pH-dependent leaving group effects on hydrolysis reactions of phosphate and phophonate esters catalyzed by wheat germ acid phosphatase.

The substrate specificity of carefully purified wheat germ acid phosphatase was examined and the Michaelis constants for substrates having widely varying leaving groups were determined at pH values 4.6, 8.0, and 9.2. The pH-dependent leaving group effects were consistent with the formation of a covalent phosphoryl histidine intermediate in the reaction process catalyzed by this enzyme. In addition, the enzyme was found to hydrolyze nitrophenyl esters of methyl-, chloromethyl-, and phenylphosphonic acids at rates comparable to those observed for phosphomonoester hydrolysis. The data are most simply interpreted on the basis of a nucleophilic displacement by an active-site histidine residue to form an intermediate N′-phosphonyl histidine species, followed by decomposition of this intermediate by nucleophilic attack by water, analogous to the decomposition process of the N′-phosphoryl enzyme species.     

Trypsin-catalyzed peptide synthesis withm-guanidinophenyl andm-(guanidinomethyl)phenyl esters as acyl donor component

Summary Two series of inverse substrates,m-guanidinophenyl andm-(guanidinomethyl)phenyl esters derived fromN-(tert-butyloxycarbonyl)amino acid, were prepared as an acyl donor component for trypsin-catalyzed peptide synthesis. The kinetic behavior of these esters toward tryptic hydrolysis was analyzed. They were found to couple with an acyl acceptor such asl-alaninep-nitroanilide to produce dipeptide in the presence of trypsin.Streptomyces griseus trypsin was a more efficient catalyst than the bovine trypsin. Within the enzymatic peptide coupling methods, this approach was shown to be advantageous, since the resulting peptides are resistant to the enzymatic hydrolysis.Abbreviations Boc tert-butyloxycarbonyl - Aib -aminoisobutyric acid - DMSO dimethylsulfoxide - Tris tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane - MOPS 3-morpholino-l-prop anesulfonate - G guanidinophenyl - GM (guanidinomethyl)phenyl - pNA p-nitroanilide     

Different roles for the acyl chain and the amine leaving group in the substrate selectivity of N-Acylethanolamine acid amidase

N-acylethanolamine acid amidase (NAAA) is an N-terminal nucleophile (Ntn) hydrolase that catalyses the intracellular deactivation of the endogenous analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). NAAA inhibitors counteract this process and exert marked therapeutic effects in animal models of pain, inflammation and neurodegeneration. While it is known that NAAA preferentially hydrolyses saturated fatty acid ethanolamides (FAEs), a detailed profile of the relationship between catalytic efficiency and fatty acid-chain length is still lacking. In this report, we combined enzymatic and molecular modelling approaches to determine the effects of acyl chain and polar head modifications on substrate recognition and hydrolysis by NAAA. The results show that, in both saturated and monounsaturated FAEs, the catalytic efficiency is strictly dependent upon fatty acyl chain length, whereas there is a wider tolerance for modifications of the polar heads. This relationship reflects the relative stability of enzyme-substrate complexes in molecular dynamics simulations.     

Effect of acyl donor chain length and sugar/acyl donor molar ratio on enzymatic synthesis of fatty acid fructose esters

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of fatty acid sugar esters through direct esterification was performed in 2-methyl 2-butanol as solvent. Fructose and saturated fatty acids were used as substrates and the reaction was catalyzed by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase. The effect of the initial fructose/acyl donor molar ratio and the carbon-chain length of the acyl donor as well as their reciprocal interactions on the reaction performance were investigated. For this purpose, an experimental design taking into account variations of the molar ratio (from 1:1 to 1:5) and the carbon-chain length of the fatty acid (from C8 to C18) was employed. Statistical analysis of the data indicated that the two factors as well as their interactions had significant effects on the sugar esters synthesis. The obtained results showed that whatever the molar ratio used, the highest concentration (73 g l⁻¹), fructose and fatty acid conversion yields (100% and 80%, respectively) and initial reaction rate (40 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹) were reached when using the C18 fatty acid as acyl donor. Low molar ratios gave the best fatty acid conversion yields and initial reaction rates, whereas the best total sugar ester concentrations and fructose conversion yields were obtained for high molar ratios.     

Solid-phase acyl donor as a substrate pool in kinetically controlled protease-catalysed peptide synthesis

Recently we have demonstrated the advantage of solid- phase substrate pools mainly in equilibrium controlled protease-catalysed peptide syntheses. The extension of this approach to protease-catalysed acyl transfer reactions will be presented. The model reaction was systematically investigated according to both the influence of solid phases present in the system on enzyme activity as well as nucleophile concentration on peptide yield. The key parameter for obtaining high peptide yield via acyl transfer is the ratio between aminolysis and hydrolysis. We combined high nucleophile concentrations with solid-phase acyl donor pools. This approach enabled us to supply ester substrate and nucleophile in equimolar amounts in a high-density media without the addition of any organic solvent. Several multi-functional di- to tetrapeptides were obtained in moderate to high yields. ©1997 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bacillus licheniformis protease-catalyzed peptide synthesis via the kinetically controlled approach using the carbamoylmethyl ester as an acyl donor in anhydrous acetonitrile

Summary The couplings ofN-protected amino acid esters with amino acid amides proved to be carried out in anhydrous acetonitrile in the presence ofBacillus licheniformis protease (subtilisin Carlsberg) immobilized on Celite. The maximal peptide yields were obtained with the immobilized enzyme prepared through lyophilization from a pH 10.7 buffer solution. A series of dipeptide syntheses and several segment condensations were achieved generally in high yields by the combined use of the immobilized enzyme prepared from this pH and the carbamoylmethyl ester as the acyl donor.     

Aspergillus melleus protease-catalyzed peptide synthesis using the carbamoylmethyl ester as an acyl donor in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro- 2-propanol/N,N-dimethylformamide

The coupling between the carbamoylmethyl ester of an N-protected amino acid or dipeptide (at 25 mM) and an amino acid amide (at 100 mM) was achieved using Aspergillus melleus protease in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol/N,N-dimethylformamide (1:1, v/v); the coupling efficiencies were dependent largely on the combination of amino acid residues: e.g. the dipeptide yields after 48 h were for l-Ala + Gly, 100% and for l-Leu + l-Leu, 16%.     

Evidence for acyl chain trans/gauche isomerization during the thermal pretransition of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayer dispersions

In order to clarify, in dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine multilayers, the effect of the 34°C thermal pretransition on the acyl chain intramolecular disordering process, Raman spectra of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine gels at 20 and 34°C were compared in the 1000–1200 cm⁻¹ skeletal C-C stretching region. In addition to an overall intensity decrease associated with a change in chain packing characteristics, the growth of intensity in the 1080–1090 and 1122 cm⁻¹ regions in the (34-20°C) difference spectrum clearly indicates that the thermal pretransition is accompanied by an increase in the population of hydrocarbon chain gauche rotamers toward the center of the bilayer.     

Regiospecific alkaline protease-catalyzed divinyl acyl transesterifications of primary hydroxyl groups of mono- and di-saccharides in pyridine

This paper describes highly selective transesterification reactions, catalyzed by an alkaline protease from Bacillus subtilis in pyridine, of several mono- and di-saccharides with divinyl dicarboxylates ranging from 4 to 10 carbon atoms. A series of polymerizable vinyl fatty acid sugar esters were obtained with good selectivity and high yields. Most products had high proportions of the alpha anomer. The influences of the enzymes, solvents, temperature, and acyl donor chain length on the reaction were studied. Vinyl sugar esters offer a new family of functional water-soluble monomers for preparation of sugar-containing polymers.     

Synthesis of unnatural sugar nucleotides and their evaluation as donor substrates in glycosyltransferase-catalyzed reactions

New unnatural sugar nucleotides, UDP-Fuc and CDP-Fuc were synthesized from fucose-beta-1-phosphate and nucleotide monophosphates activated as morpholidates. Furthermore, a nucleotide analogue was prepared by phosphorylation of 1-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl)cyanuric acid, itself obtained as a protected derivative by condensation of the persilylated derivative of cyanuric acid with 1-O-acetyl-2,3,5-tri-O-benzoyl-beta-D-ribofuranose in 74% yield. This phosphate activated according to the same procedure was condensed with fucose-beta-1-phosphate, affording a new sugar nucleotide conjugate (NDP-Fuc) which was evaluated together with UDP-Fuc, CDP-Fuc and ADP-Fuc, as fucose donors in alpha-(1-->4/3)-fucosyltransferase (FucT-III) catalyzed reaction. Fucose transfer could be observed with each of the donors and kinetic parameters were determined using a fluorescent acceptor substrate. Efficiency of the four analogues towards FucT-III was in the following order: UDP-Fuc=ADP-Fuc>NDP-Fuc>CDP-Fuc. According to the same strategy ADP-GlcNAc was prepared from AMP-morpholidate and N-acetylglucosamine-alpha-1-phosphate; tested as a glucosaminyl donor towards Neisseria meningitidis N-acetylglucosaminyl transferase (LgtA), ADP-GlcNAc was recognized with 0.1% efficiency as compared with UDP-GlcNAc, the natural donor substrate.     

DFT studies on isomerization reactions in the copolymerization of ethylene and methyl acrylate catalyzed by Ni-diimine and Pd-diimine complexes

Gradient corrected density functional theory (DFT) has been used to investigate the isomerization reactions in the process of the ethylene/methyl acrylate copolymerization catalyzed by Pd-dimine and Ni-dimine complexes, modeled by a generic system NN–M–(CH₃)⁺ ; NN=–N(H)-C(H)-C(H)-N(H)-. The influence of the polar group and of the metal on the isomerization mechanism was studied. The results show that for the Pd-catalyst the isomerization follows the standard mechanism observed in homopolymerization processes, with the -hydrogen-transfer to the metal and formation of a -olefin–hydride complex. Electron withdrawing character of the polar group results in an increase of the hydride energy and the isomerization barrier. For the Ni-catalyst the overall isomerization picture is modified by the formation of a -olefin–hydride complex, in which the olefin is coordinated to the metal by the oxygen atom of the polar group. Such a -olefin–hydride is lower in energy for the Ni catalyst than the -olefin–hydride complex by 9.6 kcal mol^–1 . The latter is preferred by 2.6 kcal mol^–1 for the Pd-based system. The calculated isomerization barriers are 20.9 and 24.0 kcal mol^–1 (with respect to the initial 4-member chelate) for the Pd-catalyst and Ni-catalyst, respectively. This can result in a larger fraction of ester group directly connected to the copolymer backbone observed experimentally for the Ni-catalyst.Figure: Structure of the four-membered and five-membered chelates formed after 2,1-insertion of methyl acrylate into the metal–alkyl bond of the catalyst.     

Bacillus licheniformis protease-catalyzed peptide synthesis via the kinetically controlled approach using the carbamoylmethyl ester as an acyl donor in anhydrous acetonitrile

The couplings of N-protected amino acid esters with amino acid amides proved to be carried out in anhydrous acetonitrile in the presence of Bacillus licheniformis protease (subtilisin Carlsberg) immobilized on Celite. The maximal peptide yields were obtained with the immobilized enzyme prepared through lyophilization from a pH 10.7 buffer solution. A series of dipeptide syntheses and several segment condensations were achieved generally in high yields by the combined use of the immobilized enzyme prepared from this pH and the carbamoylmethyl ester as the acyl donor.     

Effect of multiple prolyl isomerization reactions on the stability and folding kinetics of the notch ankyrin domain: experiment and theory

Studies on the folding kinetics of the Notch ankyrin domain have demonstrated that the major refolding phase is slow, the minor refolding phase is limited by the isomerization of prolyl peptide bonds, and that unfolding is multiexponential. Here, we explore the relationship between prolyl isomerization and folding heterogeneity using a combination of experiment and simulation. Proline residues were replaced with alanine, both singly and in various combinations. These destabilizing substitutions combine to eliminate the minor refolding phase, although unfolding heterogeneity persists even when all seven proline residues are replaced. To test whether prolyl isomerization influences the major refolding phase, we modeled folding and prolyl isomerization as a system of sequential reactions. Simulations that use rate constants of the major folding phase of the Notch ankyrin domain to represent intrinsic folding indicate that even with seven prolyl isomerization reactions, only two significant phases should be observed, and that the fast observed phase provides a good approximation of the intrinsic folding in the absence of prolyl isomerization. These results indicate that the major refolding phase of the Notch ankyrin domain reflects an intrinsically slow folding transition, rather than coupling of fast folding events with slow prolyl isomerization steps. This is consistent with the observation that the single observed refolding phase of a construct in which all proline residues are replaced remains slow. Finally, the simulation fails to produce a second unfolding phase at high urea concentrations, indicating that prolyl isomerization does not play a role in the three-state mechanism that leads to this heterogeneity.     

Characterization of ascorbyl esters hydrolysis in fish

The hydrolysis of ascorbate mono-, tri- and polyphosphates by trout intestinal alkaline phosphatase was examined. K_m values were established as 1.19, 4.1 and 3.7 mM, respectively. The enzyme catalyzed ascorbate triphosphate hydrolysis with 60% efficiency of that for ascorbate monophosphate. With the K_m value of 1.19 mM for ascorbate monophosphate the trout enzyme exhibits similar affinity with this substrate as with p-nitrophenyl phosphate (1.00–1.67 mM). Two K_m values for micro- and millimolar ranges of ascorbate monophosphate concentrations ranges were calculated as: 27.9 μM and 1.19 mM, respectively. Specific intestinal alkaline phosphatase inhibitor L-phenylalanine (100 mM), inhibited reaction rate by 20% in 10 min. We conclude that alkaline phosphatase, which is in a great abundance in the trout intestine, serves as ascorbate esters hydrolase, thus releasing active ascorbic acid into circulation.     

Differential inhibition of soluble and membrane-bound acetylcholinesterase forms from mouse brain by choline esters with an acyl moiety of an intermediate size

Differential inhibitions of soluble and membrane-bound acetylcholinesterase forms purified from mouse brain were examined by the comparison of kinetic constants such as a K _m value, a K_ss value (substrate inhibition constant), and IC₅₀ values of active site-selective ligands including choline esters. Membrane-bound acetylcholinesterase form (solubilized only in the presence of detergent) showed lower K_m and K_ss values than soluble acetylcholinesterase form (easily solubilized without detergent). Edrophonium expressed a slightly but significantly (p<0.01) higher inhibition of detergent-soluble acetylcholinesterase form than aqueous-soluble acetylcholinesterase form, while physostigmine inhibited both forms with a similar potency. A remarkable difference in inhibition was observed using choline esters; although choline esters with acyl chain of a short size (acetyl-to butyrylcholine) or a long size (heptanoyl- to decanoylcholine) showed a similar inhibitory potency for two forms of acetylcholinesterase, pentanoylcholine and hexanoylcholine inhibited more strongly aqueous-soluble acetylcholinesterase than detergent-soluble acetylcholinesterase. Thus, it is suggested that the two forms of AChE may be distinguished kinetically by pentanoyl- or hexanoylcholine.This work was supported in part by Agency for Defense Development.     

Promotion or suppression of glucose isomerization in subcritical aqueous straight- and branched-chain alcohols

The influence of water-miscible alcohols (methanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, and t-butyl alcohol) on the isomerization of glucose to fructose and mannose was investigated under subcritical aqueous conditions (180–200 °C). Primary and secondary alcohols promoted the conversion and isomerization of glucose to afford fructose and mannose with high and low selectivity, respectively. On the other hand, the decomposition (side-reaction) of glucose was suppressed in the presence of the primary and secondary alcohols compared with that in subcritical water. The yield of fructose increased with increasing concentration of the primary and secondary alcohols, and the species of the primary and secondary alcohols tested had little effect on the isomerization behavior of glucose. In contrast, the isomerization of glucose was suppressed in subcritical aqueous t-butyl alcohol. Both the conversion of glucose and the yield of fructose decreased with increasing concentration of t-butyl alcohol. In addition, mannose was not detected in reactions using subcritical aqueous t-butyl alcohol.     

Parallel channels and rate-limiting steps in complex protein folding reactions: prolyl isomerization and the alpha subunit of Trp synthase,a TIM barrel protein

A kinetic folding mechanism for the alpha subunit of tryptophan synthase (alphaTS) from Escherichia coli, involving four parallel channels with multiple native, intermediate and unfolded forms, has recently been proposed. The hypothesis that cis/trans isomerization of several Xaa-Pro peptide bonds is the source of the multiple folding channels was tested by measuring the sensitivity of the three rate-limiting phases (tau(1), tau(2), tau(3)) to catalysis by cyclophilin, a peptidyl-prolyl isomerase. Although the absence of catalysis for the tau(1) (fast) phase leaves its assignment ambiguous, our previous mutational analysis demonstrated its connection to the unique cis peptide bond preceding proline 28. The acceleration of the tau(2) (medium) and tau(3) (slow) refolding phases by cyclophilin demonstrated that cis/trans prolyl isomerization is also the source of these phases. A collection of proline mutants, which covered all of the remaining 18 trans proline residues of alphaTS, was constructed to obtain specific assignments for these phases. Almost all of the mutant proteins retained the complex equilibrium and kinetic folding properties of wild-type alphaTS; only the P217A, P217G and P261A mutations caused significant changes in the equilibrium free energy surface. Both the P78A and P96A mutations selectively eliminated the tau(1) folding phase, while the P217M and P261A mutations eliminated the tau(2) and tau(3) folding phases, respectively. The redundant assignment of the tau(1) phase to Pro28, Pro78 and Pro96 may reflect their mutual interactions in non-random structure in the unfolded state. The non-native cis isomers for Pro217 and Pro261 may destabilize an autonomous C-terminal folding unit, thereby giving rise to kinetically distinct unfolded forms. The nature of the preceding amino acid, the solvent exposure, or the participation in specific elements of secondary structure in the native state, in general, are not determinative of the proline residues whose isomerization reactions can limit folding.     

Biocatalysis of isomerization of 1,2-benzisoxazole by bovine serum albumin in an organic solvent

The catalytic properties of bovine serum albumin (BSA) have been studied rather extensively. The protein has shown catalytic activities toward a variety of reactions in aqueous media. However, there appears to be no reports of reactions catalyzed exclusively in organic media. In this study, we report the catalytic property of BSA on the isomerization of 1,2-benzisoxazole in an organic solvent. Kinetics were performed using a continuous flow system in a spectrophotometer at 330 nm. The catalysis showed a Michaelis-Menten behavior with an estimated catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(M)) of 8.77 M(-1)S(-1). The influence of water content and inhibitors was also studied. The activity of BSA in acetonitrile is approximately 20% of that in water under similar conditions. Inhibition studies show that the active site may be the pyridoxal binding site involving Lys-220.