Properties and reaction mechanism of C4 leaf pyruvate,Pi dikinase

The properties and reaction mechanism of maize leaf pyruvate,Pi dikinase are described. Km values were determined for the forward reaction substrates, pyruvate, ATP, and Pi, at pH 7.4 and 8.0 and for reverse reaction substrates at pH 7.4. Enzyme activity was almost totally dependent on added monovalent cations in both directions. NH+4 was most effective, with Ka values of about 0.38 mM for the forward reaction and 2 mM for the reverse reaction. K+ also completely activated the enzyme in the forward direction (Ka = 8 mM) but only partially activated in the reverse direction. Na+ had little effect on either reaction. The pH optimum for the forward reaction was about 8.2; the reverse reaction optimum was about 6.9. Maximum activity for the reverse direction was about twice the maximum forward direction rate. From data on the requirements for the ATP-AMP exchange reaction, on the mechanism of inhibition of the forward reaction by PEP, AMP, and PPi, and from the kinetics of the interaction of varying certain substrate pairs, it was concluded that the maize leaf pyruvate,Pi dikinase reaction proceeded by the two-step Bi Bi Uni Uni mechanism. This differs from the mechanism of catalysis by the bacterial enzyme.     

The regulatory properties of yeast pyruvate kinase. Effect of pH.

The kinetics of pyruvate kinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were studied at 25 degrees C as a function of the concentrations of the substrates ADP, phosphoenolpyruvate and Mg2+ and the effector H+ in the pH range 5-6.6. The enzyme was activated by 100 mM-K+ and 32 mM-NH4+ throughout. It was found that the data could be described by the exponential model for a regulatory enzyme. On that basis, it was concluded that the binding of H+ is positively interactive and that the protonated enzyme is catalytically inactive. It was also found that H+ interacts positively with phosphoenolpyruvate but negatively with both ADP and Mg2+.     

A kinetic study of the photochemical inactivation of adenylate kinases of Mycobacterium marinum and bovine heart mitochondria

Using incident light energy of about 76 mW.cm-2 in a dye-sensitized photooxidation reaction, we have investigated the possible involvement of one or both of the histidine residues in the catalytic activity of adenylate kinase (ATP:AMP phosphotransferase) of Mycobacterium marinum. We have done this by investigating the kinetics of photochemical inactivation of the enzyme. At pH 7.4, the kinetics of photoinactivation are biphasic with two different pseudo-first-order rate constants. Adenosine 5'-pentaphospho 5'-adenosine (Ap5A), ATP and, to some extent, AMP, all gave protection to the enzyme from inactivation. Amino-acid analysis of the photoinactivated enzyme indicated the loss of the two histidine residues. This, and the fact that photoinactivation occurred faster at alkaline compared to acidic pH, indicated the involvement of the histidine residues in the catalytic activity. A mathematical model is developed which assumes that both histidine residues are required for maximal catalytic activity: one is located peripherally, is exposed, and therefore is readily photooxidized (pseudo-first-order rate constant, k1 = 1.3.10(-2)s-1), while the other is located at the active site, involved in substrate-binding and is shielded (pseudo-first-order rate constant, k2 = 2.9.10(-4)s-1). However, this shielded histidine could be exposed and made more accessible to photooxidation either by raising the pH above 10, or alternatively, by the addition of 8 M acetamide (or 6 M guanidine). Under these conditions, which apparently cause unfolding of the protein molecule, the kinetics of photoinactivation change from biphasic to monophasic, suggesting that both histidine residues are equally exposed and are photooxidized at the same rate. Unlike the enzyme from M. marinum, adenylate kinase from bovine heart mitochondria shows monophasic kinetics of photoinactivation at pH 7.4, suggesting that only one of the six histidine residues is essential for catalytic activity, or if more than one, then they all must be equally exposed. Further, ATP, AMP or Ap5A did not provide protection against photoinactivation, suggesting that the histidine residue(s) involved in the catalytic activity must remain exposed after the substrates bind at the active site of the mitochondrial enzyme.     

Regulation of oxidation-reduction potentials of anthranilate hydroxylase from Trichosporon cutaneum by substrate and effector binding

The pH dependence of the redox behavior of anthranilate hydroxylase from Trichosporon cutaneum in its uncomplexed and anthranilate-complexed forms, as well as the effects on the reduction potential, at pH 7.4, of enzyme in complex with 3-methylanthranilate, salicylate, 3-acetylpyridine adenine dinucleotide phosphates, and azide plus anthranilate, is described. At pH 7.4 the midpoint potential of uncomplexed enzyme (EFlox/EFlredH-) is -0.229 V vs SHE, close to that of free flavin. The aromatic substrates and effector all shift the midpoint potential value in a positive direction by 0.068-0.100 V. This shift results in thermodynamically more favorable reduction of the substrate/effector-complexed enzyme by NADPH. Consistent with thermodynamic considerations, the aromatic substrates (or effector) are bound to the reduced enzyme 2-4 orders of magnitude more tightly than to the oxidized enzyme. The tighter binding of the substrate to the two-electron-reduced enzyme may be related to the double hydroxylation reaction performed by this enzyme, which is a more complex reaction than is carried out by typical flavoprotein hydroxylases. The acetylpyridine nucleotides appear to have no significant regulatory role.     

Studies on the aminopeptidase activity of rat cathepsin H.

Three synthetic substrates H-Arg-NH-Mec, Bz-Arg-NH-Mec and H-Cit-NH-Mec (Bz, Benzoyl; NH-Mec, 4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide; Cit, citrulline) were used to characterize specificity requirements for the P1-S1 interaction of cathepsin H from rat liver. From rapid equilibrium kinetic studies it was shown that Km, kcat and the specificity constants kcat/Km are quite similar for substrates with a free alpha-amino group. In contrast, a 25-fold decrease of kcat/Km was observed for the N-terminal-blocked substrate Bz-Arg-NH-Mec. The activation energies for H-Arg-NH-Mec and Bz-Arg-NH-Mec were determined to be 37 kJ/mol and 55 kJ/mol, respectively, and the incremental binding energy delta delta Gb of the charged alpha-amino group was estimated to -8.1 kJ/mol at pH 6.8. The shown preference of cathepsin H for the unblocked substrates H-Arg-NH-Mec and H-Cit-NH-Mec was further investigated by inspection of the pH dependence of kcat/Km. The curves of the two substrates with a charged alpha-amino group showed identical bell-shaped profiles which both exhibit pKa1 and pKa2 values of 5.5 and 7.4, respectively, at 30 degrees C. The residue with a pKa1 of 5.5 in the acid limb of the activity profile of H-Arg-NH-Mec was identified by its ionization enthalpy delta Hion = 21 kJ/mol as a beta-carboxylate or gamma-carboxylate of the enzyme, whereas the residue with a pKa2 of 7.4 was assigned to the free alpha-amino group of the substrate with a delta Hion of 59 kJ/mol. Bz-Arg-NH-Mec showed a different pH-activity profile with a pKa1 of 5.4 and a pKa2 of 6.6 at 30 degrees C. Cathepsin H exhibits no preference for a basic P1 side chain as has been shown by the similar kinetics of H-Arg-NH-Mec and the uncharged, isosteric substrate H-Cit-NH-Mec. In summary, specific interactions of an anionic cathepsin H active site residue with the charged alpha-amino group of substrates caused transition state stabilization which proves the enzyme to act preferentially as an aminopeptidase.     

Anion transport in red blood cells and arginine-specific reagents. Interaction between the substrate-binding site and the binding site of arginine-specific reagents

Phenylglyoxal is found to be a potent inhibitor of sulfate equilibrium exchange across the red blood cell membrane at both pH 7.4 and 8.0. The inactivation exhibits pseudo-first-order kinetics with a reaction order close to one at both pH 7.4 and 8. The rate constant of inactivation at 37 degrees C was found to be 0.12 min-1 at pH 7.4 and 0.19 min-1 at pH 8.0. Saturation kinetics are observed if the pseudo-first order rate constant of inhibition is measured as a function of phenylglyoxal concentration. Sulfate ions as well as chloride ions markedly decrease the rate of inactivation by phenylglyoxal at pH 7.4, suggesting that the modification occurs at or near to the binding site for chloride and sulfate. The decrease of the rate of inactivation produced at pH 8.0 by chloride ions is much higher than that produced by sulfate ions. Kinetic analysis of the protection experiments showed that the loaded transport site is unable to react with phenylglyoxal. From the data it is concluded that the modified amino acid(s) residues, presumably arginine, is (are) important for the binding of the substrate anion.     

Pyrimidine reducing enzymes of rat liver.

Dihydrouracil dehydrogenase (NADP+) (EC 1.3.1.2) was partially purified from the cytosol fraction of rat liver and fractionated by disc gel electrophoresis. A major and minor band were visualized by staining for enzyme activity. The substrate specificity of these bands was investigated. It was found that both bands were two to three times more active with dihydrothymine as substrate than with dihydrouracil in the presence of NADP+ and the optimum pH of 7.4. Mitochondrial fractions containing most of the NADH-dependent uracil reductase of rat liver cells were fractionated by centrifugation in sucrose density gradients. Two procedures involving linear or discontinuous gradients were used. By both, good separation of NADH- and NADPH- dependent reductases was achieved. Marker enzyme studies supported the view that the NADH-dependent enzyme is located principally in mitochondria whereas the NADPH-dependent enzyme is mainly in plasma and endoplasmic reticulum membranes. For the NADH-dependent reductase the apparent Km for thymine at pH 7.4 was 1.39 times that found for uracil whereas for the NADPH-dependent enzyme the apparent Km values were similar for the two substrates at this pH. Dihydrouracil was the principal product isolated by paper chromatography from the reaction mixture containing a partially purified fraction of mitochondria, uracil and NADH at pH 7.4. This fraction also catalyzed the formation of radioactive carbon dioxide from [2-14C]uracil. The proportion of CO2 formed by the mitochondria was about 10% of that formed by the original homogenate.     

Phosphoester specificity of purified human liver alkaline phosphatase.

Kinetic parameters for the hydrolysis of a number of physiologically important phosphoesters by purified human liver alkaline phosphatase have been determined. The enzyme was studied at pH values of 7.0 to 10.0. The affinity of the enzyme for the compounds was determined by competition experiments and by their direct employment as substrates. Phosphodiesters and phosphonates were not hydrolysed but the latter were inhibitors. Calcium and magnesium ions inhibited the hydrolysis of ATP and PP1 and evidence is presented to show that the metal complexes of these substrates are not hydrolysed by alkaline phosphatase. A calcium-stimulated ATPase activity could not be demonstrated for the purified enzyme or the enzyme in the presence of a calcium-dependent regulator protein. Nevertheless, the influence of magnesium and calcium ions on the ATPase activity of alkaline phosphatase means that precautions must be taken when assaying for Ca2+-ATPase in the presence of alkaline phosphatase. The low substrate Km values and the hydrolysis which occurs at pH 7.4 mean that the enzyme could have a significant phosphohydrolytic role. However, liver cell phosphate concentrations, if accessible to the enzyme, are sufficient to strongly inhibit this activity.     

The regulatory properties of yeast pyruvate kinase.

The kinetics of pyruvate kinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were studied in assays at pH 6.2 where the relationships between the initial velocities of the catalysed reaction and the concentrations of the substrates ADP, phosphoenolpyruvate and Mg2+ are non-hyperbolic. The findings were represented empirically by the exponential model for a regulatory enzyme. The analysis shows that ADP, phosphoenolpyruvate and Mg2+ display positive homotropic interaction in their binding behaviour with (calculated) Hill slopes at half-saturation equal to 1.06, 2.35 and 3.11 respectively [Ainsworth (1977) J. Theor. Biol. 68, 391-413]. The direct heterotropic interaction between ADP and phosphoenolpyruvate is small and negative, but the overall interaction between these substrates becomes positive when their positive interactions with Mg2+ are taken into account. The heterotropic interactions of the substrates, though smaller in magnitude, are comparable with those revealed by the rabbit muscle enzyme [Ainsworth, Kinderlerer & Gregory (1983) Biochem. J. 209, 401-411], and it is suggested that they have a common origin in charge interactions within the active site.     

Carbohydrate structures of the third component of rat complement. Presence of both high-mannose and complex type oligosaccharide chains.

The kinetics of pyruvate kinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were studied in assays at pH 6.2 at 25 degrees C as a function of the concentrations of the substrates ADP, phosphoenolpyruvate and Mg2+ and the concentration of the effector fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. The enzyme was activated by 100 mM-K+ and 32 mM-NH4+ throughout. It was found that an increase in the fructose bisphosphate concentration from 24 microM to 1.2 mM brings about a transition from a sigmoidal to a non-inflected form in the relationships v = f([phosphoenolpyruvate]) and v = f([Mg2+]) together with a large increase in the affinity of these substrates for the enzyme. The binding behaviour of ADP is barely affected by the same change in effector concentration. By contrast, increase in fructose bisphosphate concentration below 24 microM increases the affinity of the enzyme for all its substrates and the sigmoidicity of the corresponding velocity-substrate-concentration relationships. As a result of this change in behaviour it has been found impossible to represent all the data by the exponential model for a regulatory enzyme, and it is suggested (supported by comparisons with previous work) that the failure may reflect a secondary action of the effector upon the enzyme.     

The kinetic mechanism of sheep liver sorbitol dehydrogenase.

The relations between the kinetic parameters for both sorbitol oxidation and fructose reduction by sheep liver sorbitol dehydrogenase show that a Theorell-Chance compulsory order mechanism operates from pH 7.4 to 9.9. This is supported by many parallels with the kinetics of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase, which operates by this classical mechanism. An isotope-exchange study using D-(2H8)sorbitol confirmed the existence of ternary complexes and that, under maximum velocity conditions, their interconversion is not rate-determining. Substrate inhibition at high concentrations of D-sorbitol or D-fructose confirmed rate-determining enzyme--coenzyme product dissociation, slowed by the existence of more stable abortive ternary enzyme-coenzyme product complexes with substrate. The effect of the inhibitor/activator 2,2,2-tribromoethanol showed the existence of enzyme-NAD-CBr3CH2OH complexes inhibiting the first phase of reaction and enzyme-NADH-CBr3CH2OH complexes dissociating more rapidly than the usual rate-determining enzyme-NADH coenzyme product dissociation in the final phase. Inhibition studies with dithiothreitol also confirmed an ordered binding of coenzymes and second substrates to sorbitol dehydrogenase. Neither D-sorbitol nor D-fructose had any effect on enzyme inactivation by the affinity labelling reagent DL-2-bromo-3-(5-imidazolyl)propionic acid, thus giving no evidence for their existence as binary enzyme-substrate complexes. Several alternative polyol substrates for sorbitol dehydrogenase gave the same maximum velocity as sorbitol. This indicated a common rate-limiting binary enzyme-NADH product dissociation and a similarity of mechanism. An enzyme assay for pH 7.0 and 9.9 is given which enables the concentration of sorbitol dehydrogenase to be determined from initial rate measurements of enzyme activity.     

The enzymatic decarboxylation of hydroxypyruvate associated with purified pyruvate decarboxylase from wheat germ

Highly purified pyruvic decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.1) from wheat germ catalyses the decarboxylation of hydroxypyruvate. A kinetic analysis of the activity of the enzyme with pyruvate and hydroxypyruvate as substrates suggests that a single enzyme is involved. The kinetics of decarboxylation are autocatalytic. The time lag before maximum activity is reached is affected by the concentration of hydroxypyruvate and the pH. The question whether or not hydroxypyruvate is a natural substrate for the enzyme remains unresolved, but it may be significant that at physiological pH (ca 7.5) the enzyme shows optimum activity with hydroxypyruvate, but negligible activity with pyruvate.     

Some parameters affecting the activity of monoamine oxidase in purified bovine brain mitochondria.

Abstract— Some parameters affecting the activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) in purified beef brain mitochondria were investigated, and diversities in enzyme properties were found as a function of substrate. The deamination of the biogenic amines: serotonin, dopamine, tyramine, tryptamine, phenylethylamine and two non-physiological amines, kynuramine and m-iodobenzylamine, was studied. Anions in high concentrations inhibited enzyme activity with kynuramine being the substrate most affected. Among the biogenic amines, the activity with the indolalkylamines showed greater sensitivity to mono-valent anions such as chloride than to polyvalent ions such as phosphate whereas the opposite was true with the phenylalkylamines. However, pyrophosphate ion had little or no effect on MAO activity, regardless of substrate. The inhibition of kynuramine and serotonin deamination was non-competitive but mixed competitive inhibition was found with tyramine and phenylethylamine. The activity of MAO was markedly affected by pH, and it had been previously reported that the substrates showed different pH optima in their oxidation. The effect of pH on activity has been attributed in part to changes in the ionization of the substrate and the hypothesis that the true substrate is the non-protonated amine. This was reflected in kinetic studies showing high substrate inhibition with increased pH. It was calculated that phenylethylamine would have the highest percentage of un-ionized amine at pH 8.2 and 9.1. At these pHs, there was more pronounced inhibition with high substrate concentrations of phenylethylamine than with the other substrates. In contrast, there was little inhibition with high substrate concentrations of tyramine which was the most ionizable of the substrates tested. When K_m values obtained at pH 7.4, 8.2 and 9.1 were corrected for ionization of the substrate, the corrected K_m was lowest at pH 7.4 for all substrates. Less than 50% of MAO activity was lost when beef brain mitochondria was heated at 50°C for 20 min. However, there was only a slight variation with substrate in the thermal inactivation experiments. It is concluded that the mitochondrial membrane environment surrounding the enzyme imposes certain restrictions on the enzymatic activity with respect to the different substrates which, in turn, are also affected by such parameters as pH and ions. The results are discussed in terms of the relationship of these factors to the question of enzyme multiplicity.     

Assessment of amino-acid substitutions at tryptophan 16 in alpha-galactosidase.

The tryptophan residue at position 16 of coffee bean alpha-galactosidase has previously been shown to be essential for enzyme activity. The potential role of this residue in the catalytic mechanism has been further studied by using site-directed mutagenesis to substitute every other amino acid for tryptophan at that site. Mutant enzymes were expressed in Pichia pastoris, a methylotrophic yeast strain, and their kinetic parameters were calculated. Only amino acids containing aromatic rings (phenylalanine and tyrosine) were able to support a significant amount of enzyme activity, but the kinetics and pH profiles of these mutants differed from wild-type. Substitution of arginine, lysine, methionine, or cysteine at position 16 allowed a small amount of enzyme activity with the optimal pH shifted towards more acidic. All other residues abolished enzyme activity. Our data support the hypothesis that tryptophan 16 is affecting the pKa of a carboxyl group at the active site that participates in catalysis. We also describe an assay for continuously measuring enzyme kinetics using fluorogenic 4-methylumbelliferyl substrates. This is useful in screening enzymes from colonies and determining the enzyme kinetics when the enzyme concentration is not known.     

The role of divalent cations in the activation of the NADP+-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase from Pisum sativum L.

A divalent cation electrode was used to measure the stability constants (association constants) for the magnesium and manganese complexes of the substrates for the NADP+-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.42) from pea stems. At an ionic strength of 26.5 mM and at pH 7.4 the stability constants for the Mg2+-isocitrate and Mg2+-NADP+ complexes were 0.85 +/- 0.2 and 0.43 +/- 0.04 mM-1 respectively and for the Mn2+-isocitrate and Mn2+-NADP+ complexes they were 1.25 +/- 0.07 and 0.75 +/- 0.09 mM-1 respectively. At the same ionic strength but at pH 6.0 the Mg2+-NADPH and Mn2+-NADPH complexes had stability constants of 0.95 +/- 0.23 and 1.79 +/- 0.34 mM-1 respectively. Oxalosuccinate and alpha-ketoglutarate do not form measureable complexes under these conditions. Saturation kinetics of the enzyme with respect to isocitrate and metal ions are consistent with the metal-isocitrate complex being the substrate for the enzyme. NADP+ binds to the enzyme in the free form. Saturation kinetics of NADPH and Mn2+ indicate that the metal-NADPH complex is the substrate in the reverse reaction. In contrast the pig heart enzyme appears to bind free NADPH and Mn2+. A scheme for the reaction mechanism is presented and the difference between the reversibility of the NAD+ and NADP+ enzyme is discussed in relation to the stability of the NADH and NADPH metal complexes.     

Cathepsin B, the lysosomal thiol proteinase of calf liver

Cathepsin B from calf liver was obtained by a method involving preparation of a lysosomal-mitochondrial pellet and treatment of this pellet with acetone. The material was extracted with an acid buffer, pH4.0, and then precipitated from the extract with acetone. The precipitate was dissolved in phosphate buffer, pH7.4, and subjected to gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 and G-100. The cathepsin B emerged in a range of molecular weight much lower than 50000 as a well-defined component. The purity of this material was checked by electrophoresis. To obtain maximum activity the enzyme had to be activated with a chelating agent and a reducing agent (i.e. EDTA and cysteine). A number of different substrates were used. The enzyme was active for the hydrolysis of both peptide bonds and ester bonds and had approximately equal reactivity in the two cases. The pH-dependence of the hydrolysis was the same with both substrates. The binding of the substrates was half-maximal at pH4.5 and at pH6.8. A thiol group occurred in the active centre but this group ought to have a much higher pK than that found in this enzyme.     

Change in the positional specificity of lipoxygenase 1 due to insertion of fatty acids into phosphatidylcholine deoxycholate mixed micelles.

Linoleic and arachidonic acids were inserted into phosphatidylcholine deoxycholate mixed micelles (PDM-micelles) with their tail groups buried inside and carboxylic groups exposed outside. The fatty acid hydrophobic tail had a high affinity for the hydrophobic region of phosphatidylcholine micelles. The fatty acids inserted into phosphatidylcholine micelles were better substrates for soybean lipoxygenase 1 (LOX1) with two distinct pH optima at 7.0 and 10.0. With Tween 20-solubilized linoleic acid, the enzyme had a pH optimum at 9.0, exclusively forming 13-hydroperoxides. However, with linoleic and arachidonic acids inserted into PDM-micelles, LOX1 synthesized exclusively 9- and 5-hydroperoxides, respectively. The enzyme brought about the transformation of the substrate either at pH 7.4 or at 10.0, less efficiently at pH 10.0. However, the regioselectivity of the enzyme was not altered by increasing the pH from 7.4 to 10.0. Thus, LOX1 could utilize fatty acids bound to membranes as physiological substrates. The enzyme utilized the carboxylic group of linoleic and arachidonic acids inserted into the PDM-micelles as a recognition site to convert the compounds into 9- and 5-hydroperoxides, respectively. This was confirmed by activity measurements using methyl linoleate as the substrate. Circular dichroism measurement of LOX1 with PDM-micelles suggested that while there was a small change in the tertiary structure of LOX1, the secondary structure was unaffected. Soybean LOX1, which is arachidonate 15-LOX, acted as "5-LOX", thus making it possible to change the regiospecificity of the LOX1-catalyzed reaction by altering the physical state of the substrate.     

Purification and substrate specificity of honeybee, Apis mellifera L., alpha-glucosidase III

Alpha-glucosidase III, which was different in substrate specificity from honeybee alpha-glucosidases I and II, was purified as an electrophoretically homogeneous protein from honeybees, by salting-out chromatography, DEAE-cellulose, DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B, Bio-Gel P-150, and CM-Toyopearl 650M column chromatographies. The enzyme preparation was confirmed to be a monomeric protein and a glycoprotein containing about 7.4% of carbohydrate. The molecular weight was estimated to approximately 68,000, and the optimum pH was 5.5. The substrate specificity of alpha-glucosidase III was kinetically investigated. The enzyme did not show unusual kinetics, such as the allosteric behaviors observed in alpha-glucosidases I and II, which are monomeric proteins. The enzyme was characterized by the ability to rapidly hydrolyze sucrose, phenyl alpha-glucoside, maltose, and maltotriose, and by extremely high Km for substrates, compared with those of alpha-glucosidases I and II. Especially, maltotriose was hydrolyzed over 3 times as rapidly as maltose. However, maltooligosaccharides of four or more in the degree of polymerization were slowly degraded. The relative rates of the k0 values for maltose, sucrose, p-nitrophenyl alpha-glucoside and maltotriose were estimated to be 100, 527, 281 and 364, and the Km values for these substrates, 11, 30, 13, and 10 mM, respectively. The subsite affinities (Ai's) in the active site were tentatively evaluated from the rate parameters for maltooligosaccharides. In this enzyme, it was peculiar that the Ai value at subsite 3 was larger than that of subsite 1.     

Purification of thymidine phosphorylase from Escherichia coli and its photoinactivation in the presence of thymine, thymidine, and some halogenated analogs.

Isoelectric focusing was used as the final step in the isolation of thymidine phosphorylase which was found to have an isoelectric point of 4.1. Analytical acrylamide gel electrophoresis showed the purified enzyme preparation contained one major protein band which stained for thymidine phosphorylase activity and usually a minor, faster migrating band devoid of activity. Inactivation of thymidine phosphorylase alone or in the presence of sensitizers by ultraviolet light, primarily at 253.7 nm, followed first order inactivation kinetics. The rate of inactivation of the enzyme was the same at pH 5 and 7.4 and the addition of various pyrimidine bases and nucleosides enhanced the inactivation rate at both pH values, but to a greater extent at pH 5. Linear plots of inactivation rates versus concentrations of thymidine or thymine were the same. At 7.8 mM thymidine or thymine, 11- and 4.4-fold increases in photoinactivation of thymidine phosphorylase were observed at pH 5 AND 7.4 RESPECTIVELY. Parabolic curves were obtained with increasing concentrations of either 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine or 5-iodouracil. 5-Iodouracil at 5.2 mM caused 212- (pH 5) and 100- (pH 7.4) FOLD INCREASES IN THE RATES OF PHOTOINACTIVATION OF THYMIDINE PHOSPHORYLASE. However, 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine at 5.0mM only enhanced the photoinactivation of enzyme by factors of 83 (pH 5) and 21 (pH 7.4). Neither 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine or 5-bromo-uracil was as potent in sensitizing the enzyme as the iodo analogs. Combinations of 5-iodouracil or 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine with thymine resulted in higher inactivation rates than the additive inactivation rates of individual compounds, whereas combinations of either iodo analog with thymidine resulted in lower inactivation rates. Increasing concentrations of phosphate or NaCl lessened the photoinactivation rate of thymidine phosphorylase alone and protected the enzyme from the sensitization caused by the different bases and nucleosides. No quantitative changes in the number of primary amino groups in thymidine phosphorylase was evident as a result of irradiation in the presence or absence of 5-iodouracil or 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine. Examination of the irradiated enzyme on Sephadex G-150 indicated that a larger protein species is formed and that 5-iodouracil promotes this process.