Versatile Lipases from the -like Family: A Mechanistic Insight Using Computational Approaches.

Lipases are enzymes able to catalyze the hydrolysis or synthesis of triglycerides, depending on the reaction conditions, whereas sterol esterases show the same ability on sterol esters. Structurally, both kinds of enzymes display an α/β-hydrolase fold, with a substrate-binding pocket formed by a hydrophobic cavity covered by a mobile lid. However, it has been reported that some lipases from the -like family display wide substrate specificity on both triglycerides and sterol esters. Among them, enzymes with different biotechnological applications, such as the lipase isoenzymes produced by and the sterol esterase from , have been exhaustively characterized and their crystal structures are available. Differences in substrate affinity among these proteins have been attributed to changes in their hydrophobicity. In this work, we analyzed the full catalytic mechanisms of these proteins using molecular dynamics tools, gaining insight into their mechanistic properties. In addition, we developed an protocol to predict the substrate specificity using and lipases as model enzymes and triglycerides and cholesterol esters with different fatty acid chain lengths as model substrates. The protocol was validated by comparing the results with those described in the literature. These results would be useful to perform virtual screening of substrates for enzymes of the -like family with unknown catalytic properties.