Reaction of the glucose carrier of erythrocytes with sodium tetrathionate: Evidence for inward-facing and outward-facing carrier conformations

Summary Sodium tetrathionate reacts with the glucose carrier of human erythrocytes at a rate which is greatly altered in the presence of competitive inhibitors of glucose transport. Inhibitors bound to the carrier on the outer surface of the membrane, either at the substrate site (maltose) or at the external inhibition site (phloretin and phlorizin), more than double the reaction rate. Inhibitors bound at the internal inhibition site (cytochalasin B and androstenedione), protect the system against tetrathionate. After treatment with tetrathionate, the maximum transport rate falls to less than one-third, and the properties of the binding sites are modified in unexpected ways. The affinity of externally bound inhibitors rises: phloretin is bound up to seven times more strongly and phlorizin and maltose twice as strongly. The affinity of cytochalasin B, bound at the internal inhibition site, falls to half while that of androstenedione is little changed. The affinity of external glucose falls slightly. Androstenedione prevents both the fall in transport activity and the increase in phloretin affinity produced by tetrathionate. An inhibitor of anion transport has no effect on the reaction. The observations support the following conclusions: (1) Tetrathionate produces its effects on the glucose transport system by reacting with the carrier on the outer surface of the membrane. (2) The carrier assumes distinct inward-facing and outward-facing conformations, and tetrathionate reacts with only the outward-facing form. (3) The thiol group with which tetrathionate is presumed to react is not present in either the substrate site or the internal or external inhibitor site. (4) In binding asymmetrically to the carrier, a reversible inhibitor shifts the carrier partition between inner and outer forms and thereby raises or lowers the rate of tetrathionate reaction with the system. (5) Reaction with tetrathionate converts the carrier to an altered state in which the conformation at all three binding sites is changed and the rate of carrier reorientation is reduced.     

Steady-state kinetics and the inactivation by 2,3-butanedione of the energy-independent transhydrogenase of Escherichia coli cell membranes.

Kinetic measurements indicate that the energy-independent transhydrogenation of 3-acetylpyridine-NAD+ by NADPH in membranes of Escherichia coli follows a rapid equilibrium random bireactant mechanism. Each substrate, although reacting preferentially with its own binding site, is able to interact with the binding site of the other substrate to cause inhibition of enzyme activity. 5'-AMP (and ADP) and 2'-AMP interact with the NAD+- and NADP+-binding sites, respectively. Phenylglyoxal and 2,3-butanedione in borate buffer inhibit transhydrogenase activity presumably by reacting with arginyl residues. Protection against inhibition by 2,3-butanedione is afforded by NADP+, NAD+, and high concentrations of NADPH and NADH. Low concentrations of NADPH and NADH increase the rate of inhibition by 2,3-butanedione. Similar effects are observed for the inactivation of the transhydrogenase by tryptic digestion in the presence of these coenzymes. It is concluded that there are at least two conformations of the active site of the transhydrogenase which differ in the extent to which arginyl residues are accessible to exogenous agents such as trypsin and 2,3-butanedione. One conformation is induced by low concentrations of NADH and NADPH. Under these conditions the coenzymes could be reacting at the active site or at an allosteric site. The stimulation of transhydrogenase activity by low concentrations of the NADH is consistent with the latter possibility.     

Detection of essential arginine in bacterial peptidyl dipeptidase-4: arginine is not the anion binding site

Peptidyl dipeptidase-4 from Pseudomonas maltophilia was modified with the arginine reagents p-hydroxyphenylglyoxal and 2,3-butanedione. The enzyme was inactivated in a pseudo-first-order manner by p-hydroxyphenylglyoxal with a half-time of 72 min. Inactivation by 2,3-butanedione was biphasic with a rapid phase followed by a slower inactivation to less than 10% activity within 24h. The competitive inhibitor thiorphan protected against inactivation by phydroxyphenylglyoxal and by 2,3-butanedione also but to a lesser degree. Inhibitory anions chloride and phosphate did not protect against inactivation by either reagent. These data support the conclusion that an active site arginine is essential for substrate hydrolysis. Furthermore, arginine is not the binding site for the inhibitors chloride and phosphate.     

Essential arginyl residues in the H+-translocating ATPase of plasma membrane from the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The H+-translocating adenosine-5'-triphosphatase (ATPase) purified from the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is inactivated upon incubation with the arginine modifier 2,3-butanedione. The inactivation of the enzyme is maximal at pH values above 8.5. The modified enzyme is reactivated when incubated in the absence of borate after removal of 2,3-butanedione. The extent of inactivation is half maximal at 10 mM 2,3-butanedione for an incubation of 30 min at 30 degrees C at pH 7.0. Under the same conditions, the time-dependence of inactivation is biphasic in a semi-logarithmic plot with half-lives of 10.9 min and 65.9 min. Incubation with 2,3-butanedione lowering markedly the maximal rate of ATPase activity does not modify the Km for MgATP. These data suggest that two classes of arginyl residues play essential role in the plasma membrane ATPase activity. Magnesium adenosine 5'-triphosphate (MgATP) and magnesium adenosine 5'-diphosphate (MgADP), the specific substrate and product, protect partially against enzyme inactivation by 2,3-butanedione. Free ATP or MgGTP which are not enzyme substrates do not protect. Free magnesium, another effector of enzyme activity, exhibits partial protection at magnesium concentrations up to 0.5 mM, while increased inactivation is observed at higher Mg2+ concentrations. These protections indicate either the existence of at least one reactive arginyl in the substrate binding site or a general change of enzyme conformation induced by MgATP, MgADP or free magnesium.     

Asymmetric binding of steroids to internal and external sites in the glucose carrier of erythrocytes

Steroids inhibit glucose transport in erythrocytes by binding to sites in the carrier which are exposed on both the outer and inner surfaces of the cell membrane. Some steroids are bound almost exclusively at inner sites (androstendione and androstandione), while others are bound about as firmly on one side as the other (corticosterone). Still others exhibit a moderate preference for the internal site (deoxycorticosterone). The inhibition is in all cases competitive with respect to a substrate which is bound at the same surface of the membrane as the inhibitor. However, in experiments on substrate entry, internally bound inhibitors act in an apparently non-competitive fashion, as expected if the carrier model is valid. This behaviour explains the appearance of competitive, non-competitive and mixed inhibitions with different steroids (Lacko, L., Wittke, B. and Geck, P. (1975) J. Cell Physiol. 86, 673–680).     

Kinetic discrimination of two substrate binding sites of the reconstituted dicarboxylate carrier from rat liver mitochondria

The kinetic interaction of various substrates and inhibitors with the dicarboxylate carrier from rat liver mitochondria was investigated using the isolated and reconstituted carrier protein. Due to their inhibitory interrelation the ligands could be divided into two classes: dicarboxylates, sulphate, sulphite and butylmalonate on the one hand and phosphate, thiosulphate and arsenate on the other. The mutual inhibition of substrates or inhibitors taken from one single class was found to be competitive, whereas the kinetic interaction of ligands when taken from the two different classes could be described as purely non-competitive. The half-saturation transport constants Km and the corresponding inhibition constants Ki of one single ligand, either used as substrate or as inhibitor, respectively, were found to be very similar. These kinetic data strongly support the presence of two different binding sites at the dicarboxylate carrier for the two different classes of substrates considering the external side of the reconstituted protein. When these two sites were saturated simultaneously with malate and phosphate, the turnover of the carrier was considerably reduced, hence indicating that a non-catalytic ternary complex is formed by the two substrates and the carrier molecule.     

Evidence for the importance of arginine residues in pig kidney alkaline phosphatase.

The arginine-specific reagents 2,3-butanedione and phenylglyoxal inactivate pig kidney alkaline phosphatase. As inactivation proceeds there is a progressive fall in Vmax. of the enzyme, but no demonstrable change in the Km value for substrate. Pi, a competitive inhibitor, and AMP, a substrate of the enzyme, protect alkaline phosphatase against the arginine-specific reagents. These effects are explicable by the assumption that the enzyme contains an essential arginine residue at the active site. Protection is also afforded by the uncompetitive inhibitor NADH through a partially competive action against the reagents. Enzyme that has been exposed to the reagents has a decreased sensitivity to NADH inhibition. It is suggested that an arginine residue is important for NADH binding also, although this residue is distinct from that at the catalytic site. The protection given by NADH against loss of activity is indicative of the close proximity of the active and NADH sites.     

Reaction mechanism of the reconstituted aspartate/glutamate carrier from bovine heart mitochondria

A functional model for the aspartate/glutamate carrier of the inner mitochondrial membrane was established based on a kinetic evaluation of this transporter. Antiport kinetics were measured in proteoliposomes that contained partially purified carrier protein of definite transmembrane orientation (Dierks, T. and Kr?mer, R. (1988) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 937, 122-126). Bireactant initial velocity analyses of the counterexchange reaction were carried out varying substrate concentrations both in the internal and the external compartment. The kinetic patterns obtained were inconsistent with a pong-pong mechanism; rather they demonstrated the formation of a ternary complex as a consequence of sequential binding of one internal and one external substrate molecule to the carrier. Studies on transport activity in the presence of aspartate and glutamate in the same compartment (formally treated as substrate inhibition) clearly indicated that during exchange only one form of the carrier at either membrane surface exposes its binding sites, for which the two different substrates compete. In the deenergized state (pH 6.5) both substrates were translocated at about the same rate. Aspartate/glutamate antiport became asymmetric if a membrane potential was imposed, due to the electrogenic nature of the heteroexchange resulting from proton cotransport together with glutamate. Investigation of the electrical properties of aspartate/aspartate homoexchange led to the conclusion that the translocating carrier-substrate intermediate exhibits a transmembrane symmetry with respect to the (negative) charge, which again only is conceivable assuming a ternary complex. Thus, an antiport model is outlined that shows the functional complex of the carrier with two substrate molecules bound, one at either side of the membrane. The conformational change associated with the transition of both substrate molecules across the membrane then occurs in a single step. Furthermore the model implicates a distinct proton binding site, which is derived from the different influence of H+ concentration observed on transport affinity and transport velocity, respectively, when glutamate is used as a substrate.     

17O]Water and nitric oxide binding by protocatechuate 4,5-dioxygenase and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase. Evidence for binding of exogenous ligands to the active site Fe2+ of extradiol dioxygenases

Pseudomonas testosteroni protocatechuate 4,5-dioxygenase and Pseudomonas putida catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (metapyrocatechase) catalyze extradiol-type oxygenolytic cleavage of the aromatic ring of their substrates. The essential active site Fe2+ of each enzyme binds nitric oxide (NO) to produce an EPR active complex with an electronic spin of S = 3/2. Hyperfine broadening of the EPR resonances of the nitrosyl complexes by 17O-enriched H2O shows that water is bound directly to the Fe2+ in the native enzymes, but is apparently displaced in substrate complexes. NO is not displaced by either substrates or inhibitors. The EPR spectra of several enzyme-inhibitor-NO complexes are different from those of enzyme-NO or enzyme-substrate-NO complexes and are found to be broadened by 17O-enriched water. The data show that at least 2 and perhaps 3 sites in the Fe ligation can be occupied by exogenous ligands. Furthermore, it is likely that substrates and inhibitors displace water by binding either at or near to the Fe in the nitrosyl complex. Nitric oxide binding is found to be substrate-dependent for each enzyme. Native catechol 2,3-dioxygenase exhibits KD values of 190 microM and 2.0 mM for NO binding in two types of independent sites. Only one type of site is observed in the catechol complex which exhibits a KD for NO of 3.4 microM. One type of NO binding site is observed for both the native and substrate complexed protocatechuate 4,5-dioxygenase with KD values of 360 and 3 microM, respectively. The presence of a specific site in the Fe coordination for NO which is modified in the substrate complex, suggests that O2 binding by the extradiol dioxygenases may also occur at the Fe.     

Coenzyme B12-dependent diol dehydrase: Chemical modification with 2,3-butanedione and phenylglyoxal

The apoenzyme of diol dehydrase was inactivated by two arginine-specific reagents, 2,3-butanedione and phenylglyoxal, in borate buffer. In both cases, the inactivation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Kinetic data show that the incorporation of a single reagent molecule per active site of the enzyme is necessary for the complete inactivation. The modification with 2,3-butanedione was reversed by dilution of the reagent and borate concentrations (65% activity recovered). 1,2-Propanediol (substrate) partially protected the enzyme against inactivation. The holoenzyme was almost insensitive to 2,3-butanedione and phenylglyoxal, indicating that the essential arginine residue is prevented from the attack of these reagents either by direct blockage with the bound coenzyme or by an indirect conformational change caused by coenzyme binding. The inactivation of diol dehydrase by 2,3-butanedione did not result in dissociation of the enzyme into subunits. From these results, we concluded that the essential arginine residue is located at or in close proximity to the active site of diol dehydrase.     

Binding of nucleotides to an extramitochondrial acetyl-CoA hydrolase from rat liver

Cold labile extramitochondrial acetyl-CoA hydrolase (dimeric form) purified from rat liver was activated by various nucleoside triphosphates and inhibited by various nucleoside diphosphates. Activation of acetyl-CoA hydrolase by ATP was inhibited by a low concentration of ADP (Ki congruent to 6.8 microM) or a high concentration of AMP (Ki congruent to 2.3 mM). ADP and AMP were competitive inhibitors of ATP. A Scatchard plot of the binding of ATP to acetyl-CoA hydrolase (dimer) at room temperature gave a value of 25 microM for the dissociation constant with at least 2 binding sites/mol of dimer. Cold-treated monomeric enzyme also associated with ATP-agarose, suggesting that the monomeric form of the enzyme also has a nucleotide binding site(s), probably at least 1 binding site/mol of monomer. Phenylglyoxal or 2,3-butanedione, both of which modify arginyl residues of protein, inactivated acetyl-CoA hydrolase. ATP (an activator) greatly protected acetyl-CoA hydrolase from inactivation by these reagents, while ADP (an inhibitor) greatly (a substratelike, competitive inhibitor), and CoASH (a product) were less effective. However, addition of ADP plus valeryl-CoA (or CoASH) effectively prevented the inactivation by 2,3-butanedione, but that is not the case for phenylglyoxal. These results suggest that one or more arginyl residues are involved in the nucleotide binding site of extramitochondrial acetyl-CoA hydrolase and that their nucleotide binding sites locate near the substrate binding site.     

Characterization of the 2-[(R)-2-hydroxypropylthio]ethanesulfonate dehydrogenase from Xanthobacter strain Py2: product inhibition, pH dependence of kinetic parameters, site-directed mutagenesis, rapid equilibrium inhibition, and chemical modification

Although the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) superfamily contains a very large number of members defined in annotated databases and by biochemical and structural studies, very few SDR enzymes have been identified that have a homologous partner catalyzing the same reaction but with an opposite stereospecificity. In the present study we have cloned and expressed one of these enzymes, the 2-[(R)-2-hydroxypropylthio]ethanesulfonate (R-HPC) dehydrogenase, that is part of the coenzyme M-dependent pathway of alkene and epoxide metabolism in Xanthobacter strain Py2. Investigation of the kinetic mechanism using product inhibition suggested that a compulsory-ordered ternary complex mechanism was followed. The pH dependence of k(cat)/K(m) indicated the presence of a single ionizable residue of catalytic importance (pK(a) = 6.9) that was proposed to be Y155 of the catalytic triad. Amino acid substitutions of the putative catalytic triad residues produced inactive enzymes (S142C, Y155F, Y155E, and K159A) or enzyme with a greatly decreased activity (S142A). Inhibitors were investigated as probes of the molecular features of R-HPC that contribute to substrate binding. 2-[(S)-2-Hydroxypropylthio]ethanesulfonate (S-HPC) and 2-(2-methyl-2-hydroxypropylthio)ethanesulfonate were found to be competitive inhibitors of R-HPC with K(ic) values close to the K(m) for R-HPC. The arginine-specific modifiers 2,3-butanedione and phenylglyoxal were found to be inactivators, and inactivation could be protected against by the addition of R-HPC. 2,3-Butanedione was found to reduce enzyme activity with R-HPC as a substrate much more dramatically than with substrates that lacked a sulfonate moiety [e.g., 2-propanol, (R)-2-pentanol, and (R)-2-heptanol]. Amino acid analyses of enzyme modified by 2,3-butanedione in the presence and absence of S-HPC suggested protection of a single arginine residue. On the basis of these results, we propose that one or more active site arginines play a key role in substrate binding via an ionic interaction with the sulfonate moiety of R-HPC.     

Characterization of an essential arginine residue in the plasma membrane H+-ATPase of Neurospora crassa

Treatment of the plasma membrane H+-ATPase of Neurospora crassa with the arginine-specific reagents phenylglyoxal or 2,3-butanedione at 30 degrees C, pH 7.0, leads to a marked inhibition of ATPase activity. MgATP, the physiological substrate of the enzyme, protects against inactivation. MgADP, a competitive inhibitor of ATPase activity with a measured Ki of 0.11 mM, also protects, yielding calculated KD values of 0.125 and 0.115 mM in the presence of phenylglyoxal and 2,3-butanedione, respectively. The excellent agreement between Ki and KD values makes it likely that MgADP exerts its protective effect by binding to the catalytic site of the enzyme. Loss of activity follows pseudo-first order kinetics with respect to phenylglyoxal and 2,3-butanedione concentration, and double log plots of pseudo-first order rate constants versus reagent concentration yield slopes of 0.999 (phenylglyoxal) and 0.885 (2,3-butanedione), suggesting that the modification of one reactive site/mol of H+-ATPase is sufficient for inactivation. This stoichiometry has been confirmed by direct measurements of the incorporation of [14C]phenylglyoxal. Taken together, the results support the notion that one arginine residue, either located at the catalytic site or shielded by a conformational change upon nucleotide binding, plays an essential role in Neurospora H+-ATPase activity.     

Inhibition of the mitochondrial tricarboxylate carrier by arginine-specific reagents

The effect of arginine-specific reagents on the activity of the partially purified and reconstituted tricarboxylate carrier of the inner mitochondrial membrane has been studied. It has been found that 1,2-cyclohexanedione, 2,3-butanedione, phenylglyoxal and phenylglyoxal derivatives inhibit the reconstituted citrate/citrate exchange activity. The inhibitory potency of the phenylglyoxal derivatives increases with increasing hydrophilic character of the molecule. Citrate protects the tricarboxylate carrier against inactivation caused by the arginine-specific reagents. Other tricarboxylates, which are not substrates of the carrier, have no protective effect. The results indicate that at least one essential arginine residue is located at the substrate-binding site of the tricarboxylate carrier and that the vicinity of the essential arginine(s) has a hydrophilic character.     

Sialic acid recognition by Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase

Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase (VCNA) plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of cholera by removing sialic acid from higher order gangliosides to unmask GM1, the receptor for cholera toxin. We previously showed that the structure of VCNA is composed of a central beta-propeller catalytic domain flanked by two lectin-like domains; however the nature of the carbohydrates recognized by these lectin domains has remained unknown. We present here structures of the enzyme in complex with two substrates, alpha-2,3-sialyllactose and alpha-2,6-sialyllactose. Both substrate complexes reveal the alpha-anomer of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) bound to the N-terminal lectin domain, thereby revealing the role of this domain. The large number of interactions suggest a relatively high binding affinity for sialic acid, which was confirmed by calorimetry, which gave a Kd approximately 30 microm. Saturation transfer difference NMR using a non-hydrolyzable substrate, Neu5,9Ac2-2-S-(alpha-2,6)-GlcNAcbeta1Me, was also used to map the ligand interactions at the VCNA lectin binding site. It is well known that VCNA can hydrolyze both alpha-2,3- and alpha-2,6-linked sialic acid substrates. In this study using alpha-2,3-sialyllactose co-crystallized with VCNA it was revealed that the inhibitor 2-deoxy-2,3-didehydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac2en) was bound at the catalytic site. This observation supports the notion that VCNA can produce its own inhibitor and has been further confirmed by 1H NMR analysis. The discovery of the sialic acid binding site in the N-lectin-like domain suggests that this might help target VCNA to sialic acid-rich environments, thereby enhancing the catalytic efficiency of the enzyme.     

Kinetic Evidence for the Uniport Mechanism Hypothesis in the Mitochondrial Tricarboxylate Transport System

The kinetics of the transport of citrate by the tricarboxylate transport system located in the inner mitochondrial membrane was studied in proteoliposomes containing the purified carrier protein, in order to verify the previously hypothesized mechanism of uniport (J. Bioenerg. Biomembr. 35, 133–140, 2003) and achieve some information on the kinetic properties of the carrier transport system. For this purpose, a mathematical model has been elaborated and the experimental data were analyzed according to it. The results indicate that the data actually fit with the uniport model, and hence it is confirmed that the carrier has a single binding site for its substrates and can oscillate between the inside and outside form, in both the free and substrate-bound states. The rearrangement of the free form is slower than the bound form in both directions. The dissociation constants for the internal substrate are at least one order of magnitude higher than the one for external citrate. As a consequence of these last two points, the rate of citrate transport by the carrier is much higher when it operates in exchange with another substrate than when it operates in net uniport.     

Arginyl residues in the NADPH-binding sites of phenol hydroxylase

Phenol hydroxylase was inactivated by the arginine reagents 2,3-butanedione, 1,2-cyclohexanedione, and phenylglyoxal. The cosubstrate NADPH, as well as NADP⁺ and several analogues thereof, protected the enzyme against inactivation. Phenol did not protect the activity against any of the reagents used, nor did modification by 2,3-butanedione affect the binding of phenol. We propose the presence of arginyl residues in the binding sites for the adenosine phosphate part of NADPH.     

The three-dimensional structure of N-succinyldiaminopimelate aminotransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Inhibitors of the enzymes of the lysine biosynthetic pathway are considered promising lead compounds for the design of new antibacterial drugs, because the pathway appears to be indispensable for bacteria and because it is absent in humans. As part of our efforts to structurally characterize all enzymes of this pathway in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), we have determined the three-dimensional structure of N-succinyldiaminopimelate aminotransferase (DapC, DAP-AT, Rv0858c) to a resolution of 2.0 A. This structure is the first DAP-AT structure reported to date. The orthorhombic crystals of Mtb-DAP-AT contain one functional dimer exhibiting C(2) symmetry in the asymmetric unit. The homodimer displays the typical S-shape of class I pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP)-binding proteins. The two active sites of the dimer both feature an internal aldimine with the co-factor PLP covalently bound to the Lys232, although neither substrate nor co-factor had been added during protein production, purification and crystallization. Nine water molecules are conserved in the active site and form an intricate hydrogen-bonding network with the co-factor and the surrounding amino acid residues. Together with some residual difference electron density in the active site, this architecture permitted the building of external aldimine models of the enzyme with the substrates glutamate, the amine donor, and N-succinyl-2-amino-6-keto-pimelate, the amine acceptor. Based on these models, the amino acids relevant for substrate binding and specificity can be postulated. Furthermore, in the external aldimine model of N-succinyl-2-amino-6-keto-pimelate, the succinyl group overlaps with a glycerol binding site that has also been identified in both active sites of the Mtb-DAP-AT dimer. A comparison of the structure of Mtb-DAP-AT with other class I PLP-binding proteins, revealed that some inhibitors utilize the same binding site. Thus, the proposed models also provide an explanation for the mode of inhibition of Mtb-DAP-AT and they may be of help in the design of compounds, which are capable of inhibiting the enzyme. Last, but not least, a chloride binding helix exhibiting a peculiar amino acid sequence with a number of exposed hydrophobic side-chains was identified, which may be hypothesized as a putative docking site.     

The comparative specificity of the inner and outer substrate transfer sites in the choline carrier of human erythrocytes

Summary The substrate specificities on the inner and outer surfaces of the cell membrane have been compared by determining the relative affinities, inside and outside, of a series of choline analogs. The results of two different methods were in agreement: (1) the carrier distribution was determined in the presence of a saturating concentration of an equilibrated analog, using N-ethylmaleimide as a probe for the inward-facing carrier; (2) the degree of competition was measured between an equilibrated analog and choline in the external solution. The carrier sites are found to have markedly different specificities: the outer site is more closely complementary to the structure of choline than is the inner, and even a slight enlargement of either the trimethylammonium or hydroxyethyl group gives rise to preferential binding inside. It is also found that a nonpolar binding region, which is adjacent to the outer site, is absent from the inner site. As the transport mechanism involves the exposure of only one site at a time, first on one surface and then the other, it follows that an extensive reorganization of the structure of the substrate site may occur during the carrier-reorientation step, or alternatively that two distinct sites may be present, only one of which is exposed at a time.     

Human lysosomal beta-glucosidase: kinetic characterization of the catalytic, aglycon, and hydrophobic binding sites

Three binding sites on highly purified lysosomal beta-glucosidase from human placenta were identified by studies of the effects of interactions of various enzyme modifiers. The negatively charged lipids, taurocholate and phosphatidylserine, were shown to be noncompetitive, nonessential activators of 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucoside hydrolysis. Similar results were observed using the natural substrate, glucosyl ceramide, and low concentrations of taurocholate (less than 1.8 mM) or phosphatidylserine (0.5 mM). However, higher concentrations resulted in a complex partial inhibition of glucosyl ceramide hydrolysis. Increasing concentrations of phosphatidylserine obviated the effects of taurocholate, suggesting that these compounds compete for a common binding site on the enzyme. Glucosyl sphingosine and its N-hexyl derivative were potent noncompetitive inhibitors of the enzyme activity using either substrate. Taurocholate (or phosphatidylserine) and glucosyl sphingosine were shown to be mutually exclusive, indicating competition for a common binding site. In contrast, octyl- and dodecyl-beta-glucosides were linear-mixed-type inhibitors of glucosyl ceramide or 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucoside hydrolysis, indicating at least two binding sites on the enzyme. Inhibition by these alkyl beta-glucosides was observed only in the presence of taurocholate or phosphatidylserine. The competitive component [Ki (slope)] for the two alkyl beta-glucosides decreased with increasing alkyl chain length, and was unaffected by increasing taurocholate or phosphatidylserine concentration. The noncompetitive component [Ki (intercept)] was nearly identical for both alkyl beta-glucosides and was decreased by increasing taurocholate or phosphatidylserine concentration. These results indicated that the negatively charged lipids and alkyl beta-glucosides were not mutually exclusive, but interacted with different binding sites on the enzyme. Gluconolactone was shown to protect the enzyme from inhibition by the catalytic site-directed covalent inhibitor, conduritol B indicating an interaction at a common binding site. In the presence of substrate, taurocholate facilitated the inhibition of gluconolactone or conduritol B epoxide. These studies indicated that lysosomal beta-glucosidase had at least three binding sites: (i) a catalytic site which cleaves the beta-glucosidic moiety, (ii) an aglycon site which binds the acyl or alkyl moieties of substrates and some inhibitors, and (iii) a hydrophobic site which interacts with negatively charged lipids and facilitates enzyme catalysis.