Enzyme IIMtl of the Escherichia coli phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system: identification of the activity-linked cysteine on the mannitol carrier

The cysteines of the membrane-bound mannitol-specific enzyme II (EIIMtl) of the Escherichia coli phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system have been labeled with 4-vinylpyridine. After proteolytic breakdown and reversed-phase HPLC, the peptides containing cysteines 110, 384, and 571 could be identified. N-Ethylmaleimide (NEM) treatment of the native unphosphorylated enzyme results in incorporation of one NEM label per molecule and loss of enzymatic activity [Roossien, F. F., & Robillard, G. T. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 211-215]. NEM treatment and inactivation prevented 4-vinylpyridine incorporation into the Cys-384-containing peptide, identifying this residue as the activity-linked cysteine. Both oxidation and phosphorylation of the native enzyme protected the enzyme against NEM labeling of Cys-384. Positive identification of the activity-linked cysteine was accomplished by inactivation with [14C]iodoacetamide, proteolytic fragmentation, isolation of the peptide, and amino acid sequencing.     

Interaction between the cytoplasmic and membrane-bound domains of enzyme IImtl of the Escherichia coli phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system

Sulfhydryl reagents affected the binding properties of the translocator domain, NIII, of enzyme IImtl in two ways: (i) the affinity for mannitol was reduced, and (ii) the exchange rate of bound and free mannitol was increased. The effect on the affinity was very much reduced after solubilization of enzyme IImtl in the detergent decylPEG. The effects were caused exclusively by reaction of the sulfhydryl reagents with the cysteine residue at position 384 in the primary sequence. Interaction between two domains is involved, since Cys384 is located in the cytoplasmic domain, CII. When Cys384 was mutated to serine, the enzyme exhibited the same binding properties as the chemically modified enzyme. The data support our proposal that phosphorylation of enzyme IImtl drastically reduces the activation energy for the translocation step through interaction between domains CII and NIII [Lolkema J. S., ten Hoeve-Duurkens, R. H., Swaving Dijkstra, D., & Robillard, G. T. (1991) Biochemistry (preceding paper in this issue)]. Functional interaction between the translocator domain, NIII, and domain CI was investigated by phosphorylation of His554, located in domain CI, in the C384S mutant. No effect on the binding properties was observed. In addition, the binding properties were insensitive to the presence of the soluble phosphotransferase components enzyme I and HPr.     

Bacterial phosphotransferase system: regulation of the glucose and mannose enzymes II by sulfhydryl oxidation

We have investigated the effect of oxidizing agents on methyl alpha-glucoside phosphorylation by the Escherichia coli phosphotransferase system (PTS). Oxidizing agents inhibited methyl alpha-glucoside phosphorylation at low methyl alpha-glucoside concentrations, and the degree of inhibition was shown to decrease with increasing concentrations of methyl alpha-glucoside. Results of studies with mutant bacteria and substrate analogues of the glucose and mannose enzymes II showed that contrary to the interpretation of Robillard and Konings [Robillard, G. T., & Konings, W. N. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 5025-5032] the apparent change in the Km value for methyl alpha-glucoside phosphorylation induced by sulfhydryl oxidation is not due to the formation of a low-affinity, oxidized form of the glucose enzyme II. Rather, the results are explained by the presence of two phosphotransferase systems that phosphorylate methyl alpha-glucoside with different affinities and that are differentially sensitive to oxidizing agents. The low Km system corresponds to the glucose enzyme II, which is strongly inhibited by potassium ferricyanide, phenazine methosulfate, and plumbagin. The high Km system corresponds to the mannose enzyme II, which is less sensitive to inhibition by these oxidizing agents. This differential sensitivity to inhibition by oxidizing agents can account for the apparent Km change for methyl alpha-glucoside phosphorylation reported by Robillard and Konings. The physiological significance of sulfhydryl oxidation in the enzymes II of the PTS has yet to be ascertained.     

S-phosphocysteine and phosphohistidine are intermediates in the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent mannitol transport catalyzed by Escherichia coli EIIMtl

During a cycle of mannitol transport and phosphorylation, the phosphoryl group originating on P-enolpyruvate is transferred, consecutively, to two sites on the Escherichia coli mannitol-specific carrier (EIIMtl) before being placed on mannitol [Pas et al. (1988) Biochemistry (in press)]. The peptides constituting the two EIIMtl phosphorylation sites have been isolated and identified after labeling with [32P]-P-enolpyruvate. The first site is localized in peptide Leu 541-Lys 560. The hydrolysis characteristics of the phosphorylated peptide indicate that a histidine residue is phosphorylated. The second site is located in peptide Ile 380-Met 393, which contains the activity-linked cysteine (384) [Pas & Robillard (1988) Biochemistry (in press)]. The hydrolysis characteristics of the phosphopeptide indicate that Cys 384 is the site of phosphorylation.     

Phosphorylation and formation of hybrid enzyme species test the "half of sites" reactivity of Escherichia coli succinyl-CoA synthetase

Recent sequencing experiments have identified alpha-His246 as the phosphorylation site of Escherichia coli succinyl-CoA synthetase [Buck, D., Spencer, M. E., & Guest, J. R. (1985) Biochemistry 24, 6245-6252]. We have replaced alpha-His246 with an asparagine residue using site-directed mutagenesis techniques. The resulting mutant enzyme (designated H246N) exhibited no enzyme activity, as expected, but was found as a structurally intact, stable tetramer. Small differences in the net charge of H246N and wild-type enzymes were first detected on native polyacrylamide gels. These charge differences were resolved by using native isoelectric focusing gels to further separate the wild-type enzyme into diphosphorylated, monophosphorylated, and unphosphorylated species. The enzyme species were found to be interconvertible upon incubation with the appropriate enzyme substrate(s). Sample mixtures containing increasing molar ratios of H246N (alpha H246N beta)2 to wild-type enzyme (alpha beta)2 were unfolded and then refolded. The refolded enzyme mixtures were analyzed for enzymatic activity and separated on native isoelectric focusing gels. The hybrid enzyme (alpha beta alpha H246N beta) retained a significant amount of enzyme activity and also exhibited substrate synergism (stimulation of succinate in equilibrium succinyl-CoA exchange in the presence of ATP). Substrate synergism with this enzyme has been interpreted as evidence for interaction between active sites in such a way that only a single phosphoryl group is covalently attached to the enzyme at a given time [Wolodko, W. T., Brownie, E.R., O'Connor, M. D., & Bridger, W. A. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 14116-14119]. On the contrary, we conclude that tetrameric succinyl-CoA synthetase from E. coli is comprised of two independently active dimer molecules associated together to form a "dimer of dimers" that displays substrate synergism within each dimer and not necessarily between dimers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

31phospho-NMR demonstration of phosphocysteine as a catalytic intermediate on the Escherichia coli phosphotransferase system EIIMtl

The mannitol-specific phosphotransferase system transport protein, Enzyme IIMtl, contains two catalytically important phosphorylated amino acid residues, both present on the cytoplasmic part of the enzyme. Recently, this portion has been subcloned, purified, and shown to be an enzymatically active domain. The N-terminal half has also been subcloned and shown to be the mannitol-binding domain. When combined the two domains catalyze mannitol phosphorylation at the expense of phospho-HPr (van Weeghel, R. P., Meyer, G. H., Pas, H. H., Keck, W. H., and Robillard, G. T., Biochemistry in press). The phospho-NMR spectrum of the purified phosphorylated cytoplasmic domain, taken at pH 8.0, shows two signals, one at -6.9 ppm compared with inorganic phosphate resulting from phosphohistidine and one at +11.9 ppm originating from phosphocysteine. Addition of mannitol plus membranes containing the N-terminal mannitol-binding domain results in the formation of mannitol 1-phosphate and the disappearance of the two signals at -6.9 and +11.9 ppm.     

Mannitol-specific enzyme II of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system of Staphylococcus carnosus. Sequence and expression in Escherichia coli and structural comparison with the enzyme IImannitol of Escherichia coli.

The enzyme IImannitol (EIImtl) of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) catalyses the uptake and concomitant phosphorylation of mannitol by bacteria; it is specified by the gene mtlA. MtlA is located near the genes mtlF and mtlD in the staphylococcal genome, encoding the enzyme IIImtl and the mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase, respectively. We present the cloning of the whole operon by a novel complementation system which is generally suitable for cloning Gram-positive PTS genes. The nucleotide sequence of a 2.5-kbp subclone spanning mtlA has been determined. From the deduced amino acid sequence, it is predicted that the membrane-protein EIImtl consists of 505 amino acid residues (54112 Da). The protein has the expected hydropathy profile of an integral-membrane protein. The NH2-terminal part of the enzyme resides within the membrane, whereas the COOH-terminus of the enzyme has the properties of a soluble protein. Comparison with the known amino acid sequence of EIImtl of Escherichia coli [Lee, C. A. & Saier, M. H. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 10761-10767] showed significant similarity. The motif containing the cysteine, which is the putative second phosphorylation site in EIImtl of E. coli [Pas, H. H. & Robillard, G. T. (1988) Biochemistry 27, 5835-5839], is well conserved in EIImtl of Staphylococcus carnosus. Chemical modification of the single active site cysteine residue by Ellman's reagent leads to total inactivation, which can be reversed by treatment with 2-mercaptoethanol.     

Vicinal dithiol-disulfide distribution in the Escherichia coli mannitol specific carrier enzyme IImtl

Escherichia coli mannitol specific EII in membrane vesicles can be inhibited by the action of the oxidizable substrate-reduced phenazine methosulfate (PMS) in a manner similar to E. coli enzyme IIGlc [Robillard, G. T., & Konings, W. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 5025-5032]. The fact that reduced PMS and various oxidizing agents protect the enzyme from inactivation by the sulfhydryl reagents N-ethylmaleimide and bromopyruvate suggests that the active form possesses a dithiol which can be protected by conversion to a disulfide. The sulfhydryl-disulfide distribution has been examined in purified EIImtl by labeling studies with N-[1-14C]ethylmaleimide ( [14C]NEM). EIImtl can be alkylated at three positions per peptide chain. When alkylation takes place in 8 M urea, only two positions are labeled. The third position becomes labeled in urea only after treatment with DTT, suggesting that the native enzyme is composed of two subunits linked by a disulfide bridge. The remaining two sulfhydryl groups per peptide chain appear to undergo changes in oxidation state as indicated by the following results. (1) Treatment of the active enzyme with NEM leads to complete inactivation and incorporation of 1 mol of [14C]NEM per peptide chain. Oxidizing agents protect the activity and prevent labeling presumably by forming a disulfide. (2) Phosphorylating the enzyme (one phosphoryl group per peptide chain) fully protects the activity, but 1 mol of NEM per peptide chain is still incorporated. Subsequent dephosphorylation by adding mannitol causes a second mole of [14C]NEM to be incorporated and results in complete inactivation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides. Isolation and sequence of a peptide containing an essential lysine

Interaction of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and sodium borohydride leads to inactivation and modification of two lysine residues per enzyme dimer that are thought to bind glucose 6-phosphate [Milhausen, M., & Levy, H.R. (1975) Eur. J. Biochem. 50, 453-461]. The amino acid sequence surrounding this lysine residue is reported. Following tryptic hydrolysis of the modified enzyme, two peptides, each containing one pyridoxyllysine residue, were purified to homogeneity and subjected to automated Edman degradation. The sequences revealed that one of these, a heptapeptide, was derived from the other, containing 11 amino acids. Supporting evidence for the role of the modified lysine is provided in the following paper [Haghighi, B., & Levy, H.R. (1982) Biochemistry (second paper of three in this issue)]. End-group analysis of the native enzyme revealed that valine is the N-terminal and glycine the C-terminal amino acid and provides support for the identity of the enzyme's two subunits.     

Pyruvate phosphate dikinase: sequence of the histidyl peptide, the pyrophosphoryl and phosphoryl carrier

Pyruvate phosphate dikinase contains a pivotal histidyl residue which functions to mediate the transfer of phosphoryl moieties during the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme. The tryptic peptide which contains this essential histidyl residue has been isolated by a two-step procedure originally developed by Wang and co-workers [Wang, T., Jurasek, L., & Bridger, W. A. (1972) Biochemistry 11, 2067]. This peptide has been sequenced by the manual dansyl-Edman procedure and is shown to be NH2-Gly-Gly-Met-Thr-Ser-His-Ala-Ala-Val-Val-Ala-Arg-CO2H. There is no readily interpretable homology between this peptide and other phosphorylated histidyl peptides previously isolated from other enzymes. By use of Chou & Fasman [Chou, P. Y., & Fasman, G. D. (1974) Biochemistry 13, 222], it is predicted that the sequence contains an alpha helix from the methionine residue through to the carboxyl terminal arginine residue.     

Equilibrium analyses of the active-site asymmetry in enterococcal NADH oxidase: role of the cysteine-sulfenic acid redox center

Recent studies [Mallett, T. C., and Claiborne, A. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 8790-8802] of the O2 reactivity of C42S NADH oxidase (O2 --> H2O2) revealed an asymmetric mechanism in which the two FADH2.NAD+ per reduced dimer display kinetic inequivalence. In this report we provide evidence indicating that the fully active, recombinant wild-type oxidase (O2 --> 2H2O) displays thermodynamic inequivalence between the two active sites per dimer. Using NADPH to generate the free reduced wild-type enzyme (EH2'/EH4), we have shown that NAD+ titrations lead to differential behavior as only one FADH2 per dimer binds NAD+ tightly to give the charge-transfer complex. The second FADH2, in contrast, transfers its electrons to the single Cys42-sulfenic acid (Cys42-SOH) redox center, which remains oxidized during the reductive titration. Titrations of the reduced NADH oxidase with oxidized 3-acetylpyridine and 3-aminopyridine adenine dinucleotides further support the conclusion that the two FADH2 per dimer in wild-type enzyme can be described as distinct "charge-transfer" and "electron-transfer" sites, with the latter site giving rise to either intramolecular (Cys42-SOH) or bimolecular (pyridine nucleotide) reduction. The reduced C42S mutant is not capable of intramolecular electron transfer on binding pyridine nucleotides, thus confirming that the Cys42-SOH center is in fact the source of the redox asymmetry observed with wild-type oxidase. These observations on the role of Cys42-SOH in the expression of thermodynamic inequivalence as observed in wild-type NADH oxidase complement the previously described kinetic inequivalence of the C42S mutant; taken together, these results provide the overlapping framework for an alternating sites cooperativity model of oxidase action.     

A hypothesis for the role of dithiol-disulfide interchange in solute transport and energy-transducing processes

We have recently shown that the physical mechanism for delta approximately mu H+-driven changes in the Km for three different transport systems is an oxidation-reduction reaction involving a dithiol-disulfide interconversion [Robillard, G.T. and Konings, W.N. (1981) Biochemistry, 20, 5025-5032; Konings, W.N. and Robillard, G.T. (1982) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, in the press]. Based on the similarities between the data from these three systems and published data from other systems, we now propose that dithiol-disulfide interchange may play a general role in membrane-related processes such as transport, energy transduction and hormone-receptor interactions. We propose that the affinities of the substrate-binding sites are regulated by a dithiol and a disulfide situated at different depths in the membrane. In addition we propose that the oxidation states of these two redox centers are coupled by dithiol-disulfide interchange such that, when one is oxidized, the other is reduced. Since a transmembrane electrical potential, delta psi, or a pH gradient, delta pH, can alter the redox state, it can change the affinity of the substrate-binding sites. The delta approximately mu H+-induced changes in affinity are sufficient to drive active transport (symport or antiport) and energy-transducing processes. A similar mechanism can be applied to transport systems driven by phosphorylated enzyme intermediates instead of delta approximately mu H+. Changes of the redox potential in a given compartment during metabolism could also control the affinity of ligand binding even in the absence of a delta approximately mu H+. The ligand-binding affinities of facilitated diffusion transport systems and receptor proteins may be regulated in this manner.     

An antibody probe to determine the native species of glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase in chicken liver

Antibody probes of Western blots [Renart, J., Reiser, J., & Stark, G. (1979) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76, 3116] of chicken liver homogenates under various conditions revealed that glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase can be rapidly proteolyzed in such homogenates. These findings, along with molecular weight measurements by ultracentrifugation, identify the true form of glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase as a monomeric protein of 117000 daltons. This protein has been purified 400-fold in 44% yield from chicken liver in one step on an affinity column of 10-formyl-5,8-dideazafolate-Sepharose. Native glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase retains full activity after proteolytic cleavage to a form (Mr 55000) similar to fragments seen in the Western blot of the homogenates. This phenomenon may be responsible for the previous identification of glycinamide ribonucleotide (GAR) transformylase as a dimer of 55000-dalton subunits. Similar analyses using antibodies to 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR) transformylase [Mueller, W. T., & Benkovic, S. J. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 337] and trifunctional enzyme [Smith, G. K., Mueller, W. T., Wasserman, G. F., Taylor, W. D., & Benkovic, S. J. (1980) Biochemistry 19, 4313] confirm that these two proteins were isolated in their native forms.     

The structural basis for allosteric inhibition of a threonine-sensitive aspartokinase

The commitment step to the aspartate pathway of amino acid biosynthesis is the phosphorylation of aspartic acid catalyzed by aspartokinase (AK). Most microorganisms and plants have multiple forms of this enzyme, and many of these isofunctional enzymes are subject to feedback regulation by the end products of the pathway. However, the archeal species Methanococcus jannaschii has only a single, monofunctional form of AK. The substrate l-aspartate binds to this recombinant enzyme in two different orientations, providing the first structural evidence supporting the relaxed regiospecificity previously observed with several alternative substrates of Escherichia coli AK ( Angeles, T. S., Hunsley, J. R., and Viola, R. E. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 799-805 ). Binding of the nucleotide substrate triggers significant domain movements that result in a more compact quaternary structure. In contrast, the highly cooperative binding of the allosteric regulator l-threonine to multiple sites on this dimer of dimers leads to an open enzyme structure. A comparison of these structures supports a mechanism for allosteric regulation in which the domain movements induced by threonine binding causes displacement of the substrates from the enzyme, resulting in a relaxed, inactive conformation.     

A spectral study of cobalt(II)-substituted Bacillus cereus phospholipase C

The coordination sphere of both the structural and catalytic zinc ions of Bacillus cereus phospholipase C has been probed by substitution of cobalt(II) for zinc and investigation of the resultant derivatives by a variety of spectroscopic techniques. The electronic absorption, circular dichroic, magnetic circular dichroic, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra were found to be strikingly similar when cobalt(II) was substituted into either site and are consistent with a distorted octahedral environment for the metal ion in both sites. Octahedral coordination appears comparatively rare in zinc metalloenzymes but has been suggested for glyoxalase I [Sellin, S., Eriksson, L. E. G., Aronsson, A.-C., & Mannervik, B. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 2091-2093; Garcia-Iniguez, L., Powers, L., Chance, B., Sellin, S., Mannervik, B., & Mildvan, A. S. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 685-689], transcarboxylase [Fung, C.-H., Mildvan, A. S., & Leigh, J. S. (1974) Biochemistry 13, 1160-1169], and the regulatory binding site of Aeromonas aminopeptidase [Prescott, J. M., Wagner, F. W., Holmquist, B., & Vallee, B. L. (1985) Biochemistry 24, 5350-5356]. Phospholipase C is so far unique in having two such sites.     

Wheat germ agglutinin dimers bind sialyloligosaccharides at four sites in solution: proton nuclear magnetic resonance temperature studies at 360 MHz

Equilibrium binding studies have been performed over a range of temperatures from 25.4 to 47.3 degrees C between wheat germ agglutinin isolectin I (WGA I) and the alpha 2-3 isomer of (N-acetylneuraminyl)lactose (NeuNAc alpha 2-3Gal beta 1-4G1c). Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 360 MHz has been used to monitor titrations in this system under conditions where the fraction of total ligand which is bound is small, yet the fractional occupation of sites covers a wide range. Several of the ligand resonances, including the N-acetyl methyl and the axial and equatorial hydrogens at carbon 3 of the NeuNAc residue, are shifted and broadened in the presence of WGA due to chemical exchange between the free and bound environments. The lifetime broadening of the N-acetyl resonance at room temperature of a series of related sialyloligosaccharides has been previously used by us to measure binding affinities to two WGA isolectins [Kronis, K.A., & Carver, J.P. (1982) Biochemistry 21, 3050-3057]. In this paper we report the temperature dependence of the apparent bound shifts and the apparent bound line widths of the N-acetyl, H3a, and H3e peaks. The true bound shifts for the three resonances have been obtained from these data by using the equations derived by Swift and Connick [Swift, T.J., & Connick, R.E. (1962) J. Chem. Phys. 37, 307-320]. The total bound shifts, per monomer, were found to be -1.98, -4.0, and -0.8 ppm for the N-acetyl, the H3a, and the H3e resonances, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Biosynthetic alanine racemase of Salmonella typhimurium: purification and characterization of the enzyme encoded by the alr gene

An alanine racemase, encoded by the alr (dal) gene and believed to be the biosynthetic source of D-alanine for cell wall formation, was purified to homogeneity from an overproducing strain of Salmonella typhimurium (dadB), and the enzymological properties of this enzyme were compared with those of the dadB alanine racemase that functions in the catabolism of L-alanine [Wasserman, S. A., Daub, E., Grisafi, P., Botstein, D., & Walsh, C. T. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 5182]. The alr-encoded enzyme has a monomeric structure with a molecular weight of about 40 000. One mole of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is bound per mole of enzyme, which is essential for catalytic activity of the enzyme. After the internal Schiff base with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate was reduced with NaB3H4, followed by carboxamidomethylation and tryptic digestion of the enzyme, the amino acid sequence of the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate binding peptide was determined. The sequence of 10 amino acid residues around the lysine residue, to which pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is bound, was identical with that of the dadB racemase. No homology was found in the amino-terminal amino acid sequence between the two enzymes. The enzyme was inactivated with D- and L-beta-fluoroalanine, D- and L-beta-chloroalanine, and D-O-acetylserine in a mechanism-based fashion with a common partition ratio of about 150. The enzyme was labeled with an equimolar amount of [14C]-D-beta-chloroalanine. The inactivator-pyridoxal 5'-phosphate adduct was isolated and shown to be the same structure formed in the dadB racemase inactivation [Roise, D., Soda, K., Yagi, T., & Walsh, C. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 5195].     

Bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system: mannitol-specific EII contains two phosphoryl binding sites per monomer and one high-affinity mannitol binding site per dimer

The amino acid composition and sequence of EIIMtl is known [Lee, C. A., & Saier, M. H., Jr. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 10761-10767]. This information was combined, in the present study, with quantitative amino acid analysis to determine the molar concentration of the enzyme. The stoichiometry of phosphoryl group incorporation was then determined by phosphorylation of enzyme II from [14C]-phosphoenolpyruvate (pyruvate burst procedure). The native, reduced enzyme incorporated two phosphoryl groups per monomer. Both phosphoryl groups were shown to be transferred to mannitol. Oxidation or N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) labeling of Cys-384 resulted in incorporation of only one phosphoryl group per monomer, which was unable to be transferred to mannitol. The number of mannitol binding sites on enzyme II was determined by centrifugation using Amicon Centricon microconcentrators. The reduced unphosphorylated enzyme contained one high-affinity binding site (KD = 0.1 microM) per dimer and a second site with a KD in the micromolar range. Oxidation or NEM labeling did not change the number of binding sites.     

A nuclear magnetic resonance study of secondary and tertiary structure in yeast tRNAPhe.

We present experimental evidence which confirms recently proposed ring current prediction methods for assigning hydrogen-bond proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra from tRNA (Robillard, G. T., Tarr, C. E., Vosman, F., & Berendsen, H. J. C. (1976) Nature (London) 262, 363-369; Robillard, G. T., Tarr, C. E., Vosman, F., & Sussman, J. L. (1977) Biophys. Chem. 6, 291-298). The evidence is a series of temperature-dependent studies on yeast tRNAPhe monitoring both the high- and low-field NMR spectral regions, which are correlated with independent optical and temperature-jump (temp-jump) studies performed under identical ionic strength conditions. Using assignments derived from the new prediction methods, the melting patterns of the hydrogen-bonded resonances agree with those expected on the basis of optical, temp-jump, and NMR studies on the high-field spectral region. The implication of these results is that previous assignment procedures are at least partially incorrect and, therefore, studies based on those procedures must be reexamined.     

Photooxidation of histidine and tryptophan residues of papain in the presence of methylene blue.

Papain [EC 3.4.22.2] was photooxidized using methylene blue as a sensitizer. The photooxidzed enzyme lost its caseinolytic activity and had significantly decreased histidine and tryptophan contents. The tyrosine content was the same before and after the photooxidation. The SH content of the photooxidized enzyme, as determined after reduction with dithiothreitol, was also unchanged. The loss of histidine was always slower than the loss of enzymatic activity, being less than one residue per molecule even when the enzymatic activity was completely lost. However, the inactivation and the oxidation of a histidine residue were pH-dependent in a similar fashion in the pH range of 5.0-8.0, the pH profiles conforming to theoretical titration curves with apparent pKa values of 6.6 and 6.7, respectively. The fact that the ionization of a histidine residue in papain has a normal imidazole pKa value is entirely in accord with the finding for stem bromelain [EC 3.4.22.4] (Murachi, T., Tsudzuki, T., & Okumura, K. (1975) Biochemistry 14, 249-255), and is of great significance in relation to the mechanism of catalysis by these enzymes.