Studies on the ring-cyclization and ring-expansion enzymes of beta-lactam biosynthesis in Cephalosporium acremonium

Cephalosporin resistance, tolerance, and approaches to improve their activities

Cephalosporins comprise a β-lactam antibiotic class whose first members were discovered in 1945 from the fungus Cephalosporium acremonium. Their clinical use for Gram-negative bacterial infections is widespread due to their ability to traverse outer membranes through porins to gain access to the periplasm and disrupt peptidoglycan synthesis. More recent members of the cephalosporin class are administered as last resort treatments for complicated urinary tract infections, MRSA, and other multi-drug resistant pathogens, such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Unfortunately, there has been a global increase in cephalosporin-resistant strains, heteroresistance to this drug class has been a topic of increasing concern, and tolerance and persistence are recognized as potential causes of cephalosporin treatment failure. In this review, we summarize the cephalosporin antibiotic class from discovery to their mechanisms of action, and discuss the causes of cephalosporin treatment failure, which include resistance, tolerance, and phenomena when those qualities are exhibited by only small subpopulations of bacterial cultures (heteroresistance and persistence). Further, we discuss how recent efforts with cephalosporin conjugates and combination treatments aim to reinvigorate this antibiotic class.

Deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase (expandase): Research progress and application potential

Cephalosporins play an indispensable role against bacterial infections. Deacetyloxycephalosporin C synthase (DAOCS), also called expandase, is a key enzyme in cephalosporin biosynthesis that epoxides penicillin to form the hexavalent thiazide ring of cephalosporin. DAOCS in fungus Acremonium chrysogenum was identified as a bifunctional enzyme with both ring expansion and hydroxylation, whereas two separate enzymes in bacteria catalyze these two reactions. In this review, we briefly summarize its source and function, improvement of the conversion rate of penicillin to deacetyloxycephalosporin C through enzyme modification, crystallography features, the prediction of the active site, and application perspective.

Unique chemistry of non-heme iron enzymes in fungal biosynthetic pathways

Reactions by non-heme iron enzymes in structurally intriguing fungal natural products pathways are summarized and discussed.

Expandase-like activity mediated cell-free conversion of ampicillin to cephalexin by Streptomyces sp. DRS I

Cell-free extracts of Streptomyces sp. DRS I converted ampicillin to cephalexin, presumably due to the activity of the enzyme, expandase. The extract was fractionated and characterized by colorimetric and chromatographic measurements coupled with disc-agar diffusion bioassay against an ampicillin-resistant, cephalexin-sensitive E. coli strain. Though expandase could not be identified, the presence of a hitherto unreported expandase in Streptomyces sp. DRS I is suggested.

Metabolic engineering of beta-lactam production

Metabolic engineering has become a rational alternative to classical strain improvement in optimisation of beta-lactam production. In metabolic engineering directed genetic modification are introduced to improve the cellular properties of the production strains. This has resulted in substantial increases in the existing beta-lactam production processes. Furthermore, pathway extension, by heterologous expression of novel genes in well-characterised strains, has led to introduction of new fermentation processes that replace environmentally damaging chemical methods. This minireview discusses the recent developments in metabolic engineering and the applications of this approach for improving beta-lactam production.

Alteration of the co-substrate selectivity of deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase. The role of arginine 258

Deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase is an iron(II) 2-oxoglutaratedependent oxygenase that catalyzes the oxidative ring-expansion of penicillin N to deacetoxycephalosporin C. The wild-type enzyme is only able to efficiently utilize 2-oxoglutarate and 2-oxoadipate as a 2-oxoacid co-substrate. Mutation of arginine 258, the side chain of which forms an electrostatic interaction with the 5-carboxylate of the 2-oxoglutarate co-substrate, to a glutamine residue reduced activity to about 5% of the wild-type enzyme with 2-oxoglutarate. However, other aliphatic 2-oxoacids, which were not co-substrates for the wild-type enzyme, were utilized by the R258Q mutant. These 2-oxoacids "rescued" catalytic activity to the level observed for the wild-type enzyme as judged by penicillin N and G conversion. These co-substrates underwent oxidative decarboxylation as observed for 2-oxoglutarate in the normal reaction with the wild-type enzyme. Crystal structures of the iron(II)- 2-oxo-3-methylbutanoate (1.5 A), and iron(II)-2-oxo-4-methylpentanoate (1.6 A) enzyme complexes were obtained, which reveal the molecular basis for this "chemical co-substrate rescue" and help to rationalize the co-substrate selectivity of 2-oxoglutaratedependent oxygenases.

On-line and off-line monitoring of the production of cephalosporin C by Acremonium chrysogenum

Process monitoring of cephalosporin C formation by Acremonium chrysogenum in laboratory investigations is considered. The goal of these investigations is the identification of bottlenecks in the biosynthesis and the improvement of the process performance. Based on reports of other research groups and own experience the key parameters were selected, which influence the process performance. They are: dissolved oxygen and pH values. In addition the concentrations of biomass, DNA, glucose and reducing sugars (glucose, maltose, maltotriose and oligosaccharides), methionine, other nitrogen sources (ammonium ion, other amino acids), organic acids, phosphate, sulfate, dissolved organic carbon, proteins, product and precursors in the cell free cultivation medium are monitored. In addition the intracellular concentrations of RNA, DNA, proteins, amino acids as well as the activities of the enzymes of the biosynthesis of cephalosporin C are determined. The influence of these parameters on the biosynthesis is discussed.

Characterization of Streptomyces sp. strain DRS-1 and its ampicillin transformation product

Incubation of ampicillin with whole cells of Streptomyces sp. DRS-1 resulted in accumulation of four compounds different from ampicillin. One of them was isolated, purified and partially characterized. On the basis of spectroscopic characteristics, RF value and antibacterial activity the compound was identified as cephalexin. It could also be obtained from ampicillin by using crude protein extract of the strain.

Production of cephalosporin intermediates by feeding adipic acid to recombinant Penicillium chrysogenum strains expressing ring expansion activity

We demonstrate a novel and efficient bioprocess for production of the cephalosporin intermediates, 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7-ACA) or 7-amino deacetoxycephalosporanic acid (7-ADCA). The Streptomyces clavuligerus expandase gene or the Cephalosporium acremonium expandase-hydroxylase gene, with and without the acetyltransferase gene, were expressed in a penicillin production strain of Penicillium chrysogenum. Growth of these transformants in media containing adipic acid as the side chain precursor resulted in efficient production of cephalosporins having an adipyl side chain, proving that adipyl-6-APA is a substrate for either enzyme in vivo. Strains expressing expandase produced adipyl-7-ADCA, whereas strains expressing expandase-hydroxylase produced both adipyl-7-ADCA and adipyl-7-ADAC (aminodeacetylcephalosporanic acid). Strains expressing expandase-hydroxylase and acetyltransferase produced adipyl-7-ADCA, adipyl-7-ADAC and adipyl-7-ACA. The adipyl side chain of these cephalosporins was easily removed with a Pseudomonas-derived amidase to yield the cephalosporin intermediates.

Biochemical studies on the activity of delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine synthetase from Streptomyces clavuligerus

The enzyme activity of purified delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine (ACV) synthetase from Streptomyces clavuligerus was studied biochemically. The dependence of ACV synthetase activity on reaction parameters, including substrates, cofactors, temperature and pH, were determined, resulting in a substantially increased enzyme activity. The activity is very labile to high temperature and is also unstable at acidic pH. The enzyme specificity is strict towards L-alpha-aminoadipate, but rather loose with respect to L-valine; certain modifications of L-cysteine can also be tolerated. Some unnatural tripeptides synthesized by ACV synthetase can be converted into bioactive compounds by isopenicillin N synthase. The only nutrient found to negatively affect ACV synthetase activity is phosphate, but various compounds such as thiol-blocking reagents and ATP-utilization products (AMP and pyrophosphate) are inhibitory to the enzyme.

Regulation of Isopenicillin N Synthetase (IPNS) Gene Expression in Acremonium Chrysogenum

Total RNA was extracted daily from the beta-lactam antibiotic producing fungus A. chrysogenum strain CO728 during a 7 day cephalosporin C fermentation. IPNS mRNA species, with a size of about 1.5 kb, were detected by Northern blotting at high levels between days 2 and 4. The rapid appearance of IPNS mRNA in mycelial extracts up to day 2 suggests that IPNS is regulated at the transcriptional level. Primer extension and S1 endonuclease mapping studies indicate the existence of two major and at least two minor transcription initiation start sites. There was no change in the relative levels of the four transcripts during the period they could be detected. A region upstream of the IPNS structural gene (pcbC) has been sequenced and the transcription initiation sites appear as major and minor pairs on either side of one of the pyrimidine-rich blocks that punctuate the promoter sequence.

Biosynthesis and control of β-lactam antibiotics: The early steps in the “classical” tripeptide pathway

The interaction between growth and secondary metabolism develops from physiological responses of the producer organism to its environment. Nutrients are channelled into primary growth processes or into secondary processes such as antibiotic biosynthesis by a variety of metabolic controls, the nature of which has been extensively studied in organisms producing beta-lactam antibiotics via the tripeptide, delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine. In the following article we review the early stages of beta-lactam biosynthesis in fungi and actinomycetes, keeping in mind the regulation of primary pathways that provide the amino acid precursors of this group of antibiotics, as well as the regulation of the secondary pathway itself. Of special importance to organisms engaging in secondary metabolism are the control mechanisms that suppress the nonessential process during rapid growth but allow secondary metabolic genes to be expressed and resources to be diverted when environmental factors generate the appropriate biochemical signals.

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine in complex media by precolumn derivatisation with dansylaziridine

A novel method is described for the trace level quantitation of the tripeptide delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine (ACV) in complex fermentation media, using a high-performance liquid chromatographic, pre-column derivatisation technique. The procedure is based upon the reaction of the ACV monomer with 5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulphonylaziridine (dansylaziridine) and produces a highly fluorescent product. Reaction conditions between the reagent and tripeptide were investigated and optimal conditions established. Linear calibration graphs were obtained over the ranges 227-0.56 micrograms/ml and 227-5.6 ng/ml. The extracellular ACV levels produced in fermentation broths of several different fungal strains and species were determined using this technique. The method was compared using ACV standards in buffer solutions for ease of use, sensitivity and selectivity with two other pre-column derivatisation procedures, using dithionitrobenzoic acid and monobromobimane, which also exploit the reaction with the sulphydryl group of the ACV monomer.

Cloning and nucleotide sequence determination of the isopenicillin N synthetase gene from Streptomyces clavuligerus

The isopenicillin N synthetase (IPNS) gene from Streptomyces clavuligerus was isolated from an Escherichia coli plasmid library of S. clavuligerus genomic DNA fragments using a 44-mer mixed oligodeoxynucleotide probe. The nucleotide sequence of a 3-kb region of the cloned fragment from the plasmid, pBL1, was determined and analysis of the sequence showed an open reading frame that could encode a protein of 329 amino acids with an Mr of 36,917. When the S. clavuligerus DNA from pBL1 was introduced into an IPNS-deficient mutant of S. clavuligerus on the Streptomyces vector pIJ941, the recombinant plasmid was able to complement the mutation and restore IPNS activity. The protein coding region of the S. clavuligerus IPNS gene shows about 63% and 62% similarity to the Cephalosporium acremonium and Penicillium chrysogenum IPNS nucleotide sequences, respectively, and the predicted amino acid sequence of the encoded protein showed about 56% similarity to both fungal sequences.

Isopenicillin N synthetase of Penicillium chrysogenum, an enzyme that converts delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine to isopenicillin N

The tripeptide delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine, an intermediate in the penicillin biosynthetic pathway, is converted to isopenicillin N by isopenicillin N synthetase (cyclase) of Penicillium chrysogenum. The cyclization required dithiothreitol and was stimulated by ferrous ions and ascorbate. Co2+ and Mn2+ completely inhibited enzyme activity. Optimal temperature and pH were 25 degrees C and 7.8, respectively. The reaction required O2 and was stimulated by increasing the dissolved oxygen concentration of the reaction mixture. Purification of the enzyme to a single major band in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was achieved by protamine sulfate precipitation, ammonium sulfate fractionation (50 to 80% of saturation), DEAE-Sephacel chromatography, and gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200. The estimated molecular weight was 39,000 +/- 1,000. The apparent Km of isopenicillin N synthetase for delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine was 0.13 mM. The enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by glutathione, which acts as a competitive inhibitor. A good correlation was observed between the isopenicillin N synthetase activity in extracts of four different strains of P. chrysogenum (with widely different penicillin-producing capability) and the amount of penicillin production by these strains.

Repression and inhibition of cephalosporin synthetases in Streptomyces clavuligerus by inorganic phosphate

Cephalosporin production by growing cells of Streptomyces clavuligerus was reduced by 100 mM inorganic phosphate. Resting cell production was repressed by prior growth in high phosphate and inhibited by phosphate. The cell-free activity of desacetoxycephalosporin C synthetase (ring expansion activity) was repressed by prior growth in high phosphate and inhibited by phosphate. Isopenicillin N synthetase (cyclase) was inhibited but not repressed. Penicillin epimerase was neither inhibited nor repressed by phosphate.

Enzymatic approach to syntheses of unnatural beta-lactams

Four enzymes associated with the transformation of the peptide delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine (ACV) into the beta-lactam antibiotic desacetylcephalosporin C have been isolated from the prokaryotic organism Streptomyces clavuligerus and immobilized. Appropriate choice of the cofactors allows continuous and quantitative conversion of the peptide into either penicillins or cephalosporins at room temperature. The overall process includes four oxidations, two ring closures, and one epimerization. In contrast, cell-free transformations with the eukaryotic organism Cephalosporium acremonium do not proceed beyond the oxidation level of penicillin. The amino acids of the natural peptide ACV can be altered by chemical means; several of the resulting peptides are converted into novel antibiotics by the enzymes of Streptomyces clavuligerus.

Purification of isopenicillin N synthetase

Isopenicillin N synthetase was extracted from Cephalosporium acremonium and purified about 200-fold. The product showed one major protein band, coinciding with synthetase activity, when subjected to electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel. An isopenicillin N synthetase from Penicillium chrysogenum was purified about 70-fold by similar procedures. The two enzymes resemble each other closely in their Mr, in their mobility on electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel and in their requirement for Fe2+ and ascorbate for maximum activity. Preliminary experiments have shown that a similar isopenicillin N synthetase can be extracted from Streptomyces clavuligerus.

A pure enzyme catalyzing penicillin biosynthesis

Isopenicillin N synthetase (cyclase) has been purified to homogeneity from Cephalosporium acremonium strain C-10. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 40,000 to 42,000 and yields a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme was purified in 10 percent yield by a combination of protamine sulfate and ammonium sulfate precipitations, gel filtration, and ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography. The purified enzyme can be stabilized with sucrose and stored at -20 degrees C for several weeks without any loss in activity.

Enzymatic synthesis of the penicillin and cephalosporin nuclei from an acyclic peptide containing carboxymethylcysteine

The tripeptide delta-(L- carboxymethylcysteinyl )-L-cysteinyl-D-valine (L-CMC-CV) is converted sequentially into the CMC analog of isopenicillin N, the CMC analog of penicillin N, and the CMC analog of desacetoxycephalosporin C by, respectively, isopenicillin N synthetase, isopenicillin N epimerase, and desacetoxycephalosporin C synthetase, all isolated from the beta-lactam producing prokaryote Streptomyces clavuligerus.

Analysis of penicillin N ring expansion activity from Streptomyces clavuligerus by ion-pair high-pressure liquid chromatography

An ion-pair, reversed-phase, high-pressure liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of penicillin N ring expansion activity has been developed which allows simultaneous measurement of both substrate and product. The high-pressure liquid chromatography conditions were as follows: stationary phase, C18; flow rate, 2 ml/min; detection, 220 nm. The stationary phase was preconditioned with 4.5 mM tetrabutylammonium bromide in 0.05 M KH2PO4 (pH 4.0)-methanol (85:15, vol/vol) and then equilibrated with 0.06 mM tetrabutylammonium bromide in 0.05 M KH2PO4 (pH 4.0)-methanol (95:5, vol/vol) for analysis of reaction mixtures. These conditions separated authentic samples of penicillin N and desacetoxycephalosporin C and allowed cell-free studies of the ring expansion of penicillin N to desacetoxycephalosporin C by a partially purified enzyme from Streptomyces clavuligerus to be followed conveniently.