High-resolution structure of ybfF from Escherichia coli K12: a unique substrate-binding crevice generated by domain arrangement

Thioesterase enzyme families: Functions, structures, and mechanisms

Thioesterases are enzymes that hydrolyze thioester bonds in numerous biochemical pathways, for example in fatty acid synthesis. This work reports known functions, structures, and mechanisms of updated thioesterase enzyme families, which are classified into 35 families based on sequence similarity. Each thioesterase family is based on at least one experimentally characterized enzyme, and most families have enzymes that have been crystallized and their tertiary structure resolved. Classifying thioesterases into families allows to predict tertiary structures and infer catalytic residues and mechanisms of all sequences in a family, which is particularly useful because the majority of known protein sequence have no experimental characterization. Phylogenetic analysis of experimentally characterized thioesterases that have structures with the two main structural folds reveal convergent and divergent evolution. Based on tertiary structure superimposition, catalytic residues are predicted.

Structural Insights into a Novel Esterase from the East Pacific Rise and Its Improved Thermostability by a Semirational Design

Lipolytic enzymes are essential biocatalysts in food processing as well as pharmaceutical and pesticide industries, catalyzing the cleavage of ester bonds in a variety of acyl chain substrates. Here, we report the crystal structure of an esterase from the deep-sea hydrothermal vent of the East Pacific Rise (EprEst). The X-ray structure of EprEst in complex with the ligand, acetate, has been determined at 2.03 Å resolution. The structure reveals a unique spatial arrangement and orientation of the helix cap domain and α/β hydrolase domain, which form a substrate pocket with preference for short-chain acyl groups. Molecular docking analysis further demonstrated that the active site pocket could accommodate p-nitrophenyl (pNP) carboxyl ligands of varying lengths (≤6 C atoms), with pNP-butyrate ester predicted to have the highest binding affinity. Additionally, the semirational design was conducted to improve the thermostability of EprEst by enzyme engineering based on the established structure and multiple sequence alignment. A mutation, K114P, introduced in the hinge region of the esterase, which displayed increased thermostability and enzyme activity. Collectively, the structural and functional data obtained herein could be used as basis for further protein engineering to ultimately expand the scope of industrial applications of marine-derived lipolytic enzymes.

Identification, characterization, and immobilization of a novel YbfF esterase from Halomonas elongata

The YbfF esterase family, which has a bifurcated binding pocket for diverse ligands, could serve as excellent biocatalysts in industrial and biotechnological applications. Here, the identification, characterization, and immobilization of a novel YbfF esterase (YbfF_{Halomonas elongata}) from Halomonas elongata DSM 2581 is reported. Biochemical characterization of YbfF was carried out using activity staining, chromatographic analysis, kinetic analysis, activity assay, acetic acid release, and pH-indicator-based hydrolysis. YbfF_H.elongata displayed broad substrate specificity, including that for p-nitrophenyl esters, glucose pentaacetate, tert-butyl acetate, and β-lactam-containing compounds, with high efficiency. Based on a homology model of YbfF_H.elongata, Trp²³⁷ in the substrate-binding pocket, a critical residue for catalytic activity and substrate specificity was identified and characterized. Furthermore, crosslinked enzyme aggregates and nanoflower formation were explored to enhance the chemical stability and recyclability of YbfF_H.elongata. The present study is the first report of a YbfF esterase from extremophiles, and explains its protein stability, catalytic activity, substrate specificities and diversities, kinetics, functional residues, amyloid formation, and immobilization.

The acid-base-nucleophile catalytic triad in ABH-fold enzymes is coordinated by a set of structural elements

The alpha/beta-Hydrolases (ABH) are a structural class of proteins that are found widespread in nature and includes enzymes that can catalyze various reactions in different substrates. The catalytic versatility of the ABH fold enzymes, which has been a valuable property in protein engineering applications, is based on a similar acid-base-nucleophile catalytic mechanism. In our research, we are concerned with the structure that surrounds the key units of the catalytic machinery, and we have previously found conserved structural organizations that coordinate the catalytic acid, the catalytic nucleophile and the residues of the oxyanion hole. Here, we explore the architecture that surrounds the catalytic histidine at the active sites of enzymes from 40 ABH fold families, where we have identified six conserved interactions that coordinate the catalytic histidine next to the catalytic acid and the catalytic nucleophile. Specifically, the catalytic nucleophile is coordinated next to the catalytic histidine by two weak hydrogen bonds, while the catalytic acid is directly involved in the coordination of the catalytic histidine through by two weak hydrogen bonds. The imidazole ring of the catalytic histidine is coordinated by a CH-π contact and a hydrophobic interaction. Moreover, the catalytic triad residues are connected with a residue that is located at the core of the active site of ABH fold, which is suggested to be the fourth member of a “structural catalytic tetrad”. Besides their role in the stability of the catalytic mechanism, the conserved elements of the catalytic site are actively involved in ligand binding and affect other properties of the catalytic activity, such as substrate specificity, enantioselectivity, pH optimum and thermostability of ABH fold enzymes. These properties are regularly targeted in protein engineering applications, and thus, the identified conserved structural elements can serve as potential modification sites in order to develop ABH fold enzymes with altered activities.

Fluorogenic structure activity library pinpoints molecular variations in substrate specificity of structurally homologous esterases

Cellular esterases catalyze many essential biological functions by performing hydrolysis reactions on diverse substrates. The promiscuity of esterases complicates assignment of their substrate preferences and biological functions. To identify universal factors controlling esterase substrate recognition, we designed a 32-member structure-activity relationship (SAR) library of fluorogenic ester substrates and used this library to systematically interrogate esterase preference for chain length, branching patterns, and polarity to differentiate common classes of esterase substrates. Two structurally homologous bacterial esterases were screened against this library, refining their previously broad overlapping substrate specificity. Vibrio cholerae esterase ybfF displayed a preference for γ-position thioethers and ethers, whereas Rv0045c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis displayed a preference for branched substrates with and without thioethers. We determined that this substrate differentiation was partially controlled by individual substrate selectivity residues Tyr-119 in ybfF and His-187 in Rv0045c; reciprocal substitution of these residues shifted each esterase's substrate preference. This work demonstrates that the selectivity of esterases is tuned based on transition state stabilization, identifies thioethers as an underutilized functional group for esterase substrates, and provides a rapid method for differentiating structural isozymes. This SAR library could have multifaceted future applications, including in vivo imaging, biocatalyst screening, molecular fingerprinting, and inhibitor design.

Identification and characterization of a novel alkalistable and salt-tolerant esterase from the deep-sea hydrothermal vent of the East Pacific Rise

A novel esterase gene selected from metagenomic sequences of deep-sea hydrothermal vents was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein (est-OKK), which belongs to the lipolytic enzyme family V, exhibited high activity toward pNP-esters with short acyl chains and especially p-nitrophenyl butyrate. Site-mutagenesis results confirmed that est-OKK contains the nonclassical catalytic tetrad predicted by alignment and computational modeling. The est-OKK protein is a moderately thermophilic enzyme that is relatively thermostable, and highly salt-tolerant, which remained stable in 3 mol/L NaCl for 6 hr. The est-OKK protein showed the considerable alkalistability, displayed optimal activity at pH 9.0 and maintained approximately 70% of its residual activity after incubation at pH 10 for 4 hr. Furthermore, the est-OKK activity was strongly resistant to a variety of metal ions such as Co²⁺ , Zn²⁺ , Fe²⁺ , Na⁺ , and K⁺ ; nonionic detergents such as Tween-20, Tween-80; and organic solvents such as acetone and isopropanol. Taken together, the novel esterase with unique characteristics may give us a new insight into the family V of lipolytic enzymes, and could be a highly valuable candidate for biotechnological applications such as organic synthesis reactions or food and pharmaceutical industries.

Crystal Structure of StnA for the Biosynthesis of Antitumor Drug Streptonigrin Reveals a Unique Substrate Binding Mode

Streptonigrin methylesterase A (StnA) is one of the tailoring enzymes that modify the aminoquinone skeleton in the biosynthesis pathway of Streptomyces species. Although StnA has no significant sequence homology with the reported α/β-fold hydrolases, it shows typical hydrolytic activity in vivo and in vitro. In order to reveal its functional characteristics, the crystal structures of the selenomethionine substituted StnA (SeMet-StnA) and the complex (S185A mutant) with its substrate were resolved to the resolution of 2.71 Å and 2.90 Å, respectively. The overall structure of StnA can be described as an α-helix cap domain on top of a common α/β hydrolase domain. The substrate methyl ester of 10'-demethoxystreptonigrin binds in a hydrophobic pocket that mainly consists of cap domain residues and is close to the catalytic triad Ser185-His349-Asp308. The transition state is stabilized by an oxyanion hole formed by the backbone amides of Ala102 and Leu186. The substrate binding appears to be dominated by interactions with several specific hydrophobic contacts and hydrogen bonds in the cap domain. The molecular dynamics simulation and site-directed mutagenesis confirmed the important roles of the key interacting residues in the cap domain. Structural alignment and phylogenetic tree analysis indicate that StnA represents a new subfamily of lipolytic enzymes with the specific binding pocket located at the cap domain instead of the interface between the two domains.

Structural Basis for the Strict Substrate Selectivity of the Mycobacterial Hydrolase LipW

The complex life cycle of Mycobacterium tuberculosis requires diverse energy mobilization and utilization strategies facilitated by a battery of lipid metabolism enzymes. Among lipid metabolism enzymes, the Lip family of mycobacterial serine hydrolases is essential to lipid scavenging, metabolic cycles, and reactivation from dormancy. On the basis of the homologous rescue strategy for mycobacterial drug targets, we have characterized the three-dimensional structure of full length LipW from Mycobacterium marinum, the first structure of a catalytically active Lip family member. LipW contains a deep, expansive substrate-binding pocket with only a narrow, restrictive active site, suggesting tight substrate selectivity for short, unbranched esters. Structural alignment reinforced this strict substrate selectivity of LipW, as the binding pocket of LipW aligned most closely with the bacterial acyl esterase superfamily. Detailed kinetic analysis of two different LipW homologues confirmed this strict substrate selectivity, as each homologue selected for unbranched propionyl ester substrates, irrespective of the alcohol portion of the ester. Using comprehensive substitutional analysis across the binding pocket, the strict substrate selectivity of LipW for propionyl esters was assigned to a narrow funnel in the acyl-binding pocket capped by a key hydrophobic valine residue. The polar, negatively charged alcohol-binding pocket also contributed to substrate orientation and stabilization of rotameric states in the catalytic serine. Together, the structural, enzymatic, and substitutional analyses of LipW provide a connection between the structure and metabolic properties of a Lip family hydrolase that refines its biological function in active and dormant tuberculosis infection.

Chemoproteomic, biochemical and pharmacological approaches in the discovery of inhibitors targeting human α/β-hydrolase domain containing 11 (ABHD11)

ABHD11 (α/β-hydrolase domain containing 11) is a non-annotated enzyme belonging to the family of metabolic serine hydrolases (mSHs). Its natural substrates and products are unknown. Using competitive activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) to identify novel inhibitors of human (h)ABHD11, three compounds from our chemical library exhibited low nanomolar potency towards hABHD11. Competitive ABPP of various proteomes revealed fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) as the sole off-target among the mSHs. Our fluorescent activity assays designed for natural lipase substrates revealed no activity of hABHD11 towards mono- or diacylglycerols. A broader profiling using para-nitrophenyl (pNP)-linked substrates indicated no amidase/protease, phosphatase, sulfatase, phospholipase C or phosphodiesterase activity. Instead, hABHD11 readily utilized para-nitrophenyl butyrate (pNPC4), indicating lipase/esterase-type activity that could be exploited in inhibitor discovery. Additionally, a homology model was created based on the crystal structure of bacterial esterase YbfF. In contrast to YbfF, which reportedly hydrolyze long-chain acyl-CoA, hABHD11 did not utilize oleoyl-CoA or arachidonoyl-CoA. In conclusion, the present study reports the discovery of potent hABHD11 inhibitors with good selectivity among mSHs. We developed substrate-based activity assays for hABHD11 that could be further exploited in inhibitor discovery and created the first homology-based hABHD11 model, offering initial insights into the active site of this poorly characterized enzyme.

Distinct substrate selectivity of a metabolic hydrolase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The transition between dormant and active Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection requires reorganization of its lipid metabolism and activation of a battery of serine hydrolase enzymes. Among these serine hydrolases, Rv0045c is a mycobacterial-specific serine hydrolase with limited sequence homology outside mycobacteria but structural homology to divergent bacterial hydrolase families. Herein, we determined the global substrate specificity of Rv0045c against a library of fluorogenic hydrolase substrates, constructed a combined experimental and computational model for its binding pocket, and performed comprehensive substitutional analysis to develop a structural map of its binding pocket. Rv0045c showed strong substrate selectivity toward short, straight chain alkyl esters with the highest activity toward four atom chains. This strong substrate preference was maintained through the combined action of residues in a flexible loop connecting the cap and α/β hydrolase domains and in residues close to the catalytic triad. Two residues bracketing the substrate-binding pocket (Gly90 and His187) were essential to maintaining the narrow substrate selectivity of Rv0045c toward various acyl ester substituents, as independent conversion of these residues significantly increased its catalytic activity and broadened its substrate specificity. Focused saturation mutagenesis of position 187 implicated this residue, as the differentiation point between the substrate specificity of Rv0045c and the structurally homologous ybfF hydrolase family. Insertion of the analogous tyrosine residue from ybfF hydrolases into Rv0045c increased the catalytic activity of Rv0045 by over 20-fold toward diverse ester substrates. The unique binding pocket structure and selectivity of Rv0045c provide molecular indications of its biological role and evidence for expanded substrate diversity in serine hydrolases from M. tuberculosis.

Decoupled roles for the atypical, bifurcated binding pocket of the ybfF hydrolase

Serine hydrolases have diverse intracellular substrates, biological functions, and structural plasticity, and are thus important for biocatalyst design. Amongst serine hydrolases, the recently described ybfF enzyme family are promising novel biocatalysts with an unusual bifurcated substrate-binding cleft and the ability to recognize commercially relevant substrates. We characterized in detail the substrate selectivity of a novel ybfF enzyme from Vibrio cholerae (Vc-ybfF) by using a 21-member library of fluorogenic ester substrates. We assigned the roles of the two substrate-binding clefts in controlling the substrate selectivity and folded stability of Vc-ybfF by comprehensive substitution analysis. The overall substrate preference of Vc-ybfF was for short polar chains, but it retained significant activity with a range of cyclic and extended esters. This broad substrate specificity combined with the substitutional analysis demonstrates that the larger binding cleft controls the substrate specificity of Vc-ybfF. Key selectivity residues (Tyr116, Arg120, Tyr209) are also located at the larger binding pocket and control the substrate specificity profile. In the structure of ybfF the narrower binding cleft contains water molecules prepositioned for hydrolysis, but based on substitution this cleft showed only minimal contribution to catalysis. Instead, the residues surrounding the narrow binding cleft and at the entrance to the binding pocket contributed significantly to the folded stability of Vc-ybfF. The relative contributions of each cleft of the binding pocket to the catalytic activity and folded stability of Vc-ybfF provide a valuable map for designing future biocatalysts based on the ybfF scaffold.

How does (E)-2-(acetamidomethylene)succinate bind to its hydrolase? From the binding process to the final result

The binding of (E)-2-(acetamidomethylene)succinate (E-2AMS) to E-2AMS hydrolase is crucial for biological function of the enzyme and the last step reaction of vitamin B(6) biological degradation. In the present study, several molecular simulation methods, including molecular docking, conventional molecular dynamics (MD), steered MD (SMD), and free energy calculation methods, were properly integrated to investigate the detailed binding process of E-2AMS to its hydrolase and to assign the optimal enzyme-substrate complex conformation. It was demonstrated that the substrate binding conformation with trans-form amide bond is energetically preferred conformation, in which E-2AMS's pose not only ensures hydrogen bond formation of its amide oxygen atom with the vicinal oxyanion hole but also provides probability of the hydrophobic interaction between its methyl moiety and the related enzyme's hydrophobic cavity. Several key residues, Arg146, Arg167, Tyr168, Arg179, and Tyr259, orientate the E-2AMS's pose and stabilize its conformation in the active site via the hydrogen bond interaction with E-2AMS. Sequentially, the binding process of E-2AMS to E-2AMS hydrolase was studied by SMD simulation, which shows the surprising conformational reversal of E-2AMS. Several important intermediate structures and some significant residues were identified in the simulation. It is stressed that Arg146 and Arg167 are two pivotal residues responsible for the conformational reversal of E-2AMS in the binding or unbinding. Our research has shed light onto the full binding process of the substrate to E-2AMS hydrolase, which could provide more penetrating insight into the interaction of E-2AMS with the enzyme and would help in the further exploration on the catalysis mechanism.

Discovery of an Escherichia coli esterase with high activity and enantioselectivity toward 1,2-O-isopropylideneglycerol esters

Escherichia coli has been widely used as an expression host for the identification of desired biocatalysts through screening or selection assays. We have previously used E. coli in growth selection and screening assays for identification of Bacillus subtilis lipase variants (located in the periplasm) with improved activity and enantioselectivity toward 1,2-O-isopropylideneglycerol (IPG) esters. In the course of these studies, we discovered that E. coli itself exhibits significant cytoplasmic esterase activity toward IPG esters. In order to identify the enzyme (or enzymes) responsible for this esterase activity, we analyzed eight E. coli knockout strains, in which single esterase genes were deleted, for their ability to hydrolyze IPG butyrate. This approach led to the identification of esterase YbfF as the major E. coli enzyme responsible for the hydrolytic activity toward IPG esters. The gene coding for YbfF was cloned and overexpressed in E. coli, and the corresponding protein was purified and characterized for its biocatalytic performance. YbfF displays a high level of activity toward IPG butyrate and IPG caprylate and prefers the R-enantiomer of these substrates, producing the S-enantiomer of the IPG product with high enantiomeric excess (72 to 94% ee). The enantioselectivity of YbfF for IPG caprylate (E = 40) could be significantly enhanced when using dimethylformamide (DMF) or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as cosolvents in kinetic resolution experiments. The enzyme also shows high enantioselectivity toward 1-phenylethyl acetate (E ≥ 200), giving the chiral product (R)-1-phenylethanol with >99% ee. The high activity and enantioselectivity of YbfF make it an attractive enzyme for organic synthesis.

Crystal structure of a novel esterase Rv0045c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

There are at least 250 enzymes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) involved in lipid metabolism. Some of the enzymes are required for bacterial survival and full virulence. The esterase Rv0045c shares little amino acid sequence similarity with other members of the esterase/lipase family. Here, we report the 3D structure of Rv0045c. Our studies demonstrated that Rv0045c is a novel member of α/β hydrolase fold family. The structure of esterase Rv0045c contains two distinct domains: the α/β fold domain and the cap domain. The active site of esterase Rv0045c is highly conserved and comprised of two residues: Ser154 and His309. We proposed that Rv0045c probably employs two kinds of enzymatic mechanisms when hydrolyzing C-O ester bonds within substrates. The structure provides insight into the hydrolysis mechanism of the C-O ester bond, and will be helpful in understanding the ester/lipid metabolism in M. tuberculosis.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of a novel esterase Rv0045c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The Rv0045c protein is predicted to be an esterase that is involved in lipid metabolism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The protein was overproduced in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The Rv0045c protein crystals diffracted to a resolution of 2.7 Å using a synchrotron-radiation source and belonged to space group P3(1) or P3(2), with unit-cell parameters a=b=73.465, c=48.064 Å, α=β=90, γ=120°. Purified SeMet-labelled Rv0045c protein was also crystallized and formed crystals that diffracted to a resolution of 3.0 Å using an in-house X-ray radiation source.

Characterization of a novel esterase Rv0045c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

BACKGROUND

It was proposed that there are at least 250 enzymes in M. tuberculosis involved in lipid metabolism. Rv0045c was predicted to be a hydrolase by amino acid sequence similarity, although its precise biochemical characterization and function remained to be defined.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

We expressed the Rv0045c protein to high levels in E. coli and purified the protein to high purity. We confirmed that the prepared protein was the Rv0045c protein by mass spectrometry analysis. Circular dichroism spectroscopy analysis showed that the protein possessed abundant β-sheet secondary structure, and confirmed that its conformation was stable in the range pH 6.0-10.0 and at temperatures ≤ 40 °C. Enzyme activity analysis indicated that the Rv0045c protein could efficiently hydrolyze short chain p-nitrophenyl esters (C₂-C₈), and its suitable substrate was p-nitrophenyl caproate (C₆) with optimal catalytic conditions of 39 °C and pH 8.0.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

Our results demonstrated that the Rv0045c protein is a novel esterase. These experiments will be helpful in understanding ester/lipid metabolism related to M. tuberculosis.

Structure determination and characterization of the vitamin B6 degradative enzyme (E)-2-(acetamidomethylene)succinate hydrolase

The gene identification and kinetic characterization of (E)-2-(acetamidomethylene)succinate (E-2AMS) hydrolase has recently been described. This enzyme catalyzes the final reaction in the degradation of vitamin B(6) and produces succinic semialdehyde, acetate, ammonia, and carbon dioxide from E-2AMS. The structure of E-2AMS hydrolase was determined to 2.3 A using SAD phasing. E-2AMS hydrolase is a member of the alpha/beta hydrolase superfamily and utilizes a serine/histidine/aspartic acid catalytic triad. Mutation of either the nucleophilic serine or the aspartate resulted in inactive enzyme. Mutation of an additional serine residue in the active site causes the enzyme to be unstable and is likely structurally important. The structure also provides insight into the mechanism of hydrolysis of E-2AMS and identifies several potential catalytically important residues.