Enzyme activation for nonaqueous media

Highly active enzyme formulations can be prepared for use in nonaqueous media. Considerable progress has been made in the past two years on gaining an improved mechanistic understanding of enzyme function and activation in dehydrated environments. This increased fundamental understanding has led to the development of a broad array of techniques for generating active, stable, and enantioselective and regioselective tailored enzymes for synthetically relevant transformations. This, in turn, is resulting in an exponential increase in the opportunities for enzymatic processes to be developed on a commercial scale.     

Enhanced esterification activity through interfacial activation and cross‐linked immobilization mechanism of Rhizopus oryzae lipase in a nonaqueous medium

Interfacial activation via surfactant (Tween 80, Triton X‐100) treatment was conducted to improve the esterification activity of Rhizopus oryzae lipase that had undergone immobilization through cross‐linked enzyme aggregates (CLEA®) technique. Surfactant pretreated immobilized enzymes exhibited better esterification activity compared to free and non‐pretreated immobilized enzyme (Control CLEAs) since higher conversion rates were obtained within shorter times. The superiority of surfactant pretreated CLEAs, especially Tween 80 pretreated CLEAs (T 80 PT CLEAs), were clearly pronounced when longer alcohols were used as substrates. Conversion values exceeded 90% for octyl octanoate, oleyl octanoate and oleyl oleate synthesis with T 80 PT CLEAs whereas Control CLEAs and free enzyme showed no activity. Maximum conversions were achieved in the case equal molars of the substrates or in the case excess of the alcohol to acid in cyclohexane. In solvent free medium containing equal molars of substrates the conversion rates were 85% and 87% with T 80 PT CLEAs respectively for octyl octanoate and oleyl oleate within 2 hours. T 80 PT CLEAs showed 59% of its original activity after 7 consecutive usage for oleyl oleate synthesis. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:899–904, 2016     

Remarkable activation of enzymes in nonaqueous media by denaturing organic cosolvents

The rates of transesterification reactions catalyzed by the protease subtilisin Carlsberg suspended in various anhydrous solvents at 30 degrees C can be increased more than 100-fold by the addition of denaturing organic cosolvents (dimethyl sulfoxide or formamide); in water, the same cosolvents exert no enzyme activation. At 4 degrees C, the activation effect on the lyophilized protease is even higher, reaching 1000-fold. Marked enhancement of enzymatic activity in anhydrous solvents by formamide is also observed for two other enzymes, alpha-chymotrypsin and Rhizomucor miehei lipase, and is manifested in two transesterification reactions. In addition to lyophilized subtilisin, crosslinked crystals of subtilisin are also amenable to the dramatic activation by the denaturing cosolvents. In contrast, subtilisin solubilized in anhydrous media by covalent modification with poly(ethylene glycol) exhibits only modest activation. These observations are rationalized in terms of a mechanistic hypothesis based on an enhanced protein flexibility in anhydrous millieu brought about by the denaturing organic cosolvents. The latter exert their lubricating effect largely at the interfaces between enzyme molecules in a solid preparation, thus easing the flexibility constraints imposed by protein-protein contacts. (c) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Structural origins of the interfacial activation in Thermomyces (Humicola) lanuginosa lipase

The already known X-ray structures of lipases provide little evidence about initial, discrete structural steps occurring in the first phases of their activation in the presence of lipids (process referred to as interfacial activation). To address this problem, five new Thermomyces (formerly Humicola) lanuginosa lipase (TlL) crystal structures have been solved and compared with four previously reported structures of this enzyme. The bias coming from different crystallization media has been minimized by the growth of all crystals under the same crystallization conditions, in the presence of detergent/lipid analogues, with low or high ionic strength as the only main variable. Resulting structures and their characteristic features allowed the identification of three structurally distinct species of this enzyme: low activity form (LA), activated form (A), and fully Active (FA) form. The isomerization of the Cys268-Cys22 disulfide, synchronized with the formation of a new, short alpha(0) helix and flipping of the Arg84 (Arginine switch) located in the lid's proximal hinge, have been postulated as the key, structural factors of the initial transitions between LA and A forms. The experimental results were supplemented by theoretical calculations. The magnitude of the activation barrier between LA (ground state) and A (end state) forms of TlL (10.6 kcal/mol) is comparable to the enthalpic barriers typical for ring flips and disulfide isomerizations at ambient temperatures. This suggests that the sequence of the structural changes, as exemplified in various TlL crystal structures, mirror those that may occur during interfacial activation.     

Trypsin treatment may impair the interfacial activation action of lipoprotein lipase.

Lipoprotein lipase was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transfected with human lipoprotein lipase cDNA. The lipoprotein lipase retained tributyrin, water-soluble substrate, hydrolyzing activity (esterase activity). The catalytic action of this enzyme was studied by monitoring the esterase activity. The esterase activity was enhanced 4.5-fold by the addition of triolein emulsified with Triton X-100. This process was named interfacial activation. Treatment of LPL with trypsin (100 micrograms/ml, 37 degrees C for 10 min) caused the loss of the triolein hydrolyzing activity without that of the esterase activity. The esterase activity of trypsin-treated LPL was not enhanced by the addition of the triolein emulsion. The trypsin-treated LPL retained the ability to bind to very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). These results are consistent with the idea that LPL has a catalytic site and a lipid interface recognition site, and that the enzyme undergoes interfacial activation, in which the concealed catalytic site is revealed after the enzyme binds to the surface. Based on this hypothesis, the results obtained suggest that trypsin nicking may impair the interfacial activation process and cause the loss of the lipase activity.     

非水酶学和非水相生物催化研究进展

近年来工业生物技术飞速发展,酶学和生物催化领域也取得突破性进展,特别在酶在非水相中活性及稳定性研究,耐溶剂生物催化剂的筛选、构建、修饰和改造,生物相容性和环境相容性好的绿色介质等方面取得了较大的进展。最近的研究热点和未来几年的研究方向主要为:基于基因组信息的耐溶剂酶的虚拟筛选和构建;基于自然界筛选新酶基因的耐溶剂酶重构和改造;离子液体等环境友好的绿色介质系统等几个方面。     

Altering the interfacial activation mechanism of a lipase by solid-phase selective chemical modification

This study presents a combined protein immobilization, directed mutagenesis, and site-selective chemical modification approach, which was used to create a hyperactivated semisynthetic variant of BTL2. Various alkane chains were tethered at three different positions in order to mimic the lipase interfacial activation exogenously triggered by detergents. Optimum results were obtained when a dodecane chain was introduced at position 320 by solid-phase site-selective chemical modification. The resulting semisynthetic variant showed a 2.5-fold higher activity than the wild-type nonmodified variant in aqueous conditions. Remarkably, this is the maximum hyperactivation ever observed for BTL2 in the presence of detergents such as Triton X-100. We present evidence to suggest that the endogenous dodecane chain hyperactivates the enzyme in a similar fashion as an exogenous detergent molecule. In this way, we also observe a faster irreversible enzyme inhibition and an altered detergent sensitivity profile promoted by the site-selective chemical modification. These findings are also supported by fluorescence studies, which reveal that the structural conformation changes of the semisynthetic variant are different to those of the wild type, an effect that is more pronounced in the presence of detergent. Finally, the optimal immobilized semisynthetic variant was successfully applied to the selective synthesis of oxiran-2-yl butyrate. Significantly, this biocatalyst is 12-fold more efficient than the immobilized wild-type enzyme, producing the S-enantiomer with higher enantiospecificity (ee = 92%).     

Coprecipitation of the Pseudomonas fluorescens lipase with hydrophobic compounds as an approach to its immobilization for catalysis in nonaqueous media

The precipitation of N-cetylamine, N-cetylacetamide, hexan-1,2-diol, cetyl alcohol, and poly(butyl metacrylate) in acetone-water media in the presence of the lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens was found to be accompanied by the coprecipitation of the enzyme. Within the lyophilized coprecipitates, the lipase exhibits a high catalytic activity and enantioselectivity in the reaction of (1RS)-phenylethanol acetylation with vinyl acetate in t-butyl methyl ether. In order of increasing lipase activity, the coprecipitates can be arranged in the series: cetyl alcohol, poly(butyl metacrylate), hexadecane-1,2-diol, N-cetylamine, and N-cetylacetamide, with the activity 2.5- to 19-fold exceeding the activity of the native enzyme. The immobilization of the lipase on solid supports, such as Celite 545 (physical sorption) and Eupergit C250L (covalent binding), in the presence of hexadecane-1,2-diol was found to increase the esterifying activity of the enzyme. The English version of the paper.     

Catalysis by amine oxidases in nonaqueous media

The synthetic potential of amine oxidases was examined in different reaction systems, ranging from aqueous solutions to organic solvents with low water content. Substantial conversion was achieved in biphasic systems, which eliminated the product inhibition observed in the aqueous system. The conversion was particularly high in the more hydrophobic solvents. The use of low water systems was studied using amine oxidase immobilized on celite and pre-equilibrated in a salt hydrate environment to reach a constant water activity. Addition of water in the solvent was shown to be unnecessary, with significant conversion being attained through the water supplied by pre-equilibration of the immobilized enzyme at a_w=0.55. The use of organic solvent-containing reaction systems thus presents a convenient method for oxidising poorly water-soluble amines using amine oxidases.     

Open and closed states of Candida antarctica lipase B: protonation and the mechanism of interfacial activation

Lipases (EC 3.1.1.3) are ubiquitous hydrolases for the carboxyl ester bond of water-insoluble substrates, such as triacylglycerols, phospholipids, and other insoluble substrates, acting in aqueous as well as in low-water media, thus being of considerable physiological significance with high interest also for their industrial applications. The hydrolysis reaction follows a two-step mechanism, or “interfacial activation,” with adsorption of the enzyme to a heterogeneous interface and subsequent enhancement of the lipolytic activity. Among lipases, Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) has never shown any significant interfacial activation, and a closed conformation of CALB has never been reported, leading to the conclusion that its behavior was due to the absence of a lid regulating the access to the active site. The lid open and closed conformations and their protonation states are observed in the crystal structure of CALB at 0.91 Å resolution. Having the open and closed states at atomic resolution allows relating protonation to the conformation, indicating the role of Asp145 and Lys290 in the conformation alteration. The findings explain the lack of interfacial activation of CALB and offer new elements to elucidate this mechanism, with the consequent implications for the catalytic properties and classification of lipases.     

Polymerization of phenols catalyzed by peroxidase in nonaqueous media

Polymers produced by horseradish-peroxidase-catalyzed coupling of phenols have been explored as potential substitutes for phenol-formaldehyde resins. To overcome low substrate solubilities and product molecular weights in water, enzymatic polymerizations in aqueous-organic mixtures have been examined. Peroxidase vigorously polymerizes a number of phenols in mixtures of water with water-miscible solvents such as dioxane, acetone, di-methylformamide, and methyl formate with the solvent content up to 95%. As a result, various phenolic polymers with average molecular weights from 400 to 2.6 x 10(4) D were obtained depending on the reaction medium composition and the nature of the phenol. Peroxidase-catalyzed copolymerization of different phenols in 85% dioxane was demonstrated. Poly(p-phenylphenol) and poly(p-cresol) were enzymatically prepared on a gram scale. They had much higher melting points, and in addition, poly(p-phenylphenol) was found to have a much higher electrical conductivity than phenol-formaldehyde resins.     

Solid-phase peptide synthesis by ion-paired alpha-chymotrypsin in nonaqueous media

Solid-phase synthesis of dipeptides in low-water media was achieved using AOT ion-paired alpha-chymotrypsin solubilized in organic solvents. Multiple solvents and systematic variation of water activity, a(w), were used to examine the rate of coupling between N-alpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester (Z-Phe-OMe) and leucine as a function of the reaction medium for both solid-phase and solution-phase reactions. In solution, the observed maximum reaction rate in a given solvent generally correlated with measures of hydrophobicity such as the log of the 1-octanol/water partitioning coefficient (log P) and the Hildebrand solubility parameter. The maximum rate for solution-phase synthesis (13 mmol/h g-enzyme) was obtained in a 90/10 (v/v) isooctane/tetrahydrofuran solvent mixture at an a(w) of 0.30. For the synthesis of dipeptides from solid-phase leucine residues, the highest synthetic rates (0.14-1.3 mmol/h g-enzyme) were confined to solvent environments that fell inside abruptly defined regions of solvent parameter space (e.g., log P > 2.3 and normalized electron acceptance index <0.13). The maximum rate for solid-phase synthesis was obtained in a 90/10 (v/v) isooctane/tetrahydrofuran solvent mixture at an a(w) of 0.14. In 90/10 and 70/30 (v/v) isooctane/tetrahydrofuran environments with a(w) set to 0.14, seven different N-protected dipeptides were synthesized on commercially available Tentagel support with yields of 74-98% in 24 h.     

Silicone-immobilized biocatalysts effective for bioconversions in nonaqueous media.

A hydrophobic silicone polymer could be effectively applied to immobilization of two kinds of biocatalysts operating in organic media. Horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase, which was solubilized in a small amount of water, or deposited on water-filled hydrophilic particles, was immobilized in this material. This configuration of the preparation involving finely dispersed aqueous phase permitted a simple packed-bed operation for the enzymatic oxidation of alcohol and reduction of aldehyde with a coupled-substrate NAD(H) recycling in n-hexane. Another example was the immobilization of Nocardia corallina which catalysed epoxidation of liquid alkenes such as 1-tetradecene, 1-octene, and styrene in the presence of n-hexadecane. In order to adjust the hydrophobicity-hydrophilicity balance of the support, it was effective to immobilize the cells in a mixed matrix composed of silicone polymer and Ca-alginate gel. The optimum composition of the mixed matrix, which yielded the highest productivity of epoxide, was 80-90% silicone + 20-10% alginate for the production of 1,2-epoxytetradecane, 40-50% silicone + 60-50% alginate for 1,2-epoxyoctane, and almost 0% silicone + 100% alginate for styrene oxide. This significant change of the optimum composition was primarily associated with the degree of substrate inhibition.     

Peroxidase activity and stability of surfactant-heme complex in nonaqueous media

A surfactant-heme complex was prepared from hemin using a water-in-oil emulsion with a synthetic nonionic surfactant. The heme complex was soluble in anhydrous benzene with peroxidase activity for the oxidation of o-phenylene-diamine using tert-butyl hydroperoxide as an oxidant. An absorption spectrum of the heme complex in benzene was distinct from that of free heme in an aqueous buffer solution owing to the different aggregation states in the respec-tive solution. Moreover, the heme complex could not be decomposed in benzene even in excess of the hydroper-oxide due to enhanced stability.     

Direct solubilization of enzyme aggregates with enhanced activity in nonaqueous media

A protein solubilization method has been developed to directly solubilize protein clusters into organic solvents containing small quantities of surfactant and trace amounts of water. Termed "direct solubilization," this technique was shown to solubilize three distinct proteins - subtilisin Carlsberg, lipase B from Candida antarctica, and soybean peroxidase - with much greater efficiencies than extraction of the protein from aqueous solution into surfactant-containing organic solvents (referred to as extraction). More significant, however, was the dramatic increase in directly solubilized enzyme activity relative to extracted enzyme activity, particularly for subtilisin and lipase in polar organic solvents. For example, in THF the initial rate towards bergenin transesterification was ca. 70 times higher for directly solubilized subtilisin than for the extracted enzyme. Furthermore, unlike their extracted counterparts, the directly solubilized enzymes yielded high product conversions across a spectrum of non-polar and polar solvents. Structural characterization of the solubilized enzymes via light scattering and atomic force microscopy revealed soluble proteins consisting of active enzyme aggregates containing approximately 60 and 100 protein molecules, respectively, for subtilisin and lipase. Formation of such clusters appears to provide a microenvironment conducive to catalysis and, in polar organic solvents at least, may protect the enzyme from solvent-induced inactivation.     

Obtaining higher transesterification rates with subtilisin Carlsberg in nonaqueous media

Three phase partitioning (protein precipitate obtained as an interfacial layer between lower aqueous and upper t-butanol phases, formed by the addition of ammonium sulphate and t-butanol to the aqueous solution of protein) followed by lyophilization in the presence of two-component excipient resulted in 400-480x increases in transesterification activity of lyophilized powders of subtilisin Carlsberg, depending on the solvent. The three phase partitioned enzyme, 'dried' by washing with butanol, gave 3-4x higher rates (depending on the solvent used) than the enzyme preparation dried by lyophilization in the presence of two-component excipient system.     

Exploring the specific features of interfacial enzymology based on lipase studies

Many enzymes are active at interfaces in the living world (such as in the signaling processes at the surface of cell membranes, digestion of dietary lipids, starch and cellulose degradation, etc.), but fundamental enzymology remains largely focused on the interactions between enzymes and soluble substrates. The biochemical and kinetic characterization of lipolytic enzymes has opened up new paths of research in the field of interfacial enzymology. Lipases are water-soluble enzymes hydrolyzing insoluble triglyceride substrates, and studies on these enzymes have led to the development of specific interfacial kinetic models. Structure-function studies on lipases have thrown light on the interfacial recognition sites present in the molecular structure of these enzymes, the conformational changes occurring in the presence of lipids and amphiphiles, and the stability of the enzymes present at interfaces. The pH-dependent activity, substrate specificity and inhibition of these enzymes can all result from both "classical" interactions between a substrate or inhibitor and the active site, as well as from the adsorption of the enzymes at the surface of aggregated substrate particles such as oil drops, lipid bilayers or monomolecular lipid films. The adsorption step can provide an alternative target for improving substrate specificity and developing specific enzyme inhibitors. Several data obtained with gastric lipase, classical pancreatic lipase, pancreatic lipase-related protein 2 and phosphatidylserine-specific phospholipase A1 were chosen here to illustrate these specific features of interfacial enzymology.     

Requirement of lid2 for interfacial activation of a family I.3 lipase with unique two lid structures

A family I.3 lipase from Pseudomonas sp. MIS38 (PML) is characterized by the presence of two lids (lid1 and lid2) that greatly change conformation upon substrate binding. While lid1 represents the commonly known lid in lipases, lid2 is unique to PML and other family I.3 lipases. To clarify the role of lid2 in PML, a lid2 deletion mutant (ΔL2-PML) was constructed by deleting residues 35-64 of PML. ΔL2-PML requires calcium ions for both lipase and esterase activities as does PML, suggesting that it exhibits activity only when lid1 is fully open and anchored by the catalytically essential calcium ion, as does PML. However, when the enzymatic activity was determined using triacetin, the activity of PML exponentially increased as the substrate concentration reached and increased beyond the critical micellar concentration, while that of ΔL2-PML did not. These results indicate that PML undergoes interfacial activation, while ΔL2-PML does not. The activities of ΔL2-PML for long-chain triglycerides significantly decreased while its activity for fatty acid ethyl esters increased, compared with those of PML. Comparison of the tertiary models of ΔL2-PML in a closed and open conformation, which are optimized by molecular dynamics simulation, with the crystal structures of PML suggests that the hydrophobic surface area provided by lid1 and lid2 in an open conformation is considerably decreased by the deletion of lid2. We propose that the hydrophobic surface area provided by these lids is necessary to hold the micellar substrates firmly to the active site and therefore lid2 is required for interfacial activation of PML. DATABASE: Triacylglycerol lipase (EC 3.1.1.3).     

X-ray structure of Candida antarctica lipase A shows a novel lid structure and a likely mode of interfacial activation

In nature, lipases (EC 3.1.1.3) catalyze the hydrolysis of triglycerides to form glycerol and fatty acids. Under the appropriate conditions, the reaction is reversible, and so biotechnological applications commonly make use of their capacity for esterification as well as for hydrolysis of a wide variety of compounds. In the present paper, we report the X-ray structure of lipase A from Candida antarctica, solved by single isomorphous replacement with anomalous scattering, and refined to 2.2-Å resolution. The structure is the first from a novel family of lipases. Contrary to previous predictions, the fold includes a well-defined lid as well as a classic α/β hydrolase domain. The catalytic triad is identified as Ser184, Asp334 and His366, which follow the sequential order considered to be characteristic of lipases; the serine lies within a typical nucleophilic elbow. Computer docking studies, as well as comparisons to related structures, place the carboxylate group of a fatty acid product near the serine nucleophile, with the long lipid tail closely following the path through the lid that is marked by a fortuitously bound molecule of polyethylene glycol. For an ester substrate to bind in an equivalent fashion, loop movements near Phe431 will be required, suggesting the primary focus of the conformational changes required for interfacial activation. Such movements will provide virtually unlimited access to solvent for the alcohol moiety of an ester substrate. The structure thus provides a basis for understanding the enzyme's preference for acyl moieties with long, straight tails, and for its highly promiscuous acceptance of widely different alcohol and amine moieties. An unconventional oxyanion hole is observed in the present structure, although the situation may change during interfacial activation.