The function of Arg-94 in the oxidation and decarboxylation of glutaryl-CoA by human glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase

Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidation and decarboxylation of glutaryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA and CO(2). Inherited defects in the protein cause glutaric acidemia type I, a fatal neurologic disease. Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase is the only member of the acyl-CoA dehydrogenase family with a cationic residue, Arg-94, situated in the binding site of the acyl moiety of the substrate. Crystallographic investigations suggest that Arg-94 is within hydrogen bonding distance of the gamma-carboxylate of glutaryl-CoA. Substitution of Arg-94 by glycine, a disease-causing mutation, and by glutamine, which is sterically more closely related to arginine, reduced k(cat) of the mutant dehydrogenases to 2-3% of k(cat) of the wild type enzyme. K(m) of these mutant dehydrogenases for glutaryl-CoA increases 10- to 16-fold. The steady-state kinetic constants of alternative substrates, hexanoyl-CoA and glutaramyl-CoA, which are not decarboxylated, are modestly affected by the mutations. The latter changes are probably due to steric and polar effects. The dissociation constants of the non-oxidizable substrate analogs, 3-thiaglutaryl-CoA and acetoacetyl-CoA, are not altered by the mutations. However, abstraction of a alpha-proton from 3-thiaglutaryl-CoA, to yield a charge transfer complex with the oxidized flavin, is severely limited. In contrast, abstraction of the alpha-proton of acetoacetyl-CoA by Arg-94 --> Gln mutant dehydrogenase is unaffected, and the resulting enolate forms a charge transfer complex with the oxidized flavin. These experiments indicate that Arg-94 does not make a major contribution to glutaryl-CoA binding. However, the electric field of Arg-94 may stabilize the dianions resulting from abstraction of the alpha-proton of glutaryl-CoA and 3-thiaglutaryl-CoA, both of which contain gamma-carboxylates. It is also possible that Arg-94 may orient glutaryl-CoA and 3-thiaglutaryl-CoA for abstraction of an alpha-proton.     

Proton abstraction reaction, steady-state kinetics, and oxidation-reduction potential of human glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase

Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidation of glutaryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA and CO(2) in the mitochondrial degradation of lysine, hydroxylysine, and tryptophan. We have characterized the human enzyme that was expressed in Escherichia coli. Anaerobic reduction of the enzyme with sodium dithionite or substrate yields no detectable semiquinone; however, like other acyl-CoA dehydrogenases, the human enzyme stabilizes an anionic semiquinone upon reduction of the complex between the enzyme and 2,3-enoyl-CoA product. The flavin potential of the free enzyme determined by the xanthine-xanthine oxidase method is -0.132 V at pH 7.0, slightly more negative than that of related flavoprotein dehydrogenases. A single equivalent of substrate reduces 26% of the dehydrogenase flavin, suggesting that the redox equilibrium on the enzyme between substrate and product and oxidized and reduced flavin is not as favorable as that observed with other acyl-CoA dehydrogenases. This equilibrium is, however, similar to that observed in isovaleryl-CoA dehydrogenase. Comparison of steady-state kinetic constants of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase with glutaryl-CoA and the alternative substrates, pentanoyl-CoA and hexanoyl-CoA, suggests that the gamma-carboxyl group of glutaryl-CoA stabilizes the enzyme-substrate complex by at least 5.7 kJ/mol, perhaps by interaction with Arg94 or Ser98. Glu370 is positioned to function as the catalytic base, and previous studies indicate that the conjugate acid of Glu370 also protonates the transient crotonyl-CoA anion following decarboxylation [Gomes, B., Fendrich, G. , and Abeles, R. H. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 3154-3160]. Glu370Asp and Glu370Gln mutants of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase exhibit 7% and 0. 04% residual activity, respectively, with human electron-transfer flavoprotein; these mutations do not grossly affect the flavin redox potentials of the mutant enzymes. The reduced catalytic activities of these mutants can be attributed to reduced extent and rate of substrate deprotonation based on experiments with the nonoxidizable substrate analogue, 3-thiaglutaryl-CoA, and kinetic experiments. Determination of these fundamental properties of the human enzyme will serve as the basis for future studies of the decarboxylation reaction which is unique among the acyl-CoA dehydrogenases.     

Functional characterization of rat glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase and its comparison with straight-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase

Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of the γ-carboxylate of the substrate, glutaryl-CoA, to yield crotonyl-CoA and CO(2). The enzyme is a member of the acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (ACD) family of flavoproteins. In the present study, the catalytic properties of this enzyme, including its substrate specificity, isomerase activity, and interactions with inhibitors, were systematically studied. Our results indicated that the enzyme has its catalytic properties very similar to those of short-chain and medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase except its additional decarboxylation reaction. Therefore, the inhibitors of fatty acid oxidation targeting straight chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase could also function as inhibitors for amino acid metabolism of lysine, hydroxylysine, and tryptophan.     

Protonation of crotonyl-CoA dienolate by human glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase occurs by solvent-derived protons

The protonation of crotonyl-CoA dienolate following decarboxylation of glutaconyl-CoA by glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase was investigated. Although it is generally held that the active sites of acyl-CoA dehydrogenases are desolvated when substrate binds, recent evidence has established that water has access to the active site in these binary complexes of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. The present investigation shows that the dehydrogenase catalyzes (a) a rapid exchange of C-4 methyl protons of crotonyl-CoA with bulk solvent and (b) protonation of crotonyl-CoA dienolate by solvent-derived protons under single turnover conditions. Both of the reactions require the catalytic base, Glu370. These findings indicate that decarboxylation proceeds via a dienolate intermediate. The involvement of water in catalysis by glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase was previously unrecognized and is in conflict with a classically held intramolecular 1,3-prototropic shift for protonation of crotonyl-CoA dienolate.     

Binding, hydration, and decarboxylation of the reaction intermediate glutaconyl-coenzyme A by human glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase.

Glutaconyl-coenzyme A (CoA) is the presumed enzyme-bound intermediate in the oxidative decarboxylation of glutaryl-CoA that is catalyzed by glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. We demonstrated glutaconyl-CoA bound to glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase after anaerobic reduction of the dehydrogenase with glutaryl-CoA. Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase also has intrinsic enoyl-CoA hydratase activity, a property of other members of the acyl-CoA dehydrogenase family. The enzyme rapidly hydrates glutaconyl-CoA at pH 7.6 with a k(cat) of 2.7 s(-1). The k(cat) in the overall oxidation-decarboxylation reaction at pH 7.6 is about 9 s(-1). The binding of glutaconyl-CoA was quantitatively assessed from the K(m) in the hydratase reaction, 3 microM, and the K(i), 1.0 microM, as a competitive inhibitor of the dehydrogenase. These values compare with K(m) and K(i) of 4.0 and 12.9 microM, respectively, for crotonyl-CoA. Glu370 is the general base catalyst in the dehydrogenase that abstracts an alpha-proton of the substrate to initiate the catalytic pathway. The mutant dehydrogenase, Glu370Gln, is inactive in the dehydrogenation and the hydratase reactions. However, this mutant dehydrogenase decarboxylates glutaconyl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA without oxidation-reduction reactions of the dehydrogenase flavin. Addition of glutaconyl-CoA to this mutant dehydrogenase results in a rapid, transient increase in long-wavelength absorbance (lambda(max) approximately 725 nm), and crotonyl-CoA is found as the sole product. We propose that this 725 nm-absorbing species is the delocalized crotonyl-CoA anion that follows decarboxylation and that the decay is the result of slow protonation of the anion in the absence of the general acid catalyst, Glu370(H(+)). In the absence of detectable oxidation-reduction, the data indicate that oxidation-reduction of the dehydrogenase flavin is not essential for decarboxylation of glutaconyl-CoA.     

Partial purification and characterization of glutaryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase, electron transfer flavoprotein, and electron transfer flavoprotein-Q oxidoreductase from Paracoccus denitrificans.

Glutaryl-coenzyme A (CoA) dehydrogenase and the electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) of Paracoccus denitrificans were purified to homogeneity from cells grown with glutaric acid as the carbon source. Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase had a molecular weight of 180,000 and was made up of four identical subunits with molecular weights of about 43,000 each of which contained one flavin adenine dinucleotide molecule. The enzyme catalyzed an oxidative decarboxylation of glutaryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA, was maximally stable at pH 5.0, and lost activity readily at pH values above 7.0. The enzyme had a pH optimum in the range of 8.0 to 8.5, a catalytic center activity of about 960 min-1, and apparent Michaelis constants for glutaryl-CoA and pig liver ETF of about 1.2 and 2.5 microM, respectively. P. denitrificans ETF had a visible spectrum identical to that of pig liver ETF and was made up of two subunits, only one of which contained a flavin adenine dinucleotide molecule. The isoelectric point of P. denitrificans ETF was 4.45 compared with 6.8 for pig liver ETF. P. denitrificans ETF accepted electrons not only from P. denitrificans glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase, but also from the pig liver butyryl-CoA and octanoyl-CoA dehydrogenases. The apparent Vmax was of similar magnitude with either pig liver or P. denitrificans ETF as an electron acceptor for these dehydrogenases. P. denitrificans glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase and ETF were used to assay for the reduction of ubiquinone 1 by ETF-Q oxidoreductase in cholate extracts of P. denitrificans membranes. The ETF-Q oxidoreductase from P. denitrificans could accept electrons from either the bacterial or the pig liver ETF. In either case, the apparent Km for ETF was infinitely high. P. denitrificans ETF-Q oxidoreductase was purified from contaminating paramagnets, and the resultant preparation had electron paramagnetic resonance signals at 2.081, 1.938, and 1.879 G, similar to those of the mitochondrial enzyme.     

Purification of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas sp., an enzyme involved in the anaerobic degradation of benzoate

Cell-free extracts of Pseudomonas sp. strains KB 740 and K 172 both contained high levels of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase when grown anaerobically on benzoate or other aromatic compounds and with nitrate as electron acceptor. These aromatic compounds have in common benzoyl-CoA as the central aromatic intermediate of anerobic metabolism. The enzymatic activity was almost absent in cells grown aerobically on benzoate regardless whether nitrate was present. Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase activity was also detected in cell-free extracts of Rhodopseudomonas, Rhodomicrobium and Rhodocyclus after phototrophic growth on benzoate. Parallel to the induction of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase as measured with ferricenium ion as electron acceptor, an about equally high glutaconyl-CoA decarboxylase activity was detected in cell-free extracts. The latter activity was measured with the NAD-dependent assay, as described for the biotin-containing sodium ion pump glutaconyl-CoA decarboxylase from glutamate fermenting bacteria. Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase was purified to homogeneity from both Pseudomonas strains. The enzymes catalyse the decarboxylation of glutaconyl-CoA at about the same rate as the oxidative decarboxylation of glutaryl-CoA. The green enzymes are homotetramers (m=170 kDa) and contain 1 mol FAD per subunit. No inhibition was observed with avidin indicating the absence of biotin. The N-terminal sequences of the enzymes from both strains are similar (65%).     

Mechanism-based inactivation of human glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase by 2-pentynoyl-CoA: rationale for enhanced reactivity

2-Pentynoyl-CoA inactivates glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase at a rate that considerably exceeds the rates of inactivation of short chain and medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenases by this inhibitor and related 2-alkynoyl-CoAs. To determine the rate of inactivation by 2-pentynoyl-CoA, we investigated the inactivation in the presence of a non-oxidizable analog, 3-thiaglutaryl-CoA, which competes for the binding site. The enhanced rate of inactivation does not reflect an alteration in specificity for the acyl group, nor does it reflect the covalent modification of a residue other than the active site glutamate. In addition to determining the inactivation of catalytic activity a spectral intermediate was detected by stopped-flow spectrophotometry, and the rate constants of formation and decay of this charge transfer complex (lambdamax approximately 790 nm) were determined by global analysis. Although the rate-limiting step in the inactivation of the other acyl-CoA dehydrogenases can involve the abstraction of a proton at C-4, this is not the case with glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase is also differentiated from other acyl-CoA dehydrogenases in that the catalytic base must access both C-2 and C-4 in the normal catalytic pathway. Access to C-4 is not obligatory for the other dehydrogenases. Analysis of the distance from the closest carboxylate oxygen of the glutamate base catalyst to C-4 of a bound acyl-CoA ligand for medium chain, short chain, and isovaleryl-CoA dehydrogenases suggests that the increased rate of inactivation reflects the carboxylate oxygen to ligand C-4 distance in the binary complexes. This distance for wild type glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase is not known. Comparison of the rate constants of inactivation and formation of a spectral species between wild type glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase and a E370D mutant are consistent with the idea that this distance in glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase contributes to the enhanced rate of inactivation and the 1,3-prototropic shift catalyzed by the enzyme.     

Crystal structures of human glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase with and without an alternate substrate: structural bases of dehydrogenation and decarboxylation reactions

Acyl-CoA dehydrogenases (ACDs) are a family of flavoenzymes that metabolize fatty acids and some amino acids. Of nine known ACDs, glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCD) is unique: in addition to the alpha,beta-dehydrogenation reaction, common to all ACDs, GCD catalyzes decarboxylation of glutaryl-CoA to produce CO(2) and crotonyl-CoA. Crystal structures of GCD and its complex with 4-nitrobutyryl-CoA have been determined to 2.1 and 2.6 A, respectively. The overall polypeptide folds are the same and similar to the structures of other family members. The active site of the unliganded structure is filled with water molecules that are displaced when enzyme binds the substrate. The structure strongly suggests that the mechanism of dehydrogenation is the same as in other ACDs. The substrate binds at the re side of the FAD ring. Glu370 abstracts the C2 pro-R proton, which is acidified by the polarization of the thiolester carbonyl oxygen through hydrogen bonding to the 2'-OH of FAD and the amide nitrogen of Glu370. The C3 pro-R proton is transferred to the N(5) atom of FAD. The structures indicate a plausible mechanism for the decarboxylation reaction. The carbonyl polarization initiates decarboxylation, and Arg94 stabilizes the transient crotonyl-CoA anion. Protonation of the crotonyl-CoA anion occurs by a 1,3-prototropic shift catalyzed by the conjugated acid of the general base, Glu370. A tight hydrogen-bonding network involving gamma-carboxylate of the enzyme-bound glutaconyl-CoA, with Tyr369, Glu87, Arg94, Ser95, and Thr170, optimizes orientation of the gamma-carboxylate for decarboxylation. Some pathogenic mutations are explained by the structure. The mutations affect protein folding, stability, and/or substrate binding, resulting in inefficient/inactive enzyme.     

Spectral and electrochemical properties of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase from Paracoccus denitrificans

Studies of the spectral (UV/vis and resonance Raman) and electrochemical properties of the FAD-containing enzyme glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCD) from Paracoccus denitrificans reveal that the properties of the oxidized enzyme (GCDox) appear to be invariant from those properties known for other acyl-CoA dehydrogenases such as mammalian general acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (GACD) and butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase (BCD) from Megasphaera elsdenii. However, when either free or complexed GCD is reduced, its spectral and electrochemical behavior differs from that of both GACD and BCD. Free GCD does not stabilize any form of one-electron-reduced GCD, but when GCD is complexed to its inhibitor, aceto-acetyl-CoA, the enzyme stabilizes 20% of the blue neutral radical form of FAD (FADH.) upon reduction. Like GACD, when crotonyl-CoA- (CCoA) bound GCD is reduced, the red anionic form of FAD radical (FAD.-) is stabilized, and excess reduction equivalents are necessary to effect full reduction of the complex. A comproportionation reaction is proposed between fully reduced crotonyl-CoA-bound GCD (GCD2e-CCoA) and GCDox-CCoA to partially explain the stabilization of GCD-bound FAD.- by CCoA. When GCD is reduced by its optimal substrate, glutaryl-CoA, a two-electron reduction is observed with concomitant formation of a long-wavelength charge-transfer band. It is proposed that the ETF specific for GCD abstracts one electron from this charge-transfer species and this is followed by the decarboxylation of the oxidized substrate. At pH 6.4, potential values measured for free GCD and GCD bound to acetoacetyl-CoA are -0.085 and -0.129 V, respectively. Experimental evidence is given for a positive shift in the reduction potential of GCD when the enzyme is bound to a 1:1 mixture of butyryl-CoA and CCoA. However, significant GCD hydratase activity is observed, preventing quantitation of the potential shift.     

The purification and characterization of glutaryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase from porcine and human liver

Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase, a multifunctional enzyme responsible for dehydrogenation and decarboxylation of glutaryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA, has been purified 1,680-fold from porcine liver mitochondria. The purified porcine enzyme has a subunit molecular weight of 47,800 and a native molecular weight of 190,500. Porcine glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase catalyzed the conversion of [1,5-14C]glutaryl-CoA to [14C] crotonyl-CoA and 14CO2 in a 1:1:1 ratio. The porcine enzyme has Km values for electron transfer flavoprotein and glutaryl-CoA of 1.1 and 3.3 microM, respectively, and turnover numbers of 860 mol of electron transfer flavoprotein/min/mol of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase and 327 mol of glutaryl-CoA/min/mol of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. Human glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase has been purified 1,278-fold from human liver mitochondria. The purified human enzyme has a subunit molecular weight of 58,800 and a native molecular weight of 256,000. Human glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase showed a reaction of only partial identity when compared to porcine glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase by Ouchterlony double immunodiffusion analysis using antiserum raised against and monospecific for porcine glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase.     

Alternate substrates of human glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase: structure and reactivity of substrates, and identification of a novel 2-enoyl-CoA product.

The dehydrogenation reaction catalyzed by human glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase was investigated using a series of alternate substrates. These substrates have various substituents at the gamma position in place of the carboxylate of the physiological substrate, glutaryl-CoA. The steady-state kinetic constants of the six alternate substrates and the extent of flavin reduction in the anaerobic half-reaction were determined. One of these substrates, 4-nitrobutyryl-CoA, was previously thought not to be a substrate of the dehydrogenase; however, the enzyme does oxidize this substrate analogue with a k(cat) that is less than 2% of that with glutaryl-CoA when ferrocenium hexafluorophosphate (FcPF(6)) is the electron acceptor. Anaerobic titration of the dehydrogenase with 4-nitrobutyryl-CoA showed no reduction of the flavin; but instead showed an increased absorbance in the 460 nm region suggesting deprotonation of the analogue to form the alpha-carbanion. Analysis of these data indicated a binding stoichiometry of about 1.0. Under aerobic conditions, a second absorption maximum is observed with lambda(max) = 366 nm. The generation of the latter chromophore is dependent on an electron acceptor, either O(2) or FcPF(6), and is greatly facilitated by the catalytic base Glu370. The 466 nm absorbing species remains enzyme-bound while the 366 nm absorbing species is present only in solution. The latter compound was identified as 4-nitronate-but-2-enoyl-CoA by mass spectrometry, (1)H NMR, and chemical analyses. Ionization of the enzymatic product, 4-nitro-but-2-enoyl-CoA, that yields the nitronate occurs in solution and not on the enzyme. The variation of k(cat) with the nature of the substituent suggests that the various substituents affect the free energy of activation, Delta G(++), for dehydrogenation. There is a good correlation between log(k(cat)) and F, the field effect parameter, of the gamma-substituent. No correlation was found between any other kinetic or equilibrium constants and the substituent parameters using quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR). 4-Nitrobutyryl-CoA is the extreme example with the strongly electron-withdrawing nitro group in the gamma position.     

The effect of a Glu370Asp mutation in glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase on proton transfer to the dienolate intermediate

We have determined steady-state rate constants and net rate constants for the chemical steps in the catalytic pathway catalyzed by the E370D mutant of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase and compared them with those of the wild-type dehydrogenase. We sought rationales for changes in these rate constants in the structure of the mutant cocrystallized with the alternate substrate, 4-nitrobutyric acid. Substitution of aspartate for E370, the catalytic base, results in a 24% decrease in the rate constant for proton abstraction at C-2 of 3-thiaglutaryl-CoA as the distance between C-2 of the ligand and the closest carboxyl oxygen at residue 370 increases from 2.9 A to 3.1 A. The net rate constant for flavin reduction due to hydride transfer from C-3 of the natural substrate, which includes proton abstraction at C-2, to N5 of the flavin decreases by 81% due to the mutation, although the distance increases only by 0.7 A. The intensities of charge-transfer bands associated with the enolate of 3-thiaglutaryl-CoA, the reductive half-reaction (reduced flavin with oxidized form of substrate), and the dienolate following decarboxylation are considerably diminished. Structural investigation suggests that the increased distance and the change in angle of the S-C1(=O)-C2 plane of the substrate with the isoalloxazine substantially alter rates of the reductive and oxidative half-reactions. This change in active site geometry also changes the position of protonation of the four carbon dienolate intermediate to produce kinetically favorable product, vinylacetyl-CoA, which is further isomerized to the thermodynamically stable normal product, crotonyl-CoA.     

Oxidation-reduction potentials of butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase

In order to obtain butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase from Megasphaera elsdenii in pure enough form to perform redox studies, the existing purification procedures first had to be modified and clarified [Engel, P. (1981) Methods Enzymol. 71, 359-366]. These modifications are described, and the previously unpublished spectral properties of the electrophoretically pure CoA-free butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase are presented. In our spectral reductive titration of pure enzyme, we show that although blue neutral flavin radical is stabilized in nonquantitative amounts in dithionite titrations (19%) or in electrochemical reductions mediated by methylviologen (5%), it is not thermodynamically stabilized; therefore, only a midpoint potential for butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase is obtained. The electron-transfer behavior from pH 5.5 to pH 7.0 indicates reversible two-electron transfer accompanied by one proton: EFlox + 2e- + H+ = EFlredH- Em7 = -0.079 V vs. SHE where EFlox is oxidized butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase, EFlredH- is two electron reduced enzyme, and Em7 is the midpoint potential at pH 7.0 at 25 degrees C. Redox data and activity data both indicate that the enzyme loses activity rapidly at pH values above 7.0. The Em7 of the butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase is 40 mV positive of the Em7 of the butyryl-CoA/crotonyl-CoA couple [Gustafson, W. G., Feinberg, B. A., & McFarland, J. T. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 7733-7741]. Binding of substrate analogue acetoacetyl-CoA caused the potential of butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase to shift 100 mV negative of the free enzyme. The negative shift in potential makes electron transfer from enzyme to substrate more probable, which is consistent with the direction of electron transfer in the bacterial system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Mitochondrial and peroxisomal metabolism of glutaryl-CoA

Using a fraction purified from liver peroxisomes, we demonstrate that products of the glutaryl-CoA oxidase reaction are glutaconyl-CoA and H2O2. No glutaconyl-CoA decarboxylation occurs with this fraction. In whole tissue homogenates, the handling of glutaryl-CoA by glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase is inhibited when reoxidation of FADH2 is blocked. Under these conditions, glutaconyl-CoA decarboxylation, however, can still occur and 14CO2 is produced from labelled glutaryl-CoA in mole/mole ratio with H2O2. These data indicate that in the absence of its mitochondrial dehydrogenation, glutaryl-CoA is oxidized in peroxisomes to glutaconyl-CoA which is probably transferred to mitochondria where it is decarboxylated and further processed. This hypothesis allows coherent explanation for the observed organic aciduria in both glutaricaciduria types I and II.     

Kinetic mechanism of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase

Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCD) is a homotetrameric enzyme containing one noncovalently bound FAD per monomer that oxidatively decarboxylates glutaryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA and CO2. GCD belongs to the family of acyl-CoA dehydrogenases that are evolutionarily conserved in their sequence, structure, and function. However, there are differences in the kinetic mechanisms among the different acyl-CoA dehydrogenases. One of the unanswered aspects is that of the rate-determining step in the steady-state turnover of GCD. In the present investigation, the major rate-determining step is identified to be the release of crotonyl-CoA product because the chemical steps and reoxidation of reduced FAD are much faster than the turnover of the wild-type GCD. Other steps are only partially rate-determining. This conclusion is based on the transit times of the individual reactions occurring in the active site of GCD.     

Acryloyl-CoA reductase from Clostridium propionicum. An enzyme complex of propionyl-CoA dehydrogenase and electron-transferring flavoprotein.

Acryloyl-CoA reductase from Clostridium propionicum catalyses the irreversible NADH-dependent formation of propionyl-CoA from acryloyl-CoA. Purification yielded a heterohexadecameric yellow-greenish enzyme complex [(alpha2betagamma)4; molecular mass 600 +/- 50 kDa] composed of a propionyl-CoA dehydrogenase (alpha2, 2 x 40 kDa) and an electron-transferring flavoprotein (ETF; beta, 38 kDa; gamma, 29 kDa). A flavin content (90% FAD and 10% FMN) of 2.4 mol per alpha2betagamma subcomplex (149 kDa) was determined. A substrate alternative to acryloyl-CoA (Km = 2 +/- 1 microm; kcat = 4.5 s-1 at 100 microm NADH) is 3-buten-2-one (methyl vinyl ketone; Km = 1800 microm; kcat = 29 s-1 at 300 microm NADH). The enzyme complex exhibits acyl-CoA dehydrogenase activity with propionyl-CoA (Km = 50 microm; kcat = 2.0 s-1) or butyryl-CoA (Km = 100 microm; kcat = 3.5 s-1) as electron donor and 200 microm ferricenium hexafluorophosphate as acceptor. The enzyme also catalysed the oxidation of NADH by iodonitrosotetrazolium chloride (diaphorase activity) or by air, which led to the formation of H2O2 (NADH oxidase activity). The N-terminus of the dimeric propionyl-CoA dehydrogenase subunit is similar to those of butyryl-CoA dehydrogenases from several clostridia and related anaerobes (up to 55% sequence identity). The N-termini of the beta and gamma subunits share 40% and 35% sequence identities with those of the A and B subunits of the ETF from Megasphaera elsdenii, respectively, and up to 60% with those of putative ETFs from other anaerobes. Acryloyl-CoA reductase from C. propionicum has been characterized as a soluble enzyme, with kinetic properties perfectly adapted to the requirements of the organism. The enzyme appears not to be involved in anaerobic respiration with NADH or reduced ferredoxin as electron donors. There is no relationship to the trans-2-enoyl-CoA reductases from various organisms or the recently described acryloyl-CoA reductase activity of propionyl-CoA synthase from Chloroflexus aurantiacus.     

Mechanistic studies with general acyl-CoA dehydrogenase and butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase: evidence for the transfer of the beta-hydrogen to the flavin N(5)-position as a hydride

Butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase from Megasphera elsdenii catalyzes the exchange of the alpha- and beta-hydrogens of substrate with solvent [Gomes, B., Fendrich, G., & Abeles, R. H. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 1481-1490]. The stoichiometry of this exchange was determined by using 3H2O label as 1.94 +/- 0.1 per substrate molecule. The rate of 3H label incorporation into substrate under anaerobic conditions is monophasic, indicating that both the alpha- and beta-hydrogens exchange at the same rate. The exchange in 2H2O leads to incorporation of one 2H each into the alpha- and the beta-positions of butyryl-CoA, as determined by companion 1H NMR experiments and confirmed by mass spectroscopic analysis. In contrast, with general acyl-CoA dehydrogenase from pig kidney, only exchange of the alpha-hydrogen was found. The beta-hydrogen is the one that is transferred (reversibly) to the flavin 5-position during substrate dehydrogenation. This was demonstrated by reacting 5-3H- and 5-2H-reduced 5-deaza-FAD-general acyl-CoA dehydrogenase with crotonyl-CoA. Only one face of the reduced flavin analogue is capable of transferring hydrogen to substrate. The rate of this reaction is 11.1 s-1 for 5-deaza-FAD-enzyme and 2.2 s-1 for [5-2H]deaza-FAD-enzyme, yielding an isotope effect of 5. These values compare with a rate of 2.6 s-1 for the reaction of native reduced enzyme with crotonyl-CoA. The two reduced enzymes (normal vs. 5-deaza-FAD-enzyme) thus react at similar rates, indicating a similar mechanism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Studies on the reaction mechanism of general acyl-CoA dehydrogenase. Determination of selective isotope effects in the dehydrogenation of butyryl-CoA

The kinetic properties of general acyl-CoA dehydrogenase from pig kidney have been investigated using normal butyryl-CoA as well as an alpha-deutero, beta-deutero- and perdeutero-butyryl-CoA. In turnover catalysis, isotope effects of 2, 3.6, and 9 were found respectively. In the reductive half reaction the isotope effects were 2.5, 14, and 28 for the same substrates, and 21 for (2R,3R)-(2,3-D2)butyryl-CoA. No intermediates are apparent during the reduction of oxidized enzyme to the presumed complex of reduced enzyme and crotonyl-CoA. The results are interpreted as indicating a high degree of concertedness during the rupture of the alpha and beta C-H bonds. They are compatible with a mechanism in which simultaneously the alpha-hydrogen is abstracted as a proton, while the beta-hydrogen is transferred to the oxidized flavin as a hydride.     

Chemical mechanism of homoisocitrate dehydrogenase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Homoisocitrate dehydrogenase (HIcDH, 3-carboxy-2-hydroxyadipate dehydrogenase) catalyzes the fourth reaction of the alpha-aminoadipate pathway for lysine biosynthesis, the conversion of homoisocitrate to alpha-ketoadipate using NAD as an oxidizing agent. A chemical mechanism for HIcDH is proposed on the basis of the pH dependence of kinetic parameters, dissociation constants for competitive inhibitors, and isotope effects. According to the pH-rate profiles, two enzyme groups act as acid-base catalysts in the reaction. A group with a p K a of approximately 6.5-7 acts as a general base accepting a proton as the beta-hydroxy acid is oxidized to the beta-keto acid, and this residue participates in all three of the chemical steps, acting to shuttle a proton between the C2 hydroxyl and itself. The second group acts as a general acid with a p K a of 9.5 and likely catalyzes the tautomerization step by donating a proton to the enol to give the final product. The general acid is observed in only the V pH-rate profile with homoisocitrate as a substrate, but not with isocitrate as a substrate, because the oxidative decarboxylation portion of the isocitrate reaction is limiting overall. With isocitrate as the substrate, the observed primary deuterium and (13)C isotope effects indicate that hydride transfer and decarboxylation steps contribute to rate limitation, and that the decarboxylation step is the more rate-limiting of the two. The multiple-substrate deuterium/ (13)C isotope effects suggest a stepwise mechanism with hydride transfer preceding decarboxylation. With homoisocitrate as the substrate, no primary deuterium isotope effect was observed, and a small (13)C kinetic isotope effect (1.0057) indicates that the decarboxylation step contributes only slightly to rate limitation. Thus, the chemical steps do not contribute significantly to rate limitation with the native substrate. On the basis of data from solvent deuterium kinetic isotope effects, viscosity effects, and multiple-solvent deuterium/ (13)C kinetic isotope effects, the proton transfer step(s) is slow and likely reflects a conformational change prior to catalysis.