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Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 
 
 

Catalysis by hen egg-white lysozyme proceeds via a covalent intermediate.

Hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) was the first enzyme to have its three-dimensional structure determined by X-ray diffraction techniques. A catalytic mechanism, featuring a long-lived oxocarbenium-ion intermediate, was proposed on the basis of model-building studies. The 'Phillips' mechanism is widely held as the paradigm for the catalytic mechanism of beta-glycosidases that cleave glycosidic linkages with net retention of configuration of the anomeric centre. Studies with other retaining beta-glycosidases, however, provide strong evidence pointing to a common mechanism for these enzymes that involves a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate, as previously postulated. Here we show, in three different cases using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, a catalytically competent covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate during the catalytic cycle of HEWL. We also show the three-dimensional structure of this intermediate as determined by X-ray diffraction. We formulate a general catalytic mechanism for all retaining beta-glycosidases that includes substrate distortion, formation of a covalent intermediate, and the electrophilic migration of C1 along the reaction coordinate.[1]

References

  1. Catalysis by hen egg-white lysozyme proceeds via a covalent intermediate. Vocadlo, D.J., Davies, G.J., Laine, R., Withers, S.G. Nature (2001) [Pubmed]
 
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