Ser-Ala and Ser-Ala-Ser-Ala C-terminus elongated (Δ+2 and Δ+4, respectively) and two C-terminus deleted (Δ−2 and Δ−3) muscle acylphosphatase mutants were investigated to assess the catalytic and structural roles of the C-terminal region. The kinetic analysis of these mutants shows that the removal of two or three C-terminal residues reduces the catalytic activity to 7% and 4% of the value measured for the wild-type enzyme, respectively; instead, the elongation of the C-terminus does not significantly change the enzyme behaviour. 1H Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy indicates that all mutants display a native-like fold though they appear less stable, particularly Δ−2 and Δ−3 mutants, as compared to the wild-type enzyme. Such destabilisation of the C-terminal modified mutants is further confirmed by urea inactivation experiments. The results here presented account for an involvement of the C-terminal region in the stabilisation of the three-dimensional structure of acylphosphatase, particularly at the active-site level. Moreover, a participation of the C-terminal carboxyl group to the catalytic mechanism can be excluded.
