Stimulation of the activity of horseradish peroxidase by nitrogenous compounds

Reactivation of horseradish peroxidase with imidazole for continuous determination of hydrogen peroxide using a microflow injection-chemiluminescence detection system

A method for reactivation of inactivated horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was studied and exploited in an assay for hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). Addition of imidazole into a mobile phase made continuous determination of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) possible by micro fl ow injection based on horseradish-catalysed luminol chemiluminescence. For reproducible determination of H(2)O(2) with HRP, the inactivation of HRP via protonation of the active sites of HRP caused by reaction with H(2)O(2) must be avoided. We successfully reactivated protonated HRP (inactive HRP) with exogenous imidazole in the mobile phase of the micro fl ow injection system. The imidazole successfully removed the attached proton from the inactive sites of the HRP. This assay was reproducible (within-run reproducibility, CV = 4.0%) and the detection limit for H(2)O(2) was 5 pmol.

Oxidative burst by acellular haemoglobin and neurotransmitters

Acellular haemoglobin (Hb) has intrinsic toxicity to the tissues since harmful reactive oxygen species are readily produced during auto-oxidation of Hb. On the other hand, Hb is known to have peroxidase-like activity monovalently oxidizing various peroxidase substrates. Thus, monovalently oxidized organic free radical species may be produced. This may relay the radical reactions leading to the production of reactive oxygen species such as superoxide. Such substrates possibly generating superoxide, include aromatic monoamines such as neurotransmitters and their precursors rich in neural a tissues. Based on our knowledge on the reactivity of haemoproteins against phenolics and aromatic monoamines, we proposed a hindered danger in use of Hb as a reperfusion agent. Clinical use of recently developing Hb-based blood substitutes must be reconsidered.

Purification and characterization of a cationic isoperoxidase from scented-geranium

A strongly cationic isoperoxidase named PC3 was purified to homogeneity from scented-geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) callus by using DEAE-Sephacel chromatography, CM-cellulose chromatography and Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration, respectively. The enzyme was a glycoprotein with M(r) of ca. 58 kDa estimated by SDS-PAGE and Sephadex G-150 gel filtration. The pI value of the enzyme was 9.1. Kinetic studies revealed that PC3 had a very low K(m) value for scopoletin of 0.01 mM and could use ascorbate as a substrate. Interestingly, PC3 could not oxidize ferulic acid as a substrate. Chemical modification of the enzyme showed that PC3 was rapidly inactivated by His, Cys, Trp and Lys-specific reagents. The second order rate constants and reaction orders with respect to these inactivations were determined. Notably, ca. 4-7-fold activity boosting of PC3 occurred by adenine and imidazole when anilino substrates, such as o-dianisidine and o-phenylenediamine were oxidized, whereas this activity boosting did not occur when several phenolic substrates were used.

Rescue of the catalytic activity of an H42A mutant of horseradish peroxidase by exogenous imidazoles

His-42 plays a critical role in the H2O2-dependent catalytic turnover of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). This is clearly illustrated by the finding that an H42A mutation decreases the rate of Compound I formation by a factor of approximately10(6). As shown here, the addition of 2-substituted imidazoles partially rescues both the rate of formation of Compound I and the peroxidase activity of the H42A mutant. 2-Substituted imidazoles are the most effective because they do not coordinate to the iron. In contrast to native HRP, which exhibits a parabolic pH profile, and the H42A mutant, for which the activity increases linearly with increasing pH, the activity of the H42A mutant in the presence of 1,2-dimethylimidazole (pKa = 8.0) exhibits a sigmoidal pH dependence with a midpoint at pH 8.0 +/- 0.2. Similar results are obtained with 2-methylimidazole. These results establish that the free base forms of these imidazoles facilitate HRP turnover. The spectroscopic binding constants for 1, 2-dimethylimidazole and 2-methylimidazole are Kd = 2.9 +/- 1.3 and 2. 5 +/- 0.2 M, respectively. When cyanide is bound to the heme, the Kd for 1,2-dimethylimidazole is 0.17 M. This >10-fold decrease in Kd may reflect hydrogen bonding of the protonated imidazole to the iron-coordinated cyanide. The log of the rate of Compound I formation exhibits a linear dependence on the molecular volume of the imidazoles used to rescue the activity. If the rates are corrected for differences in the size of the imidazoles, the log of the rates is linearly related to the pKa of the imidazoles. This Brönsted analysis predicts that approximately 60% of a positive charge develops on the imidazole in the transition state of Compound I formation. The results confirm the acid-base role of the distal histidine, demonstrate that exogenous histidines can function as surrogates for the missing histidine in the H42A mutant, and provide a transition state model of relevance to the formation of Compound I in the native protein.