Eric Sauvage

The penicillin‐binding proteins: structure and role in peptidoglycan biosynthesis

Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) have been scrutinized for over 40 years. Recent structural information on PBPs together with the ongoing long-term biochemical experimental investigations, and results from more recent techniques such as protein localization by green fluorescent protein-fusion immunofluorescence or double-hybrid assay, have brought our understanding of the last stages of the peptidoglycan biosynthesis to an outstanding level that allows a broad outlook on the properties of these enzymes. Details are emerging regarding the interaction between the peptidoglycan-synthesizing PBPs and the peptidoglycan, their mesh net-like product that surrounds and protects bacteria. This review focuses on the detailed structure of PBPs and their implication in peptidoglycan synthesis, maturation and recycling. An overview of the content in PBPs of some bacteria is provided with an emphasis on comparing the biochemical properties of homologous PBPs (orthologues) belonging to different bacteria.

Crystal structure and activity of Bacillus subtilis YoaJ (EXLX1), a bacterial expansin that promotes root colonization

We solved the crystal structure of a secreted protein, EXLX1, encoded by the yoaJ gene of Bacillus subtilis. Its structure is remarkably similar to that of plant β-expansins (group 1 grass pollen allergens), consisting of 2 tightly packed domains (D1, D2) with a potential polysaccharide-binding surface spanning the 2 domains. Domain D1 has a double-ψ β-barrel fold with partial conservation of the catalytic site found in family 45 glycosyl hydrolases and in the MltA family of lytic transglycosylases. Domain D2 has an Ig-like fold similar to group 2/3 grass pollen allergens, with structural features similar to a type A carbohydrate-binding domain. EXLX1 bound to plant cell walls, cellulose, and peptidoglycan, but it lacked lytic activity against a variety of plant cell wall polysaccharides and peptidoglycan. EXLX1 promoted plant cell wall extension similar to, but 10 times weaker than, plant β-expansins, which synergistically enhanced EXLX1 activity. Deletion of the gene encoding EXLX1 did not affect growth or peptidoglycan composition of B. subtilis in liquid medium, but slowed lysis upon osmotic shock and greatly reduced the ability of the bacterium to colonize maize roots. The presence of EXLX1 homologs in a small but diverse set of plant pathogens further supports a role in plant–bacterial interactions. Because plant expansins have proved difficult to express in active form in heterologous systems, the discovery of a bacterial homolog opens the door for detailed structural studies of expansin function.

Current Challenges in Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

The use of the three classical β-lactamase inhibitors (clavulanic acid, tazobactam and sulbactam) in combination with β-lactam antibacterials is currently the most successful strategy to combat β-lactamase-mediated resistance. However, these inhibitors are efficient in inactivating only class A β-lactamases and the efficiency of the inhibitor/antibacterial combination can be compromised by several mechanisms, such as the production of naturally resistant class B or class D enzymes, the hyperproduction of AmpC or even the production of evolved inhibitor-resistant class A enzymes. Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of novel inhibitors. For serine active enzymes (classes A, C and D), derivatives of the β-lactam ring such as 6-β-halogenopenicillanates, β-lactam sulfones, penems and oxapenems, monobactams or trinems seem to be potential starting points to design efficient molecules (such as AM-112 and LK-157). Moreover, a promising non-β-lactam molecule, NXL-104, is now under clinical development. In contrast, an ideal inhibitor of metallo-β-lactamases (class B) remains to be found, despite the huge number of potential molecules already described (biphenyl tetrazoles, cysteinyl peptides, mercaptocarboxylates, succinic acid derivatives, etc.). The search for such an inhibitor is complicated by the absence of a covalent intermediate in their catalytic mechanisms and the fact that β-lactam derivatives often behave as substrates rather than as inhibitors. Currently, the most promising broad-spectrum inhibitors of class B enzymes are molecules presenting chelating groups (thiols, carboxylates, etc.) combined with an aromatic group.This review describes all the types of molecules already tested as potential β-lactamase inhibitors and thus constitutes an update of the current status in β-lactamase inhibitor discovery.

The 2.4-A crystal structure of the penicillin-resistant penicillin-binding protein PBP5fm from Enterococcus faecium in complex with benzylpenicillin.

Abstract: Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) are membrane proteins involved in the final stages of peptidoglycan synthesis and represent the targets of β-lactam antibiotics. Enterococci are naturally resistant to these antibiotics because they produce a PBP, named PBP5fm in Enterococcus faecium, with low-level affinity for β-lactams. We report here the crystal structure of the acyl-enzyme complex of PBP5fm with benzylpenicillin at a resolution of 2.4 Å. A characteristic of the active site, which distinguishes PBP5fm from other PBPs of known structure, is the topology of the loop 451–465 defining the left edge of the cavity. The residue Arg464, involved in a salt bridge with the residue Asp481, confers a greater rigidity to the PBP5fm active site. In addition, the presence of the Val465 residue, which points into the active site, reducing its accessibility, could account for the low affinity of PBP5fm for β-lactam. This loop is common to PBPs of low affinity, such as PBP2a from Staphylococcus aureus and PBP3 from Bacillus subtilis. Moreover, the insertion of a serine after residue 466 in the most resistant strains underlines even more the determining role of this loop in the recognition of the substrates.

Development of New Drugs for an Old Target — The Penicillin Binding Proteins

The widespread use of β-lactam antibiotics has led to the worldwide appearance of drug-resistant strains. Bacteria have developed resistance to β-lactams by two main mechanisms: the production of β-lactamases, sometimes accompanied by a decrease of outer membrane permeability, and the production of low-affinity, drug resistant Penicillin Binding Proteins (PBPs). PBPs remain attractive targets for developing new antibiotic agents because they catalyse the last steps of the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan, which is unique to bacteria, and lies outside the cytoplasmic membrane. Here we summarize the “current state of the art” of non-β-lactam inhibitors of PBPs, which have being developed in an attempt to counter the emergence of β-lactam resistance. These molecules are not susceptible to hydrolysis by β-lactamases and thus present a real alternative to β-lactams. We present transition state analogs such as boronic acids, which can covalently bind to the active serine residue in the catalytic site. Molecules containing ring structures different from the β-lactam-ring like lactivicin are able to acylate the active serine residue. High throughput screening methods, in combination with virtual screening methods and structure based design, have allowed the development of new molecules. Some of these novel inhibitors are active against major pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and thus open avenues new for the discovery of novel antibiotics.

Crystal structures of complexes of bacterial DD-peptidases with peptidoglycan-mimetic ligands: the substrate specificity puzzle.

The X-ray crystal structures of covalent complexes of the Actinomadura R39 dd-peptidase and Escherichia coli penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 5 with beta-lactams bearing peptidoglycan-mimetic side chains have been determined. The structure of the hydrolysis product of an analogous peptide bound noncovalently to the former enzyme has also been obtained. The R39 DD-peptidase structures reveal the presence of a specific binding site for the D-alpha-aminopimelyl side chain, characteristic of the stem peptide of Actinomadura R39. This binding site features a hydrophobic cleft for the pimelyl methylene groups and strong hydrogen bonding to the polar terminus. Both of these active site elements are provided by amino acid side chains from two separate domains of the protein. In contrast, no clear electron density corresponding to the terminus of the peptidoglycan-mimetic side chains is present when these beta-lactams are covalently bound to PBP5. There is, therefore, no indication of a specific side-chain binding site in this enzyme. These results are in agreement with those from kinetics studies published earlier and support the general prediction made at the time of a direct correlation between kinetics and structural evidence. The essential high-molecular-mass PBPs have demonstrated, to date, no specific reactivity with peptidoglycan-mimetic peptide substrates and beta-lactam inhibitors and, thus, probably do not possess a specific substrate-binding site of the type demonstrated here with the R39 DD-peptidase. This striking deficiency may represent a sophisticated defense mechanism against low-molecular-mass substrate-analogue inhibitors/antibiotics; its discovery should focus new inhibitor design.

Critical role of tryptophan 154 for the activity and stability of class D beta-lactamases.

The catalytic efficiency of the class D beta-lactamase OXA-10 depends critically on an unusual carboxylated lysine as the general base residue for both the enzyme acylation and deacylation steps of catalysis. Evidence is presented that the interaction between the indole group of Trp154 and the carboxylated lysine is essential for the stability of the posttranslationally modified Lys70. Substitution of Trp154 by Gly, Ala, or Phe yielded noncarboxylated enzymes which displayed poor catalytic efficiencies and reduced stability when compared to the wild-type OXA-10. The W154H mutant was partially carboxylated. In addition, the maximum values of k(cat) and k(cat)/K(M) were shifted toward pH 7, indicating that the carboxylation state of Lys70 is dependent on the protonation level of the histidine. A comparison of the three-dimensional structures of the different proteins also indicated that the Trp154 mutations did not modify the overall structures of OXA-10 but induced an increased flexibility of the Omega-loop in the active site. Finally, the deacylation-impaired W154A mutant was used to determine the structure of the acyl-enzyme complex with benzylpenicillin. These results indicate a role of the Lys70 carboxylation during the deacylation step and emphasize the importance of Trp154 for the ideal positioning of active site residues leading to an optimum activity.

Specific Structural Features of the N-Acetylmuramoyl-L-Alanine Amidase Amid from Escherichia Coli and Mechanistic Implications for Enzymes of This Family.

AmiD is the fifth identified N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine zinc amidase of Escherichia coli. This periplasmic lipoprotein is anchored in the outer membrane and has a broad specificity. AmiD is capable of cleaving the intact peptidoglycan (PG) as well as soluble fragments containing N-acetylmuramic acid regardless of the presence of an anhydro form or not, unlike the four other amidases, AmiA, AmiB, AmiC, and AmpD, which have some specificity. AmiD function is, however, not clearly established but it could be part of the enzymatic machinery involved in the PG turnover in E. coli. We solved three structures of the E. coli zinc amidase AmiD devoid of its lipidic anchorage: the holoenzyme, the apoenzyme in complex with the substrate anhydro-N-acetylmuramic-acid-L-Ala-gamma-d-Glu-L-Lys, and the holoenzyme in complex with the L-Ala-gamma-D-Glu-L-Lys peptide, the product of the hydrolysis of this substrate by AmiD. The AmiD structure shows a relatively flexible N-terminal extension that allows an easy reach of the PG by the enzyme inserted into the outer membrane. The C-terminal domain provides a potential extended geometrical complementarity to the substrate. AmiD shares a common fold with AmpD, the bacteriophage T7 lysozyme, and the PG recognition proteins, which are receptor proteins involved in the innate immune responses of a wide range of organisms. Analysis of the different structures reveals the similarity between the catalytic mechanism of zinc amidases of the AmiD family and the thermolysin-related zinc peptidases.

Crystal Structure of a Complex between the Actinomadura R39 Dd-Peptidase and a Peptidoglycan- Mimetic Boronate Inhibitor: Interpretation of a Transition State Analogue in Terms of Catalytic Mechanism.

The Actinomadura R39 DD-peptidase is a bacterial low molecular weight class C penicillin-binding protein. It has previously been shown to catalyze hydrolysis and aminolysis of small D-alanyl-D-alanine terminating peptides, especially those with a side chain that mimics the amino terminus of the stem peptide precursor to the bacterial cell wall. This paper describes the synthesis of (D-alpha-aminopimelylamino)-D-1-ethylboronic acid, designed to be a peptidoglycan-mimetic transition state analogue inhibitor of the R39 DD-peptidase. The boronate was found to be a potent inhibitor of the peptidase with a K(i) value of 32 +/- 6 nM. Since it binds some 30 times more strongly than the analogous peptide substrate, the boronate may well be a transition state analogue. A crystal structure of the inhibitory complex shows the boronate covalently bound to the nucleophilic active site Ser 49. The aminopimelyl side chain is bound into the site previously identified as specific for this moiety. One boronate oxygen is held in the oxyanion hole; the other, occupying the leaving group site of acylation or the nucleophile site of deacylation, appears to be hydrogen-bonded to the hydroxyl group of Ser 298. The Ser 49 oxygen appears to be hydrogen bonded to Lys 52. If it is assumed that this structure does resemble a high-energy tetrahedral intermediate in catalysis, it seems likely that Ser 298 participates as part of a proton transfer chain initiated by Lys 52 or Lys 410 as the primary proton donor/acceptor. The structure, therefore, supports a particular class of mechanism that employs this proton transfer device.

Importance of the Conserved Residues in the Peptidoglycan Glycosyltransferase Module of the Class A Penicillin-binding Protein 1b of Escherichia coli

The peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase (GT) module of class A penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) and monofunctional GTs catalyze glycan chain elongation of the bacterial cell wall. These enzymes belong to the GT51 family, are characterized by five conserved motifs, and have some fold similarity with the phage λ lysozyme. In this work, we have systematically modified all the conserved amino acid residues of the GT module of Escherichia coli class A PBP1b by site-directed mutagenesis and determined their importance for the in vivo and in vitro activity and the thermostability of the protein. To get an insight into the GT active site of this paradigm enzyme, a model of PBP1b GT domain was constructed based on the available crystal structures (PDB codes 2OLV and 2OLU). The data show that in addition to the essential glutamate residues Glu233 of motif 1 and Glu290 of motif 3, the residues Phe237 and His240 of motif 1 and Gly264, Thr267, Gln271, and Lys274 of motif 2, all located in the catalytic cavity of the GT domain, are essential for the in vitro enzymatic activity of the PBP1b and for its in vivo functioning. Thus, the first three conserved motifs contain most of the residues that are required for the GT activity of the PBP1b. The residues Asp234, Phe237, His240, Thr267, and Gln271 are proposed to maintain the structure of the active site and the positioning of the catalytic Glu233.