Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from bovine liver.

1. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (purine nucleoside:orthophosphate ribosyltransferase, E.C. 2.4.2.1) from liver of cattle, Bos taurus, was purified to homogeneity. Some properties of the enzymes from three different bovine tissues were compared and discussed. 2. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 83,000, a sedimentation coefficient of 5.3 S, a Stokes' radius of 3.71 nm, a frictional ratio of 1.30 and a subunit molecular weight of 30,000. 3. Optimal pH for xanthosine degradation is around 5.5, whereas a broad pH activity profile for inosine degradation was observed between 5.0 and 7.5. Lineweaver-Burk plots curved downward at high concentrations of substrates, inosine, phosphate and arsenate.     

Comparative study of purine nucleoside phosphorylase from rabbit kidney, spleen, liver and embryos

Homogeneous preparations of purine nucleoside phosphorylase (EC 2.4.2.1) from rabbit kidney, spleen, liver and embryos were studied. The enzyme preparations do not differ in electrophoretic mobility. The molecular weight of the enzyme obtained from various sources was determined by gel filtration on Sephadex G-150 superfine and is about 90-92 kD. The enzyme subunits are identical in terms of molecular weight, as can be evidenced from sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Mr approximately 31 kD). The pH optima of these enzyme preparations for guanosine and xanthosine phosphorolysis are 6.2 and 5.7, respectively. The isoelectric point of purine nucleoside phosphorylase from rabbit kidney was determined in the presence of 9 M urea and is equal to 5.55. The enzyme is the most stable at pH 7.7; it is specific towards hypoxanthine and guanine nucleosides as well as towards xanthosine, but does not cleave adenine nucleosides. The Km values for guanosine and inosine are 1.4.10(-4) M and 1.2.10(-4) M, respectively. The enzyme does not catalyze the ribosyl transfer reaction in the absence of Pi.     

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from human erythrocytes: a kinetic study of the fully separated isoenzymes.

Human red cell lysates contain at least seven electrophoretically distinct isoenzymes of purine-nucleoside phosphorylase (PNPase); the proportion of more anodal bands increases as the erythrocyte ages, suggesting that the native enzyme is subjected to progressive post-translational modifications. The age dependent electrophoretic changes observed in the hemolysate are associated with the downward curvature of the Lineweaver-Burk double reciprocal plot at high inosine-substrate concentrations unlike the single-banded PNPase from tissue cultures of rapidly dividing cells. Thanks to the high resolution power of the ion-exchange HPLC technique utilized we have been able to fully separate all the seven isoenzymes and correlate structural to functional modifications in PNPase from human erythrocytes. Our results indicate that the downward curvature of Lineweaver-Burk plot is not due to a mixture of isoforms with low and high Km for inosine but that the allosteric activation by the inosine substrate is the direct consequence of structural modification(s) on the "primary" form of the enzyme.     

Properties of Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase from Enterobacter cloacae

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Enterobacter cloacae KY3074 was partially purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation, column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and DEAE-Sephadex A-50, and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and Sepharose 4B. The molecular weight of the enzyme was calculated to be about 87,000 by a gel filtration method on Sephadex G-200. The enzyme was found to be most active at pH 7.5 to 8.5 and 50°C, stable between pH 7.0 and 7.3, and the activity was nearly lost above 70°C. The enzyme split 2´-deoxyinosine and ribonucleosides. Lineweaver-Burk plots for phosphate were non-linear, showing substrate activation. The break-down of inosine approached an equilibrium when approximately 14% of inosine was phosphorylated.     

Liver purine nucleoside phosphorylase in Camelus dromedarius: purification and properties

1. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (purine nucleoside:orthophosphate ribosyl transferase, EC 2.4.2.1) was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from the liver of Camelus dromedarius. 2. The enzyme appears to be a dimer with a 44,000 subunit mol. wt and displays non-linear kinetics with concave downward curvature in double reciprocal plots with respect to both inosine and orthophosphate as variable substrates. 3. The effect of thiol compounds on the enzyme activity and of pH on kinetic parameters is reported.     

Rabbit erythrocyte purine nucleoside phosphorylase. Initial-velocity studies.

1. Concave-downward double-reciprocal plots were obtained for rabbit erythrocyte purine nucleoside phosphorylase when the concentration of Pi was varied over a wide range at a fixed saturating concentration of either inosine or deoxyinosine. Similar behaviour was also displayed by the calf spleen enzyme. 2. The degree of curvature of double-reciprocal plots was greatly modified by the presence of SO42-, introduced into the assay mixture with the linking enzyme xanthine oxidase; competitive inhibition by SO42- was observed over a narrow range of high Pi concentrations. 3. Partial inactivation with 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) resulted in a marked alteration in the kinetic properties of the enzyme when Pi was the variable substrate. 4. Initial-velocity data are expressed in the form of Hill plots, and the significance of such plots is discussed.     

Chicken liver purine nucleoside phosphorylase activity dependency of the redox state of sulfhydryl groups

1. Double reciprocal plots (1/v vs 1/S) for nucleoside substrates of chicken liver purine nucleoside phosphorylase were non linear at high inosine or deoxyinosine concentrations (greater than 0.1 mM). The appearance of downward curvatures may be correlated with the oxidation of sulfhydryl groups of the enzyme. 2. 5,5'-Dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) reacts with four sulfhydryl groups in the native enzyme, but upon denaturation with sodium dodecylsulfate six sulfhydryl groups react with this reagent. 3. Inosine, ribose-1-phosphate, hypoxanthine and orthophosphate partially protect sulfhydryl groups from the reaction with Ellman's reagent. 4. Inhibition of purine nucleoside phosphorylase by p-chloromercuribenzoate and 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) follows a second order reaction kinetics.     

Expression of human malaria parasite purine nucleoside phosphorylase in host enzyme-deficient erythrocyte culture. Enzyme characterization and identification of novel inhibitors

The intraerythrocytic human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, requires a source of hypoxanthine for nucleic acid synthesis and energy metabolism. Adenosine has been implicated as a major source for intraerythrocytic hypoxanthine production via deamination and phosphorolysis, utilizing adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase, respectively. To study the expression and characteristics of human malaria purine nucleoside phosphorylase, P. falciparum was successfully cultured in purine nucleoside phosphorylase-deficient human erythrocytes to an 8% parasitemia level. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase activity was undetectable in the uninfected enzyme-deficient host red cells but after parasite infection rose to 1.5% of normal erythrocyte levels. The parasite purine nucleoside phosphorylase was not cross-reactive with antibody against human enzyme, exhibited a calculated native molecular weight of 147,000, and showed a single major electrophoretic form of pI 5.4 and substrate specificity for inosine, guanosine and deoxyguanosine but not xanthosine or adenosine. The Km values for substrates, inosine and guanosine, were 4-fold lower than that for the human erythrocyte enzyme. In these studies we have identified two novel potent inhibitors of both human erythrocyte and parasite purine nucleoside phosphorylase, 8-amino-5'-deoxy-5'-chloroguanosine and 8-amino-9-benzylguanine. These enzyme inhibitors may have some antimalarial potential by limiting hypoxanthine production in the parasite-infected erythrocyte.     

Purification and characterization of purine nucleoside phosphorylase from developing embryos of Hyalomma dromedarii

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Hyalomma dromedarii, the camel tick, was purified to apparent homogeneity. A molecular weight of 56,000 - 58,000 was estimated for both the native and denatured enzyme, suggesting that the enzyme is monomeric. Unlike purine nucleoside phosphorylase preparations from other tissues, the H. dromedarii enzyme was unstable in the presence of beta-mercaptoethanol. The enzyme had a sharp pH optimum at pH 6.5. It catalyzed the phosphorolysis and arsenolysis of ribo- and deoxyribo-nucleosides of hypoxanthine and guanine, but not of adenine or pyrimidine nucleosides. The Km values of the enzyme at the optimal pH for inosine, deoxyinosine, guanosine, and deoxyguanosine were 0.31, 0.67, 0.55, and 0.33 mM, respectively. Inactivation and kinetic studies suggested that histidine and cysteine residues were essential for activity. The pKa values determined for catalytic ionizable groups were 6-7 and 8-9. The enzyme was completely inactivated by thiol reagents and reactivated by excess beta-mercaptoethanol. The enzyme was also susceptible to pH-dependent photooxidation in the presence of methylene blue, implicating histidine. Initial velocity studies showed an intersecting pattern of double-reciprocal plots of the data, consistent with a sequential mechanism.     

Synthesis of 9-(3,4-dioxopentyl)hypoxanthine, the first arginine-directed purine derivative: an irreversible inactivator for purine nucleoside phosphorylase

The synthesis of two potential arginine-directed purine-based analogues, 6-chloro-9-(3,4-dioxopentyl)purine (6) and 9-(3,4-dioxopentyl)hypoxanthine (7), is reported. Compound 7 was extensively tested as a potential affinity label of purine nucleoside phosphorylase (EC 2.4.2.1) from human erythrocytes. Evidence that 7 reacted with the catalytic center of purine nucleoside phosphorylase includes the following: (1) time-dependent inactivation of the enzyme by 7 was observed; (2) a plot of the pseudo-first-order rate constant for inactivation of the enzyme vs. concentration of 7 was hyperbolic, characteristic of saturation phenomenon; (3) substrates (Pi, arsenate, inosine) and a competitive inhibitor (formycin B) protected the enzyme from inactivation by 7. Compound 7 was 25 times more effective in inhibiting purine nucleoside phosphorylase than butanedione. Evidence that 7 modified arginine(s) includes the following: (1) when the inactivation was performed in borate, both the rate and the extent of inactivation were enhanced compared to those of the controls run in tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane hydrochloride (Tris-HCl) buffer; (2) dialysis of inactivator reversed the inactivation in Tris-HCl but not in borate buffer. All the above evidence combined with the previous demonstration [Jordan, F., & Wu, A. (1978) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 190, 699-704] that butanedione modified only arginines in purine nucleoside phosphorylases and the results presented here demonstrating the similarities in the behavior of butanedione and 7 imply that compound 7 can be called an arginine-directed affinity label for purine nucleoside phosphorylase.     

Altered purine and pyrimidine metabolism in erythrocytes with purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency

Purine and pyrimidine metabolism was compared in erythrocytes from three patients from two families with purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency and T-cell immunodeficiency, one heterozygote subject for this enzyme deficiency, one patient with a complete deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, and two normal subjects. The erythrocytes from the heterozygote subject were indistinguishable from the normal erythrocytes. The purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficient erythrocytes had a block in the conversion of inosine to hypoxanthine. The erythrocytes with 0.07% of normal purine nucleoside phosphorylase activity resembled erythrocytes with hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency by having an elevated intracellular concentration of PP-ribose-P, increased synthesis of PP-ribose-P, and an elevated rate of carbon dioxide release from orotic acid during its conversion to UMP. Two hypotheses to account for the associated immunodeficiency—that the enzyme deficiency leads to a block of PP-ribose-P synthesis or inhibition of pyrimidine synthesis—could not be supported by observations in erythrocytes from both enzyme-deficient families.This work was supported by U.S. Public Health Service Grant AM 19674 and 5 M01 RR 42 and by a Grant-In-Aid from American Heart Association (77-849) and with funds contributed in part by the Michigan Heart Association. N.L.E. is a Rheumatology Fellow from the Rackman Arthritis Research Unit supported by Training Grant USPHS AM 07080.     

Purification and characterization of purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Proteus vulgaris.

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase was isolated and purified from cell extracts of Proteus vulgaris recovered from spoiling cod fish (Gadus morhua). The molecular weight and isoelectric point of the enzyme were 120,000 +/- 2,000 and pH 6.8. The Michaelis constant for inosine as substrate was 3.9 x 10(-5). Guanosine also served as a substrate (Km = 2.9 x 10(-5). However, the enzyme was incapable of phosphorylizing adenosine. Adenosine proved to be useful as a competitive inhibitor and was used as a ligand for affinity chromatography of purine nucleoside phosphorylase following initial purification steps of gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography.     

Purification and characterization of purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Proteus vulgaris

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase was isolated and purified from cell extracts of Proteus vulgaris recovered from spoiling cod fish (Gadus morhua). The molecular weight and isoelectric point of the enzyme were 120,000 +/- 2,000 and pH 6.8. The Michaelis constant for inosine as substrate was 3.9 x 10(-5). Guanosine also served as a substrate (Km = 2.9 x 10(-5). However, the enzyme was incapable of phosphorylizing adenosine. Adenosine proved to be useful as a competitive inhibitor and was used as a ligand for affinity chromatography of purine nucleoside phosphorylase following initial purification steps of gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography.     

Hexameric purine nucleoside phosphorylase II from Escherichia coli K-12. Physico-chemical and catalytic properties and stabilization with substrates

Some properties of hexameric purine nucleoside phosphorylase II (EC 2.4.2.1) from Escherichia coli K-12 were studied. The enzyme obeys the Michaelis-Menten kinetics with respect to purine substrates (Km for inosine, deoxyinosine and hypoxanthine are equal to 492, 106 and 26.6 microM, respectively) and exhibits negative kinetic cooperativity towards phosphate and ribose-1-phosphate. The Hill coefficient is equal to approximately 0.5 for both substrates. Hexameric purine nucleoside phosphorylase II is not a metal-dependent enzyme; its activity is inhibited by Cu2+, Zn2+, Ni2+ and SO4(2-). The enzyme is the most stable at pH 6.0; it contains essential thiol groups. All substrates partly protect the enzyme against inactivation by 5.5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) and heat-inactivation and, with the exception of phosphate-against inactivation by p-chloromercuribenzoate. Hypoxanthine, especially in combination with phosphate, afford the best protection against inactivation.     

5-Iodoribose 1-phosphate, an analog of ribose 1-phosphate. Enzymatic synthesis and kinetic studies with enzymes of purine, pyrimidine, and sugar phosphate metabolism

The 5'-deoxy-5'-iodo-substituted analogs of adenosine and inosine are cytotoxic to tumor cells that have high activities of 5'-methylthioadenosine phosphorylase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase, respectively (Savarese, T.M., Chu, S-H., Chu, M.Y., and Parks, R. E., Jr. (1984) Biochem. Pharmacol. 34, 361-367). 5-Iodoribose 1-phosphate (5-IRib-1-P), the common intracellular metabolite of these 5'-iodonucleosides, has been synthesized enzymatically from 5'-deoxy-5'-iodoadenosine via adenosine deaminase from Aspergillus oryzae and human erythrocytic purine nucleoside phosphorylase. The purification and chemical properties of 5-IRib-1-P are described. The analog sugar phosphate inhibited purine nucleoside phosphorylase from human erythrocytes, phosphoglucomutase from rabbit muscle, and 5'-methylthioadenosine phosphorylase from Sarcoma 180 cells with Ki values of 26, 100, and 9 microM, respectively. Enzymes that react with 5-phosphoribosyl 1-pyrophosphate (P-Rib-PP), P-Rib-PP amidotransferase, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, adenine phosphoribosyltransferase, and orotate phosphoribosyltransferase-orotidylate decarboxylase from extracts of Sarcoma 180 cells, were inhibited with Ki values of 49, 465, 307, and 275 microM, respectively. 5-IRib-1-P had no effect on P-Rib-PP synthetase. Since the Ki values of the analog sugar phosphate for 5'-methylthioadenosine phosphorylase and P-Rib-PP amidotransferase are much lower than the Km values of the natural substrates, Pi or P-Rib-PP which are reported to be present at nonsaturating concentrations under physiological conditions, these enzymes could be significantly inhibited by 5-IRib-1-P in intact cells.     

Interconversion of different molecular weight forms of human erythrocyte orotidylate decarboxylase.

Orotidylate decarboxylase has been purified approximately 300-fold from human erythrocytes. It was shown to exist in three molecular weight forms, a probable monomer of molecular weight 62,000, a dimer, and a tetramer. Conversion of the monomer to higher molecular weight forms was associated with increased stability to thermal inactivation and was promoted by a number of low molecular weight compounds, including orotic acid and competitive inhibitors of the enzyme. Orotic acid phosphoribosyltransferase co-purified with the decarboxylase but was much more susceptible to inactivation. The partially purified orotidylate decarboxylase showed a triphasic Lineweaver-Burk plot when examined over a wide range of substrate concentrations. The separated molecular weight forms gave linear double reciprocal plots with Km values corresponding to the three values obtained with the erythrocyte enzyme preparation. The values obtained were 25, 3, and 0.6 muM for the monomer, dimer, and tetramer forms, respectively.     

Purification, properties, and substrate specificities of phosphoprotein phosphatase(s) from rabbit liver.

The phosphoprotein phosphatase(s) acting on muscle phosphorylase a was purified from rabbit liver by acid precipitation, high speed centrifugation, chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50, Sephadex G-75, and Sepharose-histone. Enzyme activity was recovered in the final step as two distinct peaks tentatively referred to as phosphoprotein phosphatases I and II. Each phosphatase showed a single broad band when examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis; the molecular weights derived by this method were approximately 30,500 for phosphoprotein phosphatase I and 34,000 for phosphoprotein phosphatase II. The s20, w value for each enzyme was 3.40. Using this value and values for the Stokes radii, the molecular weight for each enzyme was calculated to be 34,500. Both phosphatases, in addition to catalyzing the conversion of phosphorylase a to b, also catalyzed the dephosphorylation of glycogen synthase D, activated phosphorylase kinase, phosphorylated histone, phosphorylated casein, and the phosphorylated inhibitory component of troponin (TN-I). The relative activities of the phosphatases with respect to phosphorylase a, glycogen synthase D, histone, and casein remained essentially constant throughout the purification. The activities of both phosphatases with different substrates decreased in parallel when they were denatured by incubation at 55 degrees and 65 degrees. The Km values of phosphoprotein phosphatase I for phosphorylase a, histone, and casein were lower than the values obtained for phosphoprotein phosphatase II. With glycogen synthase D as substrate, each enzyme gave essentially the same Km value. Utilizing either enzyme, it was found that activity toward a given substrate was inhibited competitively by each of the alternative substrates. The results suggest that phosphoprotein phosphatases I and II are each active toward all of the substrates tested.     

Rabbit erythrocyte purine nucleoside phosphorylase. Differential-inactivation studies.

1. Qualitative studies on the stability of rabbit erythrocyte purine nucleoside phosphorylase showed a marked decrease in the susceptibility of the enzyme to thermal inactivation and digestion by proteinases of different specificities in response to certain of its substrates. 2. The extent to which inosine stabilizes the enzyme against thermal and proteolytic inactivation is related in a quantitative manner to the concentration of this substrate; it is proposed that differences in the rates of inactivation of the enzyme may reflect substrate-induced conformational changes in the enzyme structure that could alter the binding properties of the enzyme in a kinetically significant way. 3. A synergistic effect in the stabilization of the enzyme is observed in response to both substrates, inosine and phosphate, when the enzyme is inactivated with Pronase. 4. In the presence of substrate an increased rate of inactivation after reaction with 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) is reported. 5. Differential-inactivation studies were also carried out with calf spleen purine nucleoside phosphorylase, and the results are discussed in relation to the kinetic properties displayed by this enzyme.     

Purification and properties of inosine-guanosine phosphorylase from Escherichia coli K-12.

A xanthosine-inducible enzyme, inosine-guanosine phosphorylase, has been partially purified from a strain of Escherichia coli K-12 lacking the deo-encoded purine nucleoside phosphorylase. Inosine-guanosine phosphorylase had a particle weight of 180 kilodaltons and was rapidly inactivated by p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid (p-CMB). The enzyme was not protected from inactivation by inosine (Ino), 2'-deoxyinosine (dIno), hypoxanthine (Hyp), Pi, or alpha-D-ribose-1-phosphate (Rib-1-P). Incubating the inactive enzyme with dithiothreitol restored the catalytic activity. Reaction with p-CMB did not affect the particle weight. Inosine-guanosine phosphorylase was more sensitive to thermal inactivation than purine nucleoside phosphorylase. The half-life determined at 45 degrees C between pH 5 and 8 was 5 to 9 min. Phosphate (20 mM) stabilized the enzyme to thermal inactivation, while Ino (1 mM), dIno (1 mM), xanthosine (Xao) (1 mM), Rib-1-P (2 mM), or Hyp (0.05 mM) had no effect. However, Hyp at 1 mM did stabilize the enzyme. In addition, the combination of Pi (20 mM) and Hyp (0.05 mM) stabilized this enzyme to a greater extent than did Pi alone. Apparent activation energies of 11.5 kcal/mol and 7.9 kcal/mol were determined in the phosphorolytic and synthetic direction, respectively. The pH dependence of Ino cleavage or synthesis did not vary between 6 and 8. The substrate specificity, listed in decreasing order of efficiency (V/Km), was: 2'-deoxyguanosine, dIno, guanosine, Xao, Ino, 5'-dIno, and 2',3'-dideoxyinosine. Inosine-guanosine phosphorylase differed from the deo operon-encoded purine nucleoside phosphorylase in that neither adenosine, 2'-deoxyadenosine, nor hypoxanthine arabinoside were substrates or potent inhibitors. Moreover, the E. coli inosine-guanosine phosphorylase was antigenically distinct from the purine nucleoside phosphorylase since it did not react with any of 14 monoclonal antisera or a polyvalent antiserum raised against deo-encoded purine nucleoside phosphorylase.