Multiple oxidation products of sulfhydryl groups near the active site of thiolase I from porcine heart

The inactivation of porcine heart thiolase I with the disulfide reagents 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate) (DTNB) and 2,2- and 4,4-dithiopyridine in 0.2 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.5, follows second-order kinetics with rate constants of 2.2 X 10(2), 25 X 10(2), and 5.8 X 10(2) M-1 min-1, respectively. Stoichiometric concentrations of the thiol-oxidizing reagent diethyl azodicarboxylate inactivate thiolase in less than 1 min at pH 7.5. The presence of saturating concentrations of the substrate acetoacetyl coenzyme A or the formation of the acetyl enzyme (a normal catalytic intermediate) results in a significant protection against the inactivation of thiolase by DTNB, 2,2-dithiopyridine, and diethyl azodicarboxylate. All five sulfhydryl residues of native thiolase react with either of the dipyridyl disulfides, but only the equivalent of 3.2 residues react with DTNB even at high concentrations and prolonged incubation times. The reaction of thiolase with DTNB leads to the formation of 1.0-1.4 mol of intrachain disulfide and 0.65 mol of mixed disulfides. After inactivation of thiolase with an equimolar concentration of diethyl azodicarboxylate, 1.2 mol of intrachain disulfide per subunit is found. No cross-linking between the subunits occurs as a result of the reaction of thiolase with DTNB or diethyl azodicarboxylate. The DTNB-inactivated enzyme can be reactivated with excess dithiothreitol while the diethyl azodicarboxylate inactivated enzyme is totally resistant to reactivation by dithiothreitol. There appear to be at least two different ways of forming inactive, oxidized enzyme products depending on the oxidant used, suggesting the possibility of multiple sulfhydryl groups at or near the active site.     

Reaction of the anionic acetylation agent methyl acetyl phosphate with D-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase

Methyl acetyl phosphate is a competitive inhibitor of the reduction of acetoacetate by D-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase. The material also irreversibly inactivates the enzyme. The kinetics of the inactivation are consistent with methyl acetyl phosphate acetylating the conjugate base of a hydrogen bond donor. Protection offered by a substrate analogue (methyl acetonylphosphonate) in the presence of coenzyme implicates reaction at the cationic active site. Reversible protection by the amino group reagent 2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride suggests that methyl acetyl phosphate reacts with an amino group. Sulfhydryl reagents and acetyl phosphate, a poorer acetylating agent, do not inactivate the enzyme. The pH dependence of the inactivation suggests that the acetylation occurs at a site that has a pKa of 8.2. The utility of methyl acetyl phosphate and other acyl phosphate monoesters in reacting with lysines adjacent to cationic sites of enzymes, hemoglobin, and histones is noted.     

Affinity labeling of histidine and lysine residue in the adenosine deaminase substrate binding site.

1. Adenosine deaminase was inactivated by 9-(4-bromoacetamidobenzyl)-adenine (I) and 9-(2-bromoacetamidobenzyl)adenine (II), two affinity labels. 2. The stoichiometry of the reaction with reagent II is reported: 1 mol reagent is bound per mol inactive enzyme. Amino acid analysis of the 6 N HCl hydrolyzate of the inactive enzyme identified CM-histidine as the main alkylation product. This is the first evidence of the presence of a histidine in the active site region. 3. The alkylation rate and involved amino acid residues were studied for both reagents I and II, at pH 8 and 5.5. The particular reactivity of a lysine near or in the active site is discussed.     

Yeast hexokinase A. Succinylation and properties of the active subunit.

Yeast hexokinase A (ATP:D-hexose 6-phosphotransferase, EC2.7.1.1) dissociates into its subunits upon reaction with succinic anhydride. The chemically modified subunits could be isolated in a catalytically active form. The Km values found for ATP and for glucose were of the some order as those found for the native enzyme. Of the 37 amino groups present per enzyme subunit, 2-3 of these groups might be located in the proximity of the region of subunit interactions. The 50% loss of the initial activity, which follows the succinylation of these more reactive amino groups, does not seem to be due to the modification of a residue on the enzyme active site or to a change of the tertiary structure of the protein. This 50%loss of the enzyme activity may be related to the dissociation of the dimer into monomers. Both native enzyme and the succinylated subunits have the same H-dependent denaturation rate profiles in response to 2 M urea. Moreover, the apparent pK of the group involved in the transition from a more stable conformation of the protein in the acid range to a less stable one at alkaline pH seems to be similar to the pK of the group implicated in the transition between the protonated inactive form of the enzyme and an active deprotonated form. The succinylated subunit presents 'negative co-operativity' with respect to ATP at slightly acid pH; however, the burst-type slow transient in the reaction progress curve and the activation effect induced by physiological polyanions, effects observed for the native enzyme, were not detected in the standard experimental conditions with the succinylated subunit.     

N-Acetylbenzotriazole as a protein reagent. Specific behaviour towards delta-chymotrypsin.

When N-[14C] acetylbenzotriazole, presented here as a new agent for the acetylation of proteins, reacted at pH 8 and 25 degrees C with delta-chymotrypsin, 15 amino groups (the epsilon-amino groups of lysing residues and the alpha-amino terminus of half-cystine-1) and two phenolic groups (those of the two exposed tyrosine residues) were acetylated with respective pseudo first-order constants of 0.056 +/- 0.003 and 0.15 +/- 0.03 min(-1). Surprisingly, in contrast with the acetic anhydride reaction, the alpha-amino group of Ile-16 was found to be not acetylated as shown by N-terminus determination and activity measurements: the modified delta-chymotrypsin (or acetylated delta-chymotrypsin) was fully active after neutral dialysis. Only a transient inactivation due to the incorporation of one [14C] acetyl group per mole of catalytic site was observed. The kinetic constant found for reactivation at pH 8.5 was 0.315 +/- 0.005 min(-1) at 25 degrees C. The enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of N-acetylbenzotriazole was described by a k(cat) value of 0.093 +/- 0.005 min(-1) at pH 7 and 25 degrees C. Circular dichroism changes observed at 230 nm during the reaction at pH 8.5, of acetylated delta-chymotrypsin with N-acetylbenzotriazole indicated a total conversion of the amount of enzyme molecules which were in the 'inactive' or 'alkaline' conformation at this pH, into the 'active' or 'neutral' one. Benzotriazole alone was unable to induce such a conformational change. The rate constant of the reverse structural process from the 'neutral' to the 'alkaline' conformation was 0.32 +/- 0.02 min(-1): identical to that of the deacetylation of the catalytic site. Thus, the unusual lack of acetylation of Ile-16 alpha-amino group during delta-chymotrypsin treatment with N-acetylbenzotriazole is interpreted as a stabilization of the enzyme 'neutral' conformation where the Ile-16 alpha-amino group is buried, thus inaccessible to the reagent. The properties of the delta-chymotrypsin modification using N-acetylbenzotriazole led to practical uses: direct spectrophotometric titration of chymotrypsin operational normality at pH 7 and rapid preparation of acetylated delta-chymotrypsin. As a protein reagent, N-acetylbenzotriazole is particularly interesting because of its reactivity towards amino and phenolic groups of amino acid residues, its stability at acid pH, i.e., k(hydrolysis=7.38 X 10(-3) min(-1) at 25 degrees C [Ravaux et al. (1971) Tetrahedron Letters, 4013-4015] and its aromaticity, responsible for optical properties.     

Possible involvement of manganese in the catalytic mechanism of bovine liver arginase.

1. Bovine liver arginase followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics in the pH range of 4.5-9.0. The variation of vi with pH implied that a basic group (pKa 8.7) functions at the catalytic site. 2. Treatment of the enzyme with N-ethylmaleimide showed that there are no critical sulfhydryl groups on the enzyme. 3. The less selective reagent, 3-bromopyruvate, caused biphasic inactivation which was unaffected by the presence of ornithine. 4. The data pointed against critical involvement of active site amino acid side chains in the catalytic sequence in arginase. 5. The observed pH-rate profile may reflect ionization of metal-bound water.     

Arginine-specific modification of rabbit muscle phosphoglucose isomerase: Differences in the inactivation by phenylglyoxal and butanedione and in the protection by substrate analogs

Rabbit muscle phosphoglucose isomerase was modified with phenylglyoxal or 2,3-butanedione, the reaction with either reagent resulting in loss of enzymatic activity in a biphasic mode. At slightly alkaline pH butanedione was found to be approximately six times as effective as phenylglyoxal. The inactivation process could not be significantly reversed by removal of the modifier. Competitive inhibitors of the enzyme protected partially against loss of enzyme activity by either modification. The only kind of amino acid residue affected was arginine. However, more than one arginine residue per enzyme subunit was found to be susceptible to modification by the dicarbonyl reagents. From protection experiments it was concluded (i) that both modifiers react specifically with an arginine in the phosphoglucose isomerase active site and nonspecifically with one or more arginine residues elsewhere in the enzyme molecule, (ii) that modification at either loci causes loss of catalytic activity, and (iii) that butanedione has a higher preference for active site arginine than for arginine residues outside of the catalytic center whereas the opposite is true for phenylglyoxal.     

Interaction between catalytic and regulatory sites of the pyruvate dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli studied by the ESR technique

The accessibility of sulfhydryl groups at the pyruvate dehydrogenase component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex from Escherichia coli was reinvestigated. Hydrophobic interactions appear to control the reactivity of an essential cysteine residue at the active site with thiol reagents. This explains why the essential cysteine residue reacts only with thiol reagents of minor polarity, like p-hydroxymercuribenzoate or phenylmercuric nitrate, but not with Ellman's reagent or jodoacetamide. The pyruvate dehydrogenase component was modified with a nitroxide derivative of p-hydroxymercuribenzoate. The ESR spectrum of the spin-labelled enzyme changed dramatically upon addition of the cofactors thiamine diphosphate and Mg2+. Obviously spin-spin interaction occurs under these conditions caused by a transition of an inactive to an active state of the enzyme. The same conformational change is observed when the allosteric activator AMP instead of the cofactors was bound to the enzyme. The implications of these results for the allosteric regulation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex are discussed.     

The structure and function of ribonuclease T1. XXIII. Inactivation of ribonuclease T1 by reversible blocking of amino groups with cis-aconitic anhydride and related dicarboxylic acid anhydrides.

Ribonuclease T1 [EC 3.1.4.8] was inactivated rapidly by treatment at pH 8.0 and 0 degrees C with cis-aconitic anhydride and related dicabroxylic acid anhydrides, including citraconic, maleic, and succinic anhydrides. Under reaction conditions used, roughly 90% inactivation occurred within 30 min. Analyses of the inactivated enzymes indicated that the reaction took place fairly specifically at the alpha-amino group of the N-terminal alanine and the epsilon-amino group of lysine-41. Upon incubation of these inactivated enzymes at pH 3.6 and 37 degreeC, the activity was regenerated to various extents, depending on the nature of the introduced acyl groups. Under these conditions, the enzyme modified with cis-aconitc anhydride or citraconic anhydride recovered much of the origninal activity after 48 h whereas the enzyme modified with maleic anhydride recovered its activity only partially. Practically no activity was regenerated in the case of the enzyme modified with succinic anhydride under these conditions. The inactivation appears to be due mainly to the effect of the carboxyl group introduced at the epsilon-amino group of lysine-41. The results suggest the usefulness of cis-aconitic anhydride as a reversible blocking reagent for amino groups in proteins.     

Alteration of the specificity of malate dehydrogenase by chemical modulation of an active site arginine

Malate dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli is highly specific for the oxidation of malate to oxaloacetate. The technique of site-specific modulation has been used to alter the substrate binding site of this enzyme. Introduction of a cysteine in place of the active site binding residue arginine 153 results in a mutant enzyme with diminished catalytic activity, but with K(m) values for malate and oxaloacetate that are surprisingly unaffected. Reaction of this introduced cysteine with a series of amino acid analog reagents leads to the incorporation of a range of functional groups at the active site of malate dehydrogenase. The introduction of a positively charged group such as an amine or an amidine at this position results in improved affinity for several inhibitors over that observed with the native enzyme. However, the recovery of catalytic activity is less dramatic, with less than one third of the native activity achieved with the optimal reagents. These modified enzymes do have altered substrate specificity, with alpha-ketoglutarate and hydroxypyruvate no longer functioning as alternative substrates.     

Reactivity of the essential thiol of Klebsiella aerogenes urease. Effect of pH and ligands on thiol modification

The kinetics of Klebsiella aerogenes urease inactivation by disulfide and alkylating agents was examined and found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. Reactivity of the essential thiol is affected by the presence of substrate and competitive inhibitors, consistent with a cysteine located proximal to the active site. In contrast to the results observed with other reagents, the rate of activity loss in the presence of 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) saturated at high reagent concentrations, indicating that DTNB must first bind to urease before inactivation can occur. The pH dependence for the rate of urease inactivation by both disulfide and alkylating agents was consistent with an interaction between the thiol and a second ionizing group. The resulting macroscopic pKa values for the 2 residues are less than 5 and 12. Spectrophotometric studies at pH 7.75 demonstrated that 2,2'-dithiodipyridine (DTDP) modified 8.5 +/- 0.2 mol of thiol/mol of enzyme or 4.2 mol of thiol/mol of catalytic unit. With the slow tight binding competitive inhibitor phenyl-phosphorodiamidate (PPD) bound to urease, 1.1 +/- 0.1 mol of thiol/mol of catalytic unit were protected from modification. PPD-bound DTDP-modified urease could be reactivated by dialysis, consistent with the presence of one thiol per active site. Analogous studies at pH 6.1, using the competitive inhibitor phosphate, confirmed the presence of one protected thiol per catalytic unit. Under denaturing conditions, 25.5 +/- 0.3 mol of thiol/mol of enzyme (Mr = 211, 800) were modified by DTDP.     

Interaction of alcohol dehydrogenase with tert-butylhydroperoxide: stimulation of the horse liver and inhibition of the yeast enzymes

Preincubation of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (HLADH) with the oxidative agent, tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBOOH) results in a twofold stimulation of the ethanol dehydrogenase activity of this enzyme. This stimulation was dependent on tBOOH concentration up to 100 mM; above this concentration tBOOH did not further stimulate ethanol oxidation by HLADH. Active-site-directed reagents and classical ADH binary complexes were used to probe the possible mechanism of this activating effect. The rate and extent of stimulation by tBOOH is strongly reduced by binary complexes with NAD(+) or NADH, whose pyrophosphate groups bind to Arg-47 and Arg-369. In contrast stimulation by tBOOH was not prevented by AMP or the sulfhydryl reagents dithiothreitol and glutathione, suggesting, respectively, a lack of role for Lys-228 and sulfhydryl group oxidation in the stimulation by tBOOH. In contrast to the liver enzyme, treatment of yeast ADH (YADH) with tBOOH irreversibly inhibited its ethanol dehydrogenase activity. Inhibition of YADH by tBOOH approximated first-order rate kinetics with respect to enzyme at fixed concentrations of tBOOH between 0.5 to 300 mM. Four -SH groups per molecule of YADH were modified by tBOOH, whereas only two -SH groups were modified in HLADH. The stimulation of HLADH by tBOOH is suggested to be due to destabilization of the catalytic Zn-coordination sphere and amino acids associated with coenzyme binding in the active site, while inactivation of YADH appears to be associated with -SH group oxidation by the peroxide.     

Formation of stable anhydrides from CoA transferase and hydroxamic acids.

Acetohydroxamic acid reacts with the enzyme-CoA form of succinyl-CoA:3-ketoacid coenzyme A transferase to give an inactive product with a rate constant of 860 M-1 min-1 at pH 8.1, 25 degrees C. The reaction is reversible in the presence of coenzyme A and has an equilibrium constant of 0.040. The product is an anhydride that is an analog of the intermediate that has been postulated in the normal catalytic pathway; it is inactive because coenzyme A does not react with the acyl group of the hydroxamic acid. The equilibrium constant for formation of the anhydride from the thil ester of enzyme and methyl 3-mercaptopropionate is 75 times larger than the equilibrium constant of 2.2 for the formation of N,O-diacetylhydroxylamine from acetohydroxamic acid and acetyl-CoA. This shows that the enzyme stabilizes the anhydride at the active site by at least -2.6 kcal mol-1. Succinomonohydroxamic acid reacts with enzyme-CoA as both a substrate and an inactivator, with relative rate constants of 25:1. The inactivation is irreversible, indicating that the enzyme provides a larger stabilization of at least -5.9 kcal mol-1 for the anhydride of an analog of the specific substrate, succinate. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the enzyme stabilizes an anhydride that is formed at the active site during turnover of normal substrates through a stepwise reaction mechanism.     

Oxidative inactivation of rhodanese by hydrogen peroxide produces states that show differential reactivation

Controlled conditions have been found that give complete reactivation and long term stabilization of rhodanese (EC 2.8.1.1) after oxidative inactivation by hydrogen peroxide. Inactivated rhodanese was completely reactivated by reductants such as thioglycolic acid (TGA) (100 mM) and dithiothreitol (DTT) (100 mM) or the substrate thiosulfate (100 mM) if these reagents were added soon after inactivation. Reactivability fell in a biphasic first order process. At pH 7.5, in the presence of DTT inactive rhodanese lost 40% of its reactivability in less than 5 min, and the remaining 60% was lost more gradually (t 1/2 = 3.5 h). TGA reactivated better than DTT, and the rapid phase was much less prominent. If excess reagents were removed by gel filtration immediately after inactivation, there was time-independent and complete reactivability with TGA for at least 24 h, and the resulting samples were stable. Reactivable enzyme was resistant to proteolysis and had a fluorescence maximum at 335 nm, just as the native protein. Oxidized rhodanese, Partially reactivated by DTT, was unstable and lost activity upon further incubation. This inactive enzyme was fully reactivated by 200 mM TGA. Also, the enzyme could be reactivated by arsenite and high concentrations of cyanide. Addition of hydrogen peroxide (40-fold molar excess) to inactive rhodanese after column chromatography initiated a time-dependent loss of reactivability. This inactivation was a single first order process (t 1/2 = 25 min). Sulfhydryl titers showed that enzyme could be fully reactivated after the loss of either one or two sulfhydryl groups. Irreversibly inactivated enzyme showed the loss of one sulfhydryl group even after extensive reduction with TGA. The results are consistent with a two-stage oxidation of rhodanese. In the first stage there can form sulfenyl and/or disulfide derivative(s) at the active site sulfhydryl that are reducible by thioglycolate. A second stage could give alternate or additional oxidation states that are not easily reducible by reagents tried to date.     

Acetyl-coenzyme A:alpha-glucosaminide N-acetyltransferase. Evidence for an active site histidine residue

The lysosomal membrane enzyme acetyl-CoA:alpha-glucosaminide N-acetyltransferase catalyzes the transfer of the acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to terminal alpha-linked glucosamine residues of heparan sulfate. The reaction appears to be a transmembrane process: the enzyme is acetylated on the outside of the lysosome, and the acetyl group is transferred across the membrane to the inside of the lysosome where it is used to acetylate glucosamine. To determine the reactive site residues involved in the acetylation reaction, lysosomal membranes were treated with various amino acid modification reagents and assayed for enzyme activity. Although four thiol modification reagents were examined, only one, p-chloromercuribenzoate inactivated the N-acetyltransferase. Thiol modification by p-chloromercuribenzoate did not appear to occur at the active site since inactivation was still observed in the presence of the substrate acetyl-CoA. N-Acetyltransferase could be inactivated by N-bromosuccinimide, even after pretreatment with reagents specific for tyrosine and tryptophan, suggesting that the modified residue is a histidine. Diethyl pyrocarbonate, another histidine modification reagent, could also inactivate the enzyme; this inactivation could be reversed by incubation with hydroxylamine. N-Bromosuccinimide and diethyl pyrocarbonate modifications appear to be at the active site of the enzyme since co-incubation with acetyl-CoA protects the N-acetyltransferase from inactivation. This protection is lost if glucosamine is also present. Pre-acetylated lysosomal membranes are also able to provide protection from N-bromosuccinimide inactivation, providing further evidence for a histidine moiety at the active site and for the existence of an acetyl-enzyme intermediate.     

A method for the separation of hybrids of chromatographically identical oligomeric proteins. Use of 3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthaloyl groups as a reversible "chromatographic handle".

Hybridization experiments with variants of an oligomeric protein often provide important information regarding subunit structure, function, and interactions. In some systems, however, the variants are so similar electrophoretically and chromatographically that purification of individual hybrids is not feasible. Therefore a method was developed for preparing hybrids by using 3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride as a reversible acylating agent for protein amino groups. The technique involved acylating about 30% of the amino groups at pH 8 to give a derivative with a markedly altered net charge, formation of the hybrid set with unmodified and modified species, separation of the individual components by ion-exchange chromatography, and finally removal of the tetrahydrophthaloyl groups from the desired hybrid by incubation for about 1 day at pH 6 and room temperature. Experiments with model compounds and two enzymes showed that the anhydride was sepcific for amino groups. The extent of modification of proteins was measured by the spectral change at 250 nm, the loss of free amino groups, and the change in electrophoretic mobility of the polypeptide chains in polyacrylamide gels containing 8 M urea. Deacylation of modified, inactive aldolase and the catalytic subunit of aspartate transcarbamylase led to the restoration of the enzyme activity and electrophoretic mobility of the unmodified proteins. Both intra- and inter-subunit hybrids of aspartate transcarbamylase were prepared and isolated by using the tetrahydrophthaloyl groups as a reversible "chromatographic handle". Prior to deacylation the inter-subunit hybrid containing one acylated and one native catalytic subunit (and negative regulatory sub-units) exhibited no homotropic cooperativity and after deacylation the characteristic allosteric properties of the enzyme were regained. Similarly the ligand-promoted conformational changes associated with the allosteric transition were resotred upon deacylation of the intra-subunit hybrid containing one acylated and two native chains in each catalytic subunit. Criteria are described which must be satisfied if a reversible "chromatographic handle" is to be effective in hybridization experiments and it is shown that, despite some heterogeneity in its reaction with protein amino groups, 3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride shows considerable promise for studies of oligomeric proteins.     

Identification of glutamic acid 186 affinity-labeled by 2,3-epoxypropyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside in soybean beta-amylase

Soybean beta-amylase was modified with 2,3-epoxypropyl alpha-D-[U-14C]glucopyranoside ([14C]alpha-EPG), a radioactive affinity-labeling reagent for beta-amylase, until it lost 95% of its enzyme activity. After S-carboxymethylation at pH 8.0 of SH groups, the modified enzyme was digested at pH 7.0 with Achromobacter protease I and the digest was fractionated by reverse-phase HPLC. A radioactive peptide was finally isolated and its amino acid sequence was determined to be 181Leu-Gly-Pro-Ala-Gly-Glu186. Radioactivity derived from [14C]-alpha-EPG was found exclusively at Glu-186, the gamma-carboxyl group of which is esterified with the affinity label. It was concluded that the carboxylate of Glu-186 is a functional group at the catalytic site of soybean beta-amylase.     

3,4,5,6-Tetrahydrophthalic anhydride modification of glutamate dehydrogenase: the construction and activity of heterohexamers

Modification of glutamate dehydrogenase with 3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride at pH 8.0 results in the progressive loss of enzymatic activity and a concomitant increase in the negative charge of the protein. Although the rate of inactivation at room temperature is too rapid to allow accurate rate constant determination, modification at 4 degrees C shows that the pseudo-first-order rate constant for inactivation appears to show a saturation effect with increasing reagent concentration, with a maximum of approximately 1 min-1. Control experiments showed that tetrahydrophthalic anhydride was hydrolyzed at a much slower rate, with a pseudo-first-order rate constant of 0.041 min-1. Protection studies indicated that inactivation was decreased by the active site ligands, NADP and 2-oxoglutarate. The extents of inactivation, whether assayed with glutamate at pH 7.0 or norvaline at pH 8.0, were the same. Changes in mobility on native gels and isoelectric point were used to follow the incorporated negative charge resulting from modification. Enzyme modified in the presence of protecting ligands (where activity is maintained) showed mobility changes which suggested that a single site of modification was protected. Modified enzyme incorporated 0.78 mol pyridoxal 5-phosphate less than native enzyme, consistent with modification of lysine-126. Enzyme modified under limiting conditions was shown to have a quaternary structure similar to that of the native enzyme, as judged by crosslinking patterns obtained with dimethylpimelimidate. The modified protein is readily resolved from unmodified protein using an NaCl double gradient elution from DEAE-Sephacel. The modification is reversed with regain of activity by incubation of the modified enzyme at low pH. We have made use of the recently demonstrated ability of guanidine hydrochloride to dissociate the hexamer of glutamate dehydrogenase into trimers that can then be reassociated to construct heterohexamers of glutamate dehydrogenase, in which one trimer of the heterohexamer contains native subunits while the other has been inactivated by the 3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride modification. The heterohexamer is separated from either native or fully modified hexamers by DEAE-Sephacel chromatography. Significantly, the heterohexamer has little detectable catalytic activity, although activity is regained by reversal of the modification of the one modified trimer in the hexamer. This demonstrates that catalytic site cooperation between trimers in the hexamer of glutamate dehydrogenase is an essential component of the enzymatic activity of this enzyme.     

Introduction of unnatural amino acids into chalcone isomerase.

The active site cysteine residue of chalcone isomerase was rapidly and selectively modified under denaturing conditions with a variety of electrophilic reagents. These denatured and modified enzyme were renatured to produce enzyme derivatives containing a series of unnatural amino acids in the active site. Addition of methyl, ethyl, butyl, heptyl, and benzyl groups to the cysteine sulfur does not abolish catalytic activity, although the activity decreases as the steric bulk of the amino acid side-chain increases. Modification of the cysteine to introduce a charged homoglutamate or a neutral homoglutamine analogue results in retention of 22% of the catalytic activity. Addition of a methylthio group (SMe) to the cysteine residue of native chalcone isomerase preserves 85% of the catalytic activity measured with 2',4',4-trihydroxychalcone, 2',4',6',4-tetrahydroxychalcone, or 2'-hydroxy-4-methoxychalcone as substrates. The competitive inhibition constant for 4',4-dihydroxychalcone, the substrate inhibition constant for 2',4',4-trihydroxychalcone, and other steady-state kinetic parameters for the methanethiolated enzyme are very similar to those of the native enzyme. The strong binding of 4',4-dihydroxychalcone to the methanethiolated enzyme shows that there is no steric repulsion between this modified amino acid residue and the substrate analogue. This structure-activity study clearly demonstrates that the active site cysteine residue does not function as an acid-base or nucleophilic group in producing the catalysis or substrate inhibition observed with chalcone isomerase. The method presented in this paper allows for the rapid introduction of a series of unnatural amino acids into the active site as a means of probing the structure-function relationship.     

The nature of functional groups in the active center of antitumor glutamin-(asparagin-)ase

The effect of two reagents on glutamin (asparagin) ase from Pseudomonas aurantiaca-548 has been studied. 2,3-butanedione which modified arginine residues was ineffective for the inactivation of the enzyme. The enzyme was completely inactivated in the presence of N-ethyl-5-phenylisoxazolium-3'-sulfonate (Woodward's reagent K). The effects of pH, reagent concentration, competitive inhibitors and their analogues on the rate or degree of enzyme inactivation were studied. The experimental results suggest that the carboxyl groups localized at the active site of glutamin (asparagin) ase are probably essential for the substrate binding.