Investigation of Cu(I)-dependent 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenylalanine quinone biogenesis in Hansenula polymorpha amine oxidase

Copper, a mediator of redox chemistries in biology, is often found in enzymes that bind and reduce dioxygen. Among these, the copper amine oxidases catalyze the oxidative deamination of primary amines utilizing a type(II) copper center and 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenylalanine quinone (TPQ), a covalent cofactor derived from the post-translational modification of an active site tyrosine. Previous studies established the dependence of TPQ biogenesis on Cu(II); however, the dependence of cofactor formation on the biologically relevant Cu(I) ion has remained untested. In this study, we demonstrate that the apoform of the Hansenula polymorpha amine oxidase readily binds Cu(I) under anaerobic conditions and produces the quinone cofactor at a rate of 0.28 h(-1) upon subsequent aeration to yield a mature enzyme with kinetic properties identical to the protein product of the Cu(II)-dependent reaction. Because of the change in magnetic properties associated with the oxidation of copper, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy was employed to investigate the nature of the rate-limiting step of Cu(I)-dependent cofactor biogenesis. Upon aeration of the unprocessed enzyme prebound with Cu(I), an axial Cu(II) electron paramagnetic resonance signal was found to appear at a rate equivalent to that for the cofactor. These data provide strong evidence for a rate-limiting release of superoxide from a Cu(II)(O(2)(.)) complex as a prerequisite for the activation of the precursor tyrosine and its transformation for TPQ. As copper is trafficked to intracellular protein targets in the reduced, Cu(I) state, these studies offer possible clues as to the physiological significance of the acquisition of Cu(I) by nascent H. polymorpha amine oxidase.