Amino acid residues controlling acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase specificity

The complimentarity of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase was examined. In addition, residues that are responsible for the substrate and inhibitor specificity of the two esterases from mouse were assigned. Esterase chimeras and site-specific mutants were prepared to enable characterization. Residues F295 and F297 were found to determine acyl pocket specificity. Moreover, this finding suggests that modification of phenylalanines and adjacent residues can alter acyl ester specificity.