Purification and characterization of a novel pumpkin short-chain acyl-coenzyme A oxidase with structural similarity to acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenases

A novel pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) short-chain acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) oxidase (ACOX) was purified to homogeneity by hydrophobic-interaction, hydroxyapatite, affinity, and anion-exchange chromatography. The purified enzyme is a tetrameric protein, consisting of apparently identical 47-kD subunits. The protein structure of this oxidase differs from other plant and mammalian ACOXs, but is similar to the protein structure of mammalian mitochondrial acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (ACDH) and the recently identified plant mitochondrial ACDH. Subcellular organelle separation by sucrose density gradient centrifugation revealed that the enzyme is localized in glyoxysomes, whereas no immunoreactive bands of similar molecular weight were detected in mitochondrial fractions. The enzyme selectively catalyzes the oxidation of CoA esters of fatty acids with 4 to 10 carbon atoms, and exhibits the highest activity on C-6 fatty acids. Apparently, the enzyme has no activity on CoA esters of branched-chain or dicarboxylic fatty acids. The enzyme is slightly inhibited by high concentrations of substrate and it is not inhibited by Triton X-100 at concentrations up to 0.5% (v/v). The characteristics of this novel ACOX enzyme are discussed in relation to other ACOXs and ACDHs.     

A soluble acyl-coenzyme A oxidase from the yeast Candida utilis.

trans-2-Enoyl-CoA and two unidentified polar compounds were synthesized from the corresponding long-chain acyl-CoA by a particle-free supernatant fraction obtained from Candida utilis. The enzyme was unreactive toward free fatty acids but desaturated all long-chain acyl CoAs tested (14:0, 16:0, 18:1, 18:2). Molecular oxygen was the only required cofactor. Phenazine methosulfate and 2,6-dichloroindophenol did not replace the requirement for oxygen. The activity was inhibited specifically by NADPH and stimulated by linoleic acid or linolenic acid. The enzyme was not active in log phase cultures, but was detected only in stationary phase cells. Introduction of the trans-2-double bond was confirmed by gas-liquid chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, mass spectrometry, catalytic hydrogenation, oxidative cleavage, and chemical reactivity of the product toward nucleophilic addition.     

The macrophage-induced gene (mig) of Mycobacterium avium encodes a medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A synthetase.

The macrophage-induced gene (mig) of Mycobacterium avium has been associated with virulence, but the functions of the gene product were still unknown. Here we have characterized the Mig protein by biochemical methods. A plasmid with a histidine-tagged fusion protein was constructed for expression in Escherichia coli. Mig was detected as a 60 kDa protein after expression and purification of the recombinant gene product. The sequence of the fusion gene and of the parent gene in M. avium were reexamined. This confirmed that the mig gene encodes a 550 amino acid protein (58 kDa) instead of a 295 amino acid protein (30 kDa) as predicted before. The 550 amino acid Mig exhibits a high degree of homology to bacterial acyl-CoA synthetases. Two artificial 30 kDa derivatives of Mig were expressed and purified as histidine-tagged fusion proteins in E. coli. These proteins and the 58.6 kDa histidine-tagged Mig protein were analysed for activity with an acyl-CoA synthetase assay. Among the three investigated proteins, only the 58.6 kDa Mig exhibited detectable activity as an acyl-CoA synthetase (EC 6.2.1.3) with saturated medium-chain fatty acids, unsaturated long-chain fatty acid and some aromatic carbon acids as substrates. Enzymatic activity could be inhibited by 2-hydroxydodecanoic acid, a typical inhibitor of medium-chain acyl-CoA synthetases. We postulate a novel medium-chain acyl-CoA synthetase motif. We have investigated the biochemical properties of Mig and suggest that this enzyme is involved in the metabolism of fatty acid during mycobacterial survival in macrophages.     

Detection of peroxisomal fatty acyl-coenzyme A oxidase activity.

It has been postulated that the peroxisomal fatty acid-oxidizing system [Lazarow & de Duve (1976) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 73, 2043--2046; Lazarow (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 1522--1528] resembles that of mitochondria, except for the first oxidative reaction. In this step, O2 would be directly reduced to H2O2 by an oxidase. Two specific procedures developed to detect the activity of the characteristic enzyme fatty acyl-CoA oxidase are presented, namely polarographic detection of palmitoyl-CoA-dependent cyanide-insensitive O2 consumption and palmitoyl-CoA-dependent H2O2 generation coupled to the peroxidation of methanol in an antimycin A-insensitive reaction. Fatty acyl-CoA oxidase activity is stimulated by FAD, which supports the flavoprotein nature postulated for this enzyme. Its activity increases 7-fold per g wet wt. of liver in rats treated with nafenopin, a hypolipidaemic drug. Subcellular fractionation of livers from normal and nafenopin-treated animals provides evidence for its peroxisomal localization. The stoicheiometry for palmitoyl-CoA-dependent O2 consumption, H2O2 generation and NAD+ reduction is 1 : 1 : 1. This suggests that fatty acyl-CoA oxidase is the rate-limiting enzyme of the peroxisomal fatty acid-oxidizing system.     

Fatty acid export from the chloroplast. Molecular characterization of a major plastidial acyl-coenzyme A synthetase from Arabidopsis

Acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthetases (ACSs, EC 6.2.1.3) catalyze the formation of fatty acyl-CoAs from free fatty acid, ATP, and CoA. Essentially all de novo fatty acid synthesis occurs in the plastid. Fatty acids destined for membrane glycerolipid and triacylglycerol synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum must be first activated to acyl-CoAs via an ACS. Within a family of nine ACS genes from Arabidopsis, we identified a chloroplast isoform, LACS9. LACS9 is highly expressed in developing seeds and young rosette leaves. Both in vitro chloroplast import assays and transient expression of a green fluorescent protein fusion indicated that the LACS9 protein is localized in the plastid envelope. A T-DNA knockout mutant (lacs9-1) was identified by reverse genetics and these mutant plants were indistinguishable from wild type in growth and appearance. Analysis of leaf lipids provided no evidence for compromised export of acyl groups from chloroplasts. However, direct assays demonstrated that lacs9-1 plants contained only 10% of the chloroplast long-chain ACS activity found for wild type. The residual long-chain ACS activity in mutant chloroplasts was comparable with calculated rates of fatty acid synthesis. Although another isozyme contributes to the activation of fatty acids during their export from the chloroplast, LACS9 is a major chloroplast ACS.     

A novel cold-inducible gene from Arabidopsis,RCI3, encodes a peroxidase that constitutes a component for stress tolerance

Myrothamnus flabellifolia, a short woody shrub from southern Africa, can survive severe desiccation of its vegetative organs. We studied mechanisms protecting this plant from oxidative damage during desiccation for 2 weeks, 4 and 8 months, and also during subsequent rehydration. This plant retains high concentrations of chlorophyll during desiccation, and these chlorophyll molecules are probably a source for potentially harmful singlet oxygen production. Desiccation triggered substantial increases in zeaxanthin and redox shifts of the antioxidants glutathione and ascorbate towards their oxidised forms. Simultaneously, the concentrations of violaxanthin, beta-carotene, ascorbate, alpha-tocopherol, and glutathione reductase activity progressively decreased. Antheraxanthin, gamma-tocopherol, lutein, neoxanthin and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase displayed less pronounced changes in response to desiccation. Even after 4 months of desiccation, Myrothamnus flabellifolia recovered rapidly upon rehydration. Re-watering induced formation of ascorbate and glutathione, simultaneous reduction of their oxidised forms, and rapid production of alpha-tocopherol and of various carotenoids. Only after 8 months of desiccation did the antioxidant system of M. flabellifolia break down; 3 weeks after the onset of rehydration, these plants abscised their leaves, but even then they were still able to recover and develop new ones. Ascorbate, beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol were totally depleted after 8 months of desiccation and did not recover upon rehydration; glutathione was partly maintained, but only in the oxidised form. We present a model demonstrating which parts of antioxidant pathways break down as oxidative stress becomes detrimental and we discuss some potential implications of our results for the genetic modification of crop plants to improve their drought tolerance.     

Analysis of medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A esters in mouse tissues by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) esters are key metabolites in lipid metabolism. Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analysis of medium-chain acyl-CoA esters is described. Eight medium-chain acyl-CoA esters were well separated on a C(8)-MS reversed-phase column using a linear gradient of ammonium acetate buffer (pH 5.3)-acetonitrile. The positive-ion mass spectra of all the saturated and unsaturated medium-chain acyl-CoA esters gave dominant [M+H](+) ions, whereas their negative-ion mass spectra showed abundant [M-H](-) and [M-2H](2-) ions. The positive-ion mode of operation was slightly less sensitive than the negative-ion detection mode. Five medium-chain acyl-CoA esters of C(6:0), C(8:0), C(8:1), C(10:0), and C(10:1) in liver, heart, kidney, and brain from the mouse were identified. The predominant acyl-CoA peaks were C(6:0), C(8:0), and C(10:0). Small amounts of medium-chain acyl-CoAs of C(8:1) and C(10:1) were detected only in heart and kidney. The analytical method is very useful for the analysis of medium-chain acyl-CoA esters in the tissues.     

A spectrophotometric method for the determination of free fatty acid in serum using acyl-coenzyme A synthetase and acyl-coenzyme A oxidase

A mixture of Ti(IV) and 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol was found to be useful in the spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide. The absorbance at 508 nm was proportional to the concentration of hydrogen peroxide added. The reagent was successfully applied to the assay of free fatty acid in serum through the combined use of acyl-CoA synthetase and acyl-CoA oxidase. The latter enzyme produces H₂O₂. As a result, hydrogen peroxide was produced through the enzymatic oxidation of free fatty acid. It was possible to determine free fatty acid in 50 μl of serum at concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 1.5 mm. The coefficient of variation was less than 3% at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1.5 mm. In the present method, there is the advantage of minimal influence from reducible substances as well as greater simplicity and accuracy.     

Chemical and catalytic properties of the peroxisomal acyl-coenzyme A oxidase from Candida tropicalis

The peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase has been purified from extracts of the yeast Candida tropicalis grown with alkanes as the principal energy source. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 552,000 and a subunit molecular weight of 72,100. Using an experimentally determined molar extinction coefficient for the enzyme-bound flavin, a minimum molecular weight of 146,700 was determined. Based on these data, the oxidase contains eight perhaps identical subunits and four equivalents of FAD. No other β-oxidation enzyme activities are detected in purified preparations of the oxidase. The oxidase flavin does not react with sulfite to form an N(5) flavin-sulfite complex. Photochemical reduction of the oxidase flavin yields a red semiquinone; however, the yield of semiquinone is strongly pH dependent. The yield of semiquinone is significantly reduced below pH 7.5. The flavin semiquinone can be further reduced to the hydroquinone. The behavior of the oxidase flavin during photoreduction and its reactivity toward sulfite are interpreted to reflect the interaction in the N(1)-C(2)O region of the flavin with a group on the protein which acts as a hydrogen-bond acceptor. Like the acyl-CoA dehydrogenases which catalyze the same transformation of acyl-CoA substrates, the oxidase is inactivated by the acetylenic substrate analog, 3-octynoyl-CoA, which acts as an active site-directed inhibitor.     

Fluorometric assay for rat liver peroxisomal fatty acyl-coenzyme A oxidase activity

These studies report the development of a simple, specific, and highly sensitive fluorometric assay for rat liver peroxisomal fatty acyl-CoA oxidase activity. In this in vitro procedure fatty acyl-CoA-dependent H2O2 production was coupled in a peroxidase-catalyzed reaction to the oxidation of scopoletin (6-methoxy-7-hydroxycoumarin), a highly fluorescent compound, to a nonfluorescent product. Enzyme-catalyzed reaction rates as low as 5 pmol of H2O2 produced per minute could readily be detected. The reaction was studied in liver homogenates from normal rats with respect to absolute activity, time course, protein concentration dependence, substrate concentration dependence, pH optimum, substrate specificity, and cofactor requirements. The properties of the enzyme activity as assessed by the fluorometric assay agree well with those determined by other investigators using other assay methods. After subcellular fractionation of liver homogenates by differential centrifugation, the fatty acyl-CoA oxidase activity distributed like known peroxisomal marker enzymes. These results demonstrate that the fluorometric assay of fatty acyl-CoA oxidase should be useful in studying the distribution, properties, and subcellular localization of the enzyme, particularly in enzyme sources of low activity or in situations when only small amounts of material are available.     

Molecular characterization of an Arabidopsis acyl-coenzyme a synthetase localized on glyoxysomal membranes

In higher plants, fat-storing seeds utilize storage lipids as a source of energy during germination. To enter the beta-oxidation pathway, fatty acids need to be activated to acyl-coenzyme As (CoAs) by the enzyme acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS; EC 6.2.1.3). Here, we report the characterization of an Arabidopsis cDNA clone encoding for a glyoxysomal acyl-CoA synthetase designated AtLACS6. The cDNA sequence is 2,106 bp long and it encodes a polypeptide of 701 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 76,617 D. Analysis of the amino-terminal sequence indicates that acyl-CoA synthetase is synthesized as a larger precursor containing a cleavable amino-terminal presequence so that the mature polypeptide size is 663 amino acids. The presequence shows high similarity to the typical PTS2 (peroxisomal targeting signal 2). The AtLACS6 also shows high amino acid identity to prokaryotic and eukaryotic fatty acyl-CoA synthetases. Immunocytochemical and cell fractionation analyses indicated that the AtLACS6 is localized on glyoxysomal membranes. AtLACS6 was overexpressed in insect cells and purified to near homogeneity. The purified enzyme is particularly active on long-chain fatty acids (C16:0). Results from immunoblot analysis revealed that the expression of both AtLACS6 and beta-oxidation enzymes coincide with fatty acid degradation. These data suggested that AtLACS6 might play a regulatory role both in fatty acid import into glyoxysomes by making a complex with other factors, e.g. PMP70, and in fatty acid beta-oxidation activating the fatty acids.     

Studies on medium-chain fatty acyl-coenzyme A synthetase. Enzyme fraction I: mechanism of reaction and allosteric properties

1. The mechanism of butyrate activation catalysed by an enzyme fraction derived from ox liver particles (fraction I; Bar-Tana, Rose & Shapiro, 1968) was studied by an analysis of the initial-velocity pattern of the overall reaction and found to conform to the Bi Uni Uni Bi Ping Pong model (Cleland, 1963a,b,c) in agreement with the reaction scheme proposed by Berg (1956). 2. A homotropic co-operative effect was exerted by CoA on fraction I, whereas ATP and AMP functioned as heterotropic co-operative ligands with respect to butyryl-AMP-dependent CoA disappearance. On the other hand, PP(i) and butyryl-CoA showed antagonistic heterotropic effects when tested under similar conditions. With respect to the overall reaction CoA and ATP could be shown to function as co-operative homotropic modifiers. 3. Two interchangeable conformational states of the enzyme are therefore presumed to exist, state R, having a higher affinity for CoA and ATP and thus preferentially catalysing butyryl-AMP-dependent CoA disappearance (partial reaction b), and state T, favoured by the presence of PP(i), catalysing the formation of ATP from butyryl-AMP and PP(i) (partial reaction a) with greater efficiency. 4. These findings serve to explain the opposite effects of ATP on the partial reactions, as well as the inhibition by CoA and ATP of ATP formation (reaction a) and by PP(i) of the butyryl-AMP-dependent CoA disappearance (reaction b) (Bar-Tana et al. 1968). 5. The possible analogy of these observations to amino acid-activating and other similar systems is discussed.     

N-ethylmaleimide-resistant acyl-coenzyme A oxidase from Arthrobacter ureafaciens NBRC 12140: molecular cloning, gene expression and characterization of the recombinant enzyme

N-ethylmaleimide (NEM)-resistant acyl-coenzyme A oxidase (ACO) has been desired for the determination of free fatty acids (FFAs). In order to meet this demand, we prepared recombinant ACO from Arthrobacter ureafaciens NBRC 12140. The coding region of the gene was 2109, encoding a protein of 703 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 76.5 kDa. The heterologous expression level in Escherichia coli was 520-fold higher than that in the native strain. The purified enzyme retained more than 60% activity after incubation in the presence of 10 mM NEM at 37 degrees C for 4 h, while other commercially available ACOs showed only less than 10% activities after the same NEM treatment. We presume that this is due to the presence of only three cysteines in ACO from A. ureafaciens. Site-directed mutagenesis studies and close scrutiny of the three-dimensional structures of other related ACOs suggested that these cysteines were buried in the protein and unreactive to NEM. The recombinant enzyme was used for the colorimetric determination of free fatty acid, which gave a linear calibration.     

Studies of medium-chain fatty acyl-coenzyme A synthetase. Enzyme fraction II: mechanism of reaction and specific properties

1. The mechanism of reaction of fatty acyl-CoA synthesis catalysed by fatty acyl-CoA synthetase from ox liver (fraction II; Bar-Tana, Rose & Shapiro, 1968) was investigated by a kinetic study of CoA disappearance dependent on butyrate plus ATP or butyryl-AMP (overall and partial reaction b respectively). 2. Contrary to findings with another enzyme (fraction I), a Bi Uni Uni Bi Ping Pong mechanism (Cleland, 1963a,b,c) corresponding to Berg's (1956) scheme of reaction was eliminated and an ordered Ter Ter mechanism with an A-C-B (standing for ATP, CoA and butyrate respectively) sequence of substrate entry for the overall reaction was established for fraction II. Partial reaction (b) was found to follow the ;Iso-Theorell-Chance' mechanism. 3. Also, in contrast with results obtained with fraction I, no allosteric properties could be demonstrated with fraction II.     

Primary structure of a novel subunit in ba3-cytochrome oxidase from Thermus thermophilus

The bax-type cytochrome c oxidase from Thermus thermophilus is known as a two subunit enzyme. Deduced from the crystal structure of this enzyme, we discovered the presence of an additional transmembrane helix "subunit IIa" spanning the membrane. The hydrophobic N-terminally blocked protein was isolated in high yield using high-performance liquid chromatography. Its complete amino acid sequence was determined by a combination of automated Edman degradation of both the deformylated and the cyanogen bromide cleaved protein and automated C-terminal sequencing of the native protein. The molecular mass of 3,794 Da as determined by MALDI-MS and by ESI requires the N-terminal methionine to be formylated and is in good agreement with the value calculated from the formylmethionine containing sequence (3,766.5 Da + 28 Da = 3,794.5 Da). This subunit consits of 34 residues forming one helix across the membrane (Lys5-Ala34), which corresponds in space to the first transmembrane helix of subunit II of the cytochrome c oxidases from Paracoccus denitrificans and bovine heart, however, with opposite polarity. It is 35% identical to subunit IV of the ba3-cytochrome oxidase from Natronobacterium pharaonis. The open reading frame encoding this new subunit IIa (cbaD) is located upstream of cbaB in the same operon as the genes for subunit I (cbaA) and subunit II (cbaB).     

A novel a-type terminal oxidase from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius with cytochrome c oxidase activity

Cytochrome C oxidase was solubilized with a nonionic detergent n-decanoyl-N-methyl glucamide from the membranes of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, a thermoacidophilic archaebacterium, and was purified. The enzyme oxidized horse heart cytochrome C with a Vmax of 63 mumols/min/mg at 50 degrees C. The activity was sensitive to cyanide. The enzyme also catalyzed oxygen uptake detergent on N, N, N', N'-tetramethyl p-phenylene diamine. An apparent molecular mass was estimated to be 150 kDa. The enzyme is composed of three subunits of 37, 23 and 14 kDa. Spectral characteristics were similar to typical bacterial aa3 except for the presence of a novel 583 nm peak observed in reduced minus oxidized difference spectrum.