Mutation of yeast Eug1p CXXS active sites to CXXC results in a dramatic increase in protein disulphide isomerase activity

Protein disulphide isomerase (PDI) is an essential protein which is localiz ed to the endoplasmic reticulum of eukaryotic cells. It catalyses the forma tion and isomerization of disulphide bonds during the folding of secretory proteins. PDI is composed of domains with structural homology to thioredoxi n and with CXXC catalytic motifs. EUG1 encodes a yeast protein, Eug1p, that is highly homologous to PDI. However, Eug1p contains CXXS motifs instead o f CXXC. In the current model for PD1 function both cysteines in this motif are required for PDI-catalysed oxidase activity. To gain more insight into the biochemical properties of this unusual variant of PDI we have purified and characterized the protein. We have furthermore generated a number of mu tant forms of Eug1p in which either or both of the active sites have been m utated to a CXXC sequence. To determine the catalytic capacity of the wild- type and mutant forms we assayed activity in oxidative refolding of reduced and denatured procarboxypeptidase Y as well as refolding of bovine pancrea tic trypsin inhibitor. The wild-type protein showed very little activity, n ot only in oxidative refolding but also in assays where only isomerase acti vity was required. This was surprising, in particular since mutant forms of Eug1p containing a CXXC motif displayed activity close to that of genuine PDI. These results lead us to propose that general disulphide isomerization is not the main function of Eug1p in vivo.