Neutral imidazole is the electrophile in the reaction catalyzed by triosephosphate isomerase: structural origins and catalytic implications

To illuminate the role of histidine-95 in the catalytic reaction mediated by triosephosphate isomerase, 13C and 15N NMR titration studies have been carried out both on the wild-type enzyme and on a mutant isomerase in which the single remaining histidine (that at the active site) has been isotopically enriched in the imidazole ring. 15N NMR has proved especially useful in the unambiguous demonstration that the imidazole ring of histidine-95 is uncharged over the entire pH range of isomerase activity, between pH 5 and pH 9.9. The results require that the first pKa of histidine-95 is below 4.5. This abnormally low pKa rules out the traditional view that the positively charged imidazolium cation of histidine-95 donates a proton to the developing charge on the substrate's carbonyl oxygen. 15N NMR experiments on the enzyme in the presence of the reaction intermediate analogue phosphoglycolohydroxamate show the presence of a strong hydrogen bond between N epsilon 2 of histidine-95 and the bound inhibitor. These findings indicate that, in the catalyzed reaction, proton abstraction from C-1 of dihydroxyacetone phosphate first yields an enediolate intermediate that is strongly hydrogen bonded to the neutral imidazole side chain of histidine-95. The imidazole proton involved in this hydrogen bond then protonates the enediolate, with the transient formation of the enediol-imidazolate ion pair. Abstraction of the hydroxyl proton on O-1 now produces the other enediolate intermediate, which collapses to give the product glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Electrophilic catalysis in triosephosphate isomerase: the role of histidine-95

Electrophilic catalysis by histidine-95 in triosephosphate isomerase has been probed by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The carbonyl stretching frequency of dihydroxyacetone phosphate bound to the wild-type enzyme is known to be 19 cm-1 lower (at 1713 cm-1) than that of dihydroxyacetone phosphate free in solution (at 1732 cm-1), and this decrease in stretching frequency has been ascribed to an enzymic electrophile that polarizes the substrate carbonyl group toward the transition state for the enolization. Infrared spectra of substrate bound to two site-directed mutants of yeast triosephosphate isomerase in which histidine-95 has been changed to glutamine or to asparagine show unperturbed carbonyl stretching frequencies between 1732 and 1742 cm-1. The lack of carbonyl polarization when histidine-95 is removed suggests that histidine-95 is indeed the catalytic electrophile, at least for dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Kinetic studies of the glutamine mutant (H95Q) have shown that the enzyme follows a subtly different mechanism of proton transfers involving only a single acid-base catalytic group. These findings suggest an additional role for histidine-95 as a general acid-base catalyst in the wild-type enzyme. The X-ray crystal structure of the H95Q mutant with an intermediate analogue, phosphoglycolohydroxamate, bound at the active site has been solved to 2.8-A resolution, and this structure clearly implicates glutamate-165, the catalytic base in the wild-type isomerase, as the sole acid-base catalyst for the mutant enzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A study of the kinetics and mechanism of rabbit muscle l-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase

1. The kinetics of oxidation of l-glycerol 3-phosphate by NAD(+) and of reduction of dihydroxyacetone phosphate by NADH catalysed by rabbit muscle glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase were studied over the range pH6-9. 2. The enzyme was found to catalyse the oxidation of glyoxylate by NAD(+) at pH8.0 and the kinetics of this reaction were also studied. 3. The results are consistent with a compulsory mechanism of catalysis for glycerol 3-phosphate oxidation and dihydroxyacetone phosphate reduction in the intermediate regions of pH, but modifications to the basic mechanism are required to fully explain results at the extremes of the pH range, with these substrates and for glyoxylate oxidation at pH8.0.     

Dihydroxyacetone kinase of methanol-assimilating yeasts. II. Partial purification and some properties of dihydroxyacetone kinase from Candida methylica

Dihydroxyacetone kinase (DHAK) from the cell-free extract of methanol-grown Candida methylica was partially purified about 100-fold by a procedure employing streptomycin sulfate fractionation, ammonium sulfate fractionation, negative absorption on Cibacron blue F3G-A sephadex G 200 and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The enzyme was stable in 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer pH 7.5 containing 60% glycerol at -18 degrees C. The pH optimum for the activity of DHAK from C. methylica was 7.5. The purified enzyme phosphorylated dihydroxyacetone four times faster than D,L-glyceraldehyde. The apparent MICHAELIS-MENTEN constants for dihydroxyacetone and D,L-glyceraldehyde were 0.011 mM and 0.024 mM. Other C3 compounds including glycerol were not phosphorylated. ITP and UTP were used as phosphate donors with a reaction rate of 11% and 3.1%, respectively, in relation to ATP, whereas the reaction rates of DHAK from C. methylica with CTP or GTP were much lower than 1%. The reaction of DHAK depends upon the presence of divalent cations in the assay. The highest activity was found with Mg2+ ions. The reaction rates with Co2+ or Ca2+ ions were only 57.3% and 30.3%, respectively, in relation to the assay with magnesium ions. Manganese chloride in the assay led to a complete loss of activity.     

Kinetic properties of a sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase purified from the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

A sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (sn-glycerol-3-phosphate:NAD+ 2-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.8) has been purified from the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 3400-fold to a specific activity of 34 mumol/mg protein per min by a simple procedure involving two chromatographic steps on affinity dyes. The pH optimum for reduction of dihydroxyacetone phosphate was 6.8 and for glycerol 3-phosphate oxidation it was 9.5. In the direction of dihydroxyacetone phosphate reduction, the enzyme showed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The enzyme reacted specifically with NADH and dihydroxyacetone phosphate as substrates with affinity constants of 16 and 12 microM, respectively. Product inhibition as well as competitive inhibition pattern indicated a random-bi-bi reaction mechanism for sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from C. reinhardtii. The effective control of dihydroxyacetone reduction catalysed via this enzyme by ATP, Pi and NAD gave evidence for a physiological role of the enzyme in plastidic glycolysis.     

Xanthosine-5'-phosphate amidotransferase from Escherichia coli.

The purified enzyme xanthosine-5'-monophosphate (XMP) aminase from Escherichia coli strain B-96 is shown to possess catalytic activity with either glutamine or ammonia as a substrate. This enzyme, which possesses identical subunits, has the following properties: (a) a pH optimum of 8.3 for both aminase and amidotransferase; (b) an apparent K-m for both glutamine and NH3 of 1 mM; (c) an amidotransferase that is approximately 2 times more active than the aminase; (d) a linear relationship between velocity and enzyme concentrationfor both activities; (e) inhibition of both activities by the glutamine analogue 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine, but the amidotransferase is more sensitive than the aminase; and (f) inhbiition of both activities by the adenosine analogue, psicofuranine, but again the amidotransferase activity is more sensitive than the aminase. The so-called XMP aminase from the E. coli mutant B-24-1 also has been examined in both crude extracts nad ammonium sulfate fractions and the following data have been obtained: (a) both preparations of enzyme contain aminase and amidotransferase activity; (b) both activities have the same substrate requirements; (c) the pH optima for both activities in the crude extract are identical with those found with the purified enzyme preparation; and (d) the amidotransferase activity in the crude extract and the ammonium sulfate fractions is 2- to 3-fold more active than the aminase. These data demonstrate that this enzyme from E. coli is not strictly a XMP aminase but is, in fact, an amidotransferase capable of utilizing either glutamine or NH3 as a substrate.     

Isolation, Characterization, and Partial Purification of a Reduced Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate-dependent Dihydroxyacetone Reductase from the Halophilic Alga Dunaliella parva

An NADP⁺-dependent dihydroxyacetone reductase, which catalyzes specifically the reduction of dihydroxyacetone to glycerol, has been isolated from the halophilic alga Dunaliella parva. The enzyme has been purified about 220-fold. It has a molecular weight of about 65,000 and is highly specific for NADPH. The pH optima for dihydroxyacetone reduction and for glycerol oxidation are 7.5 and 9.2, respectively. The enzyme has a very narrow substrate specificity and will not catalyze the reduction of glyceraldehyde or dihydroxyacetone phosphate. It is suggested that this enzyme functions physiologically as a dihydroxyacetone reductase in the path of glycerol synthesis and accumulation in Dunaliella.     

Acyl-CoA:dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase in human skin fibroblasts: study of its properties using a new assay method

In relation to the finding that human skin fibroblasts are capable of de novo either phospholipid biosynthesis, we have studied the properties of acyl-CoA:dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase in fibroblast homogenates using a new assay method. The results indicate that the acylation of dihydroxyacetone phosphate shows an optimum at pH 5.5 with a broad shoulder of activity up to pH 6.4 and a decline in activity up to pH 8.2. At pH 5.5 the acyltransferase accepts dihydroxyacetone phosphate, but not glycerol 3-phosphate as a substrate. Furthermore, the transferase activity was found to be membrane-bound and inactivated by Triton X-100 at concentrations above 0.025% (w/v). Similar properties have been described for the enzyme as present in rat-liver and guinea-pig liver peroxisomes. These data, together with the finding that acyl-CoA:dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase is deficient in cultured skin fibroblasts from patients without peroxisomes (Zellweger syndrome), suggest that in cultured skin fibroblasts the enzyme is primarily located in peroxisomes.     

GLYCEROL KINASE AND DIHYDROXYACETONE KINASE IN RAT BRAIN

—The enzymatic phosphorylation of glycerol and dihydroxyacetone by ATP to sn-glycerol-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate respectively in various subcellular fractions of rat brain was studied. A sensitive radiochemical assay was used where the labelled phosphorylated products were separated from the radioactive substrates by high voltage paper electrophoresis and the radioactivity in these compounds determined. Using this assay the glycerol kinase (EC 2.7.1.30) activity was found to be associated with the mitochondrial fraction of the brain. Under optimum conditions 2.45 nmol of glycerol was phosphorylated/min per mg of protein. The K_m for glycerol was 70 μm at pH 7. This mitochondrial enzyme, like other glycerol kinases from different sources, also phosphorylated dihydroxyacetone. Under optimum conditions 1.7 nmol of dihydroxyacetone phosphate was formed/min per mg of mitochondrial protein. The K_m for dihydroxyacetone was 0.6 mm . Glycerol kinase activity was also present in the cytoplasm of brain. However, the specific activity of this enzyme in cytosol is about 15% of the mitochondrial glycerol kinase. Compared to glycerol, dihydroxyacetone was phosphorylated by ATP in cytoplasm at a much higher rate. The pH optimum for this soluble dihydroxyacetone kinase was much lower (pH 6.5) than that of the soluble or mitochondrial glycerol kinase (pH 10.0). Using ammonium sulfate, brain cytoplasm was fractionated to yield a fraction in which the dihydroxyacetone kinase was enriched 2–3 fold with no glycerol kinase activity. Under optimum conditions 1.0 nmol of dihydroxyacetone was phosphorylated/min per mg protein. The K_m for dihydroxyacetone was 60 μm . This cytosol fraction was also found to phosphorylate d -glyceraldehyde and l -glyceraldehyde at a rate of 30–40% to that of the dihydroxyacetone phosphorylation. The properties and the possible metabolic role of these enzymes in brain are discussed.     

Role of GldA in dihydroxyacetone and methylglyoxal metabolism of Escherichia coli K12

The metabolic pathway involving dihydroxyacetone is poorly characterized although novel enzymes associated with this metabolite have recently been demonstrated. The role of GldA in dihydroxyacetone and methylglyoxal metabolism was investigated by purifying the enzyme and characterizing its catalytic ability using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. At neutral pH, the enzyme exhibits much higher affinities towards dihydroxyacetone, methylglyoxal, and glycolaldehyde than glycerol with K(m) values of 0.30, 0.50, 0.85, and 56 mM, respectively. This is consistent with NMR data with crude extracts, showing that the conversion from dihydroxyacetone to glycerol by GldA is far more efficient than the reverse reaction. Dihydroxyacetone was found to be lethal at higher concentration with an LC(50) value of 28 mM compared with 0.4 mM of methylglyoxal, while lactaldehyde was found to exhibit significant growth inhibition in Escherichia coli cells. The toxicity of dihydroxyacetone appears to be due to its intracellular conversion to an aldehyde compound, presumably methylglyoxal, since the glyoxalase mutant becomes sensitive to dihydroxyacetone. Based on information that gldA is preceded in an operon by the ptsA homolog and talC gene encoding fructose 6-phosphate aldolase, this study proposes that the primary role of gldA is to remove toxic dihydroxyacetone by converting it into glycerol.     

Alkyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate synthase in human fibroblasts and its deficiency in Zellweger syndrome

The cerebro-hepato-renal (Zellweger) syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder biochemically characterized by the absence of morphologically distinguishable peroxisomes. Key enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of ether phospholipids, i.e., dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase and alkyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate synthase, are located in mammalian (micro)peroxisomes. We have previously shown a strikingly reduced activity of dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase in liver, brain, and cultured skin fibroblasts from Zellweger patients (Schutgens et al. 1984. Biochim. Biophys. Res. Commun. 120: 179-184). We have now extended these investigations by studying alkyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate synthase in cultured human skin fibroblasts. Enzymatic activity was determined by measuring the formation of radioactive alkyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate from palmitoyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate and [1-14C]hexadecanol as substrates. The enzyme was optimally active at pH 8.5 and was stimulated (about 2-3-fold) by the presence of 0.05% (v/v) Triton X-100. The apparent KM values for the enzyme in control fibroblasts amounted to 35 microM for palmitoyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate and 90 microM for hexadecanol. The reaction became inhibited at higher concentrations of both Triton X-100 and palmitoyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Control skin fibroblasts showed alkyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate synthase activity of 69 +/- 28 pmol X min-1 X mg-1 (n = 7), while fibroblasts from patients had an activity of only 6.3 +/- 1.7 pmol X min-1 X mg-1 (n = 7). Alkyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate synthase was also found to be deficient in tissue homogenates of Zellweger patients. The specific activity of this enzyme in liver, kidney, and brain homogenates from Zellweger patients was less than 15% of that in the corresponding tissues from controls.     

Crystal structure of the reduced Schiff-base intermediate complex of transaldolase B from Escherichia coli: mechanistic implications for class I aldolases.

Transaldolase catalyzes transfer of a dihydroxyacetone moiety from a ketose donor to an aldose acceptor. During catalysis, a Schiff-base intermediate between dihydroxyacetone and the epsilon-amino group of a lysine residue at the active site of the enzyme is formed. This Schiff-base intermediate has been trapped by reduction with potassium borohydride, and the crystal structure of this complex has been determined at 2.2 A resolution. The overall structures of the complex and the native enzyme are very similar; formation of the intermediate induces no large conformational changes. The dihydroxyacetone moiety is covalently linked to the side chain of Lys 132 at the active site of the enzyme. The Cl hydroxyl group of the dihydroxyacetone moiety forms hydrogen bonds to the side chains of residues Asn 154 and Ser 176. The C3 hydroxyl group interacts with the side chain of Asp 17 and Asn 35. Based on the crystal structure of this complex a reaction mechanism for transaldolase is proposed.     

Purification and properties of dihydroxyacetone kinase from Gluconobacter suboxydans

Different carbon and nitrogen sources had little effect on the level of dihydroxyacetone kinase formed in the cells of Gluconobacter suboxydans. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity from cell-free extract of the organism by ammonium sulfate fractionation and chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose, hydroxyapatite and Sephadex G-200 (60-fold purification, 6% yield). Its molecular weight was 260,000; it was stabilized by addition of ATP, dithiothreitol, 2-mercaptoethanol or EDTA, and it reacted optimally at pH 6.5. d-Glyceraldehyde was equally as effective as DHA as a phosphate acceptor (K_m: 0.30 mM each). UTP showed 15% of the reactivity of ATP as a phosphate donor. K_m values for ATP were 0.33 mM in phosphorylation of dihydroxyacetone and 0.39 mM with d-glyceraldehyde. The enzyme activity was dependent on Mg²⁺ but not on Mn²⁺. The reaction with dihydroxyacetone as an acceptor was inhibited by d-glyceraldehyde. The inhibition was competitive with respect to dihydroxyacetone 3K_i=0.09 mM) and noncompetitive with respective to ATP (K_i=5.7 mM).     

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.     

Evidence for an ordered reaction mechanism for bile salt: 3'phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate: sulfotransferase from rhesus monkey liver that catalyzes the sulfation of the hepatotoxin glycolithocholate

The in vivo formation of the sulfate ester of glycolithocholate is a critical step in the elimination of this hepatotoxic bile salt. Rhesus monkeys fed chenodeoxycholate or ursodeoxycholate, the precursors of lithocholate, develop frank cirrhosis in association with accumulation of nonsulfated glycolithocholate in bile. An enzyme catalyzing the formation of glycolithocholate-3-sulfate has been isolated from hepatic cytosol of adult female rhesus monkeys and has been purified 146-fold. When reduced it appears as a 30 kD band on an SDS-polyacrylamide gradient gel. It has a pH optimum of 7.0 and is stimulated by low concentrations of Mg2+ (up to 2 mM), but does not have an absolute requirement for this metal ion. The kinetics of this enzyme have been investigated to ascertain whether its reaction mechanism can account for the poor in vivo rate of glycolithocholate sulfation. Inhibitor studies with an oxidized metabolite of lithocholate, 3-keto-5 beta-cholanoate, showed that the latter is a competitive inhibitor of glycolithocholate and is noncompetitive with the active form of sulfate, 3'phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate. The monophosphonucleotide 3'-AMP is a competitive inhibitor of 3'phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate, and is noncompetitive with glycolithocholate. These observations are consistent with a sequentially ordered Bi Bi reaction mechanism in which the bile salt is the first substrate to bind to the enzyme. Such a reaction mechanism for bile salt:3'phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate:sulfotransferase would be, therefore, the first time in which the sulfate acceptor (the bile salt) is the initial substrate to bind to a sulfotransferase. These studies have shown that although rhesus monkeys have a liver enzyme capable of forming the sulfate ester of glycolithocholate, its reaction mechanism and the potent inhibition caused by simple metabolites, such as 3-keto-5 beta-cholanoate, may serve to under-express the activity of the enzyme in vivo.     

Purification and characterization of N-methylalanine dehydrogenase.

Cell free extracts of Pseudomonas MS previously have been shown to carry out the synthesis of a novel amino acid, N-methylalanine (Kung, H.F., and Wagner, C. (1970) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 201, 513-516). An enzyme has been isolated from this organism which is responsible for the synthesis of N-methylalanine. The stoichiometry of the reaction catalyzed by this enzyme leads to the following formulation: Methylamine + pyruvate + NADPH + H-+ yields N-methylalanine + NADP-+ + H2O. This enzyme has been physically separated from alanine dehydrogenase, which is also present in these extracts. This new enzyme has been named N-methylalanine dehydrogenase. It has been purified to near homogeneity as judged by disc gel electrophoresis. Gel filtration chromatography showed that N-methylalanine dehydrogenase has an apparent molecular weight of 77,000, while electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate gave rise to a single band with a molecular weight of approximately 36,500. The enzyme is optimally active in the pH range between 8.2 and 8.6. The apparent K-m values for pyruvate, NADPH, and methylamine, respectively, are 1-5 times 10 minus 2 M, 3-5 times 10 minus 5 M, and 7.5 times 10 minus 2 M.     

Dihydroxyacetone Kinase Activity in Dunaliella parva

An enzyme catalyzing the phosphorylation of dihydroxyacetone has been identified in the halophilic alga, Dunaliella parva. Since glycerol and glyceraldehyde are not substrates, the enzyme is referred to as dihydroxyacetone kinase. Dihydroxyacetone kinase was purified 9-fold by ammonium sulfate fractionation followed by DEAE-cellulose chromatography.     

Isolation and characterization of crystalline methylglyoxal synthetase from Proteus vulgaris.

Methylglyoxal synthetase, which catalyzes the conversion of dihydroxyacetone phosphate to methylglyoxal and inorganic phosphate, has been isolated and crystalized in good yields from Proteus vulgaris. The enzyme was shown to be homogeneous by a variety of criteria and was found to be a dimer (Mr = 135,000; s20,w = 7.2 S) composed of two apparently identical catalytic and physical properties and their interconvertible nature suggest that they do not represent true isozymes. The enzyme is specific for dihydroxyacetone phosphate and does not form methylglyoxal from glyceraldehyde 3-phophate, glyceraldehyde, or dihydroxyacetone. Nonphosphorylated analogs are neither substrates nor competive inhibitors, but a variety of phosphorylated analogs are competitive with respect to dihydroxyacetone phosphate. The enzyme is inhibited by inorganic orthophosphate in a complex manner which is overcome by dihydroxyacetone phosphate in a signoidal manner     

BIOSYNTHESIS OF PHOSPHATIDIC ACID IN RAT BRAIN VIA ACYL DIHYDROXYACETONE PHOSPHATE

Abstract— The enzymes for the biosynthesis of phosphatidic acid from acyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate were shown to be present in rat brain. These enzymes were mainly localized in the microsomal fraction of 12–14 day old rat brains. The brain microsomal acyl CoA: dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyl transferase (EC 2.3.1.42), exhibited a broad pH optimum between pH 5 and 9 with maximum activity at pH 5.4. K _m for DHAP at pH 5.4 was 0.1 m m and V _max was 0.86nmol/min/mg of microsomal protein. The corresponding microsomal enzyme for the glycerophosphate pathway (acyl CoA: sn -glycerol-3-phosphate acyl transferase EC 2.3.1.15) was shown to have a different pH optimum (pH 7.6). On the basis of the differences in pH optima, differential effects of sodium cholate in the enzymes and a common substrate competition study, these acyl transferases were postulated to be two different microsomal enzymes.
Acyl DHAP:NADPH oxidoreductase (EC 1.1.1.101) in brain microsomes was found to be quite specific for NADPH as cofactor, being able to utilize NADH only at very high concentrations. This enzyme exhibited a K _m of 8.6 μ m with NADPH and V _mx of 0.81 nmol/min/mg protein. The presence of these two enzymes and the known presence of l-acyl- sn -glycerol-3-phosphate: acyl CoA acyl transferase in brain (F leming & H ajra , 1977) demonstrated the biosynthesis of phosphatidic acid in brain via acyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Phosphatidic acid was shown to form when dihydroxyacetone phosphate, acyl CoA, NADPH and other cofactors were incubated together with brain microsomes. Further properties of the enzymes and the probable importance of the presence of this pathway in brain were discussed.     

A simple approach to detect active-site-directed enzyme-enzyme interactions. The aldolase/glycerol-phosphate-dehydrogenase enzyme system

A novel approach has been elaborated to identify the mechanism of intermediate transfer in interacting enzyme systems. The aldolase/glycerol-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase enzyme system was investigated since complex formation between these two enzymes had been demonstrated. The kinetics of dihydroxyacetone phosphate conversion catalyzed by the dehydrogenase in the absence and presence of aldolase was analyzed. It was found that the second-order rate constant (kcat/Km) of the enzymatic reaction decreases due to the formation of a heterologous complex. The decrease could be attributed to an increase of the Km value since kcat did not change in the presence of aldolase. In contrast, an apparent increase in the second-order rate constant of dihydroxyacetone phosphate conversion by the dehydrogenase was observed if the triose phosphate was produced by aldolase from fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (consecutive reaction). Moreover, no effect of dihydroxyacetone phosphate on the dissociation constant of the heterologous enzyme complex could be detected by physico-chemical methods. The results suggest that the endogenous dihydroxyacetone phosphate produced by aldolase complexed with dehydrogenase is more accessible for the dehydrogenase than the exogenous one, the binding of which is impeded due to steric hindrance by bound aldolase.