Competitive, uncompetitive, and mixed inhibitors of the alkaline phosphatase activity associated with the isolated brush border membrane of the tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta

Several compounds were tested as inhibitors of the alkaline phosphatase (AlkPase) activity associated with the isolated brush border membrane of the tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta. Molybdate, arsenate, arsenite and beta-glycerophosphate (BGP) were competitive inhibitors of the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate, while levamisole and clorsulon were uncompetitive and mixed inhibitors, respectively. Molybdate was also a competitive inhibitor of the hydrolysis of BGP and 5'-adenosine monophosphate, and levamisole was an uncompetitive inhibitor of BGP hydrolysis. The apparent inhibitor constants (Ki') for molybdate and levamisole were virtually identical regardless of the substrate, and these data support the hypothesis that the AlkPase activity is represented by a single membrane-bound enzyme with low substrate specificity. Quinacrine, Hg2+, and ethylenediaminetetraacetate were also potent inhibitors of the AlkPase activity, but the mechanisms by which these latter three inhibitors function were not clear.