Akhtar M Kalim, Vijay Dhanya, Umbreen Saima, McLean Chris J, Cai Yizhi, Campopiano Dominic J, Loake Gary J
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2018 Oct 18;6:146. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2018.00146. eCollection 2018.
Methylated chemicals are widely used as key intermediates for the syntheses of pharmaceuticals, fragrances, flavors, biofuels and plastics. In nature, the process of methylation is commonly undertaken by a super-family of S-adenosyl methionine-dependent enzymes known as methyltransferases. Herein, we describe a novel high throughput enzyme-coupled assay for determining methyltransferase activites. Adenosylhomocysteine nucleosidase, xanthine oxidase, and horseradish peroxidase enzymes were shown to function in tandem to generate a fluorescence signal in the presence of S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine and Amplex Red (10-acetyl-3,7-dihydroxyphenoxazine). Since S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine is a key by-product of reactions catalyzed by S-adenosyl methionine-dependent methyltransferases, the coupling enzymes were used to assess the activities of RI methyltransferase and a salicylic acid methyltransferase from in the presence of S-adenosyl methionine. For the RI methyltransferase, the assay was sensitive enough to allow the monitoring of DNA methylation in the nanomolar range. In the case of the salicylic acid methyltransferase, detectable activity was observed for several substrates including salicylic acid, benzoic acid, 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, and vanillic acid. Additionally, the synthesis of the relatively expensive and unstable cosubstrate, S-adenosyl methionine, catalyzed by methionine adenosyltransferase could be incorporated within the assay. Overall, the assay offers an excellent level of sensitivity that permits continuous and reliable monitoring of methyltransferase activities. We anticipate this assay will serve as a useful bioanalytical tool for the rapid screening of S-adenosyl methionine-dependent methyltransferase activities.
甲基化化学品被广泛用作药物、香料、调味剂、生物燃料和塑料合成的关键中间体。在自然界中,甲基化过程通常由一个被称为甲基转移酶的S-腺苷甲硫氨酸依赖性酶超家族来进行。在此,我们描述了一种用于测定甲基转移酶活性的新型高通量酶联测定法。已证明腺苷同型半胱氨酸核苷酶、黄嘌呤氧化酶和辣根过氧化物酶能协同作用,在存在S-腺苷-L-高半胱氨酸和Amplex Red(10-乙酰-3,7-二羟基吩恶嗪)的情况下产生荧光信号。由于S-腺苷-L-高半胱氨酸是S-腺苷甲硫氨酸依赖性甲基转移酶催化反应的关键副产物,因此使用偶联酶在存在S-腺苷甲硫氨酸的情况下评估RI甲基转移酶和来自[具体来源未提及]的水杨酸甲基转移酶的活性。对于RI甲基转移酶,该测定法足够灵敏,能够监测纳摩尔范围内的DNA甲基化。就水杨酸甲基转移酶而言,观察到对包括水杨酸、苯甲酸、3-羟基苯甲酸和香草酸在内的几种底物有可检测的活性。此外,由甲硫氨酸腺苷转移酶催化的相对昂贵且不稳定的共底物S-腺苷甲硫氨酸的合成可以纳入该测定法中。总体而言,该测定法具有出色的灵敏度水平,能够持续可靠地监测甲基转移酶的活性。我们预计该测定法将作为一种有用的生物分析工具,用于快速筛选S-腺苷甲硫氨酸依赖性甲基转移酶的活性。