Human liver acid phosphatases: Purification and properties of a low-molecular-weight isoenzyme

A low-molecular-weight human liver acid phosphatase was purified 2580-fold to homogenity by a procedure involving ammonium sulfate fractionation, acid treatment, and SP-Sephadex ion-exchange chromatography with ion-affinity elution. The purified enzyme contains a single polypeptide chain and has a molecular weight of 14,400 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The amino acid composition of this enzyme (E) is reported. A pH dependence study using p-nitrophenyl phosphate as a substrate (S) revealed the effect of substrate ionization (pK_a 5.2) and the participation of a group in the ES complex having a pK_a value of 7.8. The enzyme is readily inactivated by sulfhydryl reagents such as heavy metal ions. Alkylation of the enzyme with iodoacetic acid and iodoacetamide causes complete inactivation of the enzyme and this inactivation is prevented by the presence of phosphate ion. The enzyme is also inactivated by treatment with diethyl pyrocarbonate; protection against this reagent is afforded by phosphate ion. The substrate specificity of this enzyme is unusual for an acid phosphatase. Of the many alkyl and aryl phosphomonoesters tested, the only possibly physiological substrate hydrolyzed by this enzyme was flavin mononucleotide, which exhibits a V which is 3-fold larger at pH 5.0 and 6-fold larger at pH 7.0 than that for p-nitrophenyl phosphate. However, the enzyme also catalyzes the hydrolysis of acetyl phosphate at pH 5.0 with a velocity eight times larger than that reported for an acyl phosphatase from human erythrocytes.     

The structural basis of anomalous kinetics of rabbit liver aryl sulfatase A

Rabbit liver aryl sulfatase A (aryl sulfate sulfohydrolase, EC 3.1.6.1) is inactivated during the hydrolysis of nitrocatechol sulfate and the rate of formation of turnover-modified aryl sulfatase A depends on the initial velocity of the enzymatic reaction. Organic solvents such as ethanol and dioxane favor the anomalous kinetic behavior. The turnover-modified enzyme can apparently be reactivated by arsenate, phosphate, pyrophosphate, and sulfate in the presence of nitrocatechol sulfate. The apparent dissociation constants of these ions in the reactivation of the enzyme are similar to their K_i values. Sulfite, which is a competitive inhibitor, does not reactivate the turnover-modified enzyme. Thus, all known activators are competitive inhibitors but not all competitive inhibitors are effective as activators. Inactivation of aryl sulfatase A during hydrolysis of ³⁵S-labeled substrate at pH values near the pH optimum (pH 5–6) is accompanied by the incorporation of radioactivity into the protein molecule and the turnover-modified enzyme is thereby covalently labeled. The stoichiometry of the incorporation of radioactivity corresponds to 2 g atom of sulfur per mole of enzyme monomer, or 1 g atom of sulfur per equivalent peptide chain. It is also shown that isolated turnover-modified rabbit liver aryl sulfatase A has lost approximately 76% of its secondary structure as compared to the native enzyme. The specific activity of the inactive enzyme is also decreased by 82%. Turnover-modified rabbit liver aryl sulfatase A is partially reactivated by sulfate ions in the presence of nitrocatechol sulfate. However, circular dichroism measurements and fluorescence spectra of the isolated “reactivated” turnover-modified enzyme indicate only a further loss of secondary structure. The specific activity of this “reactivated” enzyme is in fact decreased. The loss in secondary structure and the enzyme activity of the “reactivated” aryl sulfatase A is prevented in the presence of sulfate ions. Turnover-modified rabbit liver aryl sulfatase A behaves as a very fragile molecule.     

Studies of a reactive histidine of dyphosphopyridine nucleotide-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase from bovine heart.

Diphosphopyridine nucleotide-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase from bovine heart was inactivated at neutral pH by bromoacetate and diethyl pyrocarbonate and by photooxidation in the presence of methylene blue or rose bengal. Inactivation by diethyl pyrocarbonate was reversed by hydroxylamine. Loss of activity by photooxidation at pH 7.07 was accompanied by progressive destruction of histidine with time; loss of 83% of the enzyme activity was accompanied by modification of 1.1 histidyl residues per enzyme subunit. The pH-rate profiles of inactivation by photooxidation and by diethyl pyrocarbonate modification showed an inflection point around pH 6.6, in accord with the pK_a for a histidyl residue of a protein. Partial protection against inactivation by photooxidation or diethyl pyrocarbonate was obtained with substrate (manganous isocitrate or magnesium isocitrate) or ADP; the combination of substrate and ADP was more effective than the components singly. As demonstrated by differential enzyme activity assays between pH 6.4 and pH 7.5 with and without 0.67 mm ADP, modification of the reactive histidyl residue of the enzyme caused a preferential loss of the positive modulation of activity by ADP. The latter was particularly apparent when substrate partially protected the enzyme against inactivation by rose bengal-induced photooxidation.     

Purification and properties of a homogeneous aryl sulfatase A from rabbit liver.

Aryl sulfatase A (aryl sulfate sulfohydrolase EC 3.1.6.1) has been purified > 10,000-fold from rabbit liver; by disc gel electrophoresis the enzyme appears homogeneous. Various properties of the enzyme have been determined and comparisons are made with other aryl sulfatases. Sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis indicates that the enzyme is made up of monomers of molecular weight ～ 70,000. At pH 7.4 the enzyme exists as a dimer whereas a tetrameric form predominates at pH 4.8.The enzyme exhibits the anomalous kinetics often observed with aryl sulfatase A from mammalian tissues (the enzyme is modified to an inactive form while degrading substrate and the inactive form can be reactivated by sulfate ion). The enzyme activity has been studied under a variety of reaction conditions. Two pH optima are observed and neither enzyme concentration or changes in ionic strength appear to have an effect on the relative magnitudes of the optima. Aryl sulfatase A is competitively inhibited by potassium sulfate, potassium phosphate, and sodium sulfite (K_i = 2.9 × 10^?3 M, 3.4 × 10^?5 M, and 1.1 × 10^?6 M, respectively). Kinetic constants for some substituted phenyl sulfate esters have been determined. The variation in V is not consistent with a reaction mechanism involving a rate-limiting breakdown of a common intermediate.The inactive (modified) form of the enzyme has been isolated from reaction mixtures containing aryl sulfatase A and substrate. A procedure is presented for determining the relative amount of modified and native enzyme in these preparations. In the presence of substrate, sulfate displaces the equilibrium between native and modified enzyme in favor of native enzyme. In the absence of substrate neither sulfate or phosphate have an effect on the equilibrium. A study is made of the temperature dependence of the process in which the modified enzyme is converted back to native enzyme. The relatively small entropy of activation for the conversion of the modified to the native form (ΔS3 = ?8 cal/mole deg) does not seem to be consistent with a major modification of protein conformation.     

The monomer -- dimer association of rabbit lver aryl sulfatase A and its relationship to the anomalous kinetics.

The polymerization of aryl sulfatase A (aryl sulfate sulfohydrolase, EC 3.1.6.1) has been studied by frontal gel chromatography on Sephadex G-200 and Bio-Gel A-5m under various conditions of pH, ionic strength, and temperature. The aryl sulfatase A molecule exists as a monomer and as a dimer at pH 7.5 and pH 4.5, respectively. The extent of dissociation is markedly pH-, protein concentration-, and ionic strength-dependent. Only a small effect of temperature was observed. The enthalpy change (ΔH^o) for the dissociation was ?2.5 ± 1 kcal/mol at pH 5.5–5.6, and the entropy change for dissociation of the enzyme dimer to two monomeric units was ?47 cal mol^?1 deg^?1. Sulfate ion has little effect on the extent of dissociation of the enzyme at pH 5.6. The present studies suggest that the dissociation of rabbit liver aryl sulfatase A is regulated by the ionization of amino acid residues whose apparent pK is between pH 5 and 6. The driving force for the association of the subunits of the enzyme is primarily ionic and/or ionic/hydrogen bond formation. The small enthalpy change and the fact that dissociation is strongly favored by an increase in the ionic strength suggest that hydrophobic interactions play only a minor role in stabilizing the dimeric quaternary structure relative to the monomeric state. The monomeric form of the enzyme exhibits the anomalous kinetics often observed with sulfatase A but the dimer does not show anomalous kinetics. Since aryl sulfatase A is probably in the dimeric form in the lysosome, the anomalous kinetics of the enzyme are unlikely to be of physiological importance in the intact lysosome.     

A homogeneous isoenzyme of human liver acid phosphatase.

An isoenzyme of human liver acid phosphatase (orthophosphoric monoester phosphohydrolase (acid optimum), EC 3.1.3.2) has been purified 4560-fold to homogeneity. The purification procedure includes ammonium sulfate fractionation, acid treatment, ion exchange chromatography on O-(carboxymethyl)-cellulose and DEAE-cellulose, Sephacryl S-200 chromatography, and affinity chromatography on Concanavalin A-Sepharose 4B. The homogeneous enzyme is a glycoprotein having 4% carbohydrate by weight in the form of mannose and glucosamine. In polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under varied conditions of pH and cross-linking, the purified enzyme displays a single protein band coincident with activity. The native enzyme has a molecular weight of 93,000 as determined by gel elution chromatography and consists of two equivalent polypeptide chains. The subunit weight is 50,000–52,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. l-(+)-Tartrate is a strong competitive inhibitor of the enzyme; K_i is 4.3 × 10^?7m at pH 4.8 in 50 mm sodium acetate/100 mm sodium chloride. K_i values for a number of other inhibitors are given. Although it catalyzes the hydrolysis of a variety of phosphomonoesters, this isoenzyme of human liver acid phosphatase does not hydrolyze adenosine 5′-diphosphate, adenosine 5′-triphosphate, pyrophosphate, or choline phosphate at a detectable rate. The values of V differ with different alcohol or phenol leaving groups. The pH dependence of K_m and V values for the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate have been determined together with the pH dependence of K_i for l-(+)-tartrate. The pH dependence of both K_m and V indicate the effect of substrate ionization (pK ~ 5.2) and the involvement of a group in the EScomplex having a pKa value of approximately 6–7 which is ascribed either to a phosphoryl-enzyme intermediate or to the ionization of substrate in the ES-complex. An irreversible modification of the enzyme and a rapid loss of enzymic activity occurs upon treatment of the enzyme with Woodward's reagent K. The enzyme is protected against inactivation by the presence of competitive inhibitors. These and other data suggest that at least one carboxylic acid group plays an important role in catalysis.     

Covalent modification as the cause of the anomalous kinetics of aryl sulfatase A.

Mammalian aryl sulfatase A enzymes are known to exhibit an anomalous kinetic behavior in which the enzyme becomes inactivated as it catalyzes the hydrolysis of substrate. Part of the activity of this inactive, turnover-modified form of the enzyme can apparently be restored by the simultaneous presence of substrate and sulfate ion. The present experiments, conducted with 2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl [³⁵S]sulfate (nitrocatechol sulfate), establish that the turnover-modified enzyme is covalently labeled. The stoichiometry of the incorporation of radioactivity corresponds to 2 g atom of ³⁵S per mole of enzyme monomer (each monomer of rabbit liver aryl sulfatase consists of two equivalent subunits). It is also shown that isolated, turnover-modified enzyme has lost 80% of its secondary structure when compared to the native enzyme. A commonly used sulfating agent, pyridine-sulfur trioxide complex brings about a similar loss of activity and of secondary structure.     

Subunit affinity chromatography and its application to the isolation of aryl sulfatase A enzymes

The monomeric form of rabbit liver aryl sulfatase A (aryl sulfate sulfohydrolase, EC 3.1.6.1) was covalently coupled to CNBr-activated Sepharose and the catalytic properties of the covalently coupled monomer subunit were examined. The immobilized subunit showed one pH optimum near pH 5.6 which appears to be the characteristic pH optimum of the monomer. The enzyme-Sepharose complex exhibited the characteristic anomalous kinetic behavior at pH 5.5 but there was no turnover-induced inactivation of the immobilized enzyme at pH 4.5. The covalently coupled subunit column was examined for its ability to act as a subunit affinity chromatography medium. It was found that dissolved aryl sulfatase A was removed from solution at pH 4.5 and pH 5.0, I = 0.2, and became associated with the affinity column of Sepharose-aryl sulfatase A. The retained subunit of the enzyme could subsequently be quantitatively eluted with 0.2 m Tris-HCl, pH 7.5. Extraneous protein such as bovine serum albumin did not measureably affect the rate or equilibrium for association of the enzyme to the covalently bound subunit. The extent of binding of the enzyme to the affinity column was found to be strongly dependent on the time of equilibration and on the pH. About 90% of the enzyme was retained after 24 h at pH 5.0, I = 0.2. Under otherwise comparable conditions, use of Sepharose-6MB resulted in slightly faster association than did Sepharose-4B. Under the experimental conditions employed, the total capacity of the affinity column was approx 50% of the total aryl sulfatase A coupled to the Sepharose. The rabbit liver subunit column also permits the purification of several other aryl sulfatase A enzymes. Thus, the subunit affinity column provides a simple, convenient, and rapid procedure for the isolation of most mammalian aryl sulfatase A enzymes as well as for studying inter- and intraspecific subunit association interactions.     

Evidence for an essential histidine in neutral endopeptidase 24.11

Rat kidney neutral endopeptidase 24.11, "enkephalinase", was rapidly inactivated by diethyl pyrocarbonate under mildly acidic conditions. The pH dependence of inactivation revealed the modification of an essential residue with a pKa of 6.1. The reaction of the unprotonated group with diethyl pyrocarbonate exhibited a second-order rate constant of 11.6 M-1 s-1 and was accompanied by an increase in absorbance at 240 nm. Treatment of the inactivated enzyme with 50 mM hydroxylamine completely restored enzyme activity. These findings indicate histidine modification by diethyl pyrocarbonate. Comparison of the rate of inactivation with the increase in absorbance at 240 nm revealed a single histidine residue essential for catalysis. The presence of this histidine at the active site was indicated by (a) the protection of enzyme from inactivation provided by substrate and (b) the protection by the specific inhibitor phosphoramidon of one histidine residue from modification as determined spectrally. The dependence of the kinetic parameter Vmax/Km upon pH revealed two essential residues with pKa values of 5.9 and 7.3. It is proposed that the residue having a kinetic pKa of 5.9 is the histidine modified by diethyl pyrocarbonate and that this residue participates in general acid/base catalysis during substrate hydrolysis by neutral endopeptidase 24.11.     

l-Aspartate Transport into Pea Chloroplasts : Kinetic and Inhibitor Evidence for Multiple Transport Systems

The kinetics of l-aspartate transport into pea chloroplasts was studied in the presence and absence of transport inhibitors to determine whether multiple aspartate carriers exist. Transport was measured by the silicone oil centrifugation technique. Reciprocal plots of concentration-dependent transport rates were biphasic, indicating the presence of two transport components, distinguishable on the basis of their affinity for aspartate. These transport components, called high affinity and low affinity transport could also be distinguished on the basis of their apparent substrate saturability and their sensitivity to media pH. The apparent K_m for high affinity transport was 30 micromolar. The K_m for low affinity transport was not determined. To test whether these transport components could also be distinguished on the basis of inhibitor sensitivity and to assess the value of inhibitors for distinguishing multiple aspartate translocators, a survey of several classes of potential inhibitors was conducted. High affinity aspartate transport was inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate and mersalyl, both sulfhydryl-reactive reagents; diethyl pyrocarbonate, a histidine-reactive reagent; and nigericin and carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, both ionophores. Low affinity aspartate transport was not inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate or nigericin, but preliminary results suggest it was sensitive to diethyl pyrocarbonate. Because the high and low affinity transport components could be distinguished not only by their sensitivity to media pH and substrate saturability, but also by their sensitivity to various inhibitors, we concluded that they may represent different transport systems or carriers.     

Essential arginine residues in human liver arylsulfatase A.

Human liver arylsulfatase A was treated with arginine-specific reagents (diones), resulting in a loss of enzyme activitity with apparent first-order kinetics. Sulfite and borate—competitive inhibitors of the enzyme—provided complete protection from inactivation by phenylglyoxal. Sulfite and substrate each likewise protected against enzyme inactivation by 2,3-butanedione. A plot of pseudo-first-order rate constants of enzyme inactivation versus 2,3-butanedione concentrations suggests that an essential arginine residue is modified with a loss in function of the binding site or of the active site of the protein. Chemical analysis of the butanedione-treated sulfatase indicates that complete enzyme inactivation corresponds to a modification of only about 2 of the 20 arginine residues per enzyme subunit. Taken together, all of the results strongly suggest that arginine residues are essential for the activity of arylsulfatase A. An incidental discovery in this work is that borate ion is a competitive inhibitor of human arylsulfatase A with a K_i of 2.5 × 10^?4 M.     

STEROID SULFATASE IN BRAIN: COMPARISON OF SULFOHYDROLASE ACTIVITIES FOR VARIOUS STEROID SULFATES IN NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL BRAINS, INCLUDING THE VARIOUS FORMS OF METACHROMATIC LEUKODYSTROPHY

Abstract– The enzymatic hydrolysis by brain homogenate of the sulfate esters of estrone, pregnenolone, dehydroepiandrosterone, testosterone, cholesterol and p-nitrophenol was studied. With homogenate of young rat brain, the pH optima of estrone sulfatase ⁴ 4 The term steroid sulfatase is used as a general name for the enzyme(s) which hydrolyzes the sulfate ester of a steroid. Simplified terms, such as estrone sulfatase, instead of the more formal terms, such as estrone sulfate sulfohydrolase, have been used throughout.
and arysulfatase C (p-nitrophenyl sulfate as substrate) were 8.2 and all other steroid sulfatases had pH optima at 6.6. Apparent K_ms for these steroid sulfates were widely different. The highest K_m value was 32.2 μm for estrone sulfate and the lowest was 0.66 μm for testosterone sulfate; the K_m for p-nitrophenyl sulfate was 30 fold higher than for estrone sulfate. Specific activity was also highest with estrone sulfatase and lowest with testosterone sulfatase; specific activity with aryl sulfatase C was over 3 fold higher than with estrone sulfatase. Estrone sulfatase activity was inhibited noncompetitively by sulfate esters of dehydroepiandrosterone, pregnenolone, and cholesterol; on the other hand, other steroid sulfatases were inhibited by these latter three sulfates competitively. Developmental changes of these sulfohydrolase activities in rat brain were almost identical with the exception of testosterone sulfatase activity; the latter sulfatase had a peak activity at 30 days old, while all other sulfatase had a peak at 20 days old. Thermal stability of all these activities was identical. Testosterone sulfatase activity in neurological mouse mutants, jimpy, msd, and quaking mice, was less than one half of littermate controls, while other steroid sulfatase levels in these mutants' brain were normal. All sulfatase activities were diminished in the brain of a metachromatic leukodystrophy patient with multiple sulfatase deficiency. The brains of classical metachromatic leukodystrophy patients contained normal levels of all steroid sulfatases and arylsulfatase C, with the single exception of testosterone sulfatase which level was less than 50% of control.     

Chemical modification of acetylcholinesterase from eel and basal ganglia: effect on the acetylcholinesterase and aryl acylamidase activities

The effect of chemical modification on the acetylcholinesterase and the aryl acylamidase activities of purified acetylcholinesterase from electric eel and basal ganglia was investigated in the presence and absence of acetylcholine, the substrate of acetylcholinesterase, and 1,5-bis[4-(allyldimethylammonium)phenyl]pentan-3-one dibromide (BW284C51), a reversible competitive inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase. Trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid, pyridoxal phosphate, acetic anhydride, diethyl pyrocarbonate, and 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl bromide under specified conditions inactivated both acetylcholinesterase and aryl acylamidase in the absence of acetylcholine and BW284C51. Chemical modifications in the presence of acetylcholine and BW284C51 by all the above except diethyl pyrocarbonate selectively prevented the loss of acetylcholinesterase but not aryl acylamidase activity; modification by diethyl pyrocarbonate in the presence of acetylcholine and BW284C51 prevented the loss of both acetylcholinesterase and aryl acylamidase activities. Treatment with N-acetylimidazole resulted in the inactivation of acetylcholinesterase and the activation of aryl acylamidase. These changes in both the activities could be prevented by acetylcholine and BW284C51. Modification by phenylglyoxal, 2,4-pentanedione, or N-ethylmaleimide did not affect the enzyme activities. Indophenylacetate hydrolase activity followed a pattern similar to that of acetylcholinesterase in all the above modification studies. The results suggested essential lysine, tyrosine, tryptophan, and histidine residues for the active center of acetylcholinesterase and essential lysine, histidine, and tryptophan residues for the active center of aryl acylamidase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The low-molecular-weight acid phosphatase from bovine liver: Isolation,amino acid composition,and chemical modification studies

The smallest of the three molecular weight forms of acid phosphatase from bovine liver was purified to a specific activity of 100 μmol min^?1 mg^?1 (measured at pH 5.5 and 37 °C with p-nitrophenyl phosphate). Using several chromatographie and electrophoretic methods, no evidence of heterogeneity was detected. The enzyme was characterized with respect to its stability as a function of pH, molecular weight, amino acid composition, steady-state kinetic parameters in the pH range 4–7 and inhibition by common acid phosphatase inhibitors at pH 5.5. The amino acid composition differed somewhat from a previous literature report. The enzyme was stoichiometrically inactivated upon incubation with Hg²⁺, Ag⁺, and iodoacetate. Inactivation also occurred upon photoinactivation in the presence of Rose Bengal but no inactivation occurred with diethyl pyrocarbonate. The alkylation of one of five cysteine residues by iodoacetate was shown to cause complete inactivation of the enzyme. This alkylation was prevented by the presence of phosphate ion. A tryptic dipeptide containing this essential cysteine was isolated following inactivation with iodo[2-¹⁴C]acetate.     

Aryl sulfatase of unusual specificity from the liver of marine mollusk Littorina kurila

An aryl sulfatase of unusual specificity has been isolated from the liver of marine mollusk Littorina kurila. It hydrolyzes p-nitrophenyl sulfate, does not affect the natural fucoidan, and catalyzes splitting off the sulfate group in position C4 of xylose residues within the carbohydrate chains of holostane triterpene glycosides from sea cucumbers. The properties of the enzyme were studied at pH 5.4. The protein is homogeneous according to electrophoresis and has M 45 ± 1 kDa. The semiinactivation time of the enzyme at 60°C is 20 min, and its K _m value for the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl sulfate is 8.7 ± 1 mM. It was shown that natural sulfated polyhydroxysteroids inhibit activity of the sulfatase; their I ₅₀ values depend on their structures and are within the range from 10^?3 to 10^?5 M.     

Amino acid residues essential for catalysis by peptidyl dipeptidase-4 from Pseudomonas maltophilia

To assess residues essential for catalysis by prokaryotic peptidyl dipeptidase-4, the enzyme was subjected to chemical modification by a series of reagents. Treatment with either tetranitromethane or N-acetylimidazole abolished catalytic activity. Hydroxylamine reversed inactivation by acetylimidazole only. Thus, an essential tyrosine is indicated. Enzymatic activity also was quenched by either trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid or diethyl pyrocarbonate. Inactivation by these reagents was not reversed by hydroxylamine. These data suggest an essential lysine. The competitive inhibitor Phe-Arg protected partially against inactivation by tetranitromethane, and fully against inactivation by N-acetylimidazole. The substrate Hip-Phe-Arg protected against inactivation by trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid and diethyl pyrocarbonate. Thus, both tyrosine and lysine are located at the catalytic site.     

On the physical properties and mechanism of action of arylsulfate sulfohydrolase II from Aspergillus oryzae.

Sedimentation equilibrium studies on arylsulfate sulfohydrolase II (EC 3.1.6.1) from Aspergillus oryzae under nondissociating conditions have resulted in a revised molecular weight of 94,900 ± 7100. Sedimentation equilibrium and gel electrophoresis data collected in the presence of the dissociating agents, urea and sodium dodecylsulfate demonstrate that the native enzyme is composed of two identical subunits as suggested by previous studies employing an irreversible inhibitor.The pH dependencies of the kinetic parameters V and $\text{V}\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{m}}$ for the enzymic hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl sulfate indicate that two groups of pK_a 4.7 and 6.0 control the activity of the enzyme. The product inorganic sulfate was shown to be a linear competitive inhibitor of the enzyme at pH 4.0, implying that it is a last released product along the reaction pathway. Inhibition by the phenol product was not observed. Enzymic hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl sulfate in ¹⁸O enriched water revealed that one atom of solvent oxygen is incorporated per molecule of inorganic sulfate, which is consistent with a mechanism featuring sulfur-oxygen bond cleavage. Evidence is presented based on stopped-flow kinetics, partitioning experiments in the presence of amine nucleophiles, and ¹⁸O exchange studies that collectively suggest that the breakdown of a covalent sulfuryl enzyme intermediate probably is not the rate-limiting step along the reaction pathway.The substrate specificity of the enzyme was examined by testing a variety of sulfate and phosphate esters as inhibitors of the hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl sulfate. The Cbz-l-Phe-l-Tyrosine-O-sulfate methyl ester serves as a substrate for the enzyme. Apparently substrate activity requires an aromatic sulfate ester whose binding is enhanced by incorporating the aromatic moiety in a hydrophobic matrix.     

Modification of lactate oxidase with diethyl pyrocarbonate. Evidence for an active-site histidine residue

1. Diethyl pyrocarbonate inactivated l-lactate oxidase from Mycobacterium smegmatis. 2. Two histidine residues underwent ethoxycarbonylation when the enzyme was treated with sufficient reagent to abolish more than 90% of the enzyme activity, but analyses of the inactivation showed that the modification of one histidine residue was sufficient to cause the loss of enzyme activity. The rates of enzyme inactivation and histidine modification were the same. 3. Substrate and competitive inhibitors decreased the maximum extent of inactivation to a 50% loss of enzyme activity and modification was decreased from 1.9 to 0.75–1.2 histidine residues modified/molecule of FMN. 4. Treatment of the enzyme with diethyl [¹⁴C]pyrocarbonate (labelled in the carbonyl groups) confirmed that only histidine residues were modified under the conditions used and that deacylation of the ethoxycarbonylhistidine residues by hydroxylamine was concomitant with the removal of the ¹⁴C label and the re-activation of the enzyme. 5. No evidence was found for modification of tryptophan, tyrosine or cysteine residues, and no difference was detected between the conformation and subunit structure of the modified and native enzyme. 6. Modification of the enzyme with diethyl pyrocarbonate did not alter the following properties: the binding of competitive inhibitors, bisulphite and substrate or the chemical reduction of the flavin group to the semiquinone or fully reduced states. The normal reduction of the flavin by lactate was, however, abolished.     

Uricase from soybean root nodules: Purification,properties, and comparison with the enzyme from cowpea

A 45-fold purification of uricase (urate:O₂ oxidoreductase, EC 1.7.3.3) from soybean root nodules by ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration, and affinity chromatography is described. Electrophoresis on nondenaturing gels using an activity stain or on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gels demonstrated that the enzyme obtained was nearly homogeneous. The subunit molecular weight of uricase estimated from SDS gels was 32,000 ± 3000. Gel-filtration studies indicated that the native enzyme is a monomer at pH 7.5 which associates to form a dimer at pH 8.8. Enzyme activity was stabilized by the addition of dithiothreitol. The pH dependence of the enzyme showed an optimum of 9.5. Initial rate kinetics showed K_m values of 10 and 31 μm for uric acid and oxygen, respectively, with an intersecting pattern of substrate dependence. Uricase activity was inhibited strongly by xanthine, which was competitive with respect to uric acid (K_i = 10 μm). No significant inhibition was observed in the presence of a variety of amino acids, ammonium, adenine, or allopurinol, in contrast with results reported for the cowpea enzyme. Gel-filtration chromatography and SDS-gel electrophoresis of uricase purified by the same method from cowpea nodules indicated that the native enzyme exists as a monomer of M_r 50,000 at pH 7.5.     

Chemical modification of the α-amylase ofBacillus caldovelox with diethyl pyrocarbonate: Evidence for an essential histidine at the active site

Summary The -amylase ofBacillus caldovelox is inactivated by diethyl pyrocarbonate at pH 6.6 and 20°C by a monomolecular reaction with a second-order rate constant of 41.7 M^–1·min^–1. The rate of inactivation increases with decreasing pH, suggesting participation of an amino acid residue with a pK a of 6.6. The increase in absorbance at 240 nm, unchanged absorbance at 280 nm and reactivation in the presence of hydroxylamine suggest the participation of a histidine residue. Statistical analyses of inactivation suggest that only one histidine residue is essential for activity. Substrate afforded complete protection against inactivation, indicating the involvement of the histidine residue at the active site of the enzyme.