Andrew N. Bigley

Catalytic Mechanisms for Phosphotriesterases

Phosphotriesters are one class of highly toxic synthetic compounds known as organophosphates. Wide spread usage of organophosphates as insecticides as well as nerve agents has lead to numerous efforts to identify enzymes capable of detoxifying them. A wide array of enzymes has been found to have phosphotriesterase activity including phosphotriesterase (PTE), methyl parathion hydrolase (MPH), organophosphorus acid anhydrolase (OPAA), diisopropylfluorophosphatase (DFP), and paraoxonase 1 (PON1). These enzymes differ widely in protein sequence and three-dimensional structure, as well as in catalytic mechanism, but they also share several common features. All of the enzymes identified as phosphotriesterases are metal-dependent hydrolases that contain a hydrophobic active site with three discrete binding pockets to accommodate the substrate ester groups. Activation of the substrate phosphorus center is achieved by a direct interaction between the phosphoryl oxygen and a divalent metal in the active site. The mechanistic details of the hydrolytic reaction differ among the various enzymes with both direct attack of a hydroxide as well as covalent catalysis being found. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Chemistry and mechanism of phosphatases, diesterases and triesterases.

Stereoselective Hydrolysis of Organophosphate Nerve Agents by the Bacterial Phosphotriesterase

Organophosphorus compounds include many synthetic, neurotoxic substances that are commonly used as insecticides. The toxicity of these compounds is due to their ability to inhibit the enzyme acetylcholine esterase. Some of the most toxic organophosphates have been adapted for use as chemical warfare agents; the most well-known are GA, GB, GD, GF, VX, and VR. All of these compounds contain a chiral phosphorus center, with the S(P) enantiomers being significantly more toxic than the R(P) enantiomers. Phosphotriesterase (PTE) is an enzyme capable of detoxifying these agents, but the stereochemical preference of the wild-type enzyme is for the R(P) enantiomers. A series of enantiomerically pure chiral nerve agent analogues containing the relevant phosphoryl centers found in GB, GD, GF, VX, and VR has been developed. Wild-type and mutant forms of PTE have been tested for their ability to hydrolyze this series of compounds. Mutant forms of PTE with significantly enhanced, as well as relaxed or reversed, stereoselectivity have been identified. A number of variants exhibited dramatically improved kinetic constants for the catalytic hydrolysis of the more toxic S(P) enantiomers. Improvements of up to 3 orders of magnitude relative to the value of the wild-type enzyme were observed. Some of these mutants were tested against racemic mixtures of GB and GD. The kinetic constants obtained with the chiral nerve agent analogues accurately predict the improved activity and stereoselectivity against the authentic nerve agents used in this study.

Enzymatic neutralization of the chemical warfare agent VX: evolution of phosphotriesterase for phosphorothiolate hydrolysis.

The V-type nerve agents (VX and VR) are among the most toxic substances known. The high toxicity and environmental persistence of VX make the development of novel decontamination methods particularly important. The enzyme phosphotriesterase (PTE) is capable of hydrolyzing VX but with an enzymatic efficiency more than 5 orders of magnitude lower than with its best substrate, paraoxon. PTE has previously proven amenable to directed evolution for the improvement of catalytic activity against selected compounds through the manipulation of active-site residues. Here, a series of sequential two-site mutational libraries encompassing 12 active-site residues of PTE was created. The libraries were screened for catalytic activity against a new VX analogue, DEVX, which contains the same thiolate leaving group of VX coupled to a diethoxyphosphate core rather than the ethoxymethylphosphonate core of VX. The evolved catalytic activity with DEVX was enhanced 26-fold relative to wild-type PTE. Further improvements were facilitated by targeted error-prone PCR mutagenesis of loop-7, and additional PTE variants were identified with up to a 78-fold increase in the rate of DEVX hydrolysis. The best mutant hydrolyzed the racemic nerve agent VX with a value of kcat/Km = 7 × 10(4) M(-1) s(-1), a 230-fold improvement relative to wild-type PTE. The highest turnover number achieved by the mutants created for this investigation was 137 s(-1), an enhancement of 152-fold relative to wild-type PTE. The stereoselectivity for the hydrolysis of the two enantiomers of VX was relatively low. These engineered mutants of PTE are the best catalysts ever reported for the hydrolysis of nerve agent VX.

Variants of Phosphotriesterase for the Enhanced Detoxification of the Chemical Warfare Agent VR

The V-type organophosphorus nerve agents are among the most hazardous compounds known. Previous efforts to evolve the bacterial enzyme phosphotriesterase (PTE) for the hydrolytic decontamination of VX resulted in the identification of the variant L7ep-3a, which has a kcat value more than 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of wild-type PTE for the hydrolysis of VX. Because of the relatively small size of the O-ethyl, methylphosphonate center in VX, stereoselectivity is not a major concern. However, the Russian V-agent, VR, contains a larger O-isobutyl, methylphosphonate center, making stereoselectivity a significant issue since the SP-enantiomer is expected to be significantly more toxic than the RP-enantiomer. The three-dimensional structure of the L7ep-3a variant was determined to a resolution of 2.01 Å (PDB id: 4ZST ). The active site of the L7ep-3a mutant has revealed a network of hydrogen bonding interactions between Asp-301, Tyr-257, Gln-254, and the hydroxide that bridges the two metal ions. A series of new analogues that mimic VX and VR has helped to identify critical structural features for the development of new enzyme variants that are further enhanced for the catalytic detoxification of VR and VX. The best of these mutants has been shown to have a reversed stereochemical preference for the hydrolysis of VR-chiral center analogues. This mutant hydrolyzes the two enantiomers of VR 160- and 600-fold faster than wild-type PTE hydrolyzes the SP-enantiomer of VR.

Chemical Mechanism of the Phosphotriesterase from Sphingobium sp. Strain TCM1, an Enzyme Capable of Hydrolyzing Organophosphate Flame Retardants

The mechanism of action of the manganese-dependent phosphotriesterase from Sphingobium sp. strain TCM1 that is capable of hydrolyzing organophosphate flame retardants was determined. The enzyme was shown to hydrolyze the RP-enantiomer of O-methyl O-cyclohexyl p-nitrophenyl thiophosphate with net inversion of configuration and without the formation of a covalent reaction intermediate. These results demonstrate that the enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of substrates by activation of a nucleophilic water molecule for direct attack at the phosphorus center.

Interrogation of the Substrate Profile and Catalytic Properties of the Phosphotriesterase from Sphingobium sp. Strain TCM1: An Enzyme Capable of Hydrolyzing Organophosphate Flame Retardants and Plasticizers

The most familiar organophosphorus compounds are the neurotoxic insecticides and nerve agents. A related group of organophosphorus compounds, the phosphotriester plasticizers and flame retardants, has recently become widely used. Unlike the neurotoxic phosphotriesters, the plasticizers and flame retardants lack an easily hydrolyzable bond. While the hydrolysis of the neurotoxic organophosphates by phosphotriesterase enzymes is well-known, the lack of a labile bond in the flame retardants and plasticizers renders them inert to typical phosphotriesterases. A phosphotriesterase from Sphingobium sp. strain TCM1 (Sb-PTE) has recently been reported to catalyze the hydrolysis of organophosphorus flame retardants. This enzyme has now been expressed in Escherichia coli, and the activity with a wide variety of organophosphorus substrates has been characterized and compared to the activity of the well-known phosphotriesterase from Pseudomonas diminuta (Pd-PTE). Structure prediction suggests that Sb-PTE has a β-propeller fold, and homology modeling has identified a potential mononuclear manganese binding site. Sb-PTE exhibits catalytic activity against typical phosphotriesterase substrates such as paraoxon, but unlike Pd-PTE, Sb-PTE is also able to effectively hydrolyze flame retardants, plasticizers, and industrial solvents. Sb-PTE can hydrolyze both phosphorus-oxygen bonds and phosphorus-sulfur bonds, but not phosphorus-nitrogen bonds. The best substrate for Sb-PTE is the flame retardant triphenyl phosphate with a kcat/Km of 1.7 × 10(6) M(-1) s(-1). Quite remarkably, Sb-PTE is also able to hydrolyze phosphotriesters with simple alcohol leaving groups such as tributyl phosphate (kcat/Km = 40 M(-1) s(-1)), suggesting that this enzyme could be useful for the bioremediation of a wide variety of organophosphorus compounds.

Structure of a Novel Phosphotriesterase from Sphingobium sp. TCM1: A Familiar Binuclear Metal Center Embedded in a Seven-Bladed β-Propeller Protein Fold

A novel phosphotriesterase was recently discovered and purified from Sphingobium sp. TCM1 (Sb-PTE) and shown to catalyze the hydrolysis of a broad spectrum of organophosphate esters with a catalytic efficiency that exceeds 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) for the hydrolysis of triphenyl phosphate. The enzyme was crystallized and the three-dimensional structure determined to a resolution of 2.1 Å using single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (Protein Data Bank entry 5HRM ). The enzyme adopts a seven-bladed β-propeller protein fold, and three disulfide bonds were identified between Cys-146 and Cys-242, Cys-411 and Cys-443, and Cys-542 and Cys-559. The active site of Sb-PTE contains a binuclear manganese center that is nearly identical to that of the structurally unrelated phosphotriesterase from Pseudomonas diminuta (Pd-PTE). The two metal ions in the active site are bridged to one another by Glu-201 and a water molecule. The α-metal ion is further coordinated to the protein by interactions with His-389, His-475, and Glu-407, whereas the β-metal ion is further liganded to His-317 and His-258. Computational docking of mimics of the proposed pentavalent reaction intermediates for the hydrolysis of organophosphates was used to provide a model for the binding of chiral substrates in the active site of Sb-PTE. The most striking difference in the catalytic properties of Sb-PTE, relative to those of Pd-PTE, is the enhanced rate of hydrolysis of organophosphate esters with substantially weaker leaving groups. The structural basis for this difference in the catalytic properties between Sb-PTE and Pd-PTE, despite the nearly identical binuclear metal centers for the activation of the substrate and nucleophilic water molecule, is at present unclear.

An OPAA enzyme mutant with increased catalytic efficiency on the nerve agents sarin, soman, and GP

The wild-type OPAA enzyme has relatively high levels of catalytic activity against several organophosphate G-type nerve agents. A series of mutants containing replacement amino acids at the OPAA Y212, V342, and I215 sites showed several fold enhanced catalytic efficiency on sarin, soman, and GP. One mutant, Y212F/V342L, showed enhanced stereospecificity on sarin and that enzyme along with a phosphotriesterase mutant, GWT, which had the opposite stereospecificity, were used to generate enriched preparations of each sarin enantiomer. Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase by the respective enantioenriched sarin solutions subsequently provided identification of the sarin enantiomers as separated by normal phase enantioselective liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry.

Multiple Reaction Products from the Hydrolysis of Chiral and Prochiral Organophosphate Substrates by the Phosphotriesterase from Sphingobium sp. TCM1

The phosphotriesterase from Sphingobium sp. TCM1 ( Sb-PTE) is notable for its ability to hydrolyze organophosphates that are not substrates for other enzymes. In an attempt to determine the catalytic properties of Sb-PTE for hydrolysis of chiral phosphotriesters, we discovered that multiple phosphodiester products are formed from a single substrate. For example, Sb-PTE catalyzes the hydrolysis of the RP-enantiomer of methyl cyclohexyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate with exclusive formation of methyl cyclohexyl phosphate. However, the enzyme catalyzes hydrolysis of the SP-enantiomer of this substrate to an equal mixture of methyl cyclohexyl phosphate and cyclohexyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate products. The ability of this enzyme to catalyze the hydrolysis of a methyl ester at the same rate as the hydrolysis of a p-nitrophenyl ester contained within the same substrate is remarkable. The overall scope of the stereoselective properties of this enzyme is addressed with a library of chiral and prochiral substrates.