Oxygen-dependent desulphation of monomethyl sulphate by Agrobacterium sp. M3C

Sulfatases: Structure, Mechanism, Biological Activity, Inhibition, and Synthetic Utility

Sulfatases, which cleave sulfate esters in biological systems, play a key role in regulating the sulfation states that determine the function of many physiological molecules. Sulfatase substrates range from small cytosolic steroids, such as estrogen sulfate, to complex cell-surface carbohydrates, such as the glycosaminoglycans. The transformation of these molecules has been linked with important cellular functions, including hormone regulation, cellular degradation, and modulation of signaling pathways. Sulfatases have also been implicated in the onset of various pathophysiological conditions, including hormone-dependent cancers, lysosomal storage disorders, developmental abnormalities, and bacterial pathogenesis. These findings have increased interest in sulfatases and in targeting them for therapeutic endeavors. Although numerous sulfatases have been identified, the wide scope of their biological activity is only beginning to emerge. Herein, accounts of the diversity and growing biological relevance of sulfatases are provided along with an overview of the current understanding of sulfatase structure, mechanism, and inhibition.

Characterization of a sulfur-regulated oxygenative alkylsulfatase from Pseudomonas putida S-313

The atsK gene of Pseudomonas putida S-313 was required for growth with alkyl sulfate esters as sulfur source. The AtsK protein was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Sequence analysis revealed that AtsK was closely related to E. coli taurine dioxygenase (38% amino acid identity). The AtsK protein catalyzed the alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent cleavage of a range of alkyl sulfate esters, with chain lengths ranging from C(4) to C(12), required oxygen and Fe(2+) for activity and released succinate, sulfate, and the corresponding aldehyde as products. Enzyme activity was optimal at pH 7 and was strongly stimulated by ascorbate. Unlike most other characterized alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases, AtsK accepted a range of alpha-keto acids as co-substrates, including alpha-ketoglutarate (K(m) 140 microm), alpha-ketoadipate, alpha-ketovalerate, and alpha-ketooctanoate. The measured K(m) values for hexyl sulfate and SDS were 40 and 34 microm, respectively. The apparent M(r) of the purified enzyme of 121,000 was consistent with a homotetrameric structure, which is unusual for this enzyme superfamily, members of which are usually monomeric or dimeric. The properties and amino acid sequence of the AtsK enzyme thus define it as an unusual oxygenolytic alkylsulfatase and a novel member of the alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase family.

Riding the sulfur cycle--metabolism of sulfonates and sulfate esters in gram-negative bacteria

Sulfonates and sulfate esters are widespread in nature, and make up over 95% of the sulfur content of most aerobic soils. Many microorganisms can use sulfonates and sulfate esters as a source of sulfur for growth, even when they are unable to metabolize the carbon skeleton of the compounds. In these organisms, expression of sulfatases and sulfonatases is repressed in the presence of sulfate, in a process mediated by the LysR-type regulator protein CysB, and the corresponding genes therefore constitute an extension of the cys regulon. Additional regulator proteins required for sulfonate desulfonation have been identified in Escherichia coli (the Cbl protein) and Pseudomonas putida (the AsfR protein). Desulfonation of aromatic and aliphatic sulfonates as sulfur sources by aerobic bacteria is oxygen-dependent, carried out by the alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent taurine dioxygenase, or by one of several FMNH(2)-dependent monooxygenases. Desulfurization of condensed thiophenes is also FMNH(2)-dependent, both in the rhodococci and in two Gram-negative species. Bacterial utilization of aromatic sulfate esters is catalyzed by arylsulfatases, most of which are related to human lysosomal sulfatases and contain an active-site formylglycine group that is generated post-translationally. Sulfate-regulated alkylsulfatases, by contrast, are less well characterized. Our increasing knowledge of the sulfur-regulated metabolism of organosulfur compounds suggests applications in practical fields such as biodesulfurization, bioremediation, and optimization of crop sulfur nutrition.

A 13C-NMR study of the mechanism of bacterial metabolism of monomethyl sulfate

Two different mechanisms have been proposed previously for initiating the biodegradation of monomethyl sulfate (MeSO4) in bacteria. For a Hyphomicrobium species, a sulfatase enzyme has been proposed to hydrolyse MeSO4 to methanol and inorganic sulfate. For an Agrobacterium sp., an alternative proposal involves monooxygenation of MeSO4 (hydroxylation) to produce methanediol monosulfate, which decomposes spontaneously to formaldehyde and inorganic sulfate. In the present study, 13C-NMR was used to monitor metabolic intermediates of [13C]MeSO4 in real time in each species in order to resolve the issue of mechanism of biodegradation. Agrobacterium sp. M3C grew on MeSO4 but not on methanol. MeSO4-grown cells catabolised [13C]MeSO4 but not [13C]methanol, and [13C]methanol did not accumulate from MeSO4 in the presence of a known inhibitor of methanol dehydrogenase (cyclopropanol). Hyphomicrobium MS223 grew on MeSO4 and, in contrast with the Agrobacterium sp., also on methanol. The normally rapid metabolism of [13C]methanol by methanol-grown cells was arrested by cyclopropanol, but metabolism of [13C]MeSO4 by MeSO4-grown cells was unaffected. Moreover there was no accumulation of [13C]methanol from [13C]MeSO4 under conditions in which methanol dehydrogenase was shown to be inactive. The results provided strong evidence against the intermediacy of methanol in the biodegradation of MeSO4 in either species, and thereby render untenable mechanisms involving sulfatase-mediated hydrolysis of MeSO4. The data are consistent with the hydroxylation of MeSO4 via a monooxygenation mechanism and subsequent spontaneous hydrolysis of the methanediol monosulfate intermediate.

Purification and characterization of the short-chain alkylsulphatase of coryneform B1a

Using a combination of streptomycin sulphate precipitation, and DEAE-cellulose and butyl-agarose chromatography, an alkylsulphatase active towards short-chain alkyl sulphates has been purified approx. 70-fold from extracts of coryneform B1a grown on butyl-1-sulphate. The enzyme protein is dimeric with a subunit molecular mass of 77.6 kDa, has an isoelectric point of pI 7.2, and converts butyl-1-sulphate stoichiometrically into butan-1-ol and inorganic sulphate. Stoichiometric incorporation of 18O from H2(18)O into sulphate during the reaction showed that enzymic hydrolysis occurred at the O-S bond of the C-O-S ester linkage. The enzyme was active on C3-C7 linear primary alkyl sulphates but not on higher (C8,9) or lower (C1,2) homologues, although the latter pair were competitive inhibitors. The specificity constant (kcat./Km) was highest for pentyl sulphate (Km 1.89 +/- 0.38 mM; kcat. 6.86 +/- 0.52 s-1) and decreased for higher and lower homologues. No activity was detected towards C3-C9 racemic alkyl-2-sulphates, D- or L-enantiomers of butyl-2-sulphate, the symmetrical secondary alkyl sulphates pentyl-3-sulphate, heptyl-4-sulphate, nonyl-5-sulphate, C1-C8 alkane sulphonates, choline sulphate, or butyric acid-4-sulphate; none of these compounds (except the symmetrical esters and butyric acid-4-sulphate, which were not tested) was demonstrably inhibitory. The enzyme was compared with other alkylsulphatases in terms of substrate specificity and mode of action.