Volume 137, Issue 30 e202507236
Zuschrift

Leveraging Sortase A Electrostatics for Powerful Transpeptidation Reactions

Chen Wang

Chen Wang

Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 – UMR 9017 – CIIL – Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, F-59000 France

Centrale Lille, Lille, F-59000 France

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Rémi Desmet

Rémi Desmet

Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 – UMR 9017 – CIIL – Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, F-59000 France

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Benoît Snella

Benoît Snella

Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 – UMR 9017 – CIIL – Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, F-59000 France

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Dr. Jérôme Vicogne

Dr. Jérôme Vicogne

Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 – UMR 9017 – CIIL – Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, F-59000 France

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Dr. Oleg Melnyk

Corresponding Author

Dr. Oleg Melnyk

Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 – UMR 9017 – CIIL – Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, F-59000 France

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Dr. Vangelis Agouridas

Corresponding Author

Dr. Vangelis Agouridas

Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 – UMR 9017 – CIIL – Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, F-59000 France

Centrale Lille, Lille, F-59000 France

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 09 May 2025

Abstract

Sortase-mediated transpeptidation is a powerful biochemical reaction to perform protein engineering. In this work, we leverage the unique electrostatic profile of sortase A pentamutant (SrtA-5M) to improve SrtA-5M-mediated transpeptidations by incorporating short, charged peptidic modules into the substrates. Importantly, the reaction proceeds with a minimal excess of nucleophile and is fast and highly efficient in the low micromolar substrate concentration range. Electrostatic assistance eliminates the need for additives or complex substrate engineering strategies, thereby giving it a broad scope. Our findings also provide fundamental insights into the influence of substrate charge on SrtA-5M activity, paving the way for further optimization of sortase A-catalyzed transpeptidation reactions.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

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