Carboxyethyllysine in a protein: native carbonyl reductase/NADP(+)-dependent prostaglandin dehydrogenase.

Two different forms of the monomeric NADP(+)-linked prostaglandin dehydrogenase/carbonyl reductase were purified from human placenta and shown to differ by the modification of a lysine residue. The modified and the unmodified proteins were reproducibly recovered in a ratio of approximately 1:3, and both were chemically stable. The modified form was more acidic (pI approximately 7.4 versus pI approximately 7.7) but indistinguishable from the unmodified form in specificity and activity. Amino acid analysis, sequence analysis, mass spectrometry, and chemical synthesis identified the modified residue as N6-(1-carboxyethyl)lysine with C-2 of propionic acid attached to the side-chain N of Lys-238. This compound can be formed from the lysine residue and pyruvate via a Schiff base and subsequent reduction. The enzyme and its NAD(+)-dependent counterpart are distantly related (23% residue identity) and have the same family assignment to short-chain dehydrogenases. Alignments and model-building into the tertiary structure of 3 alpha/20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase show that carbonyl reductase has an extra loop (positions 149-189) that forms a separate extension and replaces a backbone C-terminal beta-strand. This change affects the substrate pocket, explaining the different substrate specificities but conserves residues of known functional importance. Carboxyethyllysine at position 238 corresponds to a proteolysis-sensitive position in several short-chain dehydrogenases, less well-defined in the model but close to a surface, and is compatible with the accessibility and enzyme properties observed.