Generic placeholder image

Protein & Peptide Letters

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 0929-8665
ISSN (Online): 1875-5305

Site Directed Mutagenesis as a Tool to Understand the Catalytic Mechanism of Human Cytidine Deaminase

Author(s): Silvia Vincenzetti, Stefania Pucciarelli, Francesco M. Carpi, Daniela Micozzi, Valeria Polzonetti, Paolo Natalini, Ivano Santarelli, Paolo Polidori and Alberto Vita

Volume 20, Issue 5, 2013

Page: [538 - 549] Pages: 12

DOI: 10.2174/0929866511320050007

Price: $65

Abstract

Cytidine deaminase (CDA), is one of the enzymes involved in the pyrimidine salvage pathways, which catalyzes the formation of uridine and deoxyuridine by the hydrolytic deamination of cytidine and deoxycytidine, respectively. Human CDA is a tetrameric enzyme of identical 15 kDa subunits, each containing an essential zinc atom in the active site. The substrate binds to each active site independently and the cooperativity between subunits has not been reported. CDA is able to recognize as substrates some antitumor and antiviral cytidine analogs rendering them pharmacologically inactive. In light of the role played by this enzyme, a deep knowledge of CDA active site and mechanism of catalysis is required. Site-directed mutagenesis, associated with molecular modeling studies, may be an important tool to discover the active site structure of an enzyme and consequently its mechanism of action. In this review are summarized the site-directed mutagenesis experiments performed on human CDA: through these studies it was possible to understand the role exerted by specific amino acid residues in CDA active site and in the contacts between subunits. The obtained results may open a way for designing new cytidine based drugs or more potent CDA inhibitors.

Keywords: Active site, cytidine deaminase, mechanism of catalysis, site-directed mutagenesis


Rights & Permissions Print Cite
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy