Biochemical characterization of the THIN-B metallo-β-lactamase of Janthinobacterium lividum

The THIN-B metallo-beta-lactamase, a subclass B3 enzyme produced by the environmental species Janthino-bacterium lividum, was overproduced in Escherichia coli by means of a U-based expression system. The enzyme was purified (>95%) by two ion-exchange chromatography steps and subjected to biochemical analysis. The native THIN-B enzyme is a monomeric protein of 31 kDa. It exhibits the highest catalytic efficiencies with carbapenem substrates and cephalosporins, except for cephaloridine, which acts as a poor inactivator. Individual rate constants for inactivation by chelators were measured, suggesting that inactivation occurred by a mechanism involving formation of a ternary complex.