A d-specific hydantoin amidohydrolase: properties of the metalloenzyme purified from Arthrobacter crystallopoietes

A d-specific hydantoinase has been purified to homogeneity from Arthrobacter crystallopoietes DSM 20117 with a yield of 5% related to the crude extract. The active enzyme is a tetramer of 257 kDa consisting of four identical subunits, each with a molecular mass of 60 kDa. Incubation of the enzyme with the metal-chelating agent EDTA had no inhibitory effect, while 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid resulted in a complete and irreversible inactivation. The purified enzyme contains zinc as cofactor, which could be detected by subjection to direct analysis using inductive/coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. The hydantoinase has a wide substrate specificity for the d-selective cleavage of 5-monosubstituted hydantoin derivatives with aliphatic and aromatic side chains. The V_max-value for phenylhydantoin is 217 U/mg, the K_m-value is 8 mM. Dihydrouracil was found to be a natural substrate (V_max=35 U/mg). The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme shows distinct homologies to other metal-dependent cyclic amidases involved in the nucleotide metabolism especially to dihydropyrimidinases as well as to ureases, l- and unselective hydantoinases. Due to these findings, this enzyme has to be considered as a possible link in the evolution to related l-selective and unselective hydantoinases from the genus of Arthrobacter.     

Purification and properties of 4-methyleneglutaminase from the leaves of peanut (Arachis hypogaea)

The enzyme 4-methyleneglutaminase has been purified from Arachis hypogaea leaves. This enzyme also catalysed the deamidation of glutamine at 20% of the rate of 4-methyleneglutamine, exhibiting the same affinity for both substrates (K_m  20 mM), but was inactive with asparagine. The hydrolysis of 4-methyleneglutamine was subject to competitive inhibition by glutamine, glutamate-5-hydroxamate and phenol red and non-competitive inhibition by glutamate and 4-methyleneglutamate. The enzyme activity was insensitive to a variety of salts and carboxylic acids.     

Purification and properties of dehydroascorbate reductase from spinach leaves

Dehydroascorbate reductase was detected in the leaves of several plants and has been partially purified from spinach leaves. The enzyme has a MW of ca 25 000, a pH optimum of 7.5, a K_m for glutathione (GSH) of 4.43 ± 0.4 mM and a K_m for dehydroascorbate of 0.34 ± 0.05 mM. High concentrations of dehydroascorbate inhibit the enzyme. Cysteine cannot replace GSH as a donor. The purified dehydroascorbate reductase is extremely unstable and also inhibited by compounds which react with thiol groups. Dehydroascorbate does not protect the enzyme against such inhibition. GSH reduces dehydroascorbate non-enzymically at alkaline pH values.     

Isolation and characterization of light- and dithiothreitol-modulatable glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from pea chloroplasts

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (D-glucose-6-phosphate: NADP oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.49) has been purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from pea chloroplasts. The enzyme, which has a Stokes radius of 52 Å, is a tetramer made up of four 56000 Da monomers. The pH optimum is around 8.2. The enzyme is absolutely specific for NADP. The apparent K_m(NADP) is 2.4 ± 0.1 μM. NADPH inhibition of the enzyme is competitive with respect to NADP (mean K_i, 18 ± 5 μM) and is mixed (K_p >K_m, V_max >V_p) with respect to glucose 6-phosphate (mean crossover point, 0.5 ± 0.1 mM). The apparent K_m(glucose 6-phosphate) is 0.37 ± 0.01 mM. The purified enzyme is inactivated in the light in the presence of dilute stroma and washed thylakoids, and by dithiothreitol. Enzyme which has been partially inactivated by treatment with dithiothreitol can be further inactivated in the light in the presence of dilute stroma and washed thylakoids and reactivated in the dark, but only to the extent of the reverse of light inactivation. Dithiothreitol-inactivated enzyme is not reactivated further by addition of crude stroma or oxidized thioredoxin. Dithiothreitol-dependent inactivation of the enzyme follows pseudo-first-order kinetics and shows rate saturation. The enzyme which has been partially inactivated by treatment with dithiothreitol does not differ from the untreated control with respect to thermal and tryptic inactivation. However, enzyme which has been partially light inactivated shows different thermal and tryptic inactivation patterns as compared to the dark control. These observations suggest that the changes in the enzyme brought about by light modulation are not necessarily identical with those brought about by dithiothreitol inactivation.     

The control of lysine biosynthesis in maize

Aspartate kinase has been partially purified and characterised from germinating maize seedlings. The K_m for aspartate was 9 mM. Out of several amino acids which are potential feedback regulators of the enzymes, only lysine is markedly inhibitory, having a K_i of 13 μM and causing 100% inhibition at 0.5 mM. Lysine also protects the enzyme against heat inactivation. Dihydrodipicolinic acid synthase isolated from the same tissue is also inhibited by lysine, 1 mM causing 95% inhibition.     

Inhibition by oxalates of spinach chloroplast phenolase in unfrozen and frozen states

Spinach chloroplast phenolase was inhibited by oxalic acid and its salts. Complete inhibitions were induced instantly in the acidic region (e.g. by 1 and 5 mM oxalate at pH 5 and 5.5, respectively), and in the neutral region pre-incubation of the enzyme with oxalates could also lead to complete loss of activity. The inhibition mode was non-competitive for phenol substrate with K_i of 0.9 mM pH 6.8. Reduction of enzyme activity in a crude extract of chloroplasts induced by freezing at neutral pH was due to the presence of ammonium oxalate. With 0.5 mM oxalate, the inhibition attained 75% under frozen conditions, whilst no inhibition could be detected in the enzyme which had not been frozen. Free oxalic acid and K⁺ and Na⁺ salts also caused freezing inhibition. Glyoxylic and oxamic acids acted as inhibitors with less efficiency. With a pure mushroom tyrosinase (phenolase), essentially the identical results were obtained using the same conditions.     

Isolation and characterization of the polyphenoloxidase from senescent leaves of black poplar

The polyphenoloxidase (PPO) from black poplar senescent leaves has been purified to almost complete homogeneity by a combination of ammonium sulphate precipitation, Sephadex G75 filtration and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The purified enzyme has a MW of 60 000 and is probably a Cu⁺ enzyme. Peroxidase (PO) activity co-purifies with PPO and has the same MW as it. The two enzymes differ in pH optimum and in response to the effect of ionic strength. Natural phenols are either substrates, inhibitors or activators of black poplar PPO. This enzyme is an o-diphenoloxidase which binds substrates with K_m in the millimolar range. With caffeic and chlorogenic acids inhibition by excess substrate is observed. Benzoic acid phenols and cinnamic acid phenols are either competitive or non-competitive inhibitors of PPO. Hydroquinone is a highly potent non-competitive inhibitor of the enzyme (K_i  90 μM). Ferulic acid is a potent activator of the PPO-catalysed oxidation of catechol (K_a  0.34 mM, ν_sat/ν_o  7.7).     

Cooxidation of phenol and 4-aminoantipyrin, catalyzed by polymers and copolymers of horseradish root peroxidase and Penicillium funiculosum 46.1 glucose oxidase

Polymers and copolymers of horseradish root peroxidase (HRP) and Penicillium funiculosum 46.1 glucose oxidase (GO) have been synthesized and their catalytic properties have been characterized (free and immobilized forms of each enzyme were studied). The cooxidation reaction of phenol and 4-aminoantipyrin (4-AAP), performed in an aqueous medium in the presence of equimolar amounts of GO and HRP, was characterized by effective K _M and k _cat of 0.58 mM and 20.9 s^?1 (for phenol), and 14.6 mM and 18.4 s^?1 (glucose), respectively. The catalytic efficiency of polymerization products (PPs) of GO (GO-PPs) depended on the extent of their aggregation. The combinations GO + HRP-PP and HRP + GO-PP, as well as the copolymer HRP*-GO-PP, proved promising as reagents for enzyme-based analytical systems. When adsorbed on aluminum hydroxide gels, GO-PPs exhibited higher catalytic activity than the non-polymeric enzyme. Maximum retention of GO-PP activity on the inorganic carrier was observed in the case of GO-PP copolymers with an activated HRP. Polymerization of HRP in the presence of a zinc hydroxide gel, paralleled by HRP-PP immobilization onto the gel, increased both the activity of the enzyme and its operational stability.     

The purification and properties of asparaginase from Lupinus species

Asparaginase, which catalyses the conversion of asparagine to ammonia and aspartate, has been purified from maturing Lupinus seeds. The enzyme has a high K_m for asparagine (12.2 mM) and is able to utilise a number of asparagine analogues as substrates although glutamine and its analogues are not reactive. The possible route for the reassimilation of the liberated ammonia is discussed.     

The pH dependent substrate specificity of udp-glucose: isovitexin 2″-O-glucosyltransferase in Silene alba

In Silene alba plants the dominant allele of gene Fg controls an enzyme which catalyses the formation of isovitexin 2″-O-glucoside both in petals and green parts. Both isovitexin and isoorientin can act as substrate. K_mvalues for the isovitexin glucosylation are 0.09 mM for isovitexin and 0.3 mM for UDP-glucose, V_max 0.17 nmol min^?1 mg protein^?1. For the isoorientin glucosylation K_m values of 0.45 mM for isoorientin, of 0.75 mM for UDP-glucose and V_max of 0.27 nmol min^?1 mg protein^?1 are found. The pH optima for both substrates differ markedly. For the substrate with one hydroxyl in the B-ring, isovitexin, the pH optimum is pH 8.5. For isoorientin, which has two hydroxyls in the B-ring, a pH optimum of 7.5 is found. These results suggest that the B-ring hydroxylation pattern influences the pH at which the substrate has optimal affinity for the enzyme. The location of the carbon-carbon bound glucose on a the flavonoid skeleton is of importance for enzyme activity as well. Vitexin, which has glucose at the 8-position, was not a substrate. The glucosylation of vitexin could, however, be demonstrated in enzyme extracts of petals of plants, grown from seed collected in Armenia; in these petals apart from isovitexin glycosides, vitexin glycosides are found as well.     

Isolation and properties of watermelon isocitrate lyase

The glyoxylate cycle enzyme, isocitrate lyase (EC 4.1.3.1) was purified from cotyledons of Citrullus vulgaris (watermelon). The final preparation, which had been 97-fold purified with a specific activity of 16.1 units/mg protein in a yield of 36%, was homogeneous by gel- and immunoelectrophoretic criteria. The tetrameric enzyme had: a molecular weight of 277 000, a sedimentation coefficient of 12.4 s, and a K_m for D_s-isocitrate equal to 0.25 mM. Isocitrate lyase from this source is not a glycoprotein as shown by total carbohydrate content after precipitation by trichloroacetic acid of the purified enzyme. Reduction of the enzyme with thiols increased activity and maximal activity was obtained with at least 5 mM dithiothreitol. EDTA partially substituted for thiol in freshly isolated enzyme. Watermelon isocitrate lyase was also protected against thermal denaturation at 60° for at least 1 hr by 5 mM Mg²⁺ plus 5 mM oxalate. Oxalate was a competitive inhibitor with respect to isocitrate (K_i: 1.5 μM, pH 7.5, 30°).     

Isocitrate lyase in germinating spores of the fern Anemia phyllitidis

Isocitrate lyase was partially purified from germinating spores of the fern Anemia phyllitidis. The enzyme requires Mg²⁺ and thiol compounds for maximal activity and has a pH optimum between 6.5 and 7.5. The K_m of the enzyme for threo-Δ_s-isocitrate is 0.5 mM. Succinate inhibits the enzyme non-competitively (K_i. 1.8 mM). The increase of isocitrate lyase activity is closely correlated with the induction of the germination process. The fall of enzyme activity during germination is associated with the decline in triglyceride reserves.     

Purification and properties of the arginase from Jerusalem artichoke tubers

Arginase [l-arginine amidinohydrolase] in Jerusalem artichoke tubers occurs in a particulate fraction from which it was released in active form by detergent treatment. The particulate enzyme was purified 450-fold with ca 3% yield. The enzyme has a MW of ca 140 000 and pI of 5.3. The enzyme required Mn²⁺ for activity and was unstable when Mn²⁺ was removed. In tissue extracts the K_m for arginine was ca 1OmM, but when purified the K_m (arginine) was 145 mM. The artichoke arginase was shown to be more substrate specific than other plant and animal arginases which have been described, and to be very sensitive to competitive inhibition by indospicine, ornithine and citrulline.     

Purification and properties of pyruvate kinase type M2 from rat lung

(1) Pyruvate kinase type M₂ from rat lung has been purified 840-fold with an overall yield of 20%. The enzyme gave a single band upon SDS-electrophoresis and isoelectrofocusing and had a specific activity of 1340 U/mg protein. The homotetramer of M_r = 224 000 and an isoelectric point of pH 5.8 had an amino acid composition closely resembling that of other pyruvate kinase isoenzymes type M₂, excepts that of the chicken liver. The enzyme was crystallized. (2) The enzyme has its pH optimum at pH 6.5. The K_0.5 value for phosphoenolpyruvate is 0.26 mM (n_H = 1.81) which decreases in the presence of 0.2 mM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to 0.056 mM (n_H = 1.06). 1 μM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate activates the enzyme at 0.1 mM phosphoenolpyruvate half-maximally. The K_m value for ADP at 1 mM phosphoenolpyruvate is 0.4 mM. The K_m value for other nucleoside diphosphates increases in the order ADP<GDP<IDP<UDP. (3) No evidence for an interconversion of pyruvate kinase type M₂ from rat or chicken lung was found. The enzyme was neither a substrate for the cAMP-dependent protein kinase from rabbit muscle nor for the cAMP-independent protein kinase from chicken liver. Since pyruvate kinase type M₂ from chicken liver is inactivated by phosphorylation catalyzed by a cAMP-independent protein kinase (Eigenbrodt, E., Abdel-Fattah Mostafa, M. and Schoner, W. (1977) Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 358, 1047–1055) we suggest that the interconvertible form of pyruvate kinase type M₂ may represent a separate form of the pyruvate kinase type M₂ family.     

Purification, characterization, and gene cloning of 4-hydroxybenzoate decarboxylase of Enterobacter cloacae P240

We found the occurrence of 4-hydroxybenzoate decarboxylase in Enterobacter cloacae P240, isolated from soils under anaerobic conditions, and purified the enzyme to homogeneity. The purified enzyme was a homohexamer of identical 60 kDa subunits. The purified decarboxylase catalyzed the nonoxidative decarboxylation of 4-hydroxybenzoate without requiring any cofactors. Its K _m value for 4-hydroxybenzoate was 596 μM. The enzyme also catalyzed decarboxylation of 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate, for which the K _m value was 6.80 mM. In the presence of 3 M KHCO₃ and 20 mM phenol, the decarboxylase catalyzed the reverse carboxylation reaction of phenol to form 4-hydroxybenzoate with a molar conversion yield of 19%. The K _m value for phenol was calculated to be 14.8 mM. The gene encoding the 4-hydroxybenzoate decarboxylase was isolated from E. cloacae P240. Nucleotide sequencing of recombinant plasmids revealed that the 4-hydroxybenzoate decarboxylase gene codes for a 475-amino-acid protein. The amino acid sequence of the enzyme is similar to those of 4-hydroxybenzoate decarboxylase of Clostridium hydroxybenzoicum (53% identity), VdcC protein (vanillate decarboxylase) of Streptomyces sp. strain D7 (72%) and 3-octaprenyl-4-hydroxybenzoate decarboxylase of Escherichia coli (28%). The hypothetical proteins, showing 96–97% identities to the primary structure of E. cloacae P240 4-hydroxybenzoate decarboxylase, were found in several bacterial strains.     

Purification and characterization of glyoxalase I from Hansenula mrakii

Glyoxalase I was purified from Hansenula mrakii IFO 0895 which was resistant to 25 mM methylglyoxal. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was calculated to be 38,000 by both gel-filtration of Sephadex G-150 and SDS-PAGE. The enzyme was almost specific to methylglyoxal (K_m = 0.91 mM). The activity of the enzyme was not inhibited by metal ion chelators such as EDTA, which is a potent inhibitor for glyoxalase Is from other sources.     

Purification and characterization of an intracellular N-terminal exopeptidase from Streptococcus durans

An intracellular N-terminal exopeptidase isolated from cell extracts of Streptococcus durans has been purified 470-fold to homogeneity (specific activity of 12.0 μmol/min per mg). In the absence of thiol compounds, the purified aminopeptidase undergoes a slow oxidation with a 70% loss of activity, which can be restored by the addition of 2 mM β-mercaptoethanol. The purified aminopeptidase (M_r 300 000) preferred L-peptide and arylamide substrates with small nonpolar or basic side chains. SDS electrophoresis yielded a single protein band corresponding to a molecular weight of 49 400, suggesting that the native enzyme is a hexameric protein. The enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of $\text{L}\text{-}\text{alanyl}\text{-p-}\text{nitroanilide}$ exhibited a bell-shaped pH dependence for log V_max/K_m(pK₁ = 6.35; pK₂ = 8.50) while the log V_max versus pH profile showed only an acid limb (pK = 6.35). Methylene blue-sensitized photooxidation of the enzyme resulted in the complete loss of activity, while L-leucine, a competitive inhibitor, partially protected against this inactivation. Amino acid analysis indicated that this photooxidative loss of activity corresponded to the modification of one histidine residue per enzyme monomer. N-Ethylmaleimide (100 mM) caused a 78% reduction in enzyme activity. Treatment of the enzyme with 1.0 mM hydrogen peroxide resulted in the oxidation of two cysteine residues per enzyme monomer and caused a 70% decrease in the catalytic activity.     

Ouabain sensitive Na+/K+-transporting ATPase from the brain of Poekilocerus bufonius

• 1.1. The properties of Na⁺/K⁺-transporting ATPase in microsomal fractions from the nervous tissue of the grasshopper, Poekilocerus bufonius were investigated.
• 2.2. Two components of ATPase activity are present.
• 3.3. Inclusion of 1 mM ouabain in the incubation media reduced the activity of total and Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase by 57 and 79%, respectively.
• 4.4. The maximum velocity (V_max) was decreased by the addition of 1 mM ouabain, whereas the apparent K_m value was not affected indicating a non-competitive type of inhibition.
• 5.5. The calculated value of the pI₅₀ was 6.4 (I₅₀ = 3.98 × 10⁻⁷M) for ouabain inhibition of the enzyme showing great sensitivity to the cardiac glycoside ouabain.
• 6.6. The present results show that the physicochemical properties of Na⁺/K⁺-transporting ATPase from the brain of P. bufonius are essentially the same as for the enzyme prepared from the excretory system of the insect which has been previously investigated.
• 7.7. Dissimilarities were also observed between these tissues in the way that the enzyme from the brain was sensitive to ouabain inhibition with a non-competitive type rather than a ouabain-resistance and a competitive type of inhibition for the enzyme from the excretory system.
• 8.8. These dissimilarities are probably due to different isoenzyme patterns available in the same insect.

     

A new intracellular phytase of enterobacteria: Isolation and characterization

A phytase (myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate phosphohydrolase) has been isolated for the first time from a cell lysate of Pantoea vagans 3.2 enterobacteria and studied. The enzyme has been assigned to the class of histidine acid phosphatases (EC 3.1.3.26). It has been purified to homogeneity, and its primary structure has been determined. The molecular weight of the protein is 46 kDa, and K _m is 0.28 mM. Some physicochemical properties of the enzyme have been examined.     

Potassium-p-nitrophenyl phosphate interactions with (Na+ + K+)-ATPase their relevance to phosphatase activity

The K⁺-dependent p-nitrophenylphosphatase activity catalyzed by purified (Na⁺ + K⁺)-ATPase from pig kidney shows substrate inhibition (K_i about 9.5 mM at 2.1 mM Mg²⁺). Potassium antagonizes and sodium favours this inhibition. In addition, K⁺ reduces the apparent affinity for substrate activation, whereas p-nitrophenyl phosphate reduces the apparent affinity for K⁺ activation. In the absence of Mg²⁺, p-nitrophenyl phosphate, as well as ATP, accelerates the release of Rb⁺ from the Rb⁺ occluded unphosphorylated enzyme. With no Mg²⁺ and with 0.5 mM KCl, trypsin inactivation of (Na⁺ + K⁺)-ATPase as a function of time follows a single exponential but is transformed into a double exponential when 1 mM ATP or 5 mM p-nitrophenyl phosphate are also present. In the presence of 3 mM MgCl₂, 5 mM p-nitrophenyl phosphate and without KCl the trypsin inactivation pattern is that described for the E₁ enzyme form; the addition of 10 mM KCl changes the pattern which, after about 6 min delay, follows a single exponential. These results suggest that (i) the shifting of the enzyme toward the E₁ state is the basis for substrate inhibition of the p-nitrophenulphosphatase acitivy of (Na⁺ + K⁺)-ATPase, and (ii) the substrate site during phosphatase activity is distinct from the low-affinity ATP site.