Substrate Report for: Paraoxon

Oxime antidotes regenerate organophosphate-inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Although they share a common mechanism of AChE reactivation, the rate and amount of oxime that enters the brain are critical to the efficacy, a process linked to the oxime structure and charge. Using a platform based on the organophosphate [(18) F]-VXS as a positron emission tomography tracer for active AChE, the in vivo distribution of [(18) F]-VXS was evaluated after an LD50 dose (250 mug/kg) of the organophosphate paraoxon (POX) and following oximes as antidotes. Rats given [(18) F]-VXS tracer alone had significantly higher radioactivity (two- to threefold) in the heart and lung than rats given LD50 POX at 20 or 60 min prior to [(18) F]-VXS. When rats were given LD50 POX followed by 2-PAM (cationic), RS194b (ionizable), or monoisonitrosoacetone (MINA) (neutral), central nervous system (CNS) radioactivity returned to levels at or above untreated naive rats (no POX), whereas CNS radioactivity did not increase in rats given the dication oximes HI-6 or MMB-4. MINA showed a significant, pairwise increase in CNS brain radioactivity compared with POX-treated rats. This new in vivo dynamic platform using [(18) F]-VXS tracer measures and quantifies peripheral and CNS relative changes in AChE availability after POX exposure and is suitable for comparing oxime delivery and AChE reactivation in rats.

The G117H mutant of human butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8) was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Substitution of Gly 117 with His to make the G117H mutant endowed butyrylcholinesterase with the ability to catalyze the hydrolysis of organophosphate esters. G117H was still able to hydrolyze butyrylthiocholine, benzoylcholine, and o-nitrophenyl butyrate, but in addition it had acquired the ability to hydrolyze the antiglaucoma drug echothiophate and the pesticide paraoxon. Wild-type butyrylcholinesterase was irreversibly inhibited by echothiophate and paraoxon, but G117H regained 100% activity within 2-3 min following reaction with these compounds. On a polyacrylamide gel, the same bands that stained for activity with butyrylthiocholine also stained for activity with echothiophate. G117H is the only enzyme known that hydrolyzes echothiophate. Diethoxyphosphorylated G117H aged with a half-time of 5.5 h, a rate 600 times slower than the rate of hydrolysis. Echothiophate and paraoxon were hydrolyzed with the same kcat of 0.75 min-1. This calculates to a rate acceleration of 100,000-fold for hydrolysis of echothiophate and paraoxon by the G117H mutant compared to the nonenzymatic rate.

Serine esterases and proteases are rapidly and irreversibly inhibited by organophosphorus (OP) nerve agents. To overcome this limitation, we selected several residues that were predicted to be within 3-10 A of both the active site Ser O gamma and the oxyanion hole of human butyrylcholinesterase for mutation to His (G115H, G117H, Q119H, and G121H). In remarkable contrast with wild-type (WT) and all other His mutants tested, G117H underwent spontaneous reactivation following OP inhibition to regain 100% of original esterase activity with maximum k3 values of approximately 6.8 x 10(-5) and 16 x 10(-5) s-1 for GB (sarin) and VX, respectively, in 0.1 M Bis-Tris, 25 degrees C. The free energy of activation for k3 was 19 kcal mol-1, and measurement of pH dependence suggested that reactivation resulted from an acidic group with pKa 6.2. To evaluate further the importance of His in achieving this result, we changed the same Gly to Lys (G117K) and compared its substrate and inhibitor kinetics with those of G117H. Both mutants retained esterase activity with Km values similar to those of WT for neutral ester hydrolysis, but G117K did not reactivate. Complete reactivation proves that G117H is not irreversibly inhibited but instead functions as a catalyst for OP hydrolysis. Dephosphonylation is the rate-limiting step, and G117H effects overall rate constant enhancements of approximately 100- and 2000-fold above the uncatalyzed hydrolysis of GB and VX, respectively, at pH 6.0, 25.0 degrees C. We conclude that an appropriately positioned imidazolium ion in the oxyanion hole catalyzes dephosphonylation and, thereby, confers a novel organophosphorus acid anhydride hydrolase activity upon butyrylcholinesterase.

Finding new mechanistic solutions for biocatalytic challenges is key in the evolutionary adaptation of enzymes, as well as in devising new catalysts. The recent release of man-made substances into the environment provides a dynamic testing ground for observing biocatalytic innovation at play. Phosphate triesters, used as pesticides, have only recently been introduced into the environment, where they have no natural counterpart. Enzymes have rapidly evolved to hydrolyze phosphate triesters in response to this challenge, converging onto the same mechanistic solution, which requires bivalent cations as a cofactor for catalysis. In contrast, the previously identified metagenomic promiscuous hydrolase P91, a homologue of acetylcholinesterase, achieves slow phosphotriester hydrolysis mediated by a metal-independent Cys-His-Asp triad. Here, we probe the evolvability of this new catalytic motif by subjecting P91 to directed evolution. By combining a focused library approach with the ultrahigh throughput of droplet microfluidics, we increase P91's activity by a factor of =360 (to a k(cat)/K(M) of =7 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1)) in only two rounds of evolution, rivaling the catalytic efficiencies of naturally evolved, metal-dependent phosphotriesterases. Unlike its homologue acetylcholinesterase, P91 does not suffer suicide inhibition; instead, fast dephosphorylation rates make the formation of the covalent adduct rather than its hydrolysis rate-limiting. This step is improved by directed evolution, with intermediate formation accelerated by 2 orders of magnitude. Combining focused, combinatorial libraries with the ultrahigh throughput of droplet microfluidics can be leveraged to identify and enhance mechanistic strategies that have not reached high efficiency in nature, resulting in alternative reagents with novel catalytic machineries.

Oxime antidotes regenerate organophosphate-inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Although they share a common mechanism of AChE reactivation, the rate and amount of oxime that enters the brain are critical to the efficacy, a process linked to the oxime structure and charge. Using a platform based on the organophosphate [(18) F]-VXS as a positron emission tomography tracer for active AChE, the in vivo distribution of [(18) F]-VXS was evaluated after an LD50 dose (250 mug/kg) of the organophosphate paraoxon (POX) and following oximes as antidotes. Rats given [(18) F]-VXS tracer alone had significantly higher radioactivity (two- to threefold) in the heart and lung than rats given LD50 POX at 20 or 60 min prior to [(18) F]-VXS. When rats were given LD50 POX followed by 2-PAM (cationic), RS194b (ionizable), or monoisonitrosoacetone (MINA) (neutral), central nervous system (CNS) radioactivity returned to levels at or above untreated naive rats (no POX), whereas CNS radioactivity did not increase in rats given the dication oximes HI-6 or MMB-4. MINA showed a significant, pairwise increase in CNS brain radioactivity compared with POX-treated rats. This new in vivo dynamic platform using [(18) F]-VXS tracer measures and quantifies peripheral and CNS relative changes in AChE availability after POX exposure and is suitable for comparing oxime delivery and AChE reactivation in rats.

Organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) is capable of hydrolyzing a wide variety of organophosphorus pesticides and chemical warfare agents. However, the hydrolytic activity of OPH against the warfare agent VX is less than 0.1% relative to its activity against parathion and paraoxon. Based on the crystal structure of OPH and the similarities it shares with acetylcholinesterase, eight OPH mutants were constructed with the goal of increasing OPH activity toward VX. The activities of crude extracts from these mutants were measured using VX, demeton-S methyl, diisopropylfluoro-phosphate, ethyl parathion, paraoxon, and EPN as substrates. One mutant (L136Y) displayed a 33% increase in the relative VX hydrolysis rate compared to wild type enzyme. The other seven mutations resulted in 55-76% decreases in the relative rates of VX hydrolysis. There was no apparent relationship between the hydrolysis rates of VX and the rates of the other organophosphorus compounds tested.

Organophosphorus acid anhydride (OP) "nerve agents" are rapid, stoichiometric, and essentially irreversible inhibitors of serine hydrolases. By placing a His near the oxyanion hole of human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), we made an esterase (G117H) that catalyzed the hydrolysis of several OP, including sarin and VX [Millard et al. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 15925-15930]. G117H was limited, however, because it was irreversibly inhibited by pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate (soman); soman is among the most toxic synthetic poisons known. This limitation of G117H has been overcome by a new BChE (G117H/E197Q) that combines two engineered features: spontaneous dephosphonylation and slow aging (dealkylation). G117H/E197Q was compared with the single mutants BChE G117H and E197Q. Each retained cholinesterase activity with butyrylthiocholine as substrate, although kcat/Km decreased 11-, 11- or 110-fold for purified G117H, E197Q, or G117H/E197Q, respectively, as compared with wild-type BChE. Only G117H/E197Q catalyzed soman hydrolysis; all four soman stereoisomers as well as sarin and VX were substrates. Phosphonylation and dephosphonylation reactions were stereospecific. Double mutant thermodynamic cycles suggested that the effects of the His and Gln substitutions on phosphonylation were additive for PSCR or PRCR soman, but were cooperative for the PSCS stereoisomer. Dephosphonylation limited overall OP hydrolysis with apparent rate constants of 0.006, 0.077, and 0.128 min-1 for the PR/SCR, PSCS, and PRCS soman stereoisomers, respectively, at pH 7.5, 25 degrees C. We conclude that synergistic protein design converted an archetypal "irreversible inhibitor" into a slow substrate for the target enzyme.

The G117H mutant of human butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8) was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Substitution of Gly 117 with His to make the G117H mutant endowed butyrylcholinesterase with the ability to catalyze the hydrolysis of organophosphate esters. G117H was still able to hydrolyze butyrylthiocholine, benzoylcholine, and o-nitrophenyl butyrate, but in addition it had acquired the ability to hydrolyze the antiglaucoma drug echothiophate and the pesticide paraoxon. Wild-type butyrylcholinesterase was irreversibly inhibited by echothiophate and paraoxon, but G117H regained 100% activity within 2-3 min following reaction with these compounds. On a polyacrylamide gel, the same bands that stained for activity with butyrylthiocholine also stained for activity with echothiophate. G117H is the only enzyme known that hydrolyzes echothiophate. Diethoxyphosphorylated G117H aged with a half-time of 5.5 h, a rate 600 times slower than the rate of hydrolysis. Echothiophate and paraoxon were hydrolyzed with the same kcat of 0.75 min-1. This calculates to a rate acceleration of 100,000-fold for hydrolysis of echothiophate and paraoxon by the G117H mutant compared to the nonenzymatic rate.

Serine esterases and proteases are rapidly and irreversibly inhibited by organophosphorus (OP) nerve agents. To overcome this limitation, we selected several residues that were predicted to be within 3-10 A of both the active site Ser O gamma and the oxyanion hole of human butyrylcholinesterase for mutation to His (G115H, G117H, Q119H, and G121H). In remarkable contrast with wild-type (WT) and all other His mutants tested, G117H underwent spontaneous reactivation following OP inhibition to regain 100% of original esterase activity with maximum k3 values of approximately 6.8 x 10(-5) and 16 x 10(-5) s-1 for GB (sarin) and VX, respectively, in 0.1 M Bis-Tris, 25 degrees C. The free energy of activation for k3 was 19 kcal mol-1, and measurement of pH dependence suggested that reactivation resulted from an acidic group with pKa 6.2. To evaluate further the importance of His in achieving this result, we changed the same Gly to Lys (G117K) and compared its substrate and inhibitor kinetics with those of G117H. Both mutants retained esterase activity with Km values similar to those of WT for neutral ester hydrolysis, but G117K did not reactivate. Complete reactivation proves that G117H is not irreversibly inhibited but instead functions as a catalyst for OP hydrolysis. Dephosphonylation is the rate-limiting step, and G117H effects overall rate constant enhancements of approximately 100- and 2000-fold above the uncatalyzed hydrolysis of GB and VX, respectively, at pH 6.0, 25.0 degrees C. We conclude that an appropriately positioned imidazolium ion in the oxyanion hole catalyzes dephosphonylation and, thereby, confers a novel organophosphorus acid anhydride hydrolase activity upon butyrylcholinesterase.

The effects of lethal (2.0 mg/kg) and high sublethal (1.3 mg/kg) dosages of the organophosphate acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor paraoxon on FR10 performance rate was determined 1 and 2 days after intoxication. The lethal doses were antidoted with either centrally acting atropine sulfate (AS), or atropine methyl bromide (AMB) or atropine methyl nitrate (AMN), both quaternary salts and not expected to act centrally. AChE inhibition in the brain was about 35-60% on the second day after treatment. AS yielded a small transient depression in performance, while AMB and AMN yielded severe deficits, with incomplete recovery. Performance was depressed by 1.3 mg/kg paraoxon by 52% and 34% on days 1 and 2, respectively, while performance was more greatly depressed by the lethal dose, especially with the noncentrally acting antidotes: AS, 67 and 48%; AMB, 81 and 55%; AMN, 91 and 78%. However, a low dose of AS with 2 mg/kg paraoxon resulted in very severe, nonrecovering deficits. A lethal dose of the nonpersistent anti-AChE eserine sulfate, antidoted with a low dose of AS, yielded no deficits. Thus, a high level, acute intoxication with paraoxon yields behavioral deficits which are attenuated by high levels of a centrally acting muscarinic receptor antagonist. The paraoxon-induced performance deficits or their recovery do not correlate directly with AChE inhibition.