Kinetic and Structural Characterization of a Flavin-Dependent Putrescine N-Hydroxylase from Acinetobacter baumannii

Biochemistry. 2022 Nov 15;61(22):2607-2620. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00493. Epub 2022 Oct 31.

Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that causes nosocomial infections, especially among immunocompromised individuals. The rise of multidrug resistant strains of A. baumannii has limited the use of standard antibiotics, highlighting a need for new drugs that exploit novel mechanisms of pathogenicity. Disrupting iron acquisition by inhibiting the biosynthesis of iron-chelating molecules (siderophores) secreted by the pathogen is a potential strategy for developing new antibiotics. Here we investigated FbsI, an N-hydroxylating monooxygenase involved in the biosynthesis of fimsbactin A, the major siderophore produced by A. baumannii. FbsI was characterized using steady-state and transient-state kinetics, spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and small-angle X-ray scattering. FbsI was found to catalyze the N-hydroxylation of the aliphatic diamines putrescine and cadaverine. Maximum coupling of the reductive and oxidative half-reactions occurs with putrescine, suggesting it is the preferred (in vivo) substrate. FbsI uses both NADPH and NADH as the reducing cofactor with a slight preference for NADPH. The crystal structure of FbsI complexed with NADP+ was determined at 2.2 Å resolution. The structure exhibits the protein fold characteristic of Class B flavin-dependent monooxygenases. FbsI is most similar in 3D structure to the cadaverine N-hydroxylases DesB and DfoA. Small-angle X-ray scattering shows that FbsI forms a tetramer in solution like the N-hydroxylating monooxygenases of the SidA/IucD/PvdA family. A model of putrescine docked into the active site provides insight into substrate recognition. A mechanism for the catalytic cycle is proposed where dehydration of the C4a-hydroxyflavin intermediate is partially rate-limiting, and the hydroxylated putrescine product is released before NADP+.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Acinetobacter baumannii* / enzymology
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Cadaverine
  • Flavins / metabolism
  • Kinetics
  • Mixed Function Oxygenases* / chemistry
  • NADP / metabolism
  • Ornithine / chemistry
  • Putrescine
  • Siderophores

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Cadaverine
  • Flavins
  • Mixed Function Oxygenases
  • NADP
  • Ornithine
  • Putrescine
  • Siderophores