Replacement of the catalytic nucleophile aspartyl residue of dextran glucosidase by cysteine sulfinate enhances transglycosylation activity.

Dextran glucosidase from Streptococcus mutans (SmDG) catalyzes the hydrolysis of an α-1,6-glucosidic linkage at the nonreducing end of isomaltooligosaccharides and dextran. This enzyme has an Asp-194 catalytic nucleophile and two catalytically unrelated Cys residues, Cys-129 and Cys-532. Cys-free SmDG was constructed by replacement with Ser (C129S/C532S (2CS), the activity of which was the same as that of the wild type, SmDG). The nucleophile mutant of 2CS was generated by substitution of Asp-194 with Cys (D194C-2CS). The hydrolytic activity of D194C-2CS was 8.1 × 10(-4) % of 2CS. KI-associated oxidation of D194C-2CS increased the activity up to 0.27% of 2CS, which was 330 times higher than D194C-2CS. Peptide-mapping mass analysis of the oxidized D194C-2CS (Ox-D194C-2CS) revealed that Cys-194 was converted into cysteine sulfinate. Ox-D194C-2CS and 2CS shared the same properties (optimum pH, pI, and substrate specificity), whereas Ox-D194C-2CS had much higher transglucosylation activity than 2CS. This is the first study indicating that a more acidic nucleophile (-SOO(-)) enhances transglycosylation. The introduction of cysteine sulfinate as a catalytic nucleophile could be a novel approach to enhance transglycosylation.