Inhibition of chymotrypsin by alkyl phosphonates: a quantitative structure-activity analysis.

A quantitative structure-activity relationship has been formulated for 53 alkyl phosphonates [R₂OPO(CH₃)SR₃] inhibiting chymotrypsin: . In this so-called bilinear model, k_i is the bimolecular rate constant (m^?1 s^?1), β is a disposable parameter evaluated by a computerized iterative procedure, MR is the molar refractivity of a substituent, $\text{σ}{}_3{}^1$ is Taft's polar parameter, and I is an indicator variable for substituents containing a sulfonium group. The correlation coefficient for this equation is 0.985. This quantitative structure-activity relationship is compared with those previously formulated for the action of chymotrypsin on acylamino acid ester substrates.     

Influence of ionic strength upon the proton inventory for the water-catalyzed hydrolysis of N-acetylbenzotriazole

Proton inventory investigations of the hydrolysis N-acetylbenzotriazole at pH 3.0 (or the equivalent point on the pD rate profile) have been conducted at two different temperatures and at ionic strengths ranging from 0 to 3.0 M. The solvent deuterium isotope effects and proton inventories are remarkably similar over this wide range of conditions. The proton inventories suggest a cyclic transition state involving four protons contributing to the solvent deuterium isotope effect for the water-catalyzed hydrolysis. The hydrolysis data are described by the equation $\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{n}}\text{= k}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>o</mtext>}}\text{(1 ? n + nπ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>a</mtext>}}{}^1\text{)}{}^4$ with $\text{π}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>a</mtext>}}{}^1\text{～ 0.74}$, where k_o is the observed first-order rate constant in protium oxide, n is the atom fraction of deuterium in the solvent, k_n is the rate constant in a protium oxide-deuterium oxide mixture, and $\text{π}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>a</mtext>}}{}^1$ is the isotopic fractionation factor.     

The use of triazine inhibitors in mapping the active site region of Lactobacillus casei dihydrofolate reductase.

A quantitative structure-activity relationship for the inhibition of Lactobacillus casei dihydrofolate reductase by 4,6-diamino-1,2-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-1-(3-X-phenyl)-s-triazines has been derived: for 28 congeners. In this expression C is the molar concentration of triazine causing 50% inhibition, π₃ is the hydrophobic constant for the 3-X-phenyl substituent, MR′ is the molar refractivity of certain substituents, β is an iteratively derived coefficient, and r is the multiple least squares correlation coefficient. This correlation is quite different from those found with the same type of inhibitors acting on bovine and rat liver dihydrofolate reductase. The differences are discussed. The correlation equations for the triazines acting on purified enzymes are compared with equations correlating triazines inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.     

Model of singlet oxygen scavenging by α-tocopherol in biomembranes

Quenching of singlet molecular oxygen (${}^1\text{Δ}{}_{\mathrm{g}}\text{O}{}_2$) by α-tocopherol (I) involves the hydroxy function of the chromanol ring of I. In phosphatidylcholine (PC) uni- and multilamellar vesicles this structural element of I is localized at the interface polar headgroup/hydrophobic core. A dielectric constant of ? ～ 25 was determined for this special region of the PC bilayer. The ratio k_Q/k_R of rate constants of quenching processes (k_Q) and irreversible reactions (k_R) of I with ${}^1\text{Δ}{}_{\mathrm{g}}\text{O}{}_2$ increases with decreasing polarity of the solvent. In ethanolic solutions where ? = 25.5, k_Q/k_R is about 40. Extrapolation of these results to phospholipid bilayers suggests that at the nearness of the ester carbonyl oxygen of the PC fatty acid moieties, α-tocopherol can deactivate approximately 40 ${}^1\text{Δ}{}_{\mathrm{g}}\text{O}{}_2$ molecules before being destroyed. It is concluded that in vivo, one may expect to find a higher k_Q/k_R ratio if the chromanol ring of I hides within the more hydrophobic interiors of the membrane surface peptides.     

Ouabain receptor interactions in (Na+ + K+)-ATPase preparations. II. Effect of cations and nucleotides on rate constants and dissociation constants

The action of ATP and its analogs as well as the effects of alkali ions were studied in their action on the ouabain receptor. One single ouabain receptor with a dissociation constant ($\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>D</mtext>}}$) of 13 nM was found in the presence of ($\text{Mg}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{+ P}{}_{\mathrm{i}}$) and ($\text{Na}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{+ Mg}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{+ ATP}$). pH changes below pH 7.4 did not affect the ouabain receptor. Ouabain binding required Mg²⁺, where a curved line in the Scatchard plot appeared. The affinity of the receptor for ouabain was decreased by K⁺ and its congeners, by Na⁺ in the presence of ($\text{Mg}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{+ P}{}_{\mathrm{i}}$), and by ATP analogs (ADP-C-P, ATP-OCH₃). Ca²⁺ antagonized the action of K⁺ on ouabain binding. It was concluded that the ouabain receptor exists in a low affinity (R_α) and a high affinity conformational state (R_β). The equilibrium between both states is influenced by ligands of $\text{(Na}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{+ K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)-ATPase}$. With 3 mM Mg²⁺ a mixture between both conformational states is assumed to exist (curved line in the Scatchard plot).     

Dihydrofolate reductase inhibition by 2,4-diaminotriazines: A structure-activity study.

Quantitative structure-activity relationships have been formulated for the inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase from bovine and rat liver by 4,6-diamino-1,2-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-1-(3-X-phenyl)-s-triazines. The best correlations are: bovine, for 28 congeners; rat, for 18 congeners. In these expressons C is the molar concentration of inhibitor producing 50% inhibition of the enzyme, π₃ is the octanol/water hydrophobic parameter for the 3-X-phenyl substituent, β is an iteratively derived coefficient, and r is the multiple least squares correlation coefficient. The implications of these bilinear models are discussed and compared with earlier work by B. R. Baker.     

Some dilute-solution parameters of the levan of streptococcus salivarius in various solvents

The intrinsic viscosities, weight-average molecular weights (M?_w), and radii of gyration [($\text{R}{}^2{}_{\mathrm{g}}$)^{$\text{1}\text{2}$}≈] of Streptococcus salivarius levan in various solvents were respectively obtained from viscosity and light-scattering measurements. The data showed that the levan in water is not aggregated by hydrogen bonds, and that the values of both the refractive index and ($\text{R}{}^2{}_{\mathrm{g}}$)^{$\text{1}\text{2}$} are lower in water than in aqueous solutions of urea. Urea may break intramolecular hydrogen-bonds, e.g., between branches, allowing the molecule to expand.     

Evidence for general catalysis and formation of nitrobenzene in the oxidation of phenylhydroxylamine in aqueous phosphate buffer

N-Phenylhydroxylamine is oxidized in aqueous phosphate buffer to nitrosobenzene, nitrobenzene, and azoxybenzene. Degradation is O₂ dependent and shows general catalysis by $\text{H}{}_2\text{PO}{}_4{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ (k₁ = 2.3 M^?2 sec^?1) and $\text{PO}{}_4{}^{\mathrm{?3}}$ (k₂ = 2.3 × 10⁵M^?2 sec^?1) or kinetically equivalent terms. Evidence is presented suggesting the intermediacy of a highly reactive species leading to these products.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance study of the rate of electron transfer between cytochrome c and iron hexacyanides

The rates of electron exchange between ferricytochrome c (C^III)3 and ferrocytochrome c (C^II) were observed as a function of the concentrations of ferrihexacyanide (Fe^III) and ferrohexacyanide (Fe^II) by monitoring the line widths of several proton resonances of the protein. Addition of Fe^II to C^III homogeneously increased the line widths of the two downfield paramagnetically shifted heme methyl proton resonances to a maximal value. This was interpreted as indicating the formation of a stoichiometric complex, C^III·Fe^II, in the over-all reaction:

$\text{C}{}^{\mathrm{III}}\text{+}\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{II}}\text{?}\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{?1}}\text{k}{}_1\text{C}{}^{\mathrm{III}}\text{·}\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{II}}\text{?}\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{?2}}\text{k}{}_2\text{C}{}^{\mathrm{II}}\text{·}\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{III}}\text{?}\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{?3}}\text{k}{}_3\text{C}{}^{\mathrm{III}}\text{+}\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{II}}$

Values for $\text{k}{}_1\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{?1}}\text{= 0.4 × 10}{}^3\text{m}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}\text{and}\text{k}{}_2\text{= 208}\text{s}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$, respectively, were calculated from the maximal change in line width observed at pH 7.0 and 25 °C. Changes in the line width of C^III in the presence of Fe^II and either KCl or Fe^III suggest that complexation is principally ionic, that Fe^III and Fe^II compete for a common site. Addition of saturating concentrations of Fe^III to C^III produced only minor changes in the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of C^III suggesting that complexation occurs on the protein surface.Addition of Fe^III to C^II in the presence of excess Fe^II (to retain most of the protein as C^II) increased the line width of the methyl protons of ligated methionine 80. A value for k_?2 ≈ 2.08 × 10⁴ s^?1 was calculated from the dependence of linewidth on the concentration of Fe^II at 24 °C. These rates are shown to be consistent with the over-all rates of reduction and oxidation previously determined by stopped flow measurements, indicating that k₂ and k_?2 were rate limiting. From the temperature dependence the enthalpies of activation are 7.9 and 15.2 kcal/mol for k₂ and k_?2, respectively.     

Preferential solvation of methylmercurated calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid.

The changes in polymer-solvent interactions that occur when native calf thymus DNA is dialyzed against Na₂SO₄ solutions of a given ionic strength and buffer concentration but of varying concentrations in methylmercuric hydroxide have been investigated with the help of solution density measurements at 25 °C and pH 6.8–7.0. From measurements executed under equilibrium dialysis conditions at the three salt levels 5 mm, 0.05 m, and 0.5 m Na₂SO₄ (m refers to molality) and in the presence of 5 mm cacodylic acid buffer, the density increments $\text{(}\text{??}\text{?c}{}_2\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{}^0$ for native calf thymus DNA were determined as a function of CH₃HgOH concentration. $\text{(}\text{??}\text{?c}{}_2\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{}^0$ was found not to vary with organomercurial concentration, irrespective of the concentration of supporting electrolyte, until a certain CH₃HgOH concentration level has been reached, viz., , beyond which $\text{(}\text{??}\text{?c}{}_2\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{}^0$ increases strongly with increasing concentration of CH₃HgOH. As is shown by optical melting, $\text{(}\text{??}\text{?c}{}_2\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{}^0$ becomes a function of organomercurial concentration the moment DNA undergoes denaturation brought about by the complexing of CH₃HgOH with the various N-binding sites of the base residues in the DNA double helix.Polymer-solvent interactions, expressed in terms of preferential water interactions (“net hydration”) and preferential salt interactions (“salt solvation”), were derived from the $\text{(}\text{??}\text{?c}{}_2\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{}^0$ data in combination with data obtained on the preferential interaction of CH₃HgOH with denatured DNA and data on the partial specific volumes of all major solution components, gathered from density measurements on solutions with fixed concentrations of diffusible components. Evidence is presented which shows that denaturation in general decreases the net hydration while salt becomes preferentially associated with the polyelectrolyte. This process is further amplified by the interaction of CH₃HgOH with denatured DNA: Methylmercurated DNA alters the redistribution of diffusible components at dialysis equilibrium to such an extent that in a formal sense large amounts of water are rejected from the immediate vicinity of the polymer. The molecular implications of these findings are explored. The results are further discussed in the light of previous findings where the methylmercury-induced denaturation of DNA had been studied with the help of buoyant density measurements in a Cs₂SO₄ density gradient and by velocity-sedimentation in a variety of sulfate media.     

The explicit analysis of consecutive pseudo-first-order reactions: Application to kinetics of thiolysis of dithiasuccinoyl (Dts) amino acids

An explicit set of general methods for the experimental determination of the rates k₁ and k₂ of consecutive pseudo-first-order reactions is described and discussed. These rely on the direct simultaneous analytical quantitation of the starting material, intermediate, and product of the reaction, and thus differ from present techniques based on measurement of coreactant consumption or coproduct appearance. The quantity $\text{k}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>env</mtext>}}\text{=}\text{k}{}_1\text{k}{}_2\text{(k}{}_1\text{+ k}{}_2\text{)}$ is shown to define a good “envelope” approximation to product formation according to the simple law 100% [1 ? exp(?k^envt)]. The theory of envelopes is useful for comparing overall rates of reactions with widely differing values of $\text{κ =}\text{k}{}_2\text{k}{}_1$. The kinetic pattern of thiolysis of dithiasuccinoyl amino acids to carbamoyl disulfide intermediates to product free amino acids is analyzed and shown to agree quantitatively with theory.     

The addition of bisulfite to 5-fluorouracil. Evidence for a change in rate determining step

The kinetics of bisulfite addition to 5-fluorouracil were studied as a function of increasing concentrations of potential general acids. Values of $\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{obsd}}\text{[}\text{SO}{}_3{}^{\mathrm{=}}\text{]}$ measured at 25°C and ionic strength 1.0 M increased linearly and then became invariant with increasing concentrations of either HSO₃^? or (OHCH₂CH₂)₂N⁺C(CH₂OH)₃ HCl (BisTris⁺HCl). A small kinetic hydrogen-deuterium isotope effect ($\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{HS}}\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{DS}}\text{= 1.10}$) was observed for the general acid catalysed portion of the addition reaction. The kinetics of bisulfite elimination from 5-fluoro-5,6-dihydrouracil-6-sulfonate were studied in ethanolamine buffers. As previously observed with 1,3-dimethyl-5,6-dihydrouracil-6-sulfonate, this reaction is subject to general base catalysis and exhibits a large kinetic hydrogen-deuterium isotope effect (). The kinetic results for the addition reaction are consistent with a multistep reaction pathway involving the initial formation of an oxyanion sulfite addition intermediate (II) which subsequently adds a proton and undergoes tautomerization to yield the final 5-fluoro-5,6-dihydrouracil-6-sulfonate product. Thus the elimination of bisulfite from 5-fluoro-5,6-dihydrouracil-6-sulfonate probably proceeds by an ElcB mechanism which involves, at relatively low concentrations of general base, rate determining general base catalyzed proton abstraction from carbon 5 to yield intermediate II followed by the rapid elimination of sulfite to yield 5-fluorouracil. These results may be related to both the enzymatically catalyzed dehalogenation of bromoand iodouracil and the methylation of deoxyuridylate by thymidylate synthetase.     

Interaction of lymphocytes and macrophage cell line cells (M1 cells). I. Functional maturation and appearance of Fc receptors im M1 cells

M₁ cells, which are cell line cells established from myeloid leukemia cells of the SL strain mouse, can differentiate from blast cells ($\text{M}{}_1{}^{\mathrm{?}}$) to mature macrophages ($\text{M}{}_1{}^{\mathrm{+}}$) within 48 hr, when they are cultured with conditioned medium (CM) obtained from murine embryonic fibroblasts. While $\text{M}{}_1{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ cells have no phagocytic activity nor Fc receptor (FcR), $\text{M}{}_1{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ cells possess both characteristics. The appearance of FcR is temperature-dependent and inhibited by a metabolic inhibitor, cycloheximide. FcR on $\text{M}{}_1{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ cells is resistant to trypsin and pronase. $\text{M}{}_1{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ cells improve the viability of macrophage-depleted SL splenic lymphocytes and restore the in vitro secondary plaque forming cell response of macrophage-depleted spleen cells to particulate and soluble antigens. $\text{M}{}_1{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ cells lack this macrophage-substituting capacity. Mm₁ cells, mutant cells from M₁ cells, having FcR and higher phagocytic activity than $\text{M}{}_1{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ cells, are also devoid of this capacity.     

The relative effectiveness of .OH,H2O2,O2−, and reducing free radicals in causing damage to biomembranes: A study of radiation damage to erythrocyte ghosts using selective free radical scavengers

The relative effectiveness of oxidizing (^.OH, H₂O₂), ambivalent (O₂^?) and reducing free radicals (e^? and CO₂^?) in causing damage to membranes and membrane-bound glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase of resealed erythrocyte ghosts has been determined. The rates of damage to membranebound glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase ($\text{R}$(enz)) were measured and the rates of damage to membranes ($\text{R}$(mb)) were assessed by measuring changes in permeability of the resealed ghosts to the relatively low molecular weight substrates of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Each radical was selectively isolated from the mixture produced during gamma-irradiation, using appropriate mixtures of scavengers such as catalase, superoxide dismutase and formate. ^.OH, O₂^? and H₂ O₂ were approximately equally effective in inactivating membrane-bound glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, while e^? and CO₂^? were the least effective. $\text{R}$(enz) values of O₂^? and H₂O₂ were 10-times and of ^.OH 15-times that of e^?. $\text{R}$(mb) values were quite similar for e^? and H₂O₂ (about twice that of O₂^?), while that of ^.OH was 3-times that of O₂^?. Hence, with respect to $\text{R}$(mb): ${}^{\mathrm{.}}\text{OH}\text{>}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{=}\text{H}{}_2\text{O}{}_2\text{>}\text{O}{}_2{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ , and with respect to $\text{R}$(enz): ${}^{\mathrm{.}}\text{OH}\text{>}\text{O}{}_2{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{=}\text{H}{}_2\text{O}{}_2\text{>}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$. The difference between the effectiveness of the most damaging and the least damaging free radicals was more than 10-fold greater in damage to the enzyme than to the membranes. Comparison between H₂O₂ added as a chemical reagent and H₂O₂ formed by irradiation showed that membranes and membrane-bound glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase were relatively inert to reagent H₂O₂ but markedly susceptible to the latter.     

The dehalogenation of iodouracil by cysteine. Intramolecular general-acid catalysis of cysteine addition to 5-iodouracil

The rate-determining step of the cysteine-catalyzed deiodination of 5-iodouracil is the formation of 5-iodo-6-cysteinyl-5,6-dihydrouracil. The rate of the reaction depends upon the concentration of un-ionized 5-iodouracil and the following ionic species of cysteine; ^?OOC(NH₃⁺)CHCH₂S^?. Unlike the reaction of 2-mercapto-ethanol with 5-iodouracil, the cysteine reaction is not subject to catalysis by imidazolium ion and tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane hydrochloride. When the rates of cysteine reacting with 5-iodouracil are measured in both H₂O and D₂O, a large kinetic isotope effect is observed ($\text{k}{}_2{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>H</mtext><mtext>20</mtext>}}\text{k}{}_2{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>D</mtext><mtext>20</mtext>}}\text{= 4.10}$), thus implicating the protonated α amino group of cysteine as an intramolecular general acid catalyst for the reaction. These results and possible mechanisms for the actual dehalogenation of the intermediate 5-iodo-6-cysteinyl-5,6-dihydrouracil are discussed in terms of a possible mechanism for enzymatic halopyrimidine dehalogenation.     

A stable traveling-wave solution of a model of cellular control processes with positive feedback

Edelstein's model

$\text{?E}\text{?τ}\text{=F(M, E)}$

,

$\text{?M}\text{?τ}\text{=G(M, E)+D}\text{?}{}^2\text{M}\text{?s}{}^2$

,

$\text{M(s,0)=?(s)}$

,

$\text{E(s,0)=ψ(s)}$

, where τ ? 0 and ?∞<s<∞, $\text{F(M, E>) = (K}{}_1\text{+M}{}^{\mathrm{m}}\text{)}\text{(K}{}_2\text{+M}{}^{\mathrm{m}}\text{)?k}{}_1\text{E, G(M, E)}\text{= k}{}_1\text{E ? k}{}_2\text{M,}$ m ? 2, describes the behavior of two basic chemical species during the cellular differentiation in a linear ensemble of the same cell type. We prove the existence and uniqueness of a travelling-wavefront solution. We also demonstrate one kind of stability for this solution.     

Structure and action of heteronemertine polypeptide toxins Binding of cerebratulus lacteus toxin B-IV to axon membrane vesicles

The binding of the crustacean selective protein neurotoxin, toxin B-IV, from the nemertine Cerebratulus lacteus to lobster axonal vesicles has been studied. A highly radioactive, pharmacologically active derivative of toxin B-IV has been prepared by reaction with Bolton-Hunter reagent. Saturation binding and competition of ¹²⁵I-labeled toxin B-IV by native toxin B-IV have shown specific binding of ¹²⁵I-labeled toxin B-IV to a single class of binding sites with a dissociation constant of 5–20 nM and a binding site capacity, corrected for vesicle sidedness, of 6–9 pmol per mg membrane protein. This compares to a value of 3.8 pmol [³H]saxitoxin bound per mg in the same tissue. Analysis of the kinetics of toxin B-IV association ($\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{+1}}\text{=7.3·10}{}^5\text{M}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}\text{·s}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$) and dissociation ($\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{?\; 1}}\text{=2·10}{}^{\mathrm{?3}}\text{s}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$) shows a nearly identical $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>d</mtext>}}$ of about 3 nM. There is no competition of toxin B-IV binding by purified toxin from Leiurus quinquestriatus venom while Centruroides sculpturatus Ewing toxin I appears to cause a small enhancement of toxin B-IV binding.     

In vitro reaction of radioactive 7beta, 8alpha, --dihydroxy--9alpha, 10alpha-epoxy--7,8,9,10--tetrahydrobenzo (A) pyrene and 7beta,8alpha--dihydroxy--9beta, 10beta--epoxy--7,8,9,10--tetrahydrobenzo (A) pyrene with DNA.

The $\text{in vitro}$ reaction of bacteriophage T7-DNA with the radioactive diastereomeric benzo(a)pyrene-diol-epoxides, (±) [${}^3\text{H}{}_9$, ${}^3\text{H}{}_{10}$]-7β,8α-dihydroxy-9α,10β-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene, and (±) [${}^3\text{H}{}_9$, ${}^3\text{H}{}_{10}$]-7β,8α-dihydroxy-9β,19β-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(1)pyrene, was investigated. Chromatographic analysis of digests of the DNA allowed the distinction of characteristic deoxynucleoside adduct peaks for the two benzo(a)pyrene-diol-epoxides. Our results, together with data from the literature, allow the identification of these adducts as mostly N₂-(10-7β,8α,9α-trihydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyreney1)deoxyguanosine and N₂-(10-7β,8α,9β-trihydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyreney1)deoxyguanosine, respectively. DNA-benzo(a)pyrene adducts with the same chromatographic properties were formed in mouse embryo fibroblasts upon treatment with benzo(a)pyrene.     

Presteady-state kinetic study of the elementary processes in the chymotrypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis of specific ester substrate. Rate-limiting association process due to the secondary binding.

Presteady-state kinetic studies of α-chymotrypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis of a specific chromophoric substrate, N-(2-furyl)acryloyl-l-tryptophan methyl ester, were performed by using a stopped-flow apparatus both under [E]₀ ? [S]₀ and [S]₀ ? [E]₀ conditions in the pH range of 5–9, at 25 °C. The results were accounted for in terms of the three-step mechanism involving enzyme-substrate complex (E · S) and acylated enzyme (ES′); no other intermediate was observed. This substrate was shown to react very efficiently, i.e., the maximum of the second-order acylation rate constant ($\text{k}{}_2\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{s}}\text{′}\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>max</mtext>}}\text{= 4.2 × 10}{}^7\text{M}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}\text{s}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$. The limiting values of K_s′ (dissociation constant of E · S), K₂ (acylation rate) and k₃ (deacylation rate) were obtained from the pH profiles of these parameters to be 0.6 ± 0.2 × 10^?5 m, 360 ± 15 s^?1 and 29.3 ± 0.8 s^?1, respectively. Likewise small values were observed for K_i of N-(2-furyl)-acryloyl-l-tryptophan and N-(2-furyl)acryloyl-d-tryptophan methyl ester and K_m of N-(2-furyl)acryloyl-l-tryptophan amide. The strong affinities observed may be due to intense interaction of β-(2-furyl)acryloyl group with a secondary binding site of the enzyme. This interaction led to a $\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{?1}}\text{k}{}_2$ value lower than unity, i.e., the rate-limiting process of the acylation was the association, even with the relatively low k₂ value of this methyl ester substrate, compared to those proposed for labile p-nitrophenyl esters.