Effect of coenzyme on conformational stability of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from muscles of ecto- and endothermic animals]

The stabilizing effect of the coenzyme (NAD) on the structure of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from lamprey and porcine muscles with respect to proteolysis and heat denaturation was studied. The process of heat denaturation was followed by the changes in specific activity of the enzymes; that of proteolysis--by the changes in specific activity and circular dichroism. It was shown that in both cases NAD at saturating concentration exerts a far weaker stabilizing effect on the structure of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from lamprey muscle than on that of the porcine muscle enzyme. The coensyme-dependent stabilization of lamprey muscle glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase does not differ from that of mammalian muscle enzyme. Possible interrelationship between the phenomenon observed and the molecular mechanism of thermal adaptation in the cold-blooded animals is discussed.