半理性设计进化土曲霉来源的ω-转氨酶AtTA热稳定性

转氨酶(ω-transaminase,ω-TA)作为一种天然的生物催化剂,在手性胺类化合物的合成中具有较好的应用前景。但ω-TA在催化非天然底物的反应过程中存在稳定性差、活性低的缺陷,大大限制了ω-TA的应用。为改善此缺陷,针对来源于土曲霉(Aspergillus terreus)的(R)-ω-TA(At TA),采用基于分子动力学模拟的计算机辅助设计与随机突变、组合突变相结合的策略进行酶的热稳定性改造,获得了热稳定性与活性同步提高的最佳突变酶At TA-E104D/A246V/R266Q (M3)。与At TA野生酶(wild-type, WT)相比,M3的半衰期t_1/2 (35℃)由17.8 min提升至102.7 min,提升了4.8倍,半失活温度T₅₀¹⁰比WT (38.1℃)提高2.2℃。最佳突变酶M3对丙酮酸和1-(R)-苯乙胺的催化效率分别是野生酶的1.59倍和1.56倍。分子动力学模拟与分子对接结果表明,分子内氢键与疏水相互作用的增加所导致α-螺旋的加固稳定是酶热稳定性提升的主要原因;底物分子与结合口袋氨...     

β-葡萄糖苷酶的糖耐受和促活性质研究

【目的】以葡萄糖耐受并促活的β-葡萄糖苷酶Bgl2A为出发材料,寻找与β-葡萄糖苷酶的葡萄糖耐受和促活性质相关的重要氨基酸残基位点并对其进行突变;对突变酶性质进行检测,结合分子对接,探究突变对酶的糖耐受和促活性质的影响及机制;进而对葡萄糖不耐受的Bgl3A (Bgl2A:A22S/V224S)进行分子改造,以获得应用潜能更好的突变酶。【方法】通过序列和结构比对、统计耦联分析和结构分析,选取Bgl2A底物通道口、蛋白质表面以及活性中心附近可能间接影响葡萄糖耐受和促活性质的残基作为突变位点,构建了多个突变酶,并对其酶学性质进行检测。【结果】以Bgl2A为出发酶,D322I、W325A、W126Y、F172N、C173I和N226V的糖耐受和促活性质显著提升。分子对接提示,这些突变可能是通过变构效应影响活性中心与葡萄糖结合的自由能,从而改变酶葡萄糖耐受和促活性质。据此,在Bgl3A分子上对应构建多个突变体,筛选获得了较出发酶在糖耐受和促活性质提升的同时保持较高酶活和稳定性的突变酶N226V和F172N。【结论】除了酶与葡萄糖直接结合的位点,不与葡萄糖直接相互作用的位点也可通过远程作用间接影响...     

产碱杆菌Alcaligenes sp.KS-85来源肌酸酶活性中心的关键氨基酸功能研究

肌酸酶(Creatinase,EC 3.5.3.3)水解肌酸生成尿素和肌氨酸,是肌酐多酶级联检测中的关键酶.为进一步解析产碱杆菌来源肌酸酶的催化机理,利用蛋白质同源建模、分子对接、丙氨酸扫描技术分析了酶与底物的相互作用,并聚焦于酶活性中心4个功能未知的保守位点Phe64、Asp102、Phe252、Phe321,通过将...     

烟草节杆菌肌酐酶发酵培养基优化

对烟草节杆菌发酵产酶培养基进行了优化。在烟草节杆菌的初始发酵培养基条件下,肌酐酶初始酶活仅为9.2U/g湿菌。首先,通过肌酸诱导、金属离子筛选实验发现肌酸和金属离子对烟草节杆菌产肌酐酶酶活有重要影响;然后再通过碳源和氮源优化,以玉米浆和酵母膏作为复合氮源,可溶性淀粉为碳源,肌酐酶产量可达到108.5 U/g湿菌;在以上基础上,最后通过两次正交试验优化初始发酵培养基,最优培养基组成为:肌酸0.3%,玉米浆0.3%,可溶性淀粉0.4%,酵母膏0.7%,Fe~2+0.003%,Mn~2+0.006%,Mg~2+0.005%,K_2HPO_40.1%,KCl 0.5%。在优化后的发酵培养基条件下,烟草节杆菌肌酐酶酶活达到182.82 U/g湿菌,为初始发酵培养基酶活的19.87倍。     

头孢菌素C酰化酶突变位点的研究

头孢菌素C酰化酶能直接将头孢菌素C(CPC)转化为7-氨基头孢烷酸(7-ACA),此一步酶法具有很大的经济价值,所以得到很多研究者的关注,特别是提高CPC酰化酶活性及专一性的研究。以CPC酰化酶基因ecs50为基础,利用重叠延伸PCR,对文献报道的活性提高的突变体酶S12的6个位点分别进行突变,将得到的6个突变体V122A、G140S、F297N、I314T、I415V、S710L进行诱导纯化后,检测酶活,以此来研究不同突变位点对酶活力的影响。结果 V122A的比活为106U/mg,它的转化效率比初始酶提高23.7%。     

重组β-葡萄糖醛酸苷酶键选择性的半理性改造

为了提高Escherichia coli重组表达的β-葡萄糖醛酸苷酶(PGUS-E)的键选择性,本研究以PGUS-E结构与功能关系的推测为指导,选择了可能影响PGUS-E的键选择性的R329、T369、N467位点进行定点饱和突变,利用薄层层析(TLC)和高效液相色谱(HPLC)对键选择进行筛选,得到优势突变酶R329K、T369V。结果显示:与PGUS-E酶相比,突变酶R329K、T369V键选择性分别提高26.9%、34.3%。突变酶的酶学性质研究表明,突变酶的最适p H和温度与PGUS-E一致,但其酶催化效率下降。由此可见,R329、T369对酶催化的键选择性和酶的活性有显著影响。综上结果,本文应用饱和突变方法改善了PGUS-E的键选择性,为酶的结构和功能关系理解提供了实验依据。     

鞘糖脂内切糖苷酶的半理性设计

[目的]对鞘糖脂内切糖苷酶EGCaseⅡ进行半理性设计,获得高水解活性突变体。[方法]用半理性设计方法进行突变库设计,利用HPLC对突变库进行筛选,随后对阳性突变体进行动力学及底物谱表征,并利用结构建模对活性提高的分子机制进行解析。[结果]获得了对鞘糖脂GM1、GM3水解活性提高的突变体S63G/D311E、I276L/D311V,活性分别提高为野生型的25.3倍、11.8倍。酶动力学表征显示,S63G/D311E的K_M由0.17 mmol/L降低到0.06 mmol/L,kcat由5.5 min~(-1)增大到50.3 min~(-1)。酶-底物复合物模式结构分析表明,D311E、D311V、I276L这几种突变更有利于酶与底物结合,从而提高酶活性。[结论]通过半理性设计成功获得对GM1和GM3水解活性分别提高25.3倍和11.8倍的EGCaseⅡ突变体。     

腾冲嗜热厌氧菌丙氨酸消旋酶底物通道氨基酸位点的功能

【目的】通过定点突变探究腾冲嗜热厌氧菌MB4中生物合成型丙氨酸消旋酶Tt Alr底物通道内氨基酸位点A172和S173的功能。【方法】利用定点突变PCR技术构建突变体,通过亲和层析法纯化酶蛋白,采用D-氨基酸氧化酶偶联法检测各突变蛋白的活性及其稳定性。【结果】通过定点突变PCR成功得到8个突变体,酶学特性分析发现,A172位点突变为丝氨酸(S)后酶蛋白的相对活性有所提升,但含有该位点突变的酶蛋白稳定性均大幅下降;S173位点突变为天门冬氨酸(D)后导致突变体蛋白的最适反应温度提升了15°C,半衰期大幅延长,但相对活性明显下降。【结论】丙氨酸消旋酶Tt Alr底物通道内A172和S173位点均是影响酶蛋白催化活性和稳定性的关键位点。     

来源于Bacillus sp. AR9 D-海因酶半理性设计的研究

D-对羟基苯甘氨酸是一种重要的精细化工品，在制药行业具有广泛的应用前景。酶法是生产D-对羟基苯甘氨酸的主要手段，但由于缺乏高催化效率的酶而限制了D-对羟基苯甘氨酸的生产。为了提高来自Bacillus sp. AR9的D-海因酶（HYD）的催化效率，进而提高D-对羟基苯甘氨酸的产量，对HYD的底物结合通道进行分析，选取底物通道瓶颈处的氨基酸进行饱和突变和筛选，以提高HYD的催化效率。结果显示，突变体F159S、F159A和F65V的活性相较于野生型HYD分别提高了51%、40%和17%，通过对突变体F65V、F159S和双位点突变F65V/F159S的酶动力学研究发现，突变体的Km值基本与野生型HYD相似，而kcat是野生型HYD的1.3、1.9和2.0倍，最终双位点突变F65V/F159S的催化效率kcat/Km是野生型HYD的2.4倍。高催化效率突变体的获得，以及对突变体动力学的分析，对酶法制备D-对羟基苯甘氨酸具有重要的研究意义和应用价值。     

半理性改造提升细菌漆酶Lac15的催化活性

[目的]漆酶可氧化各种底物,在多个工业领域有很好的潜在应用价值.Lac15是一种微生物漆酶,已表现出可观的应用潜能,可望通过蛋白质工程改造提升和拓展其应用.[方法]通过基于结构分析的半理性改造策略,选取推测与电子/质子转移或底物结合直接或间接相关的位点进行定点突变,并测定突变酶对各种底物的活性及酶学性质.[结果]部分突...     

Mutant alpha-galactosidase A enzymes identified in Fabry disease patients with residual enzyme activity: biochemical characterization and restoration of normal intracellular processing by 1-deoxygalactonojirimycin

Fabry disease is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by the deficiency of alpha-Gal A (alpha-galactosidase A) activity. In order to understand the molecular mechanism underlying alpha-Gal A deficiency in Fabry disease patients with residual enzyme activity, enzymes with different missense mutations were purified from transfected COS-7 cells and the biochemical properties were characterized. The mutant enzymes detected in variant patients (A20P, E66Q, M72V, I91T, R112H, F113L, N215S, Q279E, M296I, M296V and R301Q), and those found mostly in mild classic patients (A97V, A156V, L166V and R356W) appeared to have normal K(m) and V(max) values. The degradation of all mutants (except E59K) was partially inhibited by treatment with kifunensine, a selective inhibitor of ER (endoplasmic reticulum) alpha-mannosidase I. Metabolic labelling and subcellular fractionation studies in COS-7 cells expressing the L166V and R301Q alpha-Gal A mutants indicated that the mutant protein was retained in the ER and degraded without processing. Addition of DGJ (1-deoxygalactonojirimycin) to the culture medium of COS-7 cells transfected with a large set of missense mutant alpha-Gal A cDNAs effectively increased both enzyme activity and protein yield. DGJ was capable of normalizing intracellular processing of mutant alpha-Gal A found in both classic (L166V) and variant (R301Q) Fabry disease patients. In addition, the residual enzyme activity in fibroblasts or lymphoblasts from both classic and variant hemizygous Fabry disease patients carrying a variety of missense mutations could be substantially increased by cultivation of the cells with DGJ. These results indicate that a large proportion of mutant enzymes in patients with residual enzyme activity are kinetically active. Excessive degradation in the ER could be responsible for the deficiency of enzyme activity in vivo, and the DGJ approach may be broadly applicable to Fabry disease patients with missense mutations.     

The 1.9 Å Structure of Human α-N-Acetylgalactosaminidase: The Molecular Basis of Schindler and Kanzaki Diseases

α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase (α-NAGAL; E.C. 3.2.1.49) is a lysosomal exoglycosidase that cleaves terminal α-N-acetylgalactosamine residues from glycopeptides and glycolipids. In humans, a deficiency of α-NAGAL activity results in the lysosomal storage disorders Schindler disease and Kanzaki disease. To better understand the molecular defects in the diseases, we determined the crystal structure of human α-NAGAL after expressing wild-type and glycosylation-deficient glycoproteins in recombinant insect cell expression systems. We measured the enzymatic parameters of our purified wild-type and mutant enzymes, establishing their enzymatic equivalence. To investigate the binding specificity and catalytic mechanism of the human α-NAGAL enzyme, we determined three crystallographic complexes with different catalytic products bound in the active site of the enzyme. To better understand how individual defects in the α-NAGAL glycoprotein lead to Schindler disease, we analyzed the effect of disease-causing mutations on the three-dimensional structure.     

Directed Evolution of E. coli Alkaline Phosphatase Towards Higher Catalytic Activity

Directed evolution was used to enhance the catalytic activity of E. coli alkaline phosphatase (EAP). Through two rounds of error-prone PCR and one round of DNA shuffling followed by a rapid, sensitive screening procedure, several improved variants were obtained. Their enzymatic kinetic properties, thermal stabilities and possible mechanism for the improvement were investigated. In 1.0 M Tris buffer, the specific activity of the most active EAP variant S2163 was 1500 units/mg protein, showing it to be 3.6 times more active than the D101S parent enzyme and ～40 times more active than the wild-type EAP. At the same time, the K_m value of the S2163 variant decreased to 1491 μM from the 2384 μM of the D101S. As a result, the k_cat/K_m ratio of this variant showed a 5.8-fold enhancement over that of D101S parent enzyme. Three activating amino acid substitutions, K167R, G180S and S374C, which were located far away from the center of the catalytic pocket, were identified by sequencing the genes encoding evolved enzymes. Possible explanations for the improvement of activity were analyzed.     

Protein engineering of a cold-active β-galactosidase from Arthrobacter sp. SB to increase lactose hydrolysis reveals new sites affecting low temperature activity

We examined variants of an especially cold-active β-galactosidase (BgaS) to better understand features affecting enzyme activity at temperature extremes. We targeted locations corresponding to a region in the LacZ enzyme previously shown to increase activity and decrease thermostability. Changes in this region of BgaS consistently caused the elimination or reduction of activity. A gene (bgaS3) encoding a loss of function variant was subjected to random mutagenesis to restore activity and discover potential interactions important in cold activity. Gene sequences from the resulting library indicated that only two amino acid alterations, E229D and V405A, were required to restore activity. Genes with combinations of these mutations were constructed and their enzymes purified. Enzymes with the E229D/V405A/G803D alterations (BgaS6), or E229D/V405A (BgaS7) had similar thermal optima and thermostabilities as BgaS. BgaS7, however, showed a 2.5-fold increase in catalytic activity at 15°C and hydrolyzed 80% of lactose in skim milk in less than half the time of BgaS at 2.5°C. Computer-generated models predicted that the substitutions at positions 229 and 405 yielded fewer contacts at the enzyme’s activating interface. Results from regional saturation mutagenesis supported this hypothesis and suggested that not easily predicted, subtle, cooperative intramolecular interactions contributed to thermal adaptation.     

Optimization of reorganization energy drives evolution of the designed Kemp eliminase KE07

Understanding enzymatic evolution is essential to engineer enzymes with improved activities or to generate enzymes with tailor-made activities. The computationally designed Kemp eliminase KE07 carries out an unnatural reaction by converting of 5-nitrobenzisoxazole to cyanophenol, but its catalytic efficiency is significantly lower than those of natural enzymes. Three series of designed Kemp eliminases (KE07, KE70, KE59) were shown to be evolvable with considerable improvement in catalytic efficiency. Here we use the KE07 enzyme as a model system to reveal those forces, which govern enzymatic evolution and elucidate the key factors for improving activity. We applied the Empirical Valence Bond (EVB) method to construct the free energy pathway of the reaction in the original KE07 design and the evolved R7 1/3H variant. We analyzed catalytic effect of residues and demonstrated that not all mutations in evolution are favorable for activity. In contrast to the small decrease in the activation barrier, in vitro evolution significantly reduced the reorganization energy. We developed an algorithm to evaluate group contributions to the reorganization energy and used this approach to screen for KE07 variants with potential for improvement. We aimed to identify those mutations that facilitate enzymatic evolution, but might not directly increase catalytic efficiency. Computational results in accord with experimental data show that all mutations, which appear during in vitro evolution were either neutral or favorable for the reorganization energy. These results underscore that distant mutations can also play role in optimizing efficiency via their contribution to the reorganization energy. Exploiting this principle could be a promising strategy for computer-aided enzyme design. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: The emerging dynamic view of proteins: Protein plasticity in allostery, evolution and self-assembly.     

Directed Evolution of E. coli Alkaline Phosphatase Towards Higher Catalytic Activity

Directed evolution was used to enhance the catalytic activity of E. coli alkaline phosphatase (EAP). Through two rounds of error-prone PCR and one round of DNA shuffling followed by a rapid, sensitive screening procedure, several improved variants were obtained. Their enzymatic kinetic properties, thermal stabilities and possible mechanism for the improvement were investigated. In 1.0 M Tris buffer, the specific activity of the most active EAP variant S2163 was 1500 units/mg protein, showing it to be 3.6 times more active than the D101S parent enzyme and ∼40 times more active than the wild-type EAP. At the same time, the K_m value of the S2163 variant decreased to 1491 μM from the 2384 μM of the D101S. As a result, the k_cat/K_m ratio of this variant showed a 5.8-fold enhancement over that of D101S parent enzyme. Three activating amino acid substitutions, K167R, G180S and S374C, which were located far away from the center of the catalytic pocket, were identified by sequencing the genes encoding evolved enzymes. Possible explanations for the improvement of activity were analyzed.     

Probing the catalytically essential residues of a recombinant dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis>

In studying the structure and function of Escherichia coli dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase (EcDCP), we have employed in vitro mutagenesis and subsequent protein expression to genetically dissect the enzyme in order to gain insight into the catalytic mechanism. Comparison of the amino acid sequence of EcDCP with other homologues indicates that the active site of the enzyme exhibits an HEXXH motif, a common feature of zinc metalloenzymes. The third metal binding ligand, presumed to coordinate directly to the active-site zinc ion in concert with His470 and His474 has been proposed as Glu499. Alterations to these residues completely abolished the catalytic activity against N-benzoyl-l-glycyl-l-histidyl-l-leucine. A significant loss of the enzymatic activity was also observed in F472V and F500V mutant enzymes. Intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence revealed the significant alterations of the microenvironment of aromatic amino acid residues in all mutant enzymes, whereas circular dichroism spectra were nearly identical for the tested proteins. Computer modeling suggests that residues His470, Glu471, His474, Glu499, and Phe500 are essential for EcDCP in maintaining the stable active-site environment. Taken together, these studies contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme.     

Stabilization of creatinase from Pseudomonas putida by random mutagenesis.

Creatinase (creatine amidinohydrolase, EC 3.5.3.3) from Pseudomonas putida is a homodimer of 45 kDa subunit molecular mass, the three-dimensional structure of which is known at 1.9 A resolution. Three point mutants, A109V, V355M, and V182I, as well as one double mutant combining A109V and V355M, and the triple mutant with all three replacements, were compared with wild-type creatinase regarding their physical and enzymological properties. High-resolution crystal data for wild-type creatinase and the first two mutants suggest isomorphism at least for these three proteins (R. Huber, pers. comm.). Physicochemical measurements confirm this prediction, showing that the mutations have no effect either on the quaternary structure and gross conformation or the catalytic properties as compared to wild-type creatinase. The replacement of V182 (at the solvent-exposed end of the first helix of the C-terminal domain) does not cause significant differences in comparison with the wild-type enzyme. The other point mutations stabilize the first step in the biphasic denaturation transition without affecting the second one. In sum, the enhanced stability seems to reflect slight improvements in the local packing without creating new well-defined bonds. The increase in hydrophobicity generated by the introduction of additional methyl groups (A109V, V182I) must be compensated by minor readjustments of the global structure. Secondary or quaternary interactions are not affected. In going from single to double and triple mutants, to a first approximation, the increments of stabilization are additive.