Emily J. Fogle

Nine Post-translational Modifications during the Biosynthesis of Cinnamycin

Lantibiotics are ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified antimicrobial peptides that are characterized by the thioether cross-linked amino acids lanthionine (Lan) and methyllanthionine (MeLan). Cinnamycin is a 19 amino acid lantibiotic that contains one Lan and two MeLan. Cinnamycin also contains an unusual lysinoalanine (Lal) bridge formed from the ε-amino group of lysine 19 and a serine residue at position 6, and an erythro-3-hydroxy-l-aspartic acid resulting from the hydroxylation of l-aspartate at position 15. These modifications are critical in mediating the interactions of cinnamycin with its target, phosphatidylethanolamine. Recently, the cinnamycin biosynthetic gene cluster (cin) from Streptomyces cinnamoneus cinnamoneus DSM 40005 was reported. Herein, we investigated the biosynthetic machinery using both in vitro studies and heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. CinX is an α-ketoglutarate/iron(II)-dependent hydroxylase that carries out the hydroxylation of aspartate 15 of the precursor peptide CinA. In addition, CinM catalyzes dehydration of four Ser and Thr residues and subsequent cyclization of Cys residues to form the three (Me)Lan bridges. The order of the post-translational modifications catalyzed by CinM and CinX is interchangeable in vitro. CinX did not require the leader sequence at the N-terminus of CinA for activity, but the leader peptide was necessary for CinM function. Although CinM dehydrated serine 6, it did not catalyze the formation of Lal. A small protein encoded by cinorf7 is critical for the formation of the cross-link between Lys19 and dehydroalanine 6 as shown by coexpression studies of CinA, CinM, CinX, and Cinorf7 in E. coli.

Mutational analysis of substrate interactions with the active site of dialkylglycine decarboxylase.

Pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes catalyze many different types of reactions at the alpha-, beta-, and gamma-carbons of amine and amino acid substrates. Dialkylglycine decarboxylase (DGD) is an unusual PLP-dependent enzyme that catalyzes two reaction types, decarboxylation and transamination, in the same active site. A structurally based, functional model has been proposed for the DGD active site, which maintains that R406 is important in determining substrate specificity through interactions with the substrate carboxylate while W138 provides specificity for short-chain alkyl groups. The mechanistic roles of R406 and W138 were investigated using site-directed mutagenesis, alternate substrates, and analysis of steady-state and half-reaction kinetics. Experiments with the R406M and R406K mutants confirm the importance of R406 in substrate binding. Surprisingly, this work also shows that the positive charge of R406 facilitates catalysis of decarboxylation. The W138F mutant demonstrates that W138 indeed acts to limit the size of the subsite C binding pocket, determining specificity for 2,2-dialkylglycines with small side chains as predicted by the model. Finally, work with the double mutant W138F/M141R shows that these mutations expand substrate specificity to include l-glutamate and lead to an increase in specificity for l-glutamate over 2-aminoisobutyrate of approximately 8 orders of magnitude compared to that of wild-type DGD.

A heavy-atom isotope effect and kinetic investigation of the hydrolysis of semicarbazide by urease from jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis).

A kinetic investigation of the hydrolysis of semicarbazide by urease gives a relatively flat log V/ K versus pH plot between pH 5 and 8. A log V m versus pH plot shows a shift of the optimum V m toward lower pH when compared to urea. These results are explained in terms of the binding of the outer N of the NHNH 2 group in semicarbazide to an active site residue with a relatively low p K a ( approximately 6). Heavy-atom isotope effects for both leaving groups have been determined. For the NHNH 2 side, (15) k obs = 1.0045, whereas for the NH 2 side, (15) k obs = 1.0010. This is evidence that the NHNH 2 group leaves prior to the NH 2 group. Using previously published data from the urease-catalyzed hydrolysis of formamide, the commitment factors for semicarbazide and urea hydrolysis are estimated to be 2.7 and 1.2, respectively. The carbonyl-C isotope effect ( (13) k obs) equals 1.0357, which is consistent with the transition state occurring during either formation or breakdown of the tetrahedral intermediate.

Mechanistic investigations of the hydrolysis of amides, oxoesters and thioesters via kinetic isotope effects and positional isotope exchange

The hydrolysis of amides, oxoesters and thioesters is an important reaction in both organic chemistry and biochemistry. Kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) are one of the most important physical organic methods for determining the most likely transition state structure and rate-determining step of these reaction mechanisms. This method induces a very small change in reaction rates, which, in turn, results in a minimum disturbance of the natural mechanism. KIE studies were carried out on both the non-enzymatic and the enzyme-catalyzed reactions in an effort to compare both types of mechanisms. In these studies the amides and esters of formic acid were chosen because this molecular structure allowed development of methodology to determine heavy-atom solvent (nucleophile) KIEs. This type of isotope effect is difficult to measure, but is rich in mechanistic information. Results of these investigations point to transition states with varying degrees of tetrahedral character that fit a classical stepwise mechanism. This article is part of a special issue entitled: Enzyme Transition States from Theory and Experiment.

A kinetic isotope effect and isotope exchange study of the nonenzymatic and the equine serum butyrylcholinesterase-catalyzed thioester hydrolysis.

Formylthiocholine (FTC) was synthesized and found to be a substrate for nonenzymatic and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE)-catalyzed hydrolysis. Solvent (D2O) and secondary formyl-H kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) were measured by an NMR spectroscopic method. The solvent (D2O) KIEs are (D2O)k = 0.20 in 200 mM HCl, (D2O)k = 0.81 in 50 mM HCl, and (D2O)k = 4.2 in pure water. The formyl-H KIEs are (D)k = 0.80 in 200 mM HCl, (D)k = 0.77 in 50 mM HCl, (D)k = 0.75 in pure water, (D)k = 0.88 in 50 mM NaOH, and (D)(V/K) = 0.89 in the BChE-catalyzed hydrolysis in MES buffer at pH 6.8. Positional isotope exchange experiments showed no detectable exchange of (18)O into the carbonyl oxygen of FTC or the product, formate, under any of the above conditions. Solvent nucleophile-O KIEs were determined to be (18)k = 0.9917 under neutral conditions, (18)k = 1.0290 (water nucleophile) or (18)k = 0.989 (hydroxide nucleophile) under alkaline conditions, and (18)(V/K) = 0.9925 for BChE catalysis. The acidic, neutral, and BChE-catalyzed reactions are explained in terms of a stepwise mechanism with tetrahedral intermediates. Evidence for a change to a direct displacement mechanism under alkaline conditions is presented.

Investigation of the role of Arg301 identified in the X-ray structure of phosphite dehydrogenase.

Phosphite dehydrogenase (PTDH) from Pseudomonas stutzeri catalyzes the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent oxidation of phosphite to phosphate. The enzyme belongs to the family of d-hydroxy acid dehydrogenases (DHDHs). A search of the protein databases uncovered many additional putative phosphite dehydrogenases. The genes encoding four diverse candidates were cloned and expressed, and the enzymes were purified and characterized. All oxidized phosphite to phosphate and had similar kinetic parameters despite a low level of pairwise sequence identity (39–72%). A recent crystal structure identified Arg301 as a residue in the active site that has not been investigated previously. Arg301 is fully conserved in the enzymes shown here to be PTDHs, but the residue is not conserved in other DHDHs. Kinetic analysis of site-directed mutants of this residue shows that it is important for efficient catalysis, with an ∼100-fold decrease in kcat and an almost 700-fold increase in Km,phosphite for the R301A mutant. Interestingly, the R301K mutant displayed a slightly higher kcat than the parent PTDH, and a more modest increase in Km for phosphite (nearly 40-fold). Given these results, Arg301 may be involved in the binding and orientation of the phosphite substrate and/or play a catalytic role via electrostatic interactions. Three other residues in the active site region that are conserved in the PTDH orthologs but not DHDHs were identified (Trp134, Tyr139, and Ser295). The importance of these residues was also investigated by site-directed mutagenesis. All of the mutants had kcat values similar to that of the wild-type enzyme, indicating these residues are not important for catalysis.

A mechanistic study of thioester hydrolysis with heavy atom kinetic isotope effects.

The carbonyl-C, carbonyl-O, and leaving-S kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) were determined for the hydrolysis of formylthiocholine. Under acidic conditions, (13)k(obs) = 1.0312, (18)k(obs) = 0.997, and (34)k(obs) = 0.995; for neutral conditions, (13)k(obs) = 1.022, (18)k(obs) = 1.010, and (34)k(obs) = 0.996; and for alkaline conditions, (13)k(obs) = 1.0263, (18)k(obs) = 0.992, and (34)k(obs) = 1.000. The observed KIEs provided helpful insights into a qualitative description of the bond orders in the transition state structure.

Chemical rescue and inhibition studies to determine the role of Arg301 in phosphite dehydrogenase.

Phosphite dehydrogenase (PTDH) catalyzes the NAD+-dependent oxidation of phosphite to phosphate. This reaction requires the deprotonation of a water nucleophile for attack on phosphite. A crystal structure was recently solved that identified Arg301 as a potential base given its proximity and orientation to the substrates and a water molecule within the active site. Mutants of this residue showed its importance for efficient catalysis, with about a 100-fold loss in k cat and substantially increased K m,phosphite for the Ala mutant (R301A). The 2.35 Å resolution crystal structure of the R301A mutant with NAD+ bound shows that removal of the guanidine group renders the active site solvent exposed, suggesting the possibility of chemical rescue of activity. We show that the catalytic activity of this mutant is restored to near wild-type levels by the addition of exogenous guanidinium analogues; Brønsted analysis of the rates of chemical rescue suggests that protonation of the rescue reagent is complete in the transition state of the rate-limiting step. Kinetic isotope effects on the reaction in the presence of rescue agents show that hydride transfer remains at least partially rate-limiting, and inhibition experiments show that K i of sulfite with R301A is ∼400-fold increased compared to the parent enzyme, similar to the increase in K m for phosphite in this mutant. The results of our experiments indicate that Arg301 plays an important role in phosphite binding as well as catalysis, but that it is not likely to act as an active site base.

An investigation into the butyrylcholinesterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of formylthiocholine using heavy atom kinetic isotope effects

Heavy atom kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) were determined for the butyrylcholinesterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of formylthiocholine (FTC). The leaving-S, carbonyl-C, and carbonyl-O KIEs are (34)k=0.994±0.004, (13)k=1.0148±0.0007, and (18)k=0.999±0.002, respectively. The observed KIEs support a mechanism for both acylation and deacylation where the steps up to and including the formation of the tetrahedral intermediate are at least partially rate determining. These results, in contrast to previous studies with acetylthiocholine, suggest that the decomposition of a tetrahedral intermediate is not rate-determining for FTC hydrolysis. Structural differences between the two substrates are likely responsible for the observed mechanism change with FTC.