Natural variants modify Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) acyl-enzyme conformational dynamics to extend antibiotic resistance.
Tooke, C.L., Hinchliffe, P., Bonomo, R.A., Schofield, C.J., Mulholland, A.J., Spencer, J.(2020) J Biol Chem 296: 100126-100126
- PubMed: 33257320 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.RA120.016461
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
6Z21, 6Z22, 6Z23, 6Z24, 6Z25 - PubMed Abstract: 
Class A serine β-lactamases (SBLs) are key antibiotic resistance determinants in Gram-negative bacteria. SBLs neutralize β-lactams via a hydrolytically labile covalent acyl-enzyme intermediate. Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) is a widespread SBL that hydrolyzes carbapenems, the most potent β-lactams; known KPC variants differ in turnover of expanded-spectrum oxyimino-cephalosporins (ESOCs), for example, cefotaxime and ceftazidime. Here, we compare ESOC hydrolysis by the parent enzyme KPC-2 and its clinically observed double variant (P104R/V240G) KPC-4. Kinetic analyses show that KPC-2 hydrolyzes cefotaxime more efficiently than the bulkier ceftazidime, with improved ESOC turnover by KPC-4 resulting from enhanced turnover (k cat ), rather than altered K M values. High-resolution crystal structures of ESOC acyl-enzyme complexes with deacylation-deficient (E166Q) KPC-2 and KPC-4 mutants show that ceftazidime acylation causes rearrangement of three loops; the Ω, 240, and 270 loops, which border the active site. However, these rearrangements are less pronounced in the KPC-4 than the KPC-2 ceftazidime acyl-enzyme and are not observed in the KPC-2:cefotaxime acyl-enzyme. Molecular dynamics simulations of KPC:ceftazidime acyl-enyzmes reveal that the deacylation general base E166, located on the Ω loop, adopts two distinct conformations in KPC-2, either pointing "in" or "out" of the active site; with only the "in" form compatible with deacylation. The "out" conformation was not sampled in the KPC-4 acyl-enzyme, indicating that efficient ESOC breakdown is dependent upon the ordering and conformation of the KPC Ω loop. The results explain how point mutations expand the activity spectrum of the clinically important KPC SBLs to include ESOCs through their effects on the conformational dynamics of the acyl-enzyme intermediate.
Organizational Affiliation: 
School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.