Synthesis of serine-AMC-carbamate: a fluorogenic tryptophanase substrate.

A new fluorogenic substrate for the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent enzyme tryptophanase is described. L-Serine, which is linked to 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin through an O-carbamoyl tether, serves as a substrate for the enzyme. The released moiety, 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (AMC), can be detected by either absorbance (355 nm) or fluorescence (excitation 365 nm/emission 440 nm). Kinetic constants were measured using each of these techniques: Km = 85 +/- 20 microM, Vmax = 2.9 +/- 0.4 mumol/min/mg (fluorescence) and Km = 129 +/- 21 microM, Vmax = 3.1 +/- 0.3 mumol/min/mg (absorbance). The Vmax for serine-AMC-carbamate is approximately 1.9 times faster than that of the natural substrate, tryptophan. Using fluorescence detection, solutions containing 10(-3) units of activity could be routinely assayed.     

Properties of multiple kinetic forms of soluble cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity of rat colonic mucosa

Soluble phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.1) activity is 3-5-fold lower in superficial colonic epithelial cells compared to that in cells isolated from the lower colonic crypt. Higher phosphodiesterase activity in lower crypt cells is correlated with a 5-fold higher rate of incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA in these cells. DEAE-cellulose chromatography of the soluble fraction of superficial and proliferative colonic epithelial cells resulted in separation of three enzyme forms: (1) fraction I, an enzyme which hydrolyzes both cAMP and cGMP with high affinity (apparent Km cAMP = 5 +/- 1 microM, Km cGMP = 2.5 +/- 0.5 microM) and is stimulated 3-6-fold by Ca2+ plus calmodulin; (2) fraction II, a form which hydrolyzes both cAMP and cGMP with low affinity (S0.5 cAMP = 52 +/- 7 microM, S0.5 cGMP = 17 +/- 4 microM), exhibits positive copperativity with respect to substrate and shows cGMP stimulation of cAMP hydrolysis and (3) fraction III, a cAMP-specific form which exhibits biphasic kinetics, a low Km for cAMP (Km cAMP = 5 +/- 1 microM) and does not hydrolyze cGMP. The pattern of distribution of phosphodiesterase activities on DEAE-cellulose was similar in superficial and proliferative colonic epithelial cells. The higher specific activity in proliferative cells was reflected in higher activities of each of the three chromatographically distinct forms of the enzyme. In contrast to epithelial cells, the soluble fraction of homogenates of the submucosa and supporting cells exhibited phosphodiesterase forms I and II and was lacking in the form corresponding to fraction III of epithelial cells.     

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase of rat pancreatic islets. Effects of Ca2+, calmodulin and trifluoperazine.

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity towards cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP was studied in extracts of rat islets of Langerhans. Biphasic Eadie plots [Eadie (1942) J. Biol. Chem. 146, 85-93] were obtained with either substrate suggesting the presence of both 'high'- and 'low'-Km components. The apparent Km values were 6.2 +/- 0.5 (n = 8) microM and 103.4 +/- 13.5 (6) microM for cyclic AMP and 3.6 +/- 0.3 (12) microM and 61.4 +/- 7.5 (13) microM for cyclic GMP. With cyclic AMP as substrate, phosphodeisterase activity was increased by calmodulin and Ca2+ and decreased by trifluoperazine, a specific inhibitor of calmodulin. With cyclic GMP as substrate, phosphodiesterase activity was decreased by omission of Ca2+ or addition of trifluoperazine. Addition of exogenous calmodulin had no effect on activity. The data suggest that Ca2+ may influence the islet content of cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP via effects on calmodulin-dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase(s).     

A radioimmunoassay for measuring alpha-amidating enzyme activity.

A sensitive alpha-amidating enzyme (alpha AE) assay using C-terminal glycine-extended substance P (SP-Gly) as a substrate was developed. The product, substance P (SP), was measured by a radioimmunoassay with specific polyclonal antibodies which recognize SP with an affinity 10,000-fold higher than that of SP-Gly. The sensitivity of the radioimmunoassay was 5 fmol. Enzyme activity could be readily detected with 25 ng alpha AE partially purified from the conditioned medium of rat medullary thyroid carcinoma CA-77 cells. The Km and Vmax values were 2.0 +/- 0.2 microM and 1.7 +/- 0.1 nmol/mg/min (mean +/- SE, n = 3), respectively. The assay enabled the kinetic characterization of alpha AE from a single rat pituitary homogenate. Optimal Cu2+ required was 30 microM and greater than 3 mM of ascorbate was needed for maximal enzyme activity. The sensitivity of this assay will aid efforts to examine the regulation of in vivo alpha AE activity.     

A sensitive capillary GC assay for the determination of sparteine oxidation products in microsomal fractions of human liver

A sensitive method for the assay of sparteine oxidase activity in vitro by microsomal fractions of human liver is described. The activity of sparteine oxidase was assessed by the formation of 2- and 5-dehydrosparteines, which were estimated by capillary gas chromatography with N2-FID detection. The limit of detection of the two metabolites, 2- and 5-dehydrosparteine, was 10 pmol (2.3 ng) per sample. Sparteine oxidase activity was linear with microsomal protein concentration ranging from 25 to 200 ug and with incubation times between 5 and 60 minutes. Omission of NADPH on incubation under an atmosphere of carbon monoxide inhibited formation of both metabolites, thus indicating that aforementioned metabolites arise in reaction catalyzed by cytochrome P-450. In three liver samples from humans classified as extensive (EM) metabolizers the formation of 2- and 5-dehydrosparteines was observed, 2-dehydrosparteine being the major metabolite. In these samples sparteine oxidase activity was characterised by Vmax = 136 +/- 53 pmol/min/mg and Km = 44 +/- 12 microM for 2-dehydrosparteine formation. For 5-dehydrosparteine formation the following values were obtained: Vmax = 57 +/- 18 pmol/min/mg and Km = 42 +/- 26 microM. In a liver sample from a poor metabolizer (PM) only the formation of 2-dehydrosparteine was detected with the method of analysis used. In this sample a great increase in Km (Km PM = 3033 microM) was noted, while Vmax was very similar to those obtained for 2-dehydrosparteine formation in EM subjects (Vmax PM = 147 pmol min/mg).     

A continuous fluorimetric assay for protoporphyrinogen oxidase by monitoring porphyrin accumulation

A continuous spectrofluorimetric assay for protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO, EC 1.3.3.4) activity has been developed using a 96-well plate reader. Protoporphyrinogen IX, the tetrapyrrole substrate, is a colorless nonfluorescent compound. The evolution of the fluorescent tetrapyrrole product, protoporphyrin IX, was detected using a fluorescence plate reader. The apparent Km (Kapp) values for protoporphyrinogen IX were measured as 3.8+/-0.3, 3.6+/-0.5, and 1.0+/-0.1 microM for the enzymes from human, Myxococcus xanthus, and Aquifex aeolicus, respectively. The Ki for acifluorfen, a diphenylether herbicide, was measured as 0.53 microM for the human enzyme. Also, the specific activity of mouse liver mitochondrial PPO was measured as 0.043 nmol h-1/mg mitochondria, demonstrating that this technique is useful for monitoring low-enzyme activities. This method can be used to accurately measure activities as low as 0.5 nM min-1, representing a 50-fold increase in sensitivity over the currently used discontinuous assay. Furthermore, this continuous assay may be used to monitor up to 96 samples simultaneously. These obvious advantages over the discontinuous assay will be of importance for both the kinetic characterization of recombinant PPOs and the detection of low concentrations of this enzyme in biological samples.     

The purification and characterization of recombinant human renin expressed in the human kidney cell line 293

The cDNA encoding human preprorenin has been introduced into the adenovirus-transformed human kidney cell line 293. The recombinant 293 cells expressed and secreted prorenin; trypsin was used to activate the secreted prorenin to renin in vitro. The recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity by a single affinity chromatographic step. Using synthetic tetradecapeptide, the Km was 57.1 +/- 9.3 microM and the kcat was (7.48 +/- 1.57) x 10(3)/hr. Activation with trypsin resulted in a secondary cleavage between Arg53 and Leu54 generating a two chain form held together via a disulfide between Cys51 and Cys58. This secondary cleavage did not affect enzyme activity as determined by the ability of renin to degrade a synthetic tetradecapeptide substrate. Our paper demonstrates the potential for producing large quantities of renin from human kidney cells and also suggests that the use of trypsin, which has been widely used to convert prorenin to renin in vitro, causes a secondary cleavage in the renin peptide chain.     

Properties of two unusual, and fluorescent, substrates of purine-nucleoside phosphorylase: 7-methylguanosine and 7-methylinosine

The properties of two unusual substrates of calf spleen purine-nucleoside phosphorylase (purine-nucleoside:orthophosphate ribosyltransferase, EC 2.4.2.1), 7-methylguanosine and 7-methylinosine, are described. The corresponding bases, 7-methylguanine and 7-methylhypoxanthine, are neither substrates in the reverse, synthetic reaction, nor inhibitors of the phosphorolysis reaction. Both nucleosides exhibit fluorescence, which disappears on cleavage of the glycosidic bond, providing a new convenient procedure for continuous fluorimetric assay of enzymatic activity. For 7-methylguanosine at neutral pH and 25 degrees C, Vmax = 3.3 mumol/min per unit enzyme and Km = 14.7 microM, so that Vmax/Km = 22 X 10(-2)/min per unit as compared to 8 X 10(-2) for the commonly used substrate inosine. The permissible initial substrate concentration range is 5-100 microM. Enzyme activity may also be monitored spectrophotometrically. For 7-methylinosine, Vmax/Km is much lower, 2.4 X 10(-2), but its 10-fold higher fluorescence partially compensates for this, and permits the use of initial substrate concentrations in the range 1-500 microM. At neutral pH both substrates are mixtures of cationic and zwitterionic forms. Measurements of pH-dependence of kinetic constants indicated that the cationic forms are the preferred substrates, whereas the monoanion of inosine appears to be almost as good a substrate as the neutral form. With 7-methylguanosine as substrate, and monitoring of activity fluorimetrically and spectrophotometrically, inhibition constants were measured for several known inhibitors, and the results compared with those obtained with inosine as substrate, and with results reported for the enzyme from other sources.     

Continuous spectrophotometric assay of protein tyrosine phosphatase using phosphotyrosine.

A continuous activity assay for protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), employing phosphotyrosine (P-Tyr) as a substrate, has been developed and applied to measure the activities of two purified enzymes, namely, the full length T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TC PTP) and its truncated form (TC delta C11 PTP). The reaction was followed by changes in ultraviolet absorption and fluorescence resulting from the dephosphorylation of P-Tyr. Both enzymes obey Michaelis-Menten kinetics, with Km = 304 microM, Vmax = 62,000 units/mg for TC PTP and Km = 194 microM, Vmax = 73,000 units/mg for TC delta C11 PTP. The D- and L-forms of P-Tyr are equally effective as substrates. The optimum pH for both enzymes is 4.75. The known effectors of PTPs have the predicted effects on catalytic activity.     

Coenzyme A dithioesters: synthesis, characterization and reaction with citrate synthase and acetyl-CoA:choline O-acetyltransferase

Acyl dithioesters of CoA have been synthesized by transesterification. The alpha-hydrogens have a spectrally determined pKa of 12.5 +/- 0.14. The hydroxide catalyzed enolization rate is estimated to be 600 M-1.s-1. The absorbance of the dithioester, lambda max = 306 nm, can be used to monitor both the condensation and transesterification reactions that use CoA-Ac as a substrate. For citrate synthase at pH 7.4 Vmax = (4.0 +/- 0.4).10(-4) s-1 and Km = 53 +/- 7.5 microM, which are 2.10(-6) and 3.3-times the Vmax and Km values observed for CoAS-Ac, while for Ac-CoA: choline O-acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.6) at pH 7.0 Vmax = (1.1 +/- 0.2).10(-2) mumol.s-1.(mg protein)-1 and Km = 83 +/- 33 microM, which are 0.077 and 10-times the values observed with CoAS-Ac, respectively. The CoA dithioesters are stable at low pH, but hydrolyze with a second-order rate constant of 8.2.10(-2) M-1.s-1 at pH 11.4. The spectral properties of these dithioesters should allow these analogs to be used as probes of the structure of enzyme bound intermediates.     

Pyruvate:quinone oxidoreductase from Corynebacterium glutamicum: purification and biochemical characterization

Pyruvate:quinone oxidoreductase catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to acetate and CO2 with a quinone as the physiological electron acceptor. So far, this enzyme activity has been found only in Escherichia coli. Using 2,6-dichloroindophenol as an artificial electron acceptor, we detected pyruvate:quinone oxidoreductase activity in cell extracts of the amino acid producer Corynebacterium glutamicum. The activity was highest (0.055 +/- 0.005 U/mg of protein) in cells grown on complex medium and about threefold lower when the cells were grown on medium containing glucose, pyruvate, or acetate as the carbon source. From wild-type C. glutamicum, the pyruvate:quinone oxidoreductase was purified about 180-fold to homogeneity in four steps and subjected to biochemical analysis. The enzyme is a flavoprotein, has a molecular mass of about 232 kDa, and consists of four identical subunits of about 62 kDa. It was activated by Triton X-100, phosphatidylglycerol, and dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylglycerol, and the substrates were pyruvate (kcat=37.8 +/- 3 s(-1); Km=30 +/- 3 mM) and 2-oxobutyrate (kcat=33.2 +/- 3 s(-1); Km=90 +/- 8 mM). Thiamine pyrophosphate (Km=1 microM) and certain divalent metal ions such as Mg2+ (Km=29 microM), Mn2+ (Km=2 microM), and Co2+ (Km=11 microM) served as cofactors. In addition to several dyes (2,6-dichloroindophenol, p-iodonitrotetrazolium violet, and nitroblue tetrazolium), menadione (Km=106 microM) was efficiently reduced by the purified pyruvate:quinone oxidoreductase, indicating that a naphthoquinone may be the physiological electron acceptor of this enzyme in C. glutamicum.     

Comparison of angiotensinogen and tetradecapeptide as substrates for human renin. Substrate dependence of the mode of inhibition of renin by a statine-containing hexapeptide

The kinetic properties of two different substrates for human renin, a synthetic tetradecapeptide and the natural substrate human angiotensinogen, have been compared. While the Vmax was similar for the two substrates, the Km values differed by a factor of 10, i.e., 11.7 +/- 0.7 microM (tetradecapeptide) and 1.0 +/- 0.1 microM (angiotensinogen). The mode of inhibition of renin by a statine (Sta)-containing hexapeptide, BW897C, that is a close structural analog of residues 8-13 of human angiotensinogen (Phe-His-Sta-Val-Ile-His-OMe), was determined for the two substrates. Competitive inhibition was observed when tetradecapeptide was the substrate (Ki = 2.0 +/- 0.2 microM), but a more complex mixed inhibition mode (Ki = 1.7 +/- 0.1 microM, Ki' = 3.0 +/- 0.23 microM) was found with angiotensinogen as substrate. This mixed inhibition probably results from the formation of an enzyme-inhibitor-substrate or enzyme-inhibitor-product complex and reflects the more extensive interactions that the protein angiotensinogen, as opposed to the small tetradecapeptide substrate, can make with renin. We conclude that the mixed inhibition observed when angiotensinogen is used as renin substrate could be important in the clinical application of renin inhibitors because it is less readily reversed by increased concentrations of substrate than is simple competitive inhibition.     

Reaction mechanism for mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase using natural lipoyl domain substrates

The pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1) component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) catalyzes a two-step reaction. Recombinant production of substrate amounts of the lipoyl domains of the dihydrolipoyl transacetylase (E2) component of the mammalian PDC allowed kinetic characterization of the rapid physiological reaction catalyzed by E1. Using either the N-terminal (L1) or the internal (L2) lipoyl domain of E2 as a substrate, analyses of steady state kinetic data support a ping pong mechanism. Using standard E1 preparations, Michaelis constants (Km) were 52 +/- 14 microM for L1 and 24.8 +/- 3.8 microM for pyruvate and k(cat) was 26.3 s(-1). With less common, higher activity preparations of E1, the Km values were > or =160 microM for L1 and > or =35 microM for pyruvate and k(cat) was > or =70 s(-1). Similar results were found with the L2 domain. The best synthetic lipoylated-peptide (L2 residues 163-177) was a much poorer substrate (Km > or =15 mM, k(cat) approximately equals 5 s(-1); k(cat)/Km decreased >1,500-fold) than L1 or L2, but a far better substrate in the E1 reaction than free lipoamide (k(cat)/Km increased >500-fold). Each lipoate source was an effective substrate in the dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (E3) reaction, but E3 had a lower Km for the L2 domain than for lipoamide or the lipoylated peptides. In contrast to measurements with slow E1 model reactions that use artificial acceptors, we confirmed that the natural E1 reaction, using lipoyl domain acceptors, was completely inhibited (>99%) by phosphorylation of E1 and the phosphorylation strongly inhibited the reverse of the second step catalyzed by E1. The mechanisms by which phosphorylation interferes with E1 activity is interpreted based on accrued results and the location of phosphorylation sites mapped onto the 3-D structure of related alpha-keto acid dehydrogenases.     

Human cathepsin H: deletion of the mini-chain switches substrate specificity from aminopeptidase to endopeptidase

The mini-chain of human cathepsin H has been identified as the major structural element determining the protease's substrate specificity. A genetically engineered mutant of human cathepsin H lacking the mini-chain, des[Glu(-18)-Thr(-11)]-cathepsin H, exhibits endopeptidase activity towards the synthetic substrate Z-Phe-Arg-NH-Mec (kcat = 0.4 s(-1), Km = 92 microM, kcat/Km = 4348 M(-1) s(-1)) which is not cleaved by r-wt cathepsin H. However, the mutant enzyme shows only minimal aminopeptidase activity for H-Arg-NH-Mec (kcat = 0.8 s(-1), Km = 3.6 mM, kcat/Km = 222 M(-1) s(-1)) which is one of the best known substrates for native human cathepsin H (kcat = 2.5 s(-1), Km = 150 microM, kcat/Km = 16666 M(-1) s(-1)). Inhibition studies with chicken egg white cystatin and E-64 suggest that the mini-chain normally restricts access of inhibitors to the active site. The kinetic data on substrates hydrolysis and enzyme inhibition point out the role of the mini-chain as a structural framework for transition state stabilization of free alpha-amino groups of substrates and as a structural barrier for endopeptidase-like substrate cleavage.     

The respiratory nitrate reductase from Paracoccus denitrificans. Molecular characterisation and kinetic properties

The respiratory nitrate reductase from Paracoccus denitrificans has been purified in the non-ionic detergent Nonidet P-40. The enzyme comprises three polypeptides, alpha, beta and gamma with estimated relative molecular masses of 127 000, 61 000 and 21 000. Duroquinol or reduced-viologen compounds acted as the reducing substrates. The nitrate reductase contained a b-type cytochrome that was reduced by duroquinol and oxidised by nitrate. A preparation of the enzyme that lacked both detectable b-type cytochrome and the gamma subunit was obtained from a trailing peak of nitrate reductase activity collected from a gel filtration column. Absence of the gamma subunit correlated with failure to use duroquinol as reductant; activity with reduced viologens was retained. It is concluded that in the plasma membrane of P. denitrificans the gamma subunit catalyses electron transfer to the alpha and beta subunits of nitrate reductase from ubiquinol which acts as a branch point in the respiratory chain. A new assay was introduced for both nitrate and quinol-nitrate oxidoreductase activity. Diaphorase was used to couple the oxidation of NADH to the production of duroquinol which acted as electron donor to nitrate reductase. Under anaerobic conditions absorbance changes at 340 nm were sensitive to nitrate concentrations in the low micromolar range. This coupled assay was used to determine that the purified enzyme had Km(NO-3) of 13 microM and a Km of 470 microM for ClO-3, an alternative substrate. With viologen substrates Km(NO-3) of 283 microM and Km(ClO-3) of 470 microM were determined; the enzymes possessed a considerably higher Vmax with either NO-3 or ClO-3 than was found when duroquinol was substrate. Azide was a competitive inhibitor of nitrate reduction in either assay system (Ki = 0.55 microM) but 2-n-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide was effective only with the complete three-subunit enzyme and duroquinol as substrate, consistent with a site of action for this inhibitor on the b-type cytochrome. The low Km for nitrate observed in the duriquinol assay is comparable with the apparent Km(NO-3) recently reported for intact cells of P. denitrificans [Parsonage, D., Greenfield, A. J. & Ferguson, S. J. (1985) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 807, 81-95]. This similarity is discussed in terms of a possible requirement for a nitrate transport system. The nitrate reductase system from P. denitrificans is compared with that from Escherichia coli.     

Starvation-induced modulations in binding protein-dependent glucose transport by the marine Vibrio sp. S14

The uptake kinetics of D-glucose were examined in the marine Vibrio sp. S14 during a period of 168 h of complete energy and nutrient starvation. Two glucose transport systems were distinguished in Vibrio sp. S14: a low affinity system (Km = 4.6 +/- 0.9 microM) at the onset of starvation, and a high affinity system (Km = 0.55 +/- 0.15 microM) after 168 h of starvation. Both systems had a narrow substrate specificity, and both were osmotic shock-sensitive.     

Kinetic properties of 5-carboxymethyl-2-hydroxymuconate semialdehyde dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli

Kinetic properties of purified 5-carboxymethyl-2-hydroxymuconate semialdehyde (CHMSA) dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.-) in the 4-hydroxyphenylacetate meta-cleavage pathway from Escherichia coli have been studied. The temperature--activity relationship for the enzyme from 27 to 45 degrees C showed an Arrhenius plot with an inflexion at 36 degrees C. When 5-carboxymethyl-2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde and NAD were used as variable substrates, the double reciprocal plots were all linear and the lines intersected at one point below the horizontal axis, suggesting that a sequential mechanism is operating. From the replots of intercepts and slopes against reciprocal substrate concentrations were calculated Km (CHMSA) = 9.0 +/- 1.02 microM, Km (NAD) = 29.1 +/- 4.65 microM and the value for the dissociation constant of enzyme--NAD complex = 6.3 +/- 1.21 microM. ATP and the product of the reaction (NADH) acted as competitive inhibitors of the enzyme with respect to NAD. Apparent Ki values, estimated from Dixon plots, were 25.0 +/- 3.5 and 88.0 +/- 22.1 microM for NADH and ATP, respectively.     

Reconstitution of the two terminal enzymes of the heme biosynthetic pathway into phospholipid vesicles

Purified mouse protoporphyrinogen oxidase (EC 1.3.3.4) and ferrochelatase (EC 4.99.1.1), the two terminal enzymes of the heme biosynthetic pathway, have been reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles, and the kinetics of the enzymes in the reconstituted systems were compared with the values obtained with the free enzymes. The apparent Km for free protoporphyrinogen oxidase in detergent solution is 5.61 +/- 0.62 microM for free protoporphyrinogen. The Km was lower when the enzyme was inserted into phospholipid vesicles (0.78 +/- 0.28 microM) and when both enzyme and substrate were incorporated into phospholipid vesicles (0.61 +/- 0.14 microM). In the presence of cardiolipin, a phospholipid present mainly in the inner mitochondrial membrane, the value of the Km for the substrate decreased 3-fold (0.20 +/- 0.02 microM). For reconstituted ferrochelatase similar kinetic analyses were carried out and it was found that the apparent Km values were only weakly affected by the lipid environment. Studies on the orientation of ferrochelatase demonstrated that approximately 50% of the enzyme in the reconstituted system had the active site located in the inner face of the phospholipid vesicle. This is in contrast to intact mitochondria where the active site is located on the matrix side of the inner mitochondrial membrane. The activation energies for both enzymes were determined for free and reconstituted enzymes. It was found that for both enzymes the activation energies were lower for the reconstituted systems than for the free enzymes.