Roles of the two copper ions in bovine serum amine oxidase

With a view to obtaining information on the roles of the two copper ions in bovine serum amine oxidase (BSAO), spectroscopic and magnetic studies on several BSAO derivatives have been carried out. Cu-depleted BSAO (Cu-depBSAO) exhibits no enzyme activity and only a low absorption intensity at ca. 475 nm, which is the characteristic absorption maximum of the chromophore in BSAO. The binding of 1 mol of Cu to 1 mol of Cu-depBSAO slightly but definitely increases the enzyme activity and the absorptivity, although they are much lower than those of native BSAO. The incorporation of 2 mol of Cu into Cu-depBSAO gives rise to a similar high activity and absorptivity as those of the native enzyme. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of the BSAO derivatives reveal that two copper ions in the enzyme molecule are environmentally identical. Titrations of BSAO, Cu-depBSAO, and Cu-half-depleted BSAO (Cu-half-depBSAO), containing 1 mol of copper per mole of protein, with phenylhydrazine (an inhibitor of BSAO) indicate that only 1 mol of phenylhydrazine reacts with 1 mol of the enzyme. In other words the enzyme possesses only one chromophore or one active site, though the molecule is composed of two electrophoretically identical subunits. The binding constants between phenylhydrazine and BSAO, Cu-depBSAO, or Cu-half-depBSAO were estimated to be 5 X 10(6), 5 X 10(4), and 1 X 10(5) M-1, respectively. The binding of phenylhydrazine to the chromophore is assisted by the presence of two copper ions by a factor of 100.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

N-alkanamines as substrates to probe the hydrophobic region of bovine serum amine oxidase active site: a kinetic and spectroscopic study

Kinetic and spectroscopic studies were carried out to study the role of hydrophobic effect on the activity of bovine serum amine oxidase (BSAO). Increasing the chain length of the substrates (linear aliphatic primary monoamines), the affinity for the active site increases while the catalytic constant decreases in accordance with a relative low value of dielectric constant (about 10) estimated for the microenvironment of BSAO active site using a fluorescent probe sensitive to solvent polarity. The aliphatic chain of 1-aminononane induces a shift in the pK(a) of the product Schiff base, the hydrolysis of which appears to be a rate-determining step of the reaction. Furthermore, circular dichroism studies highlighted the "flexibility" of BSAO secondary structure that can explain the wide substrate specificity of this enzyme. These results should be useful to elucidate the substrate/inhibitor preferences of CuAOs, in particular of the human enzyme.     

Reaction pathway of bovine aortic lysyl oxidase

The catalysis of amine oxidation by lysyl oxidase has been probed to assess for the likely order of substrate binding and product release and to discriminate between mechanistic alternatives previously proposed for other copper-dependent amine oxidases using molecular oxygen as a substrate. Lineweaver-Burk plots revealed a pattern of parallel lines when the oxidation of n-butylamine was followed at different fixed concentrations of oxygen consistent with a "ping-pong" kinetic mechanism in which the aldehyde is produced and released before the binding of oxygen, the second substrate. Initial burst experiments revealed the ability of lysyl oxidase to form and release n-butyraldehyde in amounts stoichiometric with functional active site content in the absence of oxygen, consistent with the ping-pong kinetics obtained. Reciprocal plots of n-butylamine oxidation in the presence of fixed concentrations of the reaction products were consistent with a Uni Uni Uni Bi ping-pong kinetic mechanism with the aldehyde being the first, H2O2 the second, and ammonia the last departing product. Moreover, spectral studies of the oxidation of p-hydroxybenzylamine by lysyl oxidase indicated that the enzyme does not process the amine substrate to a noncovalently bound p-hydroxybenzaldimine intermediate subsequently to be hydrolyzed to p-hydroxybenzaldehyde. The kinetic mechanism of lysyl oxidase thus appears to be similar to those described for diamine oxidase and pig plasma monoamine oxidase.     

Lentil seedlings amine oxidase: preparation and properties of the copper-free enzyme

The reaction of copper-free lentil seedlings amine oxidase with substrates has been studied. While devoid of catalytic activity, this enzyme preparation is still able to oxidize two moles of substrate and to release two moles of aldehyde and two moles of ammonia per mole of dimeric protein. The same stoichiometry has been determined on the native enzyme in the absence of oxygen. Although copper is essential for the reoxidation of the reduced enzyme, a binding of oxygen to the copper-free protein has been demonstrated.     

Effect of metal substitution in copper amine oxidase from lentil seedlings

 The reaction with substrates and carbonyl reagents of native lentil Cu-amine oxidase and its modified forms, i.e. Cu-fully-depleted, Cu-half-reconstituted, Cu-fully-reconstituted, Co-substituted, Ni-substituted and Zn-substituted, has been studied. Upon removal of only one of the two Cu ions, the enzyme loses 50% of its enzymatic activity. Using several substrates, Co-substituted lentil amine oxidase is shown to be active but the k _c value is different from that of native or Cu-fully-reconstituted enzyme, while K _m is similar. On the other hand, the Ni- and Zn-substituted forms are catalytically inactive. Enzymatic activity measurements and optical spectroscopy show that only in the Co-substituted enzyme is the organic cofactor 6-hydroxydopa quinone reactive and the enzyme catalytically competent, although less efficient. The Co-substituted amine oxidase does not form the semiquinone radical as an intermediate of the catalytic reaction. While devoid or reduced of catalytic activity, all the enzyme preparations are still able to oxidise two moles of substrate and to release two moles of aldehyde per mole of dimeric enzyme. The results obtained show that although Co-substituted amine oxidase is catalytically competent, copper is essential for the catalytic mechanism. Received: 5 March 1999 / Accepted: 22 July 1999     

Reductive trapping of substrate to bovine plasma amine oxidase

Plasma amine oxidases catalyze the oxidative deamination of amines to aldehydes, followed by a 2e- reduction of O2 to H2O2. Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), previously believed to be restricted to prokaryotes, has recently been proposed to be the cofactor undergoing reduction in the first half-reaction of bovine plasma amine oxidase (Ameyama, M., Hayashi, U., Matsushita, K., Shinagawa, E., and Adachi, O. (1984) Agric. Biol. Chem. 48, 561-565; Lobenstein-Verbeek, C. L., Jongejan, J. A., Frank, J., and Duine, J. A. (1984) FEBS Lett. 170, 305-309). This result is unexpected, since model studies with PQQ implicate Schiff's base formation between a reactive carbonyl and substrates, whereas experiments with bovine plasma amine oxidase have failed to provide evidence for a carbonyl cofactor. We have, therefore, re-examined putative adducts between substrate and enzyme-bound cofactor, employing a combination of [14C]benzylamine and [3H]NaCNBH3. The use of the relatively weak reductant, NaCNBH3, affords Schiff's base specificity and permits the study of enzyme below pH 7.0. As we show, enzyme can only be inactivated by NaCNBH3 in the presence of substrate, leading to the incorporation of 1 mol of [14C]benzylamine/mol of enzyme subunit at complete inactivation. By contrast, we are unable to detect any labeling with [3H]NaCNBH3, analogous to an earlier study with [3H]NaCNBH4 (Suva, R. H., and Abeles, R. H. (1978) Biochemistry 17, 3538-3545). We conclude, first, that our inability to obtain adducts containing both carbon 14 and tritium rules out the reductive trapping either of amine substrate with pyridoxal phosphate or of aldehyde product with a lysyl side chain and, second, that the observed pattern of labeling is fully consistent with the presence of PQQ at the active site of bovine plasma amine oxidase.     

A nifS-like gene, csdB, encodes an Escherichia coli counterpart of mammalian selenocysteine lyase. Gene cloning, purification, characterization and preliminary x-ray crystallographic studies.

Selenocysteine lyase is a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the exclusive decomposition of L-selenocysteine to L-alanine and elemental selenium. An open reading frame, named csdB, from Escherichia coli encodes a putative protein that is similar to selenocysteine lyase of pig liver and cysteine desulfurase (NifS) of Azotobacter vinelandii. In this study, the csdB gene was cloned and expressed in E. coli cells. The gene product was a homodimer with the subunit Mr of 44,439, contained 1 mol of PLP as a cofactor per mol of subunit, and catalyzed the release of Se, SO2, and S from L-selenocysteine, L-cysteine sulfinic acid, and L-cysteine, respectively, to yield L-alanine; the reactivity of the substrates decreased in this order. Although the enzyme was not specific for L-selenocysteine, the high specific activity for L-selenocysteine (5.5 units/mg compared with 0.019 units/mg for L-cysteine) supports the view that the enzyme can be regarded as an E. coli counterpart of mammalian selenocysteine lyase. We crystallized CsdB, the csdB gene product, by the hanging drop vapor diffusion method. The crystals were of suitable quality for x-ray crystallography and belonged to the tetragonal space group P43212 with unit cell dimensions of a = b = 128.1 A and c = 137.0 A. Consideration of the Matthews parameter Vm (3.19 A3/Da) accounts for the presence of a single dimer in the crystallographic asymmetric unit. A native diffraction dataset up to 2.8 A resolution was collected. This is the first crystallographic analysis of a protein of NifS/selenocysteine lyase family.     

The amidotransferase family of enzymes: molecular machines for the production and delivery of ammonia.

The amidotransferase family of enzymes utilizes the ammonia derived from the hydrolysis of glutamine for a subsequent chemical reaction catalyzed by the same enzyme. The ammonia intermediate does not dissociate into solution during the chemical transformations. A well-characterized example of the structure and mechanism displayed by this class of enzymes is provided by carbamoyl phosphate synthetase (CPS). Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase is isolated from Escherichia coli as a heterodimeric protein. The smaller of the two subunits catalyzes the hydrolysis of glutamine to glutamate and ammonia. The larger subunit catalyzes the formation of carbamoyl phosphate using 2 mol of ATP, bicarbonate, and ammonia. Kinetic investigations have led to a proposed chemical mechanism for this enzyme that requires carboxy phosphate, ammonia, and carbamate as kinetically competent reaction intermediates. The three-dimensional X-ray crystal structure of CPS has localized the positions of three active sites. The nucleotide binding site within the N-terminal half of the large subunit is required for the phosphorylation of bicarbonate and subsequent formation of carbamate. The nucleotide binding site within the C-terminal domain of the large subunit catalyzes the phosphorylation of carbamate to the final product, carbamoyl phosphate. The three active sites within the heterodimeric protein are separated from one another by about 45 A. The ammonia produced within the active site of the small subunit is the substrate for reaction with the carboxy phosphate intermediate that is formed in the active site found within the N-terminal half of the large subunit of CPS. Since the ammonia does not dissociate from the protein prior to its reaction with carboxy phosphate, this intermediate must therefore diffuse through a molecular tunnel that connects these two sites with one another. Similarly, the carbamate intermediate, initially formed at the active site within the N-terminal half of the large subunit, is the substrate for phosphorylation by the ATP bound to the active site located in the C-terminal half of the large subunit. A molecular passageway has been identified by crystallographic methods that apparently facilitates diffusion between these two active sites within the large subunit of CPS. Synchronization of the chemical transformations is controlled by structural perturbations among the three active sites. Molecular tunnels between distant active sites have also been identified in tryptophan synthase and glutamine phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate amidotransferase and are likely architectural features in an expanding list of enzymes.     

The physiological role of biogenic amines redox reactions in mitochondria. New perspectives in cancer therapy

Summary. In tumours, polyamines and amine oxidases increase as compared to normal tissues. Cytotoxicity induced by bovine serum amine oxidase (BSAO) and spermine is attributed to H₂O₂ and aldehydes produced by the reaction. Increasing the incubation temperature from 37 to 42 °C enhances cytotoxicity in cells exposed to spermine metabolites. The combination BSAO/spermine prevents tumour growth, particularly well if the enzyme has been conjugated with a biocompatible hydrogel polymer. Since the tumour cells release endogenous substrates of BSAO, the administration of spermine is not required. Combination with hyperthermia improves the cytocidal effect of polyamines oxidation products. Our findings show that multidrug resistant (MDR) cells are more sensitive to spermine metabolites than their wild-type counterparts, due to an increased mitochondrial activity which induces the generation of intracellular ROS prior to the onset of mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT). It makes this new approach attractive, since the development of MDR is one of the major problems of conventional cancer therapy.     

Binding of dioxygen to non-metal sites in proteins: exploration of the importance of binding site size versus hydrophobicity in the copper amine oxidase from Hansenula polymorpha

Copper amine oxidases (CAOs) contain 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenylalanyl quinone (TPQ) and a copper ion in their active sites, catalyzing amine oxidation to aldehyde and ammonia concomitant with the reduction of molecular oxygen to hydrogen peroxide. Kinetic studies on the CAO from bovine serum (BSAO) [Su and Klinman (1999) Biochemistry 37, 12513-12525] and the recent reports on the cobalt substituted form of the enzyme from Hansenula polymorpha (HPAO) [Mills and Klinman (2000) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 122, 9897-9904, and Mills et al. (2002) Biochemistry, 41, 10577-10584] support pre-binding of molecular oxygen prior to a rate-limiting electron transfer from the reduced form of TPQ (p-aminohydroquinone form) to dioxygen. Although there is significant sequence homology between BSAO and HPAO, k(cat)/K(m)(O2) for BSAO under the optimal condition is one order of magnitude lower than that for HPAO. From a comparison of amino acid sequences for BSAO and HPAO, together with the X-ray crystal structure of HPAO, a plausible dioxygen pre-binding site has been identified that involves Y407, L425, and M634 in HPAO; the latter two residues are altered in BSAO to A490 and T695. To determine which of these residues plays a greater role in dioxygen chemistry, k(cat)/K(m)(O2) was determined in HPAO for the M634 --> T and L425 --> A mutants. The L425 --> A mutation does not alter k(cat)/K(m)(O2) to a large extent, whereas the M634 --> T decreased k(cat)/K(m)(O2) by one order of a magnitude, creating a catalyst that is similar to BSAO. A series of mutants at M634 (to F, L, and Q) were, therefore, prepared in HPAO and characterized with regard to k(cat)/K(m)(O2) as a function of pH. Structure reactivity correlations show a linear relationship of rate with side chain volume, rather than hydrophobicity, indicating that dioxygen reactivity increases with the bulk of the residue at position 634. This site also shows specificity for O2, in relation to the co-gas N2, since substitution of the inert gas N2 by either Ar or He has no effect on measured rates. In particular, He gas is expected to have little affinity for protein at 1 atmospheric pressure, implying little or no binding by N2 as well.     

An unexpected role for the active site base in cofactor orientation and flexibility in the copper amine oxidase from Hansenula polymorpha.

The role of the active site aspartate base in the aminotransferase mechanism of the copper amine oxidase from the yeast Hansenula polymorpha has been probed by site-directed mutagenesis. The D319E mutant catalyzes the oxidation of methylamine and phenethylamine, but not that of benzylamine. kcat/Km for methylamine is found to be 80-fold reduced compared to that of the wild type. Viscosogen and substrate and solvent deuteration have no effect on this parameter for D319E, which is suggestive of limitation of kcat/Km by a conformational change. This conformational change is proposed to be the movement of the cofactor into a productive orientation upon the binding of substrate. In the absence of substrate, a flipped cofactor orientation is likely, on the basis of resonance Raman evidence that the C5 carbonyl of the cofactor is less solvent accessible than the C3 hydrogen. kcat for D319E methylamine oxidase is reduced 200-fold compared to that of the wild type and is unaffected by substrate deuteration, but displays a substantial solvent isotope effect. A 428 nm absorbance is evident under conditions of saturating methylamine and oxygen with D319E. The D319N mutant is observed to produce a similar absorbance at 430 nm when treated with ammonia despite the fact that this mutant has no amine oxidase activity. Resonance Raman spectroscopy indicates the formation of a covalent ammonia adduct and identifies it as the deprotonated iminoquinone. In contrast, when the D319E mutant is reacted with ammonia, it gives predominantly a 340-350 nm species. This absorbance is ascribed to a localization of the cofactor oxyanion induced by binding of the cation at the active site and not to covalent adduct formation. Resonance Raman spectroscopic examination of the steady state species of D319E methylamine oxidation, in combination with the kinetic data, indicates that the 428 nm species is the deprotonated iminoquinone produced upon reoxidation of the reduced cofactor. A model is proposed in which a central role of the active site base is to position the free cofactor and several enzyme intermediates for optimal activity.     

Spatial relationship between the copper and carbonyl cofactors in the active site of pig plasma amine oxidase

The ortho-, meta-, and para-trifluoromethylphenylhydrazine inhibitors of porcine plasma amine oxidase were synthesized. Titrations of plasma amine oxidase with these inhibitors demonstrated that 1 mol of trifluoromethylphenylhydrazine completely and irreversibly modifies 1 mol of enzyme by covalently binding to the active carbonyl cofactor. NMR relaxation measurements on the fluorine nuclei were obtained at 188.22 and 74.84 MHz for each inhibitor-enzyme adduct. These measurements were used to calculate the exact distance and orientation between the inhibitor-binding site and the copper cofactor. The copper lies in the plane of the aromatic ring of the inhibitor at distances of 10.9, 14.3, and 15.5 A from the fluorines in the ortho-, meta-, and para- positions of the ring, respectively. Since the inhibitors react with the active carbonyl cofactor, this defines the relationship between the copper and the active carbonyl cofactor in the enzyme, and provides a basis for choosing between mechanisms for the transfer of electrons from the amine substrate to oxygen.     

Reductive trapping of substrate to methylamine oxidase from Arthrobacter P1

Methylamine oxidase (EC 1.4.3.6) from Arthrobacter P1 was inactivated by NaCNBH3 in the presence of [14C]benzylamine, leading to the incorporation of 1 mol of radiolabeled substrate/mol of enzyme subunit at complete inactivation. By contrast, no labeling of enzyme was observed using [3H]NaCNBH3 as reductant. These results are analogous to those previously reported for the eukaryotic enzyme, bovine serum plasma amine oxidase [(1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 962-965]. The observed pattern of labeling is consistent with the presence of dicarbonyl cofactor at the active site of methylamine oxidase. Further, these studies suggest that our reductive trapping technique, in which the pattern of radiolabeling of an enzyme is compared using C-14 substrate vs tritiated reductant, may serve as a general assay for covalently bound dicarbonyl structures.     

Electrophilic amination of a single methionine residue located at the active site of D-amino acid oxidase by O-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydroxylamine

O-(2,4-Dinitrophenyl)hydroxylamine is a rapid active-site-directed inhibitor of D-amino acid oxidase: modification results in specific incorporation of an amine group into an accessible nucleophilic residue with concomitant release of 2,4-dinitrophenol. The reaction is prevented by the competitive inhibitor benzoate, indicating an active-site-directed reaction. A stoichiometry of 1-1.5 mol of amine residues per enzyme bound flavin adenine dinucleotide monomer was observed at pH 7.0. Amino acid and sequence analyses show that His-217 is not the target of the modification reaction. Dependence of the modification on pH, model studies on functional groups present on amino acids, and thiolysis studies on aminated enzyme collectively indicate that the modification is located on a methionine residue at or near the active site of the enzyme. Aminated enzyme, although spectrally similar to native enzyme, exhibits a 7-9-nm blue shift in the 455-nm flavin absorption. Benzoate perturbs the spectrum of aminated enzyme, but binding relative to native enzyme is much weaker (Kd ca. 300 times greater at pH 8.0).     

Perforation of the tunnel wall in carbamoyl phosphate synthetase derails the passage of ammonia between sequential active sites

Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase (CPS) from Escherichia coli consists of a small subunit (approximately 42 kDa) and a large subunit (approximately 118 kDa) and catalyzes the biosynthesis of carbamoyl phosphate from MgATP, bicarbonate, and glutamine. The enzyme is able to utilize external ammonia as an alternative nitrogen source when glutamine is absent. CPS contains an internal molecular tunnel, which has been proposed to facilitate the translocation of reaction intermediates from one active site to another. Ammonia, the product from the hydrolysis of glutamine in the small subunit, is apparently transported to the next active site in the large subunit of CPS over a distance of about 45 A. The ammonia tunnel that connects these two active sites provides a direct path for the guided diffusion of ammonia and protection from protonation. Molecular damage to the ammonia tunnel was conducted in an attempt to induce leakage of ammonia directly to the protein exterior by the creation of a perforation in the tunnel wall. A hole in the tunnel wall was made by mutation of integral amino acid residues with alanine residues. The triple mutant alphaP360A/alphaH361A/betaR265A was unable to utilize glutamine for the synthesis of carbamoyl phosphate. However, the mutant enzyme retained full catalytic activity when external ammonia was used as the nitrogen source. The synchronization of the partial reactions occurring at the three active sites observed with the wild-type CPS was seriously disrupted with the mutant enzyme when glutamine was used as a nitrogen source. Overall, the catalytic constants of the mutant were consistent with the model where the channeling of ammonia has been disrupted due to the leakage from the ammonia tunnel to the protein exterior.     

The active site structure of quinohemoprotein amine dehydrogenase inhibited by p-nitrophenylhydrazine

Quinohemoprotein amine dehydrogenase (QH-AmDH) catalyzes the oxidative deamination of aliphatic and aromatic amines. The enzyme from Pseudomonas putida has an alpha beta gamma heterotrimeric structure with two heme c groups in the largest alpha subunit, and a novel quinone cofactor [cysteine tryptophylquinone (CTQ)] and hitherto unknown internal cross-bridges in the smallest gamma subunit. The crystal structure of the enzyme in the complex with the inhibitor [p-nitrophenylhydrazine (pNPH)] has been determined at a 2.0 A resolution.(1) The hydrazone of the cofactor with the inhibitor was nicely modeled into the omit electron density map, identifying the C6 carbonyl group as the reactive site of the cofactor. The Asp33 gamma is unambiguously determined as the catalytic base to abstract the alpha-proton from a substrate, because N beta atom of the inhibitor corresponding to the C alpha atom of the substrate amine is neighbored to Asp33 gamma. The bound inhibitor is completely enclosed in the active site pocket formed by the residues from the beta- and gamma-subunits. The cofactor-inhibitor adduct may be predominantly in the hydrazone with the azo form as a minor component. The binding of the inhibitor causes minor but important conformational changes in the residues surrounding the active site. The inhibitor may have access to the active site pocket through the water-filled crevice between the beta- and gamma-subunits.     

Regulation of acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase. II. Effect of fasting and refeeding on the activity, phosphate content, and aggregation state of the enzyme

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase isolated from freeze-clamped livers of fed rats has relatively low phosphate content (5.0 mol of Pi/mol of subunit) and high specific activity (3.5 units/mg in the absence of citrate). The enzyme from rats fasted for 12, 18, 24, and 48 h exhibited decreasing specific activities of 2.75, 1.85, 1.7, and 0.9 units/mg, respectively. Citrate activated all preparations of carboxylase, with most activation observed with the least active preparation. There was no significant change in the sensitivity of the enzyme to citrate since half-maximal activation was observed at 0.2 mM for carboxylase from fed as well as fasted rats. With the decrease in activity as a function of fasting, there was a concomitant increase in the phosphate content of carboxylase, with values of 5.3, 5.6, 6.7, and 7.6 mol of Pi/mol of subunit obtained for preparations from rats fasted for 12, 18, 24, and 48 h, respectively. Refeeding the fasted rats resulted in increased specific activity of carboxylase (3.4 units/mg) and decreased phosphate content (5.1 mol of Pi/mol of subunit). Moreover, dephosphorylation by [acetyl-CoA carboxylase]-phosphatase 2 activated the carboxylase from 48-h fasted rats to a value of 2.9 units/mg, assayed in the absence of citrate, indicating that the low activity of carboxylase from fasted rats was due to its increased phosphate content. Superose 6 chromatography showed that the enzyme exists in two polymeric forms, a highly active polymer of greater than or equal to 40 subunits and less active octamer. The former predominates in livers of fed rats, whereas the latter predominates in livers of fasted rats. The octamer could be converted to the highly active polymer by dephosphorylation. These observations indicate that fasting/refeeding results in phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase with concomitant depolymerization/polymerization of the protein and ultimately decreasing or increasing its specific activity.     

Regulation of acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase. I. Purification and properties of two forms of acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase from rat liver

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase of animal tissues is known to be dependent on citrate for its activity. The observation that dephosphorylation abolishes its citrate dependence (Thampy, K. G., and Wakil, S. J. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 6318-6323) suggested that the citrate-independent form might exist in vivo. We have purified such a form from rapidly freeze-clamped livers of rats. Sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis of the enzyme gave one protein band (Mr 250,000). The preparation has high specific activity (3.5 units/mg in the absence of citrate) and low phosphate content (5.0 mol of Pi/mol of subunit). The enzyme isolated from unfrozen liver or liver kept in ice-cold sucrose solution for 10 min and then freeze-clamped has low activity (0.3 unit/mg) and high phosphate content (7-8 mol of Pi/mol of subunit). Citrate activated such preparations with half-maximal activation at greater than 1.6 mM, well above physiological range. The low activity may be due to its high phosphate content because dephosphorylation by [acetyl-CoA carboxylase]-phosphatase 2 activates the enzyme and reduces its dependence on citrate. Since freeze-clamping the liver yields enzyme with lower phosphate content and higher activity, it is suggested that the carboxylase undergoes rapid phosphorylation and consequent inactivation after the excision of the liver. The carboxylase is made up of two polymeric forms of Mr greater than or equal to 10 million and 2 million based on gel filtration on Superose 6. The former, which predominates in preparations from freeze-clamped liver, has higher activity and lower phosphate content (5.3 units/mg and 4.0 mol of Pi/mol of subunit, respectively) than the latter (2.0 units/mg and 6.0 mol of Pi/mol of subunit, respectively). The latter, which predominates in preparations from unfrozen liver, is converted to the active polymer (Mr greater than or equal to 10 million) by dephosphorylation. Thus, the two polymeric forms are interconvertible by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation and may be important in the physiological regulation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase.     

Mechanism-based inactivators of plant copper/quinone containing amine oxidases

Copper/quinone amine oxidases contain Cu(II) and the quinone of 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenylalanine (topaquinone; TPQ) as cofactors. TPQ is derived by post-translational modification of a conserved tyrosine residue in the protein chain. Major advances have been made during the last decade toward understanding the structure/function relationships of the active site in Cu/TPQ amine oxidases using specific inhibitors. Mechanism-based inactivators are substrate analogues that bind to the active site of an enzyme being accepted and processed by the normal catalytic mechanism of the enzyme. During the reaction a covalent modification of the enzyme occurs leading to irreversible inactivation. In this review mechanism-based inactivators of plant Cu/TPQ amine oxidases from the pulses lentil (Lens esculenta), pea (Pisum sativum), grass pea (Lathyrus sativus) and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia,) are described. Substrates forming, in aerobiotic and in anaerobiotic conditions, killer products that covalently bound to the quinone cofactor or to a specific amino acid residue of the target enzyme are all reviewed.     

Kinemage of action - proposed reaction mechanism of glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminomutase at an atomic level

Glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminomutase (GSAM), a key enzyme in tetrapyrrole cofactor biosynthesis, performs a unique transamination on a single substrate. The substrate, glutamate-1-semialdehyde (GSA), undergoes a reaction that exchanges the position of an amine and a carbonyl group to produce 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). This transamination reaction is unique in the fact that is does not require an external cofactor to act as a nitrogen donor or acceptor in this transamination reaction. One of the other remarkable features of the catalytic mechanism is the release free in the enzyme active site of the intermediate 4,5-diaminovaleric acid (DAVA). The action of a gating loop prevents the escape of DAVA from the active site. In a MD simulation approach, using snapshots provided by X-ray crystallography and protein crystal absorption spectrometry data, the individual catalytic steps in this unique intramolecular transamination have been elucidated.