Two aging pathways for organophosphorus-inhibited human butyrylcholinesterase resolved by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (original) (raw)

Aging Pathways for Organophosphate-Inhibited Human Butyrylcholinesterase, Including Novel Pathways for Isomalathion, Resolved by Mass Spectrometry

Toxicological Sciences, 2007

Some organophosphorus compounds are toxic because they inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) by phosphylation of the active site serine, forming a stable conjugate: Ser-O-P(O)-(Y)-(XR) (where X can be O, N, or S and Y can be methyl, OR, or SR). The inhibited enzyme can undergo an aging process, during which the X-R moiety is dealkylated by breaking either the P-X or the X-R bond depending on the specific compound, leading to a nonreactivatable enzyme. Aging mechanisms have been studied primarily using AChE. However, some recent studies have indicated that organophosphate-inhibited butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) may age through an alternative pathway. Our work utilized matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry to study the aging mechanism of human BChE inhibited by dichlorvos, echothiophate, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP), isomalathion, soman, sarin, cyclohexyl sarin, VX, and VR. Inhibited BChE was aged in the presence of H 2 O 18 to allow incorporation of 18 O, if cleavage was at the P-X bond. Tryptic-peptide organophosphate conjugates were identified through peptide mass mapping. Our results showed no aging of VX-and VR-treated BChE at 25°C, pH 7.0. However, BChE inhibited by dichlorvos, echothiophate, DFP, soman, sarin, and cyclohexyl sarin aged exclusively through O-C bond cleavage, i.e., the classical X-R scission pathway. In contrast, isomalathion aged through both X-R and P-X pathways; the main aged product resulted from P-S bond cleavage and a minor product resulted from O-C and/or S-C bond cleavage.

Aging of di-isopropyl-phosphorylated human butyrylcholinesterase

Biochemical Journal, 1997

Organophosphate-inhibited cholinesterases can be reactivated by nucleophilic compounds. Sometimes phosphylated (phosphorylated or phosphonylated) cholinesterases become progressively refractory to reactivation; this can result from different reactions. The most frequent process, termed ‘aging’, involves the dealkylation of an alkoxy group on the phosphyl moiety through a carbocation mechanism. In attempting to determine the amino acid residues involved in the aging of butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), the human BuChE gene was mutated at several positions corresponding to residues located at the rim of the active site gorge and in the vicinity of the active site. Mutant enzymes were expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Wild-type BuChE and mutants were inhibited by di-isopropylfluorophosphate at pH 8.0 and 25 °C. Di-isopropyl-phosphorylated enzymes were incubated with the nucleophilic oxime 2-pyridine aldoxime methiodide and their reactivatability was determined. Reactivatability wa...

Structure–activity analysis of aging and reactivation of human butyrylcholinesterase inhibited by analogues of tabun

Biochemical Journal, 2009

hBChE [human BChE (butyrylcholinesterase)] naturally scavenges OPs (organophosphates). This bioscavenger is currently in Clinical Phase I for pretreatment of OP intoxication. Phosphylated ChEs (cholinesterases) can undergo a spontaneous time-dependent process called ‘aging’ during which the conjugate is dealkylated, leading to creation of an enzyme that cannot be reactivated. hBChE inhibited by phosphoramidates such as tabun displays a peculiar resistance to oxime-mediated reactivation. We investigated the basis of oxime resistance of phosphoramidyl–BChE conjugates by determining the kinetics of inhibition, reactivation (obidoxime {1,1′-(oxybis-methylene) bis[4-(hydroxyimino) methyl] pyridinium dichloride}, TMB-4 [1,3-trimethylene-bis(4-hydroxyiminomethylpyridinium) dibromide], HLö 7 {1-[[[4-(aminocarbonyl) pyridinio]methoxy]methyl]-2,4-bis-[(hydroxyimino)methyl] pyridinium dimethanesulfonate)}, HI-6 {1-[[[4-(aminocarbonyl) pyridinio] methoxy] methyl]-2-[(hydroxyimino)methyl]pyridin...

Importance of aspartate-70 in organophosphate inhibition, oxime re-activation and aging of human butyrylcholinesterase

Biochemical Journal, 1997

Asp-70 is the defining amino acid in the peripheral anionic site of human butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), whereas acetylcholinesterase has several additional amino acids, the most important one being Trp-277 (Trp-279 in TorpedoAChE). We studied mutants D70G, D70K and A277W to evaluate the role of Asp-70 and Trp-277 in reactions with organophosphates. We found that Asp-70 was important for binding positively charged echothiophate, but not neutral paraoxon and iso-OMPA. Asp-70 was also important for binding of positively charged pralidoxime (2-PAM) and for activation of re-activation by excess 2-PAM. Excess 2-PAM had an effect similar to substrate activation, suggesting the binding of 2 mol of 2-PAM to wild-type but not to the D70G mutant. A surprising result was that Asp-70 was important for irreversible aging, the D70G mutant having a 3-and 8-fold lower rate of aging for paraoxon-inhibited and di-isopropyl fluorophosphate-inhibited BuChE. Mutants of Asp-70 had the same rate constants...

Mechanism of Aging of Mipafox-Inhibited Butyrylcholinesterase

Chemical Research in Toxicology, 2007

Elucidating mechanisms of aging of esterases inhibited by organophosphorus (OP) compounds is important for understanding toxicity and developing biomarkers of exposure to these agents. Aging has classically been thought to involve net loss of a single side group from the OP moiety of phosphylated esterases, rendering the enzyme refractory to reactivation. However, recent evidence has shown that acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and the catalytic domain of human neuropathy target esterase (NEST) undergo aging by alternative mechanisms following their inhibition with N,N′-diisopropylphosphorodiamidofluoridate (mipafox, MIP). This study was performed to determine whether MIP-inhibited butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) ages conventionally, by net loss of a single side group, or by an alternate route, e.g., reversible deprotonation or displacement of both isopropylamine groups, as recently observed for MIPinhibited NEST and AChE, respectively. Diisopropylphosphorofluoridate (DFP), the phosphate analogue of the phosphoroamidate MIP, was used for comparison. Kinetic values for MIP against BChE were as follows: k i ) (1.28 ( 0.053) × 10 6 M -1 min -1 ; k 3 ) 0.004 15 ( 0.000 27 min -1 ; k 4 ) 0.008 49 ( 0.000 99 min -1 . Kinetic values for DFP against BChE were as follows: k i ) (1.83 ( 0.18) × 10 6 M -1 min -1 ; k 3 ) 0.004 88 ( 0.000 24 min -1 ; k 4 ) 0.0121 ( 0.0028 min -1 . Mass spectrometric studies revealed a mass shift of 123.4 ( 0.7 Da for the active-site peptide peak of aged DFP-inhibited BChE, corresponding to a monoisopropylphosphate adduct. Similarly, the analogous mass shift for aged MIP-inhibited BChE was 122.4 ( 0.7 Da, corresponding to a monoisopropylphosphoroamido adduct. Therefore, we conclude that the MIP-BChE conjugate ages by loss of a single isopropylamine group, in contrast to MIP-inhibited AChE or NEST.

Role of Water in Aging of Human Butyrylcholinesterase Inhibited by Echothiophate: The Crystal Structure Suggests Two Alternative Mechanisms of Aging † , ‡

Biochemistry, 2005

Organophosphorus poisons (OP) bind covalently to the active-site serine of cholinesterases. The inhibited enzyme can usually be reactivated with powerful nucleophiles such as oximes. However, the covalently bound OP can undergo a suicide reaction (termed aging) yielding nonreactivatable enzyme. In human butyrylcholinesterase (hBChE), aging involves the residues His438 and Glu197 that are proximal to the active-site serine (Ser198). The mechanism of aging is known in detail for the nerve gases soman, sarin, and tabun as well as the pesticide metabolite isomalathion. Aging of soman-and sarin-inhibited acetylcholinesterase occurs by C-O bond cleavage, whereas that of tabun-and isomalathion-inhibited acetylcholinesterase occurs by P-N and P-S bond cleavage, respectively. In this work, the crystal structures of hBChE inhibited by the ophthalmic reagents echothiophate (nonaged and aged) and diisopropylfluorophosphate (aged) were solved and refined to 2.1, 2.25, and 2.2 Å resolution, respectively. No appreciable shift in the position of the catalytic triad histidine was observed between the aged and nonaged conjugates of hBChE. This absence of shift contrasts with the aged and nonaged crystal structures of Torpedo californica acetylcholinesterase inhibited by the nerve agent VX. The nonaged hBChE structure shows one water molecule interacting with Glu197 and the catalytic triad histidine (His438). Interestingly, this water molecule is ideally positioned to promote aging by two mechanisms: breaking either a C-O bond or a P-O bond. Pesticides and certain stereoisomers of nerve agents are expected to undergo aging by breaking the P-O bond.

Structural approach to the aging of phosphylated cholinesterases

Chemico-Biological Interactions, 2010

Phosphylated cholinesterases (ChE) can undergo a side reaction that progressively decreases their reactivatability. This process, termed "aging", results from dealkylation of the adduct and depends on the structure of the organophosphyl moiety. Aged ChEs are resistant to reactivation by oximes.

Aging mechanism of butyrylcholinesterase inhibited by an N-methyl analogue of tabun: Implications of the trigonal–bipyramidal transition state rearrangement for the phosphylation or reactivation of cholinesterases

Chemico-Biological Interactions, 2010

Cholinesterases are the main target of organophosphorus nerve agents (OPs). Their inhibition results in cholinergic syndrome and death. The enzymes are inhibited by phosphylation of the catalytic serine enzyme, but can be reactivated by oximes to some extent. However, phosphylated cholinesterases undergo a side reaction that progressively prevents their reactivatability. This unimolecular reaction, termed "aging", has been investigated for decades. It was shown that most OP-ChE conjugates aged by O-dealkylation of an alkoxy substituent of the phosphorus atom, a mechanism involving the stabilization of a transient carbocation. In this paper we present structural data supporting a substitution-based mechanism for aging of the huBChE conjugate of an N-mono-methyl analogue of tabun. This mechanism involves an adjacent nucleophilic attack followed by Berry pseudorotation. A similar adjacent attack and subsequent rearrangement of the transition state have been recently proposed for tabun phosphylation of AChE. We suggest that a similar mechanism is also possible for oxime reactivation of phosphylated cholinesterases. This opens new perspectives in terms of reactivator design.

Efforts toward treatments against aging of organophosphorus‐inhibited acetylcholinesterase

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2016

Aging is a dealkylation reaction of organophosphorus (OP)‐inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Despite many studies to date, aged AChE cannot be reactivated directly by traditional pyridinium oximes. This review summarizes strategies that are potentially valuable in the treatment against aging in OP poisoning. Among them, retardation of aging seeks to lower the rate of aging through the use of AChE effectors. These drugs should be administered before AChE is completely aged. For postaging treatment, realkylation of aged AChE by appropriate alkylators may pave the way for oxime treatment by neutralizing the oxyanion at the active site of aged AChE. The other two strategies, upregulation of AChE expression and introduction of exogenous AChE, cannot resurrect aged AChE but may compensate for lowered active AChE levels by in situ production or external introduction of active AChE. Upregulation of AChE expression can be triggered by some peptides. Sources of exogenous AChE can be whole...