On the active site of mononuclear B1 metallo β-lactamases: a computational study

Metallo-β-lactamases (MβLs) are Zn(II)-based bacterial enzymes that hydrolyze β-lactam antibiotics, hampering their beneficial effects. In the most relevant subclass (B1), X-ray crystallography studies on the enzyme from Bacillus Cereus point to either two zinc ions in two metal sites (the so-called '3H' and 'DCH' sites) or a single Zn(II) ion in the 3H site, where the ion is coordinated by Asp120, Cys221 and His263 residues. However, spectroscopic studies on the B1 enzyme from B. Cereus in the mono-zinc form suggested the presence of the Zn(II) ion also in the DCH site, where it is bound to an aspartate, a cysteine, a histidine and a water molecule. A structural model of this enzyme in its DCH mononuclear form, so far lacking, is therefore required for inhibitor design and mechanistic studies. By using force field based and mixed quantum-classical (QM/MM) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the protein in aqueous solution we constructed such structural model. The geometry and the H-bond network at the catalytic site of this model, in the free form and in complex with two common β-lactam drugs, is compared with experimental and theoretical findings of CphA and the recently solved crystal structure of new B2 MβL from Serratia fonticola (Sfh-I). These are MβLs from the B2 subclass, which features an experimentally well established mono-zinc form, in which the Zn(II) is located in the DCH site. From our simulations the εεδ and δεδ protomers emerge as possible DCH mono-zinc reactive species, giving a novel contribution to the discussion on the MβL reactivity and to the drug design process.