How modification of accessible lysines to phenylalanine modulates the structural and functional properties of horseradish peroxidase: a simulation study

Enzyme-Polymer Conjugates for Tuning, Enhancing, and Expanding Biocatalytic Activity

Combining polymers with functional proteins is an approach that has brought several successful stories in the field of biomedicine with PEGylated therapeutic proteins. The latest advances in polymer chemistry have facilitated the expansion of protein-polymer hybrids to other research areas such as biocatalysis. Polymers can impart stability and novel functionalities to the enzyme of interest, thereby improving the catalytic performance of a given reaction. In this review, we have revisited the main methodologies currently used for the synthesis of enzyme-polymer hybrids, unveiling the interplay between the configuration and the composition of the assembled structure and the eventual traits of the hybrid. Finally, the latest advances, such as the assembly of polymer-based chemoenzymatic nanoreactors and the use of deep learning methodologies to achieve the most suitable polymer compositions for catalysis, are discussed.

Comparison of three palm tree peroxidases expressed by Escherichia coli: Uniqueness of African oil palm peroxidase

Palm tree peroxidase has greater catalytic activity, stability and broad application prospects in comparison with horseradish peroxidase. However, slow growth, ecological destruction and high costs prohibit isolation of native peroxidases directly from palm trees. Bioreactor production of palm tree peroxidases would therefore be preferred to overcome such production limitations. Comparison of different recombinant glycan-free palm tree peroxidases would allow understanding the criticality of total glycans to the functions and characteristics. In the present study, African oil palm tree peroxidase expressed by Escherichia coli showed similar stability and 30-100-fold greater activity than that of recombinant royal palm tree peroxidases, but both of their comprehensive indexes were superior to the commercial, native horseradish peroxidase. Recombinant Chamaerops excelsa peroxidase showed no activity possibly due to incorrect protein folding. The results confirmed that recombinant expression by E. coli is potentially an effective means to obtain a mass of palm peroxidases with high activity and stability.

Structural insights into the effects of charge-reversal substitutions at the surface of horseradish peroxidase

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP), has gained significant interests in biotechnology, especially in biosensor field and diagnostic test kits. Hence, its solvent-exposed lysine residues 174, 232, and 241 have been frequently modified with the aim of improving its stability and catalytic efficiency. In this computational study, we investigated the effects of Lys-to-Glu substitutions on HRP structure to model charge-reversal manipulations at the enzyme surface. Simulation results implied that upon these substitutions, the number of stable hydrogen bonds and α-helical content of HRP are increased and the proximal Ca2+ binding pocket becomes more integrated. The results revealed that although Glu174-heme hydrogen bond is lost after mutation, formation of a new hydrogen bonding network contributes to the stability of heme-protein linkage. Together, it may be concluded that these substitutions enhance the stability of the protein moiety as well as the heme-protein non-covalent interactions. In the enzyme active site, we observed increased accessibility of peroxide binding site and heme prosthetic group to the peroxide and aromatic substrates, respectively. Results also demonstrated that the bottleneck entry of the peroxide-binding site has become wider and more flexible upon substitutions. Moreover, the hydrophobic patch functioning as a binding site or trap for reducing aromatic substrates is more extended in mutated enzyme. These observations suggest that the reactivity of the enzyme to its substrates has increased. Together, the results of this simulation study could provide possible structural clues to explain those experimental observations in which the protein stability achieved upon manipulation of charge distribution on protein surface.