Effects of melanin on tyrosine hydroxylase and phenylalanine hydroxylase.

Melanin inhibited rat liver phenylalanine hydroxylase, but activated tyrosine hydroxylase from rat brain (caudate nucleus), rat adrenal glands, and bovine adrenal medulla. Activation of tyrosine hydroxylase by melanin was demonstrated with the extensively dialyzed enzyme and in suboptimal concentrations of the substrate (tyrosine) and the cofactor (6-methyltetrahydropterin). Tyrosine hydroxylase from rat brain was activated by melanin more markedly than that from rat adrenal glands. Purified and extensively dialyzed bovine adrenal tyrosine hydroxylase had two Km values with 6-methyltetrahydropterin, depending upon its concentrations, but the melanin-activated tyrosine hydroxylase had a single Km value and showed the classical Michaelis-Menten kinetics.     

The mechanism of phenylalanine hydroxylase

The site of oxygen binding during phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH)-catalyzed turnover of phenylalanine to tyrosine has been tentatively identified as the 4a position of the tetrahydropterin cofactor, based on the spectral characteristics of an intermediate generated from both 6-methyltetrahydropterin and tetrahydrobiopterin during turnover. The rates of appearance of the intermediate and tyrosine are equal. Both rates exhibit the same dependence on enzyme concentration. PAH also requires 1.0 iron per 50,000-dalton subunit for maximal activity. A direct correlation between iron content and specific activity has been demonstrated. Apoenzyme can be reactivated by addition of Fe(II) aerobically or Fe(III) anaerobically and can be repurified to give apparently native protein. Evidence from electron paramagnetic resonance implicates the presence of high spin (5/2) Fe(III). As a working hypothesis we postulate that a key complex at the active site may be one containing iron in close proximity to a 4a-peroxytetrahydropterin.     

Mutation of serine 395 of tyrosine hydroxylase decouples oxygen-oxygen bond cleavage and tyrosine hydroxylation

Ser395 and Ser396 in the active site of rat tyrosine hydroxylase are conserved in all three members of the family of pterin-dependent hydroxylases, phenylalanine hydroxylase, tyrosine hydroxylase, and tryptophan hydroxylase. Ser395 is appropriately positioned to form a hydrogen bond to the imidazole nitrogen of His331, an axial ligand to the active site iron, while Ser396 is located on the wall of the active site cleft. Site-directed mutagenesis has been used to analyze the roles of these two residues in catalysis. The specific activities for formation of dihydroxyphenylalanine by the S395A, S395T, and S396A enzymes are 1.3, 26, and 69% of the wild-type values, respectively. Both the S395A and S396A enzymes bind a stoichiometric amount of iron and exhibit wild-type spectra when complexed with dopamine. The K(M) values for tyrosine, 6-methyltetrahydropterin, and tetrahydrobiopterin are unaffected by replacement of either residue with alanine. Although the V(max) value for tyrosine hydroxylation by the S395A enzyme is decreased by 2 orders of magnitude, the V(max) value for tetrahydropterin oxidation by either the S395A or the S396A enzyme is unchanged from the wild-type value. With both mutant enzymes, there is quantitative formation of 4a-hydroxypterin from 6-methyltetrahydropterin. These results establish that Ser395 is required for amino acid hydroxylation but not for cleavage of the oxygen-oxygen bond, while Ser396 is not essential. These results also establish that cleavage of the oxygen-oxygen bond occurs in a separate step from amino acid hydroxylation.     

Evidence for a high-spin Fe(IV) species in the catalytic cycle of a bacterial phenylalanine hydroxylase

Phenylalanine hydroxylase is a mononuclear non-heme iron protein that uses tetrahydropterin as the source of the two electrons needed to activate dioxygen for the hydroxylation of phenylalanine to tyrosine. Rapid-quench methods have been used to analyze the mechanism of a bacterial phenylalanine hydroxylase from Chromobacterium violaceum. Mo?ssbauer spectra of samples prepared by freeze-quenching the reaction of the enzyme-(57)Fe(II)-phenylalanine-6-methyltetrahydropterin complex with O(2) reveal the accumulation of an intermediate at short reaction times (20-100 ms). The Mo?ssbauer parameters of the intermediate (δ = 0.28 mm/s, and |ΔE(Q)| = 1.26 mm/s) suggest that it is a high-spin Fe(IV) complex similar to those that have previously been detected in the reactions of other mononuclear Fe(II) hydroxylases, including a tetrahydropterin-dependent tyrosine hydroxylase. Analysis of the tyrosine content of acid-quenched samples from similar reactions establishes that the Fe(IV) intermediate is kinetically competent to be the hydroxylating intermediate. Similar chemical-quench analysis of a reaction allowed to proceed for several turnovers shows a burst of tyrosine formation, consistent with rate-limiting product release. All three data sets can be modeled with a mechanism in which the enzyme-substrate complex reacts with oxygen to form an Fe(IV)═O intermediate with a rate constant of 19 mM(-1) s(-1), the Fe(IV)═O intermediate hydroxylates phenylalanine with a rate constant of 42 s(-1), and rate-limiting product release occurs with a rate constant of 6 s(-1) at 5 °C.     

Purification and state of activation of rat kidney phenylalanine hydroxylase

Phenylalanine hydroxylase, the enzyme that catalyzes the irreversible hydroxylation of phenylalanine to tyrosine, was purified from rat kidney with the use of phenyl-Sepharose, DEAE-Sephacel, and gel permeation high pressure liquid chromatography. Our most highly purified fractions had a specific activity in the presence of 6-methyltetrahydropterin, of 1.5 mumol of tyrosine formed/min/mg of protein, which is higher than has been reported hitherto. For the rat kidney enzyme, the ratio of specific activity in the presence of 6-methyltetrahydropterin to the specific activity in the presence of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is 5. By contrast, this ratio for the unactivated rat liver hydroxylase is 80. These results indicate that the kidney enzyme is in a highly activated state. The rat kidney hydroxylase could not be further activated by any of the methods that stimulate the BH4-dependent activity of the rat liver enzyme. In addition, the kidney enzyme binds to phenyl-Sepharose without prior activation with phenylalanine. The phenylalanine saturation pattern with BH4 as a cofactor is hyperbolic with substrate inhibition at greater than 0.5 mM phenylalanine, a pattern that is characteristic of the activated liver hydroxylase. The molecular weight of the rat kidney enzyme as determined by gel permeation chromatography is 110,000, suggesting that the enzyme might be an activated dimer. We conclude, therefore, that phenylalanine hydroxylases from rat kidney and liver are in different states of activation and may be regulated in different ways.     

Affinity labeling of the active site and the reactive sulfhydryl associated with activation of rat liver phenylalanine hydroxylase

A pterin analogue, 5-[(3-azido-6-nitrobenzylidene)amino]-2,6-diamino-4-pyrimidinone (ANBADP), was synthesized as a probe of the pterin binding site of phenylalanine hydroxylase. The photoaffinity label has been found to be a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme with respect to 6,7-dimethyltetrahydropterin, having a Ki of 8.8 +/- 1.1 microM. The irreversible labeling of phenylalanine hydroxylase by the photoaffinity label upon irradiation is both concentration and time dependent. Phenylalanine hydroxylase is covalently labeled with a stoichiometry of 0.87 +/- 0.08 mol of label/enzyme subunit. 5-Deaza-6-methyltetrahydropterin protects against inactivation and both 5-deaza-6-methyltetrahydropterin and 6-methyltetrahydropterin protect against covalent labeling, indicating that labeling occurs at the pterin binding site. Three tryptic peptides were isolated from [3H]ANBADP-photolabeled enzyme and sequenced. All peptides indicated the sequence Thr-Leu-Lys-Ala-Leu-Tyr-Lys (residues 192-198). The residues labeled with [3H]ANBADP were Lys198 and Lys194, with the majority of the radioactivity being associated with Lys198. The reactive sulfhydryl of phenylalanine hydroxylase associated with activation of the enzyme was also identified by labeling with the chromophoric label 5-(iodoacetamido)fluorescein [Parniak, M. A., & Kaufman, S. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 6876]. Labeling of the enzyme resulted in 1 mol of fluorescein bound per phenylalanine hydroxylase subunit and a concomitant activation of phenylalanine hydroxylase to 82% of the activity found with phenylalanine-activated enzyme. Tryptic and chymotryptic peptides were isolated from fluorescein-labeled enzyme and sequenced. The modified residue was identified as Cys236.     

Reaction of rat liver phenylalanine hydroxylase with fatty acid hydroperoxides. Characterization and mechanism

Rat liver phenylalanine hydroxylase must be in a reduced form to be catalytically active (Marota, J.J. A., and Shiman, R. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 1303-1311). In this communication we show that a fatty acid hydroperoxide, 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid (LOOH), can efficiently oxidize the reduced enzyme. In the process, the hydroperoxide is decomposed, oxygen consumed, and hydrogen peroxide formed. Enzyme reduction by the tetrahydropterin cofactor and reoxidation by LOOH can occur as two single steps or, when the enzyme concentration is low compared to that of the substrates, as part of a catalytic cycle. In this latter case, phenylalanine hydroxylase is a hydroperoxide-dependent tetrahydropterin oxidase. The reaction requires 1.0 mol of O2, 1.0 mol of tetrahydropterin, and 0.5 mol of LOOH to yield 1.0 mol of quinonoid dihydropterin, 0.4 mol of H2O2, and fatty acid products. Thus far, the catalytic and single-step reactions appear the same in all properties, consistent with the steady-state reaction following a ping-pong mechanism. Phenylalanine hydroxylase is an excellent catalyst for this reaction: the turnover number with LOOH is slightly greater than with phenylalanine; the Km(app) for LOOH is 11 +/- 4 microM; and the kcat/Km ratio for LOOH is about 25 times greater than for phenylalanine. LOOH and phenylalanine appear to react at different sites on phenylalanine appear to react at different sites on phenylalanine hydroxylase, and the reaction of LOOH is inhibited only slightly by phenylalanine and not at all by 5-deaza-6-methyltetrahydropterin, a competitive inhibitor of phenylalanine hydroxylation. The reaction of LOOH with phenylalanine hydroxylase strongly resembles the nonenzymatic reaction of LOOH with hematin, implying similar mechanisms for the two reactions and implicating the enzyme's non-heme iron as both the site of reaction of LOOH and of electron transfer during oxidation and reduction. The formation of hydrogen peroxide during a reaction of phenylalanine hydroxylase is unusual. Indirect evidence indicates a reduced oxygen species, formed on the enzyme during the reduction step, is (partially) released as H2O2 when the hydroperoxide reacts.     

Studies on the phenylalanine hydroxylase system in liver slices.

A method was developed to study the unsupplemented phenylalanine hydroxylase system in rat liver slices. All of the components of the system--tetrahydrobiopterin, dihydropteridine reductase, and the hydroxylase itself--are present under conditions which should be representative of the actual physiological state of the animal. The properties of the system in liver slices have been compared to those of the purified enzyme in vitro. The three pterins, tetrahydrobiopterin, 6,7-dimethyltetrahydropterin, and 6-methyltetrahydropterin, all stimulate the hydroxylation of phenylalanine when added to the liver slice medium in the presence of a chemical reducing agent. The relative velocities found at 1 mM phenylalanine and saturating pterin concentrations are: tetrahydrobiopterin, 1; 6,7-dimethyltetrahydropterin, 2.5; 6-methyltetrahydropterin, 13. This ratio of activities is similar to that found for the purified, native phenylalanine hydroxylase and indicates that the enzyme in vivo is predominantly in the native form. Rats pretreated with 6-methyltetrahydropterin showed enhanced phenylalanine hydroxylase activity in liver slices demonstrating for the first time that an exogenous tetrahydropterin can interact with the phenylalanine hydroxylase system in vivo. This finding opens up the possibility of treating phenylketonurics who still possess some residual phenylalanine hydroxylase activity with a tetrahydropterin like 6-methyltetrahydropterin which can give a large increase in rate over that seen with the natural cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin.     

Identification of iron ligands in tyrosine hydroxylase by mutagenesis of conserved histidinyl residues.

Tyrosine hydroxylase catalyzes the hydroxylation of tyrosine and other aromatic amino acids using a tetrahydropterin as the reducing substrate. The enzyme is a homotetramer; each monomer contains a single nonheme iron atom. Five histidine residues are conserved in all tyrosine hydroxylases that have been sequenced to date and in the related eukaryotic enzymes phenylalanine and tryptophan hydroxylase. Because histidine has been suggested as a ligand to the iron in these enzymes, mutant tyrosine hydroxylase proteins in which each of the conserved histidines had been mutated to glutamine or alanine were expressed in Escherichia coli. The H192Q, H247Q, and H317A mutant proteins contained iron in comparable amounts to the wild-type enzyme, about 0.6 atoms/sub-unit. In contrast, the H331 and H336 mutant proteins contained no iron. The first three mutant enzymes were active, with Vmax values 39, 68, and 7% that of the wild-type enzyme, and slightly altered V/Km values for both tyrosine and 6-methyltetrahydropterin. In contrast, the H331 and H336 mutant enzymes had no detectable activity. The EPR spectra of the H192Q and H247Q enzymes are indistinguishable from that of wild-type tyrosine hydroxylase, whereas that of the H317A enzyme indicated that the ligand field of the iron had been slightly perturbed. These results are consistent with H331 and H336 being ligands to the active site iron atom.     

Phenylalanine hydroxylase: absolute configuration and source of oxygen of the 4a-hydroxytetrahydropterin species

The formation of tyrosine from phenylalanine catalyzed by rat liver phenylalanine hydroxylase is coupled to the generation of a 4a-hydroxy adduct from the requisite tetrahydropterin cofactor. As indicated by its circular dichroism (CD) spectrum, the optical activity of the adduct generated from racemic 6-methyltetrahydropterin requires stereoselectivity of the oxygenation. The absolute configuration of this new stereocenter is 4a(S)-hydroxy-6(RS)-methyltetrahydropterin by analogy to the CD spectrum of one of the four stereoisomers of 5-deaza-4a-hydroxy-6-methyltetrahydropterin. The source of the 4a-hydroxy oxygen is O2, as demonstrated by the observation of a 18O-induced 13C shift in the 13C NMR spectrum of the adduct when generated from [4a-13C]-6-methyltetrahydropterin and 18O2.     

Steady-state kinetic mechanism of rat tyrosine hydroxylase.

The steady-state kinetic mechanism for rat tyrosine hydroxylase has been determined by using recombinant enzyme expressed in insect tissue culture cells. Variation of any two of the three substrates, tyrosine, 6-methyltetrahydropterin, and oxygen, together at nonsaturating concentrations of the third gives a pattern of intersecting lines in a double-reciprocal plot. Varying tyrosine and oxygen together results in a rapid equilibrium pattern, while the other substrate pairs both fit a sequential mechanism. When tyrosine and 6-methyltetrahydropterin are varied at a fixed ratio at different oxygen concentrations, the intercept replot is linear and the slope replot is nonlinear with a zero intercept, consistent with rapid equilibrium binding of oxygen. All the replots when oxygen is varied in a fixed ratio with either tyrosine or 6-methyltetrahydropterin are nonlinear with finite intercepts. 6-Methyl-7,8-dihydropterin and norepinephrine are competitive inhibitors versus 6-methyltetrahydropterin and noncompetitive inhibitors versus tyrosine. 3-Iodotyrosine, a competitive inhibitor versus tyrosine, shows uncompetitive inhibition versus 6-methyltetrahydropterin. At high concentrations, tyrosine is a competitive inhibitor versus 6-methyltetrahydropterin. These results are consistent with an ordered kinetic mechanism with the order of binding being 6-methyltetrahydropterin, oxygen, and tyrosine and with formation of a dead-end enzyme-tyrosine complex. There is no significant primary kinetic isotope effect on the V/K values or on the Vmax value with [3,5-2H2]tyrosine as substrate. No burst of dihydroxyphenylalanine production is seen during the first turnover. These results rule out product release and carbon-hydrogen bond cleavage as rate-limiting steps.     

Studies on the partially uncoupled oxidation of tetrahydropterins by phenylalanine hydroxylase

The uncoupled portion of the partially uncoupled oxidation of tetrahydropterins by phenylalanine hydroxylase can be described by the same model as we have recently derived for the fully uncoupled reaction (Davis, M.D. and Kaufman, S. (1989) J. Biol. Chem.264, 8585–8596). Although essentially no hydrogen peroxide is formed during the fully coupled oxidation of tetrahydrobiopterin or 6-methyltetrahydropterin by phenylalanine hydroxylase when phenylalanine is the amino acid substrate, significant amounts of hydrogen peroxide are formed during the partially uncoupled oxidation of 6-methyltetrahydropterin whenpara-fluorophenylalanine orpara-chlorophenylalanine are used in place of phenylalanine. Similarly, during the partially uncoupled oxidation of the unsubstituted pterin, tetrahydropterin, even in the presence of phenylalanine, hydrogen peroxide formation is detected. The 4a-carbinolamine tetrahydropterin intermediate has been observed during the fully uncoupled tyrosine-dependent oxidations of tetrahydropterin and 6-methyltetrahydropterin by lysolecithin-activated phenylalanine hydroxylase, suggesting that this species is also a common intermediate for uncoupled oxidations by this enzyme.Abbreviations BH₄ 6-[dihydroxypropyl-(L-erythro)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterin (tetrahydrobiopterin) - 6MPH₄ 6-methyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterin - PH₄ 5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterin - BH₃OH 4a-hydroxytetrahydropterin (4a-carbinolamine) - qBH₂ quinonoid dihydrobiopterin - q6MPH₂ quinonoid dihydro-6-methylpterin - qPH₂ quinoid dihydropterin - PAH phenylalanine hydroxylase - DHPR dihydropteridine reductase - PHS phenylalanine hydroxylase stimulating enzyme which is 4a-carbinolamine dehydratase - SOD superoxide dismutase - HPLC high performance liquid chromatography - R.T. retention time Special issue dedicated to Dr. Santiago Grisolia.     

Adduct formation between the cupric site of phenylalanine hydroxylase from Chromobacterium violaceum and 6,7-dimethyltetrahydropterin

The interaction of pterin-dependent phenylalanine hydroxylase from Chromobacterium violaceum with the cofactor analogue 5-deaza-6-methyltetrahydropterin and the cofactor 6,7-dimethyltetrahydropterin (DMPH4) has been investigated by multifrequency electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. 5-Deaza-6-methyltetrahydropterin, which lacks the N-5 nitrogen present in the pyrazine ring of DMPH4, binds tightly to the cupric form of the enzyme; however, no changes are observed in the ESR parameters of the copper center. In contrast, the binding of DMPH4 (or 6-methyltetrahydropterin) shifts the ESR parameters (g and A) associated with the cupric enzyme. In addition, superhyperfine transitions were resolved and assigned to hyperfine splitting from nitrogen ligands. ESR spectra of the enzyme recorded in the presence of [5-14N]DMPH4 or [5-15N]DMPH4 were computer simulated and found to be consistent with pterin serving as a direct donor ligand to the copper center through the N-5 position.     

Phenylalanine hydroxylase from Chromobacterium violaceum is a copper-containing monooxygenase. Kinetics of the reductive activation of the enzyme

Pterin-dependent phenylalanine hydroxylase from Chromobacterium violaceum contains a stoichiometric amount of copper (Cu2+, 1 mol/mol of enzyme). Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of the enzyme indicates that it is a type II copper-containing protein. The oxidized enzyme must be reduced by a single electron to be catalytically active. Dithiothreitol was found to be an effective reducing agent for the enzyme. Electron paramagnetic resonance data and kinetic results indicate the formation of an enzyme-thiol complex during the aerobic reduction of the enzyme by dithiothreitol. 6,7-Dimethyltetrahydropterin also reductively activates the enzyme, but only in the presence of the substrate, and is kinetically less effective than dithiothreitol. The metal center is not reoxidized as a result of normal turnover. However, the data indicate an alternative pathway exists that results in slow reoxidation of the enzyme. The 4a-hydrate of 6-methyltetrahydropterin (4a-carbinolamine) is observed during turnover of the enzyme. This intermediate is also observed during the reaction catalyzed by the iron-containing mammalian enzyme, suggesting that the mechanism of oxygen activation is similar for both enzymes.     

The pH dependence of binding of inhibitors to bovine adrenal tyrosine hydroxylase

The inhibition of purified bovine adrenal tyrosine hydroxylase by several product and substrate analogues has been studied to probe the kinetic mechanism. Norepinephrine, dopamine, and methylcatechol are competitive inhibitors versus tetrahydropterins and noncompetitive inhibitors versus tyrosine. 3-Iodotyrosine is an uncompetitive inhibitor versus tetrahydropterins and a competitive inhibitor versus tyrosine. The Ki value for 3-iodotyrosine depends on the tetrahydropterin used. These results are consistent with tetrahydropterin binding first to the free enzyme followed by binding of tyrosine. 5-Deaza-6-methyltetrahydropterin is a noncompetitive inhibitor versus tetrahydropterins and tyrosine. The effect of varying the concentration of tyrosine on the Ki value for 5-deaza-6-methyltetrahydropterin is consistent with the binding of this inhibitor to both the free enzyme and to an enzyme-dihydroxyphenylalanine complex. Dihydroxyphenylalanine also is a noncompetitive inhibitor versus tetrahydropterins and tyrosine; the effect of changing the fixed substrate is consistent with the binding of this inhibitor to both the free enzyme and to the enzyme-tetrahydropterin complex. The effect of pH on the Ki values was determined in order to measure the pKa values of amino acid residues involved in substrate binding. Tight binding of catechols requires that a group with a pKa value of 7.6 be deprotonated. Binding of 3-iodotyrosine involves two groups with pKa values of 7.5 and about 5.5, one of which must be protonated for binding. Binding of 5-deaza-6-methyltetrahydropterin requires that a group on the free enzyme with a pKa value of 6.1 be protonated. The Ki value for dihydroxyphenylalanine is relatively insensitive to pH, but the inhibition pattern changes from noncompetitive to competitive above pH 7.5, consistent with the measured pKa values for binding to the free enzyme and to the enzyme-tetrahydropterin complex.     

The tyrosine-dependent oxidation of tetrahydropterins by lysolecithin-activated rat liver phenylalanine hydroxylase

In the presence of tyrosine, phenylalanine hydroxylase, which has been activated with lysolecithin, catalyzes the oxidation of tetrahydrobiopterin at a rate 10-20% that of the parallel reaction with phenylalanine. Unlike the reaction with phenylalanine, there is no net concomitant hydroxylation of tyrosine, although the amino acid is still a necessary component. Tyrosine appears to form an abortive complex with the activated enzyme, the pterin cofactor and molecular oxygen. The Km for tetrahydrobiopterin is identical for the reactions with phenylalanine and tyrosine, whereas the Km for tyrosine is approximately 3 1/2 times greater than the Km for phenylalanine. The tyrosine-dependent oxidation of tetrahydrobiopterin proceeds at both pH 6.8 and 8.2 and shows a similar dependence on the pH as that of the physiological reaction. Tetrahydrobiopterin can be replaced by the artificial cofactor, 6-methyltetrahydropterin, in the tyrosine-dependent oxidation at both pH 6.8 and 8.2. As in the parallel reaction with phenylalanine, both the Km for the cofactor and the Km for the aromatic amino acid increase with this substitution.     

Role of tryptophan hydroxylase phe313 in determining substrate specificity

The active site residue phenylalanine 313 is conserved in the sequences of all known tryptophan hydroxylases. The tryptophan hydroxylase F313W mutant protein no longer shows a preference for tryptophan over phenylalanine as a substrate, consistent with a role of this residue in substrate specificity. A tryptophan residue occupies the homologous position in tyrosine hydroxylase. The tyrosine hydroxylase W372F mutant enzyme does not show an increased preference for tryptophan over tyrosine or phenylalanine, so that this residue cannot be considered the dominant factor in substrate specificity in this family of enzymes.     

Tyrosine hydroxylase: purification from PC-12 cells, characterization and production of antibodies

Tyrosine hydroxylase has been purified to homogeneity from cultured PC-12 cells. The protein migrates as a single band with a molecular weight of 60,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoresis. Two-dimensional electrophoresis of the pure enzyme resolves three spots (each with molecular weights of 60,000) with isoelectric points of 5.4, 5.8 and 5.9. This charge heterogeneity cannot be explained by the presence of sugar or lipid moieties on the enzyme. Amino acid analysis indicates a relatively high content of hydrophobic amino acids and a lower serine content than other preparations of tyrosine hydroxylase. The enzyme hydroxylates tryptophan at approximately 1% of its rate of tyrosine hydroxylation but will not catalyze the hydroxylation of phenylalanine. Polyclonal antibodies were produced in rabbits against pure tyrosine hydroxylase and were judged to be monospecific by Western blot analysis. The IgG fraction was isolated from serum, and when coupled to cyanogen bromide activated Sepharose, could be used to purify tyrosine hydroxylase from crude extracts in a single step. The antiserum proved to be very useful in immunoprecipitation and immunocytochemical experiments with tyrosine hydroxylase.     

Reversing the substrate specificities of phenylalanine and tyrosine hydroxylase: aspartate 425 of tyrosine hydroxylase is essential for L-DOPA formation

The catalytic domains of the pterin-dependent enzymes phenylalanine hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase are homologous, yet differ in their substrate specificities. To probe the structural basis for the differences in specificity, seven residues in the active site of phenylalanine hydroxylase whose side chains are dissimilar in the two enzymes were mutated to the corresponding residues in tyrosine hydroxylase. Analysis of the effects of the mutations on the isolated catalytic domain of phenylalanine hydroxylase identified three residues that contribute to the ability to hydroxylate tyrosine, His264, Tyr277, and Val379. These mutations were incorporated into full-length phenylalanine hydroxylase and the complementary mutations into tyrosine hydroxylase. The steady-state kinetic parameters of the mutated enzymes showed that the identity of the residue in tyrosine hydroxylase at the position corresponding to position 379 of phenylalanine hydroxylase is critical for dihydroxyphenylalanine formation. The relative specificity of tyrosine hydroxylase for phenylalanine versus tyrosine, as measured by the (V/K(phe))/(V/K(tyr)) value, increased by 80000-fold in the D425V enzyme. However, mutation of the corresponding valine 379 of phenylalanine hydroxylase to aspartate was not sufficient to allow phenylalanine hydroxylase to form dihydroxyphenylalanine at rates comparable to that of tyrosine hydroxylase. The double mutant V379D/H264Q PheH was the most active at tyrosine hydroxylation, showing a 3000-fold decrease in the (V/K(phe))/(V/K(tyr)) value.     

Inhibition of phenylalanine hydroxylase activity by alpha-methyl tyrosine, a potent inhibitor of tyrosine hydroxylase.

Inhibitors of phenylalanine hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase were used in the assay of phenylalanine hydroxylase in liver and kidney of rats and mice. Parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA), methyl tyrosine methyl ester and dimethyl tyrosine methyl ester showed 5–15% inhibition while α-methyl tyrosine seemed to inhibit phenylalanine hydroxylase to the extent of 95–98% at concentrations of 5 × 10 ⁻⁵M –1 × 10 ⁻⁴M. After a phenylketonuric diet (0.12% PCPA + 3% excess phenylalanine), the liver showed 60% phenylalanine hydroxylase activity and kidney 82% that present in pair-fed normals. Hepatic activity was normal after 8 days refeeding normal diet whereas kidney showed 63% of normal activity. The PCPA-fed animals showed 34% in liver and 38% in kidney as compared to normals; in both cases normal activity was noticed after refeeding. The phenylalanine-fed animals showed activity similar to that seen in phenylketonuric animals. The temporary inducement of phenylketonuria in these animals may be due to a slight change in conformation of the phenylalanine hydroxylase molecule; once the normal diet is resumed, the enzyme reverts back to its active form. This paper also suggests that α-methyl tyrosine when fed in conjunction with the phenylketonuric diet may suppress phenylalanine hydroxylase activity completely in the experimental animals thus yielding normal tyrosine levels as seen in human phenylketonurics.