High-resolution structures of the SAMHD1 dGTPase homolog from Leeuwenhoekiella blandensis reveal a novel mechanism of allosteric activation by dATP

Deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) triphosphohydrolases (dNTPases) are important enzymes that may perform multiple functions in the cell, including regulating the dNTP pools and contributing to innate immunity against viruses. Among the homologs that are best studied are human sterile alpha motif and HD domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1), a tetrameric dNTPase, and the hexameric Escherichia coli dGTPase; how-ever, it is unclear whether these are representative of all dNTPases given their wide distribution throughout life. Here, we investigated a hexameric homolog from the marine bacte-rium Leeuwenhoekiella blandensis, revealing that it is a dGTPase that is subject to allosteric activation by dATP, spe-cifically. Allosteric regulation mediated solely by dATP repre-sents a novel regulatory feature among dNTPases that may facilitate maintenance of cellular dNTP pools in L. blandensis. We present high-resolution X-ray crystallographic structures (1.80-2.26 angstrom) in catalytically important conformations as well as cryo-EM structures (2.1-2.7 angstrom) of the enzyme bound to dGTP and dATP ligands. The structures, the highest resolution cryo-EM structures of any SAMHD1-like dNTPase to date, reveal an intact metal-binding site with the dGTP substrate coordinated to three metal ions. These structural and biochemical data yield insights into the catalytic mechanism and support a conserved catalytic mechanism for the tetra-meric and hexameric dNTPase homologs. We conclude that the allosteric activation by dATP appears to rely on structural connectivity between the allosteric and active sites, as opposed to the changes in oligomeric state upon ligand binding used by SAMHD1.

Automated summary

This study reveals the allosteric activation of a dGTPase by dATP, providing new insights into the regulatory function of dNTPases.