The crystal structure of an HSL-homolog EstE5 complex with PMSF reveals a unique configuration that inhibits the nucleophile Ser144 in catalytic triads

The esterase/lipase family (EC 3.1.1.3/EC 3.1.1.1) represents a diverse group of hydrolases that catalyze the cleavage of ester bonds and are widely distributed in animals, plants and microorganisms. Among these enzymes, hormone-sensitive lipases, play a critical role in the regulation of rodent fat cell lipolysis and are regarded as adipose tissue-specific enzymes. Recently, we reported the structural and biological characterization of EstE5 from the metagenome library [K.H. Nam, M.Y. Kim, S.J. Kim, A. Priyadarshi, W.H. Lee, K.Y. Hwang, Structural and functional analysis of a novel EstE5 belonging to the subfamily of hormone-sensitive lipase, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 379 (2009) 553–556]. The structure of this protein revealed that it belongs to the HSL-family. Here, we report the inhibition of the activity of the HSL-homolog EstE5 protein as determined by the use of esterase/lipase inhibitors. Our results revealed that the EstE5 protein is significantly inhibited by PMSF. In addition, this is the first study to identify the crystal structures of EstE5–PMSF at 2.4 and 2.5 Å among the HSL-homolog structures. This structural configuration is similar to that adopted when serine proteases are inhibited by PMSF. The results presented here provide valuable information regarding the properties of the HSL-family.