The reaction of yeast cystathionine beta-synthase is rate-limited by the conversion of aminoacrylate to cystathionine

Our studies of the reaction mechanism of cystathionine beta-synthase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) are facilitated by the spectroscopic properties of the pyridoxal phosphate coenzyme that forms a series of intermediates in the reaction of L-serine and L-homocysteine to form L-cystathionine. To characterize these reaction intermediates, we have carried out rapid-scanning stopped-flow and single-wavelength stopped-flow kinetic measurements under pre-steady-state conditions, as well as circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy under steady-state conditions. We find that the gem-diamine and external aldimine of aminoacrylate are the primary intermediates in the forward half-reaction with L-serine and that the external aldimine of aminoacrylate or its complex with L-homocysteine is the primary intermediate in the reverse half-reaction with L-cystathionine. The second forward half-reaction of aminoacrylate with L-homocysteine is rapid. No primary kinetic isotope effect was obtained in the forward half-reaction with L-serine. The results provide evidence (1) that the formation of the external aldimine of L-serine is faster than the formation of the aminoacrylate intermediate, (2) that aminoacrylate is formed by the concerted removal of the alpha-proton and the hydroxyl group of L-serine, and (3) that the rate of the overall reaction is rate-limited by the conversion of aminoacrylate to L-cystathionine. We compare our results with cystathionine beta-synthase with those of related investigations of tryptophan synthase and O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase.     

Yeast cystathionine beta-synthase is a pyridoxal phosphate enzyme but, unlike the human enzyme, is not a heme protein

Our studies of cystathionine beta-synthase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) are aimed at clarifying the cofactor dependence and catalytic mechanism and obtaining a system for future investigations of the effects of mutations that cause human disease (homocystinuria or coronary heart disease). We report methods that yielded high expression of the yeast gene in Escherichia coli and of purified yeast cystathionine beta-synthase. The absorption and circular dichroism spectra of the homogeneous enzyme were characteristic of a pyridoxal phosphate enzyme and showed the absence of heme, which is found in human and rat cystathionine beta-synthase. The absence of heme in the yeast enzyme facilitates spectroscopic studies to probe the catalytic mechanism. The reaction of the enzyme with L-serine in the absence of L-homocysteine produced the aldimine of aminoacrylate, which absorbed at 460 nm and had a strong negative circular dichroism band at 460 nm. The formation of this intermediate from the product, L-cystathionine, demonstrates the partial reversibility of the reaction. Our results establish the overall catalytic mechanism of yeast cystathionine beta-synthase and provide a useful system for future studies of structure and function. The absence of heme in the functional yeast enzyme suggests that heme does not play an essential catalytic role in the rat and human enzymes. The results are consistent with the absence of heme in the closely related enzymes O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase, threonine deaminase, and tryptophan synthase.     

Tryptophan synthase, an allosteric molecular factory

Tryptophan synthase (TrpS) is a pyridoxal phosphate-containing bifunctional enzyme that catalyzes the last two steps in the biosynthesis of L-tryptophan. Indole, an intermediate generated at the active site of the alpha-subunit is channeled via a 25 A long tunnel to the beta-active site where it reacts with an aminoacrylate intermediate derived from L-serine. The two reactions are kept in phase by allosteric interactions between the two subunits. The recent development of novel alpha-site ligands and alpha-reaction transition state analogs combined with kinetic and crystal structure analysis of Salmonella typhimurium tryptophan synthase has provided new insights into the allosteric regulation of substrate channeling, the reaction mechanisms of the alpha and beta active sites, and the influence of structural dynamics.     

Reversible modification of amino groups in aspartate aminotransferase.

Amino groups in the pyridoxal phosphate, pyridoxamine phosphate, and apo forms of pig heart cytoplasmic aspartate aminotransferase (L-aspartate: 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase, EC .2.6.1.1) have been reversibly modified with 2,4-pentanedione. The rate of modification has been measured spectrophotometrically by observing the formation of the enamine produced and this rate has been compared with the rate of loss of catalytic activity for all three forms of the enzyme. Of the 21 amino groups per 46 500 molecular weight, approx. 16 can be modified in the pyridoxal phosphate form with less than a 50% change in the catalytic activity of the enzyme. A slow inactivation occurs which is probably due to reaction of 2,4-pentanedione with the enzyme-bound pyridoxal phosphate. The pyridoxamine phosphate enzyme is completely inactivated by reaction with 2,4-pentanedione. The inactivation of the pyridoxamine phosphate enzyme is not inhibited by substrate analogs. A single lysine residue in the apoenzyme reacts approx. 100 times faster with 2,4-pentanedione than do other amino groups. This lysine is believed to be lysine-258, which forms a Schiff base with pyridoxal phosphate in the holoenzyme.     

Visualization of PLP-bound intermediates in hemeless variants of human cystathionine beta-synthase: evidence that lysine 119 is a general base

Cystathionine beta-synthase catalyzes the condensation of serine and homocysteine to give cystathionine in a pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent reaction. The human enzyme contains a single heme per monomer that is bound in an N-terminal 69 amino acid extension that is missing from the otherwise highly homologous yeast enzyme. The heme dominates the UV-visible spectrum and obscures kinetic characterization of the PLP-bound reaction intermediates. In this study, we have engineered a hemeless mutant of human cystathionine beta-synthase by deletion of the N-terminal 69 amino acids. The resulting variant displays approximately 40% of the activity seen with the wild type enzyme, binds stoichiometric amounts of PLP, and permits spectral characterization of PLP-based intermediates. The enzyme as isolated exhibits an absorption maximum at 412nm corresponding to a protonated internal aldimine. Addition of serine shifts the lambdamax to 420nm (assigned as the external aldimine) with a broad shoulder between 450 and 500nm (assigned as the aminoacrylate intermediate). Addition of the product, cystathionine, also leads to formation of an external aldimine (420nm). Homocysteine elicits a red shift (and a decrease in absorption) in the spectrum from 412 to 424nm and an increase in absorption at 330nm, presumably due to formation of a dead-end complex. Mutation of K119, the residue that forms the Schiff base, to alanine results in a approximately 10(3)-fold decrease in activity, which increases approximately 2-fold in the presence of an exogenous base, ethylamine. Spectral shifts (412 --> 420nm) consistent with the formation of external aldimines are observed in the presence of serine or cystathionine, but an aminoacrylate intermediate is not formed at detectable levels. These results are consistent with an additional role for K119 as a general base in the reaction catalyzed by human cystathionine beta-synthase.     

Identification and amino acid sequence of the deoxynucleoside triphosphate binding site in Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I

We have labeled the large fragment of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I (Pol I) with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, a substrate binding site directed reagent for DNA polymerases [Modak, M. J. (1976) Biochemistry 15, 3620-3626]. A covalent attachment of pyridoxal phosphate to Pol I results in the loss of substrate binding as well as the polymerase activity. The inactivation was found to be strictly dependent on the presence of a divalent metal ion. Four moles of pyridoxal phosphate was found to react per mole of the enzyme, while in the presence of substrate deoxynucleoside triphosphate only 3 mol of pyridoxal phosphate was bound. To identify the substrate-protected site on the enzyme, tryptic peptides from enzyme labeled with pyridoxal phosphate and tritiated borohydride, in the presence and absence of substrate, were resolved on a C-18 reverse-phase column. A single peptide containing the substrate-protected site was identified and further purified. The amino acid composition and sequence analysis of this peptide revealed it to span residues 756-775 in the primary acid sequence of Pol I. Lys-758 of this sequence was found to be the site of the pyridoxal phosphate reaction. It is therefore concluded that Lys-758 is the site of binding for the metal chelate form of nucleotide substrates in E. coli DNA polymerase I.     

The reaction of indole with the aminoacrylate intermediate of Salmonella typhimurium tryptophan synthase: observation of a primary kinetic isotope effect with 3-[(2)H]indole

The bacterial tryptophan synthase alpha(2)beta(2) complex catalyzes the final reactions in the biosynthesis of L-tryptophan. Indole is produced at the active site of the alpha-subunit and is transferred through a 25-30 A tunnel to the beta-active site, where it reacts with an aminoacrylate intermediate. Lane and Kirschner proposed a two-step nucleophilic addition-tautomerization mechanism for the reaction of indole with the aminoacrylate intermediate, based on the absence of an observed kinetic isotope effect (KIE) when 3-[(2)H]indole reacts with the aminoacrylate intermediate. We have now observed a KIE of 1.4-2.0 in the reaction of 3-[(2)H]indole with the aminoacrylate intermediate in the presence of monovalent cations, but not when an alpha-subunit ligand, disodium alpha-glycerophosphate (Na(2)GP), is present. Rapid-scanning stopped flow kinetic studies were performed of the reaction of indole and 3-[(2)H]indole with tryptophan synthase preincubated with L-serine, following the decay of the aminoacrylate intermediate at 350 nm, the formation of the quinonoid intermediate at 476 nm, and the formation of the L-Trp external aldimine at 423 nm. The addition of Na(2)GP dramatically slows the rate of reaction of indole with the alpha-aminoacrylate intermediate. A primary KIE is not observed in the reaction of 3-[(2)H]indole with the aminoacrylate complex of tryptophan synthase in the presence of Na(2)GP, suggesting binding of indole with tryptophan synthase is rate limiting under these conditions. The reaction of 2-methylindole does not show a KIE, either in the presence of Na(+) or Na(2)GP. These results support the previously proposed mechanism for the beta-reaction of tryptophan synthase, but suggest that the rate limiting step in quinonoid intermediate formation from indole and the aminoacrylate intermediate is deprotonation.     

Serine modulates substrate channeling in tryptophan synthase. A novel intersubunit triggering mechanism

Tryptophan synthase, an alpha 2 beta 2 complex, is a classic example of an enzyme that is thought to "channel" a metabolic intermediate (indole) from the active site of the alpha subunit to the active site of the beta subunit. We now examine the kinetics of substrate channeling by tryptophan synthase directly by chemical quench-flow and stopped-flow methods. The conversion of indole-3-glycerol phosphate (IGP) to tryptophan at the active site proceeds at a rate of 24 s-1, which is limited by the rate of cleavage of IGP to produce indole (alpha reaction). In a single turnover experiment monitoring the conversion of radiolabeled IGP to tryptophan, only a trace of indole is detectable (less than or equal to 1% of the IGP), implying that the reaction of indole to form tryptophan must be quite fast (greater than or equal to 1000 s-1). The rate of reaction of indole from solution is much too slow (40 s-1 under identical conditions) to account for the negligible accumulation of indole in a single turnover. Therefore, the indole produced at the alpha site must be rapidly channeled to the beta site, where it reacts with serine to form tryptophan: channeling and the reaction of indole to form tryptophan must each occur at rates greater than or equal to 1000 s-1. Steady-state turnover is limited by the slow rate of tryptophan release (8 s-1). In the absence of serine, the cleavage of IGP to indole is limited by a change in protein conformation at a rate of 0.16 s-1. When the alpha beta reaction is initiated by mixing enzyme with IGP and serine simultaneously, there is a lag in the cleavage IGP and formation of tryptophan. The kinetics of the lag correspond to the rate of formation of the aminoacrylate in the reaction of serine with pyridoxal phosphate at the beta site, measured by stopped-flow methods (45 s-1). There is also a change in protein fluorescence, suggestive of a change in protein conformation, occurring at the same rate. Substitution of cysteine for serine leads to a longer lag in the kinetics of IGP cleavage and a correspondingly slower rate of formation of the aminoacrylate (6 s-1). Thus, the reaction of serine at the beta site modulates the alpha reaction such that the formation of the aminoacrylate leads to a change in protein conformation that is transmitted to the alpha site to enhance the rate of IGP cleavage 150-fold.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Purification and characterization of cystathionine gamma-synthase type II from Bacillus sphaericus

Cystathionine gamma-synthase type II, which catalyzes L-cystathionine synthesis from O-acetyl-L-homoserine and L-cysteine was purified from Bacillus sphaericus (IFO 3536) in seven steps. The purified enzyme appeared to be homogeneous by the results of polyacrylamide electrophoresis and ampholyte electrofocusing. The enzyme is a typical pyridoxal-P dependent enzyme, has a molecular mass of 165 kDa and consists of four subunits identical in molecular mass. The enzyme catalyzed the gamma-replacement reaction and the elimination reaction was hardly detected even when a large amount of enzyme was added. In the replacement reaction, O-acetyl-L-homoserine and the following thiol compounds: L and D-cysteine, L and D-homocysteine, sodium sulfide, various alkyl and aryl mercaptans, acted as the most suitable substrate to produce L-cystathionine and the corresponding S-substituted L-homocysteine derivatives.     

The origin of reaction specificity in serine hydroxymethyltransferase

Cytosolic serine hydroxymethyltransferase has been shown previously to exhibit both broad substrate and reaction specificity. In addition to cleaving many different 3-hydroxyamino acids to glycine and an aldehyde, the enzyme also catalyzes with several amino acid substrate analogs decarboxylation, transamination, and racemization reactions. To elucidate the relationship of the structure of the substrate to reaction specificity, the interaction of both amino acid and folate substrates and substrate analogs with the enzyme has been studied by three different methods. These methods include investigating the effects of substrates and substrate analogs on the thermal denaturation properties of the enzyme by differential scanning calorimetry, determining the rate of peptide hydrogen exchange with solvent protons, and measuring the optical activity of the active site pyridoxal phosphate. All three methods suggest that the enzyme exists as an equilibrium between "open" and "closed" forms. Amino acid substrates enter and leave the active site in the open form, but catalysis occurs in the closed form. The data suggest that the amino acid analogs that undergo alternate reactions, such as racemization and transamination, bind only to the open form of the enzyme and that the alternate reactions occur in the open form. Therefore, one role for forming the closed form of the enzyme is to block side reactions and confer reaction specificity.     

Characterization of a novel thermostable O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase from Aeropyrum pernix K1

An O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase (OASS) from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1, which shares the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate binding motif with both OASS and cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS), was cloned and expressed by using Escherichia coli Rosetta(DE3). The purified protein was a dimer and contained pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. It was shown to be an enzyme with CBS activity as well as OASS activity in vitro. The enzyme retained 90% of its activity after a 6-h incubation at 100 degrees C. In the O-acetyl-L-serine sulfhydrylation reaction, it had a pH optimum of 6.7, apparent K(m) values for O-acetyl-L-serine and sulfide of 28 and below 0.2 mM, respectively, and a rate constant of 202 s(-1). In the L-cystathionine synthetic reaction, it showed a broad pH optimum in the range of 8.1 to 8.8, apparent K(m) values for L-serine and L-homocysteine of 8 and 0.51 mM, respectively, and a rate constant of 0.7 s(-1). A. pernix OASS has a high activity in the L-cysteine desulfurization reaction, which produces sulfide and S-(2,3-hydroxy-4-thiobutyl)-L-cysteine from L-cysteine and dithiothreitol.     

O-phospho-L-serine and the thiocarboxylated sulfur carrier protein CysO-COSH are substrates for CysM, a cysteine synthase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The kinetic pathway of CysM, a cysteine synthase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, was studied by transient-state kinetic techniques. The expression of which is upregulated under conditions of oxidative stress. This enzyme exhibits extensive homology with the B-isozymes of the well-studied O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase family and employs a similar chemical mechanism involving a stable alpha-aminoacrylate intermediate. However, we show that specificity of CysM for its amino acid substrate is more than 500-fold greater for O-phospho-L-serine than for O-acetyl-L-serine, suggesting that O-phospho-L-serine is the likely substrate in vivo. We also investigated the kinetics of the carbon-sulfur bond-forming reaction between the CysM-bound alpha-aminoacrylate intermediate and the thiocarboxylated sulfur carrier protein, CysO-COSH. The specificity of CysM for this physiological sulfide equivalent is more than 3 orders of magnitude greater than that for bisulfide. Moreover, the kinetics of this latter reaction are limited by association of the proteins, while the reaction with bisulfide is consistent with a rapid equilibrium binding model. We interpret this finding to suggest that the CysM active site with the bound aminoacrylate intermediate is protected from solvent and that binding of CysO-COSH produces a conformational change allowing rapid sulfur transfer. This study represents the first detailed kinetic characterization of sulfide transfer from a sulfide carrier protein.     

Conversion of the aminocrotonate intermediate limits the rate of gamma-elimination reaction catalyzed by L-cystathionine gamma-lyase of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

L-Cystathionine gamma-lyase [EC 4.4.1.1] of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was shown to bind cofactor pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, up to 2 molecules/subunit. The association constants of the enzyme for the cofactor were estimated to be 3.67 x 10(5) M(-1) and 9.05 x 10(3) M(-1). However, the latter value was too small for the binding to play a catalytic role. Changes in the absorption spectra of the enzyme in gamma-elimination reaction mixtures with various amino acids as substrates were observed at 10 degrees C to elucidate the reaction mechanism of the enzyme. The enzyme formed a chromophore exhibiting absorption at approximately 480 nm, which is characteristic of an aminocrotonate intermediate with O-succinyl-L-homoserine, L-cystathionine, L-homoserine, or O-acetyl-L-homoserine, at rates in this order. The intermediate was consumed at much lower rates than those of formation. The order of the rates of consumption was the same as the order of the formation rates and the order of the gamma-elimination activity of the enzyme with the above-mentioned substrates. These results strongly suggested that the intermediate was essential for gamma-elimination and that the reaction was rate-limited by its conversion into the product alpha-ketobutyrate. L-Cysteine sensitively inhibited the alpha, gamma-elimination activity of the enzyme, and also retarded the formation of the chromophore when it was provided to the enzyme together with a substrate. The reason for these phenomena is discussed.     

The K258R mutant of aspartate aminotransferase stabilizes the quinonoid intermediate.

Lys-258 of aspartate aminotransferase forms a Schiff base with pyridoxal phosphate and is responsible for catalysis of the 1,3-prototropic shift central to the transamination reaction sequence. Substitution of arginine for Lys-258 stabilizes the otherwise elusive quinonoid intermediate, as assessed by the long wavelength absorption bands observed in the reactions of this mutant with several amino acid substrates. The external aldimine intermediate is not detectable during reactions of this mutant with amino acids, although the inhibitor alpha-methylaspartate does slowly and stably form this species. These results suggest that external aldimine formation is one of the rate-determining steps of the reaction. The pyridoxamine-5'-phosphate-like enzyme form (330-nm absorption maximum) is unreactive toward keto acid substrates, and the coenzyme bound to this species is not dissociable from the protein.     

Pre-steady-state kinetics of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase catalyzed reactions and thermodynamic aspects of its substrate specificity

The four half-transamination reactions [the pyridoxal form of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) with aspartate or glutamate and the pyridoxamine form of the enzyme with oxalacetate or 2-oxoglutarate] were followed in a stopped-flow spectrometer by monitoring the absorbance change at either 333 or 358 nm. The reaction progress curves in all cases gave fits to a monophasic exponential process. Kinetic analyses of these reactions showed that each half-reaction is composed of the following three processes: (1) the rapid binding of an amino acid substrate to the pyridoxal form of the enzyme; (2) the rapid binding of the corresponding keto acid to the pyridoxamine form of the enzyme; (3) the rate-determining interconversion between the two complexes. This mechanism was supported by the findings that the equilibrium constants for half- and overall-transamination reactions and the steady-state kinetic constants (Km and kcat) agreed well with the predicted values on the basis of the above mechanism using pre-steady-state kinetic parameters. The significant primary kinetic isotope effect observed in the reaction with deuterated amino acid suggests that the withdrawal of the alpha-proton of the substrates is rate determining. The pyridoxal form of E. coli AspAT reacted with a variety of amino acids as substrates. The Gibbs free energy difference between the transition state and the unbound state (unbound enzyme plus free substrate), as calculated from the pre-steady-state kinetic parameters, showed a linear relationship with the accessible surface area of amino acid substrate bearing an uncharged side chain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Enzymatic breakdown of threonine by threonine aldolase

1. The enzyme which splits threonine to acetaldehyde and glycine has been partially purified from rat liver (five- to sixfold purification) and the name threonine aldolase proposed for it. 2. The general properties of threonine aldolase have been studied. The enzyme is unstable to a pH below 5. The pH optimum of the enzyme reaction is at 7.5-7.7. The initial rate of production of acetaldehyde is proportional to the enzyme concentration, and when the enzyme concentration is constant, the production of acetaldehyde is proportional to the time, provided that the substrate is in excess. The enzyme is inhibited by the carbonyl group reagent, hydroxylamine. Attempts to demonstrate that pyridoxal phosphate is a cofactor were unsuccessful. 3. The enzyme splits only L-allothreonine and L-threonine and is inactive against the D-forms of these amino acids. 4. The enzyme reaction on DL-allothreonine follows first order kinetics. From the first order velocity constants and the initial rates of the rates of the reaction at various substrate concentrations the Michaelis constant, Ks, for this substrate has been evaluated. Michaelis constants have also been determined for threonine. 5. The optimum temperature for the enzymatic breakdown of DL-allothreonine at pH 7.65 was found to be 50 degrees C. in phosphate buffer and 48 degrees C. in tris-maleate buffer. The rate of thermal inactivation of the enzyme threonine aldolase obeys a first order reaction. The heat of thermal inactivation was calculated by the aid of the van't Hoff-Arrhenius equation to be 43,000 cal. per mole for the temperature range 41.2-46.6 degrees C. 6. Equivalent amounts of acetaldehyde and glycine were formed from DL-allothreonine and the enzymatic breakdown of DL-allothreonine was found to be irreversible.     

The biosynthesis of cysteine and homocysteine in Methanococcus jannaschii

The pathway for the biosynthesis of cysteine and homocysteine in Methanococcus jannaschii has been examined using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) stable isotope dilution method to identify and quantitate the intermediates in the pathways. The first step in the pathway, and the one responsible for incorporation of sulfur into both cysteine and methionine, is the reaction between O-phosphohomoserine and a presently unidentified sulfur source present in cell extracts, to produce L-homocysteine. This sulfur source was shown not to be sulfide. The resulting L-homocysteine then reacts with O-phosphoserine to form L-cystathionine, which is cleaved to L-cysteine. The pathway has elements of both the plant and mammalian pathways in that the sulfur is first incorporated into homocysteine using O-phosphohomoserine as the acceptor and the resulting homocysteine, via transsulfuration, supplies the sulfur for cysteine formation. The pathway leading to these two amino acids represents an example of metabolic thrift where the preexisting cellular metabolites O-phosphohomoserine and O-phosphoserine are used as the ultimate source of the carbon framework for the biosynthesis of these amino acids. These findings explain the absence of identifiable genes in the genome of this organism for the biosynthesis of cysteine and homocysteine.     

Site-specific methylation of a strategic lysyl residue in aspartate aminotransferase

Conditions for reductive methylation of amine groups in proteins using formaldehyde and cyanoborohydride can be chosen to modify selectively the active site lysyl residue of aspartate aminotransferase among the 19 lysyl residues in each subunit of this protein. Apoenzyme must be treated, under mildly acidic conditions (pH = 6), at a relatively low molar ratio of formaldehyde to protein (40:1); and, upon reduction with sodium cyanoborohydride, 85% of the formaldehyde is incorporated at Lysine 258 and 15% at the amino-terminal alanyl residue. The modified protein, characterized after tryptic hydrolysis, separation of the peptides by high performance liquid chromatography procedures and subsequent amino acid analysis, shows that lysine 258 is preferentially modified as a dimethylated derivative. Modified apoenzyme can accept and tightly bind added coenzyme pyridoxal phosphate, as measured by circular dichroism procedures. The methylated enzyme is essentially catalytically inactive when measured by standard enzymatic assays. On the other hand, addition of the substrate, glutamate, produces the characteristic absorption spectral shifts for conversion of the active site-bound pyridoxal form of the coenzyme (absorbance at 400 nm) to its pyridoxamine form (absorbance at 330 nm). Such a half-transamination-like process occurs as in native enzyme, albeit at several orders of magnitude lower rate. This event takes place even though the characteristic internal holoenzyme Schiff's base between Lys-258 and aldehyde of bound pyridoxal phosphate does not exist in methylated, reconstituted holoenzyme. It is concluded that this chemically transformed enzyme can undergo a half-transamination reaction with conversion of active site-bound coenzyme from a pyridoxal to a pyridoxamine form, even when overall catalytic turnover transamination cannot be detected.     

Detection of beta-carbanion formation during kynurenine hydrolysis catalyzed by Pseudomonas marginalis kynureninase

2-Amino-4-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyric acid has been shown to be formed during the Pseudomonas marginalis kynureninase-catalyzed hydrolysis of kynurenine in the presence of benzaldehyde and pyridoxal phosphate. The formation of 2-amino-4-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyric acid is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of the controlled trapping of an amino acid beta-carbanion generated either chemically or enzymatically, and is perhaps the best empirical evidence to date that enzyme mechanisms can proceed through a beta-carbanionic intermediate. The lifetime of the beta-carbanionic alanyl intermediate generated by kynureninase is of sufficient duration to allow reaction with benzaldehyde. Other aromatic, but no aliphatic, aldehydes will undergo electrophilic addition with kynureninase-generated beta-carbanionic alanyl intermediates to form the corresponding amino acid.     

Modification of Rhodospirillum rubrum ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase with pyridoxal phosphate. 1. Identification of a lysyl residue at the active site.

Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase isolated from Rhodospirillum rubrum was strongly inhibited by low concentrations of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Activity was protected by the substrate ribulose bisphosphate and to a lesser extent by other phosphorylated compounds. Pyridoxal phosphate inhibition was enhanced in the presence of magnesium and bicarbonate, but not in the presence of either compound alone. Concomitant with inhibition of enzyme activity, pyridoxal phosphate forms a Schiff base with the enzyme which is reversible upon dialysis and reducible with sodium borohydride. Subsequent to reduction of the Schiff base with tritiated sodium borohydride, tritiated N6-pyridoxyllysine could be identified in the acid hydrolysate of the enzyme. Only small amounts of this compound were present when the reduction was performed in the presence of carboxyribitol bisphosphate, an analogue of the intermediate formed during the carboxylation reaction. Therefore, it is concluded that pyridoxal phosphate modifies a lysyl residue close to or at the active site of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase.