The direct measurement of thermodynamic parameters of reactive transient intermediates of the L-glutamate dehydrogenase reaction

In a previous report (Fisher, H. F., Maniscalco, S. J., and Tally, J. (2002) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 287, 343-347) we demonstrated the capability of the "Le Chatelier forcing method" of producing stable solutions containing substantial amounts of transitory enzyme intermediate complexes that can otherwise be observed only fleetingly in the millisecond time range. The method requires nothing more than running an enzyme reaction using forcing concentrations of reactants against an equally forcing concentration of products until equilibrium is attained. Here we have applied this approach to the measurement of the thermodynamics of several such reactive (and normally transient) intermediate complexes of the bovine liver l-glutamate dehydrogenase-catalyzed reaction. At pH 9.5 and 20 degrees C, we observe both the enzyme-NADPH-alpha-iminoglutarate and enzyme-NADPH-alpha-carbinolamine complexes at concentrations whose sum accounts for 70% of the total enzyme. The pH dependence of these two complexes under equilibrium conditions provides thermodynamic parameters for both the protonated and the unprotonated forms of each of these two entities as well as those of the enzyme-NADP-l-glutamate complex. The equilibrium concentrations of each of these reactive complexes are compared with their corresponding transient steady-state values.     

Sensitivity and control analysis of periodically forced reaction networks using the Green's function method

A general sensitivity and control analysis of periodically forced reaction networks with respect to small perturbations in arbitrary network parameters is presented. A well-known property of sensitivity coefficients for periodic processes in dynamical systems is that the coefficients generally become unbounded as time tends to infinity. To circumvent this conceptual obstacle, a relative time or phase variable is introduced so that the periodic sensitivity coefficients can be calculated. By employing the Green's function method, the sensitivity coefficients can be defined using integral control operators that relate small perturbations in the network's parameters and forcing frequency to variations in the metabolite concentrations and reaction fluxes. The properties of such operators do not depend on a particular parameter perturbation and are described by the summation and connectivity relationships within a control-matrix operator equation. The aim of this paper is to derive such a general control-matrix operator equation for periodically forced reaction networks, including metabolic pathways. To illustrate the general method, the two limiting cases of high and low forcing frequency are considered. We also discuss a practically important case where enzyme activities and forcing frequency are modulated simultaneously. We demonstrate the developed framework by calculating the sensitivity and control coefficients for a simple two reaction pathway where enzyme activities enter reaction rates linearly and specifically.     

Amplification of bacterial genomic DNA by the polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing after asymmetric amplification: application to the study of periplasmic permeases.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been used to amplify DNA fragments by using eucaryotic genomic DNA as a template. We show that bacterial genomic DNA can be used as a template for PCR amplification. We demonstrate that DNA fragments at least as large as 4,400 base pairs can be amplified with fidelity and that the amplified DNA can be used as a substrate for most operations involving DNA. We discuss problems inherent in the direct sequencing of the amplified product, one of the important exploitations of this methodology. We have solved the problems by developing an "asymmetric amplification" method in which one of the oligonucleotide primers is used in limiting amounts, thus allowing the accumulation of single-stranded copies of only one of the DNA strands. As an illustration of the use of PCR in bacteria, we have amplified, sequenced, and subcloned several DNA fragments carrying mutations in genes of the histidine permease operon. These mutations are part of a preliminary approach to studying protein-protein interactions in transport, and their nature is discussed.     

A concentration-dependent localization of octopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase activity in locust skeletal muscle

A concentration-dependent localization of octopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase activity has been demonstrated in skeletal muscle of the locust, Schistocerca gregaria, using an histochemical technique. In the intermediate speed contracting muscle fibres from the fan region of the extensor-tibiae muscle of the locust hindleg, low concentrations of DL-octopamine (10(-8) M) induce reaction product preferentially in the sarcoplasmic reticular component of the dyads. At slightly higher concentrations (10(-7) and 10(-6) M) lower amounts of diffuse reaction product are also found in the non-dyad sarcoplasmic reticulum and at the sarcolemmal membrane, with occasional amounts of a less diffuse, punctuate product in the transverse tubule (T-tubule) component of the dyads. At higher concentrations (10(-5) and 10(-3) M) the predominant product is the dense, plaque-like accumulations of reaction product in the T-tubule component of the dyads. The results are discussed in terms of the likely physiological significance of the accumulation of reaction product in these different locations.     

Proton/product time course ratios: a new approach to transient-state kinetic analysis

The usefulness of the indicator dye method for the detection of transient enzyme-product intermediates has been very limited due to the near impossibility of resolving the apparent single exponential time courses resulting from sequences of steps linked by rather similar rate constants. We propose here a novel approach, the proton-product time course method, a procedure which can extract a great deal of the mechanistic information which remains buried in conventional proton release-time course measurements. The method involves nothing more than measuring the ratio, r, of the moles of H+ released to the moles of product formed as a function of time. We derive the theory relating this r function to mechanisms of varying complexity, explore the theoretical behavior of the function in various possible mechanistic situations, and employ the new approach in an experimental system. We demonstrate the fact that the proton/product time course ratio method can provide evidence of the existence of hidden steps in transient state kinetic studies, that it can determine accurate thermodynamic pK values of the intermediate complexes involved in those steps, and that it can produce time courses of individual intermediates which are obscure to conventional kinetic methods.     

A kinetic study of hypoxanthine oxidation by milk xanthine oxidase.

The course of the reaction sequence hypoxanthine----xanthine----uric acid catalysed by xanthine:oxygen oxidoreductase from milk was investigated on the basis of u.v. spectra taken during the course of hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidations. It was found that xanthine accumulated in the reaction mixture when hypoxanthine was used as a substrate. The time course of the concentrations of hypoxanthine, xanthine intermediate and uric acid product was simulated numerically. The mathematical model takes into account the competition of substrate, intermediate and product and the accumulation of the intermediate at the enzyme. This type of analysis permits the kinetic parameters of the enzyme for hypoxanthine and xanthine to be obtained.     

A concentration-dependent localization of octopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase activity in locust skeletal muscle

Summary A concentration-dependent localization of octopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase activity has been demonstrated in skeletal muscle of the locust, Schistocerca gregaria, using an histochemical technique. In the intermediate speed contracting muscle fibres from the fan region of the extensor-tibiae muscle of the locust hindleg, low concentrations of dl-octopamine (10^–8 M) induce reaction product preferentially in the sarcoplasmic reticular component of the dyads. At slightly higher concentrations (10^–7 and 10^–6 M) lower amounts of diffuse reaction product are also found in the non-dyad sarcoplasmic reticulum and at the sarcolemmal membrane, with occassional amounts of a less diffuse, punctate product in the transverse tubule (T-tubule) component of the dyads. At higher concentrations (10^–5 and 10^–3 M) the predominant product is the dense, plaque-like accumulations of reaction product in the T-tubule component of the dyads. The results are discussed in terms of the likely physiological significance of the accumulation of reaction product in these different locations.     

Kinetic studies of thymidine phosphorylase from mouse liver

Initial velocity and product inhibition studies of thymidine phosphorylase from mouse liver revealed that the basic reaction mechanism of this enzyme is a rapid equilibrium random bi-bi mechanism with an enzyme-phosphate-thymine dead-end complex. Thymine displayed both substrate inhibition and nonlinear product inhibition, i.e., slope and intercept replots vs. 1/[thymine] were nonlinear, indicating that there is more than one binding site on the enzyme for thymine and that when thymine is bound to one of these sites, the enzyme is inhibited. Furthermore, both thymidine and phosphate showed "cooperative effects" in the presence of thymine at concentrations above 60 microM, suggesting that the enzyme may have multiple interacting allosteric and/or catalytic sites. The deoxyribosyl transferase reaction catalyzed by this enzyme is phosphate-dependent, requires nonstoichiometric amounts of phosphate, and can proceed by an "enzyme-bound" 2-deoxyribose 1-phosphate intermediate. These findings are in accord with the rapid equilibrium random bi-bi mechanism and demonstrate that deoxyribosyl transfer by this enzyme involves an indirect-transfer mechanism. These results strongly suggest that phosphorolysis and deoxyribosyl transfer are catalyzed by the same site on thymidine phosphorylase.     

Reaction of Desulfovibrio vulgaris two-iron superoxide reductase with superoxide: insights from stopped-flow spectrophotometry

Stopped-flow mixing of the Desulfovibrio vulgaris two-iron superoxide reductase (2Fe-SOR) containing the ferrous active site with superoxide generates a dead time intermediate whose absorption spectrum is identical to that of a putative ferric-hydroperoxo intermediate previously observed by pulse radiolysis. The dead time intermediate is shown to be a product of reaction with superoxide and to be generated at a much higher proportion of active sites than by pulse radiolysis. This intermediate decays smoothly to the resting ferric active site ( approximately 30 s-1 at 2 degrees C and pH 7) with no other detectable intermediates. Deuterium isotope effects demonstrate that solvent proton donation occurs in the rate-determining step of dead time intermediate decay and that neither of the conserved pocket residues, Glu47 or Lys48, functions as a rate-determining proton donor between pH 6 and pH 8. Fluoride, formate, azide, and phosphate accelerate decay of the dead time intermediate and for azide or fluoride lead directly to ferric-azido or -fluoro complexes of the active site, which inhibit Glu47 ligation. A solvent deuterium isotope effect is observed for the azide-accelerated decay, and the decay rate constants are proportional to the concentrations and pKa values of HX (X- = F-, HCO2-, N3-). These data indicate that the protonated forms of the anions function analogously to solvent as general acids in the rate-determining step. The results support the notion that the ferrous SOR site reacts with superoxide by an inner sphere process, leading directly to the ferric-hydroperoxo intermediate, and demonstrate that the decay of this intermediate is subject to both specific- and general-acid catalysis.     

Stepwise analyses of metal ions in RNase H catalysis from substrate destabilization to product release

In two-metal catalysis, metal ion A has been proposed to activate the nucleophile and metal ion B to stabilize the transition state. We recently reported crystal structures of RNase H-RNA/DNA substrate complexes obtained at 1.5-2.2 Angstroms. We have now determined and report here structures of reaction intermediate and product complexes of RNase H at 1.65-1.85 Angstroms. The movement of the two metal ions suggests how they may facilitate RNA hydrolysis during the catalytic process. Firstly, metal ion A may assist nucleophilic attack by moving towards metal ion B and bringing the nucleophile close to the scissile phosphate. Secondly, metal ion B transforms from an irregular coordination in the substrate complex to a more regular geometry in the product complex. The exquisite sensitivity of Mg(2+) to the coordination environment likely destabilizes the enzyme-substrate complex and reduces the energy barrier to form product. Lastly, product release probably requires dissociation of metal ion A, which is inhibited by either high concentrations of divalent cations or mutation of an assisting protein residue.     

Volatile Products of the Lipoxygenase Pathway Evolved from Phaseolus vulgaris (L.) Leaves Inoculated with Pseudomonas syringae pv phaseolicola

Activation of the "lipoxygenase pathway" in plants gives rise to a series of products derived from fatty acids. Analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy of volatile products produced by Phaseolus vulgaris (L.) cv Red Mexican leaves during a hypersensitive resistance response (HR) to the plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv phaseolicola showed evolution of several lipid-derived volatiles, including cis-3-hexenol and trans-2-hexenal, which arise from the 13-hydroperoxide of linolenic acid. These compounds were not produced in detectable amounts by buffer-inoculated leaves, nor did they evolve to such a high degree during comparable stages of the susceptible response. The absence of trans-2,cis-6-nonadienal, a product expected from 9-hydroperoxide of linolenic acid, suggests that lipid peroxidation during the HR proceeded primarily enzymically via bean lipoxygenase, which produces the 13-hydroperoxide, and not via autoxidative processes. The effects of trans-2-hexenal, cis-3-hexenol, and traumatic acid on P.s pv phaseolicola were investigaed. trans-2-Hexenal appeared to be highly bactericidal at low concentrations, whereas cis-3-hexenol was bactericidal only at much higher concentrations. Traumatic acid appeared to have no effect on P.s. pv. phaseolicola at the concentrations tested. These results demonstrate that during plant defense responses against microbial attack, several lipid-derived compounds are produced by the plant, some of which possess antimicrobial activity and conceivably are involved in plant disease resistance. The time of production of these substances, in amounts that would be expected to be antibacterial in vitro, correlated with a slowing down of the growth rate of bacteria in the leaves and was seen at a time before the accumulation of isoflavonoid phytoalexins in the host.     

Detection of multiple active site domain motions in transient-state component time courses of the Clostridium symbiosum L-glutamate dehydrogenase-catalyzed oxidative deamination reaction

We present a multiwavelength, transient-state kinetic study of the oxidative deamination reaction catalyzed by Clostridium symbiosum glutamate dehydrogenase (csGDH) producing the real-time reaction courses of spectroscopically resolved kinetically competent intermediate complexes. The results show striking differences from a corresponding transient-state study of the same reaction by the structurally homologous enzyme from beef liver (blGDH). In addition to the highly blue-shifted alpha-iminoglutarate and highly red-shifted carbinolamine complexes observed in both reactions, the csGDH reaction appeared to show the release of free NADH at a very early and mechanistically unlikely point in the reaction. Using lactic acid dehydrogenase as a "reporter" for free NADH, we show that the early portion of this signal reflects previously unobserved spectrally unshifted enzyme-bound NADH complexes. We provide experimental evidence to show that such spectrally anomalous complexes must represent forms of the known alpha-imino and alpha-carbinolamine complexes in which the active site cleft is open. This evidence includes isothermal calorimetric measurements and pH-jump experiments that show the existence of differing two-state transitions in blGDH and csGDH and locate active site domain motions at differing points in the transient-state time courses of the two enzyme reactions. We prove the kinetic competence of a new and more highly detailed mechanism for the csGDH reaction that involves the alternation of open and closed enzyme complexes as integral steps. These findings, supported by the available X-ray crystal structure data, suggest the existence of a programmed time course of protein domain motions coordinated with the classically considered chemical time course. This new viewpoint may be presumed to be applicable to enzyme reactions other than those of the alpha-amino acid dehydrogenases.     

Isolation and Preparation of Pretyrosine, Accumulated as a Dead-End Metabolite by Neurospora crassa

Pretyrosine is an amino acid intermediate of phenylalanine and/or tyrosine biosyntheses in a variety of organisms. A procedure for the isolation of high-quality pretyrosine as the barium salt is described. Stable solutions of ammonium pretyrosine that are suitable for use as substrate in enzyme assays can be prepared in good yield with relatively few purification steps. A triple mutant of Neurospora crassa, bearing genetic blocks corresponding to each initial enzyme step of the three pathway branchlets leading to the aromatic amino acids, accumulates prephenate and pretyrosine. Although the time courses of prephenate and pretyrosine accumulations were found to be parallel in any given experiment, the ratios of the two metabolites varied as much as 100-fold depending upon such variables as carbon source, temperature of growth, accumulation, and especially the presence of aromatic pathway metabolites. Under appropriate nutritional conditions of accumulation, pretyrosine concentrations in excess of 4 mM in culture supernatant fluids were obtained. Strains individually auxotrophic for phenylalanine or tyrosine accumulate lesser amounts of prephenate and pretyrosine. The metabolic blocks of the mutant result in high intracellular levels of prephenate, which is then partially transaminated to pretyrosine. In N. crassa, pretyrosine is a dead-end metabolite since it is not enzymatically converted to phenylalanine or tyrosine. At a mildly acidic pH, pretyrosine is quantitatively converted to phenylalanine in a nonenzymatic reaction.     

Differentiation between hemosiderin- and ferritin-bound brain iron using nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic resonance imaging.

MRI is an optimal clinical (research) tool to provide information on brain morphology and pathology and to detect metal ions that possess intrinsic magnetic properties. Non-heme iron is abundantly present in the brain in three different forms: "low molecular weight" complexes, iron bound to "medium molecular weight complexes" metalloproteins such as transferrin, and "high molecular weight" complexes as ferritin and hemosiderin. The total amount and form of iron may differ in health and disease, and MRI can possibly quantify and monitor such changes. Ferritin-bound iron is the main storage form of iron and is present predominantly in the extrapyramidal nuclei where its amounts normally increase as a function of age. Ferritin is water soluble and shortens both, T1 and T2 relaxation, with as result a signal change on the MR images. Hemosiderin, a degradation product of ferritin, is water-insoluble with a stronger T2 shortening effect than ferritin. The larger cluster size of hemosiderin and its water-insolubility also explain a lack of significant T1-shortening effect on T1-weighted images. Using both in vitro specimens and intact brain tissue in vivo we demonstrate here that MRI may be able to distinguish between ferritin- and hemosiderin-bound iron.     

Cryoenzymology of beta-lactamases

The cryoenzymology of several different beta-lactamases has been investigated. Particular attention has been paid to the experimental pitfalls of the technique. These include such factors as false bursts at the start of the reaction, instability of the enzymes during turnover, and Km values so high that little of the enzyme is present as a complex. Many of the difficulties in cryoenzymology stem from the use of organic cryosolvents. A novel "salt" cryosolvent has been tested: ammonium acetate solutions can be used down to about -60 degrees C. The enzymes examined are readily soluble, and stable, in this solvent. Nevertheless, out of 17 beta-lactamase beta-lactam systems, only 4 proved suitable for detailed investigation. In two of these, the hydrolysis of nitrocefin or 7-(thienyl-2-acetamido)-3-[[2-[[4- (dimethylamino)phenyl]azo]pyridinio]-methyl]cephem-4-carboxylic acid (PADAC), by beta-lactamase I from Bacillus cereus, substrate was converted into product at a slow enough rate (at -60 or -55 degrees C, respectively) for it to be possible to do successive scans during the course of the reaction. The spectra were those of substrate and product, and no intermediate was detected. The results argue against the accumulation of intermediate acyl-enzyme. The hydrolysis of PADAC by the P99 beta-lactamase from Enterobacter cloacae again showed spectra characteristic of substrate and product, and there was, moreover, a break in the Arrhenius plot; it is possible that a conformational change is (at least partially) rate-determining. The hydrolysis of dinitrophenylpenicillin by the P99 beta-lactamase did show features suggesting the accumulation of acyl-enzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Acetaminophen and analogs as cosubstrates and inhibitors of prostaglandin H synthase

Previous studies have shown that acetaminophen (APAP) is converted by prostaglandin H synthase (PGHS) to both one-electron oxidized products and the two-electron oxidized product, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI). The present study further characterizes this reaction and shows that relatively low concentrations (20-200 microM) of APAP stimulate PGHS activity in ram seminal vesicle microsomes, whereas high concentrations (greater than 10 mM) inhibit the conversion of arachidonic acid (AA) to 15-hydroperoxy-9,11-peroxidoprosta-5,13-dienoic acid (PGG2). Stimulatory and inhibitory activities apparently involve the reduction of oxidized complexes of PGHS, and stimulatory and inhibitory activities roughly correlate with the electrochemical half-wave oxidation potentials of a series of hydroxyacetanilides. Using APAP as a probe, it was found that at low concentrations, APAP is converted in a cooxidation reaction with arachidonic acid to a dimer, 4'4"'-dihydroxy-3', 3"'-biacetanilide (bi-APAP), and other polymeric products. Moreover, an electrophilic metabolite of acetaminophen, NAPQI, was detected directly and also detected indirectly by its reaction with glutathione (GSH) to form 3'-(S-glutathionyl)acetaminophen (GS-APAP). The formation of all products was inhibited by indomethacin and the reductants, ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). However, in the presence of GSH, ascorbic acid only partially inhibited the formation of GS-APAP while almost completely inhibiting the formation of bi-APAP. The same products of APAP (bi-APAP and NAPQI) were formed by PGHS and hydrogen peroxide in reactions that were not inhibited by indomethacin. At high concentrations of APAP that inhibit PGHS, the formation of products in the presence of arachidonic acid but not H2O2 was inhibited. These findings are generally consistent with a mechanism of acetaminophen oxidation by PGHS that involves common intermediate enzyme forms for both cyclooxygenase- and hydroperoxidase-catalyzed reactions. At least one of the intermediate complexes is reduced by relatively low concentrations of APAP and stimulates PGHS, whereas another intermediate complex is reduced by APAP at higher concentrations to inhibit the enzyme.     

Effects of ATP and pyrophosphate on properties of glucocorticoid-receptor complexes from rat thymus cells

Cytosols from rat thymus cells incubated with glucocorticoid contain nonactivated and activated receptors and mero-receptor complexes, in relative amounts that depend on the incubation conditions. These forms can be separated by a rapid minicolumn chromatographic technique based on their differential affinities for DNA, DEAE, and hydroxylapatite. We have used this method to examine the effects of ATP, pyrophosphate (PPi), and related compounds on cytosolic complexes. In addition to ATP, already known to promote activation at 0 degrees C, PPi, ADP, and other triphosphates at millimolar concentrations promoted activation of nonactivated complexes. AMP and Pi had little effect. ATP and PPi at millimolar concentrations also reduced binding of activated complexes to DNA. Characterization of the ATP- and PPi-activated complexes by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography revealed two DNA-binding forms. One was essentially identical (Stokes radius of approximately 5.4 nm, elution from DEAE at approximately 50 mM KCl) to the normal activated complex obtained directly from cells incubated at 37 degrees C. The other had a Stokes radius of approximately 3.1 nm and had no affinity for DEAE. Analysis by minicolumns and gel filtration showed that ATP and PPi prevented formation of mero-receptor complexes, a process which occurs relatively rapidly in untreated thymus cytosols. These compounds did not alter properties of preformed mero-receptor. The accumulation of 3.1-nm complexes in thymus cytosols in which formation of mero-receptor is prevented suggests that this form is an intermediate, normally short-lived, in the conversion of 5.4 nm complexes to mero-receptor.     

Introducing total substrates simplifies theoretical analysis at non-negligible enzyme concentrations: pseudo first-order kinetics and the loss of zero-order ultrasensitivity

The Briggs–Haldane standard quasi-steady state approximation and the resulting rate expressions for enzyme driven biochemical reactions provide crucial theoretical insight compared to the full set of equations describing the reactions, mainly because it reduces the number of variables and equations. When the enzyme is in excess of the substrate, a significant amount of substrate can be bound in intermediate complexes, so-called substrate sequestration. The standard quasi-steady state approximation is known to fail under such conditions, a main reason being that it neglects these intermediate complexes. Introducing total substrates, i.e., the sums of substrates and intermediate complexes, provides a similar reduction of the number of variables to consider but without neglecting the contribution from intermediate complexes. The present theoretical study illustrates the usefulness of such simplifications for the understanding of biochemical reaction schemes. We show how introducing the total substrates allows a simple analytical treatment of the relevance of significant enzyme concentrations for pseudo first-order kinetics and reconciles two proposed criteria for the validity of the pseudo first-order approximation. In addition, we show how the loss of zero-order ultrasensitivity in covalent modification cycles can be analyzed, in particular that approaches such as metabolic control analysis are immediately applicable to scenarios described by the total substrates with enzyme concentrations higher than or comparable to the substrate concentrations. A simple criterion which excludes the possibility of zero-order ultrasensitivity is presented.     

Assay of tryptophan hydroxylase and aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase based on rapid separation of the reaction product by high performance liquid chromatography

A rapid separation of 5-hydroxytryptophan by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was achieved for the assay of tryptophan hydroxylase. "Bulk separation" of the product from all other components in the reaction mixture by HPLC was achieved by 1) the choice of a suitable column-solvent system so as to elute the reaction product ahead of other components in the sample mixture, 2) the use of a monitor selective for the reaction product, 3) minimization of the column length so as to achieve rapid separation of the product from the substrate. The method finally employed a reversed phase column of 5 cm length, relatively rapid elution at 2 ml/min and fluorescence detection at 350 nm with an excitation at 302 nm. The assay is convenient and as sensitive as the radioisotope method. The advantages of the method are 1) almost no pretreatment of samples, 2) repeatability every 2 min, 3) wide latitude of product determination from picomole to nanomole amounts per assay. The method was extended to the assay of 5-hydroxytryptophan decarboxylase by essentially the same procedures.     

Hydrolysis of human high-molecular-mass kininogen by human plasma kallikrein. Proposal of a new model concept for the course of reaction in presence and absence of C1(-)-inhibitor

Hydrolysis of high-molecular-mass kininogen was studied by following the changes in the amounts of substrate, intermediates and products as a function of time using quantitative polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (silver staining). The experimental data was analysed on the basis of the concept that the overall reaction is composed of three hydrolysis reactions, two positional-change processes of intermediates at the active site, and two product-substrate exchange processes. It is proposed C1(-)-inhibitor to form two types of complexes with kallikrein, one with non-covalent and one with covalent bonds. With an adequately chosen set of reaction-partner concentrations and four different kinds of experimental conditions with respect to kininogen and inhibitor addition to kallikrein, the following results were obtained: 1) Non-covalently bound inhibitor has no effect on the first and the second hydrolysis reaction, but efficiently interferes with the third hydrolysis reaction; 2) Nicked kininogen (first intermediate; one of the two bradykinin bonds split) for the second bond to be hydrolysed undergoes a positional change during which it remains strongly bound to the enzyme, never exchanges with kininogen, and is not displaced by non-covalently bound inhibitor; 3) Intermediate kinin-free kininogen (second intermediate; both bradykinin bonds split and bradykinin released) prior to turning over into stable kinin-free kininogen (final product; histidine-rich fragment split off and released) undergoes a positional change involving dissociation and reassociation so that non-covalently bound inhibitor finds access to the active site; 4) Intermediate kinin-free kininogen to sustain multiple turnovers exchanges with kininogen via a stable complex of such structure that during this process non-covalently bound inhibitor cannot or can only slightly interfere; 5) Stable kinin-free kininogen to sustain multiple turnovers exchanges with intermediate kinin-free kininogen via free enzyme with the effect that non-covalently bound inhibitor efficiently interferes; 6) As hydrolysis proceeds more and more inhibitor becomes covalently bound, gradually leading to complete inactivation of the enzyme.