Human maltase-glucoamylase(MGAM)hydrolyzes linear alpha-1,4-linked oligosaccharide substrates,playing a crucial role in the production of glucose in the human lumen and acting as an efficient drug target for type 2 diabetes and obesity.The amino-and carboxyl-terminal portions of MGAM(MGAM-N and MGAM-C)carry out the same catalytic reaction but have different substrate specificities.In this study,we report crystal structures of MGAM-C alone at a resolution of 3.1Å,and in complex with its inhibitor acarbose at a resolution of 2.9Å.Structural studies,combined with biochemical analysis,revealed that a segment of 21 amino acids in the active site of MGAM-C forms additional sugar subsites(+2 and+3 subsites),accounting for the preference for longer substrates of MAGM-C compared with that of MGAM-N.Moreover,we discovered that a single mutation of Trp1251 to tyrosine in MGAM-C imparts a novel catalytic ability to digest branched alpha-1,6-linked oligosaccharides.These results provide important information for understanding the substrate specificity of alphaglucosidases during the process of terminal starch digestion,and for designing more efficient drugs to control type 2 diabetes or obesity.
