Isolation and characterization of a human thiamine pyrophosphokinase cDNA

A human thiamine pyrophosphokinase cDNA clone (hTPK1) was isolated and sequenced. When the intact hTPK1 open reading frame was expressed as a histidine-tag fusion protein in Escherichia coli, marked enzyme activity was detected in the bacterial cells. The hTPK1 mRNA was widely expressed in various human tissues at a very low level, and the mRNA content in cultured fibroblasts was unaffected by the thiamine concentration of the medium. The chromosome localization of the hTPK1 gene was assigned to 7q34.     

Phosphorylation of some thiamine analogs by yeast thiamine pyrophosphokinase]

A rapid efficient method of separation of the thiamine pyrophosphokinase reaction products (ATP: thiamine pyrophosphotransferase) on the column packed with DEAE-Sephadex A-25 and their subsequent identification by direct spectrophotometry is suggested. Phosphorylation of some thiamine analogs substituted at the second position of the pyrimidine ring was studied. It was shown that in addition to thiamine, the enzyme transfers the pyrophosphate group to some of its derivatives. The vitamin analogs devoid of quaternary nitrogen in the thiazole cycle, do not form pyrophosphate ethers (thus being unable to act as substrates), whereas 2'-phenoxythiamine, 2'-methoxythiamine and especially 2'-phenylthiamine are phosphorylated at a greater rate than does the "true" substrate, thiamine, under similar conditions.     

Product inhibition of mammalian thiamine pyrophosphokinase is an important mechanism for maintaining thiamine diphosphate homeostasis

BackgroundThiamine diphosphate (ThDP), an indispensable cofactor for oxidative energy metabolism, is synthesized through the reaction thiamine + ATP ? ThDP + AMP, catalyzed by thiamine pyrophosphokinase 1 (TPK1), a cytosolic dimeric enzyme. It was claimed that the equilibrium of the reaction is in favor of the formation of thiamine and ATP, at odds with thermodynamic calculations. Here we show that this discrepancy is due to feedback inhibition by the product ThDP.MethodsWe used a purified recombinant mouse TPK1 to study reaction kinetics in the forward (physiological) and for the first time also in the reverse direction.ResultsK_eq values reported previously are strongly underestimated, due to the fact the reaction in the forward direction rapidly slows down and reaches a pseudo-equilibrium as ThDP accumulates. We found that ThDP is a potent non-competitive inhibitor (K_i ≈ 0.4 μM) of the forward reaction. In the reverse direction, a true equilibrium is reached with a K_eq of about 2 × 10^?5, strongly in favor of ThDP formation. In the reverse direction, we found a very low K_m for ThDP (0.05 μM), in agreement with a tight binding of ThDP to the enzyme.General significanceInhibition of TPK1 by ThDP explains why intracellular ThDP levels remain low after administration of even very high doses of thiamine. Understanding the consequences of this feedback inhibition is essential for developing reliable methods for measuring TPK activity in tissue extracts and for optimizing the therapeutic use of thiamine and its prodrugs with higher bioavailability under pathological conditions.     

Nucleotide specificity of rat liver thiamine pyrophosphokinase]

The nucleotide specificity of thiamine pyrophosphokinase from rat liver was studied. The enzyme was found to possess a sufficiently wide substrate specificity. Any of the nucleotides can be a donor of the pyrophosphate groups for TDP biosynthesis at two pH optima of the enzyme in the T-kinase reaction under the Mg2++/NTP optimal ratio. The minimal requirement for the substrate structure allowing to predict the position of the split nucleotide phosphoester bond was postulated.     

Identification of the two missing bacterial genes involved in thiamine salvage: thiamine pyrophosphokinase and thiamine kinase

The genes encoding thiamine kinase in Escherichia coli (ycfN) and thiamine pyrophosphokinase in Bacillus subtilis (yloS) have been identified. This study completes the identification of the thiamine salvage enzymes in bacteria.     

Kinetic characteristics of thiamine diphosphate biosynthesis by thiamine pyrophosphokinase from rat liver]

The kinetic analysis of bisubstrate enzymatic reaction catalysed by electrophoretically homogenous thiamine pyrophosphokinase (EC 2.7.6.2), isolated from rat liver has been carried out. Kinetic studies of the initial rates in the absence of the products and inhibition by the reaction products as well as the data from the equilibrium dialysis suggest that the reaction proceeds through the formation of a ternary enzyme-substrate complex. The combination with substrates and release of the products appears to be highly ordered. A possible scheme of the reaction mechanism is discussed.     

Evidence for existence and a tentative identification of coenzyme in yeast thiamine pyrophosphokinase.

Thiamine pyrophosphokinase (E.C. 2.7.6.2.) from $\text{Saccharomyces cerevisiae}$ was found to require the presence of a non-protein, non-metal compound for its activity. $\text{myo}$-Inositol was found capable of stimulating the kinase activity in the presumably resolved but otherwise crude sample of the enzyme. The hexytol was also found capable of inducing the enzyme in growing yeast cells. The cultured yeast cells, in which the kinase had been induced, were used as source of the enzyme for its purification. The compound that had been left adsorbed to the final column of DEAE-Sephadex was proved to have a coenzyme activity towards the enzyme and tentatively identified with $\text{myo}$-inositol 1-pyrophosphate. A sample of synthetic $\text{myo}$-inositol 1-pyrophosphate was made and its coenzyme activity was observed.     

Purification and properties of thiamine pyrophosphokinase in Paracoccus denitrificans

The existence of thiamine pyrophosphokinase [EC 2.7.6.2] in procaryotic cells was first demonstrated in Paracoccus denitrificans (J. Bacteriol, (1976) 126, 1030-1036). The enzyme was therefore purified from this organism to determine its molecular structure and properties. Thiamine pyrophosphokinase which was purified 620-fold from P. denitrificans showed a single band on both polyacrylamide and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the molecular weight in the latter case was calculated to be 23,000. Gel filtration analysis using Sephadex G-150 gave a molecular weight of 44,000, indicating that this enzyme contains at least two identical subunits. Although sedimentation equilibrium analysis gave a molecular weight of 96,000, indirect evidence suggests that the form having this molecular weight is an aggregate of the functional dimer. The activity of the purified enzyme required thiamine, ATP, and Mg2+, and the enzyme catalyzed thepyrophosphorylation of thiamine by ATP. Km values for thiamine and ATP were 10 microM and 0.38 mM, respectively. The activity was competitively inhibited by pyrithiamine, giving a Ki value of 19 microM. Oxythiamine and chloroethylthiamine were very weak inhibitors of the enzyme. The activity was also inhibited by the product, TPP.     

Interaction of thiamine pyrophosphokinase from brewer's yeast with thiamine and adenosine-5'-triphosphate]

The interaction of thiamine pyrophosphokinase (Thiaminkinase EC 2.7.6.2) with thiamine and ATP was studied. It was shown that the mechanism of the thiaminokinase reactions is Rapid Equilibrium Random Bi -- Bi. The enzyme binds 8 moles ATP and 1 mole thiamine per mole protein Ks = 0,8-10(-3) and 4.10(-6) M for ATP and thiamine respectively.     

Identification of the functional groups of yeast thiamine pyrophosphokinase]

The content of free sulfhydril groups in yeast thiamine pyrophosphokinase (EC 2.7.6.2) was studied. Their blocking was found not to affect considerably the enzyme activity. N-bromsuccinimide developes the inhibitory effect only if taken in excessive concentrations, which indicates that tryptophane has no key position for the enzyme-substrate complex formation. On account of high speed of photoinactivation with Rose bengale and methilene blue, sigmoid dependence of activity loss on pH under irradiation, characteristic narrowing of the modified enzyme absorption spectrum, it is suggested that imidazole residue of the histidine is one of the functional groups of thiamine pyrophosphokinase.     

Mechanisms of rat liver thiamine pyrophosphokinase activation by magnesium ions]

The role of Mg2+ in the activation of thiamine pyrophosphokinase from rat liver was studied. The dependence of the thiamine pyrophosphokinase reaction rate on total and free ATP concentrations suggests that the role of the metal comes down to optimization of conditions of the active enzyme-substrate complex formation due to incorporation of the reactions of Mg2+ and ATP-4 consecutive acception, the affinity of the latter for the enzyme being higher than that of Mg-ATP-2. The kinetic parameters of the reaction were determined. In the absence of ATP-4 free Mg2+ ions were shown to compete with the Mg-ATP-2 complex (Ki = 18 . 10(-3) M). Thiamine pyrophosphokinase is also inhibited by free ATP-4 with Ki = 3 . 10(-3) M.     

Partial purification and properties of thiamine pyrophosphokinase from pig brain.

Pig brain thiamine pyrophosphokinase (ATP: thiamine pyrophosphotransferase, EC 2.7.6.2) was purified 260-fold over extracts of brain acetone powder. A direct, radiometric assay was used to follow the purification. By isoelectric focusing, the purified enzyme appeared to have an isoionic point of approx. pH 4.2, but these preparations were still not homogeneous by disc-gel electrophoresis nor by analytical ultracentrifugation. The purified enzyme has a broad pH optimum extending from pH 8.3 to 9.3 in 0.028 M phosphate/glycylglycine buffers. For optimal enzymatic activity, the ratio of magnesium to ATP must be fixed at 0.6, which suggests that for this ATP-pyrophosphoryl transfer reaction, the enzymatically preferred reactant may be Mg(ATP)6-/2. A preliminary study of the kinetics of the reaction reveals that the enzyme may function via a partial "ping-pong" mechanism; on this basis, dissociation constants for ATPt and for thiamine were evaluated. Pyrithiamine, butylthiamine, ethylthiamine, and oxythiamine appeared to be competitive inhibitors with respect to thiamine as the variable substrate, and their inhibitor dissociation constants were calculated. The relatively poor affinity of oxythiamine to the enzyme emphasizes the 4-amino group in the pyrimidine ring as one of the specificity requirements for thiamine pyrophosphokinase. Preliminary values for the apparent equilibrium coefficient of the thiamine pyrophosphokinase-catalyzed reaction, in terms of total species, has been approximated at several initial concentrations of reactants: e.g. K'eq,app = (see article) 9.66 - 10(-3) M; and [Th]initial - 1 - 10(-6) and 2 - 10(-6) M, respectively, where TDP, Th, t and eq represent thiamine diphosphate, thiamine, total concentration and equilibrium concentration, respectively.     

Quaternary structure and allosteric properties of thiamine pyrophosphokinase from rat liver]

Using electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate thiamine pyrophosphokinase (EC 2.7.6.2) was found to possess quaternary structure and consist of two polypeptide chains. It was shown that besides active centres, the oligomer has allosteric centres for binding of Mg2+ ions, since treatment by HgCl2 and heating of the enzyme lead to complete "desensibilisation". This results in a disappearance of the S-shaped curve of the dependence of reaction rate on Mg2+ concentration, the Hill coefficient coming down to 1. It is assumed that thiamine pyrophosphokinase belongs to the class dissociating regulatory enzymes.     

A constitutive thiamine metabolism mutation, thi80, causing reduced thiamine pyrophosphokinase activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We identified a strain carrying a recessive constitutive mutation (thi80-1) with an altered thiamine transport system, thiamine-repressible acid phosphatase, and several enzymes of thiamine synthesis from 2-methyl-4-amino-5-hydroxymethylpyrimidine and 4-methyl-5-beta-hydroxyethylthiazole. The mutant shows markedly reduced activity of thiamine pyrophosphokinase (EC 2.7.6.2) and high resistance to oxythiamine, a thiamine antagonist whose potency depends on thiamine pyrophosphokinase activity. The intracellular thiamine pyrophosphate content of the mutant cells grown with exogenous thiamine (2 x 10(-7) M) was found to be about half that of the wild-type strain under the same conditions. These results suggest that the utilization and synthesis of thiamine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is controlled negatively by the intracellular thiamine pyrophosphate level.     

A rapid and sensitive radiometric assay procedure for thiamine pyrophosphokinase activity using anion-exchange paper discs

A radiochemical method for the direct measurement of thiamine pyrophosphokinase (ATP: thiamine pyrophosphotransferase, EC 2.7.6.2) activity was described earlier (1,2). It avoided the difficulties associated with assay systems based on the coenzyme nature of thiamine pyrophosphate in TPP-dependent¹ enzyme reactions using apopyruvate decarboxylase (3) (2-oxoacid carboxylase, EC 4.1.1.1) or apotransketolase (4) (sedoheptulose-7-phosphate: d-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate glycolaldehydetransferase, EC 2.2.1.1). Since the chromatographic isolation of TPP is time-consuming, a procedure for the rapid determination of thiamine pyrophosphokinase activity was desirable.The simplified method described here takes advantage of the anionic character of TPP. The assay is carried out with [¹⁴C]thiamine as substrate. After incubation with the enzyme in the presence of Mg²⁺-ATP, the reaction mixture is applied to a DEAE-cellulose paper disc. The disc is extensively washed with sodium acetate resulting in the quantitative elution of [¹⁴C]thiamine and partial retention of [¹⁴C]TPP. This is quantitatively measured using the liquid scintillation counting technique.A similar procedure has been described for the determination of glycerol kinase (ATP: glycerol phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.30) and hexokinase (ATP: d-hexose 6-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.1) activities (5).     

The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum expresses an atypical N-terminally extended pyrophosphokinase with specificity for thiamine

Vitamin B(1) is an essential cofactor for key enzymes such as 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase and pyruvate dehydrogenase. Plants, bacteria and fungi, as well as Plasmodium falciparum, are capable of synthesising vitamin B(1)de novo, whereas mammals have to take up this cofactor from their diet. Thiamine, a B(1) vitamer, has to be pyrophosphorylated by thiamine pyrophosphokinase (TPK) to the active form. The human malaria parasite P. falciparum expresses an N-terminally extended pyrophosphokinase throughout the entire erythrocytic life cycle, which was analysed by Northern and Western blotting. The recombinant enzyme shows a specific activity of 27 nmol min(-1) mg(-1) protein and specificity for thiamine with a K(m) value of 73 microM, while thiamine monophosphate is not accepted. Mutational analysis of the N-terminal extension of the plasmodial TPK showed that it influences thiamine binding as well as metal dependence, which suggests N-terminal participation in the conformation of the active site. Protein sequences of various plasmodial TPKs were analysed for their phylogeny, which classified the Plasmodium TPKs to a group distinct from the mammalian TPKs. To verify the location of the parasite TPK within the cell, immunofluorescence analyses were performed. Co-staining of PfTPK with a GFP marker visualised its cytosolic localisation.     

Molecular mechanism of allosteric substrate activation in a thiamine diphosphate-dependent decarboxylase

Thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes are involved in a wide variety of metabolic pathways. The molecular mechanism behind active site communication and substrate activation, observed in some of these enzymes, has since long been an area of debate. Here, we report the crystal structures of a phenylpyruvate decarboxylase in complex with its substrates and a covalent reaction intermediate analogue. These structures reveal the regulatory site and unveil the mechanism of allosteric substrate activation. This signal transduction relies on quaternary structure reorganizations, domain rotations, and a pathway of local conformational changes that are relayed from the regulatory site to the active site. The current findings thus uncover the molecular mechanism by which the binding of a substrate in the regulatory site is linked to the mounting of the catalytic machinery in the active site in this thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzyme.