Isolation, purification and physicochemical properties of glutamin-asparaginase from Pseudomonas boreopolis 526

A new homogeneous enzyme which is capable of catalyzing the hydrolysis of both glutamine and asparaginase has been purified from extracts of Pseudomonas boreopolis 526 by the improved method. Purification involves few stages. The ratio of glutaminase to asparaginase activity is approximately 1.5:1.0. The enzyme is stable on storage and has a wide pH optimum of action (6-8.5). The molecular weight is about 134 000-145 000 D and the subunit molecular weight is about 34 000 D. No free SH-groups have been detected in the enzyme molecule.     

L-Asparaginase of Klebsiella aerogenes. Activation of its synthesis by glutamine synthetase.

An L-asparaginase has been purified some 250-fold from extracts of Klebsiella aerogenes to near homogeneity. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 141,000 as measured by gel filtration and appears to consist of four subunits of molecular weight 37,000. The enzyme has high affinity for L-asparagine, with a Km below 10(-5) M, and hydrolyzes glutamine at a 20-fold lower rate, with a Km of 10(-3) M. Interestingly, the enzyme exhibits marked gamma-glutamyltransferase activity but comparatively little beta-aspartyl-transferase activity. A mutant strain lacking this asparaginase has been isolated and grows at 1/2 to 1/3 the rate of the parent strain when asparagine is provided in the medium as the sole source of nitrogen. This strain grows as well as the wild type when the medium is supplemented with histidine or ammonia. Glutamine synthetase activates the formation of L-asparaginase. Mutants lacking glutamine synthetase fail to produce the asparaginase, and mutants with a high constitutive level of glutamine synthetase also contain the asparaginase at a high level. Thus, the formation of asparaginase is regulated in parallel with that of other enzymes capable of supplying the cell with ammonia or glutamate, such as histidase and proline oxidase. Formation of the asparaginase does not require induction by asparaginase and is not subject to catabolite repression.     

Extracellular Asparaginase from Candida utilis,Its Properties as Glycoprotein and Antitumor Activities

Purified Candida asparaginase was proved to be homogeneous by gel filtration, ultra-centrifugation and disc electrophoresis. The enzyme was found to have properties as glycoprotein containing mannose. The ratio of mannose to protein was 1 to 2 in purified enzyme. Specific activity was 5500 units per nag of protein. Isoelectric point was pH 4 to 4.5 and sedimentation coefficient was found to be about 8.2 S. Antitumor activity of Candida asparaginase was inferior to E. coli enzyme. It was thought as the reason why the Candida asparaginase had less affinity to l-asparagine and it was cleared faster from the blood than E. coli asparaginase.     

Purification and properties of asparagine synthetase from soybean root nodules

Asparagine synthetase was purified 240-fold from soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) root nodules with a final recovery of 5% using Reactive Blue 2-crossed linked Agarose affinity gel chromatography. High levels of sulfhydryl protectants were required and the inclusion to glycerol and substrates in the extraction buffer helped to stabilize the enzyme. The final preparation had a specific activity of 3.77 mkat/kg protein when assayed at 30°C and was free of contaminating asparaginase activity. The enzyme had a broad pH maximum around pH 8.0 and apparent K_m values for the substrates aspartate, Mg · ATP, and glutamine were 1.24 mM, 0.076 mM and 0.16 mM, respectively. Ammonium ion could partially replace glutamine as the nitrogen donor. Initial velocity patterns yielded parallel inverse plots with all substrate pairs suggesting an overall ping-pong reaction mechanism. Product inhibition patterns provided evidence that glutamine was the first substrate to bind to the enzyme and asparagine was the last product released.     

Sulfhydryl groups of L-asparaginase A from Pseudomonas fluorescens AG]

It has been demonstrated that the activity of asparaginase A from Ps. fluorescens AG is completely inhibited by 10(-4) M p-chloromercurybenzoate and by 70-85% by Zn2+, Ca2+ and Cu2+ (2.10(-2) M). Iodoacetate, iodoacetamide, N-ethylimide of maleic acid and 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) do not decrease the enzyme activity. Dithiothreitol and beta-mercaptoethanol reactivate the enzyme. L-asparagine, the substrate of asparaginase, protects the enzyme in a large degree against the inhibitory action of p-chloromercurybenzoate. p-chloromercurybenzoate induces a sharp increase in the asparaginase inactivation rate at acidic (6.5--5.5) and alkaline (7.5-8.5) values of pH. The enzyme modification by p-chloromercurybenzoate does not change the Km value for L-asparagine, but decreases Vmax. Thus it may be assumed, that asparaginase from Ps. fluorescens AG contains sulfhydryl groups essential for the enzyme activity.     

Immunochemical evidence for glutamine-mediated degradation of glutamine synthetase in cultured Chinese hamster cells.

The specific activity of glutamine synthetase in cultured Chinese hamster cells is inversely related to the concentration of glutamine in the surrounding solution. Enzyme specific activity increases 8- to 10-fold when glutamine is removed from serum-free F12 growth media. The induction of glutamine synthetase activity occurs only after glutamine removal and not after the removal of other amino acids (methionine, leucine, or isoleucine). The analysis of the glutamine-mediated decrease in glutamine synthetase activity has been simplified by the finding that depression proceeds in nutrient-free buffered saline solution (141 mM NaCl, 5.4 mM KCl and 30 mM Tricine (pH 7.4). Under these conditions, 0.1 mM cyanide blocks glutamine-mediated depression. The cyanide inhibition is reversed by the addition of 1.0 mM glucose which suggests that ATP is required for depression. Glutamine-mediated depression is temperature-dependent, occurring between 25 and 45 degrees with an optimum rate at 37 degrees. Studies of the time course of induction and depression as a function of glutamine concentration suggest that glutamine regulates the rate at which the enzyme is either modified or degraded. We have employed an antibody prepared against homogeneous Chinese hamster liver glutamine synthetase to measure the amount of glutamine synthetase protein in extracts of cells containing induced or depressed levels of enzyme activity. A highly sensitive immunoprecipitation procedure enables quantitation of nanogram amounts of glutamine synthetase protein. Glutamine synthetase in cell extracts containing induced levels of enzyme activity possesses the same molecular specific activity (ratio of activity to antigenicity) as homogeneous Chinese hamster liver glutamine synthetase. The molecular specific activity of glutamine synthetase is almost the same in extracts of cells with depressed levels of enzyme obtained by growth for short (2 hours) and long (24 hours) times in the presence of glutamine. These data suggest that glutamine-mediated depression of glutamine synthetase results from degradation of enzyme molecules.     

Asparaginase synthesis by semi-continuous fermentor cultures of Vibrio succinogenes

Summary Vibrio succinogenes produces an asparaginase that does not hydrolyze glutamine, is not immunosuppressive, and has antitumor activity. Fermentor cultures initiated by small inocula exhibit a pattern of increasing enzyme activity consistent with induction during exponential phase. Semi-continuous cultures permit the harvesting of fully induced cells.     

Structural studies of two apyrases from Solanum tuberosum

The proportion of acid and basic amino acid residues obtained for two homogeneous isoenzymes of apyrase isolated from different clonal varieties of Solanum tuberosum (Pimpernel and Desirée) was essentially the same. This does not agree with the difference in pI values observed. Treatment with asparaginase and glutaminase caused partial inactivation of both enzyme activities in both isoenzymes, and pI values were changed, but not equalized. The differences in pI values of the native isoenzymes may still be attributed to different proportions of glutamine and asparagine in the primary structure. Leucine is the amino-terminal residue in both isoenzymes. Both have two disulphide bridges and one buried sulphydryl group which is not essential for enzyme activity. Differences in pI values should thus be attributed to factors other than amino acid composition.     

Properties of the Bacillus licheniformis A5 glutamine synthetase purified from cells grown in the presence of ammonia or nitrate.

The glutamine synthetase from Bacillus licheniformis A5 was purified by using a combination of polyethylene glycol precipitation and chromatography on Bio-Gel A 1.5m. The resulting preparation was judged to be homogeneous by the criteria of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, equilibrium analytical ultracentrifugation, and electron microscopic analysis. The enzyme is a dodecamer with a molecular weight of approximately 616,000, and its subunit molecular weight is 51,000. Under optimal assay conditions (pH 6.6, 37 degrees C) apparent Km values for glutamate, ammonia, and manganese.adenosine 5'-triphosphate (1:1 ratio) were 3.6, 0.4, and 0.9 mM, respectively. Glutamine synthetase activity was inhibited approximately 50% by the addition of 5 mM glutamine, alanine, glycine, serine, alpha-ketoglutarate, carbamyl phosphate, adenosine 5'-diphosphate, or inosine 5'-triphosphate to the standard glutamine synthetase assay system, whereas 5 mM adenosine 5'-monophosphate or pyrophosphate caused approximately 90% inhibition of enzyme activity. Phosphorylribosyl pyrophosphate at 5 mM enhanced activity approximately 60%. We were unable to detect any physical or kinetic differences in the properties of the enzyme when it was purified from cells grown in the presence of ammonia or nitrate as sole nitrogen source. The data indicate that B. licheniformis A5 contains one species of glutamine synthetase whose catalytic activity is not regulated by a covalent modification system.     

Glutamine synthetase of pseudomonads: some biochemical and physicochemical properties.

The glutamine synthetases from several Pseudomonas species were purified to homogeneity, and their properties were compared with those reported for the enzymes from Escherichia coli and other gram-negative bacteria. The glutamine synthetase from Pseudomonas fluorescens was unique because it was nearly precipitated quantitatively as a homogeneous protein during dialysis of partially purified preparations against buffer containing 10 mM imidazole (pH 7.0) and 10 mM MnCl2. The glutamine synthetases from Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were purified by affinity chromatography on Affi-blue gel. Dodecamerous forms of the E. coli and P. fluorescens glutamine synthetases had identical mobilities during polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Their dissociated subunits, however, migrated differently and were readily separated by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels containing 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate. This difference in subunit mobilities is not related to the state of adenylylation. Regulation of the Pseudomonas glutamine synthetase activity is mediated by an adenylylation-deadenylylation cyclic cascade system. A sensitive procedure was developed for measuring the average number of adenylylated subunits per enzyme molecule for the glutamine synthetase from P. fluorescens. This method takes advantage of the large differences in transferase activity of the adenylylated and unadenylylated subunits at pH 6.0 and of the fact that the activities of both kinds of subunits are the same at pH 8.45.     

Construction of expression systems for Escherichia coli asparaginase II and two-step purification of the recombinant enzyme from periplasmic extracts.

Isoenzyme II of Escherichia coli L-asparaginase (L-asparagine amidohydrolase, EC 3.5.1.1) is among the few enzymes of major therapeutic importance, being used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We have constructed several inducible expression systems that overproduce asparaginase II from recombinant plasmids. The most efficient of these systems consists of plasmid pTWE1, a derivative of pT7-7, and an ansB- strain of E. coli, CU1783. These cells produce and secrete amounts of asparaginase II that account for 10-15% of the total cellular protein. Most of the active recombinant enzyme can be released from the periplasmic space by a simple osmotic shock procedure. From the resulting material homogeneous asparaginase II was obtained by a two-step procedure. Overall yields of purified asparaginase were 10-15 mg asparaginase II per liter of E. coli culture. The recombinant enzyme appeared identical to conventionally purified preparations.     

Highly purified glutamine transaminase from rat brain. Physical and kinetic properties.

Glutamine transaminase from rat brain was purified to a high degree. The isolated enzyme appeared to be homogeneous by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel. The molecular weight was found to be approximately 98 000; the enzyme is probably composed of two subunits. The absorbance maximum at 410 nm and the inhibition by carbonyl reagents are strong indications for the presence of pyridoxal phosphate. The enzyme showed maximal activity at pH 9.0 to 9.2. Of the amino acids tested, none could replace glutamine in the transamination reaction. Glyoxylate and phenylpyruvate was found to be the best amino acceptors. The Km values for glutamine and glyoxylate were 0.6 and 1.5 mM, respectively.     

Regulation of the activity of the Bacillus licheniformis A5 glutamine synthetase

The regulation of glutamine synthetase activity by positive and negative effectors of enzyme activity singularly and in combinations was studied by using a homogeneous enzyme preparation from Bacillus licheniformis A5. Phosphorylribosyl pyrophosphate at concentrations greater than 2mM stimulated glutamine synthetase activity by approximately 70%. The concentration of phosphorylribosyl pyrophosphate required for half-maximal stimulation of enzyme activity was 0.4 mM. Results obtained from studies of fractional inhibition of glutamine synthetase activity were consistent with the presence of one allosteric site for glutamine binding (apparent I0.5, 2.2mM) per active enzyme unit at a glutamate concentration of 50 mM. At a glutamate concentration of 30 mM or less, the data were consistent with the enzyme containing two binding sites for glutamine (one of which was an allosteric site with an apparent I0.5 of 0.4 mM). Bases on an analysis of the response of glutamine synthetase activity to positive and negative effectors in vitro and to the intracellular concentration of these effectors in vivo, the primary modulators of glutamine synthetase activity in B. licheniformis A5 appear to be glutamine and alanine (apparent I0.5, 5.2mM).     

Asparaginase production by human clinical isolates of Vibrio succinogenes

Three human isolates of Vibrio succinogenes produced asparaginase. Apparent Km's were 87,220, and 320 microM. The rate of glutamine hydrolysis was between 2.8 and 3.5% of the rate of asparagine hydrolysis. Asparaginase production was not induced by ammonium ions, and enzyme yields were lower than those obtained with the rumen strain.     

Asparaginase production by human clinical isolates of Vibrio succinogenes.

Three human isolates of Vibrio succinogenes produced asparaginase. Apparent Km's were 87,220, and 320 microM. The rate of glutamine hydrolysis was between 2.8 and 3.5% of the rate of asparagine hydrolysis. Asparaginase production was not induced by ammonium ions, and enzyme yields were lower than those obtained with the rumen strain.     

Isolation of a highly active preparation of beta-D-galactosidase

Methods for isolation and purification of beta-galactosidase from Bacillus subtilis, st. IBP-101 are described. The bacterial cells were disrupted by different procedures such as freezing and thawing with subsequent autolysis at 37 degrees C, disrupting in a French press DKM-3 or in ultrasonic disintegrators UZDN-1 (USSR) and Soniprep-150. It is shown that the specific activity and yield of the enzyme depends to a great extent on the disrupting procedure used. The best results were obtained in case of sonication. The preparation was purified by precipitation with ammonium sulphate (25-75% saturated) and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and DEAE-Sephadex. The purified enzyme had a specific activity of 3155 units per mg protein. The molecular weight of the homogeneous according to gel polyacrylamide electrophoresis preparation was 215,000, as estimated by gel filtration, and 105,000, as estimated by SDS gel electrophoresis. The enzyme retains the activity in the presence of Na+, Mn2+ or Mg2+ ions or the thiolic reagents, dithiothreitol or 2-mercaptoethanol. The pH optimum of the enzyme activity is 6.3 and it is stable in water solutions at pH from 6 to 9 and can be lyophilized. The given preparation of beta-galactosidase has a high affinity for synthetic substrates such as o- and p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactopyranosides and 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside.     

Derepression of asparaginase II during exponential growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on ammonium ion

The biosynthesis of asparaginase II in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is sensitive to nitrogen catabolite repression. In cell cultures growing in complete ammonia medium, asparaginase II synthesis is repressed in the early exponential phase but becomes derepressed in the midexponential phase. When amino acids such as glutamine or asparagine replace ammonium ion in the growth medium, the enzyme remains repressed into the late exponential phase. The three nitrogen compounds permit a similar rate of cell growth and are assimilated at nearly the same rate. In the early exponential phase the internal amino acid pool is larger in cells growing with glutamine or asparagine than in cells growing with ammonium sulfate as the sole source of nitrogen.     

Regulation of asparaginase, glutamine synthetase, and glutamate dehydrogenase in response to medium nitrogen concentrations in a euryhaline chlamydomonas species

The ammonium assimilatory enzymes glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) and glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.3) were investigated for a possible role in the regulation of asparaginase (EC 3.5.1.1) in a Chlamydomonas species isolated from a marine environment. Cells grown under nitrogen limitation (0.1 millimolar NH(4) (+), NO(3) (-), or l-asparagine) possessed 6 times the asparaginase activity and approximately one-half the protein of cells grown at high nitrogen levels (1.5 to 2.5 millimolar). Biosynthetic glutamine synthetase activity was 1.5 to 1.8 times greater in nitrogen-limited cells than cells grown at high levels of the three nitrogen sources.Conversely, glutamate dehydrogenase (both NADH- and NADPH-dependent activities) was greatest in cells grown at high levels of asparagine or ammonium, while nitrate-grown cells possessed little activity at all concentrations employed. For all three nitrogen sources, glutamate dehydrogenase activity was correlated to the residual ammonium concentration of the media after growth (r = 0.88 and 0.94 for NADH- and NADPH-dependent activities, respectively).These results suggest that glutamate dehydrogenase is regulated in response to ambient ammonium levels via a mechanism distinct from asparaginase or glutamine synthetase. Glutamine synthetase and asparaginase, apparently repressed by high levels of all three nitrogen sources, are perhaps regulated by a common mechanism responding to intracellular nitrogen depletion, as evidenced by low cellular protein content.     

Effect of methionine sulfoximine on asparaginase activity and ammonium levels in pea leaves

In developing leaves of Pisum sativum the levels of ammonium did not change during the light-dark photoperiod even though asparaginase (EC 3.5.1.1) did; asparaginase activity in detached leaves doubled during the first 2.5 hours in the light. When these leaves were supplied with 1 millimolar methionine sulfoximine (MSX, an inhibitor of glutamine synthetase, GS, activity) at the beginning of the photoperiod, levels of ammonium increased 8-to 10-fold, GS activity was inhibited 95%, and the light-stimulated increase in asparaginase activity was completely prevented, and declined to less than initial levels. When high concentrations of ammonium were supplied to leaves, the light-stimulated increase of asparaginase was partially prevented. However, it was also possible to prevent asparaginase increase, in the absence of ammonium accumulation, by the addition of MSX together with aminooxyacetate (AOA, which inhibits transamination and some other reactions of photorespiratory nitrogen cycling). AOA alone did not prevent light-stimulated asparaginase increase; neither MSX, AOA, or elevated ammonium levels inhibited the activity of asparaginase in vitro. These results suggest that the effect of MSX on asparaginase increase is not due solely to interference with photorespiratory cycling (since AOA also prevents cycling, but has no effect alone), nor to the production of high ammonium concentration or its subsequent effect on photosynthetic mechanisms. MSX must have further inhibitory effects on metabolism. It is concluded that accumulation of ammonium in the presence of MSX may underestimate rates of ammonium turnover, since liberation of ammonium from systems such as asparaginase is reduced by the effects of MSX.     

Asparagine synthetases of Klebsiella aerogenes: properties and regulation of synthesis

We isolated pleiotropic mutants of Klebsiella aerogenes with the transposon Tn5 which were unable to utilize a variety of poor sources of nitrogen. The mutation responsible was shown to be in the asnB gene, one of two genes coding for an asparagine synthetase. Mutations in both asnA and asnB were necessary to produce an asparagine requirement. Assays which could distinguish the two asparagine synthetase activities were developed in strains missing a high-affinity asparaginase. The asnA and asnB genes coded for ammonia-dependent and glutamine-dependent asparagine synthetases, respectively. Asparagine repressed both enzymes. When growth was nitrogen limited, the level of the ammonia-dependent enzyme was low and that of the glutamine-dependent enzyme was high. The reverse was true in a nitrogen-rich (ammonia-containing) medium. Furthermore, mutations in the glnG protein, a regulatory component of the nitrogen assimilatory system, increased the level of the ammonia-dependent enzyme. The glutamine-dependent asparagine synthetase was purified to 95%. It was a tetramer with four equal 57,000-dalton subunits and catalyzed the stoichiometric generation of asparagine, AMP, and inorganic pyrophosphate from aspartate, ATP, and glutamine. High levels of ammonium chloride (50 mM) could replace glutamine. The purified enzyme exhibited a substrate-independent glutaminase activity which was probably an artifact of purification. The tetramer could be dissociated; the monomer possessed the high ammonia-dependent activity and the glutaminase activity, but not the glutamine-dependent activity. In contrast, the purified ammonia-dependent asparagine synthetase, about 40% pure, had a molecular weight of 80,000 and is probably a dimer of identical subunits. Asparagine inhibited both enzymes. Kinetic constants and the effect of pH, substrate, and product analogs were determined. The regulation and biochemistry of the asparagine synthetases prove the hypothesis strongly suggested by the genetic and physiological evidence that a glutamine-dependent enzyme is essential for asparagine synthesis when the nitrogen source is growth rate limiting.