Extracellular secretion of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase with a C-terminal tag by type I secretion system: purification and biochemical characterization.

Type I secretion system (TISS) of Gram-negative bacteria permits proteins to be secreted directly from the cytoplasm to the external medium by a single, energy-coupled step. To examine whether this system can be used as an extracellular production system of recombinant proteins, Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (AP) was fused to a C-terminal region of Pseudomonas sp. MIS38 lipase (PML) and examined for secretion using the E.coli cells carrying the heterologous TISS. PML is one of the passenger proteins of TISS and contains 12 repetitive sequences and a secretion signal at the C-terminal region. The fusion protein was efficiently secreted to the extracellular medium, while AP was not secreted at all, indicating that the secretion of AP is promoted by a secretion signal of PML. The repetitive sequences were not so important for secretion of the fusion protein, because the secretion level of the fusion protein containing entire repeats ( approximately 10 mg/l culture) was only 2-fold higher than that of the fusion protein without repeats. The fusion protein purified from the culture supernatant existed as a homodimer, like AP, and was indistinguishable from AP in enzymatic properties and stability.

Calcium-independent opening of lid1 of a family I.3 lipase by a single Asp to Arg mutation at the calcium-binding site.

A family I.3 lipase from Pseudomonas sp. MIS38 (PML) has two lids, lid1 and lid2, which are open when it exhibits activity. A single calcium ion is required to anchor lid1 in the open conformation by coordination with two acidic residues (Asp153 and Asp157) in lid1 and three other residues. Lid1 adopts a long α-helix in the open conformation, whereas it is sharply bent within this helix, such that Asp153 and Asp157 are distantly located to each other, in the closed conformation. To examine whether the mutation of Asp153 or Asp157 to a positively charged residue allows two residues at Positions 153 and 157 to come close with each other and thereby stabilizes the open conformation of lid1 even in the absence of calcium ions, five single mutant proteins (D153K-, D153R-, D153A-, D157K- and D157R-PMLs) and two double mutant proteins (D153A/D157A- and D153R/D157N-PMLs) were constructed. Of these mutant proteins, only D153R-PML exhibited activity in the absence of calcium ions. Its lipase and esterase activities were 7-fold lower and 4-fold higher than those of PML, respectively. These activities were lost by the mutation of Asp157 to Asn. These results suggest that lid1 of D153R-PML opens even in the absence of calcium ions due to electrostatic attraction between Arg153 and Asp157.

Importance of an extreme C-terminal motif of a family I.3 lipase for stability.

A five-residue sequence motif (VTLVG) located at positions 15-19 from the C-terminus of family I.3 lipase from Pseudomonas sp. MIS38 (PML) and an extreme C-terminal motif (DGIVIA) located at the C-terminus of PML are relatively well conserved in the passenger proteins of type 1 secretion system (T1SS). To analyze the role of these motifs, four mutant proteins of PML (PMLΔ5, PMLΔ10, 3A-PML and 2A-PML) were constructed. PMLΔ5 and PMLΔ10 lack the C-terminal 5 and 10 residues of PML, respectively. 3A-PML has triple mutations within an extreme C-terminal motif and 2A-PML has double mutations within a five-residue sequence motif. Secretion of these proteins was analyzed using Escherichia coli DH5 cells carrying Lip system (T1SS for family I.3 lipase). The secretion level of 2A-PML was dramatically reduced when compared with that of PML, whereas the secretion level of 3A-PML was comparable to that of PML, indicating that a five-residue sequence motif, instead of an extreme C-terminal motif, is required for secretion of PML. None of the mutations and truncations seriously affects the enzymatic activity of PML. However, 3A-PML, PMLΔ5 and PMLΔ10 were less stable than PML by 2.1, 7.6 and 7.6°C in T(1/2), respectively, and by 5.0, 21.3 and 17.9 kJ/mol in ΔG(H(2)O), respectively. These results indicate that an extreme C-terminal motif of PML is important for stability.

Importance of the Ca2+-binding sites in the N-catalytic domain of a family I.3 lipase for activity and stability.

A family I.3 lipase from Pseudomonas sp. MIS38 (PML) contains three Ca(2+)-binding sites (Ca1-Ca3) in the N-catalytic domain. Of them, the Ca1 site is formed only in an open conformation. To analyze the role of these Ca(2+)-binding sites, three mutant proteins D157A-PML, D275A-PML and D337A-PML, which are designed to remove the Ca1, Ca2 and Ca3 sites, respectively, were constructed. Of them, the crystal structures of D157A-PML and D337A-PML in a closed conformation were determined. Both structures are nearly identical to that of the wild-type protein, except that the Ca3 site is missing in the D337A-PML structure. D157A-PML was as stable as the wild-type protein. Nevertheless, it exhibited little lipase and very weak esterase activities. D275A-PML was less stable than the wild-type protein by approximately 5 degrees C in T(1/2). It exhibited weak but significant lipase and esterase activities when compared with the wild-type protein. D337A-PML was also less stable than the wild-type protein by approximately 5 degrees C in T(1/2) but was fully active. These results suggest that the Ca1 site is required to make the active site fully open by anchoring lid 1. The Ca2 and Ca3 sites contribute to the stabilization of PML. The Ca2 site is also required to make PML fully active.

Family I.3 lipase: bacterial lipases secreted by the type I secretion system.

Based on the classification of bacterial lipolytic enzymes, family I.3 lipase is a member of the large group of Gram-negative bacterial true lipases. This lipase family is distinguished from other families not only by the amino acid sequence, but also by the secretion mechanism. Lipases of family I.3 are secreted via the well-known type I secretion system. Like most of proteins secreted via this system, family I.3 lipases are composed of two domains with distinct yet related functions. Recent years have seen an increasing amount of research on this lipase family, in terms of isolation, secretion mechanism, as well as biochemical and biophysical studies. This review describes our current knowledge on the structure-function relationships of family I.3 lipase, with an emphasis on its secretion mechanism.