Mechanism of tyrosine hydroxylase activation by phosphorylation

It was found that the fluorescence of 1,N⁶-ethenoadenosine triphosphate (ε-ATP) bound to myosin subfragment-1 (S-1) is resistant to quenching by acrylamide, while free ε-ATP is effectively quenched. Thus in the presence of acrylamide the bound ε-ATP is still highly fluorescent, while free ε-ATP is much less fluorescent. The Stern-Volmer constants of bound and free ε-ATP are 6.83 and 57.86 M^?1, respectively. Therefore it is easy to distinguish spectro-scopically the nucleotide-ligated S-1 from nucleotide-free S-1. Moreover acrylamide does not alter the S-1-Mg²⁺-ε-ATPase behavior.     

Rapid,high-yield purification of rat liver 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme a reductase

A rapid method for the purification of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase from the livers of cholestyramine-fed rats is reported. The procedure involves a sequence of separations on affinity chromatography columns consisting of Blue Dextran-Sepharose, agarose-CoA, and agarose-HMG-CoA. The advantage of this method is its flexibility in scavenging enzyme that might be lost during purification, resulting in a yield of homogeneous reductase (specific activity approximately 10,000 nmol/min/mg protein) as high as 50%, which is at least twice that previously reported.     

Detection of inactive or less active forms of tyrosine hydroxylase in human adrenals by a sandwich enzyme immunoassay

A sensitive sandwich enzyme immunoassay for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) from bovine and human adrenals has been developed. Anti-TH antibody was prepared from bovine adrenal TH. The assay system consisted of an antibody F(ab')2 immobilized on polystyrene beads as a solid phase and of beta-D-galactosidase-conjugated antibody. This method was highly sensitive and specific for the assay of TH. Human adrenal TH level was determined by similar sensitivity as bovine adrenal TH, suggesting the presence of common antigenic sites between human and bovine adrenal enzymes. The presence of inactive or less active forms of TH in human adrenals was revealed by purification of the enzyme and monitoring with this enzyme immunoassay as well as with enzyme activity assay.     

Lapachol inhibition of vitamin K epoxide reductase and vitamin K quinone reductase

Lapachol [2-hydroxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-1,4-naphthoquinone] has been shown to be a potent inhibitor of both vitamin K epoxide reductase and the dithiothreitol-dependent vitamin K quinone reductase of rat liver microsomes in vitro. These observations explain the anticoagulant activity of lapachol previously observed in both rats and humans. Lapachol inhibition of the vitamin K epoxide and quinone reductases resembled coumarin anticoagulant inhibition, and was observed in normal strain but not in warfarin-resistant strain rat liver microsomes. This similarity of action suggests that the lactone functionality of the coumarins is not critical for their activity. The initial-velocity steady-state inhibition patterns for lapachol inhibition of the solubilized vitamin K epoxide reductase were consistent with tight binding of lapachol to the oxidized form of the enzyme, and somewhat lower affinity for the reduced form. It is proposed that lapachol assumes a 4-enol tautomeric structure similar to that of the 4-hydroxy coumarins. These structures are analogs of the postulated hydroxyvitamin K enolate intermediate bound to the oxidized form of the enzyme in the chemical reaction mechanism of vitamin K epoxide reductase, thus explaining their high affinity.     

Purification and properties of purine hydroxylase II from Aspergillus nidulans

Purine hydroxylase II from Aspergillus nidulans has been purified to near homogeneity. The enzyme has a pI of 5.7, a molecular weight of 300,000, and two subunits with molecular weight of 153,000 each. The enzyme contains 2 FAD, 2 molybdenum atoms, and 4 (2 Fe-2S) iron-sulfur centers per molecule and exhibits broad specificity for reducing and oxidizing substrates. Among the more notable characteristics are the ability to oxidize hypoxanthine and nicotinic acid but not xanthine and virtually complete inactivity with oxygen. Moreover, while the enzyme is inactivated by borate and methanol, it is very resistant to cyanide and arsenite and it not inactivated by allopurinol. At infinite concentrations of reducing and oxidizing substrates, the Km for hypoxanthine was 119 microM, for nicotinic acid was 136 microM, and for NAD+ was 525 microM.     

Interaction between heparin and human pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A): a simple purification procedure

Human pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) binds to heparin-Sepharose. This affinity chromatography preceded by molecular sieve chromatography provides a simple two-step purification procedure of PAPP-A from late pregnancy plasma. One hundred percent of the applied PAPP-A was recovered, with more than 40% being electrophoretically homogeneous after the two procedures. The remaining PAPP-A could be purified by negative affinity chromatography on anti-total human serum immobilized on agarose.     

Nerve growth factor-mediated induction of tyrosine hydroxylase and of neurite outgrowth in cultures of bovine adrenal chromaffin cells: dependence on developmental stage

Adrenal medullary cells were cultured in a serum-free medium from fetal, neonatal (calves), and adult bovine animals. Neurite outgrowth in response to nerve growth factor (NGF) was observed in cells obtained from fetuses up to a gestational age of 3 months but not in cultures from older animals. The tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) specific activity was found to depend on the cell density and corresponded, at a density of 2 × 10⁵ cells/cm², to the specific activity found in vivo. The TH specific activity increased about sevenfold from fetuses to adult animals. Administration of NGF in vitro caused an increase of the TH specific activity in fetal cells by up to 140% and in calf cells typically by 70–100%. Cultures from adult animals showed no significant TH increase in response to NGF. Scatchard analysis and kinetic studies of the NGF binding at 0°C to intact adrenal medullary cells cultured from calves or from adult bovine animals revealed the presence of only one class of receptors, having a dissociation constant (K_D) of 1 × 10 ⁹, M. There are 16,000 binding sites per cell. The affinity of the reeptors in vivo (determined in crude membrane preparations) did not alter during development, whereas the receptor density decreased with increasing fetal age, but was the same for calves and adults. Whereas the loss of NGF-mediated fiber outgrowth during development might be related to the reduction of receptor density, the disappearance of the NGF-mediated TH induction does not correlate with changes in the binding characteristics of NGF to the adrenal chromaffin cells.     

CRP,immunologically cross-reacting protein of prolyl hydroxylase. Its role in assembly of active prolyl hydroxylase and cellular localization in L-929 fibroblasts

There are two forms of prolyl hydroxylase in L-929 flbroblasts. One is the enzymatically active tetramer having two α- and two β-subunits. The other is monomeric cross-reacting protein which is enzymatically inactive but is structurally related to β-subunit of the enzyme. Cultured L-929 fibroblasts at mid-log phase were labeled by ³H-labeled amino acid mixture and the radioactivity was chased for 24 h while cells were harvested and plated at higher cell densities in cultures. The results indicated that both α-subunit of the tetrameric prolyl hydroxylase and cross-reacting protein were labeled, but the β-subunit of the tetrameric active prolyl hydroxylase was not labeled until the cells were crowded for 24 h. Using immunofluorescent techniques with antibodies directed against pure tetrameric prolyl hydroxylase, capping or patching was observed when the cells were incubated at 37 °C. Also, it was found that phagosomes prepared from L-929 flbroblasts contained about 30% of total enzyme protein as determined immunologically but contained no significant prolyl hydroxylase activities. Labeling cells with ¹²⁵I by lactoperoxidase, cross-reacting protein was labeled but both α- and β-subunits of tetrameric active prolyl hydroxylase were not labeled. The results indicate that cross-reacting protein can be utilized as the precursor of β-subunit by the cells to form tetrameric active prolyl hydroxylase and that cross-reacting protein is found associated with cytoplasmic membranes.     

Reversible inactivation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase: reductase kinase and mevalonate kinase are separate enzymes

Reductase kinase and mevalonate kinase are separated by: a) ammonium sulfate fractionation; b) chromatography on agarose-Procion Red HE3B; and c) chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel. Fractions containing only reductase kinase reversibly inactivated microsomal or homogeneous HMG-CoA reductase. Fractions containing only mevalonate kinase revealed artifactual reductase kinase activity in the absence of EDTA or mevalonic acid; however, addition of EDTA or mevalonate before reductase assay completely blocked any apparent decline in HMG-CoA reductase activity. Under these conditions no dephosphorylation (reactivation) was observed by phosphatase. The combined results demonstrate unequivocally that reductase kinase and mevalonate kinase are two different enzymes and inactivation of HMG-CoA reductase is catalyzed by ATP-Mg-dependent reductase kinase.     

Reexamination of the interaction between ferredoxin:NADP reductase and NADP

A comparison was made of graphical and subtractive methods for the determination of the dissociation constant of a complex between ferredoxin:NADP reductase and NADP. The subtractive method gave K_d values near 10 μm which are consistent with recently determined values for K_m,NADP in assays of NADP photoreduction by chloroplast membranes. The graphical method gave values which were considerably higher. The difference between the two methods is due to the failure of the graphical method to correct for the amount of each component present in the complex at the low NADP/ flavoprotein ratios necessary for binding studies. A second NADP binding site of much lower affinity (K_d approx 1 mm) was also detected.     

Interaction between NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and hepatic microsomes

Solubilized NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase has been purified from liver microsomes of phenobarbital-treated rats. When added to microsomes, the reductase enhances the monoxygenase, such as aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase, ethoxycoumarin O-dealkylase, and benzphetamine N-demethylase, activities. The enhancement can be observed with microsomes prepared from phenobarbital- or 3-methylcholanthrene-treated, or non-treated rats. The added reductase is believed to be incorporated into the microsomal membrane, and the rate of the incorporation can be assayed by measuring the enhancement in ethoxycoumarin dealkylase activity. It requires a 30 min incubation at 37°C for maximal incorporation and the process is much slower at lower temperatures. The temperature affects the rate but not the extent of the incorporation. After the incorporation, the enriched microsomes can be separated from the unbound reductase by gel filtration with a Sepharose 4B column. The relationship among the reductase added, reductase bound and the enhancement in hydroxylase activity has been examined. The relationship between the reductase level and the aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity has also been studied with trypsin-treated microsomes. The trypsin treatment removes the reductase from the microsomes, and the decrease in reductase activity is accompanied by a parallel decrease in aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity. When purified reductase is added, the treated microsomes are able to gain aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity to a level comparable to that which can be obtained with normal microsomes. The present study demonstrates that purified NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase can be incorporated into the microsomal membrane and the incorporated reductase can interact with the cytochrome P-450 molecules in the membrane, possibly in the same mode as the endogenous reductase molecules. The result is consistent with a non-rigid model for the organization of cytochrome P-450 and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase in the microsomal membrane.     

Phosphorylation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase by microsomal 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase kinase

Microsomal 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase kinase has been purified to apparent homogeneity by a process involving the following steps: solubilization from microsomes and chromatography on Affi-Gel Blue, phosphocellulose, Bio-Gel A 1.5m, and agarose-hexane-ATP. The apparent M_r of the purified enzyme as judged by gel-filtration chromatography is 205,000 and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis is 105,000. Immunoprecipitation of homogeneous reductase phosphorylated by reductase kinase and [γ-³²P]ATP produces a unique band containing ³²P bound to protein which migrates at the same R_f as the reductase subunit. Incubation of ³²P-labeled HMG-CoA reductase with reductase phosphatase results in a time-dependent loss of protein-bound ³²P radioactivity, as well as an increase in enzymic activity. Reductase kinase, when incubated with ATP, undergoes autophosphorylation, and a simultaneous increase in its enzymatic activity is observed. Tryptic treatment of immunoprecipitated, ³²P-labeled HMG-CoA reductase phosphorylated with reductase kinase produces only one ³²P-labeled phosphopeptide with the same R_f as one of the two tryptic phosphopeptides that have been reported in a previous paper. The possible existence of a second microsomal reductase kinase is discussed.     

Patterns of product inhibition for bacterial nitrite reductase

PO +Dehydrophenylalanine (delta Phe) having the E-configuration (delta EPhe ; phenyl and C = O cis) was incorporated into [Leu5]-enkephalin in order to restrict its conformation. Compared with the Z-isomer, in the radio-ligand receptor binding assays, [D-Ala2, delta EPhe4 , Leu5] enkephalin showed drastically decreased potency for the delta and mu opiate receptors, i.e., 260- and 150-fold loss of affinity, respectively. The results strongly indicate that the opiate receptors require the Z-configuration (phenyl and C = O, trans) of the delta Phe4 residue and may require a specific interrelationship between the aromatic rings of the Tyr1 and Phe4 residues in the molecule for binding. The conformation of [Leu5]-enkephalin specific for the delta receptors was analyzed and a comparison made with its crystal structure recently elucidated.     

A direct fluorometric assay of benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase.

A technique to measure the activity of pyruvate carboxylase spectrophotometrically in crude liver homogenates is described. The assay is based on the transformation of oxaloacetate, which is formed during the carboxylation reaction, into citrate in the presence of excess acetyl CoA and citrate synthase. After removal of pyruvate with KBH₄ and of protein with HClO₄, citrate is cleaved with citrate lyase into oxaloacetate and acetate, and oxaloacetate then is measured spectrophotometrically. Optimal concentrations of pyruvate, Mg²⁺, ATP, and KHCO₃ for the carboxylation reaction and the V_max were in good correlation with the data found by others using [¹⁴C]pyruvate.     

Ferric leghemoglobin reductase from soybean root nodules

An NADH: (acceptor) oxidoreductase from the cytosol of soybean root nodules was purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation, hydroxylapatite adsorption, and Sephacryl S-200 Superfine chromatography. The native molecular weight of the reductase was found to be 100,000 by analytical gel filtration and 83,000 by equilibrium ultracentrifugation. The subunit molecular weight was 54,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis. The pI of the enzyme was 5.5. With ferric leghemoglobin (Lb) as the substrate, nearly identical initial velocities were obtained using either CO or O2 to ligate the enzymatically produced ferrous leghemoglobin. With CO as the ligand in the reaction, the product of the enzyme-catalyzed, NADH-dependent reduction of ferric Lb was spectrally identified as LbCO. Initial velocity was a linear function of increasing enzyme concentration. NADPH was only 31% as effective an electron donor as NADH as determined by initial velocity. The Michaelis constants (Km) for ferric Lba and NADH were 9.5 and 18.8 microM, respectively. Myoglobin, Lba, Lbc1, Lbc2, Lbc3, and Lbd were reduced at similar rates by the reductase. At pH 5.2, acetate-bound ferric Lb and nicotinate-bound ferric Lb were reduced by the enzyme at 83 and 5%, respectively, of rates observed in the absence of these ligands. The rate of enzymatic reduction of ferric Lb was constant between pH 6.5 and 7.6 but increased approximately threefold at pH 5.2. The results indicate that the NADH: (acceptor) oxidoreductase could be identified as a ferric Lb reductase.     

Purification and steady-state kinetic analysis of yeast thiosulfate reductase.

Thiosulfate reductase has been purified approximately 70-fold from an extract of bakers' yeast. An enzyme with a molecular weight of 17,000, a Stokes radius of 19 Å, and a pI of 5.1 was obtained. Initial velocity and inhibition studies indicate that the substrates add in a random fashion. Further evidence suggests that the rapid-equilibrium assumption is not totally applicable. The enzyme has two distinct but closely situated substrate binding sites—one for compounds with an RSO₃^? structure and one for the sulfhydryl substrate.     

Optical and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic studies on purine hydroxylase II from Aspergillus nidulans

Purine hydroxylase II from Aspergillus nidulans contains a molybdenum cofactor very similar to that found in a number of other molybdenum-containing hydroxylases. (A. nidulans contains two purine hydroxylases, I and II, related to each other by possession of a common cofactor and overlapping substrate specificity.) Addition of reducing substrates effects bleaching of the visible absorption spectrum of the enzyme, the decrease in absorbance at 450 nm being linearly proportional to that at 550 nm. No increase in absorption at longer wavelengths was observed during such titrations. Electron paramagnetic resonance studies of reduced samples of native and modified enzyme species showed the presence of a number of Mo(V) signals (gav = 1.97), exhibiting H hyperfine coupling, comparable to those in the corresponding enzymes from other sources. The enzyme possesses two non-heme-iron-sulfur centers, one (Fe2S2)I with gav less than 2.0 and the other (Fe2S2)II with gav greater than 2.0. The flavin radical signal observed at pH 7.8 had a linewidth of 1.5 mT, indicating it to be the anionic form FAD- . In this respect purine hydroxylase II is unique among all molybdenum-containing hydroxylases studied to date.     

Partial purification and some properties of beta-phosphoglucomutase from Lactobacillus brevis

A phosphoglucomutase (beta-phosphoglucomutase) specific for beta-glucose 1-phosphate, which catalyzes the beta-glucose 1-phosphate:glucose 6-phosphate interconversion, was 560-fold purified from Lactobacillus brevis strain L6. The isoelectric point of beta-phosphoglucomutase was 3.8 and it had an apparent molecular weight of 29,000 estimated by gel chromatography. The enzyme required a divalent cation (Mn2+ greater than Mg2+ greater than Ni2+ greater than Co2+) and beta-glucose 1,6-bisphosphate for activity. The equilibrium constant Ke for the reaction beta-D-glucose 1-phosphate in equilibrium D-glucose 6-phosphate at 30 degrees C and pH 6.7 is 18.5. beta-phosphoglucomutase had a pH optimum between 6.3 and 6.8 and appeared to be quite specific: alpha-glucose 1-phosphate, alpha- or beta-galactose 1-phosphate and alpha- or beta-N-acetylglucosamine 1-phosphate did not substitute for beta-glucose 1-phosphate. Double reciprocal plots of the data from initial velocity studies at five beta-glucose 1-phosphate concentrations (10 to 100 microM) and four beta-glucose 1,6-bisphosphate concentrations (0.125 to 1.0 microM) showed that the apparent Michaelis constants for beta-glucose 1-phosphate and beta-glucose 1,6-bisphosphate were related to the concentrations of beta-glucose 1,6-bisphosphate and beta-glucose 1-phosphate, respectively, in such a way as to suggest a ping-pong mechanism. The same conclusion was obtained when substrate-velocity relationships were investigated at fixed ratio of both substrates: the Lineweaver-Burk plots showed linear lines and no parabolic ones. The "true" Km for beta-glucose 1-phosphate and beta-glucose 1,6-bisphosphate were found to be about 12 and 0.8 microM, respectively.     

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.