Cloning, sequencing, heterologous expression, purification, and characterization of adenosylcobalamin-dependent D-ornithine aminomutase from Clostridium sticklandii

D-Ornithine aminomutase from Clostridium sticklandii catalyzes the reversible rearrangement of d-ornithine to (2R,4S)-2,4-diaminopentanoic acid. The two genes encoding d-ornithine aminomutase have been cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli. The oraS gene, which encodes a protein of 121 amino acid residues with M(r) 12,800, is situated upstream of the oraE gene, which encodes a protein of 753 amino acid residues with M(r) 82,900. The holoenzyme appears to comprise a alpha(2)beta(2)-heterotetramer. OraS shows no significant homology to other proteins in the Swiss-Prot data base. The deduced amino acid sequence of OraE includes a conserved base-off/histidine-on cobalamin-binding motif, DXHXXG. OraE was expressed in E. coli as inclusion bodies. Refolding experiments on OraE indicate that the interactions between OraS and OraE and the binding of either pyridoxal phosphate or adenosylcobalamin play important roles in refolding process. The K(m) values for d-ornithine, 5'-deoxyadenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl), and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) are 44.5 +/- 2.8, 0.43 +/- 0.04, and 1.5 +/- 0.1 microm, respectively; the k(cat) is 6.3 +/- 0.1 s(-1). The reaction was absolutely dependent upon OraE, OraS, AdoCbl, PLP, and D-ornithine being present in the assay; no other cofactors were required. A red-shift in UV-visible absorption spectrum is observed when free adenosylcobinamide is bound by recombinant D-ornithine aminomutase and no significant change in spectrum when free adenosylcobinamide is bound by mutant OraE-H618G, demonstrating that the enzyme binds adenosylcobalamin in base-off/histidine-on mode.     

Coexpression, purification and characterization of the E and S subunits of coenzyme B(12) and B(6) dependent Clostridium sticklandii D-ornithine aminomutase in Escherichia coli.

D-Ornithine aminomutase from Clostridium sticklandii comprises two strongly associating subunits, OraS and OraE, with molecular masses of 12,800 and 82,900 Da. Previous studies have shown that in Escherichia coli the recombinant OraS protein is synthesized in the soluble form and OraE as inclusion bodies. Refolding experiments also indicate that the interactions between OraS and OraE and the binding of either pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) or adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) play important roles in the refolding process. In this study, the DNA fragment containing both genes was cloned into the same expression vector and coexpression of the oraE and oraS genes was carried out in E. coli. The solubility of the coexpressed OraS and OraE increases with decreasing isopropyl thio-beta-D-galactoside induction temperature. Among substrate analogues tested, only 2,4-diamino-n-butyric acid displays competitive inhibition of the enzyme with a K(i) of 96 +/- 14 microm. Lys629 is responsible for the binding of PLP. The apparent K(d) for coenzyme B(6) binding to d-ornithine aminomutase is 224 +/- 41 nm as measured by equilibrium dialysis. The mutant protein, OraSE-K629M, is successfully expressed. It is catalytically inactive and unable to bind PLP. Because no coenzyme is involved in protein folding during in vivo translation of OraSE-K629M in E. coli, in vitro refolding of the enzyme employs a different folding mechanism. In both cases, the association of the S and E subunit is important for D-ornithine aminomutase to maintain an active conformation.     

Cloning, sequencing, heterologous expression, purification, and characterization of adenosylcobalamin-dependent D-lysine 5, 6-aminomutase from Clostridium sticklandii

D-Lysine 5,6-aminomutase from Clostridium sticklandii catalyzes the 1,2-shift of the epsilon-amino group of D-lysine and reverse migration of C5(H). The two genes encoding 5,6-aminomutase have been cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherchia coli. They are adjacent on the Clostridial chromosome and encode polypeptides of 57. 3 and 29.2 kilodaltons. The predicted amino acid sequence includes a conserved base-off 5'-deoxyadenosylcobalamin binding motif and a 3-cysteine cluster in the small subunit, as well as a P-loop sequence in the large subunit. Activity of the recombinant enzyme exceeds that of the 5,6-aminomutase purified from C. sticklandii by 6-fold, presumably due to the absence of bound, inactive corrinoids in the recombinant enzyme. The K(m) values for adenosylcobalamin and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate are 6.6 and 1.0 microM, respectively. ATP does not have a regulatory effect on the recombinant protein. The rapid turnover associated inactivation reported for the enzyme purified from Clostridium is also seen with the recombinant form. Aminomutase activity does not depend on structural or catalytic metal ions. Electron paramagnetic resonance experiments with [(15)N-dimethylbenz-imidazole]adenosylcobalamin demonstrate base-off binding, consistent with other B(12)-dependent enzymes that break unactivated C-H bonds.     

An organic radical in the lysine 2,3-aminomutase reaction.

Lysine 2,3-aminomutase from Clostridium SB4 has been studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy at 77 K. Although the reaction catalyzed by this enzyme is similar to rearrangements catalyzed by enzymes requiring adenosylcobalamin, lysine 2,3-aminomutase does not utilize this cofactor. The enzyme instead contains iron-sulfur clusters, cobalt, and pyridoxal phosphate and is activated by S-adenosylmethionine. Subsequent to a reductive incubation procedure that is required to activate the enzyme, EPR studies reveal the appearance of an organic radical signal (g = 2.001) upon addition of both L-lysine and S-adenosylmethionine. The radical signal is complex, having multiple hyperfine transitions. The total radical concentration is proportional to enzyme activity and decreases in parallel with the approach to chemical equilibrium between alpha-lysine and beta-lysine. The signal changes over the time course of the reaction in a way that suggests the presence of more than one radical species, with different relative proportions of species in the steady state and equilibrium state. Isotopic substitution experiments show that unpaired spin density resides on the molecular framework of lysine and that solvent-exchangeable protons do not participate in strong hyperfine coupling to the radical. The results indicate that lysine radicals participate in the rearrangement mechanism.     

Identification of a novel pyridoxal 5'-phosphate binding site in adenosylcobalamin-dependent lysine 5,6-aminomutase from Porphyromonas gingivalis

Lysine 5,6-aminomutase (5,6-LAM) catalyzes the interconversion of D-lysine with 2,5-diaminohexanoate and of L-beta-lysine with 3,5-diaminohexanoate. The coenzymes for 5,6-LAM are adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP). In the proposed chemical mechanism, AdoCbl initiates the formation of substrate radicals, and PLP facilitates the radical rearrangement by forming an external aldimine linkage with the epsilon-amino group of a substrate, either D-lysine or L-beta-lysine. In the resting enzyme, an internal aldimine between PLP and an essential lysine in the active site facilitates productive PLP binding and catalysis. We present here biochemical, biophysical, and site-directed mutagenesis experiments, which document the existence of an essential lysine residue in the active site of 5,6-LAM from Porphyromonas gingivalis. Reduction of 5,6-LAM with NaBH(4) rapidly inactivates the enzyme and shifts the electronic absorption band from 420 to 325 nm. This is characteristic of the reduction of an aldimine linkage between the carbonyl group of PLP and the epsilon-amino group of a lysine residue. The reduced peptide was identified by Q-TOF/MS and further confirmed by Q-TOF/MS/MS sequencing. We show that lysine 144 in the small subunit of 5,6-LAM is the essential lysine residue. Lysine 144(beta) is separated by only 11 amino acids from histidine 133(beta), which forms a part of the "base-off"-AdoCbl binding motif. The sequence of the novel PLP-binding motif is conserved in 5,6-LAM from Clostridium sticklandii and P. gingivalis, and it is distinct from all known PLP-binding motifs. Mutation of lysine 144(beta) to glutamine led to K144Q(beta)-5,6-LAM, which displayed no enzymatic activity and no absorption band corresponding to an internal PLP-aldamine. In summary, we introduce a novel PLP-binding motif, the first to be discovered in an AdoCbl-dependent enzyme.     

Lysine 2,3-aminomutase. Support for a mechanism of hydrogen transfer involving S-adenosylmethionine

The conversion of L-lysine to L-beta-lysine is catalyzed by lysine 2,3-aminomutase. The reaction involves the interchange of the 2-amino group of lysine with a hydrogen at carbon 3. As such the reaction is formally analogous to adenosylcobalamin-dependent rearrangements. However, the enzyme does not contain and is not activated by this coenzyme. Instead it contains iron and pyridoxal phosphate and is activated by S-adenosylmethionine. Earlier experiments implicated adenosyl-C-5' of S-adenosylmethionine in the hydrogen transfer mechanism, apparently in a role similar or analogous to that of adenosyl moiety of adenosylcobalamin in the B12-dependent rearrangements. The question of whether both hydrogens or only one hydrogen at adenosyl-C-5' participate in the hydrogen-transfer process has been addressed by carrying out the lysine 2,3-aminomutase reaction with S-[5'-3H] adenosylmethionine in the presence of 10 times its molar concentration of enzyme. Under these conditions all of the tritium appeared in lysine and beta-lysine, showing that C-5'-hydrogens participate. To determine whether hydrogen transfer is compulsorily intermolecular and intramolecular, various molar ratios of [3,3-2H2]lysine and unlabeled lysine were submitted to the action of lysine 2,3-aminomutase under conditions in which 10-15% conversion to beta-lysine occurred. Mass spectral analysis of the beta-lysine for monodeutero and dideutero species showed conclusively that hydrogen transfer is both intramolecular and intermolecular. The results quantitatively support our postulate that activation of the enzyme involves a transformation of S-adenosylmethionine into a form that promotes the generation of an adenosyl-5' free radical, which abstracts hydrogen from lysine to form 5'-deoxyadenosine as an intermediate.     

Electron transfer in the substrate-dependent suicide inactivation of lysine 5,6-aminomutase

The lysine 5,6-aminomutase (5,6-LAM) purified from Clostridium sticklandii was found to undergo rapid inactivation in the absence of the activating enzyme E(2) and ATP. In the presence of substrate, inactivation was also seen for the recombinant 5,6-LAM. This adenosylcobalamin-dependent enzyme is postulated to generate cob(II)alamin and the 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical through enzyme-induced homolytic scission of the Co-C bond. However, the products cob(III)alamin and 5'-deoxyadenosine were observed upon inactivation of 5,6-LAM. Cob(III)alamin production, as monitored by the increase in A(358), proceeds at the same rate as the loss of enzyme activity, suggesting that the activity loss is related to the adventitious generation of cob(III)alamin during enzymatic turnover. The cleavage of adenosylcobalamin to cob(III)alamin is accompanied by the formation of 5'-deoxyadenosine at the same rate, and the generation of cob(III)alamin proceeds at the same rate both aerobically and anaerobically. Suicide inactivation requires the presence of substrate, adenosylcobalamin, and PLP. We have ruled out the involvement of either the putative 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical or dioxygen in suicide inactivation. We have shown that one or more reaction intermediates derived from the substrate or/and the product, presumably a radical, participate in suicide inactivation of 5,6-LAM through electron transfer from cob(II)alamin. Moreover, L-lysine is found to be a slowly reacting substrate, and it induces inactivation at a rate similar to that of D-lysine. The alternative substrate beta-lysine induces inactivation at least 25 times faster than DL-lysine. The inactivation mechanism is compatible with the radical isomerization mechanism proposed to explain the action of 5,6-LAM.     

Rhodobacter sphaeroides phosphoribulokinase: identification of lysine-165 as a catalytic residue and evaluation of the contributions of invariant basic amino acids to ribulose 5-phosphate binding.

Rhodobacter sphaeroides phosphoribulokinase (PRK) is inactivated upon exposure to pyridoxal phosphate/sodium borohydride, suggesting a reactive lysine residue. Protection is afforded by a combination of the substrate ATP and the allosteric activator NADH, suggesting that the targeted lysine maps within the active site. PRK contains two invariant lysines, K53 and K165. PRK-K53M retains sensitivity to pyridoxal phosphate, implicating K165 as the target of this reagent. PRK-K165M retains wild-type structure, as judged by titration with effector NADH and the tight-binding alternative substrate trinitrophenyl-ATP. The catalytic activity of K165M and K165C mutants is depressed by >10(3)-fold. Residual activity of K165M is insensitive to pyridoxal phosphate, confirming K165 as the target of this reagent. The decreased catalytic efficiency of K165 mutants approaches the effect measured for a mutant of D169, which forms a salt-bridge to K165. K165M exhibits a 10-fold increase in S()1(/)()2 (ATP) and a 10(2)-fold increase in K(m) (Ru5P). To evaluate the contribution to Ru5P binding of K165 in comparison with this substrate's interaction with invariant H45, R49, R168, and R173, PRKs mutated at these positions have been used to determine relative K(i) values for 6-phosphogluconate, a competitive inhibitor with respect to Ru5P. Elimination of the basic side chain of K165, R49, and H45 results in increases in K(m) (Ru5P) which correlate well with the magnitude of increases in K(i) (phosphogluconate). In contrast, while mutations eliminating charge from R168 and R173 result in enzymes with substantial increases in K(m) (Ru5P), such mutant enzymes exhibit only small increases in K(i) (phosphogluconate). These observations suggest that K165, R49, and H45 are major contributors to Ru5P binding.     

Pyridoxal-5'-phosphate as the catalyst for radical isomerization in reactions of PLP-dependent aminomutases

PLP catalyzes the 1,2 shifts of amino groups in free radical-intermediates at the active sites of amino acid aminomutases. Free radical forms of the substrates are created upon H atom abstractions carried out by the 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical. In most of these enzymes, the 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical is generated by an iron-sulfur cluster-mediated reductive cleavage of S-adenosyl-(S)-methionine. However, in lysine 5,6-aminomutase and ornithine 4,5-aminomutase, the radical is generated by homolytic cleavage of the cobalt-carbon bond of adenosylcobalamin. The imine linkages in the initial radical forms of the external aldimines undergo radical addition to form azacyclopropylcarbinyl radicals as central intermediates in the catalytic cycles. In the case of lysine 2,3-aminomutase, the multistep catalytic mechanism is corroborated by direct spectroscopic observation and characterization of a product radical trapped during steady-state turnover. Analogues of the substrate-related radical having substituents adjacent to the radical center to stabilize the unpaired electron are also observed and characterized spectroscopically. A functional allylic analogue of the 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical is observed spectroscopically. A high-resolution crystal structure fully supports the mechanistic proposals. Evidence for a similar free radical mediated amino group transfer in the adenosylcobalamin-dependent lysine 5,6-aminomutase is provided by spectroscopic detection and characterization of radicals generated from the 4-thia analogues of the lysine substrates. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Pyridoxal Phospate Enzymology.     

Reactions of glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminomutase with R- and S-enantiomers of a novel, mechanism-based inhibitor, 2,3-diaminopropyl sulfate

Glutamate semialdehyde aminomutase is a recognized target for selective herbicides and antibacterial agents because it provides the aminolevulinate from which tetrapyrroles are synthesized in plants and bacteria but not in animals. The reactions of the enzyme with R- and S-enantiomers of a novel compound, diaminopropyl sulfate, designed as a mechanism-based inhibitor of the enzyme are described. The S-enantiomer undergoes transamination without significantly inactivating the enzyme. The R-enantiomer inactivates the enzyme rapidly. Inactivation is accompanied by the formation of a 520 nm-absorbing chromophore and by the elimination of sulfate. The inactivation is attenuated by simultaneous transamination of the enzyme to its pyridoxamine phosphate form but inclusion of succinic semialdehyde to reverse the transamination leads to complete inactivation. The inactivation is attributed to further reactions arising from generation of an external aldimine between the pyridoxal phosphate cofactor and the 2,3-diaminopropene that results from enzyme-catalyzed beta-elimination of sulfate.     

Chemical modification of the lysine residues of bacterial formate dehydrogenase

Inactivation of formate dehydrogenase by formaldehyde, pyridoxal and pyridoxal phosphate was studied. The effects of concentrations of the modifying agents, substrates, products and inhibitors on the extent of the enzyme inactivation were examined. A complete formate dehydrogenase inactivation by pyridoxal, pyridoxal, phosphate and formaldehyde is achieved by the blocking of 2, 5 and 13 lysine residues per enzyme subunit, respectively. The coenzymes do not protect formate dehydrogenase against inactivation. In the case of modification by pyridoxal and pyridoxal phosphate a complete maintenance of the enzyme activity and specific protection of one lysine residue per enzyme subunit is observed during formation of a binary formate-enzyme complex, or a ternary enzyme--NAD--azide complex. One lysine residue is supposed to be located at the formate-binding site of the formate dehydrogenase active center.     

Pyridoxylation of essential lysine residues of mitochondrial adenosine triphosphatase

1. Soluble beef-heart mitochondrial ATPase (F₁) was incubated with [³H]pyridoxal 5′-phosphate and the Schiffbase complex formed was reduced with sodium borohydride. Spectral measurements indicate that lysine residues are modified and gel electrophoresis in the presence of detergent shows the tritium label to be associated with the two largest subunits, α and β. 2. In the absence of protecting ligands, the loss of ATP hydrolysis activity is linearly dependent on the level of pyridoxylation with complete inactivation correlating to 10 mol pyridoxamine phosphate incorporated per mol enzyme. Partial inactivation of F₁ with pyridoxal phosphate has no effect on either the K_m for ATP or the ability of bicarbonate to stimulate residual hydrolysis activity, suggesting a mixed population of fully active and fully inactive enzyme. 3. In the presence of excess magnesium, the addition of ADP or ATP, but not AMP, decreases the rate and extent of modification of F₁ by pyridoxal phosphate. The non-hydrolyzable ATP analog, 5′-adenylyl-β, γ-imidodiphosphate, is particularly effective in protecting F₁ against both modification and inactivation. Efrapeptin and P_i have no effect on the modification reaction. 4. Prior modification of F₁ with pyridoxal phosphate decreases the number of exchangeable nucleotide binding sites by one. However, pyridoxylation of F₁ is ineffective in displacing endogenous nucleotides bound at non-catalytic sites and does not affect the stoichiometry of P_i binding. 5. The ability of nucleotides to protect against modification and inactivation by pyridoxal phosphate and the loss of one exchangeable nucleotide site with the pyridoxylation of F₁ suggest the presence of a positively charged lysine residue at the catalytic site of an enzyme that binds two negatively charged substrates.     

Affinity labeling of the allosteric activator site(s) of spinach leaf ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase

Pyridoxal-P has been shown to be an activator of the spinach leaf ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase. It has a higher apparent affinity than the physiological activator 3-phosphoglycerate but only activates the enzyme activity 6-fold whereas 3-phosphoglycerate gives a 25-fold activation. Reductive phosphopyridoxylation of the spinach leaf enzyme results in enzyme having less dependence on the presence of activator for activity. Labeled pyridoxal-P is incorporated into both the 54- and 51-kilodalton subunits of the spinach leaf enzyme. The incorporation is inhibited by the presence of either 3-phosphoglycerate or the allosteric inhibitor, inorganic phosphate, thus suggesting that pyridoxal phosphate is covalently bound to the allosteric activator site. The pyridoxal phosphate is bound to an epsilon-amino group of a lysine residue. The phosphopyridoxylated enzyme is more resistant to phosphate inhibition than the unmodified form. The modified 51-kDa subunit has been digested with trypsin, and the peptide containing the labeled pyridoxal phosphate has been purified via high performance liquid chromatography and sequenced. Comparison of this sequence with the deduced amino acid sequence of a rice endosperm cDNA clone indicates that the putative allosteric site of the 51-kDa subunit is close to the carboxyl-terminal. This is in contrast to what had been demonstrated for the position of the activator site of the Escherichia coli ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase which was shown to be close to the amino-terminal of the subunit.     

The contribution of a conformationally mobile, active site loop to the reaction catalyzed by glutamate semialdehyde aminomutase

The behavior of glutamate semialdehyde aminomutase, the enzyme that produces 4-aminolevulinate for tetrapyrrole synthesis in plants and bacteria, is markedly affected by the extent to which the central intermediate in the reaction, 4,5-diaminovalerate, is allowed to dissociate. The kinetic properties of the wild-type enzyme are compared with those of a mutant form in which a flexible loop, that reversibly plugs the entrance to the active site, has been deleted by site-directed mutagenesis. The deletion has three effects. The dissociation constant for diaminovalerate is increased approximately 100-fold. The catalytic efficiency of the enzyme, measured as k(cat)/K(m) in the presence of saturating concentrations of diaminovalerate, is lowered 30-fold to 2.1 mM(-1) s(-1). During the course of the reaction, which begins with the enzyme in its pyridoxamine form, the mutant enzyme undergoes absorbance changes not seen with the wild-type enzyme under the same conditions. These are proposed to be due to abortive complex formation between the pyridoxal form of the enzyme (formed by dissociation of diaminovalerate) and glutamate semialdehyde itself.     

Labeling of specific lysine residues at the active site of glutamine synthetase

Glutamine synthetase (Escherichia coli) was incubated with three different reagents that react with lysine residues, viz. pyridoxal phosphate, 5'-p-fluorosulfonylbenzoyladenosine, and thiourea dioxide. The latter reagent reacts with the epsilon-nitrogen of lysine to produce homoarginine as shown by amino acid analysis, nmr, and mass spectral analysis of the products. A variety of differential labeling experiments were conducted with the above three reagents to label specific lysine residues. Thus pyridoxal phosphate was found to modify 2 lysine residues leading to an alteration of catalytic activity. At least 1 lysine residue has been reported previously to be modified by pyridoxal phosphate at the active site of glutamine synthetase (Whitley, E. J., and Ginsburg, A. (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 7017-7025). By varying the pH and buffer, one or both residues could be modified. One of these lysine residues was associated with approximately 81% loss in activity after modification while modification of the second lysine residue led to complete inactivation of the enzyme. This second lysine was found to be the residue which reacted specifically with the ATP affinity label 5'-p-fluorosulfonylbenzoyladenosine. Lys-47 has been previously identified as the residue that reacts with this reagent (Pinkofsky, H. B., Ginsburg, A., Reardon, I., Heinrikson, R. L. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 9616-9622; Foster, W. B., Griffith, M. J., and Kingdon, H. S. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 882-886). Thiourea dioxide inactivated glutamine synthetase with total loss of activity and concomitant modification of a single lysine residue. The modified amino acid was identified as homoarginine by amino acid analysis. The lysine residue modified by thiourea dioxide was established by differential labeling experiments to be the same residue associated with the 81% partial loss of activity upon pyridoxal phosphate inactivation. Inactivation with either thiourea dioxide or pyridoxal phosphate did not affect ATP binding but glutamate binding was weakened. The glutamate site was implicated as the site of thiourea dioxide modification based on protection against inactivation by saturating levels of glutamate. Glutamate also protected against pyridoxal phosphate labeling of the lysine consistent with this residue being the common site of reaction with thiourea dioxide and pyridoxal phosphate.     

Horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase. A study of the essential lysine residue.

1. The inactivation of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate in phosphate buffer, pH8, at 10 degrees C was investigated. Activity declines to a minimum value determined by the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentration. The maximum inactivation in a single treatment is 75%. This limit appears to be set by the ratio of the first-order rate constants for interconversion of inactive covalently modified enzyme and a readily dissociable non-covalent enzyme-modifier complex. 2. Reactivation was virtually complete on 150-fold dilution: first-order analysis yielded an estimate of the rate constant (0.164min-1), which was then used in the kinetic analysis of the forward inactivation reaction. This provided estimates for the rate constant for conversion of non-covalent complex into inactive enzyme (0.465 min-1) and the dissociation constant of the non-covalent complex (2.8 mM). From the two first-order constants, the minimum attainable activity in a single cycle of treatment may be calculated as 24.5%, very close to the observed value. 3. Successive cycles of modification followed by reduction with NaBH4 each decreased activity by the same fraction, so that three cycles with 3.6 mM-pyridoxal 5'-phosphate decreased specific activity to about 1% of the original value. The absorption spectrum of the enzyme thus treated indicated incorporation of 2-3 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate per mol of subunit, covalently bonded to lysine residues. 4. NAD+ and NADH protected the enzyme completely against inactivation by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, but ethanol and acetaldehyde were without effect. 5. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate used as an inhibitor in steady-state experiments, rather than as an inactivator, was non-competitive with respect to both NADH and acetaldehyde. 6. The partially modified enzyme (74% inactive) showed unaltered apparent Km values for NAD+ and ethanol, indicating that modified enzyme is completely inactive, and that the residual activity is due to enzyme that has not been covalently modified. 7. Activation by methylation with formaldehyde was confirmed, but this treatment does not prevent subsequent inactivation with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Presumably different lysine residues are involved. 8. It is likely that the essential lysine residue modified by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is involved either in binding the coenzymes or in the catalytic step. 9. Less detailed studies of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase suggest that this enzyme also possesses an essential lysine residue.     

The effect of pyridoxal phosphate on the activity of aldolase from Lemna minor L.

Lemna aldolase has been purified by ion-exchange and affinity chromatography. The enzyme is inhibited by pyridoxal phosphate in a manner which suggests that pyridoxal phosphate forms a non-covalent complex with the enzymes which is in equilibrium with the Schiff base covalently modified enzyme. The kinetics of the reversal of inhibition have been used to test the proposition that the fall in aldolase activity observed during periods of nitrogen starvation is due to inhibition by pyridoxal phosphate. It is concluded that the in vivo loss of aldolase activity is not due to pyridoxal phosphate and that the in vitro inhibition of glycolytic enzymes by pyridoxal phosphate is due to the reaction with lysine residues at the active sites which are necessary to bind the strongly acidic sugar phosphates.     

A Conformational Sampling Model for Radical Catalysis in Pyridoxal Phosphate- and Cobalamin-dependent Enzymes

Cobalamin-dependent enzymes enhance the rate of C–Co bond cleavage by up to ∼10¹²-fold to generate cob(II)alamin and a transient adenosyl radical. In the case of the pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) and cobalamin-dependent enzymes lysine 5,6-aminomutase and ornithine 4,5 aminomutase (OAM), it has been proposed that a large scale domain reorientation of the cobalamin-binding domain is linked to radical catalysis. Here, OAM variants were designed to perturb the interface between the cobalamin-binding domain and the PLP-binding TIM barrel domain. Steady-state and single turnover kinetic studies of these variants, combined with pulsed electron-electron double resonance measurements of spin-labeled OAM were used to provide direct evidence for a dynamic interface between the cobalamin and PLP-binding domains. Our data suggest that following ligand binding-induced cleavage of the Lys⁶²⁹-PLP covalent bond, dynamic motion of the cobalamin-binding domain leads to conformational sampling of the available space. This supports radical catalysis through transient formation of a catalytically competent active state. Crucially, it appears that the formation of the state containing both a substrate/product radical and Co(II) does not restrict cobalamin domain motion. A similar conformational sampling mechanism has been proposed to support rapid electron transfer in a number of dynamic redox systems.     

Mechanism of radical-based catalysis in the reaction catalyzed by adenosylcobalamin-dependent ornithine 4,5-aminomutase

We report an analysis of the reaction mechanism of ornithine 4,5-aminomutase, an adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl)- and pyridoxal L-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the 1,2-rearrangement of the terminal amino group of D-ornithine to generate (2R,4S)-2,4-diaminopentanoic acid. We show by stopped-flow absorbance studies that binding of the substrate D-ornithine or the substrate analogue D-2,4-diaminobutryic acid (DAB) induces rapid homolysis of the AdoCbl Co-C bond (781 s(-1), D-ornithine; 513 s(-1), DAB). However, only DAB results in the stable formation of a cob(II)alamin species. EPR spectra of DAB and [2,4,4-(2)H(3)]DAB bound to holo-ornithine 4,5-aminomutase suggests strong electronic coupling between cob(II)alamin and a radical form of the substrate analog. Loading of substrate/analogue onto PLP (i.e. formation of an external aldimine) is also rapid (532 s(-1), D-ornithine; 488 s(-1), DAB). In AdoCbl-depleted enzyme, formation of the external aldimine occurs over long time scales (approximately 50 s) and occurs in three resolvable kinetic phases, identifying four distinct spectral intermediates (termed A-D). We infer that these represent the internal aldimine (lambda(max) 416 nm; A), two different unliganded PLP states of the enzyme (lambda(max) at 409 nm; B and C), and the external aldimine (lambda(max) 426 nm; D). An imine linkage with d-ornithine and DAB generates both tautomeric forms of the external aldimine, but with D-ornithine the equilibrium is shifted toward the ketoimine state. The influence of this equilibrium distribution of prototropic isomers in driving homolysis and stabilizing radical intermediate states is discussed. Our work provides the first detailed analysis of radical-based catalysis in this Class III AdoCbl-dependent enzyme.     

Immobilization of nucleoside diphosphatase at its allosteric site using immobilized derivatives of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate

3-O-Immobilized and 6-immobilized pyridoxal 5′-phosphate analogs of Sepharose were bound to the allosteric site of nucleoside diphosphatase with very high affinity. Active immobilized nucleoside diphosphatase was prepared by reduction of the Schiff base linkage between the enzyme and pyridoxal 5′-phosphate bound to Sepharose with NaBH₄. 3-O-Immobilized pyridoxal 5′-phosphate analog gave more active immobilized enzyme than the 6-analog; the immobilized enzyme on the 3-O-immobilized pyridoxal 5′-phosphate analog showed about 90% of activity of free enzyme. The immobilized enzyme thus prepared was less sensitive to ATP, an allosteric effector, and showed a higher heat stability than the free enzyme. When an assay mixture containing inosine diphosphate and MgCl₂ was passed through a column of the immobilized enzyme at 37 °C, inosine diphosphate liberated inorganic phosphate almost quantitatively. Properties of the immobilized enzyme on the pyridoxal 5′-phosphate analog were compared with those of the immobilized enzyme on CNBr-activated Sepharose.