Trypanosoma brucei UDP-galactose-4 '-epimerase in ternary complex with NAD(+) and the substrate analogue UDP-4-deoxy-4-fluoro-alpha-D-galactose

The structure of the NAD-dependent oxidoreductase UDP-galactose- 4'-epimerase from Trypanosoma brucei in complex with cofactor and the substrate analogue UDP-4-deoxy-4-fluoro-alpha-D-galactose has been determined using diffraction data to 2.7 angstrom resolution. Despite the high level of sequence and structure conservation between the trypanosomatid enzyme and those from humans, yeast and bacteria, the binding of the 4-fluoro-alpha-D-galactose moiety is distinct from previously reported structures. Of particular note is the observation that when bound to the T. brucei enzyme, the galactose moiety of this fluoro-derivative is rotated approximately 180 degrees with respect to the orientation of the hexose component of UDP-glucose when in complex with the human enzyme. The architecture of the catalytic centre is designed to effectively bind different orientations of the hexose, a finding that is consistent with a mechanism that requires the sugar to maintain a degree of flexibility within the active site.