α-Glucosidases, which catalyze the hydrolysis of the α-glucosidic linkage at the nonreducing end of the substrate, are important for the metabolism of α-glucosides. Halomonas sp. H11 α-glucosidase (HaG), belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 13 (GH13), only has high hydrolytic activity towards the α-(1 → 4)-linked disaccharide maltose among naturally occurring substrates. Although several three-dimensional structures of GH13 members have been solved, the disaccharide specificity and α-(1 → 4) recognition mechanism of α-glucosidase are unclear owing to a lack of corresponding substrate-bound structures. In this study, four crystal structures of HaG were solved: the apo form, the glucosyl-enzyme intermediate complex, the E271Q mutant in complex with its natural substrate maltose and a complex of the D202N mutant with D-glucose and glycerol. These structures explicitly provide insights into the substrate specificity and catalytic mechanism of HaG. A peculiar long β → α loop 4 which exists in α-glucosidase is responsible for the strict recognition of disaccharides owing to steric hindrance. Two residues, Thr203 and Phe297, assisted with Gly228, were found to determine the glycosidic linkage specificity of the substrate at subsite +1. Furthermore, an explanation of the α-glucosidase reaction mechanism is proposed based on the glucosyl-enzyme intermediate structure.

No abstract

We report a rapid and cost-effective monoclonal antibody screening method from single animal B cells using reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and Escherichia coli cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS), which allows evaluation of antibodies within 2 working days. This process is named “Ecobody technology”. The method includes strategies to isolate B cells that specifically bind an antigen from the peripheral blood of immunised animals, and single-cell RT-PCR to generate DNA fragments of the VH and VL genes, followed by CFPS for production of fragments of antigen binding (Fab). In the CFPS step, we employed our techniques: 1) ‘Zipbody’ as a method for producing Fab, in which the association of heavy and light chains is facilitated by adhesive leucine zipper peptides fused at the C-termini of the Fab; and 2) an N-terminal SKIK peptide tag that can increase protein expression levels. Using Ecobody technology, we obtained highly-specific monoclonal antibodies for the antigens Vibrio parahaemolyticus and E. coli O26. The anti-V. parahaemolyticus Zipbody mAb was further produced in E. coli strain SHuffle T7 Express in inclusion bodies and refolded by a conventional method, resulting in significant antigen-binding activity (K D = 469 pM) and productivity of 8.5 mg purified antibody/L-culture.

No abstract