3-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE CATALYTIC SUBUNIT OF PROTEIN SERINE/THREONINE PHOSPHATASE-1

The crystal structure of mammalian protein phosphatase-1, complexed with the toxin microcystin and determined at 2.1 Angstrom resolution, reveals that it is a metalloenzyme unrelated in architecture to the tyrosine phosphatases. Two metal ions are positioned by a central beta-alpha-beta-alpha-beta scaffold at the active site, from which emanate three surface grooves that are potential binding sites for substrates and inhibitors. The carboxy terminus is positioned at the end of one of the grooves such that regulatory sequences following the domain might modulate function. The fold of the catalytic domain is expected to be closely preserved in protein phosphatases 2A and 2B (calcineurin).