Heparinase III with High Activity and Stability: Heterologous Expression, Biochemical Characterization, and Application in Depolymerization of Heparin.

A novel heparinase III from Pedobacter schmidteae (PsHep-III) with high activity and good stability was successfully cloned, expressed, and characterized. PsHep-III displayed the highest specific activity ever reported of 192.8 U mg-1 using heparin as the substrate. It was stable at 25 °C with a half-life of 323 h in an aqueous solution. PsHep-III was employed for the depolymerization of heparin, and the enzymatic hydrolyzed products were analyzed with gel permeation chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. PsHep-III can break glycosidic bonds in heparin like →4]GlcNAc/GlcNAc6S/GlcNS/GlcNS6S/GlcN/GlcN6S(1 → 4)ΔUA/ΔUA2S[1 → and efficiently digest heparin into seven disaccharides including N-acetylated, N-sulfated, and N-unsubstituted modification, with molecular masses of 503, 605, 563, 563, 665, 360, and 563 Da, respectively. These results indicated that PsHep-III with broad substrate specificity could be combined with heparinase I to overcome the low selectivity at the N-acetylated modification binding sites of heparinase I. This work will contribute to the application of PsHep-III for characterizing heparin and producing low-molecular-weight heparin effectively.

Cloning, heterologous expression, and molecular characterization of a highly active and stable non-specific endonuclease from Pseudomonas fluorescens.

Non-specific endonucleases can be used for the digestion of nucleic acids because they hydrolyze DNA/RNA into 3-5 base pairs (bp) length oligonucleotide fragments without strict selectivity. In this work, a novel non-specific endonuclease from Pseudomonas fluorescens (PfNuc) with high activities for both DNA and RNA was successfully cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The production of PfNuc in flask scale could be achieved to 1.73 × 106 U/L and 4.82 × 106 U/L for DNA and RNA by investigation of the culture and induction conditions. The characterization of PfNuc indicated that it was Mg2+-dependent and the catalytic activity was enhanced by 3.74 folds for DNA and 1.06 folds for RNA in the presence of 5 mM Mg2+. The specific activity of PfNuc for DNA was 1.44 × 105 U/mg at pH 8.0 and 40 °C, and 3.93 × 105 U/mg for RNA at pH 8.5 and 45 °C. The Km of the enzyme for both DNA and RNA was close to 43 µM. The Vmax was 6.40 × 105 U/mg and 1.11 × 106 U/mg for DNA and RNA, respectively. There was no observed activity loss when PfNuc was stored at 4 °C and - 20 °C after 28 days or 10 repeated freeze-thaw cycles at - 80 °C. Molecular docking revealed that PfNuc formed 17 and 19 hydrogen bonds with single-stranded RNA and double-stranded DNA, respectively. These results could explain the high activity and stability of PfNuc, suggesting its great potential applications in the industry and clinic.

Cloning, Expression, and Characterization of a Highly Stable Heparinase I from Bacteroides xylanisolvens.

Heparinase I (Hep I), which specifically degrades heparin to oligosaccharide or unsaturated disaccharide, has an important role in the production of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). However, low productivity and stability of heparinase I hinders its applications. Here, a novel heparinase I (BxHep-I) was cloned from Bacteroides xylanisolvens and overexpressed in soluble form in Escherichia coli. The expression conditions of BxHep-I were optimized for an activity of 7144 U/L. BxHep-I had a specific activity of 57.6 U/mg at the optimal temperature and pH of 30 °C and pH 7.5, with the Km and Vmax of 0.79 mg/mL and 124.58 U/mg, respectively. BxHep-I catalytic activity could be enhanced by Ca2+ and Mg2+, while strongly inhibited by Zn2+ and Co2+. Purified BxHep-I displayed an outstanding thermostability with half-lives of 597 and 158 min at 30 and 37 °C, respectively, which are the highest half-lives ever reported for heparinases I. After storage at 4 °C for one week, BxHep-I retained 73% of its initial activity. Molecular docking revealed that the amino acids Asn25, Gln27, Arg88, Lys116, His156, Arg161, Gln228, Tyr356, Lys358, and Tyr362 form 13 hydrogen bonds with the substrate heparin disaccharides in the substrate binding domain and are mainly involved in the substrate binding of BxHep-I. These results suggest that the BxHep-I with high stability could be a candidate catalyst for the industrial production of LMWH.

Combination of engineering the substrate and Ca2+ binding domains of heparinase I to improve the catalytic activity.

Heparinase I (EC 4.2.2.7), is an enzyme that cleaves heparin, showing great potential for eco-friendly production of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). However, owing to its poor catalytic activity and thermal stability, the industrial application of heparinase I has been severely hindered. To improve the catalytic activity, we proposed to engineer both the substrate and Ca2+ binding domains of heparinase I. Several heparinases I from different organisms were selected for multiple sequence alignment and molecular docking to screen the key residues in the binding domain. Nine single-point mutations were selected to enhance the catalytic activity of heparinase I. Among them, T250D was the most highly active one, whereas mutations around Ca2+ binding domain yielded two active mutants. Mutant D152S/R244K/T250D with significantly increased catalytic activity was obtained by combined mutation. The catalytic efficiency of the mutant was 118,875.8 min-1·µM-1, which was improved 5.26 times. Molecular modeling revealed that the improved activity and stability of the mutants were probably attributed to the formation of new hydrogen bonds. The highly active mutant had great potential applications in industry and the strategy could be used to improve the performance of other enzymes.

HighlightsImproved catalytic activity of heparinase I by engineering the binding domains of substrate and Ca²⁺.The mutant D152S/R244K/T250D showed the highest catalytic performance.The increased hydrogen bonds attribute to the increased activity.

The structures and applications of microbial chondroitin AC lyase.

As an important glycosaminoglycan hydrolase, chondroitin lyases can hydrolyze chondroitin sulfate (CS) and release disaccharides and oligosaccharides. They are further divided into chondroitin AC, ABC, and B lyases according to their spatial structure and substrate specificity. Chondroitin AC lyase can hydrolyze chondroitin sulfate A (CS-A), chondroitin sulfate C (CS-C), and hyaluronic acid (HA), making it an essential biocatalyst for the preparation of low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate, analysis of the structure of the chondroitin sulfate, treatment of spinal cord injury, and purification of heparin. This paper provides an overview of reported chondroitin AC lyases, including their properties and the challenges faced in industrial applications. Up to now, although many attempts have been adopted to improve the enzyme properties, the most important factors are still the low activity and stability. The relations between the stability of the enzyme and the spatial structure were also summarized and discussed. Also perspectives for remodeling the enzymes with protein engineering are included.

Katsuwonus pelamis Peptide and its Complexes Protect Zebrafish and Mice From Hyperuricemia Through Promoting Kidney Excretion of Uric Acid and Inhibiting Liver Xanthine Oxidase Activity.

Katsuwonus pelamis peptide and its complexes have the effect of lowering uric acid (UA)-levels. To identify the effect and possible mechanisms, different concentrations of Katsuwonus pelamis peptide and its complexes were administered to the zebrafish and mice hyperuricemia models, and the UA level was measured. Meanwhile, the hyperuricemic mice were treated orally at 0.83, 1.67, and 5.00 mg/g body weight for 7 days with Katsuwonus pelamis peptide and the complexes groups, separately. The levels of serum UA (SUA), urinary UA (UUA), serum creatinine (SCR), blood urine nitrogen (BUN), and xanthine oxidase (XOD) activities were detected in each group. The results showed that the Katsuwonus pelamis peptide (125 µg/ml) and its complexes (83.3 and 250 µg/ml) effectively reduced UA level in zebrafish with hyperuricemia (p < 0.05). The Katsuwonus pelamis peptide at high concentration (5.00 mg/g) decreased the SUA level, SCR level, BUN level, and hepatic XOD activity, and the complexes (1.67 and 5.00 mg/g) significantly reduced the SUA level and hepatic XOD activity (p < 0.05) in the hyperuricemic mice. In addition, in a hyperuricemic mouse model, the UUA level was increased after treatment with Katsuwonus pelamis peptide and its complexes at high concentrations (p < 0.05). The total therapeutic effects in the Katsuwonus pelamis peptide complex group were better than those in the Katsuwonus pelamis peptide group. Thus, Katsuwonus pelamis peptide and its complexes may possibly be used to prevent hyperuricemia via promoting urate secretion and inhibiting XOD activity production.

A Highly Active Chondroitin Sulfate Lyase ABC for Enzymatic Depolymerization of Chondroitin Sulfate.

Enzymatic preparation of low-molecular-weight chondroitin sulfate (LMWCS) has received increasing attention. In this work, a chondroitin sulfate lyase ABC (Chon-ABC) was successfully cloned, expressed, and characterized. The Km and Vmax of the Chon-ABC were 0.54 mM and 541.3 U mg-1, respectively. The maximal activity was assayed as 500.4 U mg-1 at 37 °C in pH 8.0 phosphate buffer saline. The half-lives of the Chon-ABC were 133 d and 127 min at 4 °C and 37 °C, respectively. Enzymatic preparation of LMWCS was performed at room temperature for 30 min. The changes between the substrate and product were analyzed with mass spectrometry (MS), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Overall, the Chon-ABC from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron is competitive in large-scale enzymatic preparation of LMWCS for its high activity, stability, and substrate specificity.

Recent Strategies for the Immobilization of Therapeutic Enzymes.

Therapeutic enzymes play important roles in modern medicine due to their high affinity and specificity. However, it is very expensive to use them in clinical medicine because of their low stability and bioavailability. To improve the stability and effectiveness of therapeutic enzymes, immobilization techniques have been employed to enhance the applications of therapeutic enzymes in the past few years. Reported immobilization techniques include entrapment, adsorption, and covalent attachment. In addition, protein engineering is often used to improve enzyme properties; however, all methods present certain advantages and limitations. For carrier-bound immobilization, the delivery and release of the immobilized enzyme depend on the properties of the carrier and enzyme. In this review, we summarize the advantages and challenges of the current strategies developed to deliver therapeutic enzymes and provide a future perspective on the immobilization technologies used for therapeutic enzyme delivery.

Cloning, expression, and characterization of an arabitol dehydrogenase and coupled with NADH oxidase for effective production of L-xylulose.

A novel arabitol dehydrogenase (ArDH) gene was cloned from a bacterium named Aspergillus nidulans and expressed heterologously in Escherichia coli. The purified ArDH exhibited the maximal activity in pH 9.5 Tris-HCl buffer at 40 °C, showed Km and Vmax of 1.2 mg/mL and 9.1 U/mg, respectively. The ArDH was used to produce the L-xylulose and coupled with the NADH oxidase (Nox) for the regeneration of NAD+. In further optimization, a high conversion of 84.6% in 8 hours was achieved under the optimal conditions: 20 mM of xylitol, 100 µM NAD+ in pH 9.0 Tris-HCl buffer at 30 °C. The results indicated the coupling system with cofactor regeneration provides a promising approach for L-xylulose production from xylitol.

Preparation of combined cross-linked enzyme aggregates containing galactitol dehydrogenase and NADH oxidase for L-tagatose synthesis via in situ cofactor regeneration.

The combined cross-linked enzyme aggregates (combi-CLEAs) containing galactitol dehydrogenase (Gdh) and NADH oxidase (Nox) were prepared for L-tagatose synthesis. To prevent the excess consumption of cofactor, Nox in the combi-CLEAs was used to in situ regenerate NAD+. In the immobilization process, ammonia sulfate and glutaraldehyde were used as the precipitant and cross-linking reagent, respectively. The preparation conditions were optimized as follows: 60% ammonium sulfate, 1:1 (molar ratio) of Gdh to Nox, 20:1 (molar ratio) of protein to glutaraldehyde, and 6 h of cross-linking time at 35 °C. Under these conditions, the activity of the combi-CLEAs was 210 U g-1. The combi-CLEAs exhibited higher thermostability and preserved 51.5% of the original activity after eight cycles of reuses at 45 °C. The combi-CLEAs were utilized for the preparation of L-tagatose without by-products. Therefore, the combi-CLEAs have the industrial potential for the bioconversion of galactitol to L-tagatose.

Sea Cucumber Intestinal Peptide Induces the Apoptosis of MCF-7 Cells by Inhibiting PI3K/AKT Pathway.

Sea cucumbers are one of many marine echinoderm animals that contain valuable nutrients and medicinal compounds. The bioactive substances in sea cucumbers make them have promising biological and pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-tumor effects. In this study, sea cucumber intestinal peptide (SCIP) is a small molecular oligopeptide (<1,000 Da) extracted from sea cucumber intestines hydrolyzed by alkaline protease. The analysis of amino acid composition showed that hydrophobic amino acids and branched-chain amino acids were rich in SCIP. Nowadays, although increasing studies have revealed the biological functions of the sea cucumber active substances, there are few studies on the function of SCIP. Furthermore, due to the anti-cancer activity being an essential characteristic of sea cucumber active substances, we also investigated the anti-cancer potential and the underlying mechanism of SCIP in vivo and in vitro. The results indicate that SCIP inhibits the growth of MCF-7 tumor cells in zebrafish and increases the apoptosis of human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Further mechanism studies confirm that SCIP promotes the expression of apoptosis-related proteins and thus promotes the breast cancer cells (MCF-7) apoptosis via inhibition of PI3K/AKT signal transduction pathway.

One-step selective affinity purification and immobilization of His-tagged enzyme by recyclable magnetic nanoparticles.

The NiFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles (NF-MNPs) were prepared for one-step selective affinity purification and immobilization of His-tagged recombinant glucose dehydrogenase (GluDH). The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by a Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometer and microscopy. The immobilization and purification of His-tagged GluDH on NF-MNPs were investigated. The optimal immobilization conditions were obtained that mixed cell lysis and carriers in a ratio of 0.13 in pH 8.0 Tris-HCl buffer at 30℃ and incubated for 2 h. The highest activity recovery and protein bindings were 71.39% and 38.50 µg mg-1 support, respectively. The immobilized GluDH exhibited high thermostability, pH-stability and it can retain more than 65% of the initial enzyme after 10 cycles for the conversion of glucose to gluconolactone. Comparing with a commercial Ni-NTA resin, the NF-MNPs displayed a higher specific affinity with His-tagged recombinant GluDH.

Optimal pH shift of the NADH oxidase from Lactobacillus rhamnosus with a single mutation.

OBJECTIVE: To improve the activity of a water-forming NADH oxidase from Lactobacillus rhamnosus under neutral or alkaline pH for coupling NAD+-dependent dehydrogenases with an alkaline optimal pH. RESULTS: The water-forming NADH oxidase from Lactobacillus rhamnosus was engineered by replacing the aspartic acid or glutamic acid with arginine on the surface. The mutant D251R improved the activity with a 112%, 111%, and 244% relative activity to the wild-type at pH 6.5, pH 7.0, and pH 7.5, respectively. Docking substrate into the D251R mutant reveals that the NADH is access to the substrate-binding site with a larger substrate loop due to the enhanced electrostatic repulsion between ARG-251 and ARG-243. In the D251R-NADH complex, the carboxyl of NADH additionally forms two hydrogen bonds (2.6 and 2.9 Å) with G154 due to the changed interaction of substrate and the residues in the catalytic sites, and the hydrogen bond with the oxygen of carbonyl in P295 is shortened from 2.9 to 2.0 Å, which could account for the enhanced specific activity. CONCLUSIONS: The D251R mutant displayed higher catalytic activity than the wild-type in the pH range 6.5-7.5, and further insight into those shorter and newly formed hydrogen bonds in substrate docking analysis could account for the higher bind affinity and catalytic efficiency of D251R mutant.

A novel chondroitin AC lyase from Pedobacter xixiisoli: Cloning, expression, characterization and the application in the preparation of oligosaccharides.

Chondroitin AC lyase can efficiently hydrolyze chondroitin sulfate (CS) to low molecule weight chondroitin sulfate, which has been widely used in clinical therapy, including anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, hypolipidemic, and anti-inflammatory. In this work, a novel chondroitin AC lyase from Pedobacter xixiisoli (PxchonAC) was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The characterization of PxchonAC showed that it has specific activities on chondroitin sulfate A, Chondroitin sulfate C and hyaluronic acid with 428.77, 270.57, and 136.06 U mg-1, respectively. The Km and Vmax of PxchonAC were 0.61 mg mL-1 and 670.18 U mg-1 using chondroitin sulfate A as the substrate. The enzyme had a half-life of roughly 660 min at 37 °C in the presence of Ca2+ and remained a residual activity of 54 % after incubated at 4 °C for 25 days. Molecular docking revealed that Asn123, His223, Tyr232, Arg286, Arg290, Asn372, and Glu374 were mainly involved in the substrate binding. The enzymatic hydrolysis product was analyzed by gel permeation chromatography, demonstrating PxchonAC could hydrolyze CS efficiently.

Metabolic integration of azide functionalized glycan on Escherichia coli cell surface for specific covalent immobilization onto magnetic nanoparticles with click chemistry.

A method for specific immobilization of whole-cell with covalent bonds was developed through a click reaction between alkyne and azide groups. In this approach, magnetic nanoparticle Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2-alkyne was synthesized with Fe3O4 core preparation, SiO2 coating, and alkyne functionalization on the surface. The azides were successfully integrated onto the cell surface of the recombinant E. coli harboring glycerol dehydrogenase, which was employed as the model cell. The highest immobilization yield of 83% and activity recovery of 94% were obtained under the conditions of 0.67 mg mg-1 cell-support ratio, pH 6.0, temperature 45 °C, and 20 mM Cu2+ concentration. The immobilized cell showed good reusability, which remained over 50% of initial activity after 10 cycles of utilization. Its activity was 9.7-fold higher than that of the free cell at the condition of pH 8.0 and each optimal temperature. Furthermore, the immobilized cell showed significantly higher activity, operational stability, and reusability.

Using galactitol dehydrogenase coupled with water-forming NADH oxidase for efficient enzymatic synthesis of L-tagatose.

L-Tagatose, a promising building block in the production of many value-added chemicals, is generally produced by chemical routes with a low yield, which may not meet the increasing demands. Synthesis of l-tagatose by enzymatic oxidation of d-galactitol has not been applied on an industrial scale because of the high cofactor costs and the lack of efficient cofactor regeneration methods. In this work, an efficient and environmentally friendly enzymatic method containing a galactitol dehydrogenase for d-galactitol oxidation and a water-forming NADH oxidase for regeneration of NAD+ was first designed and used for l-tagatose production. Supplied with only 3 mM NAD+, subsequent reaction optimization facilitated the efficient transformation of 100 mM of d-galactitol into l-tagatose with a yield of 90.2 % after 12 h (obtained productivity: 7.61 mM.h-1). Compared with the current chemical and biocatalytic methods, the strategy developed avoids by-product formation and achieves the highest yield of l-tagatose with low costs. It is expected to become a cleaner and more promising route for industrial biosynthesis of l-tagatose.

A Novel Chondroitin AC Lyase With Broad Substrate Specificity From Pedobacter rhizosphaerae: Cloning, Expression, and Characterization.

Chondroitin AC lyase (ChSaseAC) is one of the essential polysaccharides lyases in low molecular chondroitin sulfate production. In this work, a novel PrChSaseAC from Pedobacter rhizosphaerae was successfully cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli. After optimizing the induction, the recombinant PrChSaseAC could be expressed efficiently at 0.1 mM IPTG, 25°C, and 12 h induction. Then, it was purified with Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. The characterization of the purified PrChSaseAC showed that it had high specific activity and good storage stability, which would favor the production of low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate. It also displayed activity toward chondroitin sulfate C and hyaluronic acid. PrChSaseAC had the highest activity at pH 7.5, 37°C, 10 mM Ca2+, and 5 mg/ml of chondroitin sulfate A. Molecular docking of substrate and enzyme showed the interactions between the enzyme and substrate; it revealed that the enzyme showed high activity to CS-A and hyaluronic acid, but lower activity to CS-C attributed to the structure of the binding pocket. The high stability and specific activity of the enzyme will benefit the industrial production or clinical treatment.

A highly active heparinase I from Bacteroides cellulosilyticus: Cloning, high level expression, and molecular characterization.

As one of the most extensively studied glycosaminoglycan lyases, heparinase I has been used in producing low or ultra-low molecular weight heparin. Its' important applications are to neutralize the heparin in human blood and analyze heparin structure in the clinic. However, the low productivity and activity of the enzyme have greatly hindered its applications. In this study, a novel Hep-I from Bacteroides cellulosilyticus (BcHep-I) was successfully cloned and heterologously expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) as a soluble protein. The molecular mass and isoelectric point (pI) of the enzyme are 44.42 kDa and 9.02, respectively. And the characterization of BcHep-I after purified with Ni-NTA affinity chromatography suggested that it is a mesophilic enzyme. BcHep-I can be activated by 1 mM Ca2+, Mg2+, and Mn2+, while severely inhibited by Zn2+, Co2+, and EDTA. The specific activity of the enzyme was 738.3 U·mg-1 which is the highest activity ever reported. The Km and Vmax were calculated as 0.17 mg·mL-1 and 740.58 U·mg-1, respectively. Besides, the half-life of 300 min at 30°C showed BcHep-I has practical applications. Homology modeling and substrate docking revealed that Gln15, Lys74, Arg76, Lys104, Arg149, Gln208, Tyr336, Tyr342, and Lys338 were mainly involved in the substrate binding of Hep-I, and 11 hydrogen bonds were formed between heparin and the enzyme. These results indicated that BcHep-I with high activity has great potential applications in the industrial production of heparin, especially in the clinic to neutralize heparin.

Expression, biochemical characterization, and mutation of a water forming NADH: FMN oxidoreductase from Lactobacillus rhamnosus.

Enzyme-catalyzed cofactor regeneration is a significant approach to avoid large quantities consumption of oxidized cofactor, which is vital in a variety of bioconversion reactions. NADH: FMN oxidoreductase is an ideal regenerating enzyme because innocuous molecular oxygen is required as an oxidant. But the by-product H2O2 limits its further applications at the industrial scale. Here, novel NADH: FMN oxidoreductase (LrFOR) from Lactobacillus rhamnosus comprised of 1146 bp with a predicted molecular weight of 42 kDa was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Enzyme assay shows that the purified recombinant LrFOR has both the NADPH and NADH oxidation activity. Biochemical characterizations suggested that LrFOR exhibits the specific activity of 39.8 U·mg-1 with the optimal pH and temperature of 5.6 and 35 °C and produces H2O instead of potentially harmful peroxide. To further study its catalytic function, a critical Thr29 residue and its six mutants were investigated. Mutants T29G, T29A, and T29D show notable enhancement in activities compared with the wild type. Molecular docking of NADH into wild type and its mutants reveal that a small size or electronegative of residue in position29 could shorten the distance of NADH and FMN, promoting the electrons transfer and resulting in the increased activity. This work reveals the pivotal role of position 29 in the catalytic function of LrFOR and provides effective catalysts in NAD+ regeneration.

Cloning, expression, and characterization of a novel heparinase I from Bacteroides eggerthii.

Heparinase I (Hep I) specifically degrades heparin to oligosaccharide or unsaturated disaccharide and has been widely used in preparation of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). In this work, a novel Hep I from Bacteroides eggerthii VPI T5-42B-1 was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The enzyme has specific activity of 480 IU·mg-1 at the optimal temperature and pH of 30 °C and pH 7.5, and the Km and Vmax were 3.6 mg·mL-1 and 647.93 U·mg-1, respectively. The Hep I has good stability with t1/2 values of 350 and 60 min at 30 and 37 °C, respectively. And it showed a residual relative activity of 70.8% after 21 days incubation at 4 °C. Substrate docking study revealed that Lys99, Arg101, Gln241, Lys270, Asn275, and Lys292 were mainly involved in the substrate binding of Hep I. The shorter hydrogen bonds formed between heparin and these residues suggested the higher specific activity of BeHep I. And the minimum conformational entropy value of 756 J·K-1 provides an evidence for the improved stability of this enzyme. This Hep I could be of interest in the industrial preparation of LMWH for its high specific activity and good stability.