Hydrocarbon rulers in UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferases

Characterization of late acyltransferase genes of Yersinia pestis and their role in temperature-dependent lipid A variation

Yersinia pestis is an important human pathogen that is maintained in flea-rodent enzootic cycles in many parts of the world. During its life cycle, Y. pestis senses host-specific environmental cues such as temperature and regulates gene expression appropriately to adapt to the insect or mammalian host. For example, Y. pestis synthesizes different forms of lipid A when grown at temperatures corresponding to the in vivo environments of the mammalian host and the flea vector. At 37 degrees C, tetra-acylated lipid A is the major form; but at 26 degrees C or below, hexa-acylated lipid A predominates. In this study, we show that the Y. pestis msbB (lpxM) and lpxP homologs encode the acyltransferases that add C12 and C(16:1) groups, respectively, to lipid IV(A) to generate the hexa-acylated form, and that their expression is upregulated at 21 degrees C in vitro and in the flea midgut. A Y. pestis deltamsbB deltalpxP double mutant that did not produce hexa-acylated lipid A was more sensitive to cecropin A, but not to polymyxin B. This mutant was able to infect and block fleas as well as the parental wild-type strain, indicating that the low-temperature-dependent change to hexa-acylated lipid A synthesis is not required for survival in the flea gut.

The crystal structure of (S)-3-O-geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase reveals an ancient fold for an ancient enzyme

We report crystal structures of the citrate and sn-glycerol-1-phosphate (G1P) complexes of (S)-3-O-geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase from Archaeoglobus fulgidus (AfGGGPS) at 1.55 and 2.0 A resolution, respectively. AfGGGPS is an enzyme that performs the committed step in archaeal lipid biosynthesis, and it presents the first triose phosphate isomerase (TIM)-barrel structure with a prenyltransferase function. Our studies provide insight into the catalytic mechanism of AfGGGPS and demonstrate how it selects for the sn-G1P isomer. The replacement of "Helix 3" by a "strand" in AfGGGPS, a novel modification to the canonical TIM-barrel fold, suggests a model of enzyme adaptation that involves a "greasy slide" and a "swinging door." We propose functions for the homologous PcrB proteins, which are conserved in a subset of pathogenic bacteria, as either prenyltransferases or being involved in lipoteichoic acid biosynthesis. Sequence and structural comparisons lead us to postulate an early evolutionary history for AfGGGPS, which may highlight its role in the emergence of Archaea.

The lipid A palmitoyltransferase PagP: molecular mechanisms and role in bacterial pathogenesis

Palmitoylated lipid A can both protect pathogenic bacteria from host immune defences and attenuate the activation of those same defences through the TLR4 signal transduction pathway. A palmitate chain from a phospholipid is incorporated into lipid A by an outer membrane enzyme PagP, which is an 8-stranded antiparallel beta-barrel preceded by an amino-terminal amphipathic alpha-helix. The PagP barrel axis is tilted by 25 degrees with respect to the membrane normal. An interior hydrophobic pocket in the outer leaflet-exposed half of the molecule functions as a hydrocarbon ruler that allows the enzyme to distinguish palmitate from other acyl chains found in phospholipids. Internalization of a phospholipid palmitoyl group within the barrel appears to occur by lateral diffusion from the outer leaflet through non-hydrogen-bonded regions between beta-strands. The MsbA-dependent trafficking of lipids from the inner membrane to the outer membrane outer leaflet is necessary for lipid A palmitoylation in vivo. The mechanisms by which bacteria regulate pagP gene expression strikingly reflect the corresponding pathogenic lifestyle of the bacterium. Variations on PagP structure and function can be illustrated with the known homologues from Gram-negative bacteria, which include pathogens of humans and other mammals in addition to pathogens of insects and plants. The PagP enzyme is potentially a target for the development of anti-infective agents, a probe of outer membrane lipid asymmetry, and a tool for the synthesis of lipid A-based vaccine adjuvants and endotoxin antagonists.

Rapid analysis of large protein-protein complexes using NMR-derived orientational constraints: the 95 kDa complex of LpxA with acyl carrier protein

Characterization of protein-protein interactions that are critical to the specific function of many biological systems has become a primary goal of structural biology research. Analysis of these interactions by structural techniques is, however, challenging due to inherent limitations of the techniques and because many of the interactions are transient, and suitable complexes are difficult to isolate. In particular, structural studies of large protein complexes by traditional solution NMR methods are difficult due to a priori requirement of extensive assignments and a large number of intermolecular restraints for the complex. An approach overcoming some of these challenges by utilizing orientational restraints from residual dipolar couplings collected on solution NMR samples is presented. The approach exploits existing structures of individual components, including the symmetry properties of some of these structures, to assemble rapidly models for relatively large protein-protein complexes. An application is illustrated with a 95 kDa homotrimeric complex of the acyltransferase protein, LpxA (UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase), and acyl carrier protein. LpxA catalyzes the first step in the biosynthesis of the lipid A component of lipopolysaccharide in Gram-negative bacteria. The structural model generated for this complex can be useful in the design of new anti-bacterial agents that inhibit the biosynthesis of lipid A.

Biosynthesis, transport, and modification of lipid A

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the major surface molecule of Gram-negative bacteria and consists of three distinct structural domains: O-antigen, core, and lipid A. The lipid A (endotoxin) domain of LPS is a unique, glucosamine-based phospholipid that serves as the hydrophobic anchor of LPS and is the bioactive component of the molecule that is associated with Gram-negative septic shock. The structural genes encoding the enzymes required for the biosynthesis of Escherchia coli lipid A have been identified and characterized. Lipid A is often viewed as a constitutively synthesized structural molecule. However, determination of the exact chemical structures of lipid A from diverse Gram-negative bacteria shows that the molecule can be further modified in response to environmental stimuli. These modifications have been implicated in virulence of pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria and represent one of the molecular mechanisms of microbial surface remodeling used by bacteria to help evade the innate immune response. The intent of this review is to discuss the enzymatic machinery involved in the biosynthesis of lipid A, transport of the molecule, and finally, those enzymes involved in the modification of its structure in response to environmental stimuli.

A hydrocarbon ruler measures palmitate in the enzymatic acylation of endotoxin

The ability of enzymes to distinguish between fatty acyl groups can involve molecular measuring devices termed hydrocarbon rulers, but the molecular basis for acyl-chain recognition in any membrane-bound enzyme remains to be defined. PagP is an outer membrane acyltransferase that helps pathogenic bacteria to evade the host immune response by transferring a palmitate chain from a phospholipid to lipid A (endotoxin). PagP can distinguish lipid acyl chains that differ by a single methylene unit, indicating that the enzyme possesses a remarkably precise hydrocarbon ruler. We present the 1.9 A crystal structure of PagP, an eight-stranded beta-barrel with an unexpected interior hydrophobic pocket that is occupied by a single detergent molecule. The buried detergent is oriented normal to the presumed plane of the membrane, whereas the PagP beta-barrel axis is tilted by approximately 25 degrees. Acyl group specificity is modulated by mutation of Gly88 lining the bottom of the hydrophobic pocket, thus confirming the hydrocarbon ruler mechanism for palmitate recognition. A striking structural similarity between PagP and the lipocalins suggests an evolutionary link between these proteins.

Enzymatic synthesis of lipid A molecules with four amide-linked acyl chains. LpxA acyltransferases selective for an analog of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine in which an amine replaces the 3"-hydroxyl group

LpxA of Escherichia coli catalyzes the acylation of the glucosamine 3-OH group of UDP-GlcNAc, using R-3-hydroxymyristoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) as the donor substrate. We now demonstrate that LpxA in cell extracts of Mesorhizobium loti and Leptospira interrogans, which synthesize lipid A molecules containing 2,3-diamino-2,3-dideoxy-d-glucopyranose (GlcN3N) units in place of glucosamine, do not acylate UDP-GlcNAc. Instead, these LpxA acyltransferases require a UDP-Glc-NAc derivative (designated UDP 2-acetamido-3-amino-2,3-dideoxy-alpha-d-glucopyranose or UDP-GlcNAc3N), characterized in the preceding paper, in which an amine replaces the glucosamine 3-OH group. L. interrogans LpxA furthermore displays absolute selectivity for 3-hydroxylauroyl-ACP as the donor, whereas M. loti LpxA functions almost equally well with 10-, 12-, and 14-carbon 3-hydroxyacyl-ACPs. The substrate selectivity of L. interrogans LpxA is consistent with the structure of L. interrogans lipid A. The mechanism of L. interrogans LpxA appears to be similar to that of E. coli LpxA, given that the essential His(125) residue of E. coli LpxA is conserved and is also required for acyltransferase activity in L. interrogans. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (an organism that makes lipid A molecules containing both GlcN and GlcN3N) has an ortholog of LpxA that is selective for UDP-GlcNAc3N, but the enzyme also catalyzes the acylation of UDP-GlcNAc at a slow rate. E. coli LpxA acylates UDP-GlcNAc and UDP-GlcNAc3N at comparable rates in vitro. However, UDP-GlcNAc3N is not synthesized in vivo, because E. coli lacks gnnA and gnnB. When the latter are supplied together with A. ferrooxidans lpxA, E. coli incorporates a significant amount of GlcN3N into its lipid A.

Effects of hydrocarbon structure on fatty acid, fatty alcohol, and β-hydroxy acid composition in the hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus

The lipids of the gram-negative bacterium Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus grown in a synthetic seawater medium supplemented with various hydrocarbons as the sole carbon source were isolated, purified, and their structures determined. The hydrocarbons were normal, iso, anteiso, and mid-chain branched alkanes, phenylalkanes, cyclohexylalkanes, and a terminal olefin. According to the sequential procedure used for lipid extraction, three pools were isolated: unbound lipids extracted with organic solvents (corresponding to metabolic lipids and to the main part of membrane lipids), OH- labile lipids [mainly ester-bound in the lipopolysaccharides (LPS)], and H+ labile lipids (mainly amide-bound in the LPS). Each pool contained FA, fatty alcohols, and beta-hydroxy acids. The proportions of these lipids in the unbound lipid pools were 84-98%, 1.1-11.6%, and 0.1-3.6% (w/w), respectively. The chemical structures of the lipids were strongly correlated with those of the hydrocarbons fed; analytical data suggested a metabolism essentially through oxidation into primary alcohol, then into FA and degradation via the beta-oxidation pathway. Sub-terminal oxidation of the hydrocarbon chains, alpha-oxidation of FA or double-bond oxidation in the case of the terminal olefin, were minor, although sometimes substantial, routes of hydrocarbon degradation. Cyclohexyldodecane did not support growth, likely because of the toxicity of cyclohexylacetic acid formed in the oxidation of the alkyl side chain. In the OH- and H+ labile lipid pools, beta-hydroxy acids, the lipophilic moiety of LPS, generally dominated (28-72% and 64-98%, w/w, respectively). The most remarkable feature of these cultures on hydrocarbons was the incorporation in LPS of beta-hydroxy acids with Codd, omega-unsaturated, iso, or anteiso alkyl chains in addition to the specific beta-hydroxy acid of M. hydrocarbonoclasticus, 3-OH-n-12:0. These beta-hydroxy acids were tolerated insofar as their geometry and steric hindrance were close to those of the 3-OH-n-12:0 acid.

Product diversity and regulation of type II fatty acid synthases

Fatty acid biosynthesis is catalyzed in most bacteria by a group of highly conserved proteins known as the type II fatty acid synthase (FAS II) system. FAS II has been extensively studied in the Escherichia coli model system, and the recent explosion of bioinformatic information has accelerated the investigation of the pathway in other organisms, mostly important human pathogens. All FAS II systems possess a basic set of enzymes for the initiation and elongation of acyl chains. This review focuses on the variations on this basic theme that give rise to the diversity of products produced by the pathway. These include multiple mechanisms to generate unsaturated fatty acids and the accessory components required for branched-chain fatty acid synthesis in Gram-positive bacteria. Most of the known mechanisms that regulate product distribution of the pathway arise from the fundamental biochemical properties of the expressed enzymes. However, newly identified transcriptional factors in bacterial fatty acid biosynthetic pathways are a fertile field for new investigation into the genetic control of the FAS II system. Much more work is needed to define the role of these factors and the mechanisms that regulate their DNA binding capability, but there appear to be fundamental differences in how the expression of the pathway genes is controlled in Gram-negative and in Gram-positive bacteria.Key words: fatty acid synthase, bacteria.

Relaxed acyl chain specificity of Bordetella UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferases

Lipid A (endotoxin) is a major structural component of Gram-negative outer membranes. It also serves as the hydrophobic anchor of lipopolysaccharide and is a potent activator of the innate immune response. Lipid A molecules from the genus Bordetella are reported to exhibit unusual structural asymmetry with respect to the acyl chains at the 3- and 3'-positions. These acyl chains are attached by UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase (LpxA). To determine the origin of the acyl variability, the single lpxA ortholog present in each of the genomes of Bordetella bronchiseptica (lpxA(Br)), Bordetella parapertussis (lpxA(Pa)), and Bordetella pertussis (lpxA(Pe)) was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. In contrast to all LpxA proteins studied to date, LpxA(Br) and LpxA(Pe) display relaxed acyl chain length specificity in vitro, utilizing C(10)OH-ACP, C(12)OH-ACP, and C(14)OH-ACP at similar rates. Furthermore, hybrid lipid A molecules synthesized at 42 degrees C by an E. coli lpxA mutant complemented with lpxA(Pe) contain C(10)OH, C(12)OH, and C(14)OH at both the 3- and 3'-positions, as determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In contrast, LpxA from B. parapertussis did not display relaxed specificity but was selective for C(10)OH-ACP. This study provides an enzymatic explanation for some of the unusual acyl chain variations found in Bordetella lipid A.

Liquid chromatographic/mass spectrometric detection of the 3-(3-hydroxyalkanoyloxy) alkanoic acid precursors of rhamnolipids in Pseudomonas aeruginosa cultures

A series of pseudomolecular and fragment ions attributed to 3-(3-hydroxyalkanoyloxy)alkanoic acids (HAAs) were detected by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry among the rhamnolipids observed in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain 57RP supernatant. The fragmentation mechanism leading to the formation of the fragment ions was determined by a deuterium exchange experiment and by using a standard HAA mixture obtained from the mild acidic hydrolysis of rhamnolipids of known composition. The structure and the response factor of these free HAAs were determined. The HAAs relative composition differs between free HAAs and those present in rhamnolipids, the former being enriched in lower molecular mass congeners and depleted in the heavier ones. Within an isomeric pair, the isomer with the shortest 3-hydroxyalkaloyl residue at the hydroxyl end was more abundant than the one with the heavier 3-hydroxyalkaloyl acid at this position, and the ratios of their relative abundances were similar for free HAAs and those in rhamnolipids. Experiments with deuterium-labeled rhamnolipids demonstrated that free HAAs are part of a pool used for rhamnolipid biosynthesis and are not rhamnolipid degradation products.

Lipid A modifications in polymyxin-resistant Salmonella typhimurium: PMRA-dependent 4-amino-4-deoxy-L-arabinose, and phosphoethanolamine incorporation

Lipid A of Salmonella typhimurium can be resolved into multiple molecular species. Many of these substances are more polar than the predominant hexa-acylated lipid A 1,4'-bisphosphate of Escherichia coli K-12. By using new isolation methods, we have purified six lipid A subtypes (St1 to St6) from wild type S. typhimurium. We demonstrate that these lipid A variants are covalently modified with one or two 4-amino-4-deoxy-l-arabinose (l-Ara4N) moieties. Each lipid A species with a defined set of polar modifications can be further derivatized with a palmitoyl moiety and/or a 2-hydroxymyristoyl residue in place of the secondary myristoyl chain at position 3'. The unexpected finding that St5 and St6 contain two l-Ara4N residues accounts for the anomalous structures of lipid A precursors seen in S. typhimurium mutants defective in 3-deoxy-d-manno-octulosonic acid biosynthesis in which only the 1-phosphate group is modified with the l-Ara4N moiety (Strain, S. M., Armitage, I. M., Anderson, L., Takayama, K., Quershi, N., and Raetz, C. R. H. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 16089-16098). Phosphoethanolamine (pEtN)-modified lipid A species are much less abundant than l-Ara4N containing forms in wild type S. typhimurium grown in broth but accumulate to high levels when l-Ara4N synthesis is blocked in pmrA(C)pmrE(-) and pmrA(C)pmrF(-) mutants. Purification and analysis of selected compounds demonstrate that one or two pEtN moieties may be present. Our findings show that S. typhimurium contains versatile enzymes capable of modifying both the 1- and 4'-phosphates of lipid A with l-Ara4N and/or pEtN groups. PmrA null mutants of S. typhimurium produce lipid A species without any pEtN or l-Ara4N substituents. However, PmrA is not needed for the incorporation of 2-hydroxymyristate or palmitate.

Lipopolysaccharide endotoxins

Bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) typically consist of a hydrophobic domain known as lipid A (or endotoxin), a nonrepeating "core" oligosaccharide, and a distal polysaccharide (or O-antigen). Recent genomic data have facilitated study of LPS assembly in diverse Gram-negative bacteria, many of which are human or plant pathogens, and have established the importance of lateral gene transfer in generating structural diversity of O-antigens. Many enzymes of lipid A biosynthesis like LpxC have been validated as targets for development of new antibiotics. Key genes for lipid A biosynthesis have unexpectedly also been found in higher plants, indicating that eukaryotic lipid A-like molecules may exist. Most significant has been the identification of the plasma membrane protein TLR4 as the lipid A signaling receptor of animal cells. TLR4 belongs to a family of innate immunity receptors that possess a large extracellular domain of leucine-rich repeats, a single trans-membrane segment, and a smaller cytoplasmic signaling region that engages the adaptor protein MyD88. The expanding knowledge of TLR4 specificity and its downstream signaling pathways should provide new opportunities for blocking inflammation associated with infection.

A Chlamydia trachomatis UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase selective for myristoyl-acyl carrier protein. Expression in Escherichia coli and formation of hybrid lipid A species

Chlamydia trachomatis lipid A is unusual in that it is acylated with myristoyl chains at the glucosamine 3 and 3' positions. We have cloned and expressed the gene encoding UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 3-O-acyltransferase of C. trachomatis (CtlpxA), the first enzyme of lipid A biosynthesis. C. trachomatis LpxA displays approximately 20-fold selectivity for myristoyl-ACP over R/S-3-hydroxymyristoyl-ACP under standard assay conditions, consistent with the proposed structure of C. trachomatis lipid A. CtLpxA is the first reported UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase that prefers a non-hydroxylated acyl-ACP to a hydroxyacyl-ACP. When CtlpxA was expressed in RO138, a temperature-sensitive lpxA mutant of Escherichia coli, five new hybrid lipid A species were made in vivo after 2 h at 42 degrees C, in place of Escherichia coli lipid A. These compounds were purified and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization/time of flight mass spectrometry. In each case, a myristoyl chain replaced one or both of the ester linked 3-hydroxymyristoyl residues of E. coli lipid A. With prolonged growth at 42 degrees C, all the ester-linked 3-hydroxymyristoyl residues were replaced with myristate chains. Re-engineering the structure of E. coli lipid A should facilitate the microbiological production of novel agonists or antagonists of the innate immunity receptor TLR-4, with possible uses as adjuvants or anti-inflammatory agents.

The specificity of methyl transferases involved in trans mycolic acid biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis

Trans mycolic acid content is directly related to cell wall fluidity and permeability in mycobacteria. Carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy of mycolic acids isolated from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and Mycobacterium smegmatis (MSM) fed 13C-labeled precursor molecules was used to probe the biosynthetic pathways that modify mycolic acids. Heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy (HMQC) of ketomycolic acid from MTB allowed assignment of the complete 13C-NMR spectrum. Incorporation patterns from [1-13C]-acetate and [2-13C]-acetate feeding experiments suggested that the mero chain and alpha branch of mycolic acids are both synthesized by standard fatty acid biosynthetic reactions. [13C-methyl]-L-methionine was used to specifically label carbon atoms derived from the action of the methyl transferases involved in meromycolate modification. To enrich for trans mycolic acids a strain of MTB overexpressing the mma1 gene was labeled. Carbon-carbon coupling was observed in mycolate samples doubly labeled with 13C-acetate and [13C-methyl]-L-methionine and this information was used to assess positional specificity of methyl transfer. In MTB such methyl groups were found to occur exclusively on carbons derived from the 2 position of acetate, while in MSM they occurred only on carbons derived from the 1 position. These results suggest that the MSM methyltransferase MMAS-1 operates in an inverted manner to that of MTB.

An ordered reaction mechanism for bacterial toxin acylation by the specialized acyltransferase HlyC: formation of a ternary complex with acylACP and protoxin substrates

The 110 kDa haemolysin protoxin (proHlyA) is activated in the Escherichia coli cytosol by acyl carrier protein-dependent fatty acylation of two internal lysine residues, directed by the co-synthesized protein HlyC. Using an in vitro maturation reaction containing purified protoxin peptides and acylACP, we show unambiguously that HlyC possesses an apparently unique acyltransferase activity fully described by Michaelis-Menten analysis. The Vmax of HlyC at saturating levels of both substrates was approximately 115 nmol acyl group min-1 mg-1 with KMacylACP of 260 nM and KMproHlyA of 27 nM, kinetic parameters sufficient to explain why in vivo HlyC is required at a concentration equimolar to proHlyA. HlyC bound the fatty acyl group from acylACP to generate an acylated HlyC intermediate that was depleted in the presence of proHlyA, but enriched in the presence of proHlyA derivatives lacking acylation target sites. HlyC was also able to bind in vivo 4'-phosphopantetheine. Substitution of conserved amino acids that could act as putative covalent attachment sites did not prevent binding of the fatty acyl or 4'-phosphopantetheine groups. These data and substrate variation analyses suggest that the unique acylation reaction does not involve covalent attachment of fatty acid to the acyltransferase, but rather that it proceeds via a sequential ordered Bi-Bi reaction mechanism, requiring the formation of a non-covalent ternary acylACP-HlyC-proHlyA complex.

A Haemophilus influenzae gene that encodes a membrane bound 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid (Kdo) kinase. Possible involvement of kdo phosphorylation in bacterial virulence

The lipopolysaccharide of Haemophilus influenzae contains a single 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid (Kdo) residue derivatized with either a phosphate or an ethanolamine pyrophosphate moiety at the 4-OH position. In previous studies, we identified a kinase unique to H. influenzae extracts that phosphorylates Kdo-lipid IV(A), a key precursor of lipopolysaccharide in this organism. We have now identified the gene encoding the Kdo kinase by using an expression cloning approach. A cosmid library containing random DNA fragments from H. influenzae strain Rd was constructed in Escherichia coli. Extracts of 472 colonies containing individual hybrid cosmids were assayed for Kdo kinase activity. A single hybrid cosmid directing expression of the kinase was found. The kinase gene was identified by activity assays, sub-cloning, and DNA sequencing. When the putative kinase gene was expressed in E. coli behind a T7 promoter, massive overproduction of kinase activity was achieved ( approximately 8000-fold higher than in H. influenzae membranes). The catalytic properties and the product generated by the overexpressed kinase, assayed with Kdo-lipid IV(A) as the substrate, were the same as observed with H. influenzae membranes. Unexpectedly, the kinase gene was identical to a previously characterized open reading frame (orfZ), which had been shown to be important for establishing bacteremia in an infant rat model (Hood, D. W., Deadman, M. E., Allen, T., Masoud, H., Martin, A., Brisson, J. R., Fleischmann, R., Venter, J. C., Richards, J. C., and Moxon, E. R. (1996) Mol. Microbiol. 22, 951-965). However, based solely on the genome sequence of H. influenzae Rd, no biochemical function had been assigned to the product of orfZ, which we now designate kdkA ("Kdo kinase A"). Although Kdo phosphorylation may be critical for bacterial virulence of H. influenzae, it does not appear to be required for growth.

Substrate gating confers steroid specificity to estrogen sulfotransferase

Estrogen sulfotransferase (EST) exhibits a high substrate specificity and catalytic efficiency toward estrogens such as estradiol (E2) but insignificant ability to sulfate hydroxysteroids such as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). To provide the structural basis for this estrogen specificity, we mutated amino acid residues that constitute the substrate-binding site of EST. Among these mutants, only Tyr-81 decreased E2 and increased DHEA sulfotransferase activities. Substitution for Tyr-81 by smaller hydrophobic residues increased K(m(E2)) for E2 activity, whereas the k(cat(E2)) remained relatively constant. The Y81L mutant exhibited the same DHEA activity as wild-type hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase, for which K(m(DHEA)) remained relatively constant, and k(cat(DHEA)) was markedly increased. The side chain of Tyr-81 is directed at the A-ring of the E2 molecule in the substrate-binding pocket of EST, constituting a steric gate with Phe-142 sandwiching E2 from the opposite side. The present mutagenesis study indicates that the 3beta-hydroxyl group of the DHEA molecule is excluded from the catalytic site of EST through steric hindrance of Tyr-81 with the C-19 methyl group of DHEA. Thus, this stricture-like gating caused by steric hindrance appears to be a structural principle for conferring estrogen specificity to EST.

The active site of Escherichia coli UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase. Chemical modification and site-directed mutagenesis

UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) acyltransferase (LpxA) catalyzes the reversible transfer of an R-3-hydroxyacyl chain from R-3-hydroxyacyl-acyl carrier protein to the glucosamine 3-OH of UDP-GlcNAc in the first step of lipid A biosynthesis. Lipid A is required for the growth and virulence of most Gram-negative bacteria, making its biosynthetic enzymes intriguing targets for the development of new antibacterial agents. LpxA is a member of a large family of left-handed beta-helical proteins, many of which are acyl- or acetyltransferases. We now demonstrate that histidine-, lysine-, and arginine-specific reagents effectively inhibit LpxA of Escherichia coli, whereas serine- and cysteine-specific reagents do not. Using this information in conjunction with multiple sequence alignments, we constructed site-directed alanine substitution mutations of conserved histidine, lysine, and arginine residues. Many of these mutant LpxA enzymes show severely decreased specific activities under standard assay conditions. The decrease in activity corresponds to decreased k(cat)/K(m,UDP-GlcNAc) values for all the mutants. With the exception of H125A, in which no activity is seen under any assay condition, the decrease in k(cat)/K(m,UDP-GlcNAc) mainly reflects an increased K(m,UDP-GlcNAc). His(125) of E. coli LpxA may therefore function as a catalytic residue, possibly as a general base. LpxA does not catalyze measurable UDP-3-O-(R-3-hydroxymyristoyl)-GlcNAc hydrolysis or UDP-GlcNAc/UDP-3-O-(R-3-hydroxymyristoyl)-GlcNAc exchange, arguing against a ping-pong mechanism with an acyl-enzyme intermediate.

Lipid A modifications characteristic of Salmonella typhimurium are induced by NH4VO3 in Escherichia coli K12. Detection of 4-amino-4-deoxy-L-arabinose, phosphoethanolamine and palmitate

Two-thirds of the lipid A in wild-type Escherichia coli K12 is a hexa-acylated disaccharide of glucosamine in which monophosphate groups are attached at positions 1 and 4'. The remaining lipid A contains a monophosphate substituent at position 4' and a pyrophosphate moiety at position 1. The biosynthesis of the 1-pyrophosphate unit is unknown. Its presence is associated with lipid A translocation to the outer membrane (Zhou, Z., White, K. A., Polissi, A., Georgopoulos, C., and Raetz, C. R. H. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 12466-12475). To determine if a phosphatase regulates the amount of the lipid A 1-pyrophosphate, we grew cells in broth containing nonspecific phosphatase inhibitors. Na2WO4 and sodium fluoride increased the relative amount of the 1-pyrophosphate slightly. Remarkably, NH4VO3-treated cells generated almost no 1-pyrophosphate, but made six major new lipid A derivatives (EV1 to EV6). Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization/time of flight mass spectrometry of purified EV1 to EV6 indicated that these compounds were lipid A species substituted singly or in combination with palmitoyl, phosphoethanolamine, and/or aminodeoxypentose residues. The aminodeoxypentose residue was released by incubation in chloroform/methanol (4:1, v/v) at 25 degrees C, and was characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The chemical shifts and vicinal coupling constants of the two anomers of the aminodeoxypentose released from EV3 closely resembled those of synthetic 4-amino-4-deoxy-L-arabinose. NH4VO3-induced lipid A modification did not require the PhoP/PhoQ two-component regulatory system, and also occurred in E. coli msbB or htrB mutants. The lipid A variants that accumulate in NH4VO3-treated E. coli K12 are the same as many of those normally found in untreated Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella minnesota, demonstrating that E. coli K12 has latent enzyme systems for synthesizing these important derivatives.