In contrast to hen egg-white lysozyme, which retains the beta-configuration of the substrate in the product, T4 lysozyme (T4L) is an inverting glycosidase. The substitution Thr-26 --> His, however, converts T4L from an inverting to a retaining enzyme. It is shown here that the Thr-26 --> His mutant is also a transglycosidase ...
In contrast to hen egg-white lysozyme, which retains the beta-configuration of the substrate in the product, T4 lysozyme (T4L) is an inverting glycosidase. The substitution Thr-26 --> His, however, converts T4L from an inverting to a retaining enzyme. It is shown here that the Thr-26 --> His mutant is also a transglycosidase. Indeed, the transglycosylation reaction can be more effective than hydrolysis. In contrast, wild-type T4L has no detectable transglycosidase activity. The results support the prior hypothesis that catalysis by the Thr-26 --> His mutant proceeds via a covalent intermediate. Further mutations (Glu-11 --> His, Asp-20 --> Cys) of the T26H mutant lysozyme indicate that the catalytic mechanism of this mutant requires Glu-11 as a general acid but Asp-20 is not essential. The results help provide an overall rationalization for the activity of glycosidases, in which a highly conserved acid group (Glu-11 in T4L, Glu-35 in hen egg-white lysozyme) on the beta-side of the substrate acts as a proton donor, whereas alterations in the placement and chemical identity of residues on the alpha-side of the substrate can lead to catalysis with or without retention of the configuration, to transglycosidase activity, or to the formation of a stable enzyme-substrate adduct.
Related Citations:
Structure of Bacteriophage T4 Lysozyme Refined at 1.7 A Resolution Weaver, L.H., Matthews, B.W. (1987) J Mol Biol 193: 189
Structure-based Design of a Lysozyme with Altered Catalytic Activity Kuroki, R., Weaver, L.H., Matthews, B.W. (1995) Nat Struct Biol 2: 1007
Organizational Affiliation:
Central Laboratories for Key Technology, Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd., 1-13-5, Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236 Japan.
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