4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase

4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD), also known as α-ketoisocaproate dioxygenase (KIC dioxygenase), is an Fe(II)-containing non-heme oxygenase that catalyzes the second reaction in the catabolism of tyrosine - the conversion of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate into homogentisate. HPPD also catalyzes the conversion of phenylpyruvate to 2-hydroxyphenylacetate and the conversion of α-ketoisocaproate to β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate. HPPD is an enzyme that is found in nearly all aerobic forms of life.

Enzyme mechanism

HPPD is categorized within a class of oxygenase enzymes that usually utilize α-ketoglutarate and diatomic oxygen to oxygenate or oxidize a target molecule. However, HPPD differs from most molecules in this class due to the fact that it does not use α-ketoglutarate, and it only utilizes two substrates while adding both atoms of diatomic oxygen into the product, homogentisate. The HPPD reaction occurs through a NIH shift and involves the oxidative decarboxylation of an α-oxo acid as well as aromatic ring hydroxylation. The NIH-shift, which has been demonstrated through isotope-labeling studies, involves migration of an alkyl group to form a more stable carbocation. The shift, accounts for the observation that C3 is bonded to C4 in 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate but to C5 in homogentisate. The predicted mechanism of HPPD can be seen in the following figure:

Structure

HPPD is an enzyme that usually bonds to form tetramers in bacteria and dimers in eukaryotes and has a subunit mass of 40-50 kDa. Dividing the enzyme into the N-terminus and C-terminus one will notice that the N-terminus varies in composition while the C-terminus remains relatively constant (the C-terminus in plants does differ slightly from the C-terminus in other beings).