Exploring the structural and dynamic differences between human carnosinase I (CN1) and II (CN2)

Abstract Human carnosinases (CNs) are dimeric dipeptidases in the metallopeptidase M20 family. Two isoforms of carnosinases (Zn 2+ ‐containing carnosinase 1 (CN1) found in serum and Mn 2+ ‐carnosinase 2 (CN2) in tissue) were identified. Both CNs cleave histidine‐containing (Xaa‐His) dipeptides such as carnosine where CN2 was found to accept a broader spectrum of substrates. A loss of CN function, resulting in a high carnosine concentration, reduces risk for diabetes and neurological disorders. Although several studies on CN activities and its Michaelis complex were conducted, all shed the light on CN1 activity where the CN2 data is limited. Also, the molecular details on CN1 and CN2 similarity and dissimilarity in structure and function remain unclear. Thus, in this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to study structure and dynamics of human CN1 and CN2 in comparison. The results show that the different catalytic ability of both CNs is due to their pocket size and environment. CN2 can accept a wider range of substrate due to the wider mouth of a binding pocket. The L1 loop seems to play a role in gating activity. Comparing to CN2, CN1 provides more electronegative entrance, more wettability, and higher stability of catalytic metal ion‐pair in the active site which allow more efficient water‐mediated catalysis. The microscopic understanding obtained here can serve as a basis for CN inhibition strategies resulting in higher carnosine levels and consequently mitigating complications associated with diseases such as diabetes and neurological disorder.