On the haemoprotein character of prostaglandin endoperoxide synthetase.

Prostaglandin endoperoxide synthetase is a membrane-bound glycoprotein isolated as a dimer of molecular weight of approximately 129 000 consisting of two identical polypeptide chains. Several research workers have reported that haemin (ferri-protoporphyrin-IX) is required to restore the full enzymic activity of the pure apoprotein. Difference spectroscopy shows association of haemin up to two molecules per polypeptide chain of molecular weight 70 000. Both the cyclooxygenase and the peroxidase activity displayed by the enzyme can be optimally stimulated by similar quantities of haemin. The restored haemin-enzyme complex has a millimolar absorption coefficient at 408 nm of 61 mM-1 . cm-1 per haem. Using this value, the presence of non-haem iron in the enzyme is virtually excluded. These findings and the spectra of the reassociated enzyme-haemin complex point to a haemoprotein character. The availability of haemin to the enzyme might play a regulating r?le in its action.     

Subunit structure of bovine milk xanthine oxidase. Effect of limited cleavage by proteolytic enzymes on activity and structure.

Bovine milk xanthine oxidase (xanthine:oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.2.3.2) has been purified by a modified method without the use of proteases, and its structure has been analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Native xanthine oxidase is found to consist of only two polypeptide chains A with molecular weights of 150 000 each. These chains have NH2-terminal methionine. Limited proteolysis with trypsin, chymotrypsin, or subtilisin at pH 8 did not affect molecular weight and activities of the enzyme while each of the A chains was cleaved under these conditions to three fragments C, E, and F with molecular weights of 92 00, 42 000 and 20 000, respectively. These fragments remained bound to each other and were relatively resistant to subsequent proteolysis. The isolation of xanthine oxidase in the presence of pancreatin as described by Hart et al. (1970, Biochem. J. 116, 851) gives partially digested enzyme composed mainly of chains C, E (Mr 35 000) and a small component (Mr approx. 15 0-0). The action of subtilisin on xanthine oxidase at pH 11 resulted in complete digestion of E chains, FAD separation, and total loss of xanthine:oxygen oxidoreductase activity while xanthine:indophenol oxidoreductase activity was relatively little affected. The residual enzyme has a molecular weight of about 200 000, is composed mainly of two C chains (and may probably contain F and/or proteolytic fragments of low molecular weight), contains molybdenum, and does not contain FAD.     

Characterization of a seventh different subunit of beef heart cytochrome c oxidase. Similarities between the beef heart enzyme and that from other species.

Beef heart cytochrome c oxidase has been resolved into seven subunits by electrophoresis in highly cross-linked gels containing urea and sodium dodecyl sulfate. The molecular weights of the polypeptides are estimated to be I, 35 400; II, 24 100; III, 21 000; IV, 16 800; V, 12 400; VI, 8200; and VII, 4400. It has been shown that subunits II and III can coelectrophorese on standard sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and appear as a single component with an apparent molecular weight of 22 500. This accounts for previous reports that the beef heart enzyme contains only six subunits. Amino acid analysis of the isolated subunits I, II, and III revealed that they have polarities of 35.5, 44.7, and 39.9%, respectively. All three subunits have an extremely high leucine content and a low percentage of basic amino acids relative to subunits IV-VII. The size, number, and properties of subunits in the beef heart cytochrome c oxidase complex suggest that it has essentially the same subunit structure as the complexes isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Neurospora crassa.     

The nuclear-coded subunits of yeast cytochrome c oxidase. The amino acid sequences of subunits VII and VIIa, structural similarities between the three smallest polypeptides of the holoenzyme, and implications for biogenesis

The complete amino acid sequences of subunits VII and VIIa from yeast cytochrome c oxidase are reported. Subunits VII and VIIa are 57 residues (Mr = 6603) and 54 residues (Mr = 6303) in length, respectively. Both polypeptides are amphiphilic, have an internal hydrophobic section and hydrophilic NH2 and COOH termini, and terminate at their COOH termini with a basic amino acid. This structural motif is similar to that possessed by subunit VIII of yeast cytochrome c oxidase. All three polypeptides have hydrophobic sections which are long enough to span the inner membrane; all three polypeptides lack methionine at their NH2 termini; and all three polypeptides have COOH termini which could result from proteolysis by a protease with trypsin or cathepsin B-like activity. These observations raise the interesting possibility that subunits VII, VIIa, and VIII are transmembranous polypeptides which are processed at both their NH2 and COOH termini during their biogenesis.     

Deletion of the COX7 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals a role for cytochrome c oxidase subunit VII In assembly of remaining subunits

Cytochrome c oxidase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is composed of nine subunits. Subunits I, II and III are products of mitochondrial genes, while subunits IV, V, VI, VII, VIIa and VIII are products of nuclear genes. To investigate the role of cytochrome c oxidase subunit VII in biogenesis or functioning of the active enzyme complex, a null mutation in the COX7 gene, which encodes subunit VII, was generated, and the resulting cox7 mutant strain was characterized. The strain lacked cytochrome c oxidase activity and haem a/a3 spectra. The strain also lacked subunit VII, which should not be synthesized owing to the nature of the cox7 mutation generated in this strain. The amounts of remaining cytochrome c oxidase subunits in the cox7 mutant were examined. Accumulation of subunit I, which is the product of the mitochondrial COX1 gene, was found to be decreased relative to other mitochondrial translation products. Results of pulse-chase analysis of mitochondrial translation products are consistent with either a decreased rate of translation of COX1 mRNA or a very rapid rate of degradation of nascent subunit I. The synthesis, stability or mitochondrial localization of the remaining nuclear-encoded cytochrome c oxidase subunits were not substantially affected by the absence of subunit VII. To investigate whether assembly of any of the remaining cytochrome c oxidase subunits is impaired in the mutant strain, the association of the mitochondrial-encoded subunits I, II and III with the nuclear-encoded subunit IV was investigated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Biogenesis of the cytochrome bc1 complex in isolated rat hepatocytes

Isolated rat hepatocytes were labeled with [³⁵S]methionine in the absence or presence of cycloheximide or chloramphenicol. The cytochrome $\text{bc}$₁ complex was isolated from labeled cells by a micromethod and analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography. All subunits except the two smallest, subunits VII and VIII, were labeled in the absence of translational inhibitors. In the presence of cycloheximide only subunit III (molecular weight, 30 000) was labeled. This polypeptide, identified as an apo-cytochrome b, was weakly labeled with [³⁵S]methionine in the presence of cycloheximide, indicating a strict dependence of cytoplasmically synthesized products for its assembly. In the presence of chloramphenicol, labeling was inhibited only in subunit III.     

Cytochrome c oxidase from the liver of bullfrog, Rana catesbeina and change in its turnover rate during metamorphosis

1. Cytochrome c oxidase was purified from the liver mitochodria of bullfrog (Rana catesbeina). The heme a content of the purified enzyme was 13.5 nmol per mg protein. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate revealed that the enzyme protein was composed of nine polypeptide subunits having molecular weights of 42 000, 27 000, 25 000, 20 000, 15 000, 13 000, 8 600, 5 400 and 3 600. The purified enzyme from the adult frog was immunologically identical with that from the tadpole. 2. The rates of synthesis and degradation of cytochrome c oxidase were 5.2- and 2.0-times higher at metamorphic climax than at premetamorphic stage, respectively. The amount of the enzyme in the liver was highest at metamorphic climax.     

Cytochrome c oxidase from bakers' yeast. III. Physical characterization of isolated subunits and chemical evidence for two different classes of polypeptides.

Earlier studies have shown that cytochrome c oxidase from bakers' yeast is an oligomeric enzyme which contains three polypeptides (I to III) synthesized on mitochondrial ribosomes and four polypeptides (IV to VII) synthesized on cytoplasmic ribosomes. These polypeptide subunits have now been isolated by a simple protocol which utilizes differences in polypeptide charge, solubility, and size. Their molecular weights determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, gel filtration in the presence of guanidine hydrochloride, and amino acid analysis were: I, 40,000; II, 33,000; III, 22,000; IV, 14,500; V, 12,700; VI, 12,700; and VII, 4,600. All seven polypeptide subunits exhibited acidic isoelectric points; cytoplasmically made subunits were more acidic than mitochondrially made ones. The amino acid composition of two mitochondrially made subunits and two cytoplasmically made subunits was determined. The two mitochondrial translation products, I and II, contained only 34.7% and 42.1% polar amino acids, respectively, whereas the two cytoplasmic translation products, IV and VI, contained 48.3% and 49.3%, respectively. This agreed with the observation that Subunits I and II are very insoluble, requiring detergents for solubility, whereas Subunits IV and VI are water-soluble in the absence of any added detergent. These results indicate that the cytochrome c oxidase subunits synthesized on mitochondrial and cytoplasmic ribosomes are fundamentally different in size, isoelectric properties, and hydrophobicity. They also suggest the possibility that at least some of the mitochondrially made subunits are buried in the lipid phase of the mitochondrial inner membrane.     

Immunological and chemical characterization of rat liver cytochrome c oxidase

Rat liver cytochrome c oxidase (ferrocytochrome c: oxygen oxidoreductase; EC 1.9.3.1) was separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis into 12 different polypeptide chains. Specific antisera against the holoenzyme and against purified subunits IV and VIII were used to characterize the enzyme complex. The antiserum against subunit IV precipitates from sodium dodecyl sulfate-dissociated mitochondria only subunit IV and from Triton X-100-dissolved mitochondria all 12 polypeptide chains, indicating their integral location within the enzyme complex. Different antisera against the holoenzyme only precipitate subunits IV, V and VIb from sodium dodecyl sulfate-dissociated mitochondria, suggesting the location of these subunits on the surface layer of the complex. Subunit VIII is thought to be located within the complex, since a specific antiserum does not precipitate the complex. The amino acid composition of all 12 protein subunits is different, thus excluding their origin from proteolytic degradation. The proteolytic degradation of subunit IV into IV during isolation of the enzyme was corroborated by the very similar amino acid composition of both proteins.     

Cytochrome c oxidase: structure, function, and membrane topology of the polypeptide subunits.

Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase and its bacterial homologs catalyze electron transfer and proton translocation reactions across membranes. The eukaryotic enzyme complex consists of a large number of polypeptide subunits. Three of the subunits (I, II, and III) are mitochondrially encoded while the remaining 6 (yeast) to 10 (bovine) are nuclear encoded. Antibody and chemical-labelling experiments suggest that subunits I-III and most (but not all) of the nuclear-encoded subunits span the inner mitochondrial membrane. Subunits I and II are the catalytic core of the enzyme. Subunit I contains haem a, haem a3 and CuB, while subunit II contains CuA and the cytochrome c binding site. Subunit III and most of the nuclear subunits are essential for the assembly of a functional catalytic enzyme. Some nuclear subunits are present as isozymes, although little functional difference has yet been detected between enzyme complexes composed of different isozymes. Therefore, any additional role attributed to the nuclear-encoded subunits beyond that of enzyme assembly must be tentative. We suggest that enough evidence exists to support the idea that modification of the larger nuclear subunits (IV, V, and possibly VI) can effect enzyme turnover in vitro. Whether this is a physiological control mechanism remains to be seen.     

1, 4-alpha-Glucan phosphorylase from Klebsiella pneumoniae purification, subunit structure and amino acid composition.

1. A 1,4-alpha-glucan phosphorylase from Klebsiella pneumoniae has been purified about 80-fold with an over-all yield greater than 35%. The purified enzyme has been shown to be homogeneous by gel electrophoresis at different pH-values, by isoelectric focusing, by dodecylsulfate electrophoresis and by ultracentrifugation. 2. The molecular weight of the native enzyme has been determined to be 180 000 by ultra-centrifugation studies, in good agreement with the value of 189 000 estimated by gel permeation chromatography. 3. The enzyme dissociates in the presence of 0.1% dodecylsulfate or 5 M guanidine hydrochloride into polypeptide chains. The molecular weight of these polypeptide chains has been found to be 88 000 by dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 99 000 by sedimentation equilibrium studies, indicating that the native enzyme is composed of two polypeptide chains. 4. The enzyme contains pyridoxalphosphate with a stoichiometry of two moles per 180 000 g protein, confirming that the 1,4-alpha-glucan phosphorylase from Klebsiella pneumoniae is a dimeric enzyme. 5. The amino acid composition of the enzyme has been determined, and its correspondence to that of 1,4-alpha-glucan phosphorylases from other sources is discussed. 6. The pI of the enzyme has been shown to be 5.3 and its pH-optimum to be about pH 5.9. The enzyme is stable in the range from pH 5.9 to 10.5.     

Unspecific arginine kinase of molecular weight 150 000. Amino acid composition, subunit structure and number of substrate binding sites.

The amino acid composition of unspecific arginine kinase of molecular weight 150 000 of Sabella pavonina muscle has been determined. If was found to be very similar to that of the phosphagen kinases previously studied. The subunit structure of the enzyme has been investigated by physical and chemical means. The data obtained from ultracentrifugation studies in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride and from molecular sieving and disc electrophoresis in 8 M urea, as well as the tryptic peptide mapping, suggest that Sabella muscle kinase is composed of four non-covalently linked polypeptide chains, with similar molecular weights. The number of binding sites for the nucleotide substrate ADP-Mg2+ has been estimated, using differential spectrophotometry and gel filtration on Sephadex columns. By both methods it was demonstrated that the enzyme contains two catalytic sites per protein molecule of molecular weight 150 000. Thus, arginine kinase from Sabella muscle, of molecular weight 150 000, consists of four similar polypeptide chains, but possesses only two substrate binding sites per tetrameric molecule.     

Identification of subunits of bovine heart cytochrome oxidase.

Purified lipid-depleted cytochrome oxidase, at purity of 12--14 nmol heme a per mg protein, has been shown to contain seven non-identical subunits in the ratio of unity. Their molucular weights on polyacrylamide gel are, in thousands, 40, 21, 14.8, 13.5, 11.6, 9.5, and 7.6 from gel electrophoresis after dissociation in sodium dodecyl sulfate and beta-mercaptoethanol. The molar ratio is determined by the amino acid composition of each subunit obtained from direct hydrolysis of the stained polyacrylamide gel slices. The amino acid composition of the isolated subunits I and II determined by regular hydrolysis method is found practically the same as that from direct hydrolysis of gel slices. The heme-associated polypeptides are identified with subunits of molecular weights of 40.10(3) and 11.6.10(3). One of the two coppers associated with the polypeptide of molecular weight of 21 000. The second copper may be associated with heme in the subunit of 40.10(3). Evidence of the existence of interpolypeptide disulfide linkages is presented.     

Purification and subunit composition of acetohydroxyacid synthase I from Escherichia coli K-12.

Acetohydroxyacid synthase I from Escherichia coli K-12 has been purified to near homogeneity. Analysis of the purified enzyme by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed the presence of two polypeptides, one with a molecular weight of 60,000 and one with a molecular weight of 9,500. These two polypeptides were present in constant proportion to each other and to enzyme activity. The molar ratio of the two polypeptides (Mr 9,500:60,000), estimated from stained polyacrylamide gels, was 1. Antisera raised against the 60,000 Mr polypeptide precipitated both the 60,000 and the 9,500 Mr polypeptides from extracts of cells labeled with [35S]methionine. The addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate before immunoprecipitation eliminated the smaller polypeptide, and only the larger one was recovered. The hydrodynamic properties of the native enzyme confirmed a previous report that the largest enzymatically active species has a molecular weight of about 200,000; this species contains both the 60,000- and 9,500-molecular-weight polypeptides.     

Studies on cytochrome c oxidase, VIII. The amino acid sequence of polypeptide VII.

The sequence determination of polypeptide VII from beef heart cytochrome c oxidase is described. The amino acid sequence is deduced from overlapping tryptic peptides and peptides obtained after cleavage with Staphylococcus aureus protease. The protein consists of 85 amino acids corresponding to a Mr of 10026, in agreement with a value of 9500 obtained by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. The amino acid sequence around the only methionine present is very similar to sequences around the invariant heme binding methionine of the cytochrome c family. This similarity suggests that the protein is one of the heme bindings subunits of the oxidase.     

Subunit structure of biodegradative threonine deaminase.

The molecule weight of the biodegradative threonine deaminase from Escherichia coli was determined to be approximately 147,000 by sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation. Similar experiments using 5 M guanidinium chloride gave a value of 39,000 for the molecular weight of the enzyme subunit. On sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis the enzyme also dissociated into a single subunit with an estimated molecular weight of 38,000. The NH2 terminus of the enzyme was determined to be methionine by the dinitrophenylation procedure. Quantitative analysis revealed that 3.6 mol of methionine were detected per 147,000 g of enzyme. The selective tritium labeling method established alanine as the COOH-terminal residue. The sequence of residues at the NH2 terminus, determined using an automated sequence analyzer, was: (formula: see text). The fact that a single amino acid was released at each degradation step in the above experiment strongly suggests that the subunits in the enzyme contain the same amino acid sequence. Therefore, the native enzyme with a molecular weight of 147,000 appears to be composed of four identical polypeptide subunits.     

Conversion of a mitochondrial precursor polypeptide into subunit 1 of cytochrome oxidase in the mi-3 mutant of Neurospora crassa.

1. The cytochrome-alpha alpha 3-deficient mi-3 cytoplasmic mutant of Neurospora crassa synthesizes a mitochondrial translation product which crossreacts with antibodies specific to subunit 1 of cytochrome oxidase. The immunoprecipitated polypeptide migrates more slowly during gel electrophoresis than the authentic 41 000-Mr subunit 1 of the wild-type enzyme. An apparent molecular weight of about 45 000 was estimated for the mutant product. 2. Radioactive labelling experiments in vivo show that the crossreacting material found in the mutant is relatively stable and does not form complexes with other subunits of the oxidase. 3. After induction of a functional cytochrome oxidase in the mutant cells with antimycin A, the 45 000-Mr polypeptide is converted to a 41 000-Mr component, which exhibits the same electrophoretic mobility as subunit 1 of the oxidase. Pulse-chase labelling kinetics reveal a typical precursor product relationship. 4. The converted polypeptide becomes assembled with other enzyme subunits to form a protein complex which has the immunological characteristics of cytochrome oxidase. A possible physiological role of the post-translational processing of the mitochondrially synthesized component is discussed.     

Isolation and characterization of an organic solvent soluble polypeptide component from photoreceptor complexes of Rhodospirillum rubrum.

An organic solvent soluble polypeptide has been isolated from photoreceptor complexes and chromatophores of Rhodospirillum rubrum. After extraction of the protein from lyophilized samples with 1:1 chloroform-methanol, it was purified by column chromatography. Its isoelectric point determined by isoelectric focusing was 7.10. When analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the purified polypeptide ran as a single band of an apparent molecular weight of 12 000. However, according to amino acid analysis, the minimal molecular weight based on one histidine residue per polypeptide is 19 000. The polypeptide contains no cysteine and no tyrosine. Amino acid analysis indicated that three methionines were present per histidine residue and cyanogen bromide cleavage gave four smaller peptides which were isolated by two-dimensional electrophoresis and chromatography. Spectroscopic analysis indicated the presence of three tryptophan residues per histidine and N-bromosuccinamide cleavage also gave four smaller peptides which could be isolated by two-dimensional electrophoresis and chromatography. The C-terminal amino acid was shown to be glycine by two methods, while the N-terminal amino acid appears to be blocked. The organic solvent soluble polypeptide accounts for approximately 50% of the chromatophore protein and seems to bind the antenna bacteriochlorophyll and carotenoid molecules. Using this procedure, organic solvent soluble polypeptides were isolated from several photosynthetic bacteria and were found to have substantially different amino acid contents.     

The amino acid sequence of cytochrome c oxidase subunit VI from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The complete amino acid sequence of the nuclearly coded cytochrome c oxidase subunit VI was determined for a genetically defined haploid strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The subunit contains 108 amino acids, has Mr = 12,627, is acidic (net charge of -9.7 at pH 7) and is quite polar (polarity index, 50.9%). Distribution of charges within the polypeptide chain is highly non-random. The NH2- and COOH-terminal regions are predominantly acidic whereas an apolar and a basic region are found in the interior, Subunit VI shows between 28 and 40% sequence homology (depending on the method of alignment) with subunit V of bovine cytochrome c oxidase; since the yeast subunit VI lacks methionine and contains only a single histidine residue very close to the NH2 terminus, it is unlikely that either of the two subunits carries heme alpha in the native enzyme.     

Preparation of polypeptide subunits of cytochrome oxidase from Neurospora crassa.

Cytochrome oxidase was purified from Neurospora crassa by ammonium sulfate fractionation in the presence of bile salts. The enzyme preparations contained 10-13 nmol of heme a per mg of protein; no other hemoproteins could be detected. Dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis resolved the enzyme complex into seven major bands, representing seven polypeptide subunits. A procedure is described that allows the isolation of these enzyme subunits on a large scale starting from a single batch of oxidase preparation. It involves dissociation of the enzyme complex by dodecylsulfate and subsequent separation of the obtained polypeptides by chromatography in the presence of various dodecylsulfate concentrations. Purification of subunits 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 was achieved by column chromatography using molecular sieves (Sephadex G-100, Bio Gel P-60) and hydroxylapatite. For the purification of subunits 1 and 2 an electrophoretic separation on a preparative polyacrylamide gel was required. The advantages and disadvantages of the separation procedure of the enzyme polypeptides are discussed. As a special point of interest, the conservation of antigenic determinants of the polypeptide chains during the dodecylsulfate treatment is considered.