Function
Chitinases (Chi) cleave the beta-1-4-glycosidic bond between the N-acetyl-D-glucosamine units of which chitin is comprised. Chitinases are present in plants, bacteria and fungi. The first chitinase structures were solved in 1994, from a bacterium (1ctn) and a plant (2hvm). A mechanism for chitin cleavage was proposed based on several structures and was later confirmed. [1].
- Chitinase I is found in plants.
- Chitinase II is found in plants, fungi and bacteria.
- Chitinase III has no sequence similarity to class I or II.
- Chitinase IV has similar characteristics to class I but are smaller than it.
Disease
Chi is related to allergies and asthma[2].
Structural highlights
The chitin tetrasaccharide binding site of Chitinase A. [3] Water molecules are shown as red spheres.
3D Structures of Chitinase
Chitinase 3D structures
- ↑ Lee CG, Da Silva CA, Dela Cruz CS, Ahangari F, Ma B, Kang MJ, He CH, Takyar S, Elias JA. Role of chitin and chitinase/chitinase-like proteins in inflammation, tissue remodeling, and injury. Annu Rev Physiol. 2011;73:479-501. doi: 10.1146/annurev-physiol-012110-142250. PMID:21054166 doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-physiol-012110-142250
- ↑ Shuhui L, Mok YK, Wong WS. Role of mammalian chitinases in asthma. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2009;149(4):369-77. doi: 10.1159/000205583. Epub 2009, Mar 17. PMID:19295241 doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000205583
- ↑ Ohnuma T, Umemoto N, Nagata T, Shinya S, Numata T, Taira T, Fukamizo T. Crystal structure of a "loopless" GH19 chitinase in complex with chitin tetrasaccharide spanning the catalytic center. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2014 Feb 25;1844(4):793-802. doi:, 10.1016/j.bbapap.2014.02.013. PMID:24582745 doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbapap.2014.02.013
