• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.772-776
• /
• 2007

In order to study the role of residue in the active site of glutathione S-transferase (GST), Arg13 residue in human GST P1-1 was replaced with alanine, lysine and leucine by site-directed mutagenesis to obtain mutants R13A, R13K and R13L. These three mutant enzymes were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by affinity chromatography on immobilized GSH. Mutation of Arg13 into Ala caused a substantial reduction of the specific activity by 10-fold. Km GSH, Km DCNB and Km EPNP values of R13A were approximately 2-3 fold larger than those of the wild type. Mutation of Arg13 into Ala also significantly affected I50 values of S-methyl-GSH that compete with GSH and ethacrynic acid, an electrophilic substrate-like compound. These results appeared that the substitution of Arg13 with Ala resulted in significant structural change of the active site. Mutation of Arg13 into Leu reduced the catalytic activity by approximately 2-fold, whereas substitution by Lys scarcely affected the activity, indicating the significance of a positively charged residue at position 13. Therefore, arginine 13 participates in catalytic activity as mainly involved in the construction of the proper electrostatic field and conformation of the active site in human GST P1-1.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.31 no.9
• /
• pp.2497-2502
• /
• 2010

Arg13 is a conserved active-site residue in all known Pi class glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) and in most Alpha class GSTs. To evaluate its contribution to substrate binding and catalysis of this residue, three mutants (R13A, R13K, and R13L) were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by GSH affinity chromatography. The substitutions of Arg13 significantly affected GSH-conjugation activity, while scarcely affecting glutathione peroxidase or steroid isomerase activities. Mutation of Arg13 into Ala largely reduced the GSH-conjugation activity by approximately 85 - 95%, whereas substitutions by Lys and Leu barely affected activity. These results suggest that, in the GSH-conjugation activity of hGST P1-1, the contribution of Arg13 toward catalytic activity is highly dependent on substrate specificities and the size of the side chain at position 13. From the kinetic parameters, introduction of larger side chains at position 13 results in stronger affinity (Leu > Lys, Arg > Ala) towards GSH. The substitutions of Arg13 with alanine and leucine significantly affected $k_{cat}$, whereas substitution with Lys was similar to that of the wild type, indicating the significance of a positively charged residue at position 13. From the plots of log ($k_{cat}/{K_m}^{CDNB}$) against pH, the $pK_a$ values of the thiol group of GSH bound in R13A, R13K, and R13L were estimated to be 1.8, 1.4, and 1.8 pK units higher than the $pK_a$ value of the wild-type enzyme, demonstrating the contribution of the Arg13 guanidinium group to the electrostatic field in the active site. From these results, we suggest that contribution of Arg13 in substrate binding is highly dependent on the nature of the electrophilic substrates, while in the catalytic mechanism, it stabilizes the GSH thiolate through hydrogen bonding.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.191-195
• /
• 2003

The in vitro glycosylation of pentapeptide (Arg-Lys-Asp-Val-Tyr; RKDVY) and RNase A was carried out using PNGase F (peptide-N-glycosidase F), and the results were analyzed using MALDI-TOF-MS. Aminated N,N-diretyl chitobiose was used as the sugar in the glycosylation reaction, and the amination yield of N,N'-diacetyl chitobiose was about $60\%$. To reduce the water activity and shift the reaction equilibrium to a reverse reaction, 1,4-dioxane or ethylene glycol was used as the organic solvent in the enzymatic glycosylation. A certain extent of nonenzymatic glycosylaton, known as the Maillard reaction, was also observed, which occurs on an arginine or lysine residue when the length of tie sugar residue is one or two. However, the extent of glycosylation was much higher in the enzymatic reaction, indicating that PNGase F can be effectively used to produce glycopeptides and glycoproteins in vitro.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.50-54
• /
• 2008

This study examined the chemical composition of A. blasiliensis and the chemical structural properties of an immuno-stimulating polysaccharide. The amino acids, free sugars, and organic acids by HPLC and fatty acids by GC were analyzed. The immuno-stimulating substance from A. blasiliensis was extracted with hot water and purified by ethanol precipitation. It underwent ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and gel filtration on Toyopearl HW 65F. Through GP-HPLC, the substance was found to be homogeneous. Its chemical structure was determined by $^{13}C-NMR$. Fatty acids, organic acids, and sugar alcohol composition consisted exclusively of linoleic acid, fumaric acid and mannitol, respectively. The amino acids were mainly glutamic acid, glycine, and arginine. By $^{13}C-NMR$ analysis, the immuno-stimulating substance was identified as ${\beta}-(1{\rightarrow}3)\;(1{\rightarrow}6)$-glucan, composed of a backbone with $(1{\rightarrow}3)$-linked D-glucopyranosyl residues branching a $(1{\rightarrow}6)$-linked D-glucopyranosyl residue. The ${\beta}$-glucan from A. blasiliensis showed pronounced immuno-stimulating activity on the antibody-production ability of B-lymphocytes by the hemolytic suspension assay. In these results, A. blasiliensis was estimated to have potent pharmacological properties and potential nutritional values.