A distinct concerted mechanism of structural dynamism defines activity of human serine protease HtrA3

Human HtrA3 (high-temperature requirement protease A3) is a trimeric multitasking propapoptotic serine protease associated with critical cellular functions and pathogenicity. Implicated in diseases including cancer and pre-eclampsia, its role as a tumor suppressor and potential therapeutic target cannot be ignored. Therefore, elucidating its mode of activation and regulatory switch becomes indispensable towards modulating its functions with desired effects for disease intervention. Using computational, biochemical and biophysical tools, we delineated the role of all domains, their combinations and the critical phenylalanine residues in regulating HtrA3 activity, oligomerization and specificity. Our findings underline the crucial roles of the N-terminus as well as the PDZ domain in oligomerization and formation of a catalytically competent enzyme, thus providing new insights into its structure–function coordination. Our study also reports an intricate ligand-induced allosteric switch, which redefines the existing hypothesis of HtrA3 activation besides opening up avenues for modulating protease activity favorably through suitable effector molecules.