The esterase B from Sphingobium sp. SM42 has the new de-arenethiolase activity against cephalosporin antibiotics

The esterase B (EstB) from Sphingobium sp. SM42, which was previously reported to be active towards dibutyl phthalate, can cleave some small aromatic ring side chains from cephalosporin derivatives. A new name, de-arenethiolase, has been proposed to represent this activity. We present the in vitro characterization of the activity of purified EstB toward cephalosporin substrates. Interestingly, EstB was highly active against cefoperazone and cefazolin resulting in 83 and 67% decreases in killing zone diameter, respectively. EstB also demonstrated a moderate activity towards ceftriaxone (18%) and cefotaxime (16%) while exhibiting no activity against cephalosporin C and cefixime. HPLC analysis indicated that EstB catalyzed the cleavage of the C-S bond found in cephalosporin derivatives to release the corresponding free aromatic ring side chains.