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The effect of zinc ions on the activity of metallo-β-lactamases of Bacteroides fragilis

Division of Microbiology and PHLS Laboratory, University Hospital, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH

Corresponding author: Dr R. Edwards.

Received September 9, 1996 Revision received January 14, 1997.
Accepted January 14, 1997

The zinc supplement required to achieve the maximum activity of metallo-β-lactamases from 12 Bacteroides fragilis isolates was investigated. Changes in absorbance of imipenem in a spectrophotometric assay with crude cell extracts were performed in the presence and absence of various concentrations of zinc sulphate. The greatest degree of imipenem hydrolysis was seen with the addition of between 50 and 500 µM zinc sulphate, and the degree of stimulation of enzyme activity in the strains tested varied six-fold. Increasing the zinc sulphate concentration resulted in inhibition of hydrolysis with extracts of low enzymic activity. These findings indicate the importance of determining the optimal zinc concentration for each strain tested in kinetic studies of metallo-β-lactamases.