p.F338A Phe338Ala (p.F369A Phe369Ala in primary sequence with 31 amino-acids signal peptide) Signal transduction: reduced kcat, marginal effect on inhibition by edrophonium; Acyl pocket decreased catalytic activity, orientation of His 447
The cholinesterases, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase, are primary targets of organophosphates (OPs). Exposure to OPs can lead to serious cardiovascular complications, respiratory compromise, and death. Current therapy to combat OP poisoning involves an oxime reactivator (2-PAM, obidoxime, TMB4, or HI-6) combined with atropine and on occasion an anticonvulsant. Butyrylcholinesterase, administered in the plasma compartment as a bio-scavenger, has also shown efficacy but is limited by its strict stoichiometric scavenging, slow reactivation, and a propensity for aging. Here, we characterize 10 human (h) AChE mutants that, when coupled with an oxime, give rise to catalytic reactivation and aging resistance of the soman conjugate. With the most efficient human AChE mutant Y337A/F338A, we show enhanced reactivation rates for several OP-hAChE conjugates compared with wild-type hAChE when reactivated with HI-6 (1-(2'-hydroxyiminomethyl-1'-pyridinium)-3-(4'-carbamoyl-1-pyridinium)). In addition, we interrogated an 840-member novel oxime library for reactivation of Y337A/F338A hAChE-OP conjugates to delineate the most efficient oxime-mutant enzyme pairs for catalytic bio-scavenging. Combining the increased accessibility of the Y337A mutation to oximes within the space-impacted active center gorge with the aging resistance of the F338A mutation provides increased substrate diversity in scavenging potential for aging-prone alkyl phosphate inhibitors.
Title: Next generation OP-bioscavengers: a circulatory long-lived 4-PEG hypolysine mutant of F338A-HuAChE with optimal pharmacokinetics and pseudo-catalytic characteristics Kronman C, Cohen O, Mazor O, Ordentlich A, Raveh L, Velan B, Shafferman A Ref: Chemico-Biological Interactions, 187:253, 2010 : PubMed
We have shown previously that conjugation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains to recombinant human acetylcholinesterase (rHuAChE) results in the extension of its residence time in the circulation of mice and monkeys [1,2]. By profiling the pharmacokinetic behavior of an array of well-defined hypolysine human mutant AChE molecules following PEGylation, we now determine that the duration of these enzyme forms in the circulation of rhesus macaques correlates with their number of appended PEG moieties, and is influenced by the actual location of the PEG chains at the molecule surface, as well. These findings, which concur with those we have previously established in mice, indicate that a common set of rules dictates the circulatory fate of PEGylated HuAChEs in rodents and non-human primates. In addition to its effect on circulatory residence, PEGylation reduces the ability of the rHuAChE bioscavenger to elicit an immune response in the heterologous mouse animal system. Thus, an inverse relationship between anti-AChE antibody production and PEG loading was observed following repeated administration of the different PEGylated hypolysine human AChEs to mice. We note however, that in rhesus macaques, the essentially homologous (human) AChE does not induce specific anti-AChE antibodies after repeated administration of high doses of the enzyme in its PEGylated form, and even in its non-PEGylated form. Taken together, these findings indicate that PEG acts by veiling enzyme-related epitopes, which would otherwise interact with host circulatory elimination pathways and immune system. The barring of such interactions by obstructive PEGs, confers the enzyme molecule with both extended circulatory residence and mitigated immunogenic properties. Further modulation by incorporation of the F338A mutation into the PEGylated hypolysine rHuAChE enzyme mold, resulted in the generation of an OP-bioscavenger that displayed reduced aging rates and could effectively protect mice against repeated exposure to CW agents. This selected 4-PEG F338A-AChE can serve as a paradigm for new generation OP-bioscavengers, specifically tailored for prophylactic treatment against toxic OP-agents.
Functional analysis of the HuAChE active center architecture revealed that accommodation of structurally diverse substrates and other ligands is achieved through interactions with specific subsites such as the acyl pocket, cation binding site, hydrophobic site or the oxyanion hole. Recent studies have begun to unravel the role of this active center architecture in maintaining the optimal catalytic facility of the enzyme through inducing proper alignment of the catalytic triad. The exact positioning of the catalytic glutamate (Glu334) seems to be determined by a hydrogen bond network including several polar residues and water molecules. Disruption of this network by replacement of Ser229 by alanine is thought to remove the Glu334 carboxylate from the vicinity of His447 abolishing catalytic activity. The proper orientation of the catalytic histidine side chain is maintained by these polar interactions as well as through "aromatic trapping" by residues lining the HuAChE active center gorge. Thus, replacement of aromatic residues in the vicinity of His447, as in the F295A/F338A or in the Y72N/Y124Q/W286A/F295L/F297V/Y337A (hexamutant which mimicks the aromatic lining of HuBChE) enzymes, resulted in a dramatic decrease in catalytic activity, which was proposed to originate from catalytically nonproductive mobility of His447. Yet, HuBChE is catalytically efficient indicating that "aromatic trapping" is not the only way to conformationally stabilize the His447 side chain. A possible restriction of this mobility in a series of F295X/F338A HuAChEs was examined in silico followed by site-directed mutagenesis. Both simulations and reactivities of the actual F295X/F338A enzymes, carrying various aliphatic residues at position 295, indicate that of the bulky amino acids, like leucine or isoleucine, only methionine was capable of maintaining the catalytically viable conformation of His447. The F295M/F338A HuAChE was only two-fold less reactive than the F338A enzyme toward acetylthiocholine, and exhibited wild type-like reactivity toward covalent modifiers of the catalytic Ser203. The findings are consistent with the notion that different combinations of steric interference and specific polar interactions serve to maintain the position of His447 and thereby the high efficiency of the catalytic machinery. The two seemingly conflicting demands on the architecture of the active center-flexible accommodation of substrate and optimal juxtaposition of residues of the catalytic triad, demonstrate the truly amazing molecular design of the AChE active center.
While substitution of the aromatic residues (Phe295, Phe338), located in the vicinity of the catalytic His447 in human acetylcholinesterase (HuAChE) had little effect on catalytic activity, simultaneous replacement of both residues by aliphatic amino acids resulted in a 680-fold decrease in catalytic activity. Molecular simulations suggested that the activity decline is related to conformational destabilization of His447, similar to that observed for the hexamutant HuAChE which mimics the active center of butyrylcholinesterase. On the basis of model structures of other cholinesterases (ChEs), we predicted that catalytically nonproductive mobility of His447 could be restricted by introduction of aromatic residue in a different location adjacent to this histidine (Val407). Indeed, the F295A/F338A/V407F enzyme is 170-fold more reactive than the corresponding double mutant and only 3-fold less reactive than the wild-type HuAChE. However, analogous substitution of Val407 in the hexamutant HuAChE (generating the heptamutant Y72N/Y124Q/W286A/F295L/F297V/Y337A/V407F) did not enhance catalytic activity. Reactivity of these double, triple, hexa, and hepta mutant HuAChEs was monitored toward covalent ligands such as organophosphates and the transition state analogue TMFTA, which probe, respectively, the facility of the enzymes to accommodate Michaelis complexes and to undergo the acylation process. The findings suggest that in the F295A/F338A mutant the two His447 conformational states, which are essential for the different stages of the catalytic process, seem to be destabilized. On the other hand, in the F295A/F338A/V407F mutant only the state involved in acylation is impaired. Such differential effects on the His447 conformational properties demonstrate the general role of aromatic residues in cholinesterases, and probably in other serine hydrolases, in "trapping" of the catalytic histidine and thereby in optimization of catalytic activity.
Title: The 'aromatic patch' of three proximal residues in the human acetylcholinesterase active centre allows for versatile interaction modes with inhibitors Ariel N, Ordentlich A, Barak D, Bino T, Velan B, Shafferman A Ref: Biochemical Journal, 335:95, 1998 : PubMed
The role of the functional architecture of the human acetylcholinesterase (HuAChE) active centre in accommodating the non-covalent inhibitors tacrine and huperzine A, or the carbamates pyridostigmine and physostigmine, was analysed using 16 mutants of residues lining the active-centre gorge. Despite the structural diversity of the ligands, certain common properties of the complexes could be observed: (a) replacement of aromatic residues Tyr133, Tyr337 and especially Trp86, resulted in pronounced changes in stability of all the complexes examined; (b) effects due to replacements of the five other aromatic residues along the active-centre gorge, such as the acyl pocket (Phe295, Phe297) or at the peripheral anionic site (Tyr124, Trp286, Tyr341) were relatively small; (c) effects due to substitution of the carboxylic residues in the gorge (Glu202, Glu450) were moderate. These results and molecular modelling indicate that the aromatic side chains of residues Trp86, Tyr133 and Tyr337 form together a continuous 'aromatic patch' lining the wall of the active-centre gorge, allowing for the accommodation of the different ligands via multiple modes of interaction. Studies with HuAChE mutants carrying replacements at positions 86, 133 and 337 indicate that the orientations of huperzine A and tacrine in the HuAChE complexes in solution are significantly different from those observed in X-ray structures of the corresponding complexes with Torpedo californica AChE (TcAChE). These discrepancies may be explained in terms of structural differences between the complexes of HuAChE and TcAChE or, more likely, by the enhanced flexibility of the AChE active-centre gorge in solution as compared with the crystalline state.
Title: Aging of phosphylated human acetylcholinesterase: catalytic processes mediated by aromatic and polar residues of the active centre Shafferman A, Ordentlich A, Barak D, Stein D, Ariel N, Velan B Ref: Biochemical Journal, 318:833, 1996 : PubMed
We have examined the effects of 11 substitutions of active centre gorge residues of human acetylcholinesterase (HuAChE) on the rates of phosphonylation by 1,2,2-trimethylpropyl methyl-phosphonofluoridate (soman) and the aging of the resulting conjugates. The rates of phosphonylation were reduced to as little as one-seventieth, mainly in mutants of the hydrogen-bond network (Glu-202, Glu-450, Tyr-133). These recombinant enzymes as well as the F338A, W86A, W86F and D74N mutant HuAChEs varied in their resistance to aging (15-3300-fold relative to the wild type). The most dramatic resistance to aging was observed for the phosphonyl conjugate of the mutant W86A enzyme (1850-3300-fold relative to the wild type). It is proposed that Trp-86 contributes to the aging process by stabilizing the evolving carbonium ion on the 1,2,2-trimethylpropyl moiety, via charge-pi interaction. The rate-enhancing effect of Trp-86 provides a rationale for the unique facility of aging in soman-inhibited cholinesterases, compared with the corresponding conjugates in other serine hydrolases. Replacements of Glu-202 by aspartic acid, glutamine or alanine residues resulted in a similar (1/130-1/300) decrease of the rates of aging. A comparable decrease was also observed for the conjugate of the F338A mutant. These results, and the similar pH dependence of aging rates for the wild-type and E202Q and F338A mutant HuAChEs, indicate that Glu-202 is not involved in proton transfer to the phosphonyl moiety. On the basis of these findings and of molecular modelling we suggest that Glu-202 and Phe-338 contribute to the aging process by stabilizing the imidazolium of the catalytic triad His-447 via charge-charge and charge-pi interactions respectively, thereby facilitating an oxonium formation on the phosphonyl moiety.
Several of the residues constituting the peripheral anionic site (PAS) in human acetylcholinesterase (HuAChE) were identified by a combination of kinetic studies with 19 single and multiple HuAChE mutants, fluorescence binding studies with the Trp-286 mutant, and by molecular modeling. Mutants were analyzed with three structurally distinct positively charged PAS ligands, propidium, decamethonium, and di(p-allyl-N-dimethylaminophenyl)pentane-3-one (BW284C51), as well as with selective active center inhibitors, hexamethonium and edrophonium. Single mutations of residues Tyr-72, Tyr-124, Glu-285, Trp-286, and Tyr-341 resulted in up to 10-fold increase in inhibition constants for PAS ligands, whereas for multiple mutants up to 400-fold increase was observed. The 6th PAS element residue Asp-74 is unique in its ability to affect conformation of both the active site and the PAS (Shafferman, A., Velan, B., Ordentlich, A., Kronman, C., Grosfeld, H., Leitner, M., Flashner, Y., Cohen, S., Barak, D., and Ariel, N. (1992) EMBO J. 11, 3561-3568) as demonstrated by the several hundred-fold increase in Ki for D74N inhibition by the bisquaternary ligands decamethonium and BW284C51. Based on these studies, singular molecular models for the various HuAChE inhibitor complexes were defined. Yet, for the decamethonium complex two distinct conformations were generated, accommodating the quaternary ammonium group by interactions with either Trp-286 or with Tyr-341. We propose that the PAS consists of a number of binding sites, close to the entrance of the active site gorge, sharing residues Asp-74 and Trp-286 as a common core. Binding of ligands to these residues may be the key to the allosteric modulation of HuAChE catalytic activity. This functional degeneracy is a result of the ability of the Trp-286 indole moiety to interact either via stacking, aromatic-aromatic, or via pi-cation attractions and the involvement of the carboxylate of Asp-74 in charge-charge or H-bond interactions.
Substrate specificity determinants of human acetylcholinesterase (HuAChE) were identified by combination of molecular modeling and kinetic studies with enzymes mutated in residues Trp-86, Trp-286, Phe-295, Phe-297, Tyr-337, and Phe-338. The substitution of Trp-86 by alanine resulted in a 660-fold decrease in affinity for acetythiocholine but had no effect on affinity for the isosteric uncharged substrate (3,3-dimethylbutylthioacetate). The results demonstrate that residue Trp-86 is the anionic site which binds, through cation-pi interactions, the quaternary ammonium of choline, and that of active center inhibitors such as edrophonium. The results also suggest that in the non-covalent complex, charged and uncharged substrates with a common acyl moiety (acetyl) bind to different molecular environments. The hydrophobic site for the alcoholic portion of the covalent adduct (tetrahedral intermediate) includes residues Trp-86, Tyr-337, and Phe-338, which operate through nonpolar and/or stacking interactions, depending on the substrate. Substrates containing choline but differing in the acyl moiety (acetyl, propyl, and butyryl) revealed that residues Phe-295 and Phe-297 determine substrate specificity of the acyl pocket for the covalent adducts. Phe-295 also determines substrate specificity in the non-covalent enzyme substrate complex and thus, the HuAChE F295A mutant exhibits over 130-fold increase in the apparent bimolecular rate constant for butyrylthiocholine compared with wild type enzyme. Reactivity toward specific butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors is similarly dependent on the nature of residues at positions 295 and 297. Amino acid Trp-286 at the rim of the active site "gorge" and Trp-86, in the active center, are essential elements in the mechanism of inhibition by propidium, a peripheral anionic site ligand. Molecular modeling and kinetic data suggest that a cross-talk between Trp-286 and Trp-86 can result in reorientation of Trp-86 which may then interfere with stabilization of substrate enzyme complexes. It is proposed that the conformational flexibility of aromatic residues generates a plasticity in the active center that contributes to the high efficiency of AChE and its ability to respond to external stimuli.
Amino acids located within and around the 'active site gorge' of human acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were substituted. Replacement of W86 yielded inactive enzyme molecules, consistent with its proposed involvement in binding of the choline moiety in the active center. A decrease in affinity to propidium and a concomitant loss of substrate inhibition was observed in D74G, D74N, D74K and W286A mutants, supporting the idea that the site for substrate inhibition and the peripheral anionic site overlap. Mutations of amino acids neighboring the active center (E202, Y337 and F338) resulted in a decrease in the catalytic and the apparent bimolecular rate constants. A decrease in affinity to edrophonium was observed in D74, E202, Y337 and to a lesser extent in F338 and Y341 mutants. E202, Y337 and Y341 mutants were not inhibited efficiently by high substrate concentrations. We propose that binding of acetylcholine, on the surface of AChE, may trigger sequence of conformational changes extending from the peripheral anionic site through W286 to D74, at the entrance of the 'gorge', and down to the catalytic center (through Y341 to F338 and Y337). These changes, especially in Y337, could block the entrance/exit of the catalytic center and reduce the catalytic efficiency of AChE.
Title: Acetylcholinesterase Catalysis - Protein Engineering Studies Shafferman A, Velan B Ref: In Multidisciplinary approaches to cholinesterase functions - Proceedings of Fourth International Meeting on Cholinesterases, (Shafferman, A. and Velan, B., Eds) Plenum Press, New York:165, 1992 : PubMed
