The C-terminal loop of aldehyde reductase determines the substrate and inhibitor specificity.

Human aldehyde reductase has a preference for carboxyl group-containing negatively charged substrates. It belongs to the NADPH-dependent aldo-keto reductase superfamily whose members are in part distinguished by unique C-terminal loops. To probe the role of the C-terminal loops in determining substrate specificities in these enzymes, two arginine residues, Arg308 and Arg311, located in the C-terminal loop of aldehyde reductase, and not found in any other C-terminal loop, were replaced with alanine residues. The catalytic efficiency of the R311A mutant for aldehydes containing a carboxyl group is reduced 150-250-fold in comparison to that of the wild-type enzyme, while substrates not containing a negative charge are unaffected. The R311A mutant is also significantly less sensitive to inhibition by dicarboxylic acids, indicating that Arg311 interacts with one of the carboxyl groups. The inhibition pattern indicates that the other carboxyl group binds to the anion binding site formed by Tyr49, His112, and the nicotinamide moiety of NADP+. The correlation between inhibitor potency and the length of the dicarboxylic acid molecules suggests a distance of approximately 10 A between the amino group of Arg311 and the anion binding site in the aldehyde reductase molecule. The sensitivity of inhibition of the R311A mutant by several commercially available aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) was variable, with tolrestat and zopolrestat becoming more potent inhibitors (30- and 5-fold, respectively), while others remained the same or became less potent. The catalytic properties, substrate specificity, and susceptibility to inhibition of the R308A mutant remained similar to that of the wild-type enzyme. The data provide direct evidence for C-terminal loop participation in determining substrate and inhibitor specificity of aldo-keto reductases and specifically identifies Arg311 as the basis for the carboxyl-containing substrate preference of aldehyde reductase.