Protein dynamics are influenced by the order of ligand binding to an antibiotic resistance enzyme.

The aminoglycoside N3 acetyltransferase-IIIb (AAC) is responsible for conferring bacterial resistance to a variety of aminoglycoside antibiotics. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering analyses revealed a surprising result; the dynamics of the ternary complex between AAC and its two ligands, an antibiotic and coenzyme A, are dependent upon the order in which the ligands are bound. Additionally, two structurally similar aminoglycosides, neomycin and paromomycin, induce strikingly different dynamic properties when they are in their ternary complexes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a system in which two identically productive pathways of forming a simple ternary complex yield significant differences in dynamic properties. These observations emphasize the importance of the sequence of events in achieving optimal protein-ligand interactions and demonstrate that even a minor difference in molecular structure can have a profound effect on biochemical processes.

Ligand promiscuity through the eyes of the aminoglycoside N3 acetyltransferase IIa.

Aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes (AGMEs) are expressed in many pathogenic bacteria and cause resistance to aminoglycoside (AG) antibiotics. Remarkably, the substrate promiscuity of AGMEs is quite variable. The molecular basis for such ligand promiscuity is largely unknown as there is not an obvious link between amino acid sequence or structure and the antibiotic profiles of AGMEs. To address this issue, this article presents the first kinetic and thermodynamic characterization of one of the least promiscuous AGMEs, the AG N3 acetyltransferase-IIa (AAC-IIa) and its comparison to two highly promiscuous AGMEs, the AG N3-acetyltransferase-IIIb (AAC-IIIb) and the AG phosphotransferase(3')-IIIa (APH). Despite having similar antibiotic selectivities, AAC-IIIb and APH catalyze different reactions and share no homology to one another. AAC-IIa and AAC-IIIb catalyze the same reaction and are very similar in both amino acid sequence and structure. However, they demonstrate strong differences in their substrate profiles and kinetic and thermodynamic properties. AAC-IIa and APH are also polar opposites in terms of ligand promiscuity but share no sequence or apparent structural homology. However, they both are highly dynamic and may even contain disordered segments and both adopt well-defined conformations when AGs are bound. Contrary to this AAC-IIIb maintains a well-defined structure even in apo form. Data presented herein suggest that the antibiotic promiscuity of AGMEs may be determined neither by the flexibility of the protein nor the size of the active site cavity alone but strongly modulated or controlled by the effects of the cosubstrate on the dynamic and thermodynamic properties of the enzyme.

Antibiotic selection by the promiscuous aminoglycoside acetyltransferase-(3)-IIIb is thermodynamically achieved through the control of solvent rearrangement.

The results presented here show the first known observation of opposite signs of change in heat capacity (ΔC(p)) of two structurally similar ligands binding to the same protein site. Neomycin and paromomycin are aminoglycoside antibiotics that are substrates for the resistance-conferring enzyme, the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase-(3)-IIIb (AAC). These antibiotics are identical to one another except at the 6' position where neomycin has an amine and paromomycin has a hydroxyl. The opposite trends in ΔC(p) of binding of these two drugs to AAC suggest a differential exposure of nonpolar amino acid side chains. Nuclear magnetic resonance experiments further demonstrate significantly different changes in AAC upon interaction with neomycin and paromomycin. Experiments in H(2)O and D(2)O reveal the first observed temperature dependence of solvent and vibrational contributions to ΔC(p). Coenzyme A significantly influences these effects. Together, the data suggest that AAC exploits solvent properties to facilitate favorable thermodynamic selection of antibiotics.

Coenzyme A binding to the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (3)-IIIb increases conformational sampling of antibiotic binding site.

NMR spectroscopy experiments and molecular dynamics simulations were performed to describe the dynamic properties of the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (3)-IIIb (AAC) in its apo and coenzyme A (CoASH) bound forms. The (15)N-(1)H HSQC spectra indicate a partial structural change and coupling of the CoASH binding site with another region in the protein upon the CoASH titration into the apo enzyme. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate a significant structural and dynamic variation of the long loop in the antibiotic binding domain in the form of a relatively slow (250 ns), concerted opening motion in the CoASH-enzyme complex and that binding of the CoASH increases the structural flexibility of the loop, leading to an interchange between several similar equally populated conformations.

Thermodynamics and kinetics of association of antibiotics with the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (3)-IIIb, a resistance-causing enzyme.

The thermodynamic and kinetic properties of interactions of antibiotics with the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (3)-IIIb (AAC) are determined with several experimental methods. These data represent the first such characterization of an enzyme that modifies the 2-deoxystreptamine ring common to all aminoglycoside antibiotics. Antibiotic substrates for AAC include kanamycin A, kanamycin B, tobramycin, sisomicin, neomycin B, paromomycin, lividomycin A, and ribostamycin. Kinetic studies show that kanamycin group aminoglycosides have higher k(cat) values than members of the neomycin group. Only small aminoglycosides without intraring constraints show substrate inhibition. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and fluorescence measurements are consistent with a molecular size-dependent stoichiometry where binding stoichiometries are 1.5-2.0 for small antibiotics and 1.0 for larger. Antibiotic-enzyme interaction occurs with a favorable enthalpy (DeltaH < 0) and a compensating unfavorable entropy (TDeltaS < 0). The presence of coenzyme A significantly increases the affinity of the antibiotic for AAC. However, the thermodynamic properties of its ternary complexes distinguish this enzyme from other aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes (AGMEs). Unlike other AGMEs, the enthalpy of binding becomes more favored by 1.7-10.0-fold in the presence of the cosubstrate CoASH, while the entropy becomes 2.0-22.5-fold less favored. The overall free energy change is still only 1.0-1.9 kcal/mol from binary to ternary for all antibiotics tested, which is similar to those for other aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes. A computationally derived homology model provides structural support for these conclusions and further indicates that AAC is likely a member of the GCN5-related acetyltransferase family of proteins.

Interactions of coenzyme A with the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (3)-IIIb and thermodynamics of a ternary system.

In this work, the binding of coenzyme A (CoASH) to the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (3)-IIIb (AAC) is studied by several experimental techniques. These data represent the first thermodynamic and kinetic characterization of interaction of a cofactor with an enzyme that modifies the 2-deoxystreptamine ring (2-DOS) common to all aminoglycoside antibiotics. Acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA) was the preferred substrate, but propionyl and malonyl CoA were also substrates. CoASH associates with two different sites on AAC as confirmed by ITC, NMR, and fluorescence experiments: one with a high-affinity, catalytic site and a secondary, low-affinity site that overlaps with the antibiotic binding pocket. The binding of CoASH to the high-affinity site occurs with a small, unfavorable enthalpy and a favorable entropy. Binding to the second site is highly exothermic and is accompanied by an unfavorable entropic contribution. The presence of an aminoglycoside alters the binding of CoASH to AAC dramatically such that the binding occurs with a favorable enthalpy (DeltaH < 0) and an unfavorable entropy (TDeltaS < 0). This is irrespective of which aminoglycoside is the cosubstrate and occurs without a significant change in the affinity of CoASH for AAC. Also, antibiotics eliminate binding of CoASH to the second site. These data allowed the enthalpies of all six equilibria present in a ternary system (AAC-antibiotic-coenzyme) to be determined for the first time for an aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme. NMR experiments also shed light on the dynamic nature of AAC as fast, slow, and intermediary exchanges between apoenzyme- and coenzyme-bound forms were observed.

Backbone resonance assignments of a promiscuous aminoglycoside antibiotic resistance enzyme; the aminoglycoside phosphotransferase(3')-IIIa.

The aminoglycoside phosphotransferase(3')-IIIa (APH) is a promiscuous enzyme and renders a large number of structurally diverse aminoglycoside antibiotics useless against infectious bacteria. A remarkable property of this approximately 31 kDa enzyme is in its unusual dynamic behavior in solution; the apo-form of the enzyme exchanges all of its backbone amide protons within 15 h of exposure to D ( 2 ) O while aminoglycoside-bound forms retain approximately 40% of the amide protons even after >90 h of exposure. Moreover, the number of observable peaks and their dispersion in HSQC spectra varies with each aminoglycoside, rendering the resonance assignments very challenging. Therefore, the binary APH-tobramycin complex, which shows the largest number of well-resolved peaks, was used for the backbone resonance assignments (Calpha, C, N, H, and some Cbeta) of this protein (BMRB-16337).

NMR detected hydrogen-deuterium exchange reveals differential dynamics of antibiotic- and nucleotide-bound aminoglycoside phosphotransferase 3'-IIIa.

In this work, hydrogen-deuterium exchange detected by NMR spectroscopy is used to determine the dynamic properties of the aminoglycoside phosphotransferase 3'-IIIa (APH), a protein of intense interest due to its involvement in conferring antibiotic resistance to both gram negative and gram positive microorganisms. This represents the first characterization of dynamic properties of an aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme. Herein we describe in vitro dynamics of apo, binary, and ternary complexes of APH with kanamycin A, neomycin B, and metal-nucleotide. Regions of APH in different complexes that are superimposable in crystal structures show remarkably different dynamic behavior. A complete exchange of backbone amides is observed within the first 15 h of exposure to D(2)O in the apo form of this 31 kDa protein. Binding of aminoglycosides to the enzyme induces significant protection against exchange, and approximately 30% of the amides remain unexchanged up to 95 h after exposure to D(2)O. Our data also indicate that neomycin creates greater solvent protection and overall enhanced structural stability to APH than kanamycin. Surprisingly, nucleotide binding to the enzyme-aminoglycoside complex increases solvent accessibility of a number of amides and is responsible for destabilization of a nearby beta-sheet, thus providing a rational explanation for previously observed global thermodynamic parameters. Our data also provide a molecular basis for broad substrate selectivity of APH.

Detection of specific solvent rearrangement regions of an enzyme: NMR and ITC studies with aminoglycoside phosphotransferase(3')-IIIa.

This work describes differential effects of solvent in complexes of the aminoglycoside phosphotransferase(3')-IIIa (APH) with different aminoglycosides and the detection of change in solvent structure at specific sites away from substrates. Binding of kanamycins to APH occurs with a larger negative DeltaH in H2O relative to D2O (DeltaDeltaH(H2O-D2O) < 0), while the reverse is true for neomycins. Unusually large negative DeltaCp values were observed for binding of aminoglycosides to APH. DeltaCp for the APH-neomycin complex was -1.6 kcal x mol(-1) x deg(-1). A break at 30 degrees C was observed in the APH-kanamycin complex yielding DeltaCp values of -0.7 kcal x mol(-1) x deg(-1) and -3.8 kcal x mol(-1) x deg(-1) below and above 30 degrees C, respectively. Neither the change in accessible surface area (DeltaASA) nor contributions from heats of ionization were sufficient to explain the large negative DeltaCp values. Most significantly, 15N-1H HSQC experiments showed that temperature-dependent shifts of the backbone amide protons of Leu 88, Ser 91, Cys 98, and Leu143 revealed a break at 30 degrees C only in the APH-kanamycin complex in spectra collected between 21 degrees C and 38 degrees C. These amino acids represent solvent reorganization sites that experience a change in solvent structure in their immediate environment as structurally different ligands bind to the enzyme. These residues were away from the substrate binding site and distributed in three hydrophobic patches in APH. Overall, our results show that a large number of factors affect DeltaCp and binding of structurally different ligand groups cause different solvent structure in the active site as well as differentially affecting specific sites away from the ligand binding site.