Title: Inversion of stereoselectivity by applying mutants of the hydroxynitrile lyase from Manihot esculenta Buhler H, Miehlich B, Effenberger F Ref: Chembiochem, 6:711, 2005 : PubMed
The influence of Trp128-substituted mutants of the hydroxynitrile lyase from Manihot esculenta (MeHNL) on the stereoselectivity of MeHNL-catalyzed HCN additions to aldehydes with stereogenic centers, which yield the corresponding cyanohydrins, is described. In rac-2-phenylpropionaldehyde (rac-1) reactions, wild-type (wtMeHNL) and all MeHNL Trp128 mutants are highly (S)-selective toward the (R) enantiomer of rac-1; this results exclusively in (2S,3R)-cyanohydrin ((2S,3R)-2) with > or =96 % de. The (S) enantiomer of rac-1, however, only reacts (S)-selectively with wtMeHNL to give (2S,3S)-2 with 80 % de, whereas with Trp128 mutants, (R) selectivity increases with decreasing size of the amino acids exchanged. The MeHNL W128A mutant is exclusively (R)-selective, resulting in (2R,3S)-2 with 86 % de. The reaction behavior of rac-phenylbutyraldehyde (rac-5) is comparable with rac-1, which also inverts the stereoselectivity from (S) to (R) when the enzyme is exchanged from wtMeHNL to the W128A mutant. Stereogenic centers not adjacent to the aldehyde group, as in 7 and 9, do not influence the stereoselectivity of MeHNL catalysis, and (S) selectivity is observed in all cases. Stereoselectivity and inversion of stereoselectivity of MeHNL Trp128 mutant-catalyzed cyanohydrin formation can be explained and rationalized with crystal-structure-based molecular modeling.
Title: Crystal structure of hydroxynitrile lyase from Sorghum bicolor in complex with the inhibitor benzoic acid: a novel cyanogenic enzyme Lauble H, Miehlich B, Forster S, Wajant H, Effenberger F Ref: Biochemistry, 41:12043, 2002 : PubMed
The crystal structure of the hydroxynitrile lyase from Sorghum bicolor (SbHNL) in complex with the inhibitor benzoic acid has been determined at 2.3 A resolution and refined to a crystallographic R-factor of 16.5%. The SbHNL sequence places the enzyme in the alpha/beta hydrolase family where the active site nucleophile is predicted to be organized in a characteristic pentapeptide motif which is part of the active site strand-turn-helix motif. In SbHNL, however, a unique two-amino acid deletion is next to the putative active site Ser158, removing thereby the putative oxyanion hole-forming Tyr residue. The presented X-ray structure shows that the overall folding pattern of SbHNL is similar to that of the closely related wheat serine carboxypeptidase (CPD-WII); however, the deletion in SbHNL is forcing the putative active site residues away from the expected hydrolase binding site toward a small hydrophobic cleft, which also contains the inhibitor benzoic acid, defining thereby a completely different SbHNL active site architecture where the traditional view of a classic triad is not given any more. Rather, we propose a mechanism involving general base catalysis by the carboxy-terminal Trp270 carboxyl group and proton transfer toward the leaving nitrile group by an active site water molecule. The unexpected interactions of the inhibitor with the new SbHNL active site also reveal the structural basis for the enzyme's limited substrate specificity. The implications of this structure on the evolution of catalysis in the hydroxynitrile lyase superfamily are discussed.
Tryptophan 128 of hydroxynitrile lyase of Manihot esculenta (MeHNL) covers a significant part of a hydrophobic channel that gives access to the active site of the enzyme. This residue was therefore substituted in the mutant MeHNL-W128A by alanine to study its importance for the substrate specificity of the enzyme. Wild-type MeHNL and MeHNL-W128A showed comparable activity on the natural substrate acetone cyanohydrin (53 and 40 U/mg, respectively). However, the specific activities of MeHNL-W128A for the unnatural substrates mandelonitrile and 4-hydroxymandelonitrile are increased 9-fold and approximately 450-fold, respectively, compared with the wild-type MeHNL. The crystal structure of the MeHNL-W128A substrate-free form at 2.1 A resolution indicates that the W128A substitution has significantly enlarged the active-site channel entrance, and thereby explains the observed changes in substrate specificity for bulky substrates. Surprisingly, the MeHNL-W128A--4-hydroxybenzaldehyde complex structure at 2.1 A resolution shows the presence of two hydroxybenzaldehyde molecules in a sandwich type arrangement in the active site with an additional hydrogen bridge to the reacting center.
Title: Structure of hydroxynitrile lyase from Manihot esculenta in complex with substrates acetone and chloroacetone: implications for the mechanism of cyanogenesis Lauble H, Forster S, Miehlich B, Wajant H, Effenberger F Ref: Acta Crystallographica D Biol Crystallogr, 57:194, 2001 : PubMed
The crystal structures of hydroxynitrile lyase from Manihot esculenta (MeHNL) complexed with the native substrate acetone and substrate analogue chloroacetone have been determined and refined at 2.2 A resolution. The substrates are positioned in the active site by hydrogen-bond interactions of the carbonyl O atom with Thr11 OG, Ser80 OG and, to a lesser extent, Cys81 SG. These studies support a mechanism for cyanogenesis as well as for the stereospecific MeHNL-catalyzed formation of (S)-cyanohydrins, which closely resembles the base-catalyzed chemical reaction of HCN with carbonyl compounds.
Title: Mechanistic aspects of cyanogenesis from active-site mutant Ser80Ala of hydroxynitrile lyase from Manihot esculenta in complex with acetone cyanohydrin Lauble H, Miehlich B, Forster S, Wajant H, Effenberger F Ref: Protein Science, 10:1015, 2001 : PubMed
The structure and function of hydroxynitrile lyase from Manihot esculenta (MeHNL) have been analyzed by X-ray crystallography and site-directed mutagenesis. The crystal structure of the MeHNL-S80A mutant enzyme has been refined to an R-factor of 18.0% against diffraction data to 2.1-A resolution. The three-dimensional structure of the MeHNL-S80A-acetone cyanohydrin complex was determined at 2.2-A resolution and refined to an R-factor of 18.7%. Thr11 and Cys81 involved in substrate binding have been substituted by Ala in site-directed mutagenesis. The kinetic measurements of these mutant enzymes are presented. Combined with structural data, the results support a mechanism for cyanogenesis in which His236 as a general base abstracts a proton from Ser80, thereby allowing proton transfer from the hydroxyl group of acetone cyanohydrin to Ser80. The His236 imidazolium cation then facilitates the leaving of the nitrile group by proton donating.
