In vitro and in vivo efficacy of PEGylated diisopropyl fluorophosphatase (DFPase).

Highly toxic organophosphorus compounds that irreversibly inhibit the enzyme acetycholinesterase (AChE), including nerve agents like tabun, sarin, or soman, still pose a credible threat to civilian populations and military personnel. New therapeutics that can be used as a pretreatment or after poisoning with these compounds, complementing existing treatment schemes such as the use of atropine and AChE reactivating oximes, are currently the subject of intense research. A prominent role among potential candidates is taken by enzymes that can detoxify nerve agents by hydrolysis. Diisopropyl fluorophosphatase (DFPase) from the squid Loligo vulgaris is known to effectively hydrolyze DFP and the range of G-type nerve agents including sarin and soman. In the present work, DFPase was PEGylated to increase biological half-life, and to lower or avoid an immunogenic reaction and proteolytic digest. Addition of linear polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains was achieved using mPEG-NHS esters and conjugates were characterized by electrospray ionization--time of flight--mass specrometry (ESI-ToF-MS). PEGylated wildtype DFPase and a mutant selective for the more toxic stereoisomers of the agents were tested in vivo with rats that were challenged with a subcutaneous 3x LD(50) dose of soman. While wildtype DFPase prevented death only at extremely high doses, the mutant was able keep the animals alive and to minimize or totally avoid symptoms of poisoning. The results serve as a proof of principle that engineered variants of DFPase are potential candidates for in vivo use if substrate affinity can be improved or the turnover rate enhanced to lower the required enzyme dose.

Stable adducts of nerve agents sarin, soman and cyclosarin with TRIS, TES and related buffer compounds--characterization by LC-ESI-MS/MS and NMR and implications for analytical chemistry.

Buffering compounds like TRIS are frequently used in chemical, biochemical and biomedical applications to control pH in solution. One of the prerequisites of a buffer compound, in addition to sufficient buffering capacity and pH stability over time, is its non-reactivity with other constituents of the solution. This is especially important in the field of analytical chemistry where analytes are to be determined quantitatively. Investigating the enzymatic hydrolysis of G-type nerve agents sarin, soman and cyclosarin in buffered solution we have identified stable buffer adducts of TRIS, TES and other buffer compounds with the nerve agents. We identified the molecular structure of these adducts as phosphonic diesters using 1D (1)H-(31)P HSQC NMR and LC-ESI-MS/MS techniques. Reaction rates with TRIS and TES are fast enough to compete with spontaneous hydrolysis in aqueous solution and to yield substantial amounts (up to 20-40%) of buffer adduct over the course of several hours. A reaction mechanism is proposed in which the amino function of the buffer serves as an intramolecular proton acceptor rendering the buffer hydroxyl groups nucleophilic enough for attack on the phosphorus atom of the agents. Results show that similar buffer adducts are formed with a range of hydroxyl and amino function containing buffers including TES, BES, TRIS, BIS-TRIS, BIS-TRIS propane, Tricine, Bicine, HEPES and triethanol amine. It is recommended to use alternative buffers like MOPS, MES and CHES when working with G-type nerve agents especially at higher concentrations and over prolonged times.

Monitoring the hydrolysis of toxic organophosphonate nerve agents in aqueous buffer and in bicontinuous microemulsions by use of diisopropyl fluorophosphatase (DFPase) with (1)H- (31)P HSQC NMR spectroscopy.

The enzyme diisopropyl fluorophosphatase (DFPase, EC 3.1.8.2) from the squid Loligo vulgaris effectively catalyzes the hydrolysis of diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) and a number of organophosphorus nerve agents, including sarin, soman, cyclosarin, and tabun. Until now, determination of kinetic data has been achieved by use of techniques such as pH-stat titration, ion-selective electrodes, and a recently introduced method based on in situ Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. We report the use of 1D (1)H-(31)P HSQC NMR spectroscopy as a new method for real-time quantification of the hydrolysis of toxic organophosphonates by DFPase. The method is demonstrated for the agents sarin (GB), soman (GD), and cyclosarin (GD) but can also be used for V-type nerve agents, for example VX. Besides buffered aqueous solutions the method was used to determine enzymatic activities in a biodiesel-based bicontinuous microemulsion that serves as an example of complex decontamination media, for which other established techniques often fail. The method is non-invasive and requires only limited manual handling of small volumes of liquid (700 microL), which adds to work safety when handling highly toxic organophosphorus compounds. Limits of detection are slightly below 100 micromol L(-1) on a 400 MHz spectrometer with 16 FIDs added for a single time frame. The method is not restricted to DFPase but can be used with other phosphotriesterases, for example paraxonase (PON), and even reactive chemicals, for example oximes and other nucleophiles, as long as the reaction components are compatible with the NMR experiment.

Reversed enantioselectivity of diisopropyl fluorophosphatase against organophosphorus nerve agents by rational design.

Diisopropyl fluorophosphatase (DFPase) from Loligo vulgaris is an efficient and robust biocatalyst for the hydrolysis of a range of highly toxic organophosphorus compounds including the nerve agents sarin, soman, and cyclosarin. In contrast to the substrate diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) the nerve agents possess an asymmetric phosphorus atom, which leads to pairs of enantiomers that display markedly different toxicities. Wild-type DFPase prefers the less toxic stereoisomers of the substrates which leads to slower detoxification despite rapid hydrolysis. Enzyme engineering efforts based on rational design yielded two quadruple enzyme mutants with reversed enantioselectivity and overall enhanced activity against tested nerve agents. The reversed stereochemical preference is explained through modeling studies and the crystal structures of the two mutants. Using the engineered mutants in combination with wild-type DFPase leads to significantly enhanced activity and detoxification, which is especially important for personal decontamination. Our findings may also be of relevance for the structurally related enzyme human paraoxonase (PON), which is of considerable interest as a potential catalytic in vivo scavenger in case of organophosphorus poisoning.

Quantification of hydrolysis of toxic organophosphates and organophosphonates by diisopropyl fluorophosphatase from Loligo vulgaris by in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

The enzyme diisopropyl fluorophosphatase (DFPase) from the squid Loligo vulgaris effectively catalyzes the hydrolysis of diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) and a number of organophosphorus nerve agents, including sarin, soman, cyclosarin, and tabun. Up to now, the determination of kinetic data has been achieved by techniques such as pH-stat titration, ion-selective electrodes, and fluorogenic substrate analogs. We report a new assaying method using in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with attenuated total reflection (ATR) for the real-time determination of reaction rates. The method employs changes in the P-O-R stretching vibration of DFP and nerve agent substrates when hydrolyzed to their corresponding phosphoric and phosphonic acids. It is shown that the Lambert-Beer law holds and that changes in absorbance can be directly related to changes in concentration. Compared with other methods, the use of in situ FTIR spectroscopy results in a substantially reduced reaction volume that adds extra work safety when handling highly toxic substrates. In addition, the new method allows the noninvasive measurement of buffered solutions with varying ionic strengths complementing existing methods. Because the assay is independent of the used enzyme, it should also be applicable to other phosphotriesterase enzymes such as organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH), organophosphorus acid anhydrolase (OPAA), and paraoxonase (PON).

Effects of oximes on rate of decarbamylation of human red blood cell AChE measured with two different methods.

Treatment regimen of poisonings by organophosphorus (OP) compounds usually includes oxime therapy. The treatment options in soman poisoning are very limited due to rapid aging of the inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE), when the enzyme species is considered as irreversibly inhibited and resistant towards reactivation by oximes. Hence, oxime treatment probably comes too late in realistic scenarios. As an alternative, protecting part of the enzyme by reversible inhibition prior to soman exposure has been proposed. One means of protecting against soman poisoning is the prophylactic use of certain reversible inhibitors (carbamates) of AChE. The question whether there is a possibility of an interaction between pre-treating carbamates and oximes at AChE arises. Therefore we studied the effects of the oximes obidoxime, HI 6 and MMB-4 on the rate of decarbamylation for physostigmine- and pyridostigmine-inhibited human erythrocyte AChE both in a dynamically working in vitro model and a static cuvette system. Our results show that HI 6 increased the rate of decarbamylation for both physostigmine- and pyridostigmine-inhibited enzyme in both systems, the observed effect by HI 6 increasing with higher doses. Obidoxime had a slightly accelerating effect on the pyridostigmine-inhibited enzyme. MMB-4 applied to pyridostigmine-inhibited AChE in the static system only showed no difference to the experiments made in absence of oxime. No oxime showed a tendency to retard the rate of decarbamylation.