Biochemical analysis of the NAD+-dependent malate dehydrogenase, a substrate of several serine/threonine protein kinases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

PLoS One. 2015 Apr 10;10(4):e0123327. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123327. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

PknD is one of the eleven eukaryotic-like serine/threonine protein kinases (STPKs) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). In vitro phosphorylation assays with the active recombinant PknD showed that the intracellular protein NAD+-dependent malate dehydrogenase (MDH) is a substrate of this kinase. MDH, an energy-supplying enzyme, catalyzes the interconversion of malate and oxaloacetate and plays crucial roles in several metabolic pathways including the citric acid cycle. The phosphorylation site was identified on threonine residues and the phosphorylation inhibited the MDH activity. In vitro, the recombinant MDH could also be phosphorylated by at least five other STPKs, PknA, PknE, PknH, PknJ, and PknG. Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that MDH was hyperphosphorylated in the bacteria at the beginning of the stationary and under oxygen-limited conditions by STPKs other than PknD. On the contrary, when PknD-deficient mutant mycobacteria were grown in a phosphate-depleted medium, MDH was not detectably phosphorylated. These results suggest that although the MDH is a substrate of several mycobacterial STPKs, the activity of these kinases can depend on the environment, as we identified PknD as a key element in the MDH phosphorylation assay under phosphate-poor conditions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Enzyme Activation
  • Malate Dehydrogenase / chemistry
  • Malate Dehydrogenase / genetics
  • Malate Dehydrogenase / metabolism*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mycobacterium bovis / genetics
  • Mycobacterium bovis / metabolism
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / genetics
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / metabolism*
  • Phosphorylation
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
  • Protein Kinases / chemistry
  • Protein Kinases / metabolism
  • Protein Multimerization
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / chemistry
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Substrate Specificity

Substances

  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Malate Dehydrogenase
  • Protein Kinases
  • PknD protein, Nostoc sp. PCC 7120
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the grant n°3.4.511.07 from the FRSM (Belgian Fund for Medical Scientific Research).