Analysis of the kinetic mechanism of halophilic NADP-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase

The amination of 2-oxoglutarate catalyzed by NADP-specific glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.4, L-glutamate:NADP+ oxidoreductase (deaminating)) from Halobacterium halobium has been analyzed by initial rate, graphical analysis, and product and competitive inhibition studies. Initial rate and graphical analysis reveal that a B term (representing 2-oxoglutarate) is not statistically necessary for an initial rate equation. However, the absence of a B term does not distinguish between ordered and random binding of NADPH and ammonia. The patterns of product inhibition by NADP+ and L-glutamate, and competitive inhibition by hydroxylamine and succinate permit deduction of the kinetic mechanism as ordered, with NADPH, 2-oxoglutarate and ammonia added in that order, and L-glutamate release preceding NADP+ release.     

Glutamate dehydrogenase from the thermoacidophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus solfataricus

An NAD(P)-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase was purified to homogeneity from the thermoacidophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus solfataricus. The enzyme is a hexamer (subunit mass 45 kDa) which dissociates into lower states of association when submitted to gel filtration. Isoelectric focusing analysis of the purified enzyme showed a pI of 5.7 and occasionally revealed microheterogeneity. The enzyme is strictly specific for the natural substrates 2-oxoglutarate and L-glutamate, but is active with both NADH and NADPH. S. solfataricus glutamate dehydrogenase revealed a high degree of thermal stability (at 80 C the half-life was 15 h) which was strictly dependent on the protein concentration. Very high levels of glutamate dehydrogenase were found in this archaebacterium which suggests that the conversion of 2-oxoglutarate and ammonia to glutamate is of central importance to the nitrogen metabolism in this bacterium.     

Extremely thermostable glutamate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus.

The hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus contains high levels of NAD(P)-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase activity. The enzyme could be involved in the first step of nitrogen metabolism, catalyzing the conversion of 2-oxoglutarate and ammonia to glutamate. The enzyme, purified to homogeneity, is a hexamer of 290 kDa (subunit mass 48 kDa). Isoelectric-focusing analysis of the purified enzyme showed a pI of 4.5. The enzyme shows strict specificity for 2-oxoglutarate and L-glutamate but utilizes both NADH and NADPH as cofactors. The purified enzyme reveals an outstanding thermal stability (the half-life for thermal inactivation at 100 degrees C was 12 h), totally independent of enzyme concentration. P. furiosus glutamate dehydrogenase represents 20% of the total protein; this elevated concentration raises questions about the roles of this enzyme in the metabolism of P. furiosus.     

Purification and properties of NADP-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase from Streptomyces fradiae

Streptomyces fradiae has two chromatographically distinct forms of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH): one GDH utilizes NAD as coenzyme, the other uses NADP. The intracellular level of both GDHs is strongly regulated by the nitrogen source in the growth medium. NADP-dependent GDH was purified to homogeneity from crude extracts of S. fradiae. The Mr of the native enzyme was determined to be 200,000 by size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography whereas after sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis one major band of Mr 49,000 was found, suggesting that the enzyme is a tetramer. The enzyme was highly specific for the substrates 2-oxoglutarate and L-glutamate, and required NADP, which could not be replaced by NAD, as a cofactor. The pH optimum was 9.2 for oxidative deamination of glutamate and 8.4 for reductive amination of 2-oxoglutarate. The Michaelis constants (Km) were 28.6 mM for L-glutamate and 0.12 mM for NADP. Km values for reductive amination were 1.54 mM for 2-oxoglutarate, 0.07 mM for NADPH and 30.8 mM for NH+4. The enzyme activity was significantly reduced by adenine nucleotides, particularly ATP.     

Properties of glutamate dehydrogenase purified from Bacteroides fragilis

The dual pyridine nucleotide-specific glutamate dehydrogenase [EC 1.4.1.3] was purified 37-fold from Bacteroides fragilis by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sephadex A-25 chromatography twice, and gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300. The enzyme had a molecular weight of approximately 300,000, and polymeric forms (molecular weights of 590,000 and 920,000) were observed in small amounts on polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the subunit was 48,000. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was pH 5.1. This glutamate dehydrogenase utilized NAD(P)H and NAD(P)+ as coenzymes and showed maximal activities at pH 8.0 and 7.4 for the amination with NADPH and with NADH, respectively, and at pH 9.5 and 9.0 for the deamination with NADP+ and NAD+, respectively. The amination activity with NADPH was about 5-fold higher than that with NADH. The Lineweaver-Burk plot for ammonia showed two straight lines in the NADPH-dependent reactions. The values of Km for substrates were: 1.7 and 5.1 mM for ammonium chloride, 0.14 mM for 2-oxoglutarate, 0.013 mM for NADPH, 2.4 mM for L-glutamate, and 0.019 mM for NADP+ in NADP-linked reactions, and 4.9 mM for ammonium chloride, 7.1 mM for 2-oxoglutarate, 0.2 mM for NADH, 7.3 mM for L-glutamate, and 3.0 mM for NAD+ in NAD-linked reactions. 2-Oxoglutarate and L-glutamate caused substrate inhibition in the NADPH- and NADP+-dependent reactions, respectively, to some extent. NAD+- and NADH-dependent activities were inhibited by 50% by 0.1 M NaCl. Adenine nucleotides and dicarboxylic acids did not show remarkable effects on the enzyme activities.     

Purification and properties of an extreme thermostable glutamate dehydrogenase from the archaebacterium Sulfolobus solfataricus

Glutamate dehydrogenase (L-glutamate:NAD(P)+ oxidoreductase, deaminating, EC 1.4.1.3.) of the extreme thermophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus solfataricus was purified to homogeneity by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation, anion-exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography on 5'-AMP-Sepharose. The purified native enzyme had a Mr of about 270,000 and was shown to be a hexamer of subunit Mr of 44,000. It was active from 30 to 95 degrees C, with a maximum activity at 85 degrees C. No significant loss of enzyme activity could be detected, either after incubation of the purified enzyme at 90 degrees C for 60 min, or in the presence of 4 M urea or 0.1% SDS. The enzyme was catalytically active with both NADH and NADPH as coenzyme and was specific for 2-oxoglutarate and L-glutamate as substrates. With respect to coenzyme utilization the Sulfolobus solfataricus glutamate dehydrogenase resembled more closely the equivalent enzymes from eukaryotic organisms than those from eubacteria.     

Kinetic studies of dogfish liver glutamate dehydrogenase.

Initial-rate studies were made of the oxidation of L-glutamate by NAD+ and NADP+ catalysed by highly purified preparations of dogfish liver glutamate dehydrogenase. With NAD+ as coenzyme the kinetics show the same features of coenzyme activation as seen with the bovine liver enzyme [Engel & Dalziel (1969) Biochem. J. 115, 621--631]. With NADP+ as coenzyme, initial rates are much slower than with NAD+, and Lineweaver--Burk plots are linear over extended ranges of substrate and coenzyme concentration. Stopped-flow studies with NADP+ as coenzyme give no evidence for the accumulation of significant concentrations of NADPH-containing complexes with the enzyme in the steady state. Protection studies against inactivation by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate indicate that NAD+ and NADP+ give the same degree of protection in the presence of sodium glutarate. The results are used to deduce information about the mechanism of glutamate oxidation by the enzyme. Initial-rate studies of the reductive amination of 2-oxoglutarate by NADH and NADPH catalysed by dogfish liver glutamate dehydrogenase showed that the kinetic features of the reaction are very similar with both coenzymes, but reactions with NADH are much faster. The data show that a number of possible mechanisms for the reaction may be discarded, including the compulsory mechanism (previously proposed for the enzyme) in which the sequence of binding is NAD(P)H, NH4+ and 2-oxoglutarate. The kinetic data suggest either a rapid-equilibrium random mechanism or the compulsory mechanism with the binding sequence NH4+, NAD(P)H, 2-oxoglutarate. However, binding studies and protection studies indicate that coenzyme and 2-oxoglutarate do bind to the free enzyme.     

Distance between the substrate and regulatory reduced coenzyme binding sites of bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase by resonance energy transfer

Bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase is known to bind reduced coenzyme at two sites/subunit, one catalytic and one regulatory; ADP competes for the latter site. The enzyme is here shown to be catalytically active with the thionicotinamide analogue of NADPH [( S]NADPH). For native enzyme, ultrafiltration studies revealed that [S]NADPH reversibly occupies about two sites/enzyme subunit in the absence of other ligands; by the addition of ADP, [S]NADPH binding can be limited to one molecule/subunit. The enzyme is irreversibly inactivated by reaction with 4-(iodoacetamido)salicylic acid (ISA) at lysine126 within the 2-oxoglutarate binding site [Holbrook, J.J., Roberts, P.A. & Wallis, R.B. (1973) Biochem. J. 133, 165-171]. ISA-modified enzyme binds 1 molecule [S]NADPH/subunit in the absence of ADP, suggesting that reaction at the substrate site blocks binding at the catalytic, but not at the regulatory site. The fluorescence spectrum of ISA-modified enzyme overlaps the absorption spectrum of [S]NADPH allowing a distance measurement between these sites by resonance energy transfer. [S]NADPH quenches the emission of ISA-modified enzyme, yielding 3.2 nm as the average distance between sites. ADP competes for the [S]NADPH site but does not affect the fluorescence of ISA-modified enzyme, indicating that [S]NADPH quenching is attributable to energy transfer rather than to a conformational change. The 3.2 nm thus represents the distance between the 2-oxoglutarate and reduced coenzyme regulatory sites of glutamate dehydrogenase.     

The nicotinamide nucleotide specificity of glutamate dehydrogenase in intact RAT-liver mitochondria

1. The kinetics of oxidation of intramitochondrial reduced nicotinamide nucleotides by -oxoglutarate plus ammonia in intact rat-liver mitochondria have been reinvestigated. It is demonstrated that the preferential oxidation of NADPH observed on addition of ammonia to mitochondria, preincubated under energized conditions in the presence of -oxoglutarate, is due to a transhydrogenation catalysed by glutamate dehydrogenase rather than to an energy-dependent modification of the nicotinamide nucleotide specificity of the enzyme in intact mitochondria.

2. When mitochondria are preincubated at 25 °C under energized conditions in the presence of respiratory inhibitors with the substrates of glutamate dehydrogenase, an oxidation of NADPH, but not of NADH, is brought about by decreasing the reaction temperature. Both the rate of NADPH oxidation and the final steady-state mass-action ratio of nicotinamide nucleotides are dependent on the concentration of ammonia and on the final reaction temperature. A similar effect is observed when rhein is added to the reaction medium at 25 °C in order to inhibit the energy-linked transhydrogenase reaction.

3. In the presence of the substrates of glutamate dehydrogenase, intact ratliver mitochondria catalyse an ATPase reaction due to the simultaneous activity of the energy-linked transhydrogenase and the non-energy-linked transhydrogenation catalysed by glutamate dehydrogenase.

4. These findings are discussed in relation to the nicotinamide nucleotide specificity of glutamate dehydrogenase and to a possible compartmentation of nicotinamide nucleotides in intact rat-liver mitochondria.     

Mechanistic studies on Azospirillum brasilense glutamate synthase.

The reaction mechanism of Azospirillum brasilense glutamate synthase has been investigated by several approaches. 15N nuclear magnetic resonance studies demonstrate that the amide nitrogen of glutamine is reductively transferred to 2-oxoglutarate in an irreversible manner with no release of the transferred ammonia group into the medium. Identical results were obtained using thio-NADPH and acetylpyridine-NADPH, which are shown to be less efficient substrates of the enzyme than NADPH. Similarly, no exchange of the ammonia group being transferred with exogenous ammonium ion was observed during catalysis. The glutamate formed as the product of the iminoglutarate reduction was determined to be in the L configuration. The enzyme was also found to catalyze, under anaerobic conditions, the exchange of the 4proS H of NADPH with solvent both in the absence and in the presence of 2-oxoglutarate and glutamine. The reductive half-reaction is therefore a reversible segment of the overall irreversible amidotransferase reaction. 15N NMR studies also showed that the enzyme does not catalyze glutamate dehydrogenase/oxidase reactions or any observable glutaminase activity under neutral (pH 7.5) conditions. Glutaminase activity was also not observable with the reduced enzyme alone or in the presence of D-glutamate (a competitive inhibitor of glutamate synthase with respect to 2-oxoglutarate, with a Ki of about 11 microM) or with the oxidized enzyme in the presence of 2-oxoglutarate, D-glutamate, or NADP+. These data confirm species-dependent differences of A. brasilense glutamate synthase with respect to the enzyme from other sources.     

Binding studies of a spin-labelled oxidized coenzyme to bovine-liver glutamate dehydrogenase.

NAD+ with a nitroxide piperidine ring linked to the NH2 group of the adenine possesses full coenzymatic activity with glutamate dehydrogenase. Electron spin resonance spectra in the presence of glutamate dehydrogenase show mixtures of free and strongly immobilized spin-label. Binding studies in phosphate buffer demonstrate: (a) weak binary binding to the enzyme with a dissociation constant in the order of 2mM;(b) an indication for negative cooperativity or different sites for binding to enzyme-2-oxoglutarate, with dissociation constants in the order of 20--250muM; (c) similar but much weaker binding to enzyme-2-oxoglutarate-ADP; (d) a strong positive cooperative binding to enzyme-2-oxoglutarate-GTP, dependent on the enzyme concentration. Binding of phosphate to the enzyme with a Kd of about 20 mM or binding of pyrophosphate or tripolyphosphate with a Dd of about 2.5 mM enhances the binding of spin-labelled NAD+ in the presence of 2-oxoglutarate. There is evidence that the binding sites for these phosphates coincide with phosphate binding subsites of GTP.     

Binding studies of NADPH to NADP-specific L-glutamate dehydrogenase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Optical characteristics of enzyme-reduced coenzyme complexes of yeast NADP-specific glutamate dehydrogenase have been investigated in the presence and absence of product (L-glutamate) and in the presence or absence of phosphate. The phosphate effect, pointed out in a previous work, is found again: inorganic phosphate (Pi) destabilizes the binary complex (E - NADPH), the dissociation constant of which is equal to 14 muM, a value much higher than that determined in Tris-HCl buffer: Kd = 0.9 muM. Concerning the role of phosphate some assumptions are drawn up with respect to a similar behaviour of Pi toward yeast glutamate dehydrogenase and ADP toward the beef liver enzyme. In the same way, L-glutamate induces a stabilization of the binary complex; this latter effect is unchanged in the presence of phosphate, yet it is less marked than in the case of beef liver glutamate dehydrogenase. Protein fluorescence, nucleotide fluorescence and circular dichroism measurements allowed the determination of three identical and independent NADPH binding sites per hexameric active unit. In analogy with beef liver enzyme, it seems that yeast glutamate dehydrogenase is a good model to study anticooperativity in ligand binding.     

Evidence for two nicotinamide binding sites on L-glutamate dehydrogenase

Circular dichroism saturation in the nicotinamide band of NADH, provides direct evidence for the binding of two nicotinamide rings per protomer of L-glutamate dehydrogenase. These two binding sites are titrated by NADH in the presence of both the substrate (L-glutamate) and an allosteric effector (GTP or Zn²⁺) while only one reacts in the absence of the effector. We suggest that the second binding site, not accessible to NADPH, is demasked by a conformational change of the protein induced by the allosteric effector.     

Altered metabolic flux due to deletion of odhA causes L-glutamate overproduction in Corynebacterium glutamicum

L-glutamate overproduction in Corynebacterium glutamicum, a biotin auxotroph, is induced by biotin limitation or by treatment with certain fatty acid ester surfactants or with penicillin. We have analyzed the relationship between the inductions, 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (ODHC) activity, and L-glutamate production. Here we show that a strain deleted for odhA and completely lacking ODHC activity produces L-glutamate as efficiently as the induced wild type (27.8 mmol/g [dry weight] of cells for the ohdA deletion strain compared with only 1.0 mmol/g [dry weight] of cells for the uninduced wild type). This level of production is achieved without any induction or alteration in the fatty acid composition of the cells, showing that L-glutamate overproduction can be caused by the change in metabolic flux alone. Interestingly, the L-glutamate productivity of the odhA-deleted strain is increased about 10% by each of the L-glutamate-producing inductions, showing that the change in metabolic flux resulting from the odhA deletion and the inductions have additive effects on L-glutamate overproduction. Tween 40 was indicated to induce drastic metabolic change leading to L-glutamate overproduction in the odhA-deleted strain. Furthermore, optimizing the metabolic flux from 2-oxoglutarate to L-glutamate by tuning glutamate dehydrogenase activity increased the l-glutamate production of the odhA-deleted strain.     

Temperature dependence of kinetic parameters for hyperthermophilic glutamate dehydrogenase from Aeropyrum pernix K1

The temperature dependence of the steady-state kinetic parameters for a glutamate dehydrogenase from Aeropyrum pernix K1 was investigated. The enzyme showed a biphasic kinetic characteristic for L-glutamate and a monophasic one for NADP at 50-90 degrees C. At low concentrations of L-glutamate the Km decreased from 2.02 to 0.56 mM and the catalytic efficiency (Vmax/Km) markedly increased (4-150 micromol x mg(-1) x mM(-1)) along with the increase of temperature from 50 to 90 degrees C. At high concentrations of the substrate the Km was fairly high and approximately constant (around 225 mM), and the catalytic efficiency was low and its temperature-dependent change was small. The Km (0.039 mM) for NADP did not change with the increase of temperature. In the reductive amination, the Kms for 2-oxoglutarate (1.81 and 9.37 mM at low and high levels of ammonia, respectively) were independent on temperature, but the Kms for ammonia and NADPH rose from 86 to 185 mM and 0.050 to 0.175 mM, respectively.     

Physiological Regulation of Isocitrate Dehydrogenase and the Role of 2-Oxoglutarate in Prochlorococcus sp. Strain PCC 9511

The enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH; EC 1.1.1.42) catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate, to produce 2-oxoglutarate. The incompleteness of the tricarboxylic acids cycle in marine cyanobacteria confers a special importance to isocitrate dehydrogenase in the C/N balance, since 2-oxoglutarate can only be metabolized through the glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase pathway. The physiological regulation of isocitrate dehydrogenase was studied in cultures of Prochlorococcus sp. strain PCC 9511, by measuring enzyme activity and concentration using the NADPH production assay and Western blotting, respectively. The enzyme activity showed little changes under nitrogen or phosphorus starvation, or upon addition of the inhibitors DCMU, DBMIB and MSX. Azaserine, an inhibitor of glutamate synthase, induced clear increases in the isocitrate dehydrogenase activity and icd gene expression after 24 h, and also in the 2-oxoglutarate concentration. Iron starvation had the most significant effect, inducing a complete loss of isocitrate dehydrogenase activity, possibly mediated by a process of oxidative inactivation, while its concentration was unaffected. Our results suggest that isocitrate dehydrogenase responds to changes in the intracellular concentration of 2-oxoglutarate and to the redox status of the cells in Prochlorococcus.     

Properties of apoglutamate synthase and comparison with glutamate dehydrogenase.

Glutamate synthase from Escherichia coli K-12 exhibits NH3-dependent activity. NH3-dependent activity is increased approximately 5-fold in apoglutamate synthase lacking flavin and non-heme iron. Whereas glutamine plus 2-oxoglutarate have the capacity to reoxidize the chemically reduced flavoenzyme, no such reoxidation is obtained with 2-oxoglutarate plus NH3. These results establish that the glutamine- and NH3-dependent syntheses of glutamate occur by different pathways of electron transfer from NADPH. The NH3-dependent activity of native and apoglutamate synthase exhibits similar catalytic properties. Some properties of apoglutamate synthase are similar to those of glutamate dehydrogenase. These properties include pH optima for synthesis and oxidative deamination of glutamate, inactivation by alkylating reagents and p-mercuribenzoate, an enhanced rate of inactivation by alkylating reagents and p-mercuribenzoate at low pH, 2-oxoglutarate protection against inactivation by p-mercuribenzoate, and reactivation of p-mercuribenzoate-treated enzyme by 2-mercaptoethanol. 2-Oxoglutarate protects against alkylation of glutamate synthase by iodo [1-14C]acetamide and reduces incorporation of methyl [1-14C]carboxamide into the small subunit of the enzyme.     

Inactivation of glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamate synthase from Bacillus megaterium by phenylglyoxal, butane-2,3-dione and pyridoxal 5''-phosphate.

Reaction of phenylglyoxal with glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.4), but not with glutamate synthase (EC 2.6.1.53), from Bacillus megaterium resulted in complete loss of enzyme activity. NADPH alone or together with 2-oxoglutarate provided substantial protection from inactivation by phenylglyoxal. Some 2mol of [14C]Phenylglyoxal was incorporated/mol of subunit of glutamate dehydrogenase. Addition of 1mM-NADPH decreased incorporation by 0.7mol. The Ki for phenylglyoxal was 6.7mM and Ks for competition with NADPH was 0.5mM. Complete inactivation of glutamate dehydrogenase by butane-2,3-dione was estimated by extrapolation to result from the loss of 3 of the 19 arginine residues/subunit. NADPH, but not NADH, provided almost complete protection against inactivation. Butane-2,3-dione had only a slight inactivating effect on glutamate synthase. The data suggest that an essential arginine residue may be involved in the binding of NADPH to glutamate dehydrogenase. The enzymes were inactivated by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and this inactivation increased 3--4-fold in the borate buffer. NADPH completely prevented inactivation by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate.     

Magnetic-resonance studies of the geometry of bound substrate, coenzyme and activator on bovine-liver glutamate dehydrogenase.

ADP and ATP with a spin-label linked to the terminal phosphate are activators of glutamate dehydrogenase and bind to the same site as the activator ADP. There is hardly any interaction with the coenzyme site. Glutamate dehydrogenase can be modified with a ketone spin-label at a site in the active centre[Andree and Zantema, (1978) Biochemistry, 17, 778--783]. The spin-labelled activators interact with ketone spin-labelled glutamate dehydrogenase in the same way as with native glutamate dehydrogenase relative to the activator site, but show a stronger binding to the coenzyme site. Upon binding to the coenzyme site a spin-spin interaction between the ketone spin-label and the spin-labelled activators is observed. Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of the linewidth of 2-oxoglutarate and NADP+ bound to their functional sites on glutamate dehydrogenase without and with spin-labels result in distances between the ligand nuclei and the spin-labels. The results show that NADP+ binds in an open conformation consistent with the conformation in other dehydrogenases. The activator ADP binds in the neighbourhood of the active centre, but with very little or no overlap with the coenzyme site.     

The importance of arginine residues in the catalytic and regulatory functions of bovine-liver glutamate dehydrogenase.

Bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase reacts rapidly with 2,3-butanedione to yield modified enzyme with 29% of its original maximum activity, but no change in its Michaelis constants for substrates and coenzymes. No significant reduction in the inactivation rate is produced by the addition of the allosteric activator ADP or inhibitor GTP, while partial protection against inactivation is provided by the coenzyme NAD+ or substrate 2-oxoglutarate when added separately. The most marked decrease in the rate of inactivation (about 10-fold) is provided by the combined addition of NAD+ and 2-oxoglutarate, suggesting that modification takes place in the region of the active site. Reaction with 2,3-butanedione also results in loss of the ability of the enzyme to be activated by ADP. Addition of ADP (but not NAD+, 2-oxoglutarate or GTP) to the incubation mixture protects markedly against the loss of activatability of ADP. It is concluded that 2,3-butanedione produces two distinguishable effects on glutamate dehydrogenase: a relatively specific modification of the regulatory ADP site and a distinct modification in the active center. Reaction of two arginyl residues per peptide chain appears to be responsible for disruption of the ADP activation property of the enzyme, while alteration of a maximum of five arginyl residues can be related to the reduction of maximum catalytic activity. Electrostatic interactions between the positively charged arginine groups and the negatively charged substrate, coenzyme and allosteric purine nucleotide may be important for the normal function of glutamate dehydrogenase.