Discovery and Biochemical Characterization of UDP-Glucose Dehydrogenase from Akkermansia muciniphila

Title:Discovery and Biochemical Characterization of UDP-Glucose Dehydrogenase from Akkermansia muciniphila

Volume: 24 Issue: 8

Author(s): Shuang Wei, Xiao-Yang Zhang, Yue Sun, Louis Patrick Conway and Li Liu*

Affiliation:

• Glycomics and Glycan Bioengineering Research Center (GGBRC), College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing,China

Keywords: UDP-glucose dehydrogenases, UDP-glucuronic acid, Akkermansia muciniphila, nucleotide sugars, glycoconjugates.

Abstract: Background: The biocatalytic oxidation of UDP-glucose in the presence of NAD+ is catalyzed by UDP-glucose dehydrogenases.

Objectives: The main objective of this study was the characterization of a UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (AmUGD) from Akkermansia muciniphila, a bacterium originally isolated from human faeces in an anaerobic medium containing gastric mucin as the sole carbon source.

Methods: The biochemical analysis of AmUGD was performed using a plate reader-based assay measuring the reaction by-product NADH. Furthermore, HPLC- and MALDI-ToF-MS- based methods were used for the enzyme characterization.

Results: The recombinant form of the protein was expressed in E. coli and the purified enzyme exhibited optimum levels of activity at 37°C and pH 9.0. While the enzyme is active in the absence of metal ions, the presence of Zn2+ ions results in markedly enhanced levels of catalysis.

Conclusion: This study describes the first characterization of a nucleotide-processing enzyme from A. muciniphila. The ease of expression and purification of this enzyme make it ideal for biotechnological applications such as the enzymatic synthesis of nucleotide sugars, which may in turn be used for the synthesis of complex carbohydrates or glycoconjugates.

Cite this article as:

Wei Shuang , Zhang Xiao-Yang , Sun Yue , Conway Patrick Louis and Liu Li*, Discovery and Biochemical Characterization of UDP-Glucose Dehydrogenase from Akkermansia muciniphila, Protein & Peptide Letters 2017; 24 (8) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0929866524666170724111147