Hydrolysis Of Substrates Research Articles

Butyrylcholinesterase in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells

Cultured SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells are used in neurotoxicity assays. These cells express markers of the cholinergic and dopaminergic systems. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity has been reported in these cells. Neurotoxic organophosphate compounds that inhibit AChE, also inhibit butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). We confirmed the presence of AChE in the cell lysate by activity assays, Western blot, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) of immunopurified AChE. A nondenaturing gel stained for AChE activity identified the catalytically active AChE in SH-SY5Y cells as the unstable monomer. We also identified immature BChE in the cell lysate. The concentration of active BChE protein was similar to that of active AChE protein. The rate of substrate hydrolysis by AChE was 10-fold higher than substrate hydrolysis by BChE. The higher rate was due to the 10-fold higher specific activity of AChE over BChE (5000 units/mg for AChE; 500 units/mg for BChE). Neither cholinesterase was secreted. Tryptic peptides of immunopurified AChE and BChE were identified by LC-MS/MS on an Orbitrap Lumos Fusion mass spectrometer. The unfolded protein chaperone, binding immunoglobulin protein BiP/GRP78, was identified in the mass spectral data from all cholinesterase samples, suggesting that BiP was co-extracted with cholinesterase. This suggests that the cytoplasmic cholinesterases are immature forms of AChE and BChE that bind to BiP. It was concluded that SH-SY5Y cells express active AChE and active BChE, but the proteins do not mature to glycosylated tetramers.

Data-informed discovery of hydrolytic nanozymes

Nanozyme is a collection of nanomaterials with enzyme-like activity but higher environmental tolerance and long-term stability than their natural counterparts. Improving the catalytic activity and expanding the category of nanozymes are prerequisites to complement or even supersede enzymes. However, the development of hydrolytic nanozymes is still challenged by diverse hydrolytic substrates and following complicated mechanisms. Here, two strategies are informed by data to screen and predict catalytic active sites of MOF (metal–organic framework) based hydrolytic nanozymes: (1) to increase the intrinsic activity by finely tuned Lewis acidity of the metal clusters; (2) to improve the density of active sites by shortening the length of ligands. Finally, as-obtained Ce-FMA-MOF-based hydrolytic nanozyme is capable of cleaving phosphate bonds, amide bonds, glycosidic bonds, and even their mixture, biofilms. This work provides a rational methodology to design hydrolytic nanozyme, enriches the diversity of nanozymes, and potentially sheds light on future evolution of enzyme engineering.

The ATP/Mg2+ Balance Affects the Degradation of Short Fluorogenic Substrates by the 20S Proteasome

Proteasomes hydrolyze most cellular proteins. The standard reaction to determine proteasome activity in cellular lysate or elsewhere contains AMC-conjugated peptide substrate, ATP, Mg2+, and DTT. ATP and Mg2+ are included to maintain 26S proteasome functionality. However, most cellular proteasomes are 20S proteasomes, and the effects of ATP on the turnover of fluorogenic substrates by 20S complexes are largely unknown. Here, we evaluated the effect of ATP alone or in combination with Mg2+ on the degradation of AMC-conjugated fluorogenic substrates by purified 20S proteasomes. Degradation of substrates used to determine chymotrypsin-, caspase- and trypsin-like proteasome activities was gradually decreased with the rise of ATP concentration from 0.25 to 10 mM. These effects were not associated with the blockage of the proteasome catalytic subunit active sites or unspecific alterations of AMC fluorescence by the ATP. However, ATP-induced peptide degradation slowdown was rescued by the addition of Mg2+. Moreover, the substrate degradation efficacy was proportional to the Mg2+/ATP ratio, being equal to control values when equimolar concentrations of the molecules were used. The obtained results indicate that when proteasome activity is assessed, the reciprocal effects of ATP and Mg2+ on the hydrolysis of AMC-conjugated fluorogenic substrates by the 20S proteasomes should be considered.

Effect of three kinds of biological pretreatments on substrate characteristics and sugar yield by enzymatic hydrolysis of Eichhornia crassipes biomass

This study compared the enzymatic saccharification of Eichhornia crassipes (EC) biomass after three kinds of biological pretreatments, i.e. commercial fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium (P. chrysosporium), self-screened degumming bacteria CTS-BQ1, and commercial pectinase pretreatment. The chemical composition and sugar yield under enzymatic hydrolysis of EC substrate were determined. The results showed that P. chrysosporium could oxidize and remove lignin, but consumed part of the cellulose; Self-screened degumming bacteria and commercial pectinase removed part of the non cellulose ingredients, and improved the efficiency of reducing sugar yield of the obtained substrate more apparently than P. chrysosporium. Among the three biological pretreatments, pretreatment by self-screened degumming bacteria was the most suitable one due to its higher reducing sugar yield of 202.99 mg/g substrate, which increased by 25.21 mg/g substrate compared to its control and had a sugar conversion rate of 29.24% based on substrate after pretreatment.

Residue-Specific Incorporation of the Non-Canonical Amino Acid Norleucine Improves Lipase Activity on Synthetic Polyesters.

Environmentally friendly functionalization and recycling processes for synthetic polymers have recently gained momentum, and enzymes play a central role in these procedures. However, natural enzymes must be engineered to accept synthetic polymers as substrates. To enhance the activity on synthetic polyesters, the canonical amino acid methionine in Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus lipase (TTL) was exchanged by the residue-specific incorporation method for the more hydrophobic non-canonical norleucine (Nle). Strutural modelling of TTL revealed that residues Met-114 and Met-142 are in close vicinity of the active site and their replacement by the norleucine could modulate the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Indeed, hydrolysis of the polyethylene terephthalate model substrate by the Nle variant resulted in significantly higher amounts of release products than the Met variant. A similar trend was observed for an ionic phthalic polyester containing a short alkyl diol (C5). Interestingly, a 50% increased activity was found for TTL [Nle] towards ionic phthalic polyesters containing different ether diols compared to the parent enzyme TTL [Met]. These findings clearly demonstrate the high potential of non-canonical amino acids for enzyme engineering.

The Enhanced Expression of Cruzipain-Like Molecules in the Phytoflagellate Phytomonas serpens Recovered From the Invertebrate and Plant Hosts.

Phytomonas serpens is a protozoan parasite that alternates its life cycle between two hosts: an invertebrate vector and the tomato fruit. This phytoflagellate is able to synthesize proteins displaying similarity to the cysteine peptidase named cruzipain, an important virulence factor from Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease. Herein, the growth of P. serpens in complex medium (BHI) supplemented with natural tomato extract (NTE) resulted in the increased expression of cysteine peptidases, as verified by the hydrolysis of the fluorogenic substrate Z-Phe-Arg-AMC and by gelatin-SDS-PAGE. Phytoflagellates showed no changes in morphology, morphometry and viability, but the proliferation was slightly reduced when cultivated in the presence of NTE. The enhanced proteolytic activity was accompanied by a significant increase in the expression of cruzipain-like molecules, as verified by flow cytometry using anti-cruzipain antibodies. In parallel, parasites incubated under chemically defined conditions (PBS supplemented with glucose) and added of different concentration of NTE revealed an augmentation in the production of cruzipain-like molecules in a typically dose-dependent way. Similarly, P. serpens recovered from the infection of mature tomatoes showed an increase in the expression of molecules homologous to cruzipain; however, cells showed a smaller size compared to parasites grown in BHI medium. Furthermore, phytoflagellates incubated with dissected salivary glands from Oncopeltus fasciatus or recovered from the hemolymph of infected insects also showed a strong enhance in the expression of cruzipain-like molecules that is more relevant in the hemolymph. Collectively, our results showed that cysteine peptidases displaying similarities to cruzipain are more expressed during the life cycle of the phytoflagellate P. serpens both in the invertebrate and plant hosts.

Evaluating the mechanism of milk protein as an efficient lignin blocker for boosting the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic substrates

The residual lignin in pretreated biomass significantly hinders the bio-conversion of cellulose into monosaccharides.

APPLICATION OF SUPER-CROSSLINKED POLYMERS AS CARRIERS OF HETEROGENEOUS BIOCATALYSTS FOR INULINHYDROLYSIS REACTION

n this work the study of adsorption immobilization of inulinase on super-crosslinked macroporous sorbents based on styrene and divinylbenzene: low-base anion exchanger A100, high-base anion exchanger A500R, strong acid cation exchanger C100H was carried out. The influence of the duration of the sorption process, the value of the concentration of hydrogen ions and the concentration of protein in solution on the amount of immobilized enzyme and the activity of the obtained heterogeneous biocatalysts is considered. It was revealed that adsorption reaches its max-imum value on average after 4 h at pH of 4.7-5.0 for the sorbents under consideration. The activity of the obtained heterogeneous biocatalysts is 64.8-83.5% of the activity of free inulinase. Although the activity of inulinase during adsorption on the polymer carriers used in the work decreases, the integral amount of the resulting product will be higher than for the native catalyst.The isotherms of inulinase adsorption on super-crosslinked polymers have been studied. The high stability of the obtained heterogeneous biocatalysts is explained by the high sorption capacity of super-crosslinkedsorbents. It was revealed that immobilized inulinase can be used during 8-11 consecutive cycles of the substrate hydrolysis reaction.Using the BET adsorption theory, the enzyme sorption isotherms were analyzed and the equilibrium sorption parameters werecalculated: the maximum amount of sorbed inulinase, the constants characterizing the sorbate-sorbent and sorbate-sorbate interaction. Among the considered carriers, the highest value of the sorption equilibrium constant (KL=4.25±0.04 l/mmol) corresponds to the inulinase-cation exchanger biocatalyst, the sorption ca-pacity of which is also the largest. The data obtained is of interest for evaluating the effectiveness of the use of sorbents as inulinase carriers in subsequent technological operations of processing of inulin-containing raw materials.

Calcium peroxide significantly enhances volatile solids destruction in aerobic sludge digestion through improving sludge biodegradability

This work put up a novel strategy of applying calcium peroxide (CaO2) in aerobic sludge digestion and provided insights into such system. The degradation percentage of sludge and total inorganic nitrogen production in the digesters with CaO2 at 0.02 g/g-VS-WAS increased by 25.8% and 18.8% of control. CaO2 addition allowed various key microbes related to organics degradation to accumulate in the system. Moreover, the modelling and chemical (i.e., excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence and fourier transformation spectroscopy (FTIR)) analyses revealed that CaO2 addition enhanced sludge biodegradability with more release of biodegradable organics and increased degradation of recalcitrant organics, which can be transformed into biodegradable organics with the action of CaO2. Subsequent transformation test indicated that CaO2 enabled to promote hydrolysis and catabolism of biodegradable substrates in sludge. Further investigations on function mechanism suggested that CaO2 carried on positive action for sludge aerobic digestion mainly through the enhancement by ·OH.

Investigation of The Activity of Lipase Variants on Different 4-Nitrophenyl Esters by Spectrophotometric Assay

Microbial enzymes are important tools that are frequently used in the field of biotechnology. These microbial enzymes, which play a role in intracellular biological reactions, are used in many different industries. Lipase, proteases and amylases are important members of hydrolytic enzymes. Lipase enzyme, which has the most common usage area among hydrolytic enzymes, is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of ester bonds between lipid molecules. The activity of lipase enzyme is commonly measured by spectrophotometric method. P-nitrophenol esters are commonly preferred for kinetic analysis. In the spectrophotometric analysis method, the colored product is measured as a result of the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenol ester substrates by the lipase enzyme. In this study, p-nitrophenyl acetate (Acetic acid 4-nitrophenyl ester), p-nitrophenyl butyrate (Butyric acid 4-nitrophenyl ester), p-nitrophenyl octanoate (Octanoic acid 4-nitrophenyl ester, 4 -Nitrophenyl caprylate), p-nitrophenyl dodecanoate (Dodecanoic acid 4-nitrophenyl ester), p-nitrophenyl palmitate (p-Nitrophenyl palmitate, Hexadecanoic acid 4-nitrophenyl ester) substrates were used. The products formed as a result of incubation of substrates with different carbon lengths with lipase enzyme periods were measured spectrophotometrically. Trials were carried out at 25°C between 5min-120min. As a result of the experiments carried out in four repetitions, it was determined that the activity of the lipase enzyme varies according to the length of the carbon chain of the substrates. Vmax values of wild lipase enzyme were calculated as 0.42 U/mg protein, 0.95 U/mg protein, 1.1 U/mg protein, 0.78 U/mg protein, 0.18 U/mg protein for pNP-acetate, pNP-buritate, pNP-octanoate, pNP-dodecanoate, pNP-palmitate, respectively. It was determined that the activity of lipase enzyme on p-nitrophenyl palmitate was very low. It was determined that the activity of wild lipase enzyme on the eight-carbon chain pNP-octanoate substrate was higher than the other substrates.

PA28γ-20S proteasome is a proteolytic complex committed to degrade unfolded proteins.

PA28γ is a nuclear activator of the 20S proteasome that, unlike the 19S regulatory particle, stimulates hydrolysis of several substrates in an ATP- and ubiquitin-independent manner and whose exact biological functions and molecular mechanism of action still remain elusive. In an effort to shed light on these important issues, we investigated the stimulatory effect of PA28γ on the hydrolysis of different fluorogenic peptides and folded or denatured full-length proteins by the 20S proteasome. Importantly, PA28γ was found to dramatically enhance breakdown rates by 20S proteasomes of several naturally or artificially unstructured proteins, but not of their native, folded counterparts. Furthermore, these data were corroborated by experiments in cell lines with a nucleus-tagged myelin basic protein. Finally, mass spectrometry analysis of the products generated during proteasomal degradation of two proteins demonstrated that PA28γ does not increase, but rather decreases, the variability of peptides that are potentially suitable for MHC class I antigen presentation. These unexpected findings indicate that global stimulation of the degradation of unfolded proteins may represent a more general feature of PA28γ and suggests that this proteasomal activator might play a broader role in the pathway of protein degradation than previously believed.

Optimal pH 8.5 to 9 for the Hydrolysis of Vixotrigine and Other Basic Substrates of Carboxylesterase-1 in Human Liver Microsomes

Vixotrigine is a voltage- and use-dependent sodium channel blocker under investigation for the potential treatment of neuropathic pain. One of the major in vivo metabolic pathways of vixotrigine in humans is the hydrolysis of the carboxamide to form the carboxylic acid metabolite M14. The in vitro formation of M14 in human hepatocytes was inhibited by the carboxylesterase (CES) inhibitor Bis(4-nitrophenyl) phosphate in a concentration-dependent manner. The hydrolysis reaction was identified to be catalyzed by recombinant human CES1b. Initial observation of only trace level formation of M14 in human liver microsomes at pH 7.4 caused us to doubt the involvement of CES1, an enzyme localized at the endoplasmic reticulum and the dominant carboxylesterase in human liver. Further investigation has revealed that optimal pH for the hydrolysis of vixotrigine and two other basic substrates of CES1, methylphenidate and oseltamivir, in human liver microsomes was pH 8.5 to 9 which is higher than their respective pKa(base), suggesting that neutral form of basic substrates is probably preferred for CES1 catalysis in liver microsomes.

Effective hydrolysis of polysaccharides by activated attapulgite

AbstractBACKGROUNDHydrolysis of polysaccharides is a key step in biorefineries processes. In this study, an economic and green approach was developed to hydrolyze soluble polysaccharides (starch, inulin, etc.) into monosaccharides by a natural clay of attapulgite (ATP) modified with H2SO4(ATPS), and the catalysts were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT‐IR), Pyridine FTIR Spectroscopy (pyridine‐FTIR), Temperature Programmed Desorption of Ammonia (NH3‐TPD), Thermo‐Gravimetric/Differential Thermal Analyze (TG‐DTA). The hydrolysis of different substrate over ATP‐S was evaluated.RESULTSAfter H2SO4 modification, the total acid sites of the catalyst ATP‐S increased from 65.33 to 109.46 umol g–1, and the surface area also increased from 81.4 to 137.3 m2 g–1. ATP‐S shows excellent activity and stability for polysaccharides hydrolysis in aqueous system. As for inulin as reactant, 98.5% of hydrolysis ratio was obtained at the moderate temperature of 95 °C for 210 min, and 75.8% hydrolysis ratio was achieved for starch. More importantly, there is no apparent decline of the catalytic activity after 4 recycles in aqueous system. In addition, the kinetic analysis was carried out, and the activation energy of the substrates were calculated.CONCLUSIONCompared with other hydrolysis processes involving enzymes and homogeneous catalysis, the process in this paper is more cost‐efficient and environmentally friendly, and it can easily be scaled‐up and implemented in chemical and bio‐based industries. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

Phenylalanine 314 is essential for the activity of maltogenic amylase from Corallococcus sp. EGB.

Maltogenic amylase CoMA from Corallococcus sp. strain EGB catalyzes the hydrolysis and transglycosylation of maltooligosaccharides and soluble starch into maltose, the sole hydrolysate. This process yields pure maltose with potentially wide applications. Here, we identified and evaluated the role of phenylalanine 314 (F314), a key amino acid located near the active center, in the catalytic activities of the CoMA. Site-directed mutagenesis analysis showed that the activity of a F314L mutant on potato starch substrate decreased to 26% of that of wild-type protein. Compared with the wild-type, F314L exhibited similar substrate specificity, hydrolysis pattern, pH, and temperature requirements. Circular dichroism spectrum data showed that the F314L mutation did not affect the structure of the folded protein. In addition, kinetic analysis demonstrated that F314L exhibited an increased Km value with lower substrate affinity. Homology modeling showed that the benzene ring structure of F314L was involved in π-π conjugation, which might potentially affect the affinity of CoMA toward starch. Taken together, these data demonstrated that F314 is essential for the hydrolytic activity of the CoMA from Corallococcus sp. strain EGB.

Fluorine-free synthesis of Ti3C2 MQDs for smartphone-based fluorescent and colorimetric determination of acetylcholinesterase and organophosphorus pesticides.

Ti3C2 MQDs were synthesized using an effective fluorine-free method with excitation/emission maxima at 390/490nm and a fluorescence quantum yield of 11.78%. In contrast to the traditional, hazardous, and time-consuming process of HF pretreatment, our fluorine-free method is safe and simple. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) could catalyze the hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine (ATCh) to produce thiocholine which was further reacted with Ehrman's reagent and decomposed to form a yellow product 2-nitro-5-thiobenate anion (TNB). Due to the obvious overlap between the excitation spectrum of Ti3C2 MQDs and the absorption spectrum of TNB, AChE catalyzed the hydrolysis of substrate DTNB/ATCh to form TNB, which can effectively quench the fluorescence of Ti3C2 MQDs through the inner filter effect (IFE). However, the presence of organophosphorus (OPs) inhibited the activity of AChE, leading to a less expressed IFE and increasing recovery of fluorescence. This was used for the quantification of OPs witha detection limit of 0.20μg·L-1. Moreover, with the constant increase of AChE activity, the color of the reaction system changed visibly from colorless to yellow, and then from yellow to colorless with further continuous addition of OPs. A colorimetric detection with a paper-based sensor of AChE activity and OP concentration was also fabricated by analyzing changes in RGB value using a smartphoneAPP. In this work, we proposed an effective fluorescence/colorimetric two-mode detection method, which opened a new horizon to detect other targets.

Characterization of \u03b2-galactosidase and \u03b1-galactosidase activities from the halophilic bacterium Gracilibacillus dipsosauri

PurposeGracilibacillus dipsosauri strain DD1 is a salt-tolerant Gram-positive bacterium that can hydrolyze the synthetic substrates o-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside (β-ONP-galactose) and p-nitrophenyl-α-d-galactopyranoside (α-PNP-galactose). The goals of this project were to characterize the enzymes responsible for these activities and to identify the genes encoding them.MethodsG. dipsosauri strain DD1 was grown in tryptic soy broth containing various carbohydrates at 37 °C with aeration. Enzyme activities in cell extracts and whole cells were measured colorimetrically by hydrolysis of synthetic substrates containing nitrophenyl moieties. Two enzymes with β-galactosidase activity and one with α-galactosidase activity were partially purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion-exchange chromatography, and gel-filtration chromatography from G. dipsosauri. Coomassie Blue-stained bands corresponding to each activity were excised from nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels and subjected to peptide sequencing after trypsin digestion and HPLC/MS analysis.ResultFormation of β-galactosidase and α-galactosidase activities was repressed by d-glucose and not induced by lactose or d-melibiose. β-Galactosidase I had hydrolytic and transgalactosylation activity with lactose as the substrate but β-galactosidase II showed no activity towards lactose. The α-galactosidase had hydrolytic and transgalactosylation activity with d-melibiose but not with d-raffinose. β-Galactosidase I had a lower Km with β-ONP-galactose as the substrate (0.693 mmol l−1) than β-galactosidase II (1.662 mmol l−1), was active at more alkaline pH, and was inhibited by the product d-galactose. β-Galactosidase II was active at more acidic pH, was partially inhibited by ammonium salts, and showed higher activity with α-PNP-arabinose as a substrate. The α-galactosidase had a low Km with α-PNP-galactose as the substrate (0.338 mmol l−1), a pH optimum of about 7, and was inhibited by chloride-containing salts. β-Galactosidase I activity was found to be due to the protein A0A317L6F0 (encoded by gene DLJ74_04930), β-galactosidase II activity to the protein A0A317KZG3 (encoded by gene DLJ74_12640), and the α-galactosidase activity to the protein A0A317KU47 (encoded by gene DLJ74_17745).ConclusionsG. dipsosauri forms three intracellular enzymes with different physiological properties which are responsible for the hydrolysis of β-ONP-galactose and α-PNP-galactose. BLAST analysis indicated that similar β-galactosidases may be formed by G. ureilyticus, G. orientalis, and G. kekensis and similar α-galactosidases by these bacteria and G. halophilus.

Using poly(N-Vinylcaprolactam) to Improve the Enzymatic Hydrolysis Efficiency of Phenylsulfonic Acid-Pretreated Bamboo.

Chemical pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis has been regarded as a viable way to produce fermentable sugars. Phenylsulfonic acid (PSA) pretreatment could efficiently fractionate the non-cellulosic components (hemicelluloses and lignin) from bamboo and result in increased cellulose accessibility that was 10 times that of untreated bamboo. However, deposited lignin could trigger non-productive adsorption to enzymes, which therefore significantly decreased the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of PSA-pretreated bamboo substrates. Herein, poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PNVCL), a non-ionic surfactant, was developed as a novel additive for overcoming the non-productive adsorption of lignin during enzymatic hydrolysis. PNVCL was found to be not only more effective than those of commonly used lignosulfonate and polyvinyl alcohol for overcoming the negative effect of lignin, but also comparable to the robust Tween 20 and bovine serum albumin additives. A PNVCL loading at 1.2 g/L during enzymatic hydrolysis of PSA pretreated bamboo substrate could achieve an 80% cellulosic enzymatic conversion and meanwhile reduce the cellulase loading by three times as compared to that without additive. Mechanistic investigations indicated that PNVCL could block lignin residues through hydrophobic interactions and the resultant PNVCL coating resisted the adsorption of cellulase via electrostatic repulsion and/or hydration. This practical method can improve the lignocellulosic enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency and thereby increase the productivity and profitability of biorefinery.

Structural and mechanistic insights into the substrate specificity and hydrolysis of GH31 α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase

Glycoside hydrolase family 31 (GH31) is a diversified family of anomer-retaining α-glycoside hydrolases, such as α-glucosidase and α-xylosidase, among others. Recently, GH31 α-N-acetylgalactosaminidases (Nag31s) have been identified to hydrolyze the core of mucin-type O-glycans and the crystal structure of a gut bacterium Enterococcus faecalis Nag31 has been reported. However, the mechanisms of substrate specificity and hydrolysis of Nag31s are not well investigated. Herein, we show that E. faecalis Nag31 has the ability to release N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) from O-glycoproteins, such as fetuin and mucin, but has low activity against Tn antigen. Mutational analysis and crystal structures of the Michaelis complexes reveal that residues of the active site work in concert with their conformational changes to act on only α-N-acetylgalactosaminides. Docking simulations using GalNAc-attached peptides suggest that the enzyme mainly recognizes GalNAc and side chains of Ser/Thr, but not strictly other peptide residues. Moreover, quantum mechanics calculations indicate that the enzyme preferred p-nitrophenyl α-N-acetylgalactosaminide to Tn antigen and that the hydrolysis progresses through a conformational itinerary, 4C1 → 1S3 → 4C1, in GalNAc of substrates. Our results provide novel insights into the diversification of the sugar recognition and hydrolytic mechanisms of GH31 enzymes.

Synthesis and Characterization of CoII Macrocycles and its Use for Promoting Hydrolysis of Esters

The design and synthesis of hydrolytically active macrocycles mimic the substrate selectivity and rate enhancements for the hydrolysis of various organic substrates in high/low temperatures and extreme pH conditions, which is extremely challenging. In the present study, we synthesized two CoIIHMTAA-14 and CoIIHMTAA-16 macrocycles (HMTAA=hexamethyl-dibenzo-tetraaza-azulene) and used them to promote the hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl-2-benzamide carbonate and 4-nitrophenyl-4-benzamide carbonate esters. The effect of pH on hydrolysis of the carbonate esters was also studied at different pH 4.0, 6.5, and 8.5. The results of these studies showed that the reaction follows the first order with respect to ester concentration and is independent of the medium pH and water concentration. For the account of mechanism, hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl-2-benzamide carbonate and 4-nitrophenyl-4-benzamide carbonate proceeds either through oxygen or nitrogen intermolecular attack and normal H2O or OH- attacks, respectively. The plots of logkobs vs. pKa of the conjugate acid nucleophile showed leveling beyond pKa of about β = 0.3. The present macrocyclic complexes were found to provide enhanced hydrolysis of the esters.

Dimeric architecture of maltodextrin glucosidase (MalZ) provides insights into the substrate recognition and hydrolysis mechanism

Maltodextrin glucosidase (MalZ) is a key enzyme in the maltose utilization pathway in Escherichia coli that liberates glucose from the reducing end of the short malto-oligosaccharides. Unlike other enzymes in the GH13_21 subfamily, the hydrolytic activity of MalZ is limited to maltodextrin rather than long starch substrates, forming various transglycosylation products in α-1,3, α-1,4 or α-1,6 linkages. The mechanism for the substrate binding and hydrolysis of this enzyme is not well understood yet. Here, we present the dimeric crystal structure of MalZ, with the N-domain generating a unique substrate binding groove. The N-domain bears CBM34 architecture and forms a part of the active site in the catalytic domain of the adjacent molecule. The groove found between the N-domain and catalytic domain from the adjacent molecule, shapes active sites suitable for short malto-oligosaccharides, but hinders long stretches of oligosaccharides. The conserved residue of E44 protrudes at subsite +2, elucidating the hydrolysis pattern of the substrate by the glucose unit from the reducing end. The structural analysis provides a molecular basis for the substrate specificity and the enzymatic property, and has potential industrial application for protein engineering.