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Title: Substrate Binding Induces Conformational Changes in a Class A β-lactamase That Prime It for Catalysis

Journal Article · · ACS Catalysis

The emergence and dissemination of bacterial resistance to β-lactam antibiotics via β-lactamase enzymes is a serious problem in clinical settings, often leaving few treatment options for infections resulting from multidrug-resistant superbugs. Understanding the catalytic mechanism of β-lactamases is important for developing strategies to overcome resistance. Binding of a substrate in the active site of an enzyme can alter the conformations and pKas of catalytic residues, thereby contributing to enzyme catalysis. Here we report X-ray and neutron crystal structures of the class A Toho-1 β-lactamase in the apo form and an X-ray structure of a Michaelis-like complex with the cephalosporin antibiotic cefotaxime in the active site. Comparison of these structures reveals that substrate binding induces a series of changes. The side chains of conserved residues important in catalysis, Lys73 and Tyr105, and the main chain of Ser130 alter their conformations, with Nζ of Lys73 moving closer to the position of the conserved catalytic nucleophile Ser70. This movement of Lys73 closer to Ser70 is consistent with proton transfer between the two residues prior to acylation. In combination with the tightly bound catalytic water molecule located between Glu166 and the position of Ser70, the enzyme is primed for catalysis when Ser70 is activated for nucleophilic attack of the β-lactam ring. Quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) free energy simulations of models of the wild-type enzyme show that proton transfer from the Nζ of Lys73 to the Oε2 atom of Glu166 is more thermodynamically favorable than when it is absent. Taken together, our findings indicate that substrate binding enhances the favorability of the initial proton transfer steps that precede the formation of the acyl-enzyme intermediate.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1459304
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1485285
Journal Information:
ACS Catalysis, Vol. 8, Issue 3; ISSN 2155-5435
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 21 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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A suite-level review of the neutron single-crystal diffraction instruments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory journal September 2018
Dynamical Behavior of β-Lactamases and Penicillin- Binding Proteins in Different Functional States and Its Potential Role in Evolution journal November 2019
Improving the accuracy and resolution of neutron crystallographic data by three-dimensional profile fitting of Bragg peaks in reciprocal space journal October 2018
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The rise of neutron cryo-crystallography journal July 2018
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Figures / Tables (7)


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