Photoaffinity labelling of cholinesterases. Discrimination between active and peripheral sites.

Two para-dialkylaminobenzenediazonium salts, the dimethylamino (A) and dibutylamino (B) derivatives, are presented as structural probes for acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. While being reversible competitive inhibitors in the dark, A and B behave, upon irradiation and through the formation of arylcation species, as irreversible labels of ammonium-binding sites of both enzymes. The observed variations of the different inactivation rate constants point to a different structural environment for acetylcholinesterase-binding and butyrylcholinesterase-binding sites. Moreover, in the case of acetylcholinesterase, protection experiments with specific ligands (edrophonium and propidium) showed that the dimethylamino salt A exclusively labels the hydrolytic anionic site, whereas the dibutylamino salt B also labels the peripheral site. Specificities and stoechiometries of the incorporations were determined and, in the case of acetylcholinesterase, the irradiated protein was submitted to chemical degradation. Peptide maps were obtained by gel-permeation chromatography and HPLC, giving access to labelled peptides which belong either to the active or to the peripheral site.