2004/08/11 by Arie Ordentlich, Dov Barak, Gali Sod‐Moriah +9 · 1 citation
Medicine · Chemistry · #Cholinesterase and Neurodegenerative Diseases #Analytical Chemistry and Chromatography #Chemical Reaction Mechanisms
paper · doi:10.1021/bi0490946
openalex publication_date 2004/08/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
The origins of human acetylcholinesterase (HuAChE) reactivity toward the lethal chemical warfare agent O-ethyl S-[2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl] methylphosphonothioate (VX) and its stereoselectivity toward the P(S)-VX enantiomer (VX(S)) were investigated by examining the reactivity of HuAChE and its mutant derivatives toward purified enantiomers of VX and its noncharged isostere O-ethyl S-(3-isopropyl-4-methylpentyl) methylphosphonothioate (nc-VX) as well as echothiophate and its noncharged analogue. Reactivity of wild-type HuAChE toward VX(S) was 115-fold higher than that toward VX(R), with bimolecular rate constants of 1.4 x 10(8) and 1.2 x 10(6) min(-1) M(-1). HuAChE was also 12500-fold more reactive toward VX(S) than toward nc-VX(S). Substitution of the cation binding subsite residue Trp86 with alanine resulted in a 3 order of magnitude decrease in HuAChE reactivity toward both VX enantiomers, while this replacement had an only marginal effect on the reactivity toward the enantiomers of nc-VX and the noncharged echothiophate. These results attest to the critical role played by Trp86 in accommodating the charged moieties of both VX enantiomers. A marked decrease in stereoselectivity toward VX(S) was observed following replacements of Phe295 at the acyl pocket (F295A and F295A/F297A). Replacement of the peripheral anionic site (PAS) residue Asp74 with asparagine (D74N) practically abolished stereoselectivity toward VX(S) (130-fold decrease), while a substitution which retains the negative charge at position 74 (D74E) had no effect. The results from kinetic studies and molecular simulations suggest that the differential reactivity toward the VX enantiomers is mainly a result of a different interaction of the charged leaving group with Asp74.