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. 2010 Sep 6;187(1-3):148-52.
doi: 10.1016/j.cbi.2010.01.004. Epub 2010 Jan 11.

Characterization of a high-activity mutant of human butyrylcholinesterase against (-)-cocaine

Wenchao Yang  1 , Liu Xue, Lei Fang, Xi Chen, Chang-Guo Zhan
Affiliations

Characterization of a high-activity mutant of human butyrylcholinesterase against (-)-cocaine

Wenchao Yang et al. Chem Biol Interact. .

Abstract

Cocaine addiction and overdose are a well-known public health problem. There is no approved medication available for cocaine abuse treatment. Our recently designed and discovered high-activity mutant (A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G) of human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) has been recognized to be worth exploring for clinical application in humans as a potential anti-cocaine medication. The catalytic rate constant (k(cat)) and Michaelis-Menten constant (K(M)) for (-)-cocaine hydrolysis catalyzed by A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G BChE (without fusion with any other peptide) have been determined to be 3,060 min(-1) and 3.1 microM, respectively, in the present study. The determined kinetic parameters reveal that the un-fused A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant has a approximately 1,080-fold improved catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(M)) against (-)-cocaine compared to the wild-type BChE. The approximately 1,080-fold improvement in the catalytic efficiency of the un-fused A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant is very close to the previously reported the approximately 1,000-fold improvement in the catalytic efficiency of the A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant fused with human serum albumin. These results suggest that the albumin fusion did not significantly change the catalytic efficiency of the BChE mutant while extending the plasma half-life. In addition, we have also examined the catalytic activities of the A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant against two other substrates, acetylthiocholine (ATC) and butyrylthiocholine (BTC). It has been shown that the A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutations actually decreased the catalytic efficiencies of BChE against ATC and BTC, while considerably improving the catalytic efficiency of BChE against (-)-cocaine.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Modeled structures of the binding of acetylthiocholine (ATC) with wild-type BChE (A) and the A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant (B).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Kinetic data for the hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine (ATC) and butyrylthiocholine (BTC) catalyzed by the A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G mutant of human BChE.
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