Structural basis for cyclodextrin recognition by Thermoactinomyces vulgaris cyclo/maltodextrin-binding protein

Direct Continuous Flow Synthesis of Two Difficult Polypeptides Using β-Cyclodextrins

This study focuses on investigating the use of β-cyclodextrin (β-CyD) derivatives as additives in continuous flow peptide synthesis, with particular emphasis on challenging sequences such as the Jung-Redemann decapeptide and the 42-residue amyloid β polypeptide [Aβ(1-42)]. The efficacy of the OH-free β-CyD and two of its derivatives (Ac-β-CyD and HP-β-CyD) is compared with alternative, state-of-the-art synthetic methods, including the widely used and recently improved pseudoproline monomer technique, e.g., Ser(ΨPro). Our results show that the use of β-CyD as an additive results in a significant (8-19%) increase in the purity of the crude polypeptide compared to that determined by our reference method. The chromatograms determined by LC-MS were deconvoluted to estimate the more precise purity of the crude products, and we found that the improvement is greater when the free OH β-CyD is used and moderate when the acetyl-β-CyD or the 2-hydroxypropyl-β-CyD derivatives are used. We have found that the free CyD gives an improvement comparable to that achieved with the Ser(ΨPro) derivative.

Progress in cyclodextrins as important molecules regulating catalytic processes of glycoside hydrolases

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are important starch derivatives and commonly comprise α-, β-, and γ-CDs. Their hydrophilic surface and hydrophobic inner cavity enable regulation of enzyme catalysis through direct or indirect interactions. Clarifying interactions between CDs and enzyme is of great value for enzyme screening, mechanism exploration, regulation of catalysis, and applications. We summarize the interactions between CDs and glycoside hydrolases (GHs) according to two aspects: 1) CD as products, substrates, inhibitors and activators of enzymes, directly affecting the reaction process; 2) CDs indirectly affecting the enzymatic reaction by solubilizing substrates, relieving substrate/product inhibition, increasing recombinant enzyme production and storage stability, isolating and purifying enzymes, and serving as ligands in crystal structure to identify functional amino acid residues. Additionally, CD enzyme mimetics are developed and used as catalysts in traditional artificial enzymes as well as nanozymes, making the application of CDs no longer limited to GHs. This review concerns the regulation of GHs catalysis by CDs, and gives insights into research on interactions between enzymes and ligands.

Binding Specificity of a Novel Cyclo/Maltodextrin-Binding Protein and Its Role in the Cyclodextrin ABC Importer System from Thermoanaerobacterales

Extracellular synthesis of functional cyclodextrins (CDs) as intermediates of starch assimilation is a convenient microbial adaptation to sequester substrates, increase the half-life of the carbon source, carry bioactive compounds, and alleviate chemical toxicity through the formation of CD-guest complexes. Bacteria encoding the four steps of the carbohydrate metabolism pathway via cyclodextrins (CM-CD) actively internalize CDs across the microbial membrane via a putative type I ATP-dependent ABC sugar importer system, MdxEFG-(X/MsmX). While the first step of the CM-CD pathway encompasses extracellular starch-active cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferases (CGTases) to synthesize linear dextrins and CDs, it is the ABC importer system in the second step that is the critical factor in determining which molecules from the CGTase activity will be internalized by the cell. Here, structure-function relationship studies of the cyclo⁄maltodextrin-binding protein MdxE of the MdxEFG-MsmX importer system from Thermoanaerobacter mathranii subsp. mathranii A3 are presented. Calorimetric and fluorescence studies of recombinant MdxE using linear dextrins and CDs showed that although MdxE binds linear dextrins and CDs with high affinity, the open-to-closed conformational change is solely observed after α- and β-CD binding, suggesting that the CM-CD pathway from Thermoanaerobacterales is exclusive for cellular internalization of these molecules. Structural analysis of MdxE coupled with docking simulations showed an overall architecture typically found in sugar-binding proteins (SBPs) that comprised two N- and C-domains linked by three small hinge regions, including the conserved aromatic triad Tyr193/Trp269/Trp378 in the C-domain and Phe87 in the N-domain involved in CD recognition and stabilization. Structural bioinformatic analysis of the entire MdxFG-MsmX importer system provided further insights into the binding, internalization, and delivery mechanisms of CDs. Hence, while the MdxE-CD complex couples to the permease subunits MdxFG to deliver the CD into the transmembrane channel, the dimerization of the cytoplasmatic promiscuous ATPase MsmX triggers active transport into the cytoplasm. This research provides the first results on a novel thermofunctional SBP and its role in the internalization of CDs in extremely thermophilic bacteria.

Experimental and Computational Investigation of Clustering Behavior of Cyclodextrin-Perfluorocarbon Inclusion Complexes as Effective Histotripsy Agents

Recently developed nanocones (NCs), which are inclusion complexes that are made up of cyclodextrins (CDs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs), have shown promising results in nanoparticle-mediated histotripsy (NMH) applications due to stable inclusion complexation, PFC quantification, simple synthesis, and processing. FDA-approved βCD and its modified versions such as low-degree methylated βCD have been previously demonstrated as prime examples of structures capable of accommodating PFC molecules. However, the complex formation potential of different CDs with various cavity sizes in the presence of PFC molecules, and their consequent aggregation, needs to be explored. In the present study, the complexation and aggregation potential of some natural CDs and their respective derivatives either exposed to perfluoropentane (PFP) or perfluorohexane (PFH) were studied in the wet lab. Computational studies were also performed to account for the limitations faced in PFC quantification because of the low optical density of PFCs within the CD complex and to discover the best candidate for NMH applications. All results revealed that only βCD and γCD (except HMγCD) derivatives form an inclusion complex with PFCs and only LMβCD, βCD, and γCD form nanocone clusters (NCCs), which precipitate and can be collected for use. Furthermore, the data collectively show that βCD and PFCs have the best complexation due to stable complex formation, ease of production, and product recovery, especially with PFH as a more suitable candidate due to its high boiling point, which allows workability during synthesis. Although simulations suggest that highly stable inclusion complexes exist, such as HPβCD, the cluster formation resulting in precipitation is hindered due to the high solubility of CDs in water, resulting in intangible yields to work with even after employing general laboratory recovery methods. Conclusively, histotripsy cavitation experiments successfully showed a decreased cavitation threshold among optimal NCC candidates that were identified, supporting their use in NMH.

Mining for novel cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferases unravels the carbohydrate metabolism pathway via cyclodextrins in Thermoanaerobacterales

Carbohydrate metabolism via cyclodextrins (CM-CD) is an uncommon starch-converting pathway that thoroughly depends on extracellular cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferases (CGTases) to transform the surrounding starch substrate to α-(1,4)-linked oligosaccharides and cyclodextrins (CDs). The CM-CD pathway has emerged as a convenient microbial adaptation to thrive under extreme temperatures, as CDs are functional amphipathic toroids with higher heat-resistant values than linear dextrins. Nevertheless, although the CM-CD pathway has been described in a few mesophilic bacteria and archaea, it remains obscure in extremely thermophilic prokaryotes (Topt ≥ 70 °C). Here, a new monophyletic group of CGTases with an exceptional three-domain ABC architecture was detected by (meta)genome mining of extremely thermophilic Thermoanaerobacterales living in a wide variety of hot starch-poor environments on Earth. Functional studies of a representative member, CldA, showed a maximum activity in a thermoacidophilic range (pH 4.0 and 80 °C) with remarkable product diversification that yielded a mixture of α:β:γ-CDs (34:62:4) from soluble starch, as well as G3-G7 linear dextrins and fermentable sugars as the primary products. Together, comparative genomics and predictive functional analysis, combined with data of the functionally characterized key proteins of the gene clusters encoding CGTases, revealed the CM-CD pathway in Thermoanaerobacterales and showed that it is involved in the synthesis, transportation, degradation, and metabolic assimilation of CDs.

Insulin Complexation with Cyclodextrins-A Molecular Modeling Approach

Around 5% of the population of the world is affected with the disease called diabetes mellitus. The main medication of the diabetes is the insulin; the active form is the insulin monomer, which is an instable molecule, because the long storage time, or the high temperature, can cause the monomer insulin to adapt an alternative fold, rich in β-sheets, which is pharmaceutically inactive. The aim of this study is to form different insulin complexes with all the cyclodextrin used for pharmaceutical excipients (native cyclodextrin, methyl, hydroxyethyl, hydroxypropyl and sulfobutylether substituted β-cyclodextrin), in silico condition, with the AutoDock molecular modeling program, to determine the best type of cyclodextrin or cyclodextrin derivate to form a complex with an insulin monomer, to predict the molar ratio, the conformation of the complex, and the intermolecular hydrogen bonds formed between the cyclodextrin and the insulin. From the results calculated by the AutoDock program it can be predicted that insulin can make a stable complex with 5-7 molecules of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin or sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin, and by forming a complex potentially can prevent or delay the amyloid fibrillation of the insulin and increase the stability of the molecule.

Periplasmic solute-binding proteins: Structure classification and chitooligosaccharide recognition

Periplasmic solute-binding proteins (SBPs) serve as molecular shuttles that assist the transport of small solutes from the outer membrane to the inner membrane of all Gram-negative bacteria. Based on the available crystal structures, SBPs are classified into seven clusters, A-G, and are further divided into subclusters, IV. This minireview is focused on the classification, structure and substrate specificity of a distinct class of SBPs specific for chitooligosaccharides (CBPs). To date, only two structures of CBP homologues, VhCBP and VcCBP, have been reported in the marine Vibrio species, with exposition of their limited function. The Vibrio CBPs are structurally classified as cluster C/subcluster IV SBPs that exclusively recognize β-1,4- or β-1,3-linked linear oligosaccharides. The overall structural feature of the Vibrios CBPs is most similar to the cellobiose-binding orthologue from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima. This similarity provides an opportunity to engineer the substrate specificity of the proteins and to control the uptake of chitinous and cellulosic nutrients in marine bacteria.

Inducer exclusion in Firmicutes: insights into the regulation of a carbohydrate ATP binding cassette transporter from Lactobacillus casei BL23 by the signal transducing protein P-Ser46-HPr

Catabolite repression is a mechanism that enables bacteria to control carbon utilization. As part of this global regulatory network, components of the phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system inhibit the uptake of less favorable sugars when a preferred carbon source such as glucose is available. This process is termed inducer exclusion. In bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes, HPr, phosphorylated at serine 46 (P-Ser46-HPr) is the key player but its mode of action is elusive. To address this question at the level of purified protein components, we have chosen a homolog of the Escherichia coli maltose/maltodextrin ATP-binding cassette transporter from Lactobacillus casei (MalE1-MalF1G1K1₂ ) as a model system. We show that the solute binding protein, MalE1, binds linear and cyclic maltodextrins but not maltose. Crystal structures of MalE1 complexed with these sugars provide a clue why maltose is not a substrate. P-Ser46-HPr inhibited MalE1/maltotetraose-stimulated ATPase activity of the transporter incorporated in proteoliposomes. Furthermore, cross-linking experiments revealed that P-Ser46-HPr contacts the nucleotide-binding subunit, MalK1, in proximity to the Walker A motif. However, P-Ser46-HPr did not block binding of ATP to MalK1. Together, our findings provide first biochemical evidence that P-Ser-HPr arrests the transport cycle by preventing ATP hydrolysis at the MalK1 subunits of the transporter.

γ-Cyclodextrin capped silver nanoparticles for molecular recognition and enhancement of antibacterial activity of chloramphenicol

Computational studies were conducted to identify the favourable formation of the inclusion complex of chloramphenicol with cyclodextrins. The results of molecular docking and molecular dynamics predicted the strongest interaction of chloramphenicol with γ-cyclodextrin. Further, the inclusion complex of chloramphenicol with γ-cyclodextrin was experimentally prepared and a phenomenon of inclusion was verified by using different characterization techniques such as thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and two dimensional nuclear overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) experiments. From these results it was concluded that γ-cyclodextrins could be an appropriate cyclodextrin polymer which can be used to functionalize chloramphenicol on the surface of silver nanoparticles. In addition, γ-cyclodextrin capped silver nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and zeta potential analysis. Molecular recognition of chloramphenicol by these cyclodextrin capped silver nanoparticles was confirmed by surface enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS) experiments. Synergistic antibacterial effect of chloramphenicol with γ-cyclodextrin capped silver nanoparticles was evaluated against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 5129), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 700603) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 43300). The results from the antibacterial experiment were favourable thus allowing us to conclude that the approach of modifying organic drug molecules with cyclodextrin capped inorganic silver nanoparticles could help to enhance the antibacterial activity of them.

Computer-aided molecular modeling study of enantioseparation of iodiconazole and structurally related triadimenol analogues by capillary electrophoresis: chiral recognition mechanism and mathematical model for predicting chiral separation

Chiral separation of iodiconazole, a new antifungal drug, and 12 new structurally related triadimenol analogues had been developed by capillary electrophoresis (CE) using hydroxypropyl-γ-cyclodextrin (HP-γ-CD) as the chiral selector. The effect of structural features of analytes on Δt and R(s) was studied under the optimum separation conditions. Using molecular docking technique and binding energy calculations, the inclusion process between HP-γ-CD and enantiomers was investigated and chiral recognition mechanisms were discussed. The results suggest that hydrogen bonding between fluorine at position 4 of the phenyl group beside the chiral carbon and the hydroxyl group on the HP-γ-CD rim and face to face π-π interactions between two phenyl rings highly contributed to the enantiorecognition process between HP-γ-CD and iodiconazole. The N-methyl group beside chiral carbon also played an important role in enantiomeric separation. Additionally, the big difference in binding energy (ΔΔE) highly contributed to good separation in the presence of HP-γ-CD chiral selector, which may be a helpful initial guide for chiral selector selection and predicting the result of enantioseparation. Furthermore, the new mathematical equation established based on the results of molecular mechanics calculations exhibited good capability in predicting chiral separation of these triadimenol analogues using HP-γ-CD mediated CE.

The molecular basis of glycogen breakdown and transport in Streptococcus pneumoniae

The genome of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains, as typified by the TIGR4 strain, contain several genes encoding proteins putatively involved in alpha-glucan degradation, modification and synthesis. The extracellular components comprise an ATP binding cassette-transporter with its solute binding protein, MalX, and the hydrolytic enzyme SpuA. We show that of the commonly occurring exogenous alpha-glucans, S. pneumoniae TIGR4 is only able to grow on glycogen in a MalX- and SpuA-dependent manner. SpuA is able to degrade glycogen into a ladder of alpha-1,4-glucooligosaccharides while the high-affinity interaction (K(a) approximately 10(6) M(-1)) of MalX with maltooligosaccharides plays a key role in promoting the selective uptake of the glycogen degradation products that are produced by SpuA. The X-ray crystallographic analyses of apo- and complexed MalX illuminate the protein's specificity for the degradation products of glycogen and its striking ability to recognize the helical structure of the ligand. Overall, the results of this work provide new structural and functional insight into streptococcal alpha-glucan metabolism while supplying biochemical support for the hypothesis that the substrate of the S. pneumoniaealpha-glucan metabolizing machinery is glycogen, which in a human host is abundant in lung epithelial cells, a common target for invasive S. pneumoniae.

Crystal structures of open and closed forms of cyclo/maltodextrin-binding protein

The crystal structures of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris cyclo/maltodextrin-binding protein (TvuCMBP) complexed with alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD), beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and maltotetraose (G4) have been determined. A common functional conformational change among all solute-binding proteins involves switching from an open form to a closed form, which facilitates transporter binding. Escherichia coli maltodextrin-binding protein (EcoMBP), which is structurally homologous to TvuCMBP, has been determined to adopt the open form when complexed with beta-CD and the closed form when bound to G4. Here, we show that, unlike EcoMBP, TvuCMBP-alpha-CD and TvuCMBP-beta-CD adopt the closed form when complexed, whereas TvuCMBP-G4 adopts the open form. Only two glucose residues are evident in the TvuCMBP-G4 structure, and these bind to the C-domain of TvuCMBP in a manner similar to the way in which maltose binds to the C-domain of EcoMBP. The superposition of TvuCMBP-alpha-CD, TvuCMBP-beta-CD and TvuCMBP-gamma-CD shows that the positions and the orientations of three glucose residues in the cyclodextrin molecules overlay remarkably well. In addition, most of the amino acid residues interacting with these three glucose residues also participate in interactions with the two glucose residues in TvuCMBP-G4, regardless of whether the protein is in the closed or open form. Our results suggest that the mechanisms by which TvuCMBP changes from the open to the closed conformation and maintains the closed form appear to be different from those of EcoMBP, despite the fact that the amino acid residues responsible for the initial binding of the ligands are well conserved between TvuCMBP and EcoMBP.

Structural and thermodynamic analyses of solute-binding Protein from Bifidobacterium longum specific for core 1 disaccharide and lacto-N-biose I

Recently, a gene cluster involving a phosphorylase specific for lacto-N-biose I (LNB; Galbeta1-3GlcNAc) and galacto-N-biose (GNB; Galbeta1-3GalNAc) has been found in Bifidobacterium longum. We showed that the solute-binding protein of a putative ATP-binding cassette-type transporter encoded in the cluster crystallizes only in the presence of LNB or GNB, and therefore we named it GNB/LNB-binding protein (GL-BP). Isothermal titration calorimetry measurements revealed that GL-BP specifically binds LNB and GNB with K(d) values of 0.087 and 0.010 microm, respectively, and the binding process is enthalpy-driven. The crystal structures of GL-BP complexed with LNB, GNB, and lacto-N-tetraose (Galbeta1-3GlcNAcbeta1-3Galbeta1-4Glc) were determined. The interactions between GL-BP and the disaccharide ligands mainly occurred through water-mediated hydrogen bonds. In comparison with the LNB complex, one additional hydrogen bond was found in the GNB complex. These structural characteristics of ligand binding are in agreement with the thermodynamic properties. The overall structure of GL-BP was similar to that of maltose-binding protein; however, the mode of ligand binding and the thermodynamic properties of these proteins were significantly different.