Completing the uric acid degradation pathway through phylogenetic comparison of whole genomes

Mammals that degrade uric acid are not affected by gout or urate kidney stones. It is not fully understood how they convert uric acid into the much more soluble allantoin. Until recently, it had long been thought that urate oxidase was the only enzyme responsible for this conversion. However, detailed studies of the mechanism and regiochemistry of urate oxidation have called this assumption into question, suggesting the existence of other distinct enzymatic activities. Through phylogenetic genome comparison, we identify here two genes that share with urate oxidase a common history of loss or gain events. We show that the two proteins encoded by mouse genes catalyze two consecutive steps following urate oxidation to 5-hydroxyisourate (HIU): hydrolysis of HIU to give 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline (OHCU) and decarboxylation of OHCU to give S-(+)-allantoin. Urate oxidation produces racemic allantoin on a time scale of hours, whereas the full enzymatic complement produces dextrorotatory allantoin on a time scale of seconds. The use of these enzymes in association with urate oxidase could improve the therapy of hyperuricemia.     

Structural and Mechanistic Studies on Klebsiella pneumoniae 2-Oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline Decarboxylase

The stereospecific oxidative degradation of uric acid to (S)-allantoin was recently shown to proceed via three enzymatic steps. The final conversion is a decarboxylation of the unstable intermediate 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline (OHCU) and is catalyzed by OHCU decarboxylase. Here we present the structures of Klebsiella pneumoniae OHCU decarboxylase in unliganded form and with bound allantoin. These structures provide evidence that ligand binding organizes the active site residues for catalysis. Modeling of the substrate and intermediates provides additional support for this hypothesis. In addition we characterize the steady state kinetics of this enzyme and report the first OHCU decarboxylase inhibitor, allopurinol, a structural isomer of hypoxanthine. This molecule is a competitive inhibitor of K. pneumoniae OHCU decarboxylase with a K_i of 30 ± 2 μm. Circular dichroism measurements confirm structural observations that this inhibitor disrupts the necessary organization of the active site. Our structural and biochemical studies also provide further insights into the mechanism of catalysis of OHCU decarboxylation.     

Characterization of the structure and function of Klebsiella pneumoniae allantoin racemase

The oxidative catabolism of uric acid produces 5-hydroxyisourate (HIU), which is further degraded to (S)-allantoin by two enzymes, HIU hydrolase and 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline decarboxylase. The intermediates of the latter two reactions, HIU and 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline, are unstable in solution and decay nonstereospecifically to allantoin. In addition, nonenzymatic racemization of allantoin has been shown to occur at physiological pH. Since the further breakdown of allantoin is catalyzed by allantoinase, an enzyme that is specific for (S)-allantoin, an allantoin racemase is necessary for complete and efficient catabolism of uric acid. In this work, we characterize the structure and activity of allantoin racemase from Klebsiella pneumoniae (KpHpxA). In addition to an unliganded structure solved using selenomethionyl single-wavelength anomalous dispersion, structures of C79S/C184S KpHpxA in complex with allantoin and with 5-acetylhydantoin are presented. These structures reveal several important features of the active site including an oxyanion hole and a polar binding pocket that interacts with the ureido tail of allantoin and serves to control the orientation of the hydantoin ring. The ability of KpHpxA to interconvert the (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of allantoin is demonstrated, and analysis of the steady-state kinetics of KpHpxA yielded a k_cat/K_m of 6.0 × 10⁵ M^− 1 s^− 1. Mutation of either of the active-site cysteines, Cys79 or Cys184, to serine inactivates this enzyme. The data presented provide new insights into the activity and substrate specificity of this enzyme and enable us to propose a mechanism for catalysis that is consistent with the two-base mechanism observed in other members of the aspartate/glutamate family.     

Structural and functional basis for (S)-allantoin formation in the ureide pathway

The ureide pathway, which mediates the oxidative degradation of uric acid to (S)-allantoin, represents the late stage of purine catabolism in most organisms. The details of uric acid metabolism remained elusive until the complete pathway involving three enzymes was recently identified and characterized. However, the molecular details of the exclusive production of one enantiomer of allantoin in this pathway are still undefined. Here we report the crystal structure of 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline (OHCU) decarboxylase, which catalyzes the last reaction of the pathway, in a complex with the product, (S)-allantoin, at 2.5-A resolution. The homodimeric helical protein represents a novel structural motif and reveals that the active site in each monomer contains no cofactors, distinguishing this enzyme mechanistically from other cofactor-dependent decarboxylases. On the basis of structural analysis, along with site-directed mutagenesis, a mechanism for the enzyme is proposed in which a decarboxylation reaction occurs directly, and the invariant histidine residue in the OHCU decarboxylase family plays an essential role in producing (S)-allantoin through a proton transfer from the hydroxyl group at C4 to C5 at the re-face of OHCU. These results provide molecular details that address a longstanding question of how living organisms selectively produce (S)-allantoin.     

Identification and purification of hydroxyisourate hydrolase, a novel ureide-metabolizing enzyme

We report the identification and purification of a novel enzyme from soybean root nodules that catalyzes the hydrolysis of 5-hydroxyisourate, which is the true product of the urate oxidase reaction. The product of this reaction is 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline, and the new enzyme is designated 5-hydroxyisourate hydrolase. The enzyme was purified from crude extracts of soybean root nodules approximately 100-fold to apparent homogeneity with a final specific activity of 10 micromol/min/mg. The enzyme exhibited a native molecular mass of approximately 68 kDa by gel filtration chromatography and migrated as a single band on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a subunit molecular mass of 68 +/- 2 kDa. The purified enzyme obeyed normal Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and the K(m) for 5-hydroxyisourate was determined to be 15 microM. The amino-terminal end of the purified protein was sequenced, and the resulting sequence was not found in any available data bases, confirming the novelty of the protein. These data suggest the existence of a hitherto unrecognized enzymatic pathway for the formation of allantoin.     

Conserved Alternative Splicing of Arabidopsis Transthyretin-Like Determines Protein Localization and S-Allantoin Synthesis in Peroxisomes

S-allantoin, a major ureide compound, is produced in plant peroxisomes from oxidized purines. Sequence evidence suggested that the Transthyretin-like (TTL) protein, which interacts with brassinosteroid receptors, may act as a bifunctional enzyme in the synthesis of S-allantoin. Here, we show that recombinant TTL from Arabidopsis thaliana catalyzes two enzymatic reactions leading to the stereoselective formation of S-allantoin, hydrolysis of hydroxyisourate through a C-terminal Urah domain, and decarboxylation of 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline through an N-terminal Urad domain. We found that two different mRNAs are produced from the TTL gene through alternative use of two splice acceptor sites. The corresponding proteins differ in the presence (TTL¹⁻) and the absence (TTL²⁻) of a rare internal peroxisomal targeting signal (PTS2). The two proteins have similar catalytic activity in vitro but different in vivo localization: TTL¹⁻ localizes in peroxisomes, whereas TTL²⁻ localizes in the cytosol. Similar splice variants are present in monocots and dicots. TTL originated in green algae through a Urad-Urah fusion, which entrapped an N-terminal PTS2 between the two domains. The presence of this gene in all Viridiplantae indicates that S-allantoin biosynthesis has general significance in plant nitrogen metabolism, while conservation of alternative splicing suggests that this mechanism has general implications in the regulation of the ureide pathway in flowering plants.     

Recapture of [S]-allantoin, the product of the two-step degradation of uric acid, by urate oxidase

Urate oxidase from Aspergillus flavus catalyzes the degradation of uric acid to [S]-allantoin through 5-hydroxyisourate as a metastable intermediate. The second degradation step is thought either catalyzed by another specific enzyme, or spontaneous. The structure of the enzyme was known at high resolution by X-ray diffraction of I222 crystals complexed with a purine-type inhibitor (8-azaxanthin). Analyzing the X-ray structure of urate oxidase treated with an excess of urate, the natural substrate, shows unexpectedly that the active site recaptures [S]-allantoin from the racemic end product of a second degradation step.     

Expression and stereochemical and isotope effect studies of active 4-oxalocrotonate decarboxylase

4-Oxalocrotonate decarboxylase (4-OD) and vinylpyruvate hydratase (VPH) from Pseudomonas putida mt-2 form a complex that converts 2-oxo-3-hexenedioate to 2-oxo-4-hydroxypentanoate in the catechol meta fission pathway. To facilitate mechanistic and structural studies of the complex, the two enzymes have been coexpressed and the complex has been purified to homogeneity. In addition, Glu-106, a potential catalytic residue in VPH, has been changed to glutamine, and the resulting E106QVPH mutant has been coexpressed with 4-OD and purified to homogeneity. The 4-OD/E106QVPH complex retains full decarboxylase activity, with comparable kinetic parameters to those observed for 4-OD in the wild-type complex, but is devoid of any detectable hydratase activity. Decarboxylation of (5S)-2-oxo-3-[5-D]hexenedioate by either the 4-OD/VPH complex or the mutant complex generates 2-hydroxy-2,4E-[5-D]pentadienoate in D(2)O. Ketonization of 2-hydroxy-2,4-pentadienoate by the wild-type complex is highly stereoselective and results in the formation of 2-oxo-(3S)-[3-D]-4-pentenoate, while the mutant complex generates a racemic mixture. These results indicate that 2-hydroxy-2, 4-pentadienoate is the product of 4-OD and that 2-oxo-4-pentenoate results from a VPH-catalyzed process. On this basis, the previously proposed hypothesis for the conversion of 2-oxo-3-hexenedioate to 2-oxo-4-hydroxypentanoate has been revised [Lian, H., and Whitman, C. P. (1994) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 116, 10403-10411]. Finally, the observed (13)C kinetic isotope effect on the decarboxylation of 2-oxo-3-hexenedioate by the 4-OD/VPH complex suggests that the decarboxylation step is nearly rate-limiting. Because the value is not sensitive to either magnesium or manganese, it is likely that the transition state for carbon-carbon bond cleavage is late and that the metal positions the substrate and polarizes the carbonyl group, analogous to its role in oxalacetate decarboxylase.     

Functional characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis thaliana</Emphasis> transthyretin-like protein

Background  

Arabidopsis thaliana transthyretin-like (TTL) protein is a potential substrate in the brassinosteroid signalling cascade, having a role that moderates plant growth. Moreover, sequence homology revealed two sequence domains similar to 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline (OHCU) decarboxylase (N-terminal domain) and 5-hydroxyisourate (5-HIU) hydrolase (C-terminal domain). TTL is a member of the transthyretin-related protein family (TRP), which comprises a number of proteins with sequence homology to transthyretin (TTR) and the characteristic C-terminal sequence motif Tyr-Arg-Gly-Ser. TRPs are single domain proteins that form tetrameric structures with 5-HIU hydrolase activity. Experimental evidence is fundamental for knowing if TTL is a tetrameric protein, formed by the association of the 5-HIU hydrolase domains and, in this case, if the structural arrangement allows for OHCU decarboxylase activity. This work reports about the biochemical and functional characterization of TTL.     

Mechanism of uricase action.

Uricase (urate:oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.7.3.3) exposes a positional and steric specificity in the enzymic conversion of urate to allantoin. C-2 of urate was recovered as C-2 of allantoin. By the consecutive oxidation and hydrolysis reactions a levorotatory intermediate was formed, presumably (-)-2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carbohydroxy-5-ureido-imidazoline. The absorption and optical rotation dispersion spectra of the intermediate were established. In the presence of borate buffer, the intermediate was transformed to (+)-alloxanate. The decay of the former compound depends on general base and acid catalysis. RS-(+/-)-allantoin was formed by chemical decarboxylation and S-(+)-allantoin by enzymic decarboxylation.     

Arabidopsis thaliana flavoprotein AtHAL3a catalyzes the decarboxylation of 4'-Phosphopantothenoylcysteine to 4'-phosphopantetheine, a key step in coenzyme A biosynthesis

The Arabidopsis thaliana flavoprotein AtHAL3a is related to plant growth and salt and osmotic tolerance. AtHAL3a shows sequence homology to the bacterial flavoproteins EpiD and Dfp. EpiD, Dfp, and AtHAL3a are members of the homo-oligomeric flavin-containing Cys decarboxylase (HFCD) protein family. We demonstrate that AtHAL3a catalyzes the decarboxylation of (R)-4'-phospho-N-pantothenoylcysteine to 4'-phosphopantetheine. This key step in coenzyme A biosynthesis is catalyzed in bacteria by the Dfp proteins. Exchange of His-90 of AtHAL3a for Asn led to complete inactivation of the enzyme. Dfp and AtHAL3a are characterized by a shortened substrate binding clamp compared with EpiD. Exchange of the cysteine residue of the conserved ACGD motif of this binding clamp resulted in loss of (R)-4'-phospho-N-pantothenoylcysteine decarboxylase activity. Based on the crystal structures of EpiD H67N with bound substrate peptide and of AtHAL3a, we present a model for the binding of (R)-4'-phospho-N-pantothenoylcysteine to AtHAL3a.     

A catalytic mechanism revealed by the crystal structures of the imidazolonepropionase from Bacillus subtilis

Imidazolonepropionase (EC 3.5.2.7) catalyzes the third step in the universal histidine degradation pathway, hydrolyzing the carbon-nitrogen bonds in 4-imidazolone-5-propionic acid to yield N-formimino-l-glutamic acid. Here we report the crystal structures of the Bacillus subtilis imidazolonepropionase and its complex at 2.0-A resolution with substrate analog imidazole-4-acetic acid sodium (I4AA). The structure of the native enzyme contains two domains, a TIM (triose-phosphate isomerase) barrel domain with two insertions and a small beta-sandwich domain. The TIM barrel domain is quite similar to the members of the alpha/beta barrel metallo-dependent hydrolase superfamily, especially to Escherichia coli cytosine deaminase. A metal ion was found in the central cavity of the TIM barrel and was tightly coordinated to residues His-80, His-82, His-249, Asp-324, and a water molecule. X-ray fluorescence scan analysis confirmed that the bound metal ion was a zinc ion. An acetate ion, 6 A away from the zinc ion, was also found in the potential active site. In the complex structure with I4AA, a substrate analog, I4AA replaced the acetate ion and contacted with Arg-89, Try-102, Tyr-152, His-185, and Glu-252, further defining and confirming the active site. The detailed structural studies allowed us to propose a zinc-activated nucleophilic attack mechanism for the hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by the enzyme.     

Delineation of the caffeine C-8 oxidation pathway in Pseudomonas sp. strain CBB1 via characterization of a new trimethyluric acid monooxygenase and genes involved in trimethyluric acid metabolism

The molecular basis of the ability of bacteria to live on caffeine via the C-8 oxidation pathway is unknown. The first step of this pathway, caffeine to trimethyluric acid (TMU), has been attributed to poorly characterized caffeine oxidases and a novel quinone-dependent caffeine dehydrogenase. Here, we report the detailed characterization of the second enzyme, a novel NADH-dependent trimethyluric acid monooxygenase (TmuM), a flavoprotein that catalyzes the conversion of TMU to 1,3,7-trimethyl-5-hydroxyisourate (TM-HIU). This product spontaneously decomposes to racemic 3,6,8-trimethylallantoin (TMA). TmuM prefers trimethyluric acids and, to a lesser extent, dimethyluric acids as substrates, but it exhibits no activity on uric acid. Homology models of TmuM against uric acid oxidase HpxO (which catalyzes uric acid to 5-hydroxyisourate) reveal a much bigger and hydrophobic cavity to accommodate the larger substrates. Genes involved in the caffeine C-8 oxidation pathway are located in a 25.2-kb genomic DNA fragment of CBB1, including cdhABC (coding for caffeine dehydrogenase) and tmuM (coding for TmuM). Comparison of this gene cluster to the uric acid-metabolizing gene cluster and pathway of Klebsiella pneumoniae revealed two major open reading frames coding for the conversion of TM-HIU to S-(+)-trimethylallantoin [S-(+)-TMA]. The first one, designated tmuH, codes for a putative TM-HIU hydrolase, which catalyzes the conversion of TM-HIU to 3,6,8-trimethyl-2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline (TM-OHCU). The second one, designated tmuD, codes for a putative TM-OHCU decarboxylase which catalyzes the conversion of TM-OHCU to S-(+)-TMA. Based on a combination of enzymology and gene-analysis, a new degradative pathway for caffeine has been proposed via TMU, TM-HIU, TM-OHCU to S-(+)-TMA.     

Crystal structure and mutational analysis of heparan sulfate 3-O-sulfotransferase isoform 1

Heparan sulfate interacts with antithrombin, a protease inhibitor, to regulate blood coagulation. Heparan sulfate 3-O-sulfotransferase isoform 1 performs the crucial last step modification in the biosynthesis of anticoagulant heparan sulfate. This enzyme transfers the sulfuryl group (SO(3)) from 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate to the 3-OH position of a glucosamine residue to form the 3-O-sulfo glucosamine, a structural motif critical for binding of heparan sulfate to antithrombin. In this study, we report the crystal structure of 3-O-sulfotransferase isoform 1 at 2.5-A resolution in a binary complex with 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphate. This structure reveals residues critical for 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate binding and suggests residues required for the binding of heparan sulfate. In addition, site-directed mutagenesis analyses suggest that residues Arg-67, Lys-68, Arg-72, Glu-90, His-92, Asp-95, Lys-123, and Arg-276 are essential for enzymatic activity. Among these essential amino acid residues, we find that residues Arg-67, Arg-72, His-92, and Asp-95 are conserved in heparan sulfate 3-O-sulfotransferases but not in heparan N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase, suggesting a role for these residues in conferring substrate specificity. Results from this study provide information essential for understanding the biosynthesis of anticoagulant heparan sulfate and the general mechanism of action of heparan sulfate sulfotransferases.     

Activation of Pseudomonas ochraceae 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoglutarate aldolase by inorganic phosphate

Pseudomonas ochraceae 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoglutarate aldolase [4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoglutarate pyruvate-lyase: EC 4.1.3.17], one of the metal ion-requiring aldolases, is markedly activated by Pi. The activation is reversible and can be observed in every step of enzyme purification. The extent of activation is almost independent of the metal ion used, but varies with each substrate. The cleavage of l-4-carboxy-4-hydroxy-2-oxoadipate, a physiological substrate of the enzyme, is most strongly activated: Pi gives a hyperbolic activation curve with an activation constant of 0.36 mM and a maximum activation of about 65-fold. Arsenate, phosphorous acid, bicarbonate, acetyl phosphate, thiamine diphosphate, ADP, PPi, and ATP are also effective to various extents. These anions appear to be effective in the free form but not in the metal ion-complex. Many organic and inorganic anions are ineffective. Pi causes parallel increases in Vmax and in Km for substrate or metal ion with a concomitant shift of the optimum pH toward the alkaline side, and the enhancement of activity is closely correlated with the shift of optimum pH. Pi induces no gross change of molecular form of the enzyme protein as evaluated from gel filtration, PAGE, UV, fluorescence, and CD spectral data. Based on these findings, the mechanism and the physiological meaning of the observed activation are discussed.     

Purification and properties of 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoglutarate aldolase from Pseudomonas ochraceae grown on phthalate

4-Hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoglutarate aldolase [4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoglutarate pyruvate-lyase: EC 4.1.3.17] has been purified to homogeneity (about 770-fold purification, yield 11.4%) from Pseudomonas ochraceae grown on phthalate. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 160,000 (gel filtration on Bio-Gel A-1.5m), a subunit molecular weight of 26,000 (SDS-PAGE) and an isoelectric point of 5.0 (isoelectric focusing). The enzyme requires divalent metal ions such as Mg2+, Mn2+, Co2+, Zn2+, and Cd2+ for activity. The enzyme actively cleaves 4-carboxy-4-hydroxy-2-oxoadipate, a physiological substrate of the enzyme, to give pyruvate and oxaloacetate, but shows much lower affinity for 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoglutarate. 4-Hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate is cleaved at a low rate to pyruvate and glyoxylate. The l-isomers of the substrates are preferentially cleaved rather than the d-isomers as determined polarimetrically. The enzyme reactions are reversible: the equilibrium constants (pH 8.0, 25 C) for the HMG and HG cleavage reactions are about 0.07 and 0.03 M, respectively, whereas no equilibrium is observed with CHA due to oxaloacetate beta-decarboxylase activity associated with the enzyme. The enzyme activity is hardly affected by thiols and thiol reagents. The non-enzymatic cleavage reaction caused by various metal ions has also been studied to examine the mechanistic similarity to the enzymatic reaction.     

4-Oxalocrotonate tautomerase, its homologue YwhB, and active vinylpyruvate hydratase: synthesis and evaluation of 2-fluoro substrate analogues

A series of 2-fluoro-4-alkene and 2-fluoro-4-alkyne substrate analogues were synthesized and examined as potential inhibitors of three enzymes: 4-oxalocrotonate tautomerase (4-OT) and vinylpyruvate hydratase (VPH) from the catechol meta-fission pathway and a closely related 4-OT homologue found in Bacillus subtilis designated YwhB. All of the compounds were potent competitive inhibitors of 4-OT with the monocarboxylated 2E-fluoro-2,4-pentadienoate and the dicarboxylated 2E-fluoro-2-en-4-ynoate being the most potent. Despite the close mechanistic and structural similarities between 4-OT and YwhB, these compounds were significantly less potent inhibitors of YwhB with K(i) values ranging from 5- to 633-fold lower than those determined for 4-OT. The study of VPH is complicated by the fact that the enzyme is only active as a complex with the metal-dependent 4-oxalocrotonate decarboxylase (4-OD), the enzyme following 4-OT in the catechol meta-fission pathway. A structure-based sequence analysis identified 4-OD as a member of the fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) superfamily and implicated Glu-109 and Glu-111 as potential metal-binding ligands. Changing these residues to a glutamine verified their importance for enzymatic activity and enabled the production of soluble E109Q4-OD/VPH or E111Q4-OD/VPH complexes, which retained full hydratase activity but had little decarboxylase activity. Subsequent incubation of the E109Q4-OD/VPH complex with the substrate analogues identified the 2E and 2Z isomers of the monocarboxylated 2-fluoropent-2-en-4-ynoate as competitive inhibitors. The combined results set the stage for crystallographic studies of 4-OT, YwhB, and VPH using these inhibitors as ligands.     

Mechanistic characterization of N-formimino-L-glutamate iminohydrolase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

N-Formimino-l-glutamate iminohydrolase (HutF) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa catalyzes the deimination of N-formimino-l-glutamate in the histidine degradation pathway. An amino acid sequence alignment between HutF and members of the amidohydrolase superfamily containing mononuclear metal centers indicated that residues Glu-235, His-269, and Asp-320 are involved in substrate binding and activation of the nucleophilic water molecule. The purified enzyme contained up to one equivalent of zinc. The metal was removed by dialysis against the metal chelator dipicolinate with the complete loss of catalytic activity. Enzymatic activity was restored by incubation of the apoprotein with Zn2+, Cd2+, Ni2+, or Cu2+. The mutation of Glu-235, His-269, or Asp-320 resulted in the diminution of catalytic activity by two to six orders of magnitude. Bell-shaped profiles were observed for kcat and kcat/Km as a function of pH. The pKa of the group that must be unprotonated for catalytic activity was consistent with the ionization of His-269. This residue is proposed to function as a general base in the abstraction of a proton from the metal-bound water molecule. In the proposed catalytic mechanism, the reaction is initiated by the abstraction of a proton from the metal-bound water molecule by the side chain imidazole of His-269 to generate a tetrahedral intermediate of the substrate. The collapse of the tetrahedral intermediate commences with the abstraction of a second proton via the side chain carboxylate of Asp-320. The C-N bond of the substrate is subsequently cleaved with proton transfer from His-269 to form ammonia and the N-formyl product. The postulated role of the invariant Glu-235 is to ion pair with the positively charged formimino group of the substrate.     

微生物来源的尿酸氧化酶的研究进展及应用前景

尿酸氧化酶是一种重要的医药用酶,它催化嘌呤代谢途径中的尿酸氧化生成尿囊素和过氧化氢,因而被广泛用于治疗痛风,检测血液尿酸浓度,预防和治疗由于肿瘤化学治疗引起的高尿酸血症。综述了尿酸氧化酶的来源、酶学性质、基因克隆与表达及其用途,并对其在应用中存在的问题和前景作了展望。     

假单胞菌ZWL73降解4-氯硝基苯的代谢途径研究

氯代硝基芳香烃是一类环境中难以降解的有毒污染物.一株高效分解4-氯硝基苯的假单胞菌分离于4-氯硝基苯污染土壤,可以完全降解4-氯硝基苯,并以之为C源、N源生长.为阐明其降解4-氯硝基苯的代谢途径,通过对以底物生长的降解茵的酶学分析,检测到其还原降解的两个关键酶即初始酶硝基还原酶和苯环开环酶2-氨基-5-氯酚1,6-双加氧酶的活性:结合其它检测如培养液中降解产物分析、相关底物生长实验结果,确定了其降解途径是通过部分还原途径.