Evidence for one essential tryptophan residue at the active site of relaxin.

The hormone relaxin, which is responsible for the rapid widening of the birth channel in mammals prior to parturition, was purified from hog ovarian extracts and shown to be homogeneous by exclusion chromatography in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride and SDS gel electrophoresis. Of the two disulfide-linked chains that comprise relaxin, the larger chain was shown to contain two tryptophan residues, one of which could be completely oxidized in native relaxin without measurable effect on its biological activity. Oxidation of the second residue completely inactivated the hormone. Modifications of lysine side chains or carboxymethylation of a single methionine residue at low pH did not impair the effectiveness of relaxin.     

Evidence for an essential arginine residue at the active site of Escherichia coli acetate kinase

Escherichia coli acetate kinase (ATP: acetate phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.2.1.) was inactivated in the presence of either 2,3-butanedione in borate buffer or phenylglyoxal in triethanolamine buffer. When incubated with 9.4 mM phenylglyoxal or 5.1 mM butanedione, the enzyme lost its activity with an apparent rate constant of inactivation of 0.079 min-1, respectively. The loss of enzymatic activity was concomitant with the loss of an arginine residue per active site. Phosphorylated substrates of acetate kinase, ATP, ADP and acetylphosphate as well as AMP markedly decreased the rate of inactivation by both phenylglyoxal and butanedione. Acetate neither provided any protection nor affected the protection rendered by the adenine nucleotides. However, it interfered with the protection afforded by acetylphosphate. These data suggest that an arginine residue is located at the active site of acetate kinase and is essential for its catalytic activity, probably as a binding site for the negatively charged phosphate group of the substrates.     

Evidence for an essential arginine residue at the active site of ATP citrate lyase from rat liver.

Rat liver ATP citrate lyase was inactivated by 2, 3-butanedione and phenylglyoxal. Phenylglyoxal caused the most rapid and complete inactivation of enzyme activity in 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazine-ethanesulphonic acid buffer, pH 8. Inactivation by both butanedione and phenylglyoxal was concentration-dependent and followed pseudo- first-order kinetics. Phenylglyoxal also decreased autophosphorylation (catalytic phosphate) of ATP citrate lyase. Inactivation by phenylglyoxal and butanedione was due to the modification of enzyme arginine residues: the modified enzyme failed to bind to CoA-agarose. The V declined as a function of inactivation, but the Km values were unaltered. The substrates, CoASH and CoASH plus citrate, protected the enzyme significantly against inactivation, but ATP provided little protection. Inactivation with excess reagent modified about eight arginine residues per monomer of enzyme. Citrate, CoASH and ATP protected two to three arginine residues from modification by phenylglyoxal. Analysis of the data by statistical methods suggested that the inactivation was due to modification of one essential arginine residue per monomer of lyase, which was modified 1.5 times more rapidly than were the other arginine residues. Our results suggest that this essential arginine residue is at the CoASH binding site.     

Mechanism of action of uridine diphosphoglucose dehydrogenase. Evidence for a second reversible dehydrogenation step involving an essential thiol group.

Although the enzyme UDP-glucose dehydrogenase from beef liver (E.C. 1.1.1.22) is known to abstract the pro-R hydrogen stereospecifically at carbon 6 of the glucose moiety of the substrate by a reversible step in converting UDP-glucose to UDP-alpha-D-gluco-hexodialdose (UDP-Glc-6-CHO), prolonged incubation of the enzyme with UDP-glucose and tritium-labeled NADH, under conditions favoring hydrogen exchange between the two, results in equivalent labeling of both hydrogens at carbon 6. This shows that the pro-S hydrogen at carbon 6 is also abstracted by a reversible process which must then involve a derivative of the carboxyl group of UDP-glucuronic acid (UDP-GlcUA) that is capable of reversible hydrogenation-dehydrogenation. It is the hydrolysis of this derivative that accounts for the well known irreversibility of the overall reaction. Derivatization of the enzyme's essential thiol group with 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoate) eliminates the ability of the enzyme to either oxidize or reduce UDP-Glc-6-CHO. Replacement of the 5-thio-2-nitrobenzoate group with cyanide fully restores the enzyme's capacity to reduce UDP-Glc-6-CHO but has no effect on the inhibition of the oxidation to UDP-GlcUA. This indicates that the essential thiol group is involved in the second reversible dehydrogenation step and serves to form a thiol ester with the carboxyl of the product, UDP-GlcUA. It is suggested that thiol ester intermediates are a general characteristic of all 4-electron NAD-linked dehydrogenase reactions.     

Evidence for an arginine residue at the coenzyme-binding site of Escherichia coli isocitrate dehydrogenase.

Immobilization of biological systems in solid matrices is presently of great interest, in view of the many potential advantages associated with both the higher stability of the immobilized macromolecules and the potential utilization for biotechnology. In the present paper the electrochemical behaviour of the undecapeptide from cytochrome c (called microperoxidase) tightly entrapped in cellulose triacetate membrane is reported; its utilization as 'solid-state' promoter in the electrochemistry of soluble metalloproteins is presented. The results obtained indicate that: (i) membrane-entrapped microperoxidase undergoes rapid reversible electron transfer at a glassy carbon electrode; (ii) the electrochemical process is diffusion-controlled; (iii) entrapped microperoxidase acts as 'solid-state' promoter in the electrochemistry of soluble cytochrome c and of azurin.     

Evidence for an essential arginine residue in the substrate binding site of the mammalian succinate dehydrogenase

Phenylglyoxal and 2,3-butanedione rapidly inactivate membrane-bound or soluble bovine heart succinate dehydrogenase. The inhibition of the enzyme by these reagents is completely prevented by saturating concentration of malonate. The modification of the active site sulfhydryl group by p-chloromercuribenzoate decreases the rate of the enzyme inhibition by phenylglyoxal and abolishes the protective effect of malonate. Kinetic data suggest that the inactivation by phenylglyoxal results from the modification of an essential arginine residue(s) which interacts with dicarboxylate to form the primary enzyme-substrate complex.     

An essential residue at the active site of aspartate transcarbamylase.

Reaction of phenylglyoxal with aspartate transcarbamylase and its isolated catalytic subunit results in complete loss of enzymatic activity. This modification reaction is markedly influenced by pH and is partially reversible upon dialysis. Carbamyl phosphate or carbamyl phosphate with succinate partially protect the catalytic subunit and the native enzyme from inactivation by phenylglyoxal. In the native enzyme complete protection from inactivation is afforded by N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate. The decrease in enzymatic activity correlates with the modification of 6 arginine residues on each aspartate transcarbamylase molecule, i.e. 1 arginine per catalytic site. The data suggest that the essential arginine is involved in the binding of carbamyl phosphate to the enzyme. Reaction of the single thiol on the catalytic chain with 2-chloromercuri-4-nitrophenol does not prevent subsequent reaction with phenylglyoxal. If N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate is used to protect the active site we find that phenylglyoxal also causes the loss of activation of ATP and inhibition by CTP. The rate of loss of heterotropic effects is exactly the same for both nucleotides indicating that the two opposite regulatory effects originate at the same location on the enzyme, or are transmitted by the same mechanism between the subunits, or both.     

Evidence for the essential histidine residue at the active site of glucose/xylose isomerase from Streptomyces

Modification of glucose/xylose isomerase from Streptomyces sp. NCIM 2730 by diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC) or its photo-oxidation in presence of rose bengal or methylene blue caused rapid loss in its activity. The inactivation of the enzyme was accompanied by an increase in the absorbance at 240 nm and was reversed by hydroxylamine. Glucose and xylose but not Mg++ and Co++ afforded significant protection to the enzyme from inactivation by DEPC. Inactivation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and modification of a single histidine residue per mole of enzyme was indicated.     

Chemical modification of NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase from Cephalosporium acremonium evidence of essential histidine and lysine groups at the active site.

NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase from Cephalosporium acremonium CW-19 has been inactivated by diethyl pyrocarbonate following a first-order process giving a second-order rate constant of 3.0 m-1. s-1 at pH 6.5 and 25 degrees C. The pH-inactivation rate data indicated the participation of a group with a pK value of 6.9. Quantifying the increase in absorbance at 240 nm showed that six histidine residues per subunit were modified during total inactivation, only one of which was essential for catalysis, and substrate protection analysis would seem to indicate its location at the substrate binding site. The enzyme was not inactivated by 5, 5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate), N-ethylmaleimide or iodoacetate, which would point to the absence of an essential reactive cysteine residue at the active site. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate reversibly inactivated the enzyme at pH 7.7 and 5 degrees C, with enzyme activity declining to an equilibrium value within 15 min. The remaining activity depended on the modifier concentration up to about 2 mm. The kinetic analysis of inactivation and reactivation rate data is consistent with a reversible two-step inactivation mechanism with formation of a noncovalent enzyme-pyridoxal 5'-phosphate complex prior to Schiff base formation with a probable lysyl residue of the enzyme. The analysis of substrate protection shows the essential residue(s) to be at the active site of the enzyme and probably to be involved in catalysis.     

Evidence for an essential histidyl residue at the active site of pyridoxamine (pyridoxine)-5'-phosphate oxidase from rabbit liver.

Pyridoxamine (pyridoxine)-5'-phosphate oxidase (EC 1.4.3.5) from rabbit liver is inactivated by diethylpyrocarbonate in an all-or-none fashion with first order kinetics with respect to modifier concentration. The rate of inactivation increases with pH and reflects a group with a pKa of 7.5. Inactivated enzyme is in the holo form with intact FMN. Four histidyls and a cysteinyl residue are modified by excess reagent. The restoration of enzymatic activity by hydroxylamine, the spectrophotometric and colorimetric amino acid analyses, and our previous studies on cysteine modification (Tsuge, H., and McCormick, D.B. (1979) in Flavins and Flavoproteins (Yamano, T., and Yagi, K., eds) Japan Scientific Societies Press, Tokyo, in press) all suggest that inactivation occurs solely by modification of histidine. Analyses by kinetic and statistical methods indicate that three histidines are modified slowly and are not critical for activity, while one histidine is modified nine times more rapidly and accounts for the observed inactivation. Inactivated enzyme shows no significant perturbations in structure, as evidenced by absorption, CD, fluorescence, and gel filtration, but is unable to bind the product, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Furthermore, the substrate-competitive inhibitor, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate oxime, protects from inactivation. Hence, diethylpyrocarbonate inactivates this enzyme by modifying a crucial histidyl residue at the substrate/product-binding site.     

Horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase. A study of the essential lysine residue.

1. The inactivation of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate in phosphate buffer, pH8, at 10 degrees C was investigated. Activity declines to a minimum value determined by the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentration. The maximum inactivation in a single treatment is 75%. This limit appears to be set by the ratio of the first-order rate constants for interconversion of inactive covalently modified enzyme and a readily dissociable non-covalent enzyme-modifier complex. 2. Reactivation was virtually complete on 150-fold dilution: first-order analysis yielded an estimate of the rate constant (0.164min-1), which was then used in the kinetic analysis of the forward inactivation reaction. This provided estimates for the rate constant for conversion of non-covalent complex into inactive enzyme (0.465 min-1) and the dissociation constant of the non-covalent complex (2.8 mM). From the two first-order constants, the minimum attainable activity in a single cycle of treatment may be calculated as 24.5%, very close to the observed value. 3. Successive cycles of modification followed by reduction with NaBH4 each decreased activity by the same fraction, so that three cycles with 3.6 mM-pyridoxal 5'-phosphate decreased specific activity to about 1% of the original value. The absorption spectrum of the enzyme thus treated indicated incorporation of 2-3 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate per mol of subunit, covalently bonded to lysine residues. 4. NAD+ and NADH protected the enzyme completely against inactivation by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, but ethanol and acetaldehyde were without effect. 5. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate used as an inhibitor in steady-state experiments, rather than as an inactivator, was non-competitive with respect to both NADH and acetaldehyde. 6. The partially modified enzyme (74% inactive) showed unaltered apparent Km values for NAD+ and ethanol, indicating that modified enzyme is completely inactive, and that the residual activity is due to enzyme that has not been covalently modified. 7. Activation by methylation with formaldehyde was confirmed, but this treatment does not prevent subsequent inactivation with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Presumably different lysine residues are involved. 8. It is likely that the essential lysine residue modified by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is involved either in binding the coenzymes or in the catalytic step. 9. Less detailed studies of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase suggest that this enzyme also possesses an essential lysine residue.     

Evidence for an essential lysine in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides.

1. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate inhibits glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides reversibly which Ki equals 0.04-0.06 mM. 2. This inhibition is competitive with respect to glucose 6-phosphate and non-competitive with respect to NADP+ or NAD+. Interaction between enzyme and excess pyridoxal 5'-phosphate follows pseudo-first-order kinetics and indicates that one molecule of inhibitor reacts with each active unit of enzyme. 3. Substrate and coenzyme protect the enzyme from inhibition by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Dissociation constants for NADP+ and glucose 6-phosphate were determined from their effects on the kinetics of enzyme--inhibitor interaction. 4. Reaction of the enzyme with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate produces a typical Schiff-base absorbance peak at 430 nm. Subsequent reduction with sodium borohydride leads to spectral changes characteristic for the formation of a secondary amine. 5. The irreversibly inactivated enzyme thus produced contains two moles of inhibitor per mole of enzyme (two subunits per mole). After protein hydrolysis, N-6-pyridoxyllysine can be identified by paper chromatography. 6. The enzyme is inhibited irreversibly by 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, even in the presence of excess 2-mercaptoethanol. At least one dinitrophenyl group is bound per active unit of enzyme; 4 to 5 moles of dinitrophenyl group are bound per mole of enzyme. NADP+ AND GLUCOSE 6-PHOSPHATE PROTECT AGAINST INHIBITION BY 1-FLUORO-2,4-DINITROBENZENE. The absorption spectrum of dinitrophenyl-enzyme corresponds to that for dinitrophenylated amino groups. 7. These studies indicate that there is an essential lysine at the active site of the enzyme. It is suggested that the function of this lysine is to bind glucose 6-phosphate. 8. It is proposed that a group of "active lysine" proteins may exist (in analogy with the "active serine" enzymes), which share a common structural feature at their substrate-binding site and to which pyridoxal 5'-phosphate binds specifically.     

Acetyl-coenzyme A:alpha-glucosaminide N-acetyltransferase. Evidence for an active site histidine residue

The lysosomal membrane enzyme acetyl-CoA:alpha-glucosaminide N-acetyltransferase catalyzes the transfer of the acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to terminal alpha-linked glucosamine residues of heparan sulfate. The reaction appears to be a transmembrane process: the enzyme is acetylated on the outside of the lysosome, and the acetyl group is transferred across the membrane to the inside of the lysosome where it is used to acetylate glucosamine. To determine the reactive site residues involved in the acetylation reaction, lysosomal membranes were treated with various amino acid modification reagents and assayed for enzyme activity. Although four thiol modification reagents were examined, only one, p-chloromercuribenzoate inactivated the N-acetyltransferase. Thiol modification by p-chloromercuribenzoate did not appear to occur at the active site since inactivation was still observed in the presence of the substrate acetyl-CoA. N-Acetyltransferase could be inactivated by N-bromosuccinimide, even after pretreatment with reagents specific for tyrosine and tryptophan, suggesting that the modified residue is a histidine. Diethyl pyrocarbonate, another histidine modification reagent, could also inactivate the enzyme; this inactivation could be reversed by incubation with hydroxylamine. N-Bromosuccinimide and diethyl pyrocarbonate modifications appear to be at the active site of the enzyme since co-incubation with acetyl-CoA protects the N-acetyltransferase from inactivation. This protection is lost if glucosamine is also present. Pre-acetylated lysosomal membranes are also able to provide protection from N-bromosuccinimide inactivation, providing further evidence for a histidine moiety at the active site and for the existence of an acetyl-enzyme intermediate.     

Identification of the essential histidine residue at the active site of Escherichia coli dehydroquinase.

The shikimate pathway enzyme 3-dehydroquinase is very susceptible to inactivation by the group-specific reagent diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEP). Inactivation follows pseudo first-order kinetics and exhibits a second-order rate constant of 148.5 M-1 min-1. An equilibrium mixture of substrate and product substantially protects against inactivation by DEP, suggesting that residues within the active site are being modified. Complete inactivation of the enzyme correlates with the modification of 6 histidine residues/subunit as determined by difference spectroscopy at 240 nm. Enzymic activity can be restored by hydroxylamine treatment, which is also consistent with the modification occurring at histidine residues. Using the kinetic method of Tsou (Tsou, C.-L. (1962) Sci. Sin. 11, 1535-1558), it was shown that modification of a single histidine residue leads to inactivation. Ligand protection experiments also indicated that 1 histidine residue was protected from DEP modification. pH studies show that the pKa for this inactivation is 6.18, which is identical to the single pKa determined from the pH/log Vmax profile for the enzyme. A single active site peptide was identified by differential peptide mapping in the presence and absence of ligand. This peptide was found to comprise residues 141-158; of the 2 histidines in this peptide (His-143 and His-146), only one, His-143, is conserved among all type I dehydroquinases. We propose that His-143 is the active site histidine responsible for DEP-mediated inactivation of dehydroquinase and is a good candidate for the general base that has been postulated to participate in the mechanism of this enzyme.     

Evidence for a tyrosine residue at the triphosphopyridine nucleotide-binding site of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase

Treatment of the 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase from Candida utilis with tetranitromethane results in the partial inactivation of the enzyme. The nitration of approximately one tyrosine residue per enzyme subunit accounts for the loss of 70% of the enzymatic activity. The reduction of the nitrotyrosyl to aminotyrosyl residue does not induce a recovery of activity.     

Chemical modification of an essential lysine at the active site of enoyl-CoA reductase in fatty acid synthetase

Fatty acid synthetase from goose uropygial gland was inactivated by treatment with pyridoxal 5′-phosphate. Malonyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA did not protect the enzyme whereas NADPH provided about 70% protection against this inactivation. 2′-Monophospho-ADP-ribose was nearly as effective as NADPH while 2′-AMP, 5′-AMP, ADP-ribose, and NADH were ineffective suggesting that pyridoxal 5′-phosphate modified a group that interacts with the 5′-pyrophosphoryl group of NADPH and that the 2′-phosphate is necessary for the binding of the coenzyme to the enzyme. Of the seven component activities catalyzed by fatty acid synthetase only the enoyl-CoA reductase activity was inhibited. Inactivation of both the overall activity and enoyl-CoA reductase of fatty acid synthetase by this compound was reversed by dialysis or dilution but not after reduction with NaBH₄. The modified protein showed a characteristic Schiff base absorption (maximum at 425 nm) that disappeared on reduction with NaBH₄ resulting in a new absorption spectrum with a maximum at 325 nm. After reduction the protein showed a fluorescence spectrum with a maximum at 394 nm. Reduction of pyridoxal phosphate-treated protein with NaB³H₄ resulted in incorporation of ³H into the protein and paper chromatography of the acid hydrolysate of the modified protein showed only one fluorescent spot which was labeled and ninhydrin positive and had an R_f identical to that of authentic N⁶-pyridoxyllysine. When [4-³H]pyridoxal phosphate was used all of the ³H, incorporated into the protein, was found in pyridoxyllysine. All of these results strongly suggest that pyridoxal phosphate inhibited fatty acid synthetase by forming a Schiff base with the ?-amino group of lysine in the enoyl-CoA reductase domain of the enzyme. The number of lysine residues modified was estimated with [4-³H]pyridoxal-5′-phosphate/NaBH₄ and by pyridoxal-5′-phosphate/NaB³H₄. Scatchard analysis showed that modification of two lysine residues per subunit resulted in complete inactivation of the overall activity and enoyl-CoA reductase of fatty acid synthetase. NADPH prevented the inactivation of the enzyme by protecting one of these two lysine residues from modification. The present results are consistent with the hypothesis that each subunit of the enzyme contains an enoyl-CoA reductase domain in which a lysine residue, at or near the active site, interacts with NADPH.     

Further evidence for an essential histidyl residue at the active site of pig liver 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase

Photoxidation with methylene blue and rose bengal and chemical modification by diethylpryrocarbonate of pig liver 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase produced strong inactivation of the enzyme which was concentration dependent. Loss of enzyme activity by both photoxidation and ethoxyformylation was pH and time-dependent and protected by the presence of the substate and competitive inhibitors. The rate of inactivation was directly related to the state of protonation of histidyl groups, the unprotonated from being modified at a much faster rate than the protonated form. Plots of the pseudo-first order rate constants for 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase inactivation against pH resulted in typical titration curves showing inflection points at about pH 6.4 for methylene blue and rose bengal and 6.8 for diethylprocarbonate providing further and unequivocal evidence for the existence of critical histidyl groups at the active centre of the enzyme.