Racemization of the substrate and product by serine palmitoyltransferase from Sphingobacterium multivorum yields two enantiomers of the product from d-serine.
Ikushiro, H., Honda, T., Murai, Y., Murakami, T., Takahashi, A., Sawai, T., Goto, H., Ikushiro, S.I., Miyahara, I., Hirabayashi, Y., Kamiya, N., Monde, K., Yano, T.(2024) J Biol Chem 300: 105728-105728
- PubMed: 38325740 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2024.105728
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
8IYP, 8IYT - PubMed Abstract: 
Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) catalyzes the pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent decarboxylative condensation of l-serine and palmitoyl-CoA to form 3-ketodihydrosphingosine (KDS). Although SPT was shown to synthesize corresponding products from amino acids other than l-serine, it is still arguable whether SPT catalyzes the reaction with d-serine, which is a question of biological importance. Using high substrate and enzyme concentrations, KDS was detected after the incubation of SPT from Sphingobacterium multivorum with d-serine and palmitoyl-CoA. Furthermore, the KDS comprised equal amounts of 2S and 2R isomers. 1 H-NMR study showed a slow hydrogen-deuterium exchange at Cα of serine mediated by SPT. We further confirmed that SPT catalyzed the racemization of serine. The rate of the KDS formation from d-serine was comparable to those for the α-hydrogen exchange and the racemization reaction. The structure of the d-serine-soaked crystal (1.65 Å resolution) showed a distinct electron density of the PLP-l-serine aldimine, interpreted as the racemized product trapped in the active site. The structure of the α-methyl-d-serine-soaked crystal (1.70 Å resolution) showed the PLP-α-methyl-d-serine aldimine, mimicking the d-serine-SPT complex prior to racemization. Based on these enzymological and structural analyses, the synthesis of KDS from d-serine was explained as the result of the slow racemization to l-serine, followed by the reaction with palmitoyl-CoA, and SPT would not catalyze the direct condensation between d-serine and palmitoyl-CoA. It was also shown that the S. multivorum SPT catalyzed the racemization of the product KDS, which would explain the presence of (2R)-KDS in the reaction products.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Osaka, Japan. Electronic address: [email protected].