On the Molecular Basis of D-Bifunctional Protein Deficiency Type III

<div><p>Molecular basis of D-bifunctional protein (D-BP) deficiency was studied with wild type and five disease-causing variants of 3R-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase fragment of the human MFE-2 (multifunctional enzyme type 2) protein. Complementation analysis <em>in vivo</em> in yeast and <em>in vitro</em> enzyme kinetic and stability determinants as well as <em>in silico</em> stability and structural fluctuation calculations were correlated with clinical data of known patients. Despite variations not affecting the catalytic residues, enzyme kinetic performance (K_m, V_max and k_cat) of the recombinant protein variants were compromised to a varying extent and this can be judged as the direct molecular cause for D-BP deficiency. Protein stability plays an additional role in producing non-functionality of MFE-2 in case structural variations affect cofactor or substrate binding sites. Structure-function considerations of the variant proteins matched well with the available data of the patients.</p>