Monoacylglycerol lipases (MGLs) catalyse the hydrolysis of monoacylglycerol into free fatty acid and glycerol. MGLs have been identified throughout all genera of life and have adopted different substrate specificities depending on their physiological role. In humans, MGL plays an integral part in lipid metabolism affecting energy homeostasis, signalling processes and cancer cell progression. In bacteria, MGLs degrade short-chain monoacylglycerols which are otherwise toxic to the organism. We report the crystal structures of MGL from the bacterium Bacillus sp. H257 (bMGL) in its free form at 1.2 Å and in complex with phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride at 1.8 Å resolution. In both structures, bMGL adopts an α/β hydrolase fold with a cap in an open conformation. Access to the active site residues, which were unambiguously identified from the protein structure, is facilitated by two different channels. The larger channel constitutes the highly hydrophobic substrate binding pocket with enough room to accommodate monoacylglycerol. The other channel is rather small and resembles the proposed glycerol exit hole in human MGL. Molecular dynamics simulation of bMGL yielded open and closed states of the entrance channel and the glycerol exit hole. Despite differences in the number of residues, secondary structure elements, and low sequence identity in the cap region, this first structure of a bacterial MGL reveals striking structural conservation of the overall cap architecture in comparison with human MGL. Thus it provides insight into the structural conservation of the cap amongst MGLs throughout evolution and provides a framework for rationalising substrate specificities in each organism.

Threonine aldolases catalyze the pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) dependent cleavage of threonine into glycine and acetaldehyde and play a major role in the degradation of this amino acid. In nature, L- as well as D-specific enzymes have been identified, but the exact physiological function of D-threonine aldolases (DTAs) is still largely unknown. Both types of enantio-complementary enzymes have a considerable potential in biocatalysis for the stereospecific synthesis of various β-hydroxy amino acids, which are valuable building blocks for the production of pharmaceuticals. While several structures of L-threonine aldolases (LTAs) have already been determined, no structure of a DTA is available to date. Here, we report on the determination of the crystal structure of the DTA from Alcaligenes xylosoxidans (AxDTA) at 1.5 Å resolution. Our results underline the close relationship of DTAs and alanine racemases and allow the identification of a metal binding site close to the PLP-cofactor in the active site of the enzyme which is consistent with the previous observation that divalent cations are essential for DTA activity. Modeling of AxDTA substrate complexes provides a rationale for this metal dependence and indicates that binding of the β-hydroxy group of the substrate to the metal ion very likely activates this group and facilitates its deprotonation by His193. An equivalent involvement of a metal ion has been implicated in the mechanism of a serine dehydratase, which harbors a metal ion binding site in the vicinity of the PLP cofactor at the same position as in DTA. The structure of AxDTA is completely different to available structures of LTAs. The enantio-complementarity of DTAs and LTAs can be explained by an approximate mirror symmetry of crucial active site residues relative to the PLP-cofactor.

Monoacylglycerol lipases (MGL) are a subclass of lipases that predominantly hydrolyze monoacylglycerol (MG) into glycerol and fatty acid. MGLs are ubiquitous enzymes across species and play a role in lipid metabolism, affecting energy homeostasis and signaling processes. Structurally, MGLs belong to the α/β hydrolase fold family with a cap covering the substrate binding pocket. Analysis of the known 3D structures of human, yeast and bacterial MGLs revealed striking similarity of the cap architecture. Since MGLs from different organisms share very low sequence similarity, it is difficult to identify MGLs based on the amino acid sequence alone. Here, we investigated whether the cap architecture could be a characteristic feature of this subclass of lipases with activity towards MG and whether it is possible to identify MGLs based on the cap shape. Through database searches, we identified the structures of five different candidate α/β hydrolase fold proteins with unknown or reported esterase activity. These proteins exhibit cap architecture similarities to known human, yeast and bacterial MGL structures. Out of these candidates we confirmed MGL activity for the protein LipS, which displayed the highest structural similarity to known MGLs. Two further enzymes, Avi_0199 and VC1974, displayed low level MGL activities. These findings corroborate our hypothesis that this conserved cap architecture can be used as criterion to identify lipases with activity towards MGs.

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Members of the carboxylesterase 2 (Ces2/CES2) family have been studied intensively with respect to their hydrolytic function on (pro)drugs, whereas their physiological role in lipid and energy metabolism has been realized only within the last few years. Humans have one CES2 gene which is highly expressed in liver, intestine, and kidney. Interestingly, eight homologous Ces2 (Ces2a to Ces2h) genes exist in mice and the individual roles of the corresponding proteins are incompletely understood. Mouse Ces2c (mCes2c) is suggested as potential ortholog of human CES2. Therefore, we aimed at its structural and biophysical characterization. Here, we present the first crystal structure of mCes2c to 2.12 Å resolution. The overall structure of mCes2c resembles that of the human CES1 (hCES1). The core domain adopts an α/β hydrolase-fold with S230, E347, and H459 forming a catalytic triad. Access to the active site is restricted by the cap, the flexible lid, and the regulatory domain. The conserved gate (M417) and switch (F418) residues might have a function in product release similar as suggested for hCES1. Biophysical characterization confirms that mCes2c is a monomer in solution. Thus, this study broadens our understanding of the mammalian carboxylesterase family and assists in delineating the similarities and differences of the different family members.

α/β-hydrolase domain-containing 6 (ABHD6) belongs to the α/β-hydrolase fold superfamily and was originally discovered in a functional proteomic approach designed to discover monoacylglycerol (MAG) hydrolases in the mouse brain degrading the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Subsequent studies confirmed that ABHD6 acts as an MAG hydrolase regulating cannabinoid receptor-dependent and -independent signaling processes. The enzyme was identified as a negative modulator of insulin secretion and regulator of energy metabolism affecting the pathogenesis of obesity and metabolic syndrome. It has been implicated in the metabolism of the lysosomal co-factor bis(monoacylglycerol)phosphate and in the surface delivery of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid-type glutamate receptors. Finally, ABHD6 was shown to affect cancer cell lipid metabolism and tumor malignancy. Here, we provide new insights into the experimentally derived crystal structure of ABHD6 and its possible orientation in biological membranes, and discuss ABHD6′s functions in health and disease.

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Tuberculosis continues to be a major threat to the human population. Global efforts to eradicate the disease are ongoing but are hampered by the increasing occurrence of multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Therefore, the development of new treatment, and the exploration of new druggable targets and treatment strategies, are of high importance. Rv0183/mtbMGL, is a monoacylglycerol lipase of M. tuberculosis and it is involved in providing fatty acids and glycerol as building blocks and as an energy source. Since the lipase is expressed during the dormant and active phase of an infection, Rv0183/mtbMGL is an interesting target for inhibition. In this work, we determined the crystal structures of a surface-entropy reduced variant K74A Rv0183/mtbMGL in its free form and in complex with a substrate mimicking inhibitor. The two structures reveal conformational changes in the cap region that forms a major part of the substrate/inhibitor binding region. We present a completely closed conformation in the free form and semi-closed conformation in the ligand-bound form. These conformations differ from the previously published, completely open conformation of Rv0183/mtbMGL. Thus, this work demonstrates the high conformational plasticity of the cap from open to closed conformations and provides useful insights into changes in the substrate-binding pocket, the target of potential small-molecule inhibitors.