Crystal structure of an acylpeptide hydrolase/esterase from Aeropyrum pernix K1
Bartlam, M., Wang, G., Yang, H., Gao, R., Zhao, X., Xie, G., Cao, S., Feng, Y., Rao, Z.(2004) Structure 12: 1481-1488
- PubMed: 15296741 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2004.05.019
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1VE6, 1VE7 - PubMed Abstract: 
Acylpeptide hydrolases (APH; also known as acylamino acid releasing enzyme) catalyze the removal of an N-acylated amino acid from blocked peptides. The crystal structure of an APH from the thermophilic archaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1 to 2.1 A resolution confirms it to be a member of the prolyl oligopeptidase family of serine proteases. The structure of apAPH is a symmetric homodimer with each subunit comprised of two domains. The N-terminal domain is a regular seven-bladed beta-propeller, while the C-terminal domain has a canonical alpha/beta hydrolase fold and includes the active site and a conserved Ser445-Asp524-His556 catalytic triad. The complex structure of apAPH with an organophosphorus substrate, p-nitrophenyl phosphate, has also been determined. The complex structure unambiguously maps out the substrate binding pocket and provides a basis for substrate recognition by apAPH. A conserved mechanism for protein degradation from archaea to mammals is suggested by the structural features of apAPH.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Laboratory of Structural Biology, Tsinghua University and National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100084, China.