New Insight into the Interactions of Arbutin with Mushroom Tyrosinase

The Protein Journal - As a safe substitute for hydroquinone, β-arbutin, a natural plant substance, and its synthetic counterpart, α-arbutin, are used in depigmentation formulations....     

Dual effects of aliphatic carboxylic acids on cresolase and catecholase reactions of mushroom tyrosinase

Catecholase and cresolase activities of mushroom tyrosinase (MT) were studied in presence of some n-alkyl carboxylic acid derivatives. Catecholase activity of MT achieved its optimal activity in presence of 1.0, 1.25, 2.0, 2.2 and 3.2?mM of pyruvic acid, acrylic acid, propanoic acid, 2-oxo-butanoic acid, and 2-oxo-octanoic acid, respectively. Contrarily, the cresolase activity of MT was inhibited by all type of the above acids. Propanoic acid caused an uncompetitive mode of inhibition (K_i=0.14?mM), however, the pyruvic, acrylic, 2-oxo-butanoic and 2-oxo-octanoic acids showed a competitive manner of inhibition with the inhibition constants (K_i) of 0.36, 0.6, 3.6 and 4.5?mM, respectively. So, it seems that, there is a physical difference in the docking of mono- and o-diphenols to the tyrosinase active site. This difference could be an essential determinant for the course of the catalytic cycle. Monophenols are proposed to bind only the oxyform of the tyrosinase. It is likely that the binding of acids occurs through their carboxylate group with one copper ion of the binuclear site. Thus, they could completely block the cresolase reaction, by preventing monophenol binding to the enzyme. From an allosteric point of view, n-alkyl acids may be involved in activation of MT catecholase reactions.     

The inhibitory effect of benzenethiol on the cresolase and catecholase activities of mushroom tyrosinase

The inhibitory effect of benzenethiol on the cresolase and catecholase activities of mushroom tyrosinase (MT) have been investigated at two temperatures of 20 and 30°C in 10 mM phosphate buffer solution, pHs 5.3 and 6.8. The results show that benzenethiol can inhibit both activities of mushroom tyrosinase competitively. The inhibitory effect of benzenethiol on the cresolase activity is more than the catecholase activity of MT. The inhibition constant (K_i) value at pH 5.3 is smaller than that at pH 6.8 for both enzyme activities. However, the K_i value increases in cresolase activity and decreases in catecholase activity due to the increase of temperature from 20 to 30°C at both pHs. Moreover, the effect of temperature on K_i value is more at pH 6.8 for both cresolase and catecholase activities. The type of binding process is different in the two types of MT activities. The binding process for catecholase inhibition is only entropy driven, which means that the predominant interaction in the active site of the enzyme is hydrophobic, meanwhile the electrostatic interaction can be important for cresolase inhibition due to the enthalpy driven binding process. Fluorescence and circular studies also show a minor change in the tertiary structure, without any change in the secondary structure, of the enzyme due to the electrostatic interaction in cresolase inhibition by benzenethiol at acidic pH.     

Effects of calcium binding on the structure and stability of human growth hormone

Thermodynamic analysis of calcium ions binding to human growth hormone (hGH) was done at 27 °C in NaCl solution, 50 mM, using different techniques. The binding isotherm for hGH-Ca²⁺ was obtained by two techniques of ionmetry, using a Ca²⁺-selective membrane electrode, and isothermal titration calorimetry. Results obtained by two ionmetric and calorimetric methods are in good agreement. There is a set of three identical and non-interacting binding sites for calcium ions. The intrinsic dissociation equilibrium constant and the molar enthalpy of binding are 52 μM and −17.4 kJ/mol, respectively. Temperature scanning UV–vis spectroscopy was applied to elucidate the effect of Ca²⁺ binding on the protein stability, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy was used to show the structural change of hGH due to the metal ion interaction. Calcium ions binding increase the protein thermal stability by increasing of the alpha helix content as well as decreasing of both beta and random coil structures.     

Characterization of a Chitinase (Chit62) from Serratia marcescens B4A and Its Efficacy as a Bioshield Against Plant Fungal Pathogens

Chitinases have been suggested to be involved in pathogen-antagonist interaction during biological control progress of plant pathogenic fungi. Here, a recombinant bacterial chitinase originally from Serratia marcescens B4A was produced, purified, and assayed biochemically to ascertain the activity and determine the kinetics parameters. Active enzyme was used to determine its biocontrol features against fungal phytopathogens. The results demonstrated that the optimum pH and temperature for the enzyme activity were 6.0 and 55?°C, respectively. The K (m) and V (max) values were 3.30?mg?ml(-1) and 0.92?units, respectively. The recombinant chitinase was demonstrated to be highly active in controlling fungal pathogens.     

A novel spray bioreactor for the proliferation of plant callus; Hyoscyamus niger and Arnebia pulchra

Biotechnology Letters - Unlike plant cell suspension culture, the proliferation of callus in bioreactors has received inadequate attention. The magnificent potential of plant callus becomes more...     

The inhibitory effect of some new synthesized xanthates on mushroom tyrosinase activities

Three iso-alkyldithiocarbonates (xanthates), as sodium salts, C3H7OCS2Na (I), C4H9OCS2Na (II) and C5H11OCS2Na (III), were synthesized, by the reaction between CS2 with the corresponding iso-alcohol in the presence of NaOH, and examined for inhibition of both cresolase and catecholase activities of mushroom tyrosinase (MT) from a commercial source of Agricus bisporus. 4-[(4-methylbenzo)azo]-1,2-benzendiol (MeBACat) and 4-[(4-methylphenyl)azo]-phenol (MePAPh) were used as synthetic substrates for the enzyme for the catecholase and cresolase reactions, respectively. Lineweaver-Burk plots showed different patterns of mixed and competitive inhibition for the three xanthates and also for cresolase and catecholase activities of MT. For cresolase activity, I and II showed a mixed inhibition pattern but III showed a competitive inhibition pattern. For catecholase activity, I showed mixed inhibition but II and III showed competitive inhibition. These new synthesized compounds are potent inhibitors of MT with K(i) values of 9.8, 7.2 and 6.1 microM for cresolase inhibitory activity, and also 12.9, 21.8 and 42.2 microM for catecholase inhibitory activity for I, II and III, respectively. They showed a greater inhibitory potency towards the cresolase activity of MT. Both substrate and inhibitor can be bound to the enzyme with negative cooperativity between the binding sites (alpha > 1) and this negative cooperativity increases with increasing length of the aliphatic tail in these compounds in both cresolase and catecholase activities. The cresolase inhibition is related to the chelating of the copper ions at the active site by a negative head group (S-) of the anion xanthate, which leads to similar values of K(i) for all three xanthates. Different K(i) values for catecholase inhibition are related to different interactions of the aliphatic chains of I, II and III with hydrophobic pockets in the active site of the enzyme.     

The inhibition effect of some n-alkyl dithiocarbamates on mushroom tyrosinase

Three new n-alkyl dithiocarbamate compounds, as sodium salts, C4H9NHCS2Na (I), C6H13NHCS2Na (II) and C8H17NHCS2Na (III), were synthesized and examined for inhibition of both cresolase and catecholase activities of mushroom tyrosinase (MT) from a commercial source of Agaricus bisporus in 10 mM phosphate buffer pH 6.8, at 293K using UV spectrophotometry. Caffeic acid and p-coumaric acid were used as natural substrates for the enzyme for the catecholase and cresolase reactions, respectively. Lineweaver-Burk plots showed different patterns of mixed and competitive inhibition for catecholase and cresolase reactions, respectively. These new synthetic compounds can be classified as potent inhibitors of MT due to Ki values of 0.8, 1.0 and 1.8 microM for cresolase inhibitory activity, and also 9.4, 14.5 and 28.1 microM for catecholase inhibitory activity for I, II and III, respectively. They showed a greater potency in the inhibitory effect towards the cresolase activity of MT. Both substrate and inhibitor can be bound to the enzyme with negative cooperativity between the binding sites (alpha > 1) and this negative cooperativity increases with increasing length of the aliphatic tail in these compounds. The inhibition mechanism is presumably related to the chelating of the binuclear coppers at the active site and the different Ki values may be related to different interaction of the aliphatic chains of I, II and III with the hydrophobic pocket in the active site of the enzyme.     

Stability, structural and suicide inactivation changes of mushroom tyrosinase after acetylation by N-acetylimidazole

Modification (acetylation) of Tyr residues with N-acetylimidazole protects outstandingly mushroom tyrosinase (MT) from the suicide inactivation in the presence of its catecholic substrate, 4-[(4-methylbenzo) azo]-1,2-benzenediol. UV spectrophotometric experiments and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies indicated a decrease in kinetic stability of the enzyme alongside with increase in its thermal stability as well as its stability against n-dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide as a denaturizing agent. Pace analysis resulted in standard Gibbs free energy values of 46.54 and 52.09 kJ/mol in the absence of denaturant for native and modified enzyme, respectively. Structural studies by circular dichroism (CD) spectrophotometry showed that modification did not have major impact on the secondary structure of MT; however, induced some changes in its tertiary structure. The near-UV CD results revealed that the modification had enhanced intramolecular van der Waals interactions in the enzyme structure, which was in coincidence with its thermodynamic stability.     

A cold-adapted endoglucanase from camel rumen with high catalytic activity at moderate and low temperatures: an anomaly of truly cold-adapted evolution in a mesophilic environment

Endoglucanases are important enzymes in plant biomass degradation. They have current and potential applications in various industrial sectors including human and animal food processing, textile, paper, and renewable biofuel production. It is assumed that the cold-active endoglucanases, with high catalytic rates in moderate and cold temperatures, can improve the cost-effectiveness of industrial processes by lowering the need for heating and, thus, energy consumption. In this study, the endoglucanase CelCM3 was procured from a camel rumen metagenome via gene cloning and expression in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The maximum activity of the enzyme on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was obtained at pH 5 and 30 °C with a V_max and K_m of 339 U/mg and 2.57 mg/ml, respectively. The enzyme with an estimated low melting temperature of 45 °C and about 50% activity at 4 °C was identified to be cold-adapted. A thermodynamic analysis corroborated that CelCM3 with an activation energy (E_a), enthalpy of activation (ΔH), and Gibb’s free energy (ΔG) of, respectively, 18.47 kJ mol⁻¹, 16.12 kJ mol⁻¹, and 56.09 kJ mol⁻¹ is a cold-active endoglucanase. In addition, CelCM3 was tolerant of metal ions, non-ionic detergents, urea, and organic solvents. Given these interesting characteristics, CelCM3 shows promise to meet the requirements of industrial applications.