Inhibition of human glutathione transferase by catechin and gossypol: comparative structural analysis by kinetic properties, molecular docking and their efficacy on the viability of human MCF-7 cells.

Glutathione transferase Pi (GSTP1) expression is increased in many cancer types and is associated with multidrug resistance and apoptosis inhibition. Inhibitors of GSTP1-1 have the potential to overcome drug resistance and improve chemotherapy efficacy as adjuvant agents. This study investigated the effects of catechin and gossypol on human glutathione transferase Pi (GSTP1-1) activity and their cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells (MCF-7) individually and in combination with tamoxifen (TAM). Gossypol effectively inhibited the enzyme with an IC50 value of 40 µM, compared to 200 µM for catechin. Gossypol showed stronger inhibition of GSTP1-1 activity (Ki = 63.3 ± 17.5 µM) compared to catechin (Ki = 220 ± 44 µM). Molecular docking analysis revealed their binding conformations to GSTP1-1, with gossypol binding at the subunit interface in an un-competitive manner and catechin showing mixed non-competitive inhibition. Gossypol had severe cytotoxic effects on both MCF-7 cells and normal BJ1 cells, while catechin had a weak cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cells only. Combination therapy with TAM resulted in cytotoxicity of 27.3% and 35.2% when combined with catechin and gossypol, respectively. Gossypol showed higher toxicity to MCF-7 cells, but its strong effects on normal cells raised concerns about selectivity and potential side effects.

Evaluation of Phenolic Content Diversity along with Antioxidant/Pro-Oxidant, Glutathione Transferase Inhibition, and Cytotoxic Potential of Selected Commonly Used Plants.

The function of antioxidant polyphenols has been demonstrated for their ability to protect against a variety of diseases. However, some antioxidants have been shown to be pro-oxidant. Some of the important antioxidant enzymes are glutathione transferases (GST), which are involved in maintaining redox homeostasis. GST class Pi (GSTP1-1) hyper-activation is a feature that is found in cancer. This work aims to demonstrate the relationship between the phytochemicals of 18 plants and their ability to act as antioxidant/pro-oxidant agents, as well as their effects on the activity of GSTP1-1 and their cellular toxicity. Tamarindus indica, Cinnamomum verum, and Alpinia galanga extracts had high phytochemical contents, moderate heavy metal levels, and antioxidant/pro-oxidant activities. Among the main plant components identified using high-performance liquid chromatography, only chlorogenic acid, catechin, and quercetin can function as antioxidants and pro-oxidants. Hibiscus sabdariffa, C. verum, A. galanga, T. indica, Gossypium arboreum, and Punica granatum were among the plant extracts examined that inhibited the activity of the purified recombinant GSTP1-1, with the inhibition constant values ranging from 0.48 to 1.67 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g. The level of cytotoxicity was also studied to determine the effects of these extracts on human Caucasian breast cancer. The findings revealed that plants with high phenol content had an antioxidant/pro-oxidant capacity as well as inhibition of the activity of GST. However, the cytotoxic effect was not associated with all of the extracts, which indicates that polyphenols interact with other components that may influence their observed behavior.

Grafted carrageenan: alginate gel beads for catalase enzyme covalent immobilization.

A new matrix formulation was devised for catalase immobilization. Carrageenan-alginate beads different ratios were developed and soaked into different ratios of CaCl2-KCl as a hardening solution. The best formulation for loading capacity was selected, treated with polyethylene imine followed by glutaraldehyde and further studied. The best concentration of catalase for immobilization was 300U/ml and the best loading time was 6 h. The catalytic properties increased after immobilization and the immobilized catalase achieved optimum activity at a temperature range of 30-50 °C that was compared to the optimum activity of free catalase which occurred at 40 °C. Higher catalytic activity of immobilized catalase occurred at alkaline pHs than the free one which achieved optimum catalytic activity at neutral pH. A comparison between the kinetic parameters of immobilized and free catalase showed variation. The K M and Vmax of the immobilized catalase were 2.4 fold and six times higher than those of free catalase. The results of the study indicate that the formulated matrix can be used as a good matrix for catalase enzyme in various industrial applications.

Revealing of a novel xylose-binding site of Geobacillus stearothermophilus xylanase by directed evolution.

Xylan saccharification is a key step in many important biotechnological applications. Xylose is the main product of xylan degradation and is a major xylanase inhibitor in a bioreactor; however, xylose-binding site of xylanase is not discovered yet. Evolving of xylose-tolerant xylanase variants will reduce the cost of xylanases in industry. Glycoside hydrolase family-10 thermostable Geobacillus stearothermophilus xylanase XT6 is non-competitively inhibited by xylose with inhibition constant ki equals to 12.2 mM. In the absence of X-ray crystallography of xylanase-xylose complex, unbiased random mutagenesis of the whole xylanase gene was done by error-prone polymerase chain reaction constructing a huge library. Screening a part of the library revealed xylose-tolerant mutants having three mutations, M116I, L131P and L133V, clustered in the N-terminus of α-helix 3. The best xylose-tolerant mutant showed higher ki and catalytic capability than that of the parent by 3.5- and 3-fold, respectively. In addition, kcat increased 4.5-fold and KM decreased 2-fold. The molecular docking of xylose into xylanase XT6 structure showed that xylose binds into a small pocket between N-terminus of α-helices 3 and 4 and close to the three mutations. Mobility of α-helices 3 and 4, which controls catalysis rate, is restricted by xylose binding and increased by these mutations.

Molecular evolution of Theta-class glutathione transferase for enhanced activity with the anticancer drug 1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea and other alkylating agents.

Glutathione transferase (GST) displaying enhanced activity with the cytostatic drug 1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) and structurally related alkylating agents was obtained by molecular evolution. Mutant libraries created by recursive recombination of cDNA coding for human and rodent Theta-class GSTs were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and screened with the surrogate substrate 4-nitrophenethyl bromide (NPB) for enhanced alkyltransferase activity. A mutant with a 70-fold increased catalytic efficiency with NPB, compared to human GST T1-1, was isolated. The efficiency in degrading BCNU had improved 170-fold, significantly more than with the model substrate NPB. The enhanced catalytic activity of the mutant GST was also 2-fold higher with BCNU than wild-type mouse GST T1-1, which is 80-fold more efficient than wild-type human GST T1-1. We propose that GSTs catalyzing inactivation of anticancer drugs may find clinical use in protecting sensitive normal tissues to toxic side-effects in treated patients, and as selectable markers in gene therapy.

Residue 234 is a master switch of the alternative-substrate activity profile of human and rodent theta class glutathione transferase T1-1.

BACKGROUND: The Theta class glutathione transferase GST T1-1 is a ubiquitously occurring detoxication enzyme. The rat and mouse enzymes have high catalytic activities with numerous electrophilic compounds, but the homologous human GST T1-1 has comparatively low activity with the same substrates. A major structural determinant of substrate recognition is the H-site, which binds the electrophile in proximity to the nucleophilic sulfur of the second substrate glutathione. The H-site is formed by several segments of amino acid residues located in separate regions of the primary structure. The C-terminal helix of the protein serves as a lid over the active site, and contributes several residues to the H-site. METHODS: Site-directed mutagenesis of the H-site in GST T1-1 was used to create the mouse Arg234Trp for comparison with the human Trp234Arg mutant and the wild-type rat, mouse, and human enzymes. The kinetic properties were investigated with an array of alternative electrophilic substrates to establish substrate selectivity profiles for the different GST T1-1 variants. RESULTS: The characteristic activity profile of the rat and mouse enzymes is dependent on Arg in position 234, whereas the human enzyme features Trp. Reciprocal mutations of residue 234 between the rodent and human enzymes transform the substrate-selectivity profiles from one to the other. CONCLUSIONS: H-site residue 234 has a key role in governing the activity and substrate selectivity profile of GST T1-1. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: The functional divergence between human and rodent Theta class GST demonstrates that a single point mutation can enable or suppress enzyme activities with different substrates.

Minor modifications of the C-terminal helix reschedule the favored chemical reactions catalyzed by theta class glutathione transferase T1-1.

Adaptive responses to novel toxic challenges provide selective advantages to organisms in evolution. Glutathione transferases (GSTs) play a pivotal role in the cellular defense because they are main contributors to the inactivation of genotoxic compounds of exogenous as well as of endogenous origins. GSTs are promiscuous enzymes catalyzing a variety of chemical reactions with numerous alternative substrates. Despite broad substrate acceptance, individual GSTs display pronounced selectivities such that only a limited number of substrates are transformed with high catalytic efficiency. The present study shows that minor structural changes in the C-terminal helix of mouse GST T1-1 induce major changes in the substrate-activity profile of the enzyme to favor novel chemical reactions and to suppress other reactions catalyzed by the parental enzyme.

Emergence of a novel highly specific and catalytically efficient enzyme from a naturally promiscuous glutathione transferase.

Redesign of glutathione transferases (GSTs) has led to enzymes with remarkably enhanced catalytic properties. Exchange of substrate-binding residues in GST A1-1 created a GST A4-4 mimic, called GIMFhelix, with >300-fold improved activity with nonenal and suppressed activity with other substrates. In the present investigation GIMFhelix was compared with the naturally-evolved GSTs A1-1 and A4-4 by determining catalytic efficiencies with nine alternative substrates. The enzymes can be represented by vectors in multidimensional substrate-activity space, and the vectors of GIMFhelix and GST A1-1, expressed in kcat/Km values for the alternative substrates, are essentially orthogonal. By contrast, the vectors of GIMFhelix and GST A4-4 have approximately similar lengths and directions. The broad substrate acceptance of GST A1-1 contrasts with the high selectivity of GST A4-4 and GIMFhelix for alkenal substrates. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that among the diverse substrates used, nonenal, cumene hydroperoxide, and androstenedione are major determinants in the portrayal of the three enzyme variants. These GST substrates represent diverse chemistries of naturally occurring substrates undergoing Michael addition, hydroperoxide reduction, and steroid double-bond isomerization, respectively. In terms of function, GIMFhelix is a novel enzyme compared to its progenitor GST A1-1 in spite of 94% amino-acid sequence identity between the enzymes. The redesign of GST A1-1 into GIMFhelix therefore serves as an illustration of divergent evolution leading to novel enzymes by minor structural modifications in the active site. Notwithstanding low sequence identity (60%), GIMFhelix is functionally an isoenzyme of GST A4-4.

Emergence of novel enzyme quasi-species depends on the substrate matrix.

Current research on enzyme evolution has shown that many enzymes are promiscuous and have activities with alternative substrates. Mutagenesis tends to relax substrate selectivity, and evolving enzymes can be regarded (summed over evolutionary time) as clusters of enzyme variants, or "quasi-species," tested against a "substrate matrix" defined by all chemical substances to which the evolvants are exposed. In this investigation, the importance of the substrate matrix for identification of evolvable clusters of enzymes was evaluated by random sampling of variants from a library of glutathione transferase (GST) mutants. The variant GSTs were created by DNA shuffling of homologous Alpha class sequences. The substrate matrix was an array of alternative substrates used under defined experimental conditions. The measured enzyme activities produced a rectangular matrix, in which the rows can be projected as enzyme vectors in substrate-activity space and, reciprocally, the columns can be projected as alternative substrate vectors in enzyme-activity space. Multivariate analysis of the catalytic activities demonstrated that the enzyme vectors formed two primary clusters or functional "molecular quasi-species." These quasi-species serve as the raw material from which more specialized enzymes eventually could evolve. The substrate vectors similarly formed two major groups. Identification of separate quasi-species of GSTs in a mutant library was critically dependent on the nature of the substrate matrix. When substrates from just one of the two groups were used, only one cluster of enzymes could be recognized. On the other hand, expansion of the substrate matrix to include additional substrates showed the presence of a third quasi-species among the GST variants already analyzed. Thus, the portrayal of the functional quasi-species is intimately linked to the effective substrate matrix. In natural evolution, the substrates actually encountered therefore play a pivotal role in determining whether latent catalytic abilities become manifest in novel enzymes.

Diverging catalytic capacities and selectivity profiles with haloalkane substrates of chimeric alpha class glutathione transferases.

Six homologous Alpha class glutathione transferases of human, bovine, and rat origins were hybridized by means of DNA shuffling. The chimeric mutants were compared with the parental enzymes in their activities with several alkyl iodides. In order to facilitate a multivariate analysis of relationships between substrates and enzyme activities, three descriptors were introduced: 'specific catalytic capacity', 'substrate selectivity', and 'unit-scaled substrate selectivity'. In some cases the purified mutants showed higher specific activity with a certain alkyl iodide than any of the parental enzymes. However, the overriding effect of DNA shuffling was the generation of chimeras with altered substrate selectivity profiles and catalytic capacities. The altered substrate selectivity profiles of some mutants could be rationalized by changes of the substrate-binding residues in the active site of the enzyme. However, in four of the isolated mutants all active-site residues were found identical with those of rat GST A2-2, even though their substrate specificity profiles were significantly different. Clearly, amino acid residues distant from first-sphere interactions with the substrate influence the catalytic activity. These results are relevant both to the understanding how functional properties may develop in natural enzyme evolution and in the tailoring of novel functions in protein engineering.

Structural determinants of glutathione transferases with azathioprine activity identified by DNA shuffling of alpha class members.

A library of alpha class glutathione transferases (GSTs), composed of chimeric enzymes derived from human (A1-1, A2-2 and A3-3), bovine (A1-1) and rat (A2-2 and A3-3) cDNA sequences was constructed by the method of DNA shuffling. The GST variants were screened in bacterial lysates for activity with the immunosuppressive agent azathioprine, a prodrug that is transformed into its active form, 6-mercaptopurine, by reaction with the tripeptide glutathione catalyzed by GSTs. Important structural determinants for activity with azathioprine were recognized by means of primary structure analysis and activities of purified enzymes chosen from the screening. The amino acid sequences could be divided into 23 exchangeable segments on the basis of the primary structures of 45 chosen clones. Segments 2, 20, 21, and 22 were identified as primary determinants of the azathioprine activity representing two of the regions forming the substrate-binding H-site. Segments 21 and 22 are situated in the C-terminal helix characterizing alpha class GSTs, which is instrumental in their catalytic function. The study demonstrates the power of DNA shuffling in identifying segments of primary structure that are important for catalytic activity with a targeted substrate. GSTs in combination with azathioprine have potential as selectable markers for use in gene therapy. Knowledge of activity-determining segments in the structure is valuable in the protein engineering of glutathione transferase for enhanced or suppressed activity.

Structural basis of the suppressed catalytic activity of wild-type human glutathione transferase T1-1 compared to its W234R mutant.

The crystal structures of wild-type human theta class glutathione-S-transferase (GST) T1-1 and its W234R mutant, where Trp234 was replaced by Arg, were solved both in the presence and absence of S-hexyl-glutathione. The W234R mutant was of interest due to its previously observed enhanced catalytic activity compared to the wild-type enzyme. GST T1-1 from rat and mouse naturally contain Arg in position 234, with correspondingly high catalytic efficiency. The overall structure of GST T1-1 is similar to that of GST T2-2, as expected from their 53% sequence identity at the protein level. Wild-type GST T1-1 has the side-chain of Trp234 occupying a significant portion of the active site. This bulky residue prevents efficient binding of both glutathione and hydrophobic substrates through steric hindrance. The wild-type GST T1-1 crystal structure, obtained from co-crystallization experiments with glutathione and its derivatives, showed no electron density for the glutathione ligand. However, the structure of GST T1-1 mutant W234R showed clear electron density for S-hexyl-glutathione after co-crystallization. In contrast to Trp234 in the wild-type structure, the side-chain of Arg234 in the mutant does not occupy any part of the substrate-binding site. Instead, Arg234 is pointing in a different direction and, in addition, interacts with the carboxylate group of glutathione. These findings explain our earlier observation that the W234R mutant has a markedly improved catalytic activity with most substrates tested to date compared to the wild-type enzyme. GST T1-1 catalyzes detoxication reactions as well as reactions that result in toxic products, and our findings therefore suggest that humans have gained an evolutionary advantage by a partially disabled active site.

Residue 234 in glutathione transferase T1-1 plays a pivotal role in the catalytic activity and the selectivity against alternative substrates.

GST (glutathione transferase) T1-1 plays an important role in the biotransformation of halogenated alkanes, which are used in large quantities as solvents and occur as environmental pollutants. Many reactions that are catalysed by GST T1-1 qualify as detoxification processes, but some reactions with dihalogenated alkanes lead to reactive products more toxic than the substrates. Murine GST T1-1 is particularly active with dichloromethane, which may explain the high carcinogenicity of dichloromethane in the mouse. Human GST T1-1 activity is considerably lower with halogenated hydrocarbons and some related substrates. Human GST T1-1 is polymorphic with a frequent null phenotype, suggesting that it is advantageous, under some circumstances, to lack the functional enzyme, which catalyses GSH conjugations that may cause bioactivation. The present study shows that amino acid residue 234 is a determinant of the differences in catalytic efficiency between the human and the rodent enzymes. The replacement of Trp234 in human GST T1-1 by arginine, found in the rodent enzyme, enhanced the alkyltransferase activity by an order of magnitude with a series of homologous iodoalkanes and some typical GST substrates. The specific activity of the alternative mutant Trp234-->Lys was lower than for the parental human GST T1-1 with many substrates, showing that a positive charge is not sufficient for increased activity. The enhanced activity of Trp234-->Arg with alkylating agents was dependent on the substrate tested, whereas no increase of the peroxidase activity with cumene hydroperoxide was noted. Residue 234 therefore is also involved in the control of the substrate selectivity of GST T1-1.