Identification of glutamic acid 381 as a candidate active site residue of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exoenzyme S

Exoenzyme S of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ExoS) is a member of the family of bacterial ADP-ribosylating exotoxins (bAREs). Site-directed mutagenesis of glutamic acids within the catalytic domain of ExoS (termed Delta N222) allowed the identification of the preferential inactivation of ADP-ribosyltransferase activity by alanine substitution of E381. The specific activity of the E381A mutant was 0.02% of wild-type Delta N222. Delta N222(E381A) retained the requirement of factor activating exoenzyme S (FAS) activation for the expression of ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. In contrast, E387A, E399A, and E414A mutants possessed ADP-ribosyltransferase activity similar to that of wild-type Delta N222. Kinetic evaluation of E381A and two other mutants, E381D and E381S, showed that their primary defect was a lower k(cat) in the ADP-ribosylation of soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI). The K-m for NAD and SBTI and activation by FAS varied 2- and 10-fold relative to Delta N222. In addition, the E381 mutants possessed identical protease patterns during thrombin and trypsin digestion as Delta N222, which indicated that E381 mutants had retained their overall conformation. Together, these data identify E381 as contributing to the catalytic activity of exoenzyme S.