Major Oxidoreductase Research Articles

High-resolution study of fungal enzymes

Current processes for lignocellulose deconstruction are unspecific and produce some constituents in poor quality. Specific biocatalysts could achieve optimal segregation together with minimal damage to cellulose and lignin and provide high-quality feedstocks for industry. Naturally occurring fungal oxidoreductases perform this task, but their characterisation - and hence their optimisation for industrial application - is difficult because of the experimental challenges. The mission of OXIDISE to develop appropriate methods to characterise lignocellulose degrading oxidoreductases, i.e. elucidate their conversions rates and to resolve their distribution and interaction in vicinity of their polymeric substrates. High-resolution techniques will be adapted to specifically detect fungal oxidoreductases like lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase, cellobiose dehydrogenase, laccase, lignin peroxidase, or members of the GMC oxidoreductase superfamily. These enzymes are all involved in the oxidative attack of recalcitrant biopolymers and are present in over 90% of fungal genomes. To overcome problems of current assaying techniques such as their low spatial and temporal resolution, OXIDISE will develop and apply techniques based on microelectrodes, scanning electron microscopy, surface plasmon resonance and fluorescence microscopy thereby pursuing three objectives: 1) study the interaction of all major oxidoreductases secreted by fungi in regard to electron transfer, regeneration of redox species and substrate cascading; 2) resolve the distribution of secreted oxidoreductases on cellulosic and lignocellulosic substrates at high resolution; 3) transfer the developed techniques to natural lignocellulose samples with growing fungal hyphae and study the secreted oxidoreductase activities. OXIDISE strives to establish new techniques to elucidate the kinetics and interactions of oxidoreductases - a long neglected enzyme class for lignocellulose depolymerisation.

Upregulation of Thioredoxin-Interacting Protein in Brain of Amyloid-β Protein Precursor/Presenilin 1 Transgenic Mice and Amyloid-β Treated Neuronal Cells.

Oxidative stress has been hypothesized to play a role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previously, we found that total nitrosylated protein levels were increased in the brain of amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) and presenilin 1 (PS1) double transgenic mice, an animal model for AD, suggesting that cysteine oxidative protein modification may contribute to this disease. Thioredoxin (Trx) is a major oxidoreductase that can reverse cysteine oxidative modifications such as sulfenylation and nitrosylation, and inhibit oxidative stress. Thioredoxin-interacting protein (Txnip) is an endogenous Trx inhibitor. To understand the involvement of Trx and Txnip in AD development, we investigated Trx and Txnip in the brain of AβPP/PS1 mice. Using immunoblotting analysis, we found that although Trx protein levels were not changed, Txnip protein levels were significantly increased in hippocampus and frontal cortex of 9- and 12-month-old AβPP/PS1 mice when compared to wild-type mice. Txnip protein levels were also increased by amyloid-β treatment in primary cultured mouse cerebral cortical neurons and HT22 mouse hippocampal cells. Using biotin switch and dimedone conjugation methods, we found that amyloid-β treatment increased protein nitrosylation and sulfenylation in HT22 cells. We also found that downregulation of Txnip, using CRISPR/Cas9 method in HT22 cells, attenuated amyloid-β-induced protein nitrosylation and sulfenylation. Our findings suggest that amyloid-β may increase Txnip levels, subsequently inhibiting Trx reducing capability and enhancing protein cysteine oxidative modification. Our findings also indicate that Txnip may be a potential target for the treatment of AD.

Structural Basis of a Thiol-Disulfide Oxidoreductase in the Hedgehog-Forming Actinobacterium Corynebacterium matruchotii

The actinobacterium Corynebacterium matruchotii has been implicated in nucleation of oral microbial consortia leading to biofilm formation. Due to the lack of genetic tools, little is known about basic cellular processes, including protein secretion and folding, in this organism. We report here a survey of the C. matruchotii genome, which encodes a large number of exported proteins containing paired cysteine residues, and identified an oxidoreductase that is highly homologous to the Corynebacterium diphtheriae thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase MdbA (MdbACd). Crystallization studies uncovered that the 1.2-Å resolution structure of C. matruchotii MdbA (MdbACm) possesses two conserved features found in actinobacterial MdbA enzymes, a thioredoxin-like fold and an extended α-helical domain. By reconstituting the disulfide bond-forming machine in vitro, we demonstrated that MdbACm catalyzes disulfide bond formation within the actinobacterial pilin FimA. A new gene deletion method supported that mdbA is essential in C. matruchotii Remarkably, heterologous expression of MdbACm in the C. diphtheriae ΔmdbA mutant rescued its known defects in cell growth and morphology, toxin production, and pilus assembly, and this thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase activity required the catalytic motif CXXC. Altogether, the results suggest that MdbACm is a major thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase, which likely mediates posttranslocational protein folding in C. matruchotii by a mechanism that is conserved in ActinobacteriaIMPORTANCE The actinobacterium Corynebacterium matruchotii has been implicated in the development of oral biofilms or dental plaque; however, little is known about the basic cellular processes in this organism. We report here a high-resolution structure of a C. matruchotii oxidoreductase that is highly homologous to the Corynebacterium diphtheriae thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase MdbA. By biochemical analysis, we demonstrated that C. matruchotii MdbA catalyzes disulfide bond formation in vitro Furthermore, a new gene deletion method revealed that deletion of mdbA is lethal in C. matruchotii Remarkably, C. matruchotii MdbA can replace C. diphtheriae MdbA to maintain normal cell growth and morphology, toxin production, and pilus assembly. Overall, our studies support the hypothesis that C. matruchotii utilizes MdbA as a major oxidoreductase to catalyze oxidative protein folding.

Electron Transport Chain Is Biochemically Linked to Pilus Assembly Required for Polymicrobial Interactions and Biofilm Formation in the Gram-Positive Actinobacterium Actinomyces oris.

ABSTRACTThe Gram-positive actinobacteria Actinomyces spp. are key colonizers in the development of oral biofilms due to the inherent ability of Actinomyces to adhere to receptor polysaccharides on the surface of oral streptococci and host cells. This receptor-dependent bacterial interaction, or coaggregation, requires a unique sortase-catalyzed pilus consisting of the pilus shaft FimA and the coaggregation factor CafA forming the pilus tip. While the essential role of the sortase machine SrtC2 in pilus assembly, biofilm formation, and coaggregation has been established, little is known about trans-acting factors contributing to these processes. We report here a large-scale Tn5 transposon screen for mutants defective in Actinomyces oris coaggregation with Streptococcus oralis. We obtained 33 independent clones, 13 of which completely failed to aggregate with S. oralis, and the remainder of which exhibited a range of phenotypes from severely to weakly defective coaggregation. The former had Tn5 insertions in fimA, cafA, or srtC2, as expected; the latter were mapped to genes coding for uncharacterized proteins and various nuo genes encoding the NADH dehydrogenase subunits. Electron microscopy and biochemical analyses of mutants with nonpolar deletions of nuo genes and ubiE, a menaquinone C-methyltransferase-encoding gene downstream of the nuo locus, confirmed the pilus and coaggregation defects. Both nuoA and ubiE mutants were defective in oxidation of MdbA, the major oxidoreductase required for oxidative folding of pilus proteins. Furthermore, supplementation of the ubiE mutant with exogenous menaquinone-4 rescued the cell growth and pilus defects. Altogether, we propose that the A. oris electron transport chain is biochemically linked to pilus assembly via oxidative protein folding.

Comprehensively Characterizing the Thioredoxin Interactome In Vivo Highlights the Central Role Played by This Ubiquitous Oxidoreductase in Redox Control

Thioredoxin (Trx) is a ubiquitous oxidoreductase maintaining protein-bound cysteine residues in the reduced thiol state. Here, we combined a well-established method to trap Trx substrates with the power of bacterial genetics to comprehensively characterize the in vivo Trx redox interactome in the model bacterium Escherichia coli Using strains engineered to optimize trapping, we report the identification of a total 268 Trx substrates, including 201 that had never been reported to depend on Trx for reduction. The newly identified Trx substrates are involved in a variety of cellular processes, ranging from energy metabolism to amino acid synthesis and transcription. The interaction between Trx and two of its newly identified substrates, a protein required for the import of most carbohydrates, PtsI, and the bacterial actin homolog MreB was studied in detail. We provide direct evidence that PtsI and MreB contain cysteine residues that are susceptible to oxidation and that participate in the formation of an intermolecular disulfide with Trx. By considerably expanding the number of Trx targets, our work highlights the role played by this major oxidoreductase in a variety of cellular processes. Moreover, as the dependence on Trx for reduction is often conserved across species, it also provides insightful information on the interactome of Trx in organisms other than E. coli.

Reversible glutathionylation of Sir2 by monothiol glutaredoxins Grx3/4 regulates stress resistance

The regulatory mechanisms of yeast Sir2, the founding member of the sirtuin family involved in oxidative stress and aging, are unknown. Redox signaling controls many cellular functions, especially under stress situations, with dithiol glutaredoxins (Grxs) playing an important role. However, monothiol Grxs are not considered to have major oxidoreductase activity. The present study investigated the redox regulation of yeast Sir2, together with the role and physiological impact of monothiol Grx3/4 as Sir2 thiol-reductases upon stress. S-glutathionylation of Sir2 upon disulfide stress was demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo, and decreased Sir2 deacetylase activity. Physiological levels of nuclear Grx3/4 can reverse the observed post-translational modification. Grx3/4 interacted with Sir2 and reduced it after stress, thereby restoring telomeric silencing activity. Using site-directed mutagenesis, key cysteine residues at the catalytic domain of Sir2 were identified as a target of S-glutathionylation. Mutation of these residues resulted in cells with increased resistance to disulfide stress. We provide new mechanistic insights into Grx3/4 regulation of Sir2 by S-deglutathionylation to increase cell resistance to stress. This finding offers news perspectives on monothiol Grxs in redox signaling, describing Sir2 as a physiological substrate regulated by S-glutathionylation. These results might have a relevant role in understanding aging and age-related diseases.

Oxygen as Acceptor.

Like most bacteria, Escherichia coli has a flexible and branched respiratory chain that enables the prokaryote to live under a variety of environmental conditions, from highly aerobic to completely anaerobic. In general, the bacterial respiratory chain is composed of dehydrogenases, a quinone pool, and reductases. Substrate-specific dehydrogenases transfer reducing equivalents from various donor substrates (NADH, succinate, glycerophosphate, formate, hydrogen, pyruvate, and lactate) to a quinone pool (menaquinone, ubiquinone, and dimethylmenoquinone). Then electrons from reduced quinones (quinols) are transferred by terminal reductases to different electron acceptors. Under aerobic growth conditions, the terminal electron acceptor is molecular oxygen. A transfer of electrons from quinol to O₂ is served by two major oxidoreductases (oxidases), cytochrome bo₃ encoded by cyoABCDE and cytochrome bd encoded by cydABX. Terminal oxidases of aerobic respiratory chains of bacteria, which use O₂ as the final electron acceptor, can oxidize one of two alternative electron donors, either cytochrome c or quinol. This review compares the effects of different inhibitors on the respiratory activities of cytochrome bo₃ and cytochrome bd in E. coli. It also presents a discussion on the genetics and the prosthetic groups of cytochrome bo₃ and cytochrome bd. The E. coli membrane contains three types of quinones that all have an octaprenyl side chain (C₄₀). It has been proposed that the bo₃ oxidase can have two ubiquinone-binding sites with different affinities. "WHAT'S NEW" IN THE REVISED ARTICLE: The revised article comprises additional information about subunit composition of cytochrome bd and its role in bacterial resistance to nitrosative and oxidative stresses. Also, we present the novel data on the electrogenic function of appBCX-encoded cytochrome bd-II, a second bd-type oxidase that had been thought not to contribute to generation of a proton motive force in E. coli, although its spectral properties closely resemble those of cydABX-encoded cytochrome bd.

Deletion of putative oxidoreductases from Klebsiella pneumoniae J2B could reduce 1,3-propanediol during the production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid from glycerol

Recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae over-expressing 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) dehydrogenase can produce 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), an important platform chemical, from glycerol. However, K. pneumoniae co-produces 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) due to the presence of 1,3-propanediol oxidoreductases, which decreases the titer and yield of 3-HP. Previously, two major oxidoreductases, dhaT and yqhD, were removed from K. pneumoniae; however the mutant still produced a significant amount of 1,3-PDO, indicating the probable existence of other oxidoreductase(s). Genome analysis of K. pneumoniae revealed the presence of five putative oxidoreductases having high amino acid similarities to both DhaT (primary 1,3-propanediol oxidoreductase) and YqhD (aldehyde dehydrogenase). Among them, adhE was highly expressed in the absence of DhaT and YqhD. Additionally, an alkyl hydroperoxide oxidoreductase (ahpF), albeit dissimilar to both DhaT and YqhD, was highly expressed in the absence of DhaT and YqhD. To examine the role of adhE and ahpF in 1,3-PDO production, mutant strains devoid of dhaT, yqhD, ahpF and/or adhE genes were developed. However, these mutants neither reduced the production of 1,3-PDO nor improved the production of 3-HP when engineered to over-express an aldehyde dehydrogenase (KGSADH). These results indicate that, apart from DhaT, YqhD, AhpF and AdhE, K. pneumoniae has other, unknown oxidoreductases that are involved in 1,3-PDO production. It is concluded that complete elimination of 1,3-PDO during 3-HP production from glycerol by K. pneumoniae is highly challenging.

Dissecting the Machinery That Introduces Disulfide Bonds in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

ABSTRACTDisulfide bond formation is required for the folding of many bacterial virulence factors. However, whereas the Escherichia coli disulfide bond-forming system is well characterized, not much is known on the pathways that oxidatively fold proteins in pathogenic bacteria. Here, we report the detailed unraveling of the pathway that introduces disulfide bonds in the periplasm of the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The genome of P. aeruginosa uniquely encodes two DsbA proteins (P. aeruginosa DsbA1 [PaDsbA1] and PaDsbA2) and two DsbB proteins (PaDsbB1 and PaDsbB2). We found that PaDsbA1, the primary donor of disulfide bonds to secreted proteins, is maintained oxidized in vivo by both PaDsbB1 and PaDsbB2. In vitro reconstitution of the pathway confirms that both PaDsbB1 and PaDsbB2 shuttle electrons from PaDsbA1 to membrane-bound quinones. Accordingly, deletion of both P. aeruginosa dsbB1 (PadsbB1) and PadsbB2 is required to prevent the folding of several P. aeruginosa virulence factors and to lead to a significant decrease in pathogenicity. Using a high-throughput proteomic approach, we also analyzed the impact of PadsbA1 deletion on the global periplasmic proteome of P. aeruginosa, which allowed us to identify more than 20 new potential substrates of this major oxidoreductase. Finally, we report the biochemical and structural characterization of PaDsbA2, a highly oxidizing oxidoreductase, which seems to be expressed under specific conditions. By fully dissecting the machinery that introduces disulfide bonds in P. aeruginosa, our work opens the way to the design of novel antibacterial molecules able to disarm this pathogen by preventing the proper assembly of its arsenal of virulence factors.

Production of 3‐hydroxypropionic acid from glycerol by recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae ΔdhaTΔyqhD which can produce vitamin B12 naturally

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is an important platform chemical that can be used to synthesize a range of chemical compounds. A previous study demonstrated that recombinant Escherichia coli stains can produce 3-HP from glycerol in the presence of vitamin B₁₂ (coenzyme B₁₂), when overexpressed with a coenzyme B₁₂-dependent glycerol dehydratase (DhaB) and an aldehyde dehydrogenase. The present study examined the production of 3-HP in recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains, which naturally synthesizes vitamin B₁₂ and does not require supplementation of the expensive vitamin. The NAD⁺-dependent gamma-glutamyl-gamma-aminobutyraldehyde dehydrogenase (PuuC) of K. pneumoniae alone or with its DhaB was overexpressed homologously, and two major oxidoreductases, DhaT and YqhD, were disrupted. Without vitamin B₁₂ addition, the recombinant K. pneumoniae ΔdhaTΔyqhD overexpressing PuuC could produce ∼3.8 g/L 3-HP in 12 h of flask culture. However, this was possible only under the appropriate aeration conditions; 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) (instead of 3-HP) was mainly produced when aeration was insufficient, whereas a very small amount of both 3-HP and 1,3-PDO were produced when aeration was too high. The production of a small amount of 3-HP under improper aeration conditions was attributed to either slow NAD⁺ regeneration (under low aeration) or reduced vitamin B₁₂ synthesis (under high aeration). In a glycerol fed-batch bioreactor experiment under a constant DO of 5%, the strain, K. pneumoniae ΔdhaTΔyqhD, overexpressing both PuuC and DhaB could produce >28 g/L 3-HP in 48 h with a yield of >40% on glycerol. Only small amount of 3-HP was produced when cultivation was carried out at a constant aeration of 1 vvm or constant 10% DO. These results show that K. pneumoniae is potentially useful for the production of 3-HP in an economical culture medium that does not require vitamin B₁₂. The results also suggest that the aeration conditions should be optimized carefully for the efficient production of 3-HP while using this strain.

Oxygen as Acceptor.

Like most bacteria, Escherichia coli has a flexible and branched respiratory chain that enables the prokaryote to live under a variety of environmental conditions, from highly aerobic to completely anaerobic. In general, the bacterial respiratory chain is composed of dehydrogenases, a quinone pool, and reductases. Substrate specific dehydrogenases transfer reducing equivalents from various donor substrates (NADH, succinate, glycerophoshate, formate, hydrogen, pyruvate, and lactate) to a quinone pool (menaquinone, ubiquinone, and demethylmenoquinone). Then electrons from reduced quinones (quinols) are transferred by terminal reductases to different electron acceptors. Under aerobic growth conditions, the terminal electron acceptor is molecular oxygen. A transfer of electrons from quinol to O2 is served by two major oxidoreductases (oxidases), cytochrome bo3 and cytochrome bd. Terminal oxidases of aerobic respiratory chains of bacteria, which use O2 as the final electron acceptor, can oxidize one of two alternative electron donors, either cytochrome c or quinol. This review compares the effects of different inhibitors on the respiratory activities of cytochrome bo3 and cytochrome bd in E. coli. It also presents a discussion on the genetics and the prosthetic groups of cytochrome bo3 and cytochrome bd. The E. coli membrane contains three types of quinones which all have an octaprenyl side chain (C40). It has been proposed that the bo3 oxidase can have two ubiquinone-binding sites with different affinities. The spectral properties of cytochrome bd-II closely resemble those of cydAB-encoded cytochrome bd.

Redox regulation of Ito remodeling in diabetic rat heart

Oxidative stress and the resulting change in cell redox state are proposed to contribute to pathogenic alterations in ion channels that underlie electrical remodeling of the diseased heart. The present study examined whether K(+) channel remodeling is controlled by endogenous oxidoreductase systems that regulate redox-sensitive cell functions. Diabetes was induced in rats by streptozotocin, and experiments were conducted after 3-5 wk of hyperglycemia. Spectrophotometric assays of ventricular tissue extracts from diabetic rat hearts revealed divergent changes in two major oxidoreductase systems. The thioredoxin (TRX) system in diabetic rat heart was characterized by a 52% decrease in TRX reductase (TRXR) activity from control heart (P < 0.05), whereas TRX activity was 1.7-fold greater than control heart (P < 0.05). Diabetes elicited similar changes in the glutaredoxin (GRX) system: glutathione reductase was decreased 35% from control level (P < 0.05), and GRX activity was 2.5-fold greater than in control heart (P < 0.05). The basal activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, which generates NADPH required by the TRX and GRX systems, was not altered by diabetes. Voltage-clamp studies showed that the characteristically decreased density of the transient outward K(+) current (I(to)) in isolated diabetic rat myocytes was normalized by in vitro treatment with insulin (0.1 microM) or the metabolic activator dichloroacetate (1.5 mM). The effect of these agonists on I(to) was blocked by inhibitors of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Moreover, inhibitors of TRXR, which controls the reducing activity of TRX, also blocked upregulation of I(to) by insulin and dichloroacetate. These data suggest that K(+) channels underlying I(to) are regulated in a redox-sensitive manner by the TRX system and the remodeling of I(to) that occurs in diabetes may be due to decreased TRXR activity. We propose that oxidoreductase systems are an important repair mechanism that protects ion channels and associated regulatory proteins from irreversible oxidative damage.

Redox Properties of Protein Disulfide Bonds : Comparison Between Lysozyme and Thioredoxin. a Gamma Radiolysis Study

Thioredoxin is a major oxido-reductase which intervenes in the redox-controlled cellular signalization pathways. Its active site is a thiol-disulfide function. The study of the one-electron reduction of the oxidized protein by gamma radiolysis shows that its behaviour is markedly different from that of other protein disulfides, like those of lysozyme. In order to understand this difference, we have prepared by site-directed mutagenesis two mutant forms ofthioredoxin. We observe that the redox properties of the protein are modulated by the amino acids Asp30 and Trp35.

Identification of cardiac oxidoreductase(s) involved in the metabolism of the lipid peroxidation-derived aldehyde-4-hydroxynonenal.

The aim of this study was to identify the cardiac oxidoreductases involved in the metabolism of 4-hydroxy-2-trans-nonenal (HNE), an alpha,beta unsaturated aldehyde generated during the peroxidation of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. In homogenates of bovine, human and rat ventricles the primary pyridine coenzyme-linked metabolism of HNE was associated with NADPH oxidation. The NADPH-dependent enzyme catalysing HNE reduction was purified to homogeneity from bovine heart. The purified enzyme displayed kinetic and immunological properties identical with the polyol pathway enzyme aldose reductase (AR), and catalysed the reduction of HNE to its alcohol 1,4-dihydroxynonene (DHN), with a Km of 7+/-2 microM. In the presence of NADP the enzyme did not catalyse the oxidation of DHN. During catalysis, HNE did not cause inactivation of AR. Nevertheless when the apoenzyme was incubated with HNE a dissociable complex was formed between the enzyme and HNE, followed by irreversible loss of activity. Inactivation of the enzyme by HNE was prevented by NADP. Partial modification of the enzyme with HNE led to a 17-fold increase in the KHNEm and Kglyceraldehydem, and the HNE-modified enzyme had a 500-fold higher IC50 for sorbinil than for the reduced enzyme, whereas the IC50 for tolrestat increased 25-fold. Incubation of the enzyme with radiolabelled HNE resulted in the incorporation of 2 mol of the aldehyde per mol of the enzyme. Sequence analysis of the radiolabelled peptides revealed modification of Cys-298 and Cys-187. The amino acid sequence of the HNE-modified peptides confirmed that the HNE-reducing cardiac enzyme is AR and not a related protein such as the fibroblast-growth-factor-regulated protein FR-1 or the mouse vas deferens protein MVDP. These results indicate that AR represents the only major oxidoreductase in the heart capable of utilizing HNE. The high affinity of the enzyme for HNE, the lack of inactivation during catalysis, and the lack of significant alcohol dehydrogenase activity of the protein suggests that AR-mediated catalysis of HNE is unlikely to be limited by substrate/product inhibition. Thus AR might constitute an antioxidative enzyme involved in myocardial protection against endogenous and exogenous cytotoxic aldehydes and against oxidative stress.