Immunochemical and enzymatic studies and glutamate dehydrogenase and a related mutant protein from Neurospora crassa

Roberts, D. B. (University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England). Immunochemical and enzymatic studies on glutamate dehydrogenase and a related mutant protein from Neurospora crassa. J. Bacteriol. 91:1888-1895. 1966.-When an investigation was made of the inhibition of Neurospora glutamate dehydrogenase by bivalent and univalent antibodies, it was shown that the enzyme inhibition is not complete even with excess antibodies. The residual activity was some three times greater with bivalent antibodies, in spite of the observation that the ratio of inhibiting antibodies to catalytic sites was 2:1 for both types of antibody. Substrates did not affect the inhibition of enzyme activity, nor did antibodies affect the K(m) for either substrate. An allosteric mechanism for the inhibition of glutamate dehydrogenase by antibodies is proposed. It was also demonstrated that the mutant protein am-3 can be activated, to show glutamate dehydrogenase activity, by a number of activators. The requirement for the activation was the presence of a carboxymethyl group. The data suggest that the nonactivated protein has two combining sites for l-glutamate: the catalytic and activating sites. The wild-type enzyme has only one of these sites. Because the activating site is distinct from the catalytic site, an allosteric mechanism was postulated for activation. Inhibition of am-3 activity by antibodies is achieved either by a mechanism similar to the inhibition of wild-type activity or by the antibodies preventing the activation of the mutant protein. The am-3 protein can be activated by antibodies. Consequently, there appeared to be a relation the phenomena of enzyme inhibition and am-3 activation by antibodies; i.e., they alter the configuration of the catalytic site. This alteration was necessary for the activation of am-3, but inhibited the activity of the wild-type enzyme.