Crystal Structure of NADPH-Dependent Methylglyoxal Reductase Gre2 from Candida Albicans

Gre2 is a key enzyme in the methylglyoxal detoxification pathway; it uses NADPH or NADH as an electron donor to reduce the cytotoxic methylglyoxal to lactaldehyde. This enzyme is a member of the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) superfamily whose members catalyze this type of reaction with a broad range of substrates. To elucidate the structural features, we determined the crystal structures of the NADPH-dependent methylglyoxal reductase Gre2 from Candida albicans (CaGre2) for both the apo-form and NADPH-complexed form at resolutions of 2.8 and 3.02 angstrom, respectively. The CaGre2 structure is composed of two distinct domains: the N-terminal cofactor-binding domain and the C-terminal substrate-binding domain. Extensive comparison of CaGre2 with its homologous structures reveals conformational changes in alpha 12 and beta 3 ' of the NADPH-complex forms. This study may provide insights into the structural and functional variation of SDR family proteins.