The solvent effects on the kinetics of bacterial formate dehydrogenase reaction

The increase in concentration of organic cosolvents results in a 2-2.5-fold increase of the maximal reaction rate and a decrease of Michaelis constant for formate of NAD(+)-dependent formate dehydrogenase from methylotrophic bacteria Pseudomonas sp. 101. These parameters, however, are not affected with the increase of ionic strength. For the logarithm of both Vmax and Km a linear function of the reciprocal of solvent dielectric permittivity was found. The decrease of Km is possibly due to the dielectric screening effect on the substrate binding energy. The increase in Vmax is explained by a model based on a solvent-dependent electrostatic image force, acting on the charges moved in the course of the catalytic step of the enzyme reaction.     

The determination of specificity constants in enzyme-catalysed reactions.

A convenient and accurate procedure for determining the kinetic parameter Vmax./Km is described. This avoids the error in the usual method of taking the observed first-order rate constant of an enzymic reaction at low substrate concentration as Vmax./Km. A series of reactions is used in which the initial concentration of substrate is below Km (e.g. from 5% to 50% of Km). Measurements are taken over the same extent of reaction (e.g. 70%) for each member of the series, and treated as if the kinetics were truly first-order. The reciprocal of the observed first-order rate constant is then plotted against the initial concentration of substrate: the reciprocal of the ordinate intercept is Vmax./Km. The procedure, as well as being applicable to simple reactions, is shown to be valid when there is competitive inhibition by the product, or when the reaction is reversible, or when there is competitive or mixed inhibition. The hydrolysis of cephalosporin C by a beta-lactamase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa is used to illustrate the method.     

Preparation and characterization of kappa-carrageenan immobilized urease

Urease was encapsulated within kappa-carrageenan beads. Various parameters, such as amount of kappa-carrageenan and enzyme activity, were optimized for the immobilization of urease. Immobilized urease was thoroughly characterized for pH, temperature, and storage stabilities and these properties were compared with the free enzyme. The free urease activity quickly decreased and the half time of the activity decay was about 3 days at 4 degrees C. The immobilized urease remained very active over a long period of time and this enzyme lost about 70.43% of its orginal activity over the period of 26 days for storage at 4 degrees C. The Michaelis constant (Km) and maximum reaction velocity (Vmax) were calculated from Lineweaver-Burk plots for both free and immobilized enzyme systems. Vmax = 227.3 U/mg protein, Km = 65.6 mM for free urease and Vmax = 153.9 U/mg protein, Km = 96.42 mM for immobilized urease showed a moderate decrease of enzyme specific activity and change of substrate affinity.     

Phosphorylation reaction of vertebrate smooth muscle myosin: an enzyme kinetic analysis

Phosphorylation of vertebrate smooth muscle myosin or its isolated 20 000-dalton light chains by myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) was found to follow first-order kinetics not only at low ([M] much less than Km) but also at high ([M] greater than or equal to Km) substrate concentration. This observation can most simply be explained by a product inhibition for which the Michaelis constants (Km) of the enzyme for the substrate (dephosphorylated myosin) and for the product (phosphorylated myosin) are approximately the same. For such a case, integration of the kinetic velocity equation gives an exponential formula similar to that of a true first-order reaction, the only difference being that its rate constant (k) depends additionally on the initial substrate concentration ([M]0). The standard kinetic constants (k, Km, Vmax) have been calculated by using this pseudo-first-order relationship. Independent evidence for the validity of the derived kinetic relationship was obtained from binding studies with myosin and MLCK. These showed that MLCK binds to phosphorylated and dephosphorylated myosin with approximately equal affinity (Ks = 30 X 10(-9) M). The possible applicability of the same kinetic relationship to other enzyme systems is discussed.     

The apparent Km is a misleading kinetic indicator.

When information concerning whether or not a ligand interacts with the same enzyme species as do the substrates, the variation of the Michaelis constant Km (for each substrate) with ligand concentration is sometimes used as a diagnostic. It is shown that the Michaelis constant is of no particular value in this respect and may be misleading. Thus, depending on the mechanism, Km may vary with ligand concentration even though the ligand interacts with species far removed in the mechanism from the substrate-binding steps, and it may stay constant in cases where the ligand competes directly for the free enzyme. In contrast, the slope of a double-reciprocal plot of the kinetic data (= Km/Vmax.) (or, equivalently, the ordinate intercept of a Hanes plot A/v versus A, where A is the substrate concentration) independently of the particular mechanism involved uniquely signifies whether or not such interaction occurs. The results clearly indicate that, for purposes other than communicating the substrate concentration yielding control of the enzymic activity, usage of Km and its variation with ligand concentration should be avoided and interest instead focused on the slope, in accordance with the long-established rules of Cleland [Biochim. Biophys. Acta (1963) 67, 188-196], for which the present analysis provides the formal framework.     

Interaction of 5-oxo-L-prolinase with nucleoside triphosphates. Evidence suggesting substrate-dependent conformational change

5-Oxoprolinase catalyzes the coupled hydrolysis of ATP and 5-oxoproline to yield glutamate, ADP, and Pi; the reaction may be partially or completely uncoupled by structural modification of either substrate. In the present work, we found slow 5-oxoproline-dependent changes in the rates of hydrolysis of ITP, GTP, and UTP. For example, in the absence of 5-oxoproline, the enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of UTP at a rapid and constant rate. Following addition of 5-oxo-L-proline, the rate of hydrolysis decreases slowly; after about 25 min, a much slower and constant rate of hydrolysis is attained. This change in rate is associated with a decrease in Vmax and an increase in the Km for UTP. In similar studies with ATP, both Vmax and Km increase over a much shorter time period (less than 10 s). The findings indicate that 5-oxoprolinase is a hysteretic enzyme, and are consistent with the hypothesis that in the normal catalytic reaction, the binding of both ATP and 5-oxo-proline to the enzyme induces a conformational change that brings the substrates into a juxtaposition that facilitates the reaction.     

Determination of Michaelis-Menten parameters from initial velocity measurements using unstable substrate

By initial velocity measurements and two different methods of plotting the experimental data, the Km and Vmax of enzyme action and the first-order rate constant of substrate decomposition can be determined simultaneously under the same conditions. This method permits the determination of Km and Vmax even if the presence of the enzyme (or any impurity in the solutions used) influences the rate of substrate decomposition. The theoretical treatment was proved by determining the Michaelis-Menten parameters of D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and the first-order rate constant of hydrolysis of the unstable substrate, bisphosphoglycerate.     

Purification and characterization of a phytase from Pseudomonas syringae MOK1

A phytase (EC 3.1.3.8) from Pseudomonas syringae MOK1 was purified to apparent homogeneity in two steps employing cation and an anion exchange chromatography. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 45 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis. The optimal activity occurred at pH 5.5 and 40 degrees C. The Michaelis constant (Km) and maximum reaction rate (Vmax) for sodium phytate were 0.38 mM and 769 U/mg of protein, respectively. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by Cu2+, Cd2+, Mn2+, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). It showed a high substrate specificity for sodium phytate with little or no activity on other phosphate conjugates. The enzyme efficiently released orthophosphate from wheat bran and soybean meal.     

Kinetic analysis of the dual phospholipid model for phospholipase A2 action

A kinetic scheme is proposed for the action of cobra venom phospholipase A2 on mixed micelles of phospholipid and the nonionic detergent Triton X-100, based on the "dual phospholipid model." (formula; see text) The water-soluble enzyme binds initially to a phospholipid molecule in the micelle interface. This is followed by binding to additional phospholipid in the interface and then catalytic hydrolysis. A kinetic equation was derived for this process and tested under three experimental conditions: (i) the mole fraction of substrate held constant and the bulk substrate concentration varied; (ii) the bulk substrate concentration held constant and the Triton X-100 concentration varied (surface concentration of substrate varied); and (iii) the Triton X-100 concentration held constant and the bulk substrate concentration varied. The substrates used were chiral dithiol ester analogs of phosphatidylcholine (thio-PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (thio-PE), and the reactions were followed by reaction of the liberated thiol with a colorimetric thiol reagent. The initial binding (Ks = k1/k-1) was apparently similar for thio-PC and thio-PE (between 0.1 and 0.2 mM) as were the apparent Michaelis constants (Km = (k-2 + k3)/k2) (about 0.1 mol fraction). The Vmax values for thio-PC and thio-PE were 440 and 89 mumol min-1 mg-1, respectively. The preference of cobra venom phospholipase A2 for PC over PE in Triton X-100 mixed micelles appears to be an effect on k3 (catalytic rate) rather than an effect on the apparent binding of phospholipid in either step of the reaction.     

On true and apparent Michaelis constants in enzymology. I. Differences

Differences between both true and apparent rate constants and Michaelis constants have been examined. Rate constants of elementary stages of real mechanisms are true ones. True Michaelis constant Km is expressed by equation Km = (k(-1) + k2)/k. True constants may be determined for reliable mechanism only for which the equation of initial rate was obtained which displays physical sense of these constants and permits to find the method of their calculation. The true constant values are independent of concentration of reactants, activators, inhibitors, extraneous agents and pH. The apparent rate constants are such constants of the composite reaction which are observed when this reaction is described by the equation of simple reaction. Michaelis constant calculated by a half of the ultimate constant is an apparent constant. The apparent constants may be functions of several true rate constants and/or concentrations of reacting substances. The evident physical sense of apparent constants being absent, only formal relation between the reaction rate and reactant concentration independent of the investigated mechanism is provided.     

Analysis of negative cooperativity for glutamate dehydrogenase

The empirical equation, which describes negative cooperativity in the enzyme kinetics, has been proposed. The equation is obtained from the Michaelis-Menten equation where the Michaelis constant is replaced by the effective Michaelis constant, which is a linear function of the v/Vmax ratio (v is the rate of the enzymatic reaction and Vmax is the limiting value of v at saturating concentrations of substrate). The equation allows the limiting values of the Michaelis constant at v/Vmax --> 0 and V/Vmax --> 1 to be estimated, K0 and Klim, respectively. The Klim/K0 ratio is considered as a quantitative characteristic of negative cooperativity. The applicability of the equation has been demonstrated for the kinetic data obtained for glutamate dehydrogenases from various sources (negative kinetic cooperativity for coenzyme). The negative cooperativity for the functions of saturation of protein by ligand is also analyzed. The data on binding of spin-labeled NAD, NADH, and NADPH by beef liver glutamate dehydrogenase are used as examples.     

The sulphatase of ox liver. XXI: kinetic studies of the substrate-induced inactivation of sulphatase A.

The theoretical basis is given for methods of determining the apparent velocity constant, k*, for the substrate-induced inactivation of sulphatase A (aryl-sulphate sulphohydrolase, EC 3.1.6.1) and the initial velocity, vo, of the catalytic reaction. The expression is of the same form as the empirical relationships previously used but the significance of the various terms is clearly established. The method has been applied to the characterisation of the inactivation occurring during the hydrolysis of a number of substrates and it has been shown that k* varies with so in a hyperbolic relationship described by k, a velocity constant at infinite substrate concentrations and by K, a constant analogous to the Michaelis constant. Although K varies considerably for different substrates, and is consistently less than the corresponding Km, k is almost constant at 0.23 min-1. It is therefore suggested that the inactivation of the enzyme does not proceed through an enzyme . substrate complex but through the enzyme . SO2-4 complex produced during the catalytic reaction. The effects of several variables on these parameters are described.     

Effect of flow and surface area on angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in rabbit lungs

Pulmonary angtiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is located on the luminal surface of pulmonary microvasculature. Multiple indicator-dilution techniques have been used to measure pulmonary ACE activity in vivo and in isolated lungs. These studies suggest that ACE activity is depressed in several forms of acute lung injury. Depression of ACE activity may reflect impaired substrate delivery to enzyme sites because of flow-related reduction of perfused surface area. To assess the role of altered microvascular flow and surface area in the measurement of ACE activity, we utilized similar techniques to estimate the apparent Km and Vmax of pulmonary ACE in isolated, Krebs-perfused rabbit lungs. Km is an estimate of the affinity of a synthetic ACE substrate, [3H]benzoyl-phenyl-alanyl-alanyl-proline ([3H]BPAP), for ACE and should not be influenced by the rate of substrate delivery to luminal enzyme sites. Conversely, Vmax is an index of the number of ACE sites and should be influenced by perfusion changes that alter the number of perfused sites (recruitment or derecruitment). When isolated lungs were subjected to physiological maneuvers designed to increase or decrease perfused surface area, apparent Vmax increased or decreased respectively. Apparent Km was not altered by these maneuvers. Km and Vmax were independent of changes in perfusion rate when surface area was held constant. Thus these parameters should be useful in evaluating perfusion changes in normal and injured lungs.     

Transglucosidic reactions of the Aspergillus niger family 3 beta-glucosidase: qualitative and quantitative analyses and evidence that the transglucosidic rate is independent of pH

The hydrolytic and transglucosidic reactions of the Aspergillus niger Family 3 beta-glucosidase were characterized. Michaelis-Menten plots of the rates of aglycone formation were normal (hyperbolic) at low [substrate]. However, at high [substrate] the rates decreased at pH below approximately 5.5 but increased at pH above approximately 5.5. Each decrease or increase took the form of a second hyperbola adjoining the first. Thin layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography, and NMR analyses indicated that the substrates became transglucosidic acceptors when present at high concentrations. When pNPGlc and cellobiose reacted as acceptors, the C6 hydroxyl of the non-reducing substrate component reacted to form beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-p-nitrophenol and beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-4)-D-glucopyranose, respectively. The acceptor action accounted for the second adjoining hyperbolas. Rate equations were derived for the production of the aglycone and the transglucosidic intermediate, and these equations described the data very well. Hydrolytic Vmax {Vmax(h)}, hydrolytic Km {Km(h)}, transglucosidic Vmax {Vmax(t)}, and transglucosidic Km {Km(t)} values were obtained by non-linear regression analysis using these equations. Vmax(h) pH profiles were bell shaped with optima between pH 4 and 4.5 but the Vmax(t) values did not change substantially between pH 3 and 7. These differences in the pH profiles explain the decreasing and increasing adjoining hyperbolas since Vmax(t) is lower than Vmax(h) at pH less than approximately 5.5 but higher than Vmax(h) at pH greater than approximately 5.5. The reason for these pH effects is that the value of the hydrolytic rate constant (k3) decreases while the value of the transglucosidic rate constant (k4) does not change between pH 3 and 7. The study also showed that gentiobiose forms by an intermolecular reaction of the C6 hydroxyl of Glc rather than an intramolecular reaction and that an equatorial orientation of the C2 hydroxyl, the presence of a C6 primary hydroxyl and beta-linkages with oligosaccharide acceptors are important for acceptor reactivity.     

The Michaelis constants of a nonchromogenic substrate may be determined using a chromogenic substrate

A general method is presented for the determination of the KM and Vmax for a nonchromogenic substrate in an experimental system where a chromogenic and a nonchromogenic substrate compete for the active site of a single enzyme. Entire progress curves of absorbance versus time for the transformation of the chromogenic substrate must be obtained in the absence and presence of the nonchromgenic substrate. Two quantities may then be extracted from the entire kinetic curves: the value of a delta Area, the area bounded by the kinetic traces of absorbance versus time in the presence and absence of the nonchromogenic substrate; and the value of delta t(5%), the time required to transform 5% of the chromogenic substrate in the presence of the nonchromogenic substrate minus the corresponding time required in its absence. The values of KM and Vmax for the nonchromogenic substrate may be obtained from the dependencies of delta Area and delta t(5%) upon the concentration of the nonchromogenic substrate. The ability of this procedure to yield the correct values of KM and Vmax was demonstrated using beta-lactamase, beta-galactosidase, alkaline phosphatase, and 19 chromogenic/nonchromogenic substrate pairs. This method is equally valid in the absence or presence of competitive product inhibition and should be applicable to any enzyme-catalyzed, strongly exergonic reaction.     

Enzymatic hydrolysis of molasses

Kinetic studies of the enzymatic hydrolysis of molasses were conducted using glucoamylase. Central Sugar Refinery SDN BHD contains 13-20% glucose. The molasses was diluted and the kinetic experiments were conducted at 67 degrees C with 100-1000 mg/l of glucoamylase. The glucose contents of the molasses were enhanced after hydrolysis of molasses solution with 1000 mg/l glucoamylase. A Lineweaver-Burk plot was obtained based on enzyme kinetic data. The rate constant, Km and maximum reaction rate, Vmax for 500 mg/l of glucoamylase were 100 mmol/l (18 g/l) and 5 mmol/l min (0.9 g/l min), respectively. The maximum reaction rate, Vmax for 1000 mg/l of glucoamylase was doubled, to 100 mmol/l (18 g/l) and the rate constant, Km was the same for 500 mg/l of glucoamylase. The substrate inhibition model was noncompetitive based on the resulting Lineweaver-Burk plot for enzyme concentration of 500 and 1000 mg/l.     

On true and apparent Michaelis constants in enzymology. III. Is it linear dependence between apparent michaelis constant and limiting rate and is it possible to determine the substrate constant value using this dependence?

The Slater-Bonner method which is used for graphic determination of substrate constant (Ks) by linear dependence of apparent Michaelis constant (Km(app)) on the limiting rate (V(app)) of enzyme-catalysed reactions with activator participation has been critically analysed. It has been shown that although it is possible to record the mechanisms of such reactions as a scheme similar to Michaelis-Menten model which allow to find correlation Km(app) and V(app) as equation Km(app) = Ks + V(app)/k1[E]0 ([E]0 is a total enzyme concentration, k1 is a rate constant of enzyme-substrate complex formation from free enzyme and substrate) in order to calculate Ks and individual rate constants (k1, k(-1)), but this approach for investigation of all reactions with activator participation ought not to be used. The above equation is not obeyed in general, it may be true for some mechanisms only or under certain ratios of kinetic parameters of enzyme-catalysed reactions.     

Aromatase inhibition by R 76 713: a kinetic analysis in rat ovarian homogenates

Reaction kinetics of the aromatase enzyme and of a new nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor, R 76 713 (6-[(4-chlorophenyl)(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-methyl]-1-methyl-1H- benzotriazole), were studied in ovarian homogenates obtained from pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin (PMSG)-injected female Wistar rats. The Km (Michaelis constant) of the aromatase enzyme with androstenedione as the substrate was 47 +/- 13 nM; for testosterone as the substrate, a value of 159 +/- 10 nM was found. In the presence of increasing concentrations of R 76 713, the Km increased while the Vmax (maximal velocity of enzyme-catalyzed reaction) remained unchanged. Using androstenedione and testosterone as the substrate, Lineweaver-Burk analysis of the data showed a Ki (dissociation constant of the enzyme-inhibitor complex) for R 76 713 of 0.7 +/- 0.3 nM and 1.6 +/- 0.4 nM, respectively. R 76 713 appeared to competitively inhibit the rat ovarian aromatase.     

Anomeric specificity and kinetics of glucokinase: theoretical unsuitability of the Hill equation

The kinetics of the low-Km hexokinase isoenzymes, which obey the Michaelis-Menten equation, can be established from the Km (Michaelis constant) and Vmax (maximal velocity) values for either equilibrated D-glucose or its alpha- and beta-anomers. In the case of the high-Km glucokinase isoenzyme, however, the sigmoidal substrate dependency and the competition between the two anomers of D-glucose do not allow, theoretically, to assign any meaningful value to either the Km, Vmax or n (Hill number) constants for equilibrated D-glucose. Thus, with equilibrated D-glucose, the concentration dependency fails to display a rectilinear relationship in the Hill plot. These observations illustrate the shortcomings of current biochemical studies in which the anomeric heterogeneity of D-glucose is ignored.     

The effect of pH, temperature, and D2O on the activity of porcine synovial collagenase and gelatinase

The pH dependence of Vmax and Vmax/Km for hydrolysis of Dnp-Pro-Leu-Gly-Leu-Trp-Ala-D-Arg-NH2 at the Gly-Leu bond by porcine synovial collagenase and gelatinase was determined in the pH range 5-10. Both enzymes exhibited bell-shaped dependencies on pH for these two kinetic parameters, indicating that activity is dependent on at least two ionizable groups, one of which must be unprotonated and the other protonated. For collagenase, Vmax/Km data indicate that in the substrate-free enzyme, these groups have apparent pK values of 7.0 and 9.5, while the Vmax profile indicates similar pK values of 6.8 and 10.1 for the enzyme-substrate complex. The corresponding pH profiles of gelatinase were similar to those of collagenase, indicating the importance of groups with apparent pK values of 5.9 and 10.0 for the free enzyme and 5.9 and 11.1 for the enzyme-substrate complex. When these kinetic constants were determined in D2O using the peptide substrate, there was no significant effect on Vmax or Km for collagenase or Km for gelatinase. However, there was a deuterium isotope effect of approximately 1.5 on Vmax for gelatinase. These results indicate that a proton transfer step is not involved in the rate-limiting step for collagenase, but may be limiting with gelatinase. The Arrhenius activation energies for peptide bond hydrolysis of the synthetic peptide as well as the natural substrates were also determined for both enzymes. The activation energy (81 kcal) for hydrolysis of collagen by collagenase was nine times greater than that determined for the synthetic substrate (9.2 kcal). In contrast, the activation energy for hydrolysis of gelatin by gelatinase (26.3 kcal) was only 2.4 times greater than that for the synthetic substrate (11 kcal).