and pH-rate profiles are also presented. Pre-steady-state analysis reveals that there is an initial rapid phase (burst) followed by a slower phase, suggesting that product release is rate limiting. The data here described provide a better understanding of the mode of action of MtHGPRT.