Endo-N-acetylmuramidases (muramidases) are lysozymes (also referred to as peptidoglycan hydrolases) that degrade bacterial cell walls by catalyzing the hydrolysis of 1,4-beta-linkages between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues. This family of muramidases contains a glycosyl hydrolase family 25 (GH25) catalytic domain and is found in bacteria, fungi, slime molds, round worms, protozoans and bacteriophages. The bacteriophage members are referred to as endolysins which are involved in lysing the host cell at the end of the replication cycle to allow release of mature phage particles. Endolysins are typically modular enzymes consisting of a catalytically active domain that hydrolyzes the peptidoglycan cell wall and a cell wall-binding domain that anchors the protein to the cell wall. Endolysins generally have narrow substrate specificities with either intra-species or intra-genus bacteriolytic activity.
Peptidase family M23. Members of this family are zinc metallopeptidases with a range of specificities. The peptidase family M23 is included in this family, these are Gly-Gly endopeptidases. Peptidase family M23 are also endopeptidases. This family also includes some bacterial lipoproteins for which no proteolytic activity has been demonstrated. This family also includes leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 2 (LECT2) proteins. LECT2 is a liver-specific protein which is thought to be linked to hepatocyte growth although the exact function of this protein is unknown.
M23 family metallopeptidase, also known as beta-lytic metallopeptidase, and similar proteins. This model describes the metallopeptidase M23 family, which includes beta-lytic metallopeptidase and lysostaphin. Members of this family are zinc endopeptidases that lyse bacterial cell wall peptidoglycans; they cleave either the N-acylmuramoyl-Ala bond between the cell wall peptidoglycan and the cross-linking peptide (e.g. beta-lytic endopeptidase) or a bond within the cross-linking peptide (e.g. stapholysin, and lysostaphin). Beta-lytic metallopeptidase, formerly known as beta-lytic protease, has a preference for cleavage of Gly-X bonds and favors hydrophobic or apolar residues on either side. It inhibits growth of sensitive organisms and may potentially serve as an antimicrobial agent. Lysostaphin, produced by Staphylococcus genus, cleaves pentaglycine cross-bridges of cell wall peptidoglycan, acting as autolysins to maintain cell wall metabolism or as toxins and weapons against competing strains. Staphylolysin (also known as LasA) is implicated in a range of processes related to Pseudomonas virulence, including stimulating shedding of the ectodomain of cell surface heparan sulphate proteoglycan syndecan-1, and elastin degradation in connective tissue. Its active site is less constricted and contains a five-coordinate zinc ion with trigonal bipyramidal geometry and two metal-bound water molecules, possibly contributing to its activity against a wider range of substrates than those used by related lytic enzymes, consistent with its multiple roles in Pseudomonas virulence. The family includes members that do not appear to have the conserved zinc-binding site and might be lipoproteins lacking proteolytic activity.
The LytC lysozyme of Streptococcus pneumoniae is a bacterial cell wall hydrolase that cleaves the beta1-4-glycosydic bond located between the N-acetylmuramoyl-N-glucosaminyl residues of the cell wall polysaccharide chains. LytC is composed of a C-terminal glycosyl hydrolase family 25 (GH25) domain and an N-terminal choline-binding module (CBM) consisting of eleven homologous repeats that specifically recognizes the choline residues of pneumococcal lipoteichoic and teichoic acids. This domain arrangement is the reverse of the major pneumococcal autolysin, LytA, and the CPL-1-like lytic enzymes of the pneumococcal bacteriophages, in which the CBM (consisting of six repeats) is at the C-terminus. This model represents the C-terminal catalytic domain of the LytC-like enzymes.
Thestructure of a family GH25 lysozyme from Aspergillus fumigatus [Aspergillus fumigatus Af293],2X8R_B The structure of a family GH25 lysozyme from Aspergillus fumigatus [Aspergillus fumigatus Af293],2X8R_C The structure of a family GH25 lysozyme from Aspergillus fumigatus [Aspergillus fumigatus Af293],2X8R_D The structure of a family GH25 lysozyme from Aspergillus fumigatus [Aspergillus fumigatus Af293],2X8R_E The structure of a family GH25 lysozyme from Aspergillus fumigatus [Aspergillus fumigatus Af293],2X8R_F The structure of a family GH25 lysozyme from Aspergillus fumigatus [Aspergillus fumigatus Af293]