Structural insights reveal the second base catalyst of isomaltose glucohydrolase

Glycoside hydrolase family 15 (GH15) inverting enzymes contain two glutamate residues functioning as a general acid catalyst and a general base catalyst, for isomaltose glucohydrolase (IGHase), Glu178 and Glu335, respectively. Generally, a two-catalytic residue-mediated reaction exhibits a typical bell-shaped pH-activity curve. However, IGHase is found to display atypical non-bell-shaped pH-k(cat) and pH-k(cat)/K-m profiles, theoretically better-fitted to a three-catalytic residue-associated pH-activity curve. We determined the crystal structure of IGHase by the single-wavelength anomalous dispersion method using sulfur atoms and the cocrystal structure of a catalytic base mutant E335A with isomaltose. Although the activity of E335A was undetectable, the electron density observed in its active site pocket did not correspond to an isomaltose but a glycerol and a beta-glucose, cryoprotectant, and hydrolysis product. Our structural and biochemical analyses of several mutant enzymes suggest that Tyr48 acts as a second catalytic base catalyst. Y48F mutant displayed almost equivalent specific activity to a catalytic acid mutant E178A. Tyr48, highly conserved in all GH15 members, is fixed by another Tyr residue in many GH15 enzymes; the latter Tyr is replaced by Phe290 in IGHase. The pH profile of F290Y mutant changed to a bell-shaped curve, suggesting that Phe290 is a key residue distinguishing Tyr48 of IGHase from other GH15 members. Furthermore, F290Y is found to accelerate the condensation of isomaltose from glucose by modifying a hydrogen-bonding network between Tyr290-Tyr48-Glu335. The present study indicates that the atypical Phe290 makes Tyr48 of IGHase unique among GH15 enzymes.