A HR-MS based method for the determination of chorismate synthase activity

Harvinder K. Khera, Susheel K. Singh, Rafia Mir, Vikram Bharadwaj, Subhash Singh*

*Corresponding author for this work
3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Chorismate synthase (Cs) catalyzes the last step of Shikimate pathway involving a unique biochemical reaction of anti-1,4 elimination of 3-phosphate group and the C-(6proR) hydrogen from 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) leading to the formation of chorismate, which is the common precursor for aromatic amino acid, ubiquinone, and folate biosynthesis in plants and several bacterial, fungal, and parasitic pathogens. Absence of Shikimate pathway in the vertebrate host, make Cs an appealing target for drug discovery against these pathogens. Here, we report a new method for detection of chorismate through a specific liquid chromatography, coupled with negative electrospray ionization high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-HRMS) for determination of Cs enzyme activity. For this, we used a coupled enzyme reaction consisting of purified recombinant MtbEPSPs (EPSP synthase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis) for biosynthesis of EPSP, which is the substrate for Chorismate synthase along with MtbCs (Chorismate synthase both from Mycobacterium tuberculosis) for the formation of chorismate, followed by its detection through LC/HRMS. Since, the reaction components of Cs enzyme activity assay which otherwise may interfere with the other known spectrophotometric methods of checking Cs enzyme activity have no effect on this LC/HRMS based method, this method offer advantages over other existing methods for detection of Cs activity. Further, this LC/HRMS based method could be applicable for detection of enzyme activity of both monofunctional and bifunctional Cs from different species irrespective of their specific requirements of anaerobic or aerobic reaction conditions.

Original languageEnglish
JournalProtein and Peptide Letters
Volume24
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)229-234
Number of pages6
ISSN0929-8665
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Keywords

  • 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate
  • Chorismate synthase
  • Drug discovery
  • Enzyme activity
  • Mass spectrometry
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • Shikimate pathway

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A HR-MS based method for the determination of chorismate synthase activity'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this