Studies on Turbatrix aceti beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase. 1. Purification and physicochemical characterization

Modular structure, local flexibility and cold-activity of a novel chitobiase from a psychrophilic Antarctic bacterium

The gene archb encoding for the cell-bound chitobiase from the Antarctic Gram-positive bacterium Arthrobacter sp. TAD20 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli in a soluble form. The mature chitobiase ArChb possesses four functionally independent domains: a catalytic domain stabilized by Ca(2+), a galactose-binding domain and an immunoglobulin-like domain followed by a cell-wall anchorage signal, typical of cell-surface proteins from Gram-positive bacteria. Binding of saccharides was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry, allowing to distinguish unequivocally the catalytic domain from the galactose-binding domain and to study binding specificities. The results suggest that ArChb could play a role in bacterium attachment to natural hosts. Kinetic parameters of ArChb demonstrate perfect adaptation to catalysis at low temperatures, as shown by a low activation energy associated with unusually low K(m) and high k(cat) values. Thermodependence of these parameters indicates that discrete amino acid substitutions in the catalytic center have optimized the thermodynamic properties of weak interactions involved in substrate binding at low temperatures. Microcalorimetry also reveals that heat-lability, a general trait of psychrophilic enzymes, only affects the active site domain of ArChb.

Asparagine-linked carbohydrate chains of inducible rat parotid proline-rich glycoprotein contain terminal beta-linked N-acetylgalactosamine

Rats treated with daily injection of DL-isoproterenol for 10 consecutive days (25 mg kg(-1) body weight) showed marked induction of a proline-rich glycoprotein (GPRP) of 220 kDa. Proteinase K digestion of GPRP produced a homogeneous glycopeptide with an average chemical composition as follows (residues per mol): Pro4, Glx3, Asx2, Gly1, His1, Thr1, Arg1, GlcNAc5, GalNac1, Man3, Gal2-3, and Fuc1. The structural analysis of the asparagine-linked carbohydrate unit was performed by methylation, periodate oxidation and enzymatic degradation. Methylation studies indicated that the three mannosyl residues were substituted at 1,2-, 1,2,4-, and 1,3,6-positions. Fucose, N-acetylgalactosamine, 1.5 residues of galactose and 0.35 residues of N-acetylglucosamine were terminally located and one galactose residue was 1,4-substituted. Approximately four of the 5 N-acetylglucosamine residues were substituted at 1,4-position and approximately 1 residue of N-acetylglucosamine was substituted at 1,4,6-positions. Periodate oxidation studies and exoglycosidase results were consistent with the methylation data. Based on the results of Smith degradation, methylation and sequential exoglycosidase digestions a triantennary oligosaccharide structure having terminal N-acetylgalactosamine in one of the branches is proposed for the major Asn-linked carbohydrate moiety of GPRP.

Studies on the N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosaminidase B from germinating Lupinus luteus L. seeds. I. Purification and characterization

The N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosaminidase B of germinating Lupinus luteus L. seeds (McFarlane et al. (1984) Phytochemistry 23, 2431-2433) was partially purified with a six-step purification procedure following extraction. This enzyme consists of one protein chain (Mr 69,000, as determined by SDS-PAGE and 62,500, as obtained by gel filtration on Bio-Gel P-60 Gel) and has a neutral isoelectric point (pI = 7.05, as determined by chromatofocusing). Moreover, it was found to be very sensitive to low ionic strength, especially in the presence of different gels based on Sephadex. Considering the substrate specificity, the enzyme splits both p-nitrophenyl-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucosaminide and -galactosaminide substrates, but lacks N,N'-diacetylchitobiase activity. A new mixed-substrate procedure was developed and is presented here to demonstrate that a common active site is responsible for the splitting of both synthetic substrates.

Studies on Turbatrix aceti beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase. 2. Kinetic studies on the active site

The purified beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase isolated from Turbatrix aceti hydrolyzes both p-nitrophenyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-gluco- and beta-D-galactopyranosides. The enzyme had Km values of 0.28 and 0.23 mM, Vmax values of 104 and 69 mumol min-1 mg protein-1, and activation energies of 11.7 and 9.9 kcal/mol for the two substrates, respectively. Several lines of experimental evidence show that both beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase and beta-N-acetylgalactosaminidase activities reside in the same molecule at a single catalytic site. Substrate analogs were synthesized in which the acetamido group of p-nitrophenyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-gluco- and galactopyranoside, and their 1-thio analogs was modified by replacement of the amido-carbonyl oxygen with sulfur. These substrate analogs competitively inhibited both enzymatic activities. Analysis of the inhibition data indicates that a single catalytic site of the enzyme is responsible for both beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase and beta-N-acetylgalactosaminidase activities. Competition kinetics between the two substrates further confirm the presence of a single active site for both activities. The pH dependence of the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-gluco- and beta-D-galactopyranosides has been determined. pKe1 and pKe2 values of 4.7 and 5.2, determined from the dependence of log Vmax/Km on pH, suggest that two carboxyl groups are involved in the reaction mechanism. The heats of ionization of the groups further confirm the above results.