Structural highlights
Function
[COCE_RHOSM] Hydrolyzes cocaine to benzoate and ecgonine methyl ester, endowing the bacteria with the ability to utilize cocaine as a sole source of carbon and energy for growth, as this bacterium lives in the rhizosphere of coca plants. Also efficiently hydrolyzes cocaethylene, a more potent cocaine metabolite that has been observed in patients who concurrently abuse cocaine and alcohol. Is able to prevent cocaine-induced convulsions and lethality in rat.[1] [2] [3]
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Here we report the first structure of a cocaine-degrading enzyme. The bacterial esterase, cocE, hydrolyzes pharmacologically active (-)-cocaine to a non-psychoactive metabolite with a rate faster than any other reported cocaine esterase (kcat = 7.8 s-1 and KM = 640 nM). Because of the high catalytic proficiency of cocE, it is an attractive candidate for novel protein-based therapies for cocaine overdose. The crystal structure of cocE, solved by multiple anomalous dispersion (MAD) methods, reveals that cocE is a serine esterase composed of three domains: (i) a canonical alpha/beta hydrolase fold (ii) an alpha-helical domain that caps the active site and (iii) a jelly-roll-like beta-domain that interacts extensively with the other two domains. The active site was identified within the interface of all three domains by analysis of the crystal structures of transition state analog adduct and product complexes, which were refined at 1.58 A and 1.63 A resolution, respectively. These structural studies suggest that substrate recognition arises partly from interactions between the benzoyl moiety of cocaine and a highly evolved specificity pocket.
Crystal structure of a bacterial cocaine esterase.,Larsen NA, Turner JM, Stevens J, Rosser SJ, Basran A, Lerner RA, Bruce NC, Wilson IA Nat Struct Biol. 2002 Jan;9(1):17-21. PMID:11742345[4]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
See Also
References
- ↑ Bresler MM, Rosser SJ, Basran A, Bruce NC. Gene cloning and nucleotide sequencing and properties of a cocaine esterase from Rhodococcus sp. strain MB1. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2000 Mar;66(3):904-8. PMID:10698749
- ↑ Cooper ZD, Narasimhan D, Sunahara RK, Mierzejewski P, Jutkiewicz EM, Larsen NA, Wilson IA, Landry DW, Woods JH. Rapid and robust protection against cocaine-induced lethality in rats by the bacterial cocaine esterase. Mol Pharmacol. 2006 Dec;70(6):1885-91. Epub 2006 Sep 12. PMID:16968810 doi:10.1124/mol.106.025999
- ↑ Turner JM, Larsen NA, Basran A, Barbas CF 3rd, Bruce NC, Wilson IA, Lerner RA. Biochemical characterization and structural analysis of a highly proficient cocaine esterase. Biochemistry. 2002 Oct 15;41(41):12297-307. PMID:12369817
- ↑ Larsen NA, Turner JM, Stevens J, Rosser SJ, Basran A, Lerner RA, Bruce NC, Wilson IA. Crystal structure of a bacterial cocaine esterase. Nat Struct Biol. 2002 Jan;9(1):17-21. PMID:11742345 doi:10.1038/nsb742
