Purification of electron-transferring flavoprotein from Megasphaera elsdenii and binding of additional FAD with an unusual absorption spectrum

Electron-transferring flavoprotein (ETF), its redox partner flavoproteins, i.e., D-lactate dehydrogenase and butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase, and another well-known flavoprotein, flavodoxin, were purified from the same starting cell paste of an anaerobic bacterium, Megasphaera elsdenii. The purified ETF contained one mol FAD/mol ETF as the sole non-protein component and bound almost one mol of additional FAD. This preparation is a better subject for investigations of M. elsdenii ETF than the previously isolated ETF, which contains varying amounts of FAD and varying percentages of modified flavins such as 6-OH-FAD and 8-OH-FAD. The additionally bound FAD shows an anomalous absorption spectrum with strong absorption around 400 nm. This spectral change is not due to a chemical modification of the flavin ring because the flavin released by KBr or guanidine hydrochloride is normal FAD. It is also not due to unknown small molecules because the same spectrum appears when ETF is reconstituted from its guanidine-denatured subunits and FAD. A similar anomalous spectrum was observed for AMP-free pig ETF under acidic conditions, suggesting a common flavin environment between pig and M. elsdenii ETFs.     

Identification of a covalently bound flavoprotein in rat liver mitochondria with sarcosine dehydrogenase.

A covalently bound flavoprotein having highest molecular weight among four covalently bound flavoproteins found in rat liver mitochondria was partially purified and characterized. Its subunit molecular weight was estimated to be 94,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Its absorption maxima were observed at 353 and 460 nm. Since this flavoprotein was reduced by either sarcosine or dimethylglycine and oxidized by phenazine methosulfate, it was identified with sarcosine dehydrogenase.     

Identification and properties of 8-hydroxyflavin--adenine dinucleotide in electron-transferring flavoprotein from Peptostreptococcus elsdenii.

1. A new flavin prosthetic group has been isolated in pure form from the electron-transferring flavoprotein of Peptostreptococcus elsdenni. Its structure has been established as the FAD derivative of 7-methyl-8-hydroxyisoalloxazine: (see article). Proof of this structure has been obtained by chemical syntehsis of 7-methyl-8-hydroxyisoalloxazine models, and by stepwise degradation of the native compound to 7-methy-8-hydroxyalloxazine. The orange chromophore is characterized by a strong absorption band with a maximum at 472 nm (xi = 41 000 M-1 CM-1) and a pK at 4.8 due to the ionisation of the C(8)-OH group. 2. The properties of a series of functionally substituted derivatives of 8-hydroxy flavins and lumichromes have been investigated to provide a basis for interpreting the effects of pH on the spectroscopic properties of the 8-hydroxy derivatives of FAD and FMN. 3. The 8-hydroxy derivative of FAD is bound by apo-D-amino acid oxidase; the complex shows no catalytic activity. The 8-hydroxy derivative of FMN is bound by apoflavodoxin to give a complex which has catalytic activity similar to that of native flavodoxin. The complex is reversibly reduced by dithionite, first to a relatively stable semiquinone and further to the dihydroflavin form.     

Purification and characterization of NADH oxidase from a strain of Leuconostoc mesenteroides

An NADH oxidase was purified to homogeneity from Leuconostoc mesenteroides with a specific activity 100-fold higher than that of the crude extract. The purified NADH oxidase was an acidic protein having an S0 20,W of 5.49S and a molecular weight of 104,000, consisting of a dimer with 53,000 subunit size. The enzyme could use O2, dichlorophenolindophenol and methylene blue as oxidants, but not H2O2, cytochrome c, or ferricyanide. The physiological substrate was beta-NADH (Km = 0.12 mM) with O2 as the oxidant, probably forming H2O, rather than H2O2. Activity toward alpha-NADH was observed (Km = 0.14 mM), but the maximum velocity was 3 orders of magnitude lower than that with beta-NADH. alpha-NADPH and beta-NADPH were inert for the reaction. The enzyme showed a flavoprotein absorption spectrum with maxima at 273, 379, and 450 nm with a shoulder at 465 nm: the absorption at 450-465 nm disappeared on adding excess NADH or hydrosulfite. One mol of the holoenzyme contained approximately 2 mol of FAD. The apoenzyme was obtained by treatment with EDTA-KBr solution and could be reconstituted partially by adding FAD, but not riboflavin or FMN. The maximum activity of the reaction was observed at pH 6.5 in a temperature range of 35-45 degrees C. The activation energy was estimated to be 3.77 kcal/mol. The enzyme was inhibited by SH reagents, quinacrine, quinine, and Cu2+, but not by EDTA. Adenine and its nucleoside 5'-di- and triphosphates showed competitive inhibitions, while various metabolites, such as H2O2, FDP, acetyl phosphate, lactate, ethanol, and acetate, did not affect the reaction.     

Reconstitution of liver monooxygenase system in solution from cytochrome P-450 and NADPH-specific flavoprotein monomers

Microsomal monooxygenase system was reconstituted in the presence of non-ionic detergent Emulgen 913 from cytochrome P-450 and NADPH-specific flavoprotein isolated from phenobarbital-induced rabbit liver microsomes. At Emulgen 913 concentration of 0.05 g/l mixed complex between flavoprotein and cytochrome was formed with 5: 5 protein molar ratio and molecular weight of 700 kD. The 2-hour incubation of the enzymes with 0.25 g/l Emulgen 913 at 4 degrees C was accompanied by dissociation of protein oligomers to monomers. The reconstituted systems containing flavoprotein and cytochrome as mixed complexes or monomers were able to catalyze NADPH-dependent cytochrome P-450 reduction and benzphetamine N-demethylation. Taking into consideration the effective concentrations of the enzymes the apparent second order rate constants of these reactions with monomers were 100 times those with complexes.     

Purification and characterization of ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase from the green alga Chlorella fusca

Ferredoxin-NADP⁺ reductase (FNR, EC I.18.1.2) from the green algae Chlorella fusca Shihira et Kraus 211–15, was purified to homogeneity. The molecular mass was 36.8 kDa as determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme exhibits the typical spectrum of a flavoprotein with an absorption maximum at 459 nm and an A_273/459 ratio of 7.2. It contains one mol of FAD per mol of protein and the calculated extinction coefficient is 9.8 m M cm⁻¹. Four different forms of the purified enzyme were detected by isoelectric focusing (pI between 5.4 and 5.9), even when protease inhibitors were used during the first steps of the purification. Kinetic parameters were determined for several FNR-catalyzed reactions. NADP⁺ photoreduction gave comparable rates when either ferredoxin or flavodoxin was used.     

Reduction and catalytic properties of cytochrome P-450 LM2 in reconstituted system containing monomeric carriers

The membrane microsomal monooxygenase system can be reconstituted in solution from NADPH-specific flavoprotein and cytochrome P-450 which exist in the monomeric state in the presence of Emulgen 913 at molar ratio of the proteins and detergent of 1:1:300. Oxidized and dithionite-reduced monomers of cytochrome P-450 were much less thermostable than its initial aggregates, while thermal stability of NADPH-specific flavoprotein did not depend on its aggregation state. Binding spectra of cytochrome P-450 monomers with benzphetamine were atypical and had an absorbance minimum at 422 nm only. The addition of benzphetamine and/or flavoprotein to cytochrome P-450 monomers did not cause the spin equilibrium shift and the low-spin form content was higher than 85% in all cases. Investigation of the dependence of the initial rates of NADPH-dependent cytochrome P-450 reduction and benzphetamine oxidation on the stoichiometry of the flavoprotein and cytochrome P-450 at their constant total concentration showed that the molar ratio of 1:1 was required for maximal activity. Thus this system works in full accordance with the mass action law.     

Characterization of ferredoxin, flavodoxin, and rubredoxin from Clostridium formicoaceticum grown in media with high and low iron contents

Ferredoxin, flavodoxin, and rubredoxin were purified to homogeneity from Clostridium formicoaceticum and characterized. Variation of the iron concentration of the growth medium caused substantial changes in the concentrations of ferredoxin and flavodoxin but not of rubredoxin. The ferredoxin has a molecular weight of 6,000 and is a four iron-four sulfur protein with eight cysteine residues. The spectrum is similar to that of other ferredoxins. The molar extinction coefficients are 22.6 X 10(3) and 17.6 X 10(3) at 280 and 390 nm, respectively. From 100 g wet weight of cells grown with 3.6 microM iron and with 40 microM iron, 5 and 20 mg offerredoxin were isolated, respectively. The molecular weight of rubredoxin is 5,800 and it contains one iron and four cysteines. The UV-visible absorption spectrum is dissimilar to those of other rubredoxins in that the 373 nm absorption peak is quite symmetric, lacking the characteristic 350-nm shoulder found in other rubredoxins. The flavodoxin is a 14,500-molecular-weight protein which contains 1 mol of flavin mononucleotide per mol of protein. It forms a stable, blue semiquinone upon light irradiation in the presence of EDTA or during enzymatic reduction. When cells were grown in low-iron medium, flavodoxin constituted at least 2% of the soluble cell protein; however, it was not detected in extracts of cells grown in high-iron medium. The rubredoxin and ferredoxin expressed during growth in low-iron and high-iron media are identical as judged by iron, inorganic sulfide, and amino acid analysis, as well as light absorption spectroscopy.     

Electron transfer flavoprotein domain II orientation monitored using double electron-electron resonance between an enzymatically reduced, native FAD cofactor, and spin labels

Human electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) is a soluble mitochondrial heterodimeric flavoprotein that links fatty acid β-oxidation to the main respiratory chain. The crystal structure of human ETF bound to medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase indicates that the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) domain (αII) is mobile, which permits more rapid electron transfer with donors and acceptors by providing closer access to the flavin and allows ETF to accept electrons from at least 10 different flavoprotein dehydrogenases. Sequence homology is high and low-angle X-ray scattering is identical for Paracoccus denitrificans (P. denitrificans) and human ETF. To characterize the orientations of the αII domain of P. denitrificans ETF, distances between enzymatically reduced FAD and spin labels in the three structural domains were measured by double electron-electron resonance (DEER) at X- and Q-bands. An FAD to spin label distance of 2.8 ± 0.15 nm for the label in the FAD-containing αII domain (A210C) agreed with estimates from the crystal structure (3.0 nm), molecular dynamics simulations (2.7 nm), and rotamer library analysis (2.8 nm). Distances between the reduced FAD and labels in αI (A43C) were between 4.0 and 4.5 ± 0.35 nm and for βIII (A111C) the distance was 4.3 ± 0.15 nm. These values were intermediate between estimates from the crystal structure of P. denitrificans ETF and a homology model based on substrate-bound human ETF. These distances suggest that the αII domain adopts orientations in solution that are intermediate between those which are observed in the crystal structures of free ETF (closed) and ETF bound to a dehydrogenase (open).     

Properties of immobilized flavodoxin from Peptostreptococcus elsdenii. An affinity ligand for the purification of riboflavin 5'-phosphate (FMN) and its analogues.

The small flavoprotein, flavodoxin, isolated from Peptostreptococcus elsdenii, has been covalently coupled to CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B. The immobilized protein replaces ferredoxin as an electron carrier in hydrogen production from dithionite or pyruvate in the presence of ferredoxin-free extracts of P. elsdenii; compared with soluble flavodoxin, its activities in these systems are 13% and 3.5% respectively. Acid treatment reversibly dissociates FMN from the immobilized protein. The dissociation constant of the complex with FMN, determined by fluorimetric titration, is 1.5 (+/- 0.4) nM, and is therefore very little different from that of soluble flavodoxin. Like soluble apoflavodoxin, the immobilized apoprotein is highly specific for flavins with an N-10 side-chain of 5 carbon atoms and a C-5' phosphate group. Approximately half of the flavin impurity in commercial preparations of FMN (12-15% of the total flavin), and similar impurity in synthetic analogues of FMN, is not separated by conventional purification procedures, but it is readily and conveniently removed by affinity chromatography with apoflavodoxin as the immobilized ligand. The immobilized protein is stable for long periods; its capacity for FMN decreases by only 20% after 15 cycles of flavin dissociation and reassociation during several months.     

A constitutive flavodoxin from a eukaryotic alga

We report the isolation and some properties of a flavodoxin from a eukaryotic organism, the naturally occurring red alga $\text{Chondrus crispus}$. Unlike the situation with most other organisms the flavodoxin, under normal growth conditions, is the predominantly formed low-potential electron carrier, an accompanying ferredoxin occurring in only very small amounts. The flavodoxin is of molecular weight 21000 and one mole of FMN is present per mole of protein. Reduction of the flavoprotein proceeds via a blue flavosemiquinone radical. The flavodoxin is active both in photosynthetic NADP reduction by broken chloroplasts, and in phosphoroclastic cleavage of pyruvate by cell-free extracts of $\text{Clostridium pasteurianum}$.     

Cyanobacterial flavodoxin complements ferredoxin deficiency in knocked-down transgenic tobacco plants

Ferredoxins are the main electron shuttles in chloroplasts, accepting electrons from photosystem I and delivering them to essential oxido-reductive pathways in the stroma. Ferredoxin levels decrease under adverse environmental conditions in both plants and photosynthetic micro-organisms. In cyanobacteria and some algae, this decrease is compensated for by induction of flavodoxin, an isofunctional flavoprotein that can replace ferredoxin in many reactions. Flavodoxin is not present in plants, but tobacco lines expressing a plastid-targeted cyanobacterial flavodoxin developed increased tolerance to environmental stress. Chloroplast-located flavodoxin interacts productively with endogenous ferredoxin-dependent pathways, suggesting that its protective role results from replacement of stress-labile ferredoxin. We tested this hypothesis by using RNA antisense and interference techniques to decrease ferredoxin levels in transgenic tobacco. Ferredoxin-deficient lines showed growth arrest, leaf chlorosis and decreased CO(2) assimilation. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements indicated impaired photochemistry, over-reduction of the photosynthetic electron transport chain and enhanced non-photochemical quenching. Expression of flavodoxin from the nuclear or plastid genome restored growth, pigment contents and photosynthetic capacity, and relieved the electron pressure on the electron transport chain. Tolerance to oxidative stress also recovered. In the absence of flavodoxin, ferredoxin could not be decreased below 45% of physiological content without fatally compromising plant survival, but in its presence, lines with only 12% remaining ferredoxin could grow autotrophically, with almost wild-type phenotypes. The results indicate that the stress tolerance conferred by flavodoxin expression in plants stems largely from functional complementation of endogenous ferredoxin by the cyanobacterial flavoprotein.     

Immunoquantification of flavodoxin and ferredoxin from Scenedesmus vacuolatus (Chlorophyta) as iron-stress molecular markers

Quantification of the iron nutritional status of phytoplankton is of great interest not only for the study of the oceans but also for fresh waters. Flavodoxin is a small flavoprotein proposed as a molecular marker for iron stress, since it is induced as a consequence of iron deprivation, replacing the iron-sulphur protein ferredoxin. Flavodoxin and ferredoxin from Scenedesmus vacuolatus have been immunoquantified in cells grown under different iron nutritional conditions. Flavodoxin and ferredoxin levels correlate with the iron availability, and the calculated flavodoxin index can be used as an iron-stress marker. Other physiological parameters such as copper deficiency, heterotrophic or mixotrophic growth, nitrogen source and salt stress were also tested as potential factors influencing flavodoxin expression. Salt stress and heterotrophic growth conditions alter flavodoxin and ferredoxin expression. Once flavodoxin expression is repressed by iron (and severe deficiency alleviated), S.vacuolatus still increases its ferredoxin from 0·5 to 1·6 mol of ferredoxin per mole of ferredoxin-NADP⁺ reductase, and this ratio can be used for the evaluation of mild deficiency.     

Studies on the incorporation of a covalently bound disubstituted phosphate residue into Azotobacter vinelandii flavodoxin in vivo.

Previous studies have shown the flavodoxin from Azotobacter vinelandii (strain OP, Berkeley) to contain a covalently bound disubstituted phosphate residue [Edmondson & James (1979) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76, 3786-3789]. Phosphorylation of the protein in vivo was investigated by the addition of [32P]phosphate to cells grown under N2-fixing conditions, under conditions of nif-gene repression and under conditions of nif-gene de-repression. Rocket immunoelectrophoresis of cell extracts showed an approx. 5-fold decrease in the concentration of flavodoxin expressed in cells grown in the presence of NH4+ as compared with those grown under N2-fixing conditions. A similar increase in flavodoxin concentration was observed on nif-gene de-repression. Incorporation of [32P]phosphate occurs only into newly synthesized flavodoxin, as observed on SDS/PAGE of immunoprecipitates of cell extracts. Western blots demonstrated no observable precursor forms of flavodoxin. These data provide conclusive evidence for the phosphorylation of Azotobacter strain OP flavodoxin in vivo and suggest that the covalently bound phosphate residue does not exchange with cellular phosphate pools. Thus the role of this phosphodiester cross-link is proposed to be structural rather than regulatory.     

Properties of the complexes of riboflavin 3',5'-bisphosphate and the apoflavodoxins from Megasphaera elsdenii and Desulfovibrio vulgaris

Megasphaera elsdenii and Desulfovibrio vulgaris apoflavodoxins have been reconstituted with riboflavin 3',5'-bisphosphate. Several biochemical and biophysical properties of the complexes have been investigated and the results are compared with the properties of the native proteins. The dissociation constant of the modified complex of M. elsdenii flavodoxin is increased by a factor of about 23 by comparison with that of the native protein. The rate constant for the formation of the complex of M. elsdenii flavodoxin is about 26 times lower than that for the native protein. The redox potential of the transition between the oxidized and semiquinone state is similar to that of the native protein. On the other hand, the redox potential of the semiquinone-hydroquinone transition is about 20 mV more negative than that of the native protein. Absorbance and circular dichroic spectra of the protein-bound artificial prosthetic group and the protein-bound natural prosthetic group are very similar. In both the oxidized and in the fully reduced state only minor differences in interaction between the isoalloxazine ring and the apoprotein for the two flavin derivatives are found by 13C and 15N NMR. 31P-NMR studies show that the 5'-phosphate group of the two flavin derivatives is bound in the same way and that it is dianionic in the complex. In contrast, the 3'-phosphate group in riboflavin 3',5'-bisphosphate is monoanionic or even neutral when bound to the protein. The 3'-phosphate group is also close to or on the surface of the protein. Desulfovibrio vulgaris apoflavodoxin has an affinity for riboflavin 3',5'-bisphosphate which is 10 times higher as compared to Megasphaera elsdenii apoflavodoxin (Ka = 10(8) M-1). Also the association rate constant of Desulfovibrio vulgaris apoprotein and riboflavin 3'5'-bisphosphate is found to be 10 times faster than for the Megasphaera elsdenii flavodoxin reaction. The dissociation behaviour of native Desulfovibrio vulgaris flavodoxin measured under identical conditions as for the riboflavin 3',5'-bisphosphate analog gives a value (Kd approximately equal to 0.2 nM) which is considerably lower than reported earlier [Dubourdieu, M., MacKnight, M. L. & Tollin, G. (1974) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 60, 649-655]. The results are discussed in the light of the existing crystallographic data of flavodoxins and the recently proposed theory on the regulation of the redox potential in flavoproteins [Moonen, C. T. W., Vervoort, J. & Müller, F. (1984) in Flavins and flavoproteins, pp. 493-496, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin].     

Studies on the metabolism of a sulfur-oxidizing bacterium VIII. Purification and characterization of soluble components indispensables for sulfur oxidation by Thiobacillus thiooxidans

The soluble fraction required for the sulfur-oxidizing systemof Thiobacillus thiooxidans was resolved into two componentsthrough ammonium sulfate fractionation, Amberlite CG-50, DEAEcellulose column chromatography and Sephadex gel filtration.Both components (A and B) were indispensable for the sulfur-oxidizingsystem. Component A with a molecular weight of 120,000 is a non-hemeiron protein. The absorption maximum of the oxidized form wasat 410 nm but was shifted to 420 nm by reduction. ComponentB is a new flavoprotein containing non-heme iron. Although thesame absorption change was seen at 410 nm (as with componentA) the shoulder at 485 nm in the oxidized form disappeared uponreduction. The molecular weight of component B was calculatedas 23,000 using the gel nitration method. The sulfur-oxidizing activity of the reconstituted system wasmarkedly inhibited by such metal-chelating agents as EDTA, DDCand o-phenanthroline. Several nucleotides, which are known flavoproteininhibitors, inhibited the sulfur-oxidizing activity. Removalof the Fe in the soluble fraction components by KCN or DDC treatmentdecreased the sulfur-oxidizing activity of the reconstitutedsystem. Based on these evidences we concluded that iron and flavin inthe soluble components may have an important role in the elementalsulfur-oxidizing system of Thiobacillus thiooxidans. (Received May 2, 1975; )     

Azotobacter vinelandii flavodoxin: purification and properties of the recombinant, dephospho form expressed in Escherichia coli

The nifF gene coding for the flavodoxin from the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii (strain OP) was cloned into the plasmid vector pUC7 [Bennett, L. T., Jacobsen, M. R., & Dean, D. R. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263 1364-1369] and the resulting plasmid transformed and expressed in Escherichia coli strain DH5. Recombinant Azotobacter flavodoxin is expressed at levels 5-6-fold higher in E. coli than in comparable yields of Azotobacter cultures grown under nitrogen-fixing conditions. Even higher levels were observed with flavodoxin expressed in E. coli under control of a tac promoter. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy on whole cells and in cell-free extracts showed the flavodoxin to be largely in the semiquinone form. The flavodoxin purified from E. coli exhibited the same molecular weight, isoelectric point, flavin mononucleotide (FMN) content, N-terminal sequence, and carboxyl-terminal amino acids as for the wild-type Azotobacter protein. The recombinant flavodoxin differed from native flavodoxin in that it exhibited an increased antigenicity to flavodoxin antibody and did not contain a covalently bound phosphate. Small differences are also observed in circular dichroism spectral properties in the visible and ultraviolet spectral regions. The recombinant, dephospho flavodoxin exhibits an oxidized/semiquinone potential (pH 8.0) of -224 mV and a semiquinone/hydroquinone couple (pH 8.0) of -458 mV. This latter couple is 50-60 mV higher than that exhibited by the native flavodoxin. Resolution of recombinant dephospho flavodoxin resulted in an apoflavodoxin that was much less stable than that prepared from the native protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A comparative carbon-13, nitrogen-15, and phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance study on the flavodoxins from Clostridium MP, Megasphaera elsdenii, and Azotobacter vinelandii

The flavodoxins from Megasphaera elsdenii, Clostridium MP, and Azotobacter vinelandii were studied by 13C, 15N, and 31P NMR techniques by using various selectivity enriched oxidized riboflavin 5'-phosphate (FMN) derivatives. It is shown that the pi electron distribution in protein-bound flavin differs from that of free flavin and depends also on the apoflavoprotein used. In the oxidized state Clostridium MP and M. elsdenii flavodoxins are very similar with respect to specific hydrogen bond interaction between FMN and the apoprotein and the electronic structure of flavin. A. vinelandii flavodoxin differs from these flavodoxins in both respects, but it also differs from Desulfovibrio vulgaris flavodoxin. The similarities between A. vinelandii and D. vulgaris flavodoxins are greater than the similarities with the other two flavodoxins. The differences in the pi electron distribution in the FMN of reduced flavodoxins from A. vinelandii and D. vulgaris are even greater, but the hydrogen bond patterns between the reduced flavins and the apoflavodoxins are very similar. In the reduced state all flavodoxins studied contain an ionized prosthetic group and the isoalloxazine ring is in a planar conformation. The results are compared with existing three-dimensional data and discussed with respect to the various possible mesomeric structures in protein-bound FMN. The results are also discussed in light of the proposed hypothesis that specific hydrogen bonding to the protein-bound flavin determines the specific biological activity of a particular flavoprotein.     

Flavodoxin from the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7119

Flavodoxin has been isolated and purified from cultures of the cyanobacterium Anabaena cultivated in a low-iron medium. This flavoprotein has a molecular weight of 20,000 and contains 1 molecule of flavin mononucleotide per mol of protein. Various biochemical characteristics are reported including amino-acid composition, isoelectric point and the fluorescence properties of the apoprotein. The extinction coefficients and isosbestic points were determined for the oxidized and semiquinone forms of flavodoxin. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum of the semiquinone exhibited a spectral linewidth of 23 G, which is typical for a neutral flavoprotein semiquinone. Kinetic measurements give a rate constant of 9.6×10⁷ (M^-1 min^-1) for the reduction of flavodoxin in the photosynthetic electron-transport chain by the photosystem I and 6.6×10⁶ for the reaction in which flavodoxin is reduced by ferredoxin-NADP⁺ oxidoreductase. The Michaelis constant for electron donation to nitrogenase by reduced flavodoxin is 8.5 M.Abbreviations FMN flavin mononucleotide - FNR ferredoxin-NADP⁺ oxidoreductase - PSI photosystem I     

Purification and some properties of the 45 kDa diphenylene iodonium-binding flavoprotein of neutrophil NADPH oxidase.

The 45 kDa diphenylene iodonium-binding flavoprotein of the human neutrophil superoxide-generating oxidase has been purified by affinity chromatography. The polypeptide was eluted from Blue Memsep or 2',5'-ADP-agarose columns with either NADP or low concentrations of the specific inhibitor diphenylene iodonium. The purified protein was shown to bind FAD at a ratio of 1.09 mol of FAD/mol of protein. The reconstituted flavoprotein had a fluorescence spectrum similar, but not identical, to that of free FAD. It had an isoelectric point of approx. 4.0. The reconstituted flavoprotein displayed no diaphorase activity towards a range of artificial electron acceptors. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the pure protein inhibited superoxide generation by solubilized oxidase in a dose-dependent manner, and inhibited superoxide generation when incubated with either cytosol or membrane fractions in a reconstituted system. These antibodies precipitated the 45 kDa polypeptide together with a haem-containing 23 kDa protein thought to be the small subunit of cytochrome b-245. Antibodies raised against cytochrome P-450 reductase also precipitated these two polypeptides. These results are consistent with the 45 kDa polypeptide being the flavoprotein of the neutrophil superoxide-generating oxidase.