Unpaired cysteine-54 interferes with the ability of an engineered disulfide to stabilize T4 lysozyme

We have introduced an intramolecular disulfide bond into T4 lysozyme and have shown this molecule to be significantly more stable than the wild-type molecule to irreversible thermal inactivation [Perry, L.J., & Wetzel, R. (1984) Science (Washington, D.C.) 226, 555-557]. Wild-type T4 lysozyme contains two free cysteines, at positions 54 and 97, and no disulfide bonds. By directed mutagenesis of the cloned T4 lysozyme gene, we replaced Ile-3 with Cys. Oxidation in vitro generated an intramolecular disulfide bond; proteolytic mapping showed this bond to connect Cys-3 to Cys-97. While this molecule exhibited substantially more stability against thermal inactivation than wild type, its stability was further enhanced by additional modification with thiol-specific reagents. This and other evidence suggest that at basic pH and elevated temperatures Cys-54 is involved in intermolecular thiol/disulfide interchange with the engineered disulfide, leading to inactive oligomers. Mutagenic replacement of Cys-54 with Thr or Val in the disulfide-cross-linked variant generated lysozymes exhibiting greatly enhanced stability toward irreversible thermal inactivation.