Aconitase
aconitate hydratase | |||||||||
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![]() Illustration of pig aconitase in complex with the [Fe4S4] cluster. The protein is colored by secondary structure, and iron atoms are blue and the sulfur red.[1]
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Identifiers | |||||||||
EC number | 4.2.1.3 | ||||||||
CAS number | Template:CAS | ||||||||
Databases | |||||||||
IntEnz | IntEnz view | ||||||||
BRENDA | BRENDA entry | ||||||||
ExPASy | NiceZyme view | ||||||||
KEGG | KEGG entry | ||||||||
MetaCyc | metabolic pathway | ||||||||
PRIAM | profile | ||||||||
PDB structures | RCSB PDB PDBe PDBsum | ||||||||
Gene Ontology | AmiGO / EGO | ||||||||
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Aconitase family (aconitate hydratase) |
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![]() Structure of aconitase.[2]
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Identifiers | |||||||||
Symbol | Aconitase | ||||||||
Pfam | PF00330 | ||||||||
InterPro | IPR001030 | ||||||||
PROSITE | PDOC00423 | ||||||||
SCOP | 1aco | ||||||||
SUPERFAMILY | 1aco | ||||||||
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Aconitase (aconitate hydratase; EC 4.2.1.3) is an enzyme that catalyses the stereo-specific isomerization of citrate to isocitrate via cis-aconitate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, a non-redox-active process.[3][4][5]
Contents
Structure
Aconitase, displayed in the structures in the right margin of this page, has two slightly different structures, depending on whether it is activated or inactivated.[6][7] In the inactive form, its structure is divided into four domains.[6] Counting from the N-terminus, only the first three of these domains are involved in close interactions with the [3Fe-4S] cluster, but the active site consists of residues from all four domains, including the larger C-terminal domain.[6] The Fe-S cluster and a SO42− anion also reside in the active site.[6] When the enzyme is activated, it gains an additional iron atom, creating a [4Fe-4S] cluster.[7][8] However, the structure of the rest of the enzyme is nearly unchanged; the conserved atoms between the two forms are in essentially the same positions, up to a difference of 0.1 angstroms.[7]
Function
In contrast with the majority of iron-sulfur proteins that function as electron carriers, the iron-sulfur cluster of aconitase reacts directly with an enzyme substrate. Aconitase has an active [Fe4S4]2+ cluster, which may convert to an inactive [Fe3S4]+ form. Three cysteine (Cys) residues have been shown to be ligands of the [Fe4S4] centre. In the active state, the labile iron ion of the [Fe4S4] cluster is not coordinated by Cys but by water molecules.
The iron-responsive element-binding protein (IRE-BP) and 3-isopropylmalate dehydratase (α-isopropylmalate isomerase; EC 4.2.1.33), an enzyme catalysing the second step in the biosynthesis of leucine, are known aconitase homologues. Iron regulatory elements (IREs) constitute a family of 28-nucleotide, non-coding, stem-loop structures that regulate iron storage, heme synthesis and iron uptake. They also participate in ribosome binding and control the mRNA turnover (degradation). The specific regulator protein, the IRE-BP, binds to IREs in both 5' and 3' regions, but only to RNA in the apo form, without the Fe-S cluster. Expression of IRE-BP in cultured cells has revealed that the protein functions either as an active aconitase, when cells are iron-replete, or as an active RNA-binding protein, when cells are iron-depleted. Mutant IRE-BPs, in which any or all of the three Cys residues involved in Fe-S formation are replaced by serine, have no aconitase activity, but retain RNA-binding properties.
Aconitase is inhibited by fluoroacetate, therefore fluoroacetate is poisonous. The iron sulfur cluster is highly sensitive to oxidation by superoxide.[9]
Mechanism

Aconitase employs a dehydration-hydration mechanism.[10] The catalytic residues involved are His-101 and Ser-642.[10] His-101 protonates the hydroxyl group on C3 of citrate, allowing it to leave as water, and Ser-642 concurrently abstracts the proton on C2, forming a double bond between C2 and C3, forming a cis-aconitate intermediate.[10][13] At this point, the intermediate is rotated 180°.[10] This rotation is referred to as a "flip."[11] Because of this flip, the intermediate is said to move from a "citrate mode" to a "isocitrate mode."[14]
How exactly this flip occurs is debatable. One theory is that, in the rate-limiting step of the mechanism, the cis-aconitate is released from the enzyme, then reattached in the isocitrate mode to complete the reaction.[14] This rate-liming step ensures that the right stereochemistry, specifically (2R,3S), is formed in the final product.[14][15] Another hypothesis is that cis-aconitate stays bound to the enzyme while it flips from the citrate to the isocitrate mode.[10]
In either case, flipping cis-aconitate allows the dehydration and hydration steps to occur on opposite faces of the intermediate.[10] Aconitase catalyzes trans elimination/addition of water, and the flip guarantees that the correct stereochemistry is formed in the product.[10][11] To complete the reaction, the serine and histidine residues reverse their original catalytic actions: the histidine, now basic, abstracts a proton from water, priming it as a nucleophile to attack at C2, and the protonated serine is deprotonated by the cis-aconitate double bond to complete the hydration, producing isocitrate.[10]
Family members
Aconitases are expressed in bacteria to humans. Humans express the following two aconitase isozymes:
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Interactive pathway map
Click on genes, proteins and metabolites below to link to respective articles. [§ 1]
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References
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Further reading
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External links
- Aconitase at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
- Proteopedia Aconitase - the Aconitase structure in interactive 3D
- ↑ PDB: 7ACN; Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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