Structural Characterization of Functionally Important Chloride Binding Sites in the Marine Vibrio Alkaline Phosphatase.

Enzyme stability and function can be affected by various environmental factors, such as temperature, pH, and ionic strength. Enzymes that are located outside the relatively unchanging environment of the cytosol, such as those residing in the periplasmic space of bacteria or extracellularly secreted, are challenged by more fluctuations in the aqueous medium. Bacterial alkaline phosphatases (APs) are generally affected by ionic strength of the medium, but this varies substantially between species. An AP from the marine bacterium Vibrio splendidus (VAP) shows complex pH-dependent activation and stabilization in the 0-1.0 M range of halogen salts and has been hypothesized to specifically bind chloride anions. Here, using X-ray crystallography and anomalous scattering, we have located two chloride binding sites in the structure of VAP, one in the active site and another one at a peripheral site. Further characterization of the binding sites using site-directed mutagenesis and small-angle X-ray scattering showed that upon binding of chloride to the peripheral site, structural dynamics decreased locally, resulting in thermal stabilization of the VAP active conformation. Binding of the chloride ion in the active site did not displace the bound inorganic phosphate product, but it may promote product release by facilitating rotational stabilization of the substrate-binding Arg129. Overall, these results reveal the complex nature and dynamics of chloride binding to enzymes through long-range modulation of electronic potential in the vicinity of the active site, resulting in increased catalytic efficiency and stability.

X-ray crystal structure of Vibrio alkaline phosphatase with the non-competitive inhibitor cyclohexylamine.

BACKGROUND: Para-nitrophenyl phosphate, the common substrate for alkaline phosphatase (AP), is available as a cyclohexylamine salt. Here, we report that cyclohexylamine is a non-competitive inhibitor of APs. METHODS: Cyclohexylamine inhibited four different APs. Co-crystallization with the cold-active Vibrio AP (VAP) was performed and the structure solved. RESULTS: Inhibition of VAP fitted a non-competitive kinetic model (Km unchanged, Vmax reduced) with IC50 45.3 mM at the pH optimum 9.8, not sensitive to 0.5 M NaCl, and IC50 27.9 mM at pH 8.0, where the addition of 0.5 M NaCl altered the inhibition to the level observed at pH 9.8. APs from E. coli and calf intestines were less sensitive to cyclohexylamine, whereas an Antarctic bacterial AP was similar to VAP in this respect. X-ray crystallography at 2.3 Å showed two binding sites, one in the active site channel and another at the surface close to dimer interface. Antarctic bacterial AP and VAP have Trp274 in common in their active-sites, that takes part in binding cyclohexylamine. VAP variants W274A, W274K, and W274H gave IC50 values of 179 mM, 188 mM and 187 mM, respectively, at pH 9.8. CONCLUSIONS: The binding of cyclohexylamine in locations at the dimeric interface and/or in the active site of APs may delay product release or reduce the rate of catalytic step(s) involving conformational changes and intersubunit communications. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Cyclohexylamine is a common chemical in industries and used as a counterion in substrates for alkaline phosphatase, a clinically important and common enzyme in the biosphere.

pH-Dependent Binding of Chloride to a Marine Alkaline Phosphatase Affects the Catalysis, Active Site Stability, and Dimer Equilibrium.

The effect of ionic strength on enzyme activity and stability varies considerably between enzymes. Ionic strength is known to affect the catalytic activity of some alkaline phosphatases (APs), such as Escherichia coli AP, but how ions affect APs is debated. Here, we studied the effect of various ions on a cold-adapted AP from Vibrio splendidus (VAP). Previously, we have found that the active form of VAP is extremely unstable at low ionic strengths. Here we show that NaCl increased the activity and stability of VAP and that the effect was pH-dependent in the range of pH 7-10. The activity profile as a function of pH formed two maxima, indicating a possible conformational change. Bringing the pH from the neutral to the alkaline range was accompanied by a large increase in both the Ki for inorganic phosphate (product inhibition) and the KM for p-nitrophenyl phosphate. The activity transitions observed as the pH was varied correlated with structural changes as monitored by tryptophan fluorescence. Thermal and urea-induced inactivation was shown to be accompanied by neither dissociation of the active site metal ions nor dimer dissociation. This would suggest that the inactivation involved subtle changes in active site conformation. Furthermore, the VAP dimer equilibrium was studied for the first time and shown to highly favor dimerization, which was dependent on pH and NaCl concentration. Taken together, the data support a model in which anions bind to some specific acceptor in the active site of VAP, resulting in great stabilization and catalytic rate enhancement, presumably through a different mechanism.