Catalysis by hen egg-white lysozyme proceeds via a covalent intermediate

David J. Vocadlo, Gideon J. Davies, Roger Laine and Stephen G. Withers ()
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David J. Vocadlo: University of British Columbia
Gideon J. Davies: University of British Columbia
Roger Laine: Louisiana State University
Stephen G. Withers: University of British Columbia

Nature, 2001, vol. 412, issue 6849, 835-838

Abstract: Abstract Hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) was the first enzyme to have its three-dimensional structure determined by X-ray diffraction techniques1. A catalytic mechanism, featuring a long-lived oxocarbenium-ion intermediate, was proposed on the basis of model-building studies2. The ‘Phillips’ mechanism is widely held as the paradigm for the catalytic mechanism of β-glycosidases that cleave glycosidic linkages with net retention of configuration of the anomeric centre. Studies with other retaining β-glycosidases, however, provide strong evidence pointing to a common mechanism for these enzymes that involves a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate, as previously postulated3. Here we show, in three different cases using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, a catalytically competent covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate during the catalytic cycle of HEWL. We also show the three-dimensional structure of this intermediate as determined by X-ray diffraction. We formulate a general catalytic mechanism for all retaining β-glycosidases that includes substrate distortion, formation of a covalent intermediate, and the electrophilic migration of C1 along the reaction coordinate.

Date: 2001
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DOI: 10.1038/35090602

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