Effect of compatible and noncompatible osmolytes on the enzymatic activity and thermal stability of bovine liver catalase

Effects of Amino Acid Additives on Protein Stability during Electrothermal Supercharging in ESI-MS

The surprising formation of highly charged protein ions from aqueous ammonium bicarbonate solution is a fascinating phenomenon referred to as electrothermal supercharging (ETS). Although the precise mechanism involved is not clearly understood, previous studies predominantly suggest that ETS is due to native protein destabilization in the presence of bicarbonate anion inside the electrospray ionization droplets under high temperatures and spray voltages. To evaluate existing hypotheses surrounding the underlying mechanism of ETS, the effects of several additives on protein charging under ETS conditions were investigated. The changes in the protein charge state distributions were compared by measuring the ratios between the intensities of highest intensity charge states of native and unfolded protein envelopes and shifts in the lowest and highest observed charge states. This study demonstrated that source temperature plays a more important role in ETS compared to spray voltage, especially when using a nebulized microelectrospray ionization source. Moreover, the effect of amino acids on ETS were generally in good agreement with the extensive literature available on the stabilization or destabilization of proteins by these additives in bulk solution. Among the natural amino acids, protein supercharging was significantly reduced by proline and glycine; however, imidazole provided the highest degree of noncovalent complex stabilization against ETS, outperforming the amino acids. Overall, our study shows that the simple addition of stabilizing reagents such as proline and imidazole can reduce the extent of apparent protein unfolding and supercharging in ammonium bicarbonate solution and provide evidence against the roles of charge depletion and thermal unfolding during ETS.

PP2C phosphatases Ptc1 and Ptc2 dephosphorylate PGK1 to regulate autophagy and aflatoxin synthesis in the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus flavus

IMPORTANCE

Aspergillus flavus is a model filamentous fungus that can produce aflatoxins when it infects agricultural crops. This study evaluated the protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C) family as a potential drug target with important physiological functions and pathological significance in A. flavus. We found that two redundant PP2C phosphatases, Ptc1 and Ptc2, regulate conidia development, aflatoxin synthesis, autophagic vesicle formation, and seed infection. The target protein phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) that interacts with Ptc1 and Ptc2 is essential to regulate metabolism and the autophagy process. Furthermore, Ptc1 and Ptc2 regulate the phosphorylation level of PGK1 S203, which is important for influencing aflatoxin synthesis. Our results provide a potential target for interdicting the toxicity of A. flavus.

Effect of polyol osmolytes on the structure-function integrity and aggregation propensity of catalase: A comprehensive study based on spectroscopic and molecular dynamic simulation measurements

Owing to the ability of catalase to function under oxidative stress vis-à-vis its industrial importance, the structure-function integrity of the enzyme is of prime concern. In the present study, polyols (glycerol, sorbitol, sucrose, xylitol), were evaluated for their ability to modulate structure, activity and aggregation of catalase using in vitro and in silico approaches. All polyols increased catalase activity by decreasing K_m and increasing V_max resulting in enhanced catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_m) of the enzyme, with glycerol being the most efficient with a k_cat/K_m increase from 4.38 × 10⁴ mM^-1 S^-1 (control) to 5.8 × 10⁵ mM^-1 S^-1. Correlatively with this, enhanced secondary structure with reduced hydrophobic exposure was observed in all polyols. Furthermore, increased stability, with an increase in melting temperature by 15.2 °C, and almost no aggregation was observed in glycerol. Overall, ability to regulate structure-function integrity and aggregation propensity was highest for glycerol and lowest for xylitol. Simulation studies were performed involving structural dynamics measurements, principal component analysis and free energy landscape analysis. Altogether, all polyols were stabilizing in nature and glycerol, in particular, has potential to efficiently prevent not only the antioxidant defense system but also might serve as a stability aid during industrial processing of catalase.

Protecting thermodynamic stability of protein: The basic paradigm against stress and unfolded protein response by osmolytes

Organic osmolytes are known to play important role in stress protection by stabilizing macromolecules and suppressing harmful effects on functional activity. There is existence of several reports in the literature regarding their effects on structural, functional and thermodynamic aspects of many enzymes and the interaction parameters with proteins have been explored. Osmolytes are compatible with enzyme function and therefore, can be accumulated up to several millimolar concentrations. From the thermodynamic point of view, osmolyte raises mid-point of thermal denaturation (T_m) of proteins while having no significant effect on ΔG_D° (free energy change at physiological condition). Unfavorable interaction with the peptide backbone due to preferential hydration is the major driving force for folding of unfolded polypeptide in presence of osmolyte. However, the thermodynamic basis of stress protection and origin of compatibility paradigm has been a debatable issue. In the present manuscript, we attempt to elaborate the origin of stress protection and compatibility paradigm of osmolytes based on the effect on thermodynamic stability of proteins. We also infer that protective effects of osmolytes on ΔG_D° (of proteins) could also indicate its potential involvement in unfolded protein response and overall stress biology on macromolecular level.

Surface hydration and preferential interaction directs the charged amino acids-induced changes in protein stability

In the present study, we investigate the interaction of amino acid osmolytes, Arg, Lys, Asp and Glu, and a denaturant, guanidinium chloride (Gdm) with proteins. To achieve this, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of RNase A and α-lactalbumin was performed in the presence of three charged amino acids Arg, Lys, and Asp and the molecular mechanism of amino acid-induced (de)stabilization of the proteins was examined by combining with our earlier report on Glu. As Arg has the side chain similar to that of Gdm and destabilizes the proteins, MD simulation was carried out in the presence of Gdm as well. Radial distribution function and hydration fraction around the protein surface reveals that preferential hydration increases upon the addition of any of the cosolvent; however, the extent of increase is more in the presence of stabilizing cosolvents (stAAs: Lys, Asp and Glu) compared to destabilizing cosolvents (Arg and Gdm). Moreover, the preferential interaction of Arg and Gdm with the proteins is higher than that of stAAs. Residue-level interaction analysis suggests that stAAs preferably interacts with charged amino acids of the proteins whereas Arg and Gdm interactions could be found on almost all the surface exposed residues which might provide higher preferential interaction for these residues. From the results, we propose that the net outcome of preferential hydration versus preferential interaction of the amino acids might determine their effect on the stability of proteins.

Catalase and its mysteries

Catalase is one of the firsts in every realm of biological sciences. At the same time it also has a number of unusual features. It has one of the highest turnover numbers of all enzymes. It is essential for neutralizing the noxious hydrogen peroxide both in the nature and the various industries such as dairy, textile and pharmaceutics. It also has the merit of being one of the first protein crystals to be isolated. Ironically its three-dimensional structure was discerned some forty years later. However through the times this senile enzyme has continued to intrigue the scientists by surprising facts and phenomena, such as peculiar interweaving of subunits and remarkable thermal stability. It is also known for suicide inactivation by its own substrate. Catalase is known to be implicated in various medical scenarios and its levels have served as a marker in that capacity. It has even been incorporated into several pharmaceuticals. This review strives to clarify these perspectives. It also draws attention to the biophysical contributions offered by thermodynamics and kinetics in these discoveries. The ultimate aim of this review, however, is to state that the venerable catalase will continue to bewilder us with its mysteries well into the twenty-first century.

Changing relations between proteins and osmolytes: a choice of nature

The stabilization and destabilization of the protein in the presence of any additive is mainly attributed to its preferential exclusion from protein surface and its preferential binding to the protein surface, respectively.

Recombinant production of Aspergillus Flavus uricase and investigation of its thermal stability in the presence of raffinose and lactose

Aspergillus flavus uricase (Rasburicase) with a molecular mass of 135 kDa is currently used for the treatment of gout and hyperuricemia occurring in tumor lysis syndrome. To characterize the effects of raffinose and lactose osmolytes on the uricase structure, its coding sequence was cloned, expressed in E. coli BL21, and purified by Ni-NTA agarose affinity chromatography. Thermal inactivation studies at 40 °C showed that nearly 15% of UOX activity was preserved, while the presence of raffinose and lactose reduced its activity to 35 and 45% of its original activity, respectively. Investigation of UOX thermal stability at 40 °C in the course of time showed that the enzyme relatively lost almost 60% of its original activity after 40 min, whereas more than 50% of UOX activity is preserved in the presence of lactose. Estimation of thermal inactivation rate constant, k _in, showed that the UOX k _in and UOX k _in in the presence of raffinose was unchanged (0.018 min^-1), whereas for the presence of lactose, it was 0.015 min^-1. Half-life and T _m analysis showed that UOX half-life is almost 38 min and addition of raffinose did not change the half-life, whereas the presence of lactose had remarkable impact on UOX half-life (46 min). The presence of raffinose increased UOX T _m to a lesser extent, whereas lactose notably enhanced the T _m from 27 to 37 °C. Overall, our findings show that lactose has protective effects on UOX stability, while for raffinose, it is relatively compromised.

Common causes of glucose oxidase instability in in vivo biosensing: a brief review

Clinical management of diabetes must overcome the challenge of in vivo glucose sensors exhibiting lifetimes of only a few days. Limited sensor life originates from compromised enzyme stability of the sensing enzyme. Sensing enzymes degrade in the presence of low molecular weight materials (LMWM) and hydrogen peroxide in vivo. Sensing enzymes could be made to withstand these degradative effects by (1) stabilizing the microenvironment surrounding the sensing enzyme or (2) improving the structural stability of the sensing enzyme genetically. We review the degradative effect of LMWM and hydrogen peroxide on the sensing enzyme glucose oxidase (GOx). In addition, we examine advances in stabilizing GOx against degradation using hybrid silica gels and genetic engineering of GOx. We conclude molecularly engineered GOx combined with silica-based encapsulation provides an avenue for designing long-term in vivo sensor systems.