Cell surface expression of bacterial esterase A by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its enhancement by constitutive activation of the cellular unfolded protein response

Yeast cell surface display is a powerful tool for expression and immobilization of biocatalytically active proteins on a unicellular eukaryote. Here bacterial carboxylesterase EstA from Burkholderia gladioli was covalently anchored into the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by in-frame fusion to the endogenous yeast proteins Kre1p, Cwp2p, and Flo1p. When p-nitrophenyl acetate was used as a substrate, the esterase specific activities of yeast expressing the protein fusions were 103 mU mg(-1) protein for Kre1/EstA/Cwp2p and 72 mU mg(-1) protein for Kre1/EstA/Flo1p. In vivo cell wall targeting was confirmed by esterase solubilization after laminarinase treatment and immunofluorescence microscopy. EstA expression resulted in cell wall-associated esterase activities of 2.72 U mg(-1) protein for Kre1/EstA/Cwp2p and 1.27 U mg(-1) protein for Kre1/EstA/Flo1p. Furthermore, esterase display on the yeast cell surface enabled the cells to effectively grow on the esterase-dependent carbon source glycerol triacetate (Triacetin). In the case of Kre1/EstA/Flo1p, in vivo maturation within the yeast secretory pathway and final incorporation into the wall were further enhanced when there was constitutive activation of the unfolded protein response pathway. Our results demonstrate that esterase cell surface display in yeast, which, as shown here, is remarkably more effective than EstA surface display in Escherichia coli, can be further optimized by activating the protein folding machinery in the eukaryotic secretion pathway.     

Displaying Lipase B from Candida antarctica in Pichia pastoris Using the Yeast Surface Display Approach: Prospection of a New Anchor and Characterization of the Whole Cell Biocatalyst

Yeast Surface Display (YSD) is a strategy to anchor proteins on the yeast cell wall which has been employed to increase enzyme stability thus decreasing production costs. Lipase B from Candida antarctica (LipB) is one of the most studied enzymes in the context of industrial biotechnology. This study aimed to assess the biochemical features of this important biocatalyst when immobilized on the cell surface of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris using the YSD approach. For that purpose, two anchors were tested. The first (Flo9) was identified after a prospection of the P. pastoris genome being related to the family of flocculins similar to Flo1 but significantly smaller. The second is the Protein with Internal Repeats (Pir1) from P. pastoris. An immunolocalization assay showed that both anchor proteins were able to display the reporter protein EGFP in the yeast outer cell wall. LipB was expressed in P. pastoris fused either to Flo9 (FLOLIPB) or Pir1 (PIRLIPB). Both constructions showed hydrolytic activity towards tributyrin (>100 U/mg_dcw and >80 U/mg_dcw, respectively), optimal hydrolytic activity around 45°C and pH 7.0, higher thermostability at 45°C and stability in organic solvents when compared to a free lipase.     

Specific Cell Wall Proteins Confer Resistance to Nisin upon Yeast Cells

The cell wall of a yeast cell forms a barrier for various proteinaceous and nonproteinaceous molecules. Nisin, a small polypeptide and a well-known preservative active against gram-positive bacteria, was tested with wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This peptide had no effect on intact cells. However, removal of the cell wall facilitated access of nisin to the membrane and led to cell rupture. The roles of individual components of the cell wall in protection against nisin were studied by using synchronized cultures. Variation in nisin sensitivity was observed during the cell cycle. In the S phase, which is the phase in the cell cycle in which the permeability of the yeast wall to fluorescein isothiocyanate dextrans is highest, the cells were most sensitive to nisin. In contrast, the cells were most resistant to nisin after a peak in expression of the mRNA of cell wall protein 2 (Cwp2p), which coincided with the G2 phase of the cell cycle. A mutant lacking Cwp2p has been shown to be more sensitive to cell wall-interfering compounds and Zymolyase (J. M. Van der Vaart, L. H. Caro, J. W. Chapman, F. M. Klis, and C. T. Verrips, J. Bacteriol. 177:3104–3110, 1995). Here we show that of the single cell wall protein knockouts, a Cwp2p-deficient mutant is most sensitive to nisin. A mutant with a double knockout of Cwp1p and Cwp2p is hypersensitive to the peptide. Finally, in yeast mutants with impaired cell wall structure, expression of both CWP1 and CWP2 was modified. We concluded that Cwp2p plays a prominent role in protection of cells against antimicrobial peptides, such as nisin, and that Cwp1p and Cwp2p play a key role in the formation of a normal cell wall.     

Construction of Yeast Strains with High Cell Surface Lipase Activity by Using Novel Display Systems Based on the Flo1p Flocculation Functional Domain

We constructed a novel cell-surface display system, using as a new type of cell-wall anchor 3,297 or 4,341 bp of the 3′ region of the FLO1 gene (FS or FL gene, respectively), which encodes the flocculation functional domain of Flo1p. In this system, the N terminus of the target protein was fused to the FS or FL protein and the fusion proteins were expressed under the control of the inducible promoter UPR-ICL (5′ upstream region of the isocitrate lyase of Candida tropicalis). Using this new system, recombinant lipase with a pro sequence from Rhizopus oryzae (rProROL), which has its active site near the C terminus, was displayed on the cell surface. Cell-surface display of the FSProROL and FLProROL fusion proteins was confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy and immunoblotting. Lipase activity reached 145 IU/liter (61.3 IU/g [dry cell weight]) on the surface of the yeast cells, which successfully catalyzed the methanolysis reaction. Using these whole-cell biocatalysts, methylesters synthesized from triglyceride and methanol reached 78.3% after 72 h of reaction. To our knowledge, this is the first example of cell-surface display of lipase with high activity. Interestingly, the yeast cells displaying the FLProROL protein showed strong flocculation, even though the glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor attachment signal and cell-membrane-anchoring region of Flo1p had been deleted from this gene. The cell-surface display system based on FL thus endows the yeast strain with both novel enzyme display and strong flocculation ability.     

Use of Pseudomonas putida EstA as an Anchoring Motif for Display of a Periplasmic Enzyme on the Surface of Escherichia coli

The functional expression of proteins on the surface of bacteria has proven important for numerous biotechnological applications. In this report, we investigated the N-terminal fusion display of the periplasmic enzyme β-lactamase (Bla) on the surface of Escherichia coli by using the translocator domain of the Pseudomonas putida outer membrane esterase (EstA), which is a member of the lipolytic autotransporter enzymes. To find out the transport function of a C-terminal domain of EstA, we generated a set of Bla-EstA fusion proteins containing N-terminally truncated derivatives of the EstA C-terminal domain. The surface exposure of the Bla moiety was verified by whole-cell immunoblots, protease accessibility, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The investigation of growth kinetics and host cell viability showed that the presence of the EstA translocator domain in the outer membrane neither inhibits cell growth nor affects cell viability. Furthermore, the surface-exposed Bla moiety was shown to be enzymatically active. These results demonstrate for the first time that the translocator domain of a lipolytic autotransporter enzyme is an effective anchoring motif for the functional display of heterologous passenger protein on the surface of E. coli. This investigation also provides a possible topological model of the EstA translocator domain, which might serve as a basis for the construction of fusion proteins containing heterologous passenger domains.     

Comparison of cell wall proteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as anchors for cell surface expression of heterologous proteins.

The carboxyl-terminal regions of five cell wall proteins (Cwp1p, Cwp2p, Ag alpha 1p, Tip1p, and Flo1p) and three potential cell wall proteins (Sed1p, YCR89w, and Tir1p) all proved capable of immobilizing alpha-galactosidase in the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The fraction of the total amount of fusion protein that was localized to the cell wall varied depending on the anchor domain used. The highest proportion of cell wall incorporation was achieved with Cwp2p, Ag alpha 1p, or Sed1p as an anchor. Although 80% of these fusion proteins were incorporated in the cell wall, the total production of alpha-galactosidase-Ag alpha 1p was sixfold lower than that of alpha-galactosidase-Cwp2p and eightfold lower than that of alpha-galactosidase-Sed1p. Differences in mRNA levels were not responsible for this discrepancy, nor was an intracellular accumulation of alpha-galactosidase-Ag alpha 1p detectable. A lower translation efficiency of the alpha-galactosidase-AG alpha 1 fusion construct is most likely to be responsible for the low level of protein production. alpha-Galactosidase immobilized by the carboxyl-terminal 67 amino acids of Cwp2p was most effective in the hydrolysis of the high-molecular-weight substrate guar gum from Cyamopsis tetragonoloba. This indicates that the use of a large anchoring domain does not necessarily result in a better exposure of the immobilized enzyme to the exterior of the yeast cell.     

解脂耶氏酵母脂肪酶Lip2的表面展示及其酶学性质

表面展示酶作为全细胞催化剂具备诸如能提高酶的稳定性、省去纯化过程、节约成本等优点。脂肪酶是应用最为广泛的工业酶之一。本研究利用酿酒酵母细胞壁蛋白Cwp2作为锚定蛋白,将解脂耶氏酵母脂肪酶Lip2展示在酿酒酵母细胞表面,以制备脂肪酶全细胞催化剂。Lip2被融合到Cwp2的N端,Cwp2通过其C端的GPI锚定信号共价结合到细胞壁上。表面展示的Lip2可以水解三丁酸甘油酯及对硝基苯酚辛酸酯(pNPC),其pNPC水解酶活达到4.6U/g干细胞。作为全细胞催化剂,表面展示的Lip2具备良好的催化特征,其最适温度为40°C,最适pH为8.0,同时还具备良好的有机溶剂稳定性。     

Regulation of the Display Ratio of Enzymes on the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cell Surface by the Immunoglobulin G and Cellulosomal Enzyme Binding Domains

We constructed a novel cell surface display system to control the ratio of target proteins on the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell surface, using two pairs of protein-protein interactions. One protein pair is the Z domain of protein A derived from Staphylococcus aureus and the Fc domain of human immunoglobulin G. The other is the cohesin (Coh) and dockerin (Dock) from the cellulosome of Clostridium cellulovorans. In this proposed displaying system, the scaffolding proteins (fusion proteins of Z and Coh) were displayed on the cell surface by fusing with the 3′ half of α-agglutinin, and the target proteins fused with Fc or Dock were secreted. As a target protein, a recombinant Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase II (EGII) was secreted into the medium and immediately displayed on the yeast cell surface via the Z and Fc domains. Display of EGII on the cell surface was confirmed by hydrolysis of β-glucan as a substrate, and EGII activity was detected in the cell pellet fraction. Finally, two enzymes, EGII and Aspergillus aculeatus β-glucosidase 1, were codisplayed on the cell surface via Z-Fc and Dock-Coh interactions, respectively. As a result, the yeast displaying two enzymes hydrolyzed β-glucan to glucose very well. These results strongly indicated that the proposed strategy, the simultaneous display of two enzymes on the yeast cell surface, was accomplished by quantitatively controlling the display system using affinity binding.Microorganisms have been used to enable cell surface display of heterogonous peptides or proteins for various applications (13, 19, 20). For practical purposes, the use of the cell surface display system of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which has “generally regarded as safe” status, is suitable and can be employed in many processes, including food and pharmaceutical production. Yeast strains displaying functional peptides or proteins are expected to be used, for instance, as live vaccines (10), matrices for screening of novel proteins from combinatorial libraries (3, 12, 27), whole-cell bioadsorbents (14, 18), reporter substances (23), and whole-cell biocatalysts (8, 9, 11, 16). In yeast-based cell surface display systems, the C-terminal half of α-agglutinin, containing the putative glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor attachment signal sequence (15), has been used as an anchor protein to successfully display many kinds of proteins on the cell surface. In addition, other surface proteins, such as α-agglutinin (AGA1 and AGA2), Flo1, Sed1, Cwp1, Cwp2, Tip1, and Tir1, were also used for enzyme display (24). To immobilize a target protein at the N terminus, another surface display system has been developed using the flocculation functional domain of Flo1p (16), which is a lectin-like cell wall protein that plays a major role in flocculation (25). These displaying systems could successfully display three kinds of enzymes on the surfaces of yeast cells (8, 9). However, in current yeast-based cell surface display systems, the ratio of the proteins to be displayed on the cell surface cannot be controlled, since the produced target protein attached the protein or cell wall component on the cell surface by only molecular interaction.A large extracellular polysaccharolytic multicomponent complex called the cellulosome provides a model for the concept of a cell surface displaying system. Cellulosomes from anaerobic and cellulolytic bacteria such as Clostridium, Acetivibrio, Bacteroides, and Ruminococcus have been studied in detail (1). The cellulosomes of the thermophilic organism Clostridium thermocellum and of the mesophilic organisms Clostridium cellulovorans and Clostridium cellulolyticum have been extensively discussed (1, 6). The structure of cellulosomes consists of a nonenzymatic scaffolding protein called CbpA (1, 6), CipA (1, 4), or CipC (1) complexed with a number of cellulosomal enzymes. The scaffolding proteins usually contain a number of cohesin (Coh) domains and cellulose binding domains. On the other hand, cellulosomal enzymes contain a Coh binding site called dockerin (Dock), and the Coh-Dock interaction is an important factor in cellulosome assembly. Some cellulosomes are able to anchor to the cell surface through interaction of other scaffolding proteins containing surface layer homology domains. The cellulosome models that include a cell surface anchoring system are similar to our concept of a cell surface display system.Based on this concept, we propose a novel method to control the displaying ratio of enzymes for attaining a complicated reaction such as cellulose degradation. Recently, the display of one kind of protein via Z-Fc interaction on the surfaces of yeast cells was successfully achieved (18). According to this proposed method, we used the following two pairs of proteins for assembling specifically with each other: (i) Z domain and the Fc part of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and (ii) Coh and Dock from cellulosomes. The Z domain, which was derived from the B domain of protein A from Staphylococcus aureus, interacts with IgG from various species (21). Coh is a domain of the scaffolding protein from the cellulase complex (cellulosome) from C. cellulovorans (5). Dock is a domain of the cellulosomal enzymes which binds to Coh of the scaffolding protein on the surface of C. cellulovorans. The secreted enzymes fused with Fc or Dock could be displayed on the cell surface through a ZZ-Coh-Coh scaffolding protein (Fig. ​(Fig.1B1B).Open in a separate windowFIG. 1.Plasmids and proposed protein-protein interaction cell surface display systems with two pairs of proteins. (A) Maps of plasmids used in this study. (B) Sequential degradation of β-glucan by displayed enzymes. The protein pairs used in this study were (i) the Z domain from Staphylococcus aureus protein A and Fc domain from IgG and (ii) the Coh and Dock domains from the C. cellulovorans cellulosome.To carry out the proposed strategy, we constructed the cell surface displaying system with Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase II (EGII) and Aspergillus aculeatus β-glucosidase 1 (BGL1). Furthermore, we demonstrated synergistic saccharification of soluble cellulose by integrating two kinds of cellulase enzymes on the cell surface by using the ZZ-Coh-Coh scaffolding protein as a model for a complex reaction.     

Defects in Assembly of the Extracellular Matrix Are Responsible for Altered Morphogenesis of a Candida albicans phr1 Mutant

Analysis of Candida albicans cells using antibodies directed against Gas1p/Ggp1p, Saccharomyces cerevisiae homolog of Phr1p, revealed that Phr1p is a glycoprotein of about 88 kDa whose accumulation increases with the rise of external pH. This polypeptide is present both in the yeast form and during germ tube induction. In the Phr1⁻ cells at pH 8 the solubility of glucans in alkali is greatly affected. In the parental strain the alkali-soluble/-insoluble glucan ratio shows a 50% decrease at pH 8 with respect to pH 4.5, whereas in the null mutant it is unchanged, indicating the lack of a polymer cross-linker activity induced by the rise of pH. The mutant has a sixfold increase in chitin level and is hypersensitive to calcofluor. Consistently with a role of chitin in strengthening the cell wall, Phr1⁻ cells are more sensitive to nikkomycin Z than the parental strain.     

Production, Distribution, and Kinetic Properties of Inulinase in Continuous Cultures of Kluyveromyces marxianus CBS 6556

From a screening of several Kluyveromyces strains, the yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus CBS 6556 was selected for a study of the parameters relevant to the commercial production of inulinase (EC 3.2.1.7). This yeast exhibited superior properties with respect to growth at elevated temperatures (40 to 45°C), substrate specificity, and inulinase production. In sucrose-limited chemostat cultures growing on mineral medium, the amount of enzyme decreased from 52 U mg of cell dry weight⁻¹ at D = 0.1 h⁻¹ to 2 U mg of cell dry weight⁻¹ at D = 0.8 h⁻¹. Experiments with nitrogen-limited cultures further confirmed that synthesis of the enzyme is negatively controlled by the residual sugar concentration in the culture. High enzyme activities were observed during growth on nonsugar substrates, indicating that synthesis of the enzyme is a result of a derepression/repression mechanism. A substantial part of the inulinase produced by K. marxianus was associated with the cell wall. The enzyme could be released from the cell wall via a simple chemical treatment of cells. Results are presented on the effect of cultivation conditions on the distribution of the enzyme. Inulinase was active with sucrose, raffinose, stachyose, and inulin as substrates and exhibited an S/I ratio (relative activities with sucrose and inulin) of 15 under standard assay conditions. The enzyme activity decreased with increasing chain length of the substrate.     

Oxygen radical generation by isolated microsomes from soybean seedlings

The generation of active oxygen species by microsomes isolated from soybean seedlings was studied. NADPH-dependent superoxide anion production was 5.0 ± 0.4 nmol · min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ of microsomal protein. Hydrogen peroxide generation by microsomes was 1.40 ± 0.05 nmol · min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ of protein. Hydroxyl radical production, in the presence of ferric EDTA, evaluated through the generation of formaldehyde from dimethyl sulfoxide or tert-butyl alcohol was 0.50 ± 0.04 and 0.44 ± 0.03 nmol · min⁻¹ mg⁻¹, respectively. NADH proved to be suitable as cofactor for oxygen radical generation by microsomes from soybean seedlings. Because transition metals are implicated in radical generation by biological systems, the ability of microsomal membranes to reduce iron complexes was studied. Ferric ATP, ferric citrate, ferric ADP, ferric diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid, and ferric EDTA were efficiently reduced in the presence of either NADPH or NADH as cofactor. The pattern of effectiveness of the different ferric complexes, on superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radical production, was similar to that found with animal microsomes. The data presented here indicate that microsomal ability to catalyze oxygen radical generation must be considered as an important contribution to cellular radical steady-state concentrations in cells from soybean seedlings.     

Effect of cultivation conditions on cell-surface display of Flo1 fusion protein using sake yeast

The cell-surface display of the Flo1p anchor system with a flocculation functional domain was examined under various cultivation conditions. As a model system, lipase from Rhizopus oryzae with the pro sequence was genetically fused to the Flo1 short (FS) anchor (FSProROL) and displayed on the sake yeast cell-surface under the control of the SED800 promoter (pSED800). The nutrients and carbon source in the culture media affected the display of the fusion protein FSProROL on the sake yeast cell-surface. The lipase activity in whole cells cultivated in poor media, without peptone and/or yeast extracts, were higher than those cultivated in rich media. In addition, glucose and maltose were effective carbon sources for increasing the lipase activity in whole cells, and the addition of di- or tri-saccharide as the carbon source reduced the release of the lipase activity into the culture supernatants. The initial glucose concentration was found to influence the total lipase activity and it mainly affected the lipase activity in whole cells. Under the optimum condition, sake yeast was found to show high cell density and high lipase activity in short time cultivation.     

Purification and initial kinetic characterization of different forms of o-acetylserine sulfhydrylase from seedlings of two species of phaseolus

Purification of O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase (OASS) from seedlings of two species of Phaseolus reveals the presence in both species of two forms of this enzyme. The isolation and purification procedure gives purification of 7- to 160-fold for individual isoenzymes with specific activities ranging from 33 IU mg⁻¹ to 775 IU mg⁻¹ protein.     

Aerobic Fermentation of D-Xylose to Ethanol by Clavispora sp

Eleven strains of an undescribed species of Clavispora fermented D-xylose directly to ethanol under aerobic conditions. Strain UWO(PS)83-877-1 was grown in a medium containing 2% D-xylose and 0.5% yeast extract, and the following results were obtained: ethanol yield coefficient (ethanol/D-xylose), 0.29 g g⁻¹ (57.4% of theoretical); cell yield coefficient (dry biomass/D-xylose), 0.25 g g⁻¹; maximum ethanol concentration, 5.9 g liter⁻¹; maximum volumetric ethanol productivity, 0.11 g liter⁻¹ h⁻¹. With initial D-xylose concentrations of 40, 60, and 80 g liter⁻¹, maximum ethanol concentrations of 8.8, 10.9, and 9.8 g liter⁻¹ were obtained, respectively (57.2, 57.1, and 48.3% of theoretical). Ethanol was found to inhibit the fermentation of D-xylose (K_p = 0.58 g liter⁻¹) more than the fermentation of glucose (K_p = 6.5 g liter⁻¹). The performance of this yeast compared favorably with that reported for some other D-xylose-fermenting yeasts.     

Roles for the Conserved Spc105p/Kre28p Complex in Kinetochore-Microtubule Binding and the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint

Background

Kinetochores attach sister chromatids to microtubules of the mitotic spindle and orchestrate chromosome disjunction at anaphase. Although S. cerevisiae has the simplest known kinetochores, they nonetheless contain ∼70 subunits that assemble on centromeric DNA in a hierarchical manner. Developing an accurate picture of the DNA-binding, linker and microtubule-binding layers of kinetochores, including the functions of individual proteins in these layers, is a key challenge in the field of yeast chromosome segregation. Moreover, comparison of orthologous proteins in yeast and humans promises to extend insight obtained from the study of simple fungal kinetochores to complex animal cell kinetochores.

Principal Findings

We show that S. cerevisiae Spc105p forms a heterotrimeric complex with Kre28p, the likely orthologue of the metazoan kinetochore protein Zwint-1. Through systematic analysis of interdependencies among kinetochore complexes, focused on Spc105p/Kre28p, we develop a comprehensive picture of the assembly hierarchy of budding yeast kinetochores. We find Spc105p/Kre28p to comprise the third linker complex that, along with the Ndc80 and MIND linker complexes, is responsible for bridging between centromeric heterochromatin and kinetochore MAPs and motors. Like the Ndc80 complex, Spc105p/Kre28p is also essential for kinetochore binding by components of the spindle assembly checkpoint. Moreover, these functions are conserved in human cells.

Conclusions/Significance

Spc105p/Kre28p is the last of the core linker complexes to be analyzed in yeast and we show it to be required for kinetochore binding by a discrete subset of kMAPs (Bim1p, Bik1p, Slk19p) and motors (Cin8p, Kar3p), all of which are nonessential. Strikingly, dissociation of these proteins from kinetochores prevents bipolar attachment, even though the Ndc80 and DASH complexes, the two best-studied kMAPs, are still present. The failure of Spc105 deficient kinetochores to bind correctly to spindle microtubules and to recruit checkpoint proteins in yeast and human cells explains the observed severity of missegregation phenotypes.     

Homologous and Heterologous Overexpression in Clostridium acetobutylicum and Characterization of Purified Clostridial and Algal Fe-Only Hydrogenases with High Specific Activities

Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 was selected for the homologous overexpression of its Fe-only hydrogenase and for the heterologous expressions of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Scenedesmus obliquus HydA1 Fe-only hydrogenases. The three Strep tag II-tagged Fe-only hydrogenases were isolated with high specific activities by two-step column chromatography. The purified algal hydrogenases evolve hydrogen with rates of around 700 μmol H₂ min⁻¹ mg⁻¹, while HydA from C. acetobutylicum (HydA_Ca) shows the highest activity (5,522 μmol H₂ min⁻¹ mg⁻¹) in the direction of hydrogen uptake. Further, kinetic parameters and substrate specificity were reported. An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis of the thionin-oxidized HydA_Ca protein indicates a characteristic rhombic EPR signal that is typical for the oxidized H cluster of Fe-only hydrogenases.     

Biochemical Characterization of a First Fungal Esterase from Rhizomucor miehei Showing High Efficiency of Ester Synthesis

Background

Esterases with excellent merits suitable for commercial use in ester production field are still insufficient. The aim of this research is to advance our understanding by seeking for more unusual esterases and revealing their characterizations for ester synthesis.

Methodology/Principal Findings

A novel esterase-encoding gene from Rhizomucor miehei (RmEstA) was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Sequence analysis revealed a 975-bp ORF encoding a 324-amino-acid polypeptide belonging to the hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) family IV and showing highest similarity (44%) to the Paenibacillus mucilaginosus esterase/lipase. Recombinant RmEstA was purified to homogeneity: it was 34 kDa by SDS-PAGE and showed optimal pH and temperature of 6.5 and 45°C, respectively. The enzyme was stable to 50°C, under a broad pH range (5.0–10.6). RmEstA exhibited broad substrate specificity toward p-nitrophenol esters and short-acyl-chain triglycerols, with highest activities (1,480 U mg⁻¹ and 228 U mg⁻¹) for p-nitrophenyl hexanoate and tributyrin, respectively. RmEstA efficiently synthesized butyl butyrate (92% conversion yield) when immobilized on AOT-based organogel.

Conclusion

RmEstA has great potential for industrial applications. RmEstA is the first reported esterase from Rhizomucor miehei.     

Mac-1 Regulates IL-13 Activity in Macrophages by Directly Interacting with IL-13Rα1

Mac-1 exhibits a unique inhibitory activity toward IL-13-induced JAK/STAT activation and thereby regulates macrophage to foam cell transformation. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is unknown. In this study, we report the identification of IL-13Rα1, a component of the IL-13 receptor (IL-13R), as a novel ligand of integrin Mac-1, using a co-evolution-based algorithm. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that recombinant IL-13Rα1 binds Mac-1 in a purified system and supports Mac-1-mediated cell adhesion. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that endogenous Mac-1 forms a complex with IL-13Rα1 in solution, and confocal fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that these two receptors co-localize with each other on the surface of macrophages. Moreover, we found that genetic inactivation of Mac-1 promotes IL-13-induced JAK/STAT activation in macrophages, resulting in enhanced polarization along the alternative activation pathway. Importantly, we observed that Mac-1^−/− macrophages exhibit increased expression of foam cell differentiation markers including 15-lipoxygenase and lectin-type oxidized LDL receptor-1 both in vitro and in vivo. Indeed, we found that Mac-1^−/−LDLR^−/− mice develop significantly more foam cells than control LDLR^−/− mice, using an in vivo model of foam cell formation. Together, our data establish for the first time a molecular mechanism by which Mac-1 regulates the signaling activity of IL-13 in macrophages. This newly identified IL-13Rα1/Mac-1-dependent pathway may offer novel targets for therapeutic intervention in the future.