Purification and properties of pentachlorophenol hydroxylase, a flavoprotein from Flavobacterium sp. strain ATCC 39723.

A pentachlorophenol (PCP) hydroxylase which catalyzed the conversion of PCP to 2,3,5,6-tetrachlorohydroquinone and released iodide from triiodophenol in the presence of NADPH and oxygen was identified. The enzyme was purified by protamine sulfate precipitation, ammonium sulfate precipitation, hydrophobic chromatography, anion-exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, and crystallization. The enzyme was a monomer with a molecular weight of 63,000. Under certain conditions, dimer and multimer conformations were also observed. The pI of the enzyme was pH 4.3. The optimal conditions for activity were a pH of 7.5 to 8.5 and a temperature of 40 degrees C. Each enzyme molecule contained one flavin adenine dinucleotide molecule. The Km for PCP was 30 microM and the Vmax was 16 mumol/min/mg of protein. The enzymatic reaction required 2 mol of NADPH per mol of halogenated substrate. On the basis of the data we present, it is likely that PCP hydroxylase is a flavoprotein monooxygenase. The addition of flavins to the reaction mixture did not stimulate the enzymatic reaction; however, we identified the photodegradation of triiodophenol and tribromophenol, but not PCP, by flavin mononucleotide or riboflavin and light.     

Purification and characterization of 1-naphthol-2-hydroxylase from carbaryl-degrading Pseudomonas strain c4

Pseudomonas sp. strain C4 metabolizes carbaryl (1-naphthyl-N-methylcarbamate) as the sole source of carbon and energy via 1-naphthol, 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene, and gentisate. 1-Naphthol-2-hydroxylase (1-NH) was purified 9.1-fold to homogeneity from Pseudomonas sp. strain C4. Gel filtration and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the enzyme is a homodimer with a native molecular mass of 130 kDa and a subunit molecular mass of 66 kDa. The enzyme was yellow, with absorption maxima at 274, 375, and 445 nm, indicating a flavoprotein. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of the flavin moiety extracted from 1-NH suggested the presence of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). Based on the spectral properties and the molar extinction coefficient, it was determined that the enzyme contained 1.07 mol of FAD per mol of enzyme. Although the enzyme accepts electrons from NADH, it showed maximum activity with NADPH and had a pH optimum of 8.0. The kinetic constants K(m) and V(max) for 1-naphthol and NADPH were determined to be 9.6 and 34.2 microM and 9.5 and 5.1 micromol min(-1) mg(-1), respectively. At a higher concentration of 1-naphthol, the enzyme showed less activity, indicating substrate inhibition. The K(i) for 1-naphthol was determined to be 79.8 microM. The enzyme showed maximum activity with 1-naphthol compared to 4-chloro-1-naphthol (62%) and 5-amino-1-naphthol (54%). However, it failed to act on 2-naphthol, substituted naphthalenes, and phenol derivatives. The enzyme utilized one mole of oxygen per mole of NADPH. Thin-layer chromatographic analysis showed the conversion of 1-naphthol to 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene under aerobic conditions, but under anaerobic conditions, the enzyme failed to hydroxylate 1-naphthol. These results suggest that 1-NH belongs to the FAD-containing external flavin mono-oxygenase group of the oxidoreductase class of proteins.     

Detergent-solubilization, purification, and characterization of membrane-bound 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase from radish seedlings

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (NADPH) was solubilized with polyoxyethylene ether (Brij) W-1 from a heavy-membrane fraction, sedimented at 16000 X g from a cell-free homogenate of four-day-old, dark-grown radish seedlings (Raphanus sativus L.). Approximately 350-fold purification of the solubilized enzyme activity was achieved by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation followed by column chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50, blue-dextran-agarose and HMG-CoA-hexane-agarose. The presence of detergent, which was required at all times to maintain activity, did not interfere with the chromatographic procedures used. Sucrose density centrifugation suggested an apparent molecular mass of 180 kDa with subunits of 45 kDa (polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecylsulphate). The enzyme was stable at 67.5 degrees C for 30 min in the presence of glycerol, dithioerythritol and detergent. Studies of enzyme stability and activation indicate that the enzyme is a hydrophobic protein with free thiol groups that are essential for full activity. The activation energy was estimated to be 92 kJ (Arrhenius plot). Antibodies raised against rat liver and yeast hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase failed to bind or inactivate the radish enzyme. When both HMG-CoA and NADPH concentrations were varied, intersecting patterns were obtained with double-reciprocal plots. The apparent Km values determined in this way are 1.5 microM [(S)-HMG-CoA], and 27 microM (NADPH). Concentrations of NADPH greater than 150 microM caused substrate inhibition at low HMG-CoA concentrations resulting in deviations from linearity in secondary plots. Analysis of these data and the product inhibition pattern suggest a sequential mechanism for the reduction of HMG-CoA to mevalonic acid with HMG-CoA being the first substrate binding to the enzyme, followed by NADPH.     

Coupled enzymatic production of sulfite, thiosulfate, and hydrogen sulfide from sulfur: purification and properties of a sulfur oxygenase reductase from the facultatively anaerobic archaebacterium Desulfurolobus ambivalens.

From aerobically grown cells of the extremely thermophilic, facultatively anaerobic chemolithoautotrophic archaebacterium Desulfurolobus ambivalens (DSM 3772), a soluble oxygenase reductase (SOR) was purified which was not detectable in anaerobically grown cells. In the presence of oxygen but not under a hydrogen atmosphere, the enzyme simultaneously produced sulfite, thiosulfate, and hydrogen sulfide from sulfur. Nonenzymatic control experiments showed that thiosulfate was produced mainly in a chemical reaction between sulfite and sulfur. The maximum specific activity of the purified SOR in sulfite production was 10.6 mumol/mg of protein at pH 7.4 and 85 degrees C. The ratio of sulfite to hydrogen sulfide production was 5:4 in the presence of zinc ions. The temperature range of enzyme activity was 50 to 108 degrees C, with a maximum at 85 degrees C. The molecular mass of the native SOR was 550 kilodaltons, determined by gel filtration. It consisted of identical subunits with an apparent molecular mass of 40 kilodaltons in sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis. The particle diameter in electron micrographs was 15 /+- 1.5 nm. The enzyme activity was inhibited by the thiol-binding reagents p-chloromercuribenzoic acid, N-ethyl maleimide, and 2-iodoacetic acid and by flavin adenine dinucleotide, Fe3+, and Fe2+. It was not affected by CN-, N3-, or reduced glutathione.     

Purification and characterization of heme oxygenase from chick liver. Comparison of the avian and mammalian enzymes

A major inducible form of heme oxygenase (EC 1.14.99.3) was purified from liver microsomes of chicks pretreated with cadmium chloride. The purification involved solubilization of microsomes with Emulgen 913 and sodium cholate, followed by DEAE-Sephacel, carboxymethyl-cellulose (CM-52) and hydroxyapatite chromatography, and FPLC through Superose 6 and 12 columns operating in series. The final product gave a single band on silver-stained SDS/polyacrylamide gels (Mr = 33,000). Optimal conditions for measurement of activity of solubilized heme oxygenase were studied. In a reconstituted system containing purified heme oxygenase, NADPH-cytochrome reductase, biliverdin reductase and NADPH, the Km for free heme was 3.8 +/- 0.5 microM; for heme in the presence of bovine serum albumin (5 mol heme/3 mol albumin) the Km was 5.0 +/- 0.8 microM; and the Km for NADPH was 6.1 +/- 0.4 microM (all values mean +/- SD, n = 3). Oxygen concentration as low as 15 microM, with saturating concentrations of heme and NADPH, did not affect the reaction rate, indicating that the supply of oxygen is not involved in the physiological regulation of activity of the enzyme. The pH optimum of the reaction was 7.4; at 37 degrees C, the apparent Vmax was 580 +/- 44 nmol biliverdin.(mg protein)-1.min-1 and the molecular activity was 19.2 min-1. Biliverdin IXa was the sole biliverdin isomer formed. In the presence of purified biliverdin reductase, biliverdin was converted quantitatively to bilirubin. Addition of catalase to the reconstituted system decreased the breakdown of heme to non-biliverdin products and led to nearly stoichiometric conversion of heme to biliverdin. Activity of the enzyme in the reconstituted system was inhibited by metalloporphyrins in the following order of decreasing potency: tin mesoporphyrin greater than tin protoporphyrin greater than zinc protoporphyrin greater than manganese protoporphyrin greater than cobalt protoporphyrin. Protoporphyrin (3.3 or 6.6 microM) (and several other porphyrins) and metallic ions (100 microM) alone had little if any inhibitory effect, except for Hg2+ which inhibited by 67% at 10 microM and totally at 15 microM. Following partial cleavage, fragments of the purified enzyme were sequenced. Comparison of sequences to those derived from cDNA sequences for the major inducible rat and human heme oxygenase showed 69% and 76% similarities, respectively. The histidine residue at position 132 of rat heme oxygenase-1 and the residues (Lys128-Arg136) flanking His132 were conserved in all three enzymes, as well as in the corresponding portion of a fourth less highly similar rat enzyme, heme oxygenase-2.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthesis from glutamate by rat intestinal mucosa

The mitochondria of rat intestinal mucosa were found to have an enzymatic activity that converts radioactive glutamate to pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) in the presence of ATP, NADPH, and MgCl2. The product of this enzyme was identified as P5C by the fact that it was converted to proline by chemical reduction with NaBH4 or by enzymatic reduction with NADH in the presence of purified yeast P5C reductase. The product was demonstrated to be P5C rather than pyrroline-2-carboxylate by thin layer chromatography. The presence of the activity in mitochondria prepared from intestinal mucosa of germ-free rats proved that this activity is of mammalian origin. Omission of either ATP, NADPH, or MgCl2 from the reaction mixture resulted in little or no activity. The optimal pH appeared to be about 7.0 under the conditions used. Substrate saturation curves in the presence of an ATP and an NADPH regeneration system gave apparent Km values of 2.5 mM for glutamate, 0.19 mM for ATP, and 6.5 microM for NADPH in the presence of 20 mM MgCl2. The mitochondrial preparation usually produced P5C at a rate of 1.2 to 1.6 nmol/mg/min at 20 degrees C when incubated with 1 mM glutamate, 3 mM ATP, 0.2 mM NADPH, and 20 mM MgCl2.     

Purification and properties of milk xanthine dehydrogenase.

Milk xanthine oxidase (XO) has been prepared in a dehydrogenase form (XDH) by purifying the enzyme in the presence of 2.5 mM dithiothreitol. Unlike XO, which reacts rapidly only with oxygen and not with NAD, the XDH form of the enzyme reacts rapidly with NAD. XDH has a turnover number for the NAD-dependent conversion of xanthine to urate of 380 mol/min/mol at pH 7.5, 25 degrees C, with a Km = < or = 1 microM for xanthine and a Km = 7 microM for NAD, but has very little O2-dependent activity. There is evidence that the two forms of the enzyme have different flavin environments: XDH stabilizes the neutral form of the flavin semiquinone and XO does not. Further, XDH binds the artificial flavin 8-mercapto-FAD in its neutral form, shifting the pK of this flavin by 5 pH units, while XO binds 8-mercapto-FAD in its benzoquinoid anionic form. XDH can be converted back to the XO form by the addition of three to four equivalents of the disulfide-forming reagent 4,4'-dithiodipyridine, suggesting that, in the XDH form of the enzyme, disulfide bonds are broken; this may cause a conformational change which creates a binding site for NAD and changes the protein structure near the flavin.     

Evidence for two genetically distinct DNA primase activities specified by plasmids of the B and I incompatibility groups.

Soluble formate dehydrogenase from Methanobacterium formicicum was purified 71-fold with a yield of 35%. Purification was performed anaerobically in the presence of 10 mM sodium azide which stabilized the enzyme. The purified enzyme reduced, with formate, 50 mumol of methyl viologen per min per mg of protein and 8.2 mumol of coenzyme F420 per min per mg of protein. The apparent Km for 7,8-didemethyl-8-hydroxy-5-deazariboflavin, a hydrolytic derivative of coenzyme F420, was 10-fold greater (63 microM) than for coenzyme F420 (6 microM). The purified enzyme also reduced flavin mononucleotide (Km = 13 microM) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (Km = 25 microM) with formate, but did not reduce NAD+ or NADP+. The reduction of NADP+ with formate required formate dehydrogenase, coenzyme F420, and coenzyme F420:NADP+ oxidoreductase. The formate dehydrogenase had an optimal pH of 7.9 when assayed with the physiological electron acceptor coenzyme F420. The optimal reaction rate occurred at 55 degrees C. The molecular weight was 288,000 as determined by gel filtration. The purified formate dehydrogenase was strongly inhibited by cyanide (Ki = 6 microM), azide (Ki = 39 microM), alpha,alpha-dipyridyl, and 1,10-phenanthroline. Denaturation of the purified formate dehydrogenase with sodium dodecyl sulfate under aerobic conditions revealed a fluorescent compound. Maximal excitation occurred at 385 nm, with minor peaks at 277 and 302 nm. Maximal fluorescence emission occurred at 455 nm.     

Purification and properties of a NAD(P)H:flavin oxidoreductase from the luminous bacterium, Beneckea harveyi.

A NAD(P)H:flavin oxidoreductase, which produces FMNH2, one of the substrates for the luciferase reaction in bioluminescent bacteria, has been purified with the aid of affinity chromatography on epsilon-aminohexanoyl-FMN-Sepharose. The purified enzyme, isolated from Beneckea harveyi, had a specific activity of 89 mumol of NADH oxidized/min/mg of protein at 23 degrees in the presence of saturating FMN and NADH and appeared homogeneous by several criteria on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A molecular weight of 24,000 was estimated both by gel filtration and and sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis indicating that the enzyme is composed of a single polypeptide chain. Kinetic studies showed that the higher specificity of the enzyme for NADH than NADPH and for riboflavin and FMN than FAD was primarily due to variations in the Michaelis constants for the different substrates. Initial velocity studies with all pairs of substrates gave intersecting patterns supporting a sequential mechanism for the NAD(P)H:flavin oxidoreductase.     

Purification, characterization, and overexpression of flavin reductase involved in dibenzothiophene desulfurization by Rhodococcus erythropolis D-1

The dibenzothiophene (DBT)-desulfurizing bacterium, Rhodococcus erythropolis D-1, removes sulfur from DBT to form 2-hydroxybiphenyl using four enzymes, DszC, DszA, DszB, and flavin reductase. In this study, we purified and characterized the flavin reductase from R. erythropolis D-1 grown in a medium containing DBT as the sole source of sulfur. It is conceivable that the enzyme is essential for two monooxygenase (DszC and DszA) reactions in vivo. The purified flavin reductase contains no chromogenic cofactors and was found to have a molecular mass of 86 kDa and four identical 22-kDa subunits. The enzyme catalyzed NADH-dependent reduction of flavin mononucleotide (FMN), and the K(m) values for NADH and FMN were 208 and 10.8 microM, respectively. Flavin adenine dinucleotide was a poor substrate, and NADPH was inert. The enzyme did not catalyze reduction of any nitroaromatic compound. The optimal temperature and optimal pH for enzyme activity were 35 degrees C and 6.0, respectively, and the enzyme retained 30% of its activity after heat treatment at 80 degrees C for 30 min. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified flavin reductase was identical to that of DszD of R. erythropolis IGTS8 (K. A. Gray, O. S. Pogrebinsky, G. T. Mrachko, L. Xi, D. J. Monticello, and C. H. Squires, Nat. Biotechnol. 14:1705-1709, 1996). The flavin reductase gene was amplified with primers designed by using dszD of R. erythropolis IGTS8, and the enzyme was overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The specific activity in crude extracts of the overexpressed strain was about 275-fold that of the wild-type strain.     

Alpha-hydroxylation of lignoceroyl-CoA by a cyanide-sensitive oxygenase in rat brain microsomes

The enzymatic mechanism of alpha-hydroxylation of lignoceroyl-CoA, an intermediate in the synthesis of hydroxyceramide, was studied. In the presence of NADPH, sphingosine and microsomes from 20-day-old rat brain, 14C from [1-14C]lignoceroyl-CoA was incorporated into hydroxyceramide. Activity was linear with time (up to 40 min) and with protein (up to 0.8 mg). The apparent Km for lignoceroyl-CoA was about 10 microM. NADPH was a more efficient electron donor than NADH. Oxygen was required for activity, which increased linearly up to 20% O2. In 5 and 10% oxygen, the reaction was inhibited by 0.1 mM cyanide and by electron transfer chain inhibitors, cytochrome c, ferricyanide, menadione, and p-chloromercuriphenyl sulphonate; CO and SKF-525A had no effect. Moreover none of the inhibitors affected the formation of hydroxyceramide. Lignoceroyl-CoA alpha-hydroxylase appears to be an oxygenase requiring NADPH and oxygen, which involves cyanide-sensitive enzyme.     

Purification and characterization of aquacobalamin reductase (NADPH) from Euglena gracilis

Euglena aquacobalamin reductase (NADPH: EC 1.6.99.-) was purified, and its subcellular distribution was studied to elucidate the mechanism of the conversion of hydroxocobalamin to 5'-deoxyadenosylcobalamin. The enzyme was found in the mitochondria. It was purified about 150-fold over the Euglena mitochondrial extract in a yield of 38%. The purified enzyme was homogeneous in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Spectra of the purified enzyme showed that it was a flavoprotein. The molecular weight of the enzyme was calculated to be 66,000 by Sephadex G-100 gel filtration and 65,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme was specific to NADPH with an apparent Km of 43 microM and to hydroxocobalamin with an apparent Km of 55 microM. The enzyme did not require FAD or FMN as a cofactor. The optimum pH and temperature were 7.0 and 40 degrees C, respectively.     

Production, Purification, and Characterization of alpha-Galactosidase from Monascus pilosus

A Monascus pilosus strain was selected for production of intracellular alpha-galactosidase. Optimum conditions for mycelial growth and enzyme induction were determined. Galactose was one of the best enzyme inducers. The enzyme was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, and ion exchange chromatography and was demonstrated to be homogeneous by slab gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of this enzyme, estimated by gel filtration, was about 150,000. The optimum conditions for the enzyme reaction was pH 4.5 to 5.0 at 55 degrees C. The purified enzyme was stable at 55 degrees C or below and in buffer at pH 3 to 8. The activity was inhibited by mercury, silver, and copper ions. The kinetics of this enzyme, with p-nitrophenyl-alpha-d-galactoside as substrate, was determined: K(m) was about 0.8 mM, and V(max) was 39 mumol/min per mg of protein. Enzymatic hydrolysis of melibiose, raffinose, and stachyose was analyzed by thin-layer chromatography.     

Heterologous expression, purification, and characterization of an l-ornithine N(5)-hydroxylase involved in pyoverdine siderophore biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that produces the siderophore pyoverdine, which enables it to acquire the essential nutrient iron from its host. Formation of the iron-chelating hydroxamate functional group in pyoverdine requires the enzyme PvdA, a flavin-dependent monooxygenase that catalyzes the N(5) hydroxylation of l-ornithine. pvdA from P. aeruginosa was successfully overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and the enzyme was purified for the first time. The enzyme possessed its maximum activity at pH 8.0. In the absence of l-ornithine, PvdA has an NADPH oxidase activity of 0.24 +/- 0.02 micromol min(-1) mg(-1). The substrate l-ornithine stimulated this activity by a factor of 5, and the reaction was tightly coupled to the formation of hydroxylamine. The enzyme is specific for NADPH and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD(+)) as cofactors, as it cannot utilize NADH and flavin mononucleotide. By fluorescence titration, the dissociation constants for NADPH and FAD(+) were determined to be 105.6 +/- 6.0 microM and 9.9 +/- 0.3 microM, respectively. Steady-state kinetic analysis showed that the l-ornithine-dependent NADPH oxidation obeyed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with apparent K(m) and V(max) values of 0.58 mM and 1.34 micromol min(-1) mg(-1). l-Lysine was a nonsubstrate effector that stimulated NADPH oxidation, but uncoupling occurred and hydrogen peroxide instead of hydroxylated l-lysine was produced. l-2,4-Diaminobutyrate, l-homoserine, and 5-aminopentanoic acid were not substrates or effectors, but they were competitive inhibitors of the l-ornithine-dependent NADPH oxidation reaction, with K(ic)s of 3 to 8 mM. The results indicate that the chemical nature of effectors is important for simulation of the NADPH oxidation rate in PvdA.     

3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase of Sulfolobus solfataricus: DNA sequence, phylogeny, expression in Escherichia coli of the hmgA gene, and purification and kinetic characterization of the gene product.

The gene (hmgA) for 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase (EC 1.1.1.34) from the thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 was cloned and sequenced. S. solfataricus HMG-CoA reductase exhibited a high degree of sequence identity (47%) to the HMG-CoA reductase of the halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii. Phylogenetic analyses of HMG-CoA reductase protein sequences suggested that the two archaeal genes are distant homologs of eukaryotic genes. The only known bacterial HMG-CoA reductase, a strictly biodegradative enzyme from Pseudomonas mevalonii, is highly diverged from archaeal and eukaryotic HMG-CoA reductases. The S. solfataricus hmgA gene encodes a true biosynthetic HMG-CoA reductase. Expression of hmgA in Escherichia coli generated a protein that both converted HMG-CoA to mevalonate and cross-reacted with antibodies raised against rat liver HMG-CoA reductase. S. solfataricus HMG-CoA reductase was purified in 40% yield to a specific activity of 17.5 microU per mg at 50 degrees C by a sequence of steps that included heat treatment, ion-exchange chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and affinity chromatography. The final product was homogeneous, as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The substrate was (S)- not (R)-HMG-CoA; the reductant was NADPH not NADH. The Km values for HMG-CoA (17 microM) and NADPH (23 microM) were similar in magnitude to those of other biosynthetic HMG-CoA reductases. Unlike other HMG-CoA reductases, the enzyme was stable at 90 degrees C and was optimally active at pH 5.5 and 85 degrees C.     

Purification and properties of acyl/alkyl dihydroxyacetone-phosphate reductase from guinea pig liver peroxisomes

The peroxisomal acyl/alkyl dihydroxyacetone-phosphate reductase (EC 1.1.1.101) was solubilized and purified 5500-fold from guinea pig liver. The enzyme could be solubilized by detergents only at high ionic strengths in presence of the cosubstrate NADPH. Peroxisomes, isolated from liver by a Nycodenz step density gradient centrifugation, were first treated with 0.2% Triton X-100 to remove the soluble and a large fraction of the membrane-bound proteins. The enzyme was solubilized from the resulting residue by 0.05% Triton X-100, 1 M KCl, 0.3 mM NADPH, and 2 mM dithiothreitol in Tris-HCl buffer (10 mM) at pH 7.5. The enzyme was further purified after precipitating it by dialyzing out the KCl and then resolubilized with 0.8% octyl glucoside in 1 M KCl (plus NADPH and dithiothreitol). The second solubilized enzyme was purified to homogeneity (370-fold from peroxisomes) by gel filtration in a Sepharose CL-6B column followed by affinity chromatography on an NADPH-agarose gel matrix. NADPH-agarose was prepared by reacting periodate-oxidized NADP+ to adipic acid dihydrazide-agarose and then reducing the immobilized NADP+ with NaBH4. On sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the purified enzyme showed a single homogeneous band with an apparent molecular weight of 60,000. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was estimated to be 75,000 by size exclusion chromatography. Amino acid analysis of the purified protein showed that hydrophobic amino acid comprised 27% of the molecule. The Km value of the purified enzyme for hexadecyldihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) was 21 microM, and the Vmax value in the presence of 0.07 mM NADPH was 67 mumol/min/mg. The turnover number (Kcat), after correcting for the isotope effect of the cosubstrate NADP3H, was calculated to be 6,000 mol/min/mol of enzyme, assuming the enzyme has a molecular weight of 60,000. The purified enzyme also used palmitoyldihydroxyactone phosphate as a substrate (Km = 15.4 microM, and Vmax = 75 mumol/min/mg). Palmitoyl-DHAP competitively inhibited the reduction of hexadecyl-DHAP, indicating that the same enzyme catalyzes the reduction of both acyl-DHAP and alkyl-DHAP. NADH can substitute for NADPH, but the Km of the enzyme for NADH (1.7 mM) is much higher than that for NADPH (20 microM). The purified enzyme is competitively (against NADPH) inhibited by NADP+ and palmitoyl-CoA. The enzyme is stable on storage at 4 degrees C in the presence of NADPH and dithiothreitol.     

Purification and characterization of nitrobenzene nitroreductase from Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes JS45.

Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes JS45 grows on nitrobenzene as a sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy. The catabolic pathway involves reduction to hydroxylaminobenzene followed by rearrangement to o-amino-phenol and ring fission (S. F. Nishino and J. C. Spain, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 59:2520, 1993). A nitrobenzene-inducible, oxygen-insensitive nitroreductase was purified from extracts of JS45 by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by anion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography. A single 33-kDa polypeptide was detected by denaturing gel electrophoresis. The size of the native protein was estimated to be 30 kDa by gel filtration. The enzyme is a flavoprotein with a tightly bound flavin mononucleotide cofactor in a ratio of 2 mol of flavin per mol of protein. The Km for nitrobenzene is 5 microM at an initial NADPH concentration of 0.5 mM. The Km for NADPH at an initial nitrobenzene concentration of 0.1 mM is 183 microM. Nitrosobenzene was not detected as an intermediate of nitrobenzene reduction, but nitrosobenzene is a substrate for the enzyme, and the specific activity for nitrosobenzene is higher than that for nitrobenzene. These results suggest that nitrosobenzene is formed but is immediately reduced to hydroxylaminobenzene. Hydroxylaminobenzene was the only product detected after incubation of the purified enzyme with nitrobenzene and NADPH. Hydroxylaminobenzene does not serve as a substrate for further reduction by this enzyme. The products and intermediates are consistent with two two-electron reductions of the parent compound. Furthermore, the low Km and the inducible control of enzyme synthesis suggest that nitrobenzene is the physiological substrate for this enzyme.     

Uridine kinase from Ehrlich ascites carcinoma. Purification and properties of homogeneous enzyme

Uridine kinase from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells has been purified about 60,000-fold to apparent homogeneity and with an overall recovery of about 40%. This purification was achieved using phosphocellulose and adenosine 5'-triphosphate-agarose affinity chromatography. The subunit molecular mass as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was 31,000 daltons. With two-dimensional electrophoresis, only one spot was observed, indicating the absence of isoenzymes. Multiple peaks of activity are routinely observed on ion exchange chromatography or gel filtration, for both crude preparations or homogeneous uridine kinase, in agreement with our earlier results that this enzyme exists as multiple interconvertible oligomeric forms (Payne, R. C., and Traut, T. W. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 12485-12488). The purified enzyme has a specific activity of 283 mumol/min/mg of protein at 22 degrees C. Initial velocity studies using uridine and ATP are consistent with a sequential mechanism. Km values for uridine, cytidine, and ATP are 40, 57, and 450 microM, respectively. CTP and UTP are competitive inhibitors with respect to ATP, with Ki values for CTP and UTP of 10 and 61 microM, respectively. The enzyme was active with several nucleoside analogs, the Km values being 69 microM (5-fluorouridine), 200 microM (3-deazauridine), and 340 microM (6-azauridine). The pure enzyme is very sensitive to freezing, but can be maintained at O degrees C for 8 weeks with only 20% loss of activity. For long-term storage, enzyme in 50% glycerol can be maintained at -20 degrees C for many months with no detectable loss of activity.     

N5-(L-1-carboxyethyl)-L-ornithine:NADP+ oxidoreductase from Streptococcus lactis. Purification and partial characterization

N5-(L-1-Carboxyethyl)-L-ornithine:NADP+ oxidoreductase (EC 1.5.1.-) from Streptococcus lactis K1 has been purified 8,000-fold to homogeneity. The NADPH-dependent enzyme mediates the reductive condensation between pyruvic acid and the delta- or epsilon-amino groups of L-ornithine and L-lysine to form N5-(L-1-carboxyethyl)-L-ornithine and N6-(L-1-carboxyethyl)-L-lysine, respectively. The five-step purification procedure involves ion-exchange (DE52 and phosphocellulose P-11), gel filtration (Ultrogel AcA 44), and affinity chromatography (2',5'-ADP-Sepharose 4B). Approximately 100-200 micrograms of purified enzyme of specific activity 40 units/mg were obtained from 60 g of cells, wet weight. Anionic polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed a single enzymatically active protein band, whereas three species (pI 4.8-5.1) were detected by analytical electrofocusing. The purified enzyme is active over a broad pH range of 6.5-9.0 and is stable to heating at 50 degrees C for 10 min. Substrate Km values were determined to be: NADPH, 6.6 microM; pyruvate, 150 microM; ornithine, 3.3 mM; and lysine, 18.2 mM. The oxidoreductase has a relative molecular mass (Mr = 150,000) as estimated by high pressure liquid chromatography exclusion chromatography and by polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis. Conventional gel filtration indicated an Mr = 78,000, and a single protein band of Mr = 38,000 was revealed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme is composed of identical subunits of Mr = 38,000, which may associate to yield both dimeric and tetrameric forms. Polyclonal antibody to the purified protein inhibited enzyme activity. The amino acid composition of the enzyme is reported, and the sequence of the first 37 amino acids from the NH2 terminus has been determined by stepwise Edman degradation.     

Purification and characterization of NADP(+)-dependent 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase from Peptostreptococcus productus marburg.

The 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase of heterotrophically grown Peptostreptococcus productus Marburg was purified to apparent homogeneity. The purified enzyme catalyzed the reversible oxidation of methylenetetrahydrofolate with NADP+ as the electron acceptor at a specific activity of 627 U/mg of protein. The Km values for methylenetetrahydrofolate and for NADP+ were 27 and 113 microM, respectively. The enzyme, which lacked 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase activity, was insensitive to oxygen and was thermolabile at temperatures above 40 degrees C. The apparent molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated by gel filtration to be 66 kDa. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed the presence of a single subunit of 34 kDa, accounting for a dimeric alpha 2 structure of the enzyme. Kinetic studies on the initial reaction velocities with different concentrations of both substrates in the absence and presence of NADPH as the reaction product were interpreted to indicate that the enzyme followed a sequential reaction mechanism. After gentle ultracentrifugation of crude extracts, the enzyme was recovered to greater than 95% in the soluble (supernatant) fraction. Sodium (10 microM to 10 mM) had no effect on enzymatic activity. The data were taken to indicate that the enzyme was similar to the methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenases of other homoacetogenic bacteria and that the enzyme is not involved in energy conservation of P. productus.