Properties of glutamate dehydrogenase purified from Bacteroides fragilis

The dual pyridine nucleotide-specific glutamate dehydrogenase [EC 1.4.1.3] was purified 37-fold from Bacteroides fragilis by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sephadex A-25 chromatography twice, and gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300. The enzyme had a molecular weight of approximately 300,000, and polymeric forms (molecular weights of 590,000 and 920,000) were observed in small amounts on polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the subunit was 48,000. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was pH 5.1. This glutamate dehydrogenase utilized NAD(P)H and NAD(P)+ as coenzymes and showed maximal activities at pH 8.0 and 7.4 for the amination with NADPH and with NADH, respectively, and at pH 9.5 and 9.0 for the deamination with NADP+ and NAD+, respectively. The amination activity with NADPH was about 5-fold higher than that with NADH. The Lineweaver-Burk plot for ammonia showed two straight lines in the NADPH-dependent reactions. The values of Km for substrates were: 1.7 and 5.1 mM for ammonium chloride, 0.14 mM for 2-oxoglutarate, 0.013 mM for NADPH, 2.4 mM for L-glutamate, and 0.019 mM for NADP+ in NADP-linked reactions, and 4.9 mM for ammonium chloride, 7.1 mM for 2-oxoglutarate, 0.2 mM for NADH, 7.3 mM for L-glutamate, and 3.0 mM for NAD+ in NAD-linked reactions. 2-Oxoglutarate and L-glutamate caused substrate inhibition in the NADPH- and NADP+-dependent reactions, respectively, to some extent. NAD+- and NADH-dependent activities were inhibited by 50% by 0.1 M NaCl. Adenine nucleotides and dicarboxylic acids did not show remarkable effects on the enzyme activities.     

Catalytic Properties of a Newly Discovered Acyltransferase That Synthesizes N-Acylphosphatidylethanolamine in Cottonseed (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Microsomes

We recently demonstrated that cotyledons of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) seedlings synthesize N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE), an unusual acylated derivative of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), during postgerminative growth (K.D. Chapman and T.S. Moore [1993] Arch Biochem Biophys 301: 21-33). Here, we report the discovery of an acyltransferase enzyme, fatty acid: diacylphosphatidylethanolamine N-acyltransferase (designated NAPE synthase), that synthesizes NAPE from PE and free fatty acids (FFA) in cottonseed microsomes. [14C]NAPE was synthesized from [14C]palmitic acid and endogenous PE in a time-, pH-, temperature-, and protein concentration-dependent manner. [14C]Palmitic acid was incorporated exclusively into the N-acyl position of NAPE. [14C]palmitoyl coenzyme A (CoA) and [14C]-dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (PC) were poor acyl donors for the synthesis of NAPE (i.e. 200- and 3000-fold lower incorporation efficiency than palmitic acid, respectively). Synthesis of NAPE from palmitoyl-CoA and dipalmitoyl-PC was observed only after the release of FFA in microsomes. We observed a temperature optimum of 45[deg]C and a pH optimum of 8.0 for the synthesis of [14C]NAPE from [14C]palmitic acid (or from [14C]PE). NAPE synthase activity showed no apparent divalent cation requirement. Notably, activity was stimulated by HPO42-, HCO3-, SO42-, and NADPH, whereas activity was inhibited by Ca2+, Mn2+, Cd2+, ATP, ADP, flavin adenine disnucleotide, and flavin mononucleotide. Other nucleotide triphosphates (GTP and CTP) and pyridine dinucleotides (NAD, NADH, and NADP) did not appreciably affect NAPE synthase activity. Initial velocity measurements of NAPE synthase activity at increasing concentrations of palmitic acid showed non-Michaelis-Menten, biphasic kinetics. A high-affinity site (S0.5 = 7.2 [mu]M, Vmax = 18.8 nmol h-1 mg-1 of protein) and a low-affinity site (S0.5 = 32.0 [mu]M, Vmax = 44.9 nmol h-1 mg-1 of protein) were identified. Both sites exhibited positive cooperativity. Adding myristic, stearic, or oleic acids at equimolar amounts reduced the incorporation of [14C]palmitic acid into NAPE at low concentrations (10 [mu]M, high-affinity site) but not at high concentrations (50 [mu]M, low-affinity site), indicating that the two putative sites can be distinguished by their fatty acid preferences.     

The kinetic mechanism of the reactions catalyzed by the glutamate synthase from Azospirillum brasilense

The reactions catalyzed by glutamate synthase from Azospirillum brasilense have been investigated by a combination of absorption spectroscopy, steady-state kinetic measurements and experiments with stereospecifically labelled substrate. The data show that both L-glutamine-dependent and ammonia-dependent reactions of the glutamate synthase from A. brasilense follow an identical two-site uni-uni bi-bi kinetic mechanism, in which the enzyme is alternately reduced by NADPH and oxidized by the iminoglutarate formed on addition of ammonia to the C2 of 2-oxoglutarate. The spectroscopic experiments support the involvement of the enzyme chromophores (flavins and iron-sulfur centers) in both reactions. Finally, using stereospecifically labelled NADPH, we showed that the enzyme from Azospirillum is specific for the transfer of the 4S hydrogen of NADPH. During the catalysis of both L-glutamine-dependent and ammonia-dependent reactions, this hydrogen atom equilibrates with the solvent. The data obtained with glutamate synthase from A. brasilense, a diazotroph, differ significantly from those regarding the ammonia-dependent reaction of other glutamate synthases. The ammonia-dependent activity of glutamate synthase from Azospirillum is not physiologically significant, representing only a segment of the overall physiological L-glutamine-dependent activity and requiring the enzyme flavins and iron-sulfur centers. Finally, the data are not consistent with the hypothesis [Geary, L. E. & Meister, A. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 3501-3508] that the small subunit of glutamate synthase is endowed with a glutamate-dehydrogenase-like activity.     

beta]-Glucan Synthesis in the Cotton Fiber (II. Regulation and Kinetic Properties of [beta]-Glucan Synthases

The regulation and kinetic properties of cellulose synthase as well as [beta]-1,3-glucan synthase have been studied. The cellulose was detected using acetic/nitric acid insolubility as an indicator of cellulose (this product contained only [beta]-1,4-linked glucans; K. Okuda, L. Li, K. Kudlicka, S. Kuga, R.M. Brown, Jr. [1993] Plant Physiol 101: 1131-1142). These studies reveal that (a) [beta]-1,3-glucan synthesis is enhanced up to 31-fold by cellobiose with a Ka of 1.16 mM; (b) cellulose synthesis is increased 12-fold by a combination of cellobiose (Ka = 3.26 mM) and cyclic-3[prime]:5[prime]-GMP (Ka = 100 [mu]M); (c) the common components in the reaction mixture required by both enzymes are cellobiose, calcium, and digitonin; (d) cellulose synthase has an essential requirement for magnesium (Ka = 0.89 mM); (e) cellulose synthase also requires a low concentration of calcium (Ka = 90 [mu]M); (f) the optimal pH for cellulose synthase (7.6-8.0) is slightly higher than that for [beta]-1,3-glucan synthase (7.2-7.6); (g) the Km for UGP-Glc for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) cellulose synthase is 0.40 mM; (h) the Km for UDP-Glc for for [beta]-1,3-glucan synthase is 0.43 mM.     

Enzymatic basis of macrophage activation. Kinetic analysis of superoxide production in lysates of resident and activated mouse peritoneal macrophages and granulocytes

To compare the kinetics of the O-2-generating enzyme in nonactivated and activated macrophages and granulocytes from the mouse peritoneal cavity, we sought conditions in which the activity of this enzyme in cell lysates was comparable to that in intact cells. Pretreatment of macrophages with 10 mM diethyldithiocarbamate inhibited endogenous superoxide dismutase by 70% and enhanced O-2 secretion up to 15-fold, so that it was comparable to H2O2 secretion. O-2 secretion was terminated by detergent lysis and reconstituted by addition of NAD(P)H to the lysates. Optimal detection of O-2 production in lysates depended on prior stimulation of the respiratory burst, lysis with 0.05% deoxycholate rather than any of 4 other detergents or sonication, acetylation of the cytochrome c used as an indicator, and addition of NADPH rather than NADH. Kinetic analysis using NADPH-reconstituted deoxycholate lysates, together with spectra of oxidized and reduced cells, failed to reveal either marked differences in the Vmax of the O-2-generating enzyme or correlations between O-2 secretion and cytochrome b559 content among 5 macrophage populations whose H2O2 secretion ranged from 0 to 365 nmol/90 min/mg of protein. In contrast, the Km of the oxidase for NADPH varied markedly and inversely with the capacity of the intact cells to secrete O-2 or H2O2: J774G8 histiocytoma cells, 1.43 mM; resident macrophages, 0.41 mM; proteose peptone-elicited macrophages, 0.20 mM; casein-activated macrophages, 0.05 mM; NaIO4-activated macrophages, 0.05 mM; and granulocytes, 0.04 mM. These results suggest that macrophage activation, a process that enhances oxygen-dependent antitumor and antimicrobial functions, may equip the cell to secrete increased amounts of reactive oxygen intermediates largely by increasing the affinity of the oxidase for NADPH.     

Cytosolic NADPH may regulate differences in basal Nox oxidase-derived superoxide generation in bovine coronary and pulmonary arteries

Because systems controlled by basal NAD(P)H oxidase activity appear to contribute to differences in responses of endothelium-removed bovine coronary (BCA) and pulmonary (BPA) arteries to hypoxia, we characterized the Nox oxidases activities present in these vascular segments and how cytosolic NAD(P)H redox systems could be controlling oxidase activity. BPA generated approximately 60-80% more lucigenin (5 microM) chemiluminescence detectable superoxide than BCA. Apocynin (10 microM), a NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor, and 6-aminonicotinamide (1 mM), a pentose phosphate inhibitor (PPP), both attenuated (approximately by 50-70%) superoxide detected in BPA and BCA. There was no significant difference in the expression of Nox2 or Nox4 mRNA or protein detected by Western blot analysis. NADPH and NADH increased superoxide in homogenates and isolated microsomal membrane fractions in a manner consistent with BPA and BCA having similar levels of oxidase activity. BPA had 4.2-fold higher levels of NADPH than BCA. The activity and protein levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the rate-limiting PPP enzyme generating cytosolic NADPH, were 1.5-fold higher in BPA than BCA. Thus BPA differ from BCA in that they have higher levels of G6PD activity, NADPH, and superoxide. Because both arteries have similar levels of Nox expression and activity, elevated levels of cytosolic NADPH may contribute to increased superoxide in BPA.     

Purification and Characterization of a Soluble Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinase from Carrot Suspension Culture Cells

Previously we reported the presence of a soluble phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase (PI 4-Kinase) in carrot (Daucus carota L.) suspension culture cells (C.M. Okpodu, W. Gross, W.F. Boss [1990] Plant Physiol 93: S-63). We have purified the enzyme over 1000-fold using Q-Sepharose ion exchange, hydroxylapatite, and G-100 gel filtration column chromatography. The Mr of the enzyme was estimated to be 83,000 by gel filtration. PI 4-kinase activity was recovered after renaturation of the 80-kD region of polyacrylamide gels, and an 80-kD peptide cross-reacted with antibodies to the yeast 55-kD membrane-associated PI 4-kinase on western blots. The isolated lipid kinase phosphorylated PI but not lysophosphatidylinositol or phosphatidylinositol monophosphate. Maximal PI kinase activity occurred when the substrate was added as Triton X-100/PI mixed micelles at pH 8. The enzyme required divalent cations. At low concentrations (1-5 mM), Mn2+ was more effective than Mg2+ in increasing enzyme activity; however, maximal activity occurred at 25 to 40 mM Mg2+. Calcium from 0.01 [mu]M to 1 mM had no effect on the enzyme activity. The Km of the enzyme for ATP was estimated to be between 400 and 463 [mu]M. The enzyme was inhibited by adenosine (100 [mu]M); however, ADP (up to 100 [mu]M) had no effect on the activity. The biochemical characteristics of the carrot soluble PI 4-kinase are compared with the previously reported PI 4-kinases from animals and yeast.     

Inhibition of the methylcoenzyme M methylreductase system by NAD+ and NADP+ in cell-extracts of Methanosarcina barkeri

In cell extracts of Methanosarcina barkeri, the methylcoenzyme M methylreductase system with H2 as the electron donor was inhibited by NAD+ and NADP+, but NADH and NADPH had no effect on enzyme activity. NAD+ (4 and 8 mM) shifted the saturation curve for methylcoenzyme M from hyperbolic (Hill coefficient [nH] = 1.0; concentration of substrate giving half maximal velocity [Km] = 0.21 mM) to sigmoidal (nH = 1.5 and 2.0), increased Km (Km = 0.25 and 0.34 mM), and slightly decreased Vmax. Similarly NADP+ at 4m and 8 mM increased nH to 1.6 and 1.85 respectively, but the Km values (0.3 and 0.56 mM) indicated that NADP+ was a more efficient inhibitor than NAD+.     

Identification of the NADPH-binding subunit of the respiratory burst oxidase.

The respiratory burst oxidase is a multicomponent membrane-bound enzyme that uses NADPH to reduce oxygen to O2-. When oxidase-containing membranes from activated neutrophils are treated with 0.3 M KCl, the NADPH-binding component of the oxidase elutes from the membranes in an active form. Treatment of this eluate with [32P]NADPH dialdehyde labels an approximately 32-kDa protein that is absent from eluates obtained from normal resting membranes or from resting or activated membranes from patients with one form of chronic granulomatous disease. We propose that this approximately 32-kDa protein is the NADPH-binding component of the oxidase.     

Purification and characterization of a membrane-bound NADPH-cytochrome c reductase capable of catalyzing menadione-dependent O2- formation in guinea pig polymorphonuclear leukocytes

A membrane-bound NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, which is capable of forming the superoxide anion (O2-) in the presence of menadione, was highly purified from membrane fractions of disrupted guinea pig polymorphonuclear leukocytes by solubilization with 0.2% Triton X-100 and chromatographies on Sephacryl S-300 and 2',5'-ADP-agarose. The overall purification from the membrane fraction was over 110-fold, with a yield of about 6%. The purified preparation did not contain two other pyridine nucleotide-oxidizing enzymes: NADH- and NAD(P)H-oxidizing enzymes (J. Biochem. 94, 931-936, 1983). Besides cytochrome c, the purified enzyme was able to reduce menadione, Nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) and 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol. The reduction of menadione alone resulted in the formation of O2-. The purified enzyme preparation contained FAD. When assayed by measuring O2--generation in the presence of menadione, the enzyme showed an optimum pH at 7.0-7.4, and Km values for NADPH, NADH, and menadione were 25, 230, and 5.3 microM, respectively. The enzyme activity was not inhibited by NaN3 or dicumarol, but was by N-ethylmaleimide, EDTA, and quercetin; these inhibition profiles agree with those observed for the NADPH oxidase in the membrane fraction of phorbol-myristate acetate-stimulated leukocytes. Furthermore, when compared by means of the NBT-staining method combined with disc gel electrophoresis, the purified enzyme was electrophoretically indistinguishable from the NADPH-NBT reductase in the plasma membrane as well as phagosomes of the leukocytes. These results suggest that the purified NADPH-cytochrome c reductase is the putative flavoprotein of the NADPH oxidase system responsible for the respiratory burst.     

Partial Purification and Characterization of Hydroxycinnamoyl-Coenzyme A:Tyramine Hydroxycinnamoyltransferase from Cell Suspension Cultures of Solanum tuberosum

A pathogen elicitor-inducible soluble acyltransferase (tyramine hydroxycinnamoyltransferase [THT], EC 2.3.1), which catalyzes the transfer of hydroxycinnamic acids from hydroxycinnamoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) esters to tyramine in the formation of N-hydroxycinnamoyltyramine, was partially purified with a 380-fold enrichment and a 6% recovery from cell-suspension cultures of potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv Datura). The enzyme showed specific activities of 33 mkat (kg protein)-1 (formation of feruloyltyramine). The apparent native Mr was found to be approximately 49,000. Highest activity was at pH 6.8 in K-phosphate. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was approximately pH5.2. The apparent energy of activation was calculated to be 96 kJ mol-1. The enzyme activity was stimulated more than 5-fold by 10 mM Ca2+ or Mg2+. The apparent Km values were 36 [mu]M for feruloyl-CoA and 85 and 140 [mu]M for cinnamoyl- and 4-coumaroyl-CoA, respectively. The Km value for tyramine in the presence of feruloyl-CoA was 22 [mu]M. In the presence of 4-coumaroyl-CoA, however, the Km for tyramine increased to about 230 [mu]M. The mode of action was an iso-ordered bi bi mechanism in which A, B, P, and Q equal hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA, tyramine, N-hydroxycinnamoyltyramine, and CoA, respectively. Thus, the reaction occurred in a ternary complex of the enzyme and substrates. The equilibrium constant of the reaction was determined to be 1.3 x 104. This gave a [delta]G[deg][prime] eq value of -23.5 kJ mol-1.     

Purification and properties of Pichia guilliermondii yeast alkaline nucleotide pyrophosphatase hydrolyzing flavin adenine dinucleotide

Alkaline nucleotide pyrophosphatase was isolated from the Pichia guilliermondii Wickerham ATCC 9058 cell-free extracts. The enzyme was 740-fold purified by saturation of ammonium sulphate, gel-chromatography on Sephadex G-150 and ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. Nucleotide pyrophosphatase is the most active at pH 8.3 and 49 degrees C. The enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of FAD, NAD+, NADH, NADPH, GTP. The Km value for FAD is 2.4 x 10(-4) M and for NAD+--5.7 x 10(-6) M. The hydrolysis of FAD was inhibited by NAD+, NADP+, ATP, AMP, GTP, PPi and Pi. The Ki for NAD+, AMP and Na4P2O7 was 1.7 x 10(-4) M, 1.1 x 10(-4) M and 5 x 10(-5) M, respectively. Metal chelating compounds, 8-oxyquinoline, o-phenanthroline and EDTA, inhibited completely the enzyme activity. The EDTA effect was irreversible. The molecular weight of the enzyme determined by gel-filtration on Sephadex G-150 and thin-layer gel-filtration chromatography was 78000 dalton. Protein-bound FAD of glucose oxidase is not hydrolyzed by the alkaline nucleotide pyrophosphatase. The enzyme is stable at 2 degrees C in 0.01 M tris-HCl-buffer (pH 7.5).     

The Superoxide Synthases of Plasma Membrane Preparations from Cultured Rose Cells

Preparations of plasma membranes isolated from cultured rose (Rosa damascena Mill. cv Gloire de Guilan) cells synthesized O2- when incubated with either NADH or NADPH, as measured by an O2--specific assay based on the chemiluminescence of lucigenin. The activities were strongly dependent on the presence of Triton X-100. The Km for NADH was 159 [mu]M; that for NADPH was 19 [mu]M. Neither NADH- nor NADPH-dependent activity was inhibited by azide, an inhibitor of peroxidase, nor by antimycin A, an inhibitor of mitochondrial electron transport; both activities were inhibited by 30 to 100 nM diphenylene iodonium, an inhibitor of the mammalian NADPH oxidase. The NADH- and NADPH-dependent activities could be distinguished by detergent solubilization and ultracentrifugation: the NADH-dependent activity sedimented more easily, whereas the NADPH-dependent activity remained in suspension. One or both of these enzymes may provide the O2- seen when plant cells are exposed to pathogens or pathogen-associated elicitors; however, plasma membranes from rose cells treated with a Phytophthora elicitor had the same activity as control cells.     

An NAD(P) reductase derived from Chlorobium thiosulfa-tophilum: Purification and some properties

A highly purified preparation of an NAD(P) reductase was obtained from Chlorobium thiosulfatophilum and some of its properties were studied. The enzyme possesses FAD as the prosthetic group, and reduces benzyl viologen, 2,6-dichloro-phenolindophenol and cytochromes c, including cytochrome c-555 (C. thiosulfato-philum), with NADPH or NADH as the electron donor. It reduces NADP⁺ or NAD⁺ photosynthetically with spinach chloroplasts in the presence of added spinach ferredoxin. It reduces the pyridine nucleotides with reduced benzyl viologen. The enzyme also shows a pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase activity. In these reactions, the type of pyridine nucleotide (NADP or NAD) which functions more efficiently with the enzyme varies with the concentration of the nucleotide used; at concentrations lower than approx. 1.0 mM, NADPH (or NADP⁺) is better electron donor (or acceptor), while NADH (or NAD⁺) is a better electron donor (or acceptor) at concentrations higher than approx. 1.0 mM. Reduction of dyes or cytochromes c catalysed by the enzyme is strongly inhibited by NADP⁺, 2′-AMP and and atebrin.     

A Long-Chain Secondary Alcohol Dehydrogenase from Rhodococcus erythropolis ATCC 4277

A NAD-dependent secondary alcohol dehydrogenase has been purified from the alkane-degrading bacterium, Rhodococcus erythropolis ATCC 4277. The enzyme was found to be active against a broad range of substrates, particularly long-chain secondary aliphatic alcohols. Although optimal activity was observed with linear 2-alcohols containing between 6 and 11 carbon atoms, secondary alcohols as long as 2-tetradecanol were oxidized at 25% of the rate seen with mid-range alcohols. The purified enzyme was specific for the S-(+) stereoisomer of 2-octanol and had a specific activity for 2-octanol of over 200 (mu)mol/min/mg of protein at pH 9 and 37(deg)C, 25-fold higher than that of any previously reported S-(+) secondary alcohol dehydrogenase. Linear primary alcohols containing between 3 and 13 carbon atoms were utilized 20- to 40-fold less efficiently than the corresponding secondary alcohols. The apparent K(infm) value for NAD(sup+) with 2-octanol as the substrate was 260 (mu)M, whereas the apparent K(infm) values for the 2-alcohols ranged from over 5 mM for 2-pentanol to less than 2 (mu)M for 2-tetradecanol. The enzyme showed moderate thermostability (half-life of 4 h at 60(deg)C) and could potentially be useful for the synthesis of optically pure stereoisomers of secondary alcohols.     

Effect of variable glutathione peroxidase activity on H2O2-related cytotoxicity in cultured aortic endothelial cells

Primary cultures of porcine aortic endothelial cells were used to assess the effects of O2 intermediates produced by 10-40 mU/ml xanthine oxidase (XO; +2 mM hypoxanthine) or 25-100 mU/ml glucose oxidase (GO; +5 mM glucose). A 60-min incubation in the presence of the enzyme systems resulted in a dose-dependent toxic effect with evidence of cytolysis (increased LDH release) and cell loss (decrease in DNA and protein content), when these indexes were measured 24 hr after completion of the enzyme reaction. Decreased [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA was the most sensitive index of cell dysfunction for both enzyme systems. The effects of various scavengers and enzymes indicated that H2O2 was the main O2 intermediate involved in the cytotoxicity resulting from the XO-hypoxanthine reaction. Increased glutathione peroxidase activity associated with the addition of 2 X 10(-7) M selenomethionine to culture medium had a partial protective effect which could be related to an increased rate of H2O2 degradation. Evidence for increased DNA synthesis after injury was found in cells previously exposed to XO-hypoxanthine, the degree of increase in [3H]thymidine incorporation being dependent on the intensity of the initial cytotoxicity. Cultured endothelial cells provide a useful tool to evaluate the role of O2 intermediates in endothelial cell injury, to test the effects of protective agents, and to study the repair process.     

Demonstration and possible function of NADH:NAD+ transhydrogenase from ascaris muscle mitochondria.

Mitochondria from the muscle of Ascaris lumbricoides var. suis function anaerobically. NADH is generated in the intermembrane space as a consequence of the "malic" enzyme reaction. It has been suggested that this reducing equivalent in the form of hydride ion, would be translocated across the inner membrane in order to mediate ATP generation via the fumarate reductase reaction. In accord with this suggestion, intact Ascaris mitochondria showed appreciable NADH oxidase activity. Sonication resulted in an approximately 2-fold increase in NADH oxidase activity, whereas "malic" enzyme, fumarase, and NADH:NAD+ transhydrogenase activities increased approximately 7- to 14-fold, respectively. Phosphorylation capabilities and permeability toward pyridine nucleotides also indicated the intactness of the mitochondria. Ascaris mitochondria incubated anaerobically in the presence of fumarate, and [14C]NADH catalyzed a rapid reduction of the fumarate to succinate with the concomitant formation of equivalent quantities of extramitochondrial NAD+. However, very little isotope was recovered from the washed mitochondria, indicating the possibility of hydride ion translocation in the absence of nucleotide translocation. NADH:NAD+ transhydrogenase has been isolated from the muscle mitochondria of the intestinal nematode, Ascaris lumbricoides var. suis. The enzyme seems to have been solubilized from the mitochondrial membrane fraction by treatment with sodium deoxycholate followed by dialysis and subsequent adsorption by and elution from alumina C gamma. No NADPH:NAD+ transhydrogenase activity was detectable, making the Ascaris system unique over others reported. Activity was protected by L-cysteine, reduced glutathione and dithioerythritol, but strongly inhibited by low concentrations of p-chloromercuribenzoate or silver nitrate. The thionicotinamide derivative of NAD+ (thioNAD+) was employed to accept hydride ions from NADH in order to assay spectrophotometrically at 398 nm. Apparent Km values for thioNAD+ and NADH were 1 X 10(-4) M and 8 X 10(-6) M, respectively. That the physiological nucleotide, could act as hydride ion acceptor from NADH was indicated by the findings that NAD+ competitively inhibited the reduction of thioNAD+ when assayed at 398 nm. The additional finding of a noncompetitive inhibition between NAD+ and NADH suggested at least two binding sites on the enzyme, one for NADH and another common site for NAD+ and thioNAD+. More conclusive evidence indicating the participation of NAD+ as acceptor was obtained by incubation of the enzyme with NADH and [14C]NAD+ and demonstrating a rapid formation of [14C]NADH. These findings, in conjunction with those discussed above, suggest a physiological function of this enzyme in hydride ion translocation.     

Elementary steps in the reaction mechanism of chicken liver fatty acid synthase: reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate binding and formation and reduction of acetoacetyl-enzyme

The kinetics of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) binding to fatty acid synthase from chicken liver and of the reduction of enzyme-bound acetoacetyl by NADPH (beta-ketoacyl reductase) and the steps leading to formation of the acetoacetyl-enzyme have been studied in 0.1 M potassium phosphate-1 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), pH 7.0, at 25 degrees C by monitoring changes in NADPH fluorescence with a stopped-flow apparatus. Improved fluorescence detection has permitted the use of NADPH concentrations as low as 20 nM. The kinetics of the binding of NADPH to the enzyme is consistent with a simple bimolecular binding mechanism and four equivalent sites on the enzyme (presumably two beta-ketoacyl reductase sites and two enoyl reductase sites). The bimolecular rate constant is 12.7 X 10(6) M-1 s-1, and the dissociation rate constant is 76.7 s-1, which gives an equilibrium dissociation constant of 6.0 microM. The formation of the acetoacetyl-enzyme and its subsequent reduction by NADPH could be analyzed as two consecutive pseudo-first-order reactions by mixing enzyme-NADPH with acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA under conditions where [acetyl-CoA], [malonyl-CoA] much greater than [enzyme] much greater than [NADPH]. From the dependence of the rate of reduction of aceto-acetyl-enzyme by NADPH on enzyme concentration, an independent estimate of the equilibrium dissociation constant for NADPH binding to the enzyme of 5.9 microM is obtained, and the rate constant for the reduction is 17.5 s-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The role of nucleoside-diphosphate kinase reactions in G protein activation of NADPH oxidase by guanine and adenine nucleotides

NADPH-oxidase-catalyzed superoxide (O2-) formation in membranes of HL-60 leukemic cells was activated by arachidonic acid in the presence of Mg2+ and HL-60 cytosol. The GTP analogues, guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (GTP[gamma S] and guanosine 5'-[beta,gamma-imido]triphosphate, being potent activators of guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins), stimulated O2- formation up to 3.5-fold. The adenine analogue of GTP[gamma S], adenosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (ATP[gamma S]), which can serve as donor of thiophosphoryl groups in kinase-mediated reactions, stimulated O2- formation up to 2.5-fold, whereas the non-phosphorylating adenosine 5'-[beta,gamma-imido]triphosphate was inactive. The effect of ATP[gamma S] was half-maximal at a concentration of 2 microM, was observed in the absence of added GDP and occurred with a lag period two times longer than the one with GTP[gamma S]. HL-60 membranes exhibited nucleoside-diphosphate kinase activity, catalyzing the thiophosphorylation of GDP to GTP[gamma S] by ATP[gamma S]. GTP[gamma S] formation was half-maximal at a concentration of 3-4 microM ATP[gamma S] and was suppressed by removal of GDP by creatine kinase/creatine phosphate (CK/CP). The stimulatory effect of ATP[gamma S] on O2- formation was abolished by the nucleoside-diphosphate kinase inhibitor UDP. Mg2+ chelation with EDTA and removal of endogenous GDP by CK/CP abolished NADPH oxidase activation by ATP[gamma S] and considerably diminished stimulation by GTP[gamma S]. GTP[gamma S] also served as a thiophosphoryl group donor to GDP, with an even higher efficiency than ATP[gamma S]. Transthiophosphorylation of GDP to GTP[gamma S] was only partially inhibited by CK/CP. Our results suggest that NADPH oxidase is regulated by a G protein, which may be activated either by exchange of bound GDP by guanosine triphosphate or by thiophosphoryl group transfer to endogenous GDP by nucleoside-diphosphate kinase.     

Dissecting the Diphenylene Iodonium-Sensitive NAD(P)H:Quinone Oxidoreductase of Zucchini Plasma Membrane

Quinone oxidoreductase activities dependent on pyridine nucleotides are associated with the plasma membrane (PM) in zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.) hypocotyls. In the presence of NADPH, lipophilic ubiquinone homologs with up to three isoprenoid units were reduced by intact PM vesicles with a Km of 2 to 7 [mu]M. Affinities for both NADPH and NADH were similar (Km of 62 and 51 [mu]M, respectively). Two NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase forms were identified. The first, labeled as peak I in gel-filtration experiments, behaves as an intrinsic membrane complex of about 300 kD, it slightly prefers NADH over NADPH, it is markedly sensitive to the inhibitor diphenylene iodonium, and it is active with lipophilic quinones. The second form (peak II) is an NADPH-preferring oxidoreductase of about 90 kD, weakly bound to the PM. Peak II is diphenylene iodonium-insensitive and resembles, in many properties, the soluble NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase that is also present in the same tissue. Following purification of peak I, however, the latter gave rise to a quinone oxidoreductase of the soluble type (peak II), based on substrate and inhibitor specificities and chromatographic and electrophoretic evidence. It is proposed that a redox protein of the same class as the soluble NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (F. Sparla, G. Tedeschi, and P. Trost [1996] Plant Physiol. 112:249-258) is a component of the diphenylene iodonium-sensitive PM complex capable of reducing lipophilic quinones.