Click-Chemistry Based Fluorometric Assay for Apolipoprotein N-acyltransferase from Enzyme Characterization to High-Throughput Screening

Summary

Presented here is a sensitive fluorescence assay to monitor apolipoprotein N-acyltransferase activity using diacylglyceryl peptide and alkyne-phospholipids as substrates with click-chemistry.

Abstract

Lipoproteins from proteobacteria are posttranslationally modified by fatty acids derived from membrane phospholipids by the action of three integral membrane enzymes, resulting in triacylated proteins. The first step in the lipoprotein modification pathway involves the transfer of a diacylglyceryl group from phosphatidylglycerol onto the prolipoprotein, resulting in diacylglyceryl prolipoprotein. In the second step, the signal peptide of prolipoprotein is cleaved, forming an apolipoprotein, which in turn is modified by a third fatty acid derived from a phospholipid. This last step is catalyzed by apolipoprotein N-acyltransferase (Lnt). The lipoprotein modification pathway is essential in most γ-proteobacteria, making it a potential target for the development of novel antibacterial agents. Described here is a sensitive assay for Lnt that is compatible with high-throughput screening of small inhibitory molecules. The enzyme and substrates are membrane-embedded molecules; therefore, the development of an in vitro test is not straightforward. This includes the purification of the active enzyme in the presence of detergent, the availability of alkyne-phospholipids and diacylglyceryl peptide substrates, and the reaction conditions in mixed micelles. Furthermore, in order to use the activity test in a high-throughput screening (HTS) setup, direct readout of the reaction product is preferred over coupled enzymatic reactions. In this fluorometric enzyme assay, the alkyne-triacylated peptide product is rendered fluorescent through a click-chemistry reaction and detected in a multiwell plate format. This method is applicable to other acyltransferases that use fatty acid-containing substrates, including phospholipids and acyl-CoA.

Introduction

Bacterial lipoproteins are characterized by covalently bound fatty acids at their amino-termini through which they are anchored into membranes^1,2. The mature part of the protein is highly diverse in structure and function, thereby explaining the role of lipoproteins in various biological processes in the bacterial cell envelope.

Lipoproteins are modified by phospholipid-derived fatty acids after insertion into the cytoplasmic membrane. The prolipoproteins contain a signature motif, the lipobox, which contains an invariant cysteine residue that becomes acylated and the first amino ac....

Protocol

1. Enzyme and substrate preparation

1. Purification of enzyme
   1. Produce and purify Lnt enzyme from detergent solubilized membranes as described previously^4,8. Briefly, induce expression of the lnt-strep gene, encoding Lnt with a C-terminal Strep tag, at OD₆₀₀ of 0.6 with anhydrous tetracycline (200 ng/mL) at 37 °C for 16 h.
   2. Harvest cells by centrifugation at 4,000 x g for 10 min and .......

Discussion

The protocol for the Lnt assay described here, based on fluorescence detection of the triacylated product, is sensitive and reproducible. The specific and efficient binding of biotin to streptavidin is a key element in the assay. Alkyne-POPE substrate left after completion of the Lnt reaction is also fluorescently labeled with FAM but is efficiently removed after binding onto the streptavidin plates by multiple wash steps. Furthermore, addition of DMSO does not affect Lnt activity and has no impact on the assay. Both sub.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Äkta Purifier FPLC system	GE Healthcare	NA	Purity: NA Lnt purification
alkyne-POPE	Avanti Polar Lipids	900414P	Purity: >99% Lnt substrate
Azido-FAM	Lumiprobe	A4130	Purity: 100% (pure) Click reagent
BioPhotometer Plus	Eppendorf	N/A	Purity: NA OD 600 nm
BioTek ELX 405 Select plate washer	BioTek	N° serie 115800, n° materiel 405 Select	Purity: NA Wash steps
biotin-fluorescein	Sigma	53608	Purity: ≥90% Fluorescence control
Copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate	Sigma	C3036	Purity: ≥98% Click reagent
DDM	Anatrace	D310A	Purity: ≥ 99% β+α; < 15% α Detergent for Lnt purification
Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)	Invitrogen	D12435	Purity: anhydrous Solbilization Click reagent
Electronic pipet Voyager 8 channels 0.5-12.5 uL	INTEGRA	4721	Purity: NA Handling reagents
French Pressure Cell	N/A	N/A	Purity: NA Cell disruption
FSL-1-biotin	EMC microcollections	L7030	Purity: NA Lnt substrate
Greiner Bio-One 384-well standard CELLSTAR polystyrene microplate	Greiner	781091	Purity: NA Black with transparent bottom (up or bottom reading)
Greiner Bio-One 96-well sterile polystyrene plate, high binding	Greiner	655097	Purity: NA Black with transparent bottom (up or bottom reading)
Microplate reader Infinite M1000 pro	Tecan	N/A	Purity: NA Fluorescence detection
MTSES (sodium (2-sulfonatoethyl)methanethiosulfonate)	Anatrace	S110MT	Purity: ~100% Thiol specific inhibitor
Optically Clear Adhesive Seal Sheets	Thermo Scientific	AB-1170	Purity: NA Foil to seal multi-well plate
Sephacryl S400 HR 16/60 gel filtration column	GE Healthcare	GE28-9356-04	Purity: NA Lnt purification
StrepTactin Sepharose 50 %	IBA Biotechnology	2-1201-010	Purity: NA Lnt purification
streptavidin	Sigma	S4762-1MG	Purity: ≥13 units/mg protein Biotin binding
TBTA (tris[(1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl]amine	Sigma	678937	Purity: 97% Click reagent
TCEP (tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride	Sigma	75259	Purity: ≥98% Click reagent
TECAN Infinite F500	Tecan	N/A	Purity: NA Fluorescence detection
TECAN Infinite M1000 pro	Tecan	N/A	Purity: NA Fluorescence detection
Thermomixer C	Eppendorf	5382000015	Purity: NA Heated lid
Triton X-100	Sigma	93443	Purity: 10% in H2O Lnt reaction buffer
Ultra centrifuge	Beckman LC	N/A	Purity: NA Cell fractionation