Purine nucleoside phosphorylase. Kinetic mechanism of the enzyme from calf spleen.

Ribose 1-phosphate, phosphate, and acyclovir diphosphate quenched the fluorescence of purine nucleoside phosphorylase at pH 7.1 and 25 degrees C. The fluorescence of enzyme-bound guanine was similar to that of anionic guanine in ethanol. Guanine and ribose 1-phosphate bound to free enzyme, whereas inosine and guanosine were not bound to free enzyme in the absence of phosphate. Thus, synthesis proceeded by a random mechanism, and phosphorolysis proceeded by an ordered mechanism. Steady-state kinetic data for the phosphorolysis of 100 microM guanosine were fitted to a bifunctional kinetic model with catalytic rate constants of 22 and 1.3 s-1. The dissociation rate constants for guanine from the enzyme-guanine complex at high and low phosphate concentrations were similar to the catalytic rate constants. Fluorescence changes of the enzyme during phosphorolysis suggested that ribose 1-phosphate dissociated from the enzyme ribose 1-phosphate-guanine complex rapidly and that guanine dissociated from the enzyme-guanine complex slowly. The association and dissociation rate constants for acyclovir diphosphate, a potent inhibitor of the enzyme (Tuttle, J. V., and Krenitsky, T. A. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 4065-4069), were also dependent on phosphate concentration. The effects of phosphate are discussed in terms of a dual functional binding site for phosphate.     

Kinetics of oxygen-18 exchange between inorganic phosphate and water catalyzed by myosin subfragment 1, using the 18O shift in 31P NMR

The time course of oxygen-18 exchange between [18O]Pi and normal water, catalyzed by myosin subfragment 1 in the presence of MgADP, was followed using the shift in 31P NMR caused by the presence of oxygen-18 bound to the phosphorus. Essentially all molecules of [18O]Pi that bind to the enzyme undergo complete exchange and are released as [16O4]Pi. Exchange probably occurs by formation of myosin.ATP from a myosin.ADP.Pi complex and is rapid relative to release of Pi from this complex. The kinetics of exchange give a value for the rate constant for binding Pi to myosin.ADP of 0.23 M-1 S-1 (pH 8.0, 22 degrees C). This value is consistent with exchange occurring by reversal of the ATP-ase reaction back to the myosin.ATP complex.     

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from human erythrocytes: physiocochemical properties of the crystalline enzyme.

The major physicochemical properties of human erythrocytic purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNPase) have been described. The molecular weight, estimated by ultracentrifugation, molecular sieving and sucrose density gradient centrifugation, ranged from 87 000 to 92 000. Other physical constants of erythrocytic PNPase were: sedimentation coefficent (s20, w), 5.4 S obtained by sedimentation analysis and 5.5 S by the sucrose density gradient procedure; Stokes radius, 38 A; calculated diffusion coefficient (D20, w), 5.7 X 10(-7) cm2 s-1; frictional ration, 1.29; and partial specific volume calculated from amino acid analysis, 0.73 cm3 g-1. The CD spectra of the human erythrocytic and bovine spleen PNPases were almost identical and indicated a very low alpha-helical content. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate indicated that the molecular weight of the PNPase subunit is 30 000 +/- 500. These results corroborate earlier reports that the native enzyme is a homologous trimer. Comparative studies with crystalline bovine spleen PNPase confirmed that it is also a trimer but is somewhat smaller than the human erythrocytic enzyme with a molecular weight of about 86 000.     

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from human erythrocytes: a kinetic study of the fully separated isoenzymes.

Human red cell lysates contain at least seven electrophoretically distinct isoenzymes of purine-nucleoside phosphorylase (PNPase); the proportion of more anodal bands increases as the erythrocyte ages, suggesting that the native enzyme is subjected to progressive post-translational modifications. The age dependent electrophoretic changes observed in the hemolysate are associated with the downward curvature of the Lineweaver-Burk double reciprocal plot at high inosine-substrate concentrations unlike the single-banded PNPase from tissue cultures of rapidly dividing cells. Thanks to the high resolution power of the ion-exchange HPLC technique utilized we have been able to fully separate all the seven isoenzymes and correlate structural to functional modifications in PNPase from human erythrocytes. Our results indicate that the downward curvature of Lineweaver-Burk plot is not due to a mixture of isoforms with low and high Km for inosine but that the allosteric activation by the inosine substrate is the direct consequence of structural modification(s) on the "primary" form of the enzyme.     

Monitoring the intracellular metabolism of nucleoside phosphoramidate pronucleotides by 31P NMR

The intracellular metabolism of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT)-(L)-tryptophan methyl ester phosphoramidate (L-ATO) and AZT-(L)-phenylalanine methyl ester phosphoramidate (L-APO) by the human T-lymphoblastoid cell line CCRF-CEM (CEM-1.3) and peripheral blood mononuclear cell line (PBMC) was investigated with high field 31P NMR spectroscopy. The AZT amino acid phosphoramidates were shown to accumulate intracellularly and to be readily converted into AZT-MP by both tissues types. Thus, the efficient delivery of nucleoside monophosphates to cells can be facilitated by nucleoside phosphoramidate pronucleotides.     

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Analysis of inhibition by a transition-state analogue and dissection by parts.

Purine salvage pathways are predicted to be present from the genome sequence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The M. tuberculosis deoD gene encodes a presumptive purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP). The gene was cloned, expressed, purified, and found to exhibit PNP activity. Purified M. tuberculosis PNP is trimeric, similar to mammalian PNP's but unlike the hexameric Escherichia coli enzyme. Immucillin-H is a rationally designed analogue of the transition state that has been shown to be a potent inhibitor of mammalian PNP's. This inhibitor also exhibits slow-onset inhibition of M. tuberculosis PNP with a rapid, reversible inhibitor binding (K(i) of 2.2 nM) followed by an overall dissociation constant (K(i)) of 28 pM, yielding a K(m)/K(i) value of 10(6). Time-dependent tight binding of the inhibitor occurs with a rate of 0.1 s(-)(1), while relaxation of the complex is slower at 1.4 x 10(-)(3) s(-)(1). The pH dependence of the K(i) value of immucillin-H to the M. tuberculosis PNP suggests that the inhibitor binds as the neutral, unprotonated form that is subsequently protonated to generate the tight-binding species. The M. tuberculosis enzyme demonstrates independent and equivalent binding of immucilin-H at each of the three catalytic sites, unlike mammalian PNP. Analysis of the components of immucillin-H confirms that the inhibition gains most of its binding energy from the 9-deazahypoxanthine group (K(is) of 0.39 microM) while the 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-iminoribitol binds weakly (K(is) of 2.9 mM). Double-inhibition studies demonstrate antagonistic binding of 9-deazahypoxanthine and iminoribitol (beta = 13). However, the covalent attachment of these two components in immucillin-H increases equilibrium binding affinity by a factor of >14 000 (28 pM vs 0.39 microM) compared to 9-deazahypoxanthine alone, and by a factor of >10(8) compared to iminoribitol alone (28 pM vs 2.9 mM), from initial velocity measurements. The structural basis for M. tuberculosis PNP inhibition by immucillin-H and by its component parts is reported in the following paper [Shi, W., Basso, L. A., Santos, D. S., Tyler, P. C., Furneaux, R. H., Blanchard, J. S., Almo, S. C., and Schramm, V. L. (2001) Biochemistry 40, 8204-8215].     

Purine metabolic enzymes in lymphocytes. II. Adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase activities in the immune response

ICR mice were immunized with sheep red blood cells (sRBC). Both adenosine deaminase (ADA) and purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) activities in spleen lymphocytes increased faster than the serum antibody titer and reached a peak one week after the immunization. ADA activity increased significantly in T lymphocytes but not in B lymphocytes collected from the spleens of the immunized mice. A statistically significant increase in PNP activity was found in both T and B lymphocytes from the spleens of the immunized mice. Spleen lymphocytes collected from ICR mice which had been immunized with mitomycin C-treated sarcoma 180 (S180) cells one week earlier showed cytotoxic activity against viable S180 cells. Both ADA and PNP activities in spleen lymphocytes of S180-immunized mice increased significantly, and both activities increased in T lymphocytes prepared from spleen of immunized mice. In contrast, an increase was found in PNP activity but not in ADA activity in B lymphocytes. These results suggest that an increase in both ADA and PNP activities may by necessary for the T-cell response in both humoral and cellular immune responses, and that an increase in PNP activity may be necessary for the B-cell response.     

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase. Inosine hydrolysis, tight binding of the hypoxanthine intermediate, and third-the-sites reactivity.

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from calf spleen is a trimer which catalyzes the hydrolysis of inosine to hypoxanthine and ribose in the absence of inorganic phosphate. The reaction occurs with a turnover number of 1.3 x 10(-4) s-1 per catalytic site. Hydrolysis of enzyme-bound inosine occurs at a rate of 2.0 x 10(-3) s-1 to form a stable enzyme-hypoxanthine complex and free ribose. The enzyme hydrolyzes guanosine; however, a tightly-bound guanine complex could not be isolated. The complex with hypoxanthine is stable to gel filtration but can be dissociated by acid, base, or mild denaturing agents. Following gel filtration, the E.hypoxanthine complex dissociates at a rate of 1.9 x 10(-6) s-1 at 4 degrees C and 1.3 x 10(-4) s-1 at 30 degrees C. The dissociation constant for the tightly-bound complex of enzyme-hypoxanthine is estimated to be 1.3 x 10(-12) M at 30 degrees C on the basis of the dissociation rate. The stoichiometry of the reaction is 1 mol of hypoxanthine bound per trimer. The reaction is reversible since the same complex can be formed from enzyme and hypoxanthine. Addition of ribose 1-phosphate to the complex results in the formation of inosine without release of hypoxanthine. Thus, the complex is catalytically competent. Inorganic phosphate or arsenate prevents formation of the tightly-bound E.hypoxanthine complex from inosine or hypoxanthine. Direct binding studies with hypoxanthine in the presence of phosphate result in 3 mol of hypoxanthine bound per trimer with a dissociation constant of 1.6 microM. In the absence of phosphate, three hypoxanthines are bound, but higher hypoxanthine concentrations cause the release of two of the hypoxanthines with an apparent inhibition constant of 130 microM. The results establish that enzymatic contacts with the nucleoside alone are sufficient to destabilize the N-glycosidic bond. In the absence of phosphate, water attacks slowly, causing net hydrolysis. The hydrolytic reaction leaves hypoxanthine stranded at the catalytic site, tightly bound to the enzyme with a conformation related to the transition state. In the phosphorolysis reaction, ribose 1-phosphate causes relaxation of this conformation and rapid release of hypoxanthine.     

31P NMR study of daunorubicin-d(CGTACG) complex in solution. Evidence of the intercalation sites

The interaction of daunorubicin with the self-complementary DNA fragment d(CGTACG) was studied by 31P NMR spectroscopy. The individual phosphates have been assigned for the nucleotide and the complex and signals from bound and free species in slow exchange at 19 degrees C were detected. In solution, the hexanucleotide binds two molecules of daunorubicin, which intercalate in the d(CG) sequence at both ends of the helix. Evidence for local deformations of the backbone at the sites of C5pG6, C1pG2 and G2pT3 phosphates is given. The binding constants for the stepwise equilibrium and the rate of dissociation of the intercalated duplex were also determined.     

Alkaline phosphatase. 31P NMR probes of the mechanism

31P NMR signals from substrates and products of alkaline phosphatase have been adapted to measure the rates and product ratios for the hydrolysis and phosphotransferase reactions from pH 6 to 10. Below pH 8, glycerol is a poorer acceptor than H2O (glycerol phosphates:Pi = 0.5). Tris is a more effective acceptor below pH 8, showing a maximum acceptor efficiency at pH 8 (Tris phosphate:Pi = 2). Phosphotransferase efficiencies are in the order expected for the pKaS of the alcohol groups, Tris less than glycerol Cl, C3 less than glycerol C2. Tris and glycerol induce chemical shifts in 113Cd(II) present at the A site but not the B or C sites of the metal triad present at each active center of Cd(II)6 alkaline phosphatase, suggesting that the alcoxides of the acceptors coordinate the A site metal and become the nucleophiles attacking the phosphoseryl residue (E-P) in the second step of the mechanism. The interaction is through the oxygen of Tris. The transferase activity of the amino alcohol shows a bell-shaped pH dependency. Aliphatic alcohol acceptors show small increases in acceptor activity between pH 6 and 8, with 5-fold increases from pH 8 to 10 (at pH 10, glycerol phosphates:Pi = 2.5). 31P NMR inversion transfer has been used to measure the koff for Pi dissociation from the noncovalent enzyme complex (E . P). For the Zn(II)4 alkaline phosphatase koff is essentially pH independent at approximately 35 s-1. For Cd(II) or Mg(II) at the B site in place of Zn(II), koff less than or equal to 1 s-1 X Cl-ion, which appears to coordinate the A site metal ion, enhances koff, suggesting that both Cl- and HPO2-4 can coordinate the A site metal ion in a 5-coordinate intermediate. pH control of the alkaline phosphatase mechanism appears to reside in the stability of E-P and not the dissociation of E . P, compatible with the hypothesis that the activity-linked pKa is that of a H2O molecule coordinated to the A site metal, which in the hydroxide form becomes the nucleophile attacking the phosphoseryl group (E-P).     

Evidence for two activated forms of pyruvate kinase from Bacillus stearothermophilus in the presence of ribose 5-phosphate

Allosteric activation of pyruvate kinase from a thermophilic bacterium, Bacillus stearothermophilus, by ribose 5-phosphate (R5P) was kinetically examined. Two activated forms of this enzyme could be distinguished, depending on the R5P concentration. One form (Form I) was observed at about 10(-5) M R5P. It showed a slightly negative cooperativity for phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). The other form (Form II) was observed at more than 10(-3) M R5P and showed Michaelis-Menten kinetics for PEP. The PEP and ADP concentrations that yield half-maximal velocity were essentially identical for the two forms (about 0.1 and about 0.5 mM, respectively), but Form I had a larger Vmax value than Form II. In the absence of R5P, the enzyme showed a homotropic positive cooperativity for PEP; the concentration required for the half-maximal velocity was about 2 mM and that of ADP was about 1.6 mM. The enzyme was more susceptible to protease digestion in the presence of R5P than in the absence of it. The concentration of R5P required for the enzyme to be susceptible to protease digestion was approximately identical with that required to generate Form I. With more than 10(-3) M R5P, the thermostability of the enzyme was greatly increased. The concentration of R5P required for the enzyme to be thermostable was in good agreement with that required to generate Form II. These results indicate that the two activated forms distinguished kinetically differ in their conformations, too. The saturating level of PEP did not cause such a change in the thermostability or the susceptibility to protease.     

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency. Measurement of variant protein in four families with enzyme-deficient members by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

By a sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, inactive variant nucleoside phosphorylase (NP) protein could be quantitated in red cells and cultured skin fibroblasts from the probands and parents in four families with enzyme-deficient members. Three different mutant alleles could be identified that, in the homozygous state, could lead to T-cell immunodeficiency. The mutant alleles formed proteins that differed from normal NP protein by their stability, catalytic activity, or isoelectric charge. Thus, sensitive biochemical techniques can demonstrate the presence of different mutations for purine NP. Any of the mutations can be responsible for a lack of purine NP and the development of the characteristic T-cell deficiency syndrome.     

31P NMR probes of sipunculan erythrocytes containing the O2-carrying protein hemerythrin

Reported are the first examinations by 31P NMR of erythrocytes containing the non-heme iron O2-carrying protein hemerythrin (Hr). Intact coelomic erythrocytes from the sipunculids Phascolopsis gouldii and Themiste zostericola were shown by 31P NMR to contain O-phosphorylethanolamine and 2-aminoethylphosphonate as the major soluble phosphorus metabolites. This combination of major metabolites appears to be unique to sipunculan erythrocytes. Nucleoside triphosphates and mannose 1-phosphate were present in lower concentrations. The concentration of O-phosphorylethanolamine within P. gouldii erythrocytes was established to be greater than 20 mM. T. zostericola erythrocytes contained relatively high levels of 2-aminoethylphosphonate (on the order of 0.1 M) and lower levels of O-phosphorylethanolamine compared with those of P. gouldii. For P. gouldii and T. zostericola the intracellular pHs were determined to be 7.2 +/- 0.1 and 7.1 +/- 0.1, respectively, in air-equilibrated erythrocytes, and 6.5 +/- 0.1 in anaerobic P. gouldii erythrocytes. O-Phosphorylethanolamine was found to bind weakly to P. gouldii metHr (Kf approximately 7 M-1). This interaction is best characterized by either negative cooperativity or nonspecific binding. O-Phosphorylethanolamine strongly inhibits azide binding to the iron site of P. gouldii metHr at pH 7.2. The rate of azide binding decreases by approximately 85-fold in the presence of 0.33 M O-phosphorylethanolamine. However, neither O-phosphorylethanolamine nor 2-aminoethylphosphonate at 0.33 M was found to have any significant effect on O2 affinity of P. gouldii deoxyHr. Alternative functions for the two metabolites are suggested.