Glucose 6-phosphatase - Structure and Function

Structure and Function

Although a clear consensus has not been reached, a large number of scientists adhere to a substrate-transport model to account for the catalytic properties of glucose-6-Pase. In this model, glucose 6-Pase has a low degree of selectivity. The transfer of the glucose 6-phosphate is carried out by a transporter protein (T1) and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) contains structures allowing the exit of the phosphate group (T2) and glucose (T3).

Glucose-6-Pase consists of 357 amino acids, and is anchored to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by nine transmembrane helicies. Its N-terminal and active site are found on the lumen side of the ER and its C-terminus projects into the cytoplasm. Due to its tight association to the ER, the exact structure of glucose-6-Pase remains unknown. However, sequence alignment has shown that glucose-6-Pase is structurally similar to the active site of the vanadium-containing chloroperoxidase found in Curvularia inaequalis.

Based on pH kinetic studies of Glc-6-Pase-α catalysis, it was proposed that the hydrolysis of Glucose-6-Phosphate was completed via a covalent phosphohistidine glucose-6-Phosphate intermediate. The active site of Glc-6-Pase-α was initially identified by the presence of a conserved phosphate signature motif usually found in lipid phosphatases, acid phosphatases, and vanadium haloperoxidases.

Essential residues in the active site of vanadium haloperoxidases include: Lys353, Arg360, Arg490, His404, and His496. Corresponding residues in the active site of Glc-6-Pase-α include Arg170 and Arg83, which donate hydrogen ions to the phosphate, stabilizing the transition state, His119, which provides a proton to the dephosphorylated oxygen attached to glucose, and His176, which completes a nucleophilic attack on the phosphate to form a covalently bound phosphoryl enzyme intermediate. Within the Vanadium-containing chloroperoxidase, Lys353 was found to stabilize the phosphate in the transition state. However, the corresponding residue in Glc-6-Pase-α (Lys76) resides within the ER membrane and its function, if any, is currently undetermined. With the exception of Lys76, these residues are all located on the luminal side of the ER membrane.

Glc-6-Pase-β is a ubiquitously expressed, 346-amino acid membrane protein that shares 36% sequence identity with Glc-6-Pase-α. Within the Glc-6-Pase-β enzyme, sequence alignments predict that its active site contains His167, His114, and Arg79. Similar to that of the Glc-6-Pase-α active site, His167 is the residue that provides the nucleophilic attack, and His114, and Arg79 are the hydrogen donors. Glc-6-Pase-β is also localized in the ER membrane, although its orientation is unknown.