An Improved Cocaine Hydrolase: The A328Y Mutant of Human Butyrylcholinesterase is 4-fold More Efficient
作者:Weihua Xie、Cibby Varkey Altamirano、Cynthia F. Bartels、Robert J. Speirs、John R. Cashman、Oksana Lockridge
DOI:10.1124/mol.55.1.83
日期:1999.1.1
Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) has a major role in cocaine detoxication. The rate at which human BChE hydrolyzes cocaine is slow, with a k cat of 3.9 min−1 and K m of 14 μM. Our goal was to improve cocaine hydrolase activity by mutating residues near the active site. The mutant A328Y had a k cat of 10.2 min−1 and K m of 9 μM for a 4-fold improvement in catalytic efficiency ( k cat/ K m). Since benzoylcholine ( k cat 15,000 min−1) and cocaine form the same acyl-enzyme intermediate but are hydrolyzed at 4000-fold different rates, it was concluded that a step leading to formation of the acyl-enzyme intermediate was rate-limiting. BChE purified from plasma of cat, horse, and chicken was tested for cocaine hydrolase activity. Compared with human BChE, horse BChE had a 2-fold higher k cat but a lower binding affinity, cat BChE was similar to human, and chicken BChE had only 10% of the catalytic efficiency. Naturally occurring genetic variants of human BChE were tested for cocaine hydrolase activity. The J and K variants (E497V and A539T) had k catand K m values similar to wild-type, but because these variants are reduced to 66 and 33% of normal levels in human blood, respectively, people with these variants may be at risk for cocaine toxicity. The atypical variant (D70G) had a 10-fold lower binding affinity for cocaine, suggesting that persons with the atypical variant of BChE may experience severe or fatal cocaine intoxication when administered a dose of cocaine that is not harmful to others.
丁酰胆碱酯酶(BChE)在可卡因解毒过程中发挥着重要作用。人类 BChE 水解可卡因的速度很慢,其 k cat 为 3.9 min-1,K m 为 14 μM。我们的目标是通过突变活性位点附近的残基来提高可卡因水解酶的活性。突变体 A328Y 的 k cat 为 10.2 min-1,K m 为 9 μM,催化效率(k cat/ K m)提高了 4 倍。由于苯甲酰基胆碱(k cat 15,000 min-1)和可卡因形成相同的酰基酶中间体,但水解速度却相差 4000 倍,因此得出结论认为,形成酰基酶中间体的步骤是限速的。对从猫、马和鸡血浆中纯化的 BChE 进行了可卡因水解酶活性测试。与人类 BChE 相比,马 BChE 的 k cat 高 2 倍,但结合亲和力较低;猫 BChE 与人类相似;鸡 BChE 的催化效率只有人类的 10%。对人类 BChE 的天然基因变体进行了可卡因水解酶活性测试。J 和 K 变体(E497V 和 A539T)的 k cat 和 K m 值与野生型相似,但由于这些变体在人体血液中的含量分别降低到正常水平的 66% 和 33%,因此具有这些变体的人可能有可卡因中毒的风险。非典型变异体(D70G)与可卡因的结合亲和力低 10 倍,这表明,当输入对他人无害的可卡因剂量时,BChE 非典型变异体患者可能会出现严重或致命的可卡因中毒。