Purification and properties of Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase.

Dihydrofolate reductase has been purified 40-fold to apparent homogeneity from a trimethoprim-resistant strain of Escherichia coli (RT 500) using a procedure that includes methotrexate affinity column chromatography. Determinations of the molecular weight of the enzyme based on its amino acid composition, sedimentation velocity, and sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis gave values of 17680, 17470 and 18300, respectively. An aggregated form of the enzyme with a low specific activity can be separated from the monomer by gel filtration; treatment of the aggregate with mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol results in an increase in enzymic activity and a regeneration of the monomer. Also, multiple molecular forms of the monomer have been detected by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The unresolved enzyme exhibits two pH optima (pH 4.5 and pH 7.0) with dihydrofolate as a substrate. Highest activities are observed in buffers containing large organic cations. In 100 mM imidazolium chloride (pH 7), the specific activity is 47 mumol of dihydrofolate reduced per min per mg at 30 degrees. Folic acid also serves as a substrate with a single pH optimum of pH 4.5. At this pH the Km for folate is 16 muM, and the Vmax is 1/1000 of the rate observed with dihydrofolate as the substrate. Monovalent cations (Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+) inhibit dihydrofolate reductase; at a given ionic strength the degree of inhibition is a function of the ionic radius of the cation. Divalent cations are more potent inhibitors; the I50 of BaCl2 is 250 muM, as compared to 125 mM for KCl. Anions neither inhibit nor activate the enzyme.     

Purification and characterization of glutathione reductase from bovine erythrocytes

Glutathione reductase (E.C.1.8.1.7; GR) was purified from bovine erythrocytes and some characteristics properties of the enzyme were investigated. The purification procedure was composed of preparation of the hemolysate, ammonium sulfate fractionation, affinity chromatography on 2',5'-ADP Sepharose 4B, and gel filtration chromatography on Sephadex G-200. As a result of four consecutive procedures, the enzyme was purified 31,250-fold with a yield of 11.39%. Specific activity at the final step was 62.5 U (mg proteins)(-1). For the enzyme, optimum pH, optimum temperature, optimum ionic strength, and stable pH were found to be 7.3, 55 degrees C, 435 mM, 7.3, respectively. The molecular weight of the enzyme was found to be 118 kDa by Sephadex G-200 gel filtration chromatography and the subunit molecular weight was found to be 58 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). In addition, Km and Vmax values were determined for glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and NADPH. Ki constants and inhibition types were established for glutathione (GSH) and NADP+. Also, effects of NADPH and GSSG were investigated on the enzyme activities.     

Purification and properties of low-Km aldehyde reductase from ox brain

A low-Km aldehyde reductase (alcohol:NADP+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.2), which may be identical with aldose reductase (alditol:NADP+ 1-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.21), has been purified from ox brain to homogeneity. It was shown to be a monomer with Mr values of 31 000 and 35 100 being obtained by gel filtration and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate, respectively. The enzyme catalyses the NADPH-dependent reduction of a number of aromatic and sugar aldehydes. The activity of the enzyme with 133 microM NADH was about one-third of that with 120 microM NADPH. Activity with both these coenzymes was optimum at pH 6.2 and was inhibited by increasing the ionic strength with KCl, NaCl or NaNO3. In contrast, the activity was stimulated by sodium phosphate. The activity with NADH as the coenzyme was more sensitive to stimulation by phosphate and to inhibition by increasing ionic strength than that determined with NADPH.     

Assimilatory nitrate reductase from Chlorella. Effect of ionic strength and pH on catalytic activity

Initial velocity studies of Chlorella nitrate reductase showed that increased ionic strength stimulated NADH:nitrate reductase activity by increasing both Vmax and Km for nitrate. Examination of the effect of ionic strength on the various partial activities of nitrate reductase revealed that while NADH:ferricyanide and reduced methyl viologen:nitrate reductase activities were unaffected by ionic strength, NADH:cytochrome c and reduced flavin:nitrate reductase activities were inhibited and stimulated by increased ionic strength, respectively. Comparison of the rates for the partial activities indicated electron transfer from heme to molybdenum to be the rate-limiting step in enzyme turnover. The pH optimum for NADH:nitrate reductase activity was found to be 7.9 while values for the partial activities ranged from 5.5 to 8.1. Phosphate was found to stimulate both NADH:nitrate and reduced methyl viologen:nitrate reductase activities indicating the molybdenum center as the site of interaction.     

The structure of the mutant dihydrofolate reductase from Streptococcus faecium. Partial sequence and order of the limited tryptic and cyanogen bromide peptides.

The major form of dihydrofolate reductase from a methotrexate-resistant mutant (strain A) of Streptococcus faecium var. Durans has been purified on a large scale. Amino acid analysis of this form of the enzyme (isoenzyme 2) reveals an absence of cystine or cysteine, and sedimentation studies indicate a molecular weight of 20,800. The NH2-terminal sequence was determined by Edman degradation of the intact protein and the COOH terminus by selective tritiation and by carboxypeptidase treatment. After the action of trypsin on the citraconylated protein, seven of the expected nine peptides were purified from the digest, and after cyanogen bromide treatment of the unmodified protein, all seven of the anticipated peptides were isolated. The amino acid composition of all of these peptides has been established as well as their complete or partial sequences. From the results it was possible to order these peptides within the sequence and to establish the sequence of the NH2-terminal 60 residues and the COOH-terminal 11 residues.     

Dihydrofolate Reductase Activity in Strains of Streptococcus faecium var. durans Resistant to Methasquin and Amethopterin

Resistance to the antifolates methasquin and amethopterin has been studied in new strains of Streptococcus faecium var. durans. Two methasquin-resistant strains (SF/MQ, SF/MQ(T)) and an amethopterin-resistant strain (SF/AM) were selected independently from the wild-type S. faecium var. durans (SF/O). SF/MQ(T) is a thymine auxotroph. Total dihydrofolate reductase activity was elevated in each of the resistant strains. The greatest increase (36-fold) was observed in extracts of SF/AM. The methasquin-resistant strains, SF/MQ and SF/MQ(T), had 29-fold and 8-fold, respectively, more dihydrofolate reductase activity than the parental strain. Total dihydrofolate reductase activity of SF/O was separable by gel filtration into two components: a folate reductase (11%) and a specific dihydrofolate reductase (89%). Folate reductase activity was associated with 88% of the total dihydrofolate reductase activity of SF/MQ(T), with specific dihydrofolate reductase activity accounting for the remaining 12%. In SF/MQ and SF/AM, folate reductase activity was associated with 97% of the total dihydrofolate reductase activity. Studies of the inhibition by methasquin and amethopterin of partially purified folate reductase and specific dihydrofolate reductase of the mutant strains suggested that resistance was not accompanied by changes in the affinities of these enzymes for either antifolate.     

Biochemical and genetic characterization of enterocin P, a novel sec-dependent bacteriocin from Enterococcus faecium P13 with a broad antimicrobial spectrum.

Enterocin P is a new bacteriocin produced by Enterococcus faecium P13 isolated from a Spanish dry-fermented sausage. Enterocin P inhibited most of tested spoilage and food-borne gram-positive pathogenic bacteria, such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, and Clostridium botulinum. Enterocin P is produced during growth in MRS broth from 16 to 45 degrees C; it is heat resistant (60 min at 100 degrees C; 15 min at 121 degrees C) and can withstand exposure to pH between 2.0 and 11.0, freeze-thawing, lyophilization, and long-term storage at 4 and -20 degrees C. The bacteriocin was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, cation-exchange, hydrophobic-interaction, and reverse-phase liquid chromatography. The sequence of 43 amino acids of the N terminus was obtained by Edman degradation. DNA sequencing analysis of a 755-bp region revealed the presence of two consecutive open reading frames (ORFs). The first ORF encodes a 71-amino-acid protein containing a hydrophobic N-terminal sec-dependent leader sequence of 27 amino acids followed by the amino acid sequence corresponding to the purified and sequenced enterocin P. The bacteriocin is apparently synthesized as a prepeptide that is cleaved immediately after the Val-Asp-Ala residues (positions -3 to -1), resulting in the mature bacteriocin consisting of 44 amino acids, and with a theoretical molecular weight of 4,493. A second ORF, encoding a putative immunity protein composed of 88 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 9,886, was found immediately downstream of the enterocin P structural gene. Enterocin P shows a strong antilisterial activity and has the consensus sequence found in the pediocin-like bacteriocins; however, enterocin P is processed and secreted by the sec-dependent pathway.     

Spinach Nitrate Reductase : Effects of Ionic Strength and pH on the Full and Partial Enzyme Activities

Initial velocity studies of immunopurified spinach nitrate reductase have been performed under conditions of controlled ionic strength and pH and in the absence of chloride ions. Increased ionic strength stimulated NADH:ferricyanide reductase and reduced flavin:nitrate reductase activities and inhibited NADH:nitrate reductase, NADH:cytochrome c reductase and reduced methyl viologen:nitrate reductase activities. NADH:dichlorophenolindophenol reductase activity was unaffected by changes in ionic strength. All of the partial activities, expressed in terms of micromole 2 electron transferred per minute per nanomole heme, were faster than the overall full, NADH:nitrate reductase activity indicating that none of the partial activities included the rate limiting step in electron transfer from NADH to nitrate. The pH optimum for NADH:nitrate reductase activity was determined to be 7 while values for the various partial activities ranged from 6.5 to 7.5. Chlorate, bromate, and iodate were determined to be alternate electron acceptors for the reduced enzyme. These results indicate that unlike the enzyme from Chlorella vulgaris, intramolecular electron transfer between reduced heme and Mo is not rate limiting for spinach nitrate reductase.     

Crayfish carboxypeptidase. Affinity chromatography, characterization and amino-terminal sequence.

In an effort to trace the evolutionary history of the pancreatic metalloexopeptidases, carboxypeptidase has been isolated from the cardia of the crayfish Astacus fluviatilis. The isolation procedure included affinity chromatography on a column of potato carboxypeptidase inhibitor covalently linked to Sepharose. Approximately 25 mg of pure enzyme can be obtained by the present procedure from 50 ml of cardia fluid. The pure enzyme resembles bovine carboxypeptidase B in specificity and is inhibited both by 3-phenyllactate and by 6-aminohexanoate. The pH optimum of activity is about pH 6.5, and the isoelectric point,pH 4.0. Inhibition by typical metal chelating agents (i.e. ethylenediamine tetraacetate and 1,10-phenanthroline) and neutron activation analysis indicate that, like the mammalian enzyme, crayfish carboxypepetidase is a zinc metalloenzyme. The purified enzyme migrates as a single band in cellulose acetate, disc gel and sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis. The amino acid composition is similar to that of pancreatic carboxypeptidases except for a higher content of acidic amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence of the first 19 amino-terminal residues reveals significant homology to that of pancreatic carboxypeptidases A and B.     

Determination of some kinetic and characteristic properties of glutathione S-transferase from bovine erythrocytes

Glutathione S-transferase was purified from bovine erythrocytes and some kinetic and characteristic properties of the enzyme were investigated. The purification procedure was composed of preparation of homogenate and Glutathione-Agarose affinity chromatography. Thanks to the procedure, the enzyme was purified 6,800 fold with 97% yield and a specific activity of 136 EU/mg proteins. On sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS/PAGE), one band with a mass of 27 kDa was found. The native molecular weight of the enzyme was found to be approximately 53 kDa by Sephadex G-100 gel filtration chromatography. Optimum pH, stable pH, optimum temperature, and optimum ionic strength were determined as 7.0, 6.5 in K-phosphate buffer, 20 degrees C, 0.1 M K-phosphate, respectively. The best activity was obtained with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) in a study performed with different substrates. Vmax, Km, and kcat values were calculated as 402.63 +/- 4.99 EU/mg proteins, 0.7447 +/- 0.0007 mM, and 11436 min(-1) for CDNB, and 88.00 +/- 2.30 EU/mg proteins, 0.3257 +/- 0.0012 mM, and 477 min(-1) for GSH, respectively, by using Lineweaver-Burk graphs obtained from 1/V versus 1/[CDNB] and 1/[GSH].     

R plasmid dihydrofolate reductase with a dimeric subunit structure

Dihydrofolate reductase specified by plasmid R483 from a trimethoprim-resistant strain of Escherichia coli has been purified 2,000-fold to homogeneity using dye-ligand chromatography, gel filtration, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The protein migrated as a single band on nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and had a specific activity of 250 mumol/mg min(-1). The molecular weight was estimated to be 32,000 by gel filtration and 39,000 by Ferguson analysis of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. When subjected to electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, the protein migrated as a single 19,000-molecular weight species, a fact that suggests that the native enzyme is a dimer of similar or identical subunits. Antibody specific for R483-encoded dihydrofolate reductase did not cross-react with dihydrofolate reductase encoded by plasmid R67, T4 phage, E. coli RT500, or mouse L1210 leukemia cells. The amino acid sequence of the first 34 NH2-terminal residues suggests that the R483 plasmid dihydrofolate reductase is more closely related to the chromosomal dihydrofolate reductase than is the enzyme coded by plasmid R67.     

Protonated state of methotrexate, trimethoprim, and pyrimethamine bound to dihydrofolate reductase

13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of methotrexate, trimethoprim, and pyrimethamine enriched 90% with 13C at C2 has provided a sensitive means of detecting the state of protonation of the heterocyclic rings of these inhibitors. In each case, protonation of N1 causes an upfield movement of the chemical shift of C2 by more than 6 ppm. By this method it has been shown that, at pH values up to 9.2, methotrexate is bound to bovine liver dihydrofolate reductase with N1 of the inhibitor protonated, just as in the case of the complex with reductase from Streptococcus faecium and Lactobacillus casei. Furthermore, trimethoprim bound to reductase from any of the three sources, and pyrimethamine bound to either of the bacterial reductases also have N1 protonated even at pH values up to 10. This implies that in all cases there is a strong interaction between protonated N1 of the inhibitor and the carboxylate group of the active site aspartate or glutamate. In every case pKa of the bound inhibitor is increased by several units, a finding in accord with crystallographic evidence that inhibitor bound to L. casei reductase is in a hydrophobic environment and that N1 is not hydrogen-bonded to water. It was confirmed by titration of protein fluorescence that trimethoprim has greater affinity for bacterial reductase than for vertebrate (bovine) reductase, and that this selectivity is more marked in ternary complexes in which NADPH is also bound to the active site. However, the data cited above indicate that this difference in affinities is not due to a weaker ionic interaction between protonated N1 of trimethoprim and the bovine enzyme. Instead, binding of the trimethoprim side chain to hydrophobic sites on the enzyme must provide less binding energy in the case of the mammalian enzyme.     

Sequence analysis of bovine lens aldose reductase

The covalent structure of bovine lens aldose reductase (alditol-NADP+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.21) was determined by sequence analysis of peptides generated by specific and chemical cleavage of the homogeneous apoenzyme. Peptides, purified by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography were subjected to compositional analysis and sequencing by gas-phase automated Edman degradation. Aldose reductase was found to contain 315 amino acid residues. The enzyme is blocked at the amino terminus, and mass spectrometry was employed to identify the blocking acetyl group and to sequence the amino-terminal tryptic peptide. The aldose reductase was shown to contain no carbohydrate despite the fact that the enzyme contains the consensus sequence -Asn-Lys-Thr- for N-linked glycosylation. Comparative sequence analysis and application of algorithms for prediction of secondary structure and nucleotide binding domains are consistent with the view that aldose reductase is a double-domain protein with a beta-alpha-beta secondary structural organization. The NADPH binding site appears to be associated with the amino-terminal half of the enzyme. Modeling studies based on the tertiary structures of dihydrofolate and glutathione reductases indicate that the NADPH binding site begins at Lys-11 and continues with a beta-alpha-beta fold characteristic of nucleotide binding proteins.     

Affinity chromatography of Ankistrodesmus braunii nitrate reductase using blue dextran-sepharose (author's transl)

Blue Dextran has been coupled covalently to Sepharose-4B to purify the enzymatic complex NAD(P)H-nitrate reductase (EC 1.6.6.2) from the green alga Ankistrodesmus braunii by affinity chromatography. The optimum conditions for the accomplishment of the chromatographic process have been determined. The adsorption of nitrate reductase on Blue Dextran Sepharose is optimum when a phosphate buffer of low ionic strength and pH 6.5-7.0 is used. Once the enzyme has been bound to Blue Dextran Sepharose, it can be specifically eluted by addition of NADH and FAD to the washing buffer. However, none of the nucleotides added separately is able to promote the elution of the enzyme from the column. The elution can be also achieved, but not specifically, by increasing the ionic strength of the buffer with KCl. These results have made possible a procedure for the purification of A. braunii nitrate reductase which led to electrophoretic homogeneity, with an overall yield of 70% and a specific activity of 49 units/mg of protein.     

Isolation and characterization of indole-3-acetaldehyde reductases from Cucumis sativus.

In a continuing study of the biosynthetic pathway and regulatory mechanisms governing indole-3-acetic acid (auxin) formation, we report the isolation and initial characterization of three distinct indole-3-acetaldehyde reductases from cucumber seedlings. These enzymes catalyze the reduction of indole-3-acetaldehyde to indole-3-ethanol with the concomitant oxidation of NAD(P)H to NAD(P)+. Two of the reductases are specific for NADPH as second substrate, while the third is specific for NADH. The enzymes show a strong specificity for indoleacetaldehyde, with apparent Km values of 73mum, 130mum, and 400mum being calculated for the two NADPH-specific reductases and the NADH-specific reductase, respectively. Under no conditions of substrate concentration, incubation time, or assay method could the reverse reaction be observed. Chromatography on a calibrated Sephadex gel column led to estimated molecualr weights of 52,000 and 17,000 for the NADPH-specific reductases, while a value of 33,000 was obtained for the NADH-specific reductase. Both NADPH-specific reductases showed a pH optimum of 5.2 with a secondary optimum at 7.0, and both enzymes were activated by increasing ionic strength. The NADH-specific reductase showed a pH optimum of 7.0 with a secondary optimum at 6.1 and was slightly inhibited by increasing ionic strength.     

Kinetic studies of sepharose-and CH-sepharose-immobilized dihydrofolate reductase

Dihydrofolate reductase, purified to homogeneity from amethopterin-resistant Lactobacillus casei, was immobilized by coupling to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose or carbodiimide-activated CH-Sepharose. Coupling yields were determined by amino acid analysis following the hydrolysis of the gel. Enzyme activity was measured by the conventional spectrophotometric procedure, thus permitting the facile characterization of the immobilized enzyme. The pH optimum of the immobilized enzyme was shifted to 5.8 compared with pH 5.5 for the soluble enzyme. The immobilized enzyme retained greater than 90%of the initial activity over a six-month period and could be reused as many as ten times without loss of activity. As observed with the soluble enzyme, the activity of immobilized enzyme, which was lost on denaturation with 4M guanidine hydrochloride, was recovered rapidly and completely by washing the gel with buffer. The K(m) (app) values for dihydrofolate and NADPH for the immobilized enzyme were increased 15-164-fold over the K(m) values measured for soluble dihydrofolate reductase. Scatchard analysis of the interaction of amethopterin with the immobilized enzyme yielded linear plots and a K(d) (app) value of 0.56 x10(-8)M, and revealed that all of the immobilized enzyme molecules were capable of binding the ligand.     

Dihydrofolate reductase: the amino acid sequence of the enzyme from a methotrexate-resistant mutant of Escherichia coli.

The determination of the amino acid sequence of the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate:NADP+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.5.1.3) from a mutant of Escherichia coli B is described. The 159 residues were positioned by automatic Edman degradation of the whole protein, of the reduced and alkylated cyanogen bromide fragments, and of selected tryptic, chymotryptic, and thermolytic digestion products. An N-bromosuccinimide produced fragment of the largest cyanogen bromide peptide was also used in the sequence determination.     

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BOVINE BRAIN CATHEPSIN D

Bovine brain cathepsin D was purified 1774-fold with a 19% recovery by affinity chromatography on immobilized pepstatin. Approximately 2 mg of enzyme protein were isolated from 150 g (wet weight) of bovine brain. The enzyme eluted from gel filtration as a single peak with a molecular weight of 40,000–42,000. On polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, the predominant band migrated with a molecular weight of 48,000: however, less distinct bands were also present in the molecular weight ranges of 31,000 and 13,000. The isolated enzyme had isoelectric points over a range of pH 5–7 with 3 major peaks occurring at pH 5.6, 6.1, and 6.6. The amino acid composition of brain cathepsin D showed substantial differences from that reported for cathepsin D isolated from bovine spleen. Amino-terminal sequence analysis revealed an Asp-Val-lle sequence by Edman degradation. With hemoglobin as the substrate the enzyme had an apparent K, of 60mM.     

Dihydrofolate reductase from amethopterin-resistant Lactobacillus casei. Sequences of the cyanogen bromide peptides and complete sequences of the enzyme.

The complete amino acid sequence of dihydrofolate reductase from an amethopterin-resistant strain of Lactobacillus casei has been determined by sequence analysis of peptides produced by cleavage with cyanogen bromide, trypsin, staphylococcal protease, and myxobacter protease. Comparison of this sequence with those of reductases from other bacterial sources shows that the enzymes are homologous. The Lactobacillus casei reductase sequences shows a 29% sequence identity with that of the Escherichia coli enzyme and a 34% identity with the sequence of the enzyme from Streptococcus faecium. The NH2-terminal 68 residues of the L. casei reductase show a 54% sequence identity with that of the enzyme from S. faecium.     

Isolation of Tyrosinase From Bovine Eyes

Pigmented tissues from bovine eye were used as a source for isolation of tyrosinase from normal melanocytes. Tyrosinase is highly hydrophobic and the isolation procedure is mainly based on the use of hydrophobic interaction chromatography. The bovine enzyme is, in contrast to the human melanoma tyrosinase, mainly soluble. The predominant part of the ocular enzyme from cow has a molecular weight and isoelectric behavior similar to that of the soluble tyrosinase in the human melanoma cells. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of isolated bovine tyrosinase was determined by automated Edman degradation. The N-terminal amino acid sequence from normal bovine tyrosinase was identical to the sequence of an N-terminal region of mouse melanoma tyrosinase predicted from a c-DNA clone by Kwon et al. (1988). The amino acid sequence of bovine tyrosinase shows homology to that of human tyrosinase (Wittbjer et al., 1989), but three amino acids of the 16 residues determined by us differed. Histidine was the N-terminal amino acid.