We have examined the specificity of planar carboxyl and tetrahedral phosphonyl esters for mouse cholinesterases and have delineated the orientation of these ligands in the enzyme active center. The approach involved altering acyl pocket dimensions by site-specific mutagenesis of two phenylalanines and varying ligand size and enantiomer presentation. Substrate catalysis rates by wild type acetylcholinesterase (AChE) of acetyl-, butyryl-, and benzoylthiocholine diminished with increasing size of the acyl moiety. In contrast, substitution of the acyl pocket phenylalanines giving the mutants F295L and F297I of AChE yielded more efficient catalysis of the larger substrates and a specificity approaching that of butyrylcholinesterase. Extension from planar substrates to enantiomerically pure organophosphonates allowed for an analysis of enantiomeric selectivity. We found that AChE reactions are 200-fold faster with the Sp than the Rp enantiomer of of cycloheptyl methylphosphonyl thiocholine. Upon the acyl pocket size being enlarged, the Rp enantiomer became more reactive while reaction with the Sp enantiomer was slightly reduced. In fact, the F297I mutant displayed inverted stereospecificity. A visual correlation with the kinetic data has been developed by docking the ligands in the active site. Upon placement of the phosphonyl oxygen in the oxyanion hole and the leaving group being directed out of the gorge, the Rp, but not the Sp, enantiomer engendered steric hindrance between the alkoxyl group and the acyl pocket. Replacing F297 with Ile accommodated the bulky alkoxyl group of the Rp isomer in the acyl pocket, allowing similar orientations of the phosphonyl oxygen and the leaving group to the Sp isomer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Selective mutants of mouse acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7) phosphonylated with chiral S(P)- and R(P)-cycloheptyl, -3,3-dimethylbutyl, and -isopropyl methylphosphonyl thiocholines were subjected to reactivation by the oximes HI-6 and 2-PAM and their reactivation kinetics compared with wild-type AChE and butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8). Mutations in the choline binding site (Y337A, Y337A/F338A) or combined with acyl pocket mutations (F295L/Y337A, F297I/Y337A, F295L/F297I/Y337A) were employed to enlarge active center gorge dimensions. HI-6 was more efficient than 2-PAM (up to 29000 times) as a reactivator of S(P)-phosphonates (k(r) ranged from 50 to 13000 min(-1) M(-1)), while R(P) conjugates were reactivated by both oximes at similar, but far slower, rates (k(r) < 10 min(-1) M(-1)). The Y337A substitution accelerated all reactivation rates over the wild-type AChE and enabled reactivation even of R(P)-cycloheptyl and R(P)-3,3-dimethylbutyl conjugates that when formed in wild-type AChE are resistant to reactivation. When combined with the F295L or F297I mutations in the acyl pocket, the Y337A mutation showed substantial enhancements of reactivation rates of the S(P) conjugates. The greatest enhancement of 120-fold was achieved with HI-6 for the F295L/Y337A phosphonylated with the most bulky alkoxy moiety, S(P)-cycloheptyl methylphosphonate. This significant enhancement is likely a direct consequence of simultaneously increasing the dimensions of both the choline binding site and the acyl pocket. The increase in dimensions allows for optimizing the angle of oxime attack in the spatially impacted gorge as suggested from molecular modeling. Rates of reactivation reach values sufficient for consideration of mixtures of a mutant enzyme and an oxime as a scavenging strategy in protection and treatment of organophosphate exposure.

Through site-specific mutagenesis, we examined the determinants on acetylcholinesterase which govern the specificity and reactivity of three classes of substrates: enantiomeric alkyl phosphonates, trifluoromethyl acetophenones, and carboxyl esters. By employing cationic and uncharged pairs of enantiomeric alkyl methylphosphonyl thioates of known absolute stereochemistry, we find that an aspartate residue near the gorge entrance (D74) is responsible for the enhanced reactivity of the cationic organophosphonates. Removal of the charge with the mutation D74N causes a near equal reduction in the reaction rate constants for the Rp and Sp enantiomers and exerts a greater influence on the cationic organophosphonates than on the charged trimethylammonio trifluoromethyl acetophenone and acetylthiocholine. This pattern of reactivity suggests that the orientation of the leaving group for both enantiomers is directed toward the gorge exit and in apposition to Asp 74. Replacement of tryptophan 86 with alanine in the choline subsite also diminishes the reaction rates for cationic organophosphonates, although to a lesser extent than with the D74N mutation, while not affecting the reactions with the uncharged compounds. Hence, reaction with cationic OPs depends to a lesser degree on Trp 86 than on Asp 74. Docking of Sp and Rp cycloheptyl methylphosphonyl thiocholines and thioethylates in AChE as models of the reversible complex and transition state using molecular dynamics affords structural insight into the spatial arrangement of the substituents surrounding phosphorus prior to and during reaction. The leaving group of the Rp and Sp enantiomers, regardless of charge, is directed to the gorge exit and toward Asp 74, an orientation unique to tetrahedral ligands.

Organophosphates inactivate acetylcholinesterase by reacting covalently with the active center serine. We have examined the reactivation of a series of resolved enantiomeric methylphosphonate conjugates of acetylcholinesterase by two oximes, 2-pralidoxime (2-PAM) and 1-(2'-hydroxyiminomethyl-1'-pyridinium)-3-(4'-carbamoyl-1-pyridinium) (HI-6). The S(p) enantiomers of the methylphosphonate esters are far more reactive in forming the conjugate with the enzyme, and we find that rates of oxime reactivation also show an S(p) versus R(p) preference, suggesting that a similar orientation of the phosphonyl oxygen toward the oxyanion hole is required for both efficient inactivation and reactivation. A comparison of reactivation rates of (S(p))- and (R(p))-cycloheptyl, 3,3-dimethylbutyl, and isopropyl methylphosphonyl conjugates shows that steric hindrance by the alkoxy group precludes facile access of the oxime to the tetrahedral phosphorus. To facilitate access, we substituted smaller side chains in the acyl pocket of the active center and find that the Phe295Leu substitution enhances the HI-6-elicited reactivation rates of the S(p) conjugates up to 14-fold, whereas the Phe297Ile substitution preferentially enhances 2-PAM reactivation by as much as 125-fold. The fractional enhancement of reactivation achieved by these mutations of the acyl pocket is greatest for the conjugated phosphonates of the largest steric bulk. By contrast, little enhancement of the reactivation rate is seen with these mutants for the R(p) conjugates, where limitations on oxime access to the phosphonate and suboptimal positioning of the phosphonyl oxygen in the oxyanion hole may both slow reactivation. These findings suggest that impaction of the conjugated organophosphate within the constraints of the active center gorge is a major factor in influencing oxime access and reactivation rates. Moreover, the individual oximes differ in attacking orientation, leading to the presumed pentavalent transition state. Hence, their efficacies as reactivating agents depend on the steric bulk of the intervening groups surrounding the tetrahedral phosphorus.