Characterization of a bifunctional cytidine 5'-monophosphate N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase cloned from Streptococcus agalactiae

Catalytic Cycle of Neisseria meningitidis CMP-Sialic Acid Synthetase Illustrated by High-Resolution Protein Crystallography

Cytidine 5'-monophosphate (CMP)-sialic acid synthetase (CSS) is an essential enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates containing sialic acids, a class of α-keto acids that are generally terminal key recognition residues by many proteins that play important biological and pathological roles. The CSS from Neisseria meningitidis (NmCSS) has been commonly used with other enzymes such as sialic acid aldolase and/or sialyltransferase in synthesizing a diverse array of compounds containing sialic acid or its naturally occurring and non-natural derivatives. To better understand its catalytic mechanism and substrate promiscuity, four NmCSS crystal structures trapped at various stages of the catalytic cycle with bound substrates, substrate analogues, and products have been obtained and are presented here. These structures suggest a mechanism for an "open" and "closed" conformational transition that occurs as sialic acid binds to the NmCSS/cytidine-5'-triphosphate (CTP) complex. The closed conformation positions critical residues to help facilitate the nucleophilic attack of sialic acid C2-OH to the α-phosphate of CTP, which is also aided by two observed divalent cations. Product formation drives the active site opening, promoting the release of products.

Structural and functional characterization of CMP-N-acetylneuraminate synthetase from Vibrio cholerae

Several pathogenic bacteria utilize sialic acid, including host-derived N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), in at least two ways: they use it as a nutrient source and as a host-evasion strategy by coating themselves with Neu5Ac. Given the significant role of sialic acid in pathogenesis and host-gut colonization by various pathogenic bacteria, including Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Pasteurella multocida and Vibrio cholerae, several enzymes of the sialic acid catabolic, biosynthetic and incorporation pathways are considered to be potential drug targets. In this work, findings on the structural and functional characterization of CMP-N-acetylneuraminate synthetase (CMAS), a key enzyme in the incorporation pathway, from Vibrio cholerae are reported. CMAS catalyzes the synthesis of CMP-sialic acid by utilizing CTP and sialic acid. Crystal structures of the apo and the CDP-bound forms of the enzyme were determined, which allowed the identification of the metal cofactor Mg2+ in the active site interacting with CDP and the invariant Asp215 residue. While open and closed structural forms of the enzyme from eukaryotic and other bacterial species have already been characterized, a partially closed structure of V. cholerae CMAS (VcCMAS) observed upon CDP binding, representing an intermediate state, is reported here. The kinetic data suggest that VcCMAS is capable of activating the two most common sialic acid derivatives, Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc. Amino-acid sequence and structural comparison of the active site of VcCMAS with those of eukaryotic and other bacterial counterparts reveal a diverse hydrophobic pocket that interacts with the C5 substituents of sialic acid. Analyses of the thermodynamic signatures obtained from the binding of the nucleotide (CTP) and the product (CMP-sialic acid) to VcCMAS provide fundamental information on the energetics of the binding process.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae Has Evolved Preferential Use of N-Acetylneuraminic Acid as a Host Adaptation

Host-adapted bacterial pathogens such as NTHi cannot survive out of their host environment and have evolved host-specific mechanisms to obtain nutrients and evade the immune response. Relatively few of these host adaptations have been characterized at the molecular level. NTHi utilizes sialic acid as a nutrient and also incorporates this sugar into LOS, which is important in biofilm formation and immune evasion. In the present study, we showed that NTHi has evolved to preferentially utilize the Neu5Ac form of sialic acid. This adaptation is due to the substrate preference of the enzyme CMP-Neu5Ac synthetase, which synthesizes the activated form of Neu5Ac for macromolecule biosynthesis. This adaptation allows NTHi to evade killing by a human antibody response against the nonhuman sialic acid Neu5Gc.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a Gram-negative bacterial pathogen that is adapted exclusively to human hosts. NTHi utilizes sialic acid from the host as a carbon source and as a terminal sugar on the outer membrane glycolipid lipooligosaccharide (LOS). Sialic acid expressed on LOS is critical in NTHi biofilm formation and immune evasion. There are two major forms of sialic acids in most mammals, N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), the latter of which is derived from Neu5Ac. Humans lack the enzyme to convert Neu5Ac to Neu5Gc and do not express Neu5Gc in normal tissues; instead, Neu5Gc is recognized as a foreign antigen. A recent study showed that dietary Neu5Gc can be acquired by NTHi colonizing humans and then presented on LOS, which acts as an antigen for the initial induction of anti-Neu5Gc antibodies. Here we examined Neu5Gc uptake and presentation on NTHi LOS. We show that, although Neu5Gc and Neu5Ac are utilized equally well as sole carbon sources, Neu5Gc is not incorporated efficiently into LOS. When equal amounts of Neu5Gc and Neu5Ac are provided in culture media, there is ∼4-fold more Neu5Ac incorporated into LOS, suggesting a bias in a step of the LOS biosynthetic pathway. CMP-Neu5Ac synthetase (SiaB) was shown to have ∼4,000-fold-higher catalytic efficiency for Neu5Ac than for Neu5Gc. These data suggest that NTHi has adapted preferential utilization of Neu5Ac, thus avoiding presentation of the nonhuman Neu5Gc in the bacterial cell surface. The selective pressure for this adaptation may represent the human antibody response to the Neu5Gc xenoantigen.

Diverse subcellular localizations of the insect CMP-sialic acid synthetases

The occurrence and biological importance of sialic acid (Sia) and its metabolic enzymes in insects have been studied using Drosophila melanogaster. The most prominent feature of D. melanogaster CMP-Sia synthetase (DmCSS) is its Golgi-localization, contrasted with nuclear localization of vertebrate CSSs. However, it remains unclear if the Golgi-localization is common to other insect CSSs and why it happens. To answer these questions, Aedes aegypti (mosquito) CSS (AaCSS) and Tribolium castaneum (beetle) CSS (TcCSS) were cloned and characterized for their activity and subcellular localization. Our new findings show: (1) AaCSS and TcCSS share a common overall structure with DmCSS in terms of evolutionarily conserved motifs and the absence of the C-terminal domain typical to vertebrate CSSs; (2) when expressed in mammalian and insect cells, AaCSS and TcCSS showed in vivo and in vitro CSS activities, similar to DmCSS. In contrast, when expressed in bacteria, they lacked CSS activity because the N-terminal hydrophobic region appeared to induce protein aggregation; (3) when expressed in Drosophila S2 cells, AaCSS and TcCSS were predominantly localized in the ER, but not in the Golgi. Surprisingly, DmCSS was mainly secreted into the culture medium, although partially detected in Golgi. Consistent with these results, the N-terminal hydrophobic regions of AaCSS and TcCSS functioned as a signal peptide to render them soluble in the ER, while the N-terminus of DmCSS functioned as a membrane-spanning region of type II transmembrane proteins whose cytosolic KLK sequence functioned as an ER export signal. Accordingly, the differential subcellular localization of insect CSSs are distinctively more diverse than previously recognized.

CMP-Sialic Acid Synthetase: The Point of Constriction in the Sialylation Pathway

Sialoglycoconjugates form the outermost layer of animal cells and play a crucial role in cellular communication processes. An essential step in the biosynthesis of sialylated glycoconjugates is the activation of sialic acid to the monophosphate diester CMP-sialic acid. Only the activated sugar is transported into the Golgi apparatus and serves as a substrate for the linkage-specific sialyltransferases. Interference with sugar activation abolishes sialylation and is embryonic lethal in mammals. In this chapter we focus on the enzyme catalyzing the activation of sialic acid, the CMP-sialic acid synthetase (CMAS), and compare the enzymatic properties of CMASs isolated from different species. Information concerning the reaction mechanism and active site architecture is included. Moreover, the unusual nuclear localization of vertebrate CMASs as well as the biotechnological application of bacterial CMAS enzymes is addressed.

Sialic acid metabolism and sialyltransferases: natural functions and applications

Sialic acids are a family of negatively charged monosaccharides which are commonly presented as the terminal residues in glycans of the glycoconjugates on eukaryotic cell surface or as components of capsular polysaccharides or lipooligosaccharides of some pathogenic bacteria. Due to their important biological and pathological functions, the biosynthesis, activation, transfer, breaking down, and recycle of sialic acids are attracting increasing attention. The understanding of the sialic acid metabolism in eukaryotes and bacteria leads to the development of metabolic engineering approaches for elucidating the important functions of sialic acid in mammalian systems and for large-scale production of sialosides using engineered bacterial cells. As the key enzymes in biosynthesis of sialylated structures, sialyltransferases have been continuously identified from various sources and characterized. Protein crystal structures of seven sialyltransferases have been reported. Wild-type sialyltransferases and their mutants have been applied with or without other sialoside biosynthetic enzymes for producing complex sialic acid-containing oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates. This mini-review focuses on current understanding and applications of sialic acid metabolism and sialyltransferases.

Pasteurella multocida CMP-sialic acid synthetase and mutants of Neisseria meningitidis CMP-sialic acid synthetase with improved substrate promiscuity

Cytidine 5'-monophosphate (CMP)-sialic acid synthetases (CSSs) catalyze the formation of CMP-sialic acid from CTP and sialic acid, a key step for sialyltransferase-catalyzed biosynthesis of sialic acid-containing oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates. More than 50 different sialic acid forms have been identified in nature. To facilitate the enzymatic synthesis of sialosides with diverse naturally occurring sialic acid forms and their non-natural derivatives, CMP-sialic acid synthetases with promiscuous substrate specificity are needed. Herein we report the cloning, characterization, and substrate specificity studies of a new CSS from Pasteurella multocida strain P-1059 (PmCSS) and a CSS from Haemophillus ducreyi (HdCSS). Based on protein sequence alignment and substrate specificity studies of these two CSSs and a Neisseria meningitidis CSS (NmCSS), as well as crystal structure modeling and analysis of NmCSS, NmCSS mutants (NmCSS_S81R and NmCSS_Q163A) with improved substrate promiscuity were generated. The strategy of combining substrate specificity studies of enzymes from different sources and protein crystal structure studies can be a general approach for designing enzyme mutants with improved activity and substrate promiscuity.

Bacterial CMP-sialic acid synthetases: production, properties, and applications

Sialic acids are abundant nine-carbon sugars expressed terminally on glycoconjugates of eukaryotic cells and are crucial for a variety of cell biological functions such as cell-cell adhesion, intracellular signaling, and in regulation of glycoproteins stability. In bacteria, N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) polymers are important virulence factors. Cytidine 5'-monophosphate (CMP)-N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase (CSS; EC 2.7.7.43), the key enzyme that synthesizes CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid, the donor molecule for numerous sialyltransferase reactions, is present in both prokaryotes and eukaryotic systems. Herein, we emphasize the source, function, and biotechnological applications of CSS enzymes from bacterial sources. To date, only a few CSS from pathogenic bacterial species such as Neisseria meningitidis, Escherichia coli, group B streptococci, Haemophilus ducreyi, and Pasteurella hemolytica and an enzyme from nonpathogenic bacterium, Clostridium thermocellum, have been described. Overall, the enzymes from both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria share common catalytic properties such as their dependency on divalent cation, temperature and pH profiles, and catalytic mechanisms. The enzymes, however, can be categorized as smaller and larger enzymes depending on their molecular weight. The larger enzymes in some cases are bifunctional; they have exhibited acetylhydrolase activity in addition to their sugar nucleotidyltransferase activity. The CSSs are important enzymes for the chemoenzymatic synthesis of various sialooligosaccharides of significance in biotechnology.

NeuA sialic acid O-acetylesterase activity modulates O-acetylation of capsular polysaccharide in group B Streptococcus

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a common cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis. A major GBS virulence determinant is its sialic acid (Sia)-capped capsular polysaccharide. Recently, we discovered the presence and genetic basis of capsular Sia O-acetylation in GBS. We now characterize a GBS Sia O-acetylesterase that modulates the degree of GBS surface O-acetylation. The GBS Sia O-acetylesterase operates cooperatively with the GBS CMP-Sia synthetase, both part of a single polypeptide encoded by the neuA gene. NeuA de-O-acetylation of free 9-O-acetyl-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5,9Ac(2)) was enhanced by CTP and Mg(2+), the substrate and co-factor, respectively, of the N-terminal GBS CMP-Sia synthetase domain. In contrast, the homologous bifunctional NeuA esterase from Escherichia coli K1 did not display cofactor dependence. Further analyses showed that in vitro, GBS NeuA can operate via two alternate enzymatic pathways: de-O-acetylation of Neu5,9Ac(2) followed by CMP activation of Neu5Ac or activation of Neu5,9Ac(2) followed by de-O-acetylation of CMP-Neu5,9Ac(2). Consistent with in vitro esterase assays, genetic deletion of GBS neuA led to accumulation of intracellular O-acetylated Sias, and overexpression of GBS NeuA reduced O-acetylation of Sias on the bacterial surface. Site-directed mutagenesis of conserved asparagine residue 301 abolished esterase activity but preserved CMP-Sia synthetase activity, as evidenced by hyper-O-acetylation of capsular polysaccharide Sias on GBS expressing only the N301A NeuA allele. These studies demonstrate a novel mechanism regulating the extent of capsular Sia O-acetylation in intact bacteria and provide a genetic strategy for manipulating GBS O-acetylation in order to explore the role of this modification in GBS pathogenesis and immunogenicity.

Separate pathways for O acetylation of polymeric and monomeric sialic acids and identification of sialyl O-acetyl esterase in Escherichia coli K1

O acetylation at carbon positions 7 or 9 of the sialic acid residues in the polysialic acid capsule of Escherichia coli K1 is catalyzed by a phase-variable contingency locus, neuO, carried by the K1-specific prophage, CUS-3. Here we describe a novel method for analyzing polymeric sialic acid O acetylation that involves the release of surface sialic acids by endo-N-acetylneuraminidase digestion, followed by fluorescent labeling and detection of quinoxalinone derivatives by chromatography. The results indicated that NeuO is responsible for the majority of capsule modification that takes place in vivo. However, a minor neuO-independent O acetylation pathway was detected that is dependent on the bifunctional polypeptide encoded by neuD. This pathway involves O acetylation of monomeric sialic acid and is regulated by another bifunctional enzyme, NeuA, which includes N-terminal synthetase and C-terminal sialyl O-esterase domains. A homologue of the NeuA C-terminal domain (Pm1710) in Pasteurella multocida was also shown to be an esterase, suggesting that it functions in the catabolism of acetylated environmental sialic acids. Our combined results indicate a previously unexpected complexity in the synthesis and catabolism of microbial sialic and polysialic acids. These findings are key to understanding the biological functions of modified sialic acids in E. coli K1 and other species and may provide new targets for drug or vaccine development.