Conformational studies on the nitrated catalytic subunit of aspartate transcarbamylase

1H NMR studies on the catalytic subunit of aspartate transcarbamoylase

The 1H NMR spectrum of the catalytic subunit of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase (EC 2.1.3.2) was simplified by using strains auxotrophic for the aromatic amino acids and a growth medium containing fully deuterated Trp, Phe, and His and partially deuterated Tyr. 1H resonances for Tyr in the catalytic trimer (M(r) = 10(5)) were partially resolved into five peaks at 27 degrees C, which above 50 degrees C were further resolved to give a distinct resonance for each of the eight Tyr residues in the polypeptide chain. Experiments on chemically modified catalytic subunits and on a mutant form in which Tyr-165 was converted to Ser-165 led to the assignment of resonances for Tyr-165, Tyr-240, and Tyr-185. Binding of the substrate, carbamoyl phosphate, caused shifts of two of the unassigned resonances, and the subsequent binding of the aspartate analog succinate perturbed the resonances corresponding to Tyr-165 and Tyr-240. The bisubstrate analog N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate produced a spectrum differing considerably from that caused by the combination of carbamoyl phosphate and succinate. The NMR spectrum for the Tyr-165-->Ser mutant trimer showed clearly that the single amino acid substitution caused conformational changes affecting the environment of residues remote from the position of the replacement. In contrast, the inactive mutant subunit in which Gly-128 was replaced by Asp exhibited a spectrum virtually identical to that of the wild-type protein. However, addition of the substrate carbamoyl phosphate caused a marked change in the spectrum of the mutant enzyme, whereas that of the wild-type trimer was altered only slightly, showing that the effect of the amino acid substitution was manifested in the NMR spectrum only with the liganded enzyme.

On conformational changes in the regulatory enzyme aspartate transcarbamoylase

Our preliminary studies provide clear answers to only some of the basic questions posed above regarding the nature of conformational changes in ATCase. By exploiting the reverse reaction to develop a kinetic active site titration technique we demonstrated that symmetry-related regions of ATCase are affected equally in the allosteric transition even though the bisubstrate analog is bound to only one of the six active sites. This is a vivid illustration of a "global" change in an enzyme, and it provides powerful support for the view that active site ligands promote a concerted transition of the enzyme from the low-activity to the high-activity conformation. Kinetic experiments show that this conformational change is rapid, requiring only tenths of a second. In contrast, the studies with isolated catalytic subunits provide evidence for a much more local conformational change which occurs after the ligand is bound and which is much slower, lasting over a time period of many seconds. Although the experiments on the holoenzyme do not show directly how many atoms are involved in the conformational change or how large are the displacements, they do indicate, especially in conjunction with other studies, that many amino acid residues in both the catalytic and regulatory chains must be implicated in the T----R allosteric transition. Why PALA has such a different local effect on the catalytic subunit than does the combination of carbamoylphosphate and succinate is not clear, but this uncertainty may be resolved by further NMR studies. Determining how the local changes at the active sites are linked to the global transition affecting the quaternary structure of the enzyme remains a formidable problem. Also further work is needed in order to determine whether unliganded ATCase molecules exist in an equilibrium mixture of T and R conformations even prior to the ligand binding event.

Implication of a tyrosine residue in the unspecific bile salt binding site of human pancreatic carboxylic ester hydrolase

Tyrosine residues of the human pancreatic carboxylic-ester hydrolase (EC 3.1.1.1) (also referred to as cholesterol-ester hydrolase, EC 3.1.1.13) were nitrated in the ortho-position by the use of tetranitromethane. The specificity of the reaction has been verified and the inhibition observed was shown to be unrelated to the weak polymerization of the protein. Among the 27 tyrosines present in the enzyme, seven or eight were nitrated but only one residue, with a pK of 8.3, seems to be responsible for the loss of activity. This decrease in enzyme activity appears only in assays which were performed in the presence of bile salts, suggesting that of the two bile salt binding sites postulated on the enzyme, only one, referred to the as the 'unspecific site' (Lombardo, D. and Guy, O. (1980) Biochim. Act 611, 147-155), was modified. This is in agreement with the similar loss of enzyme activity observed on emulsified and soluble substrate. The most important result is the difference observed in experiments of the protective effects of bile salts. The protection with sodium taurodeoxycholate is independent of its critical micellar concentration, showing that monomers protect this site, whereas the protection observed in experiments with sodium cholate appears only for supramicellar concentrations of bile salt. Since this latter bile salt promotes the dimerization of the enzyme, we can conclude that a premicellar bile salt binding site (protected by monomers) is transformed in a functional micellar binding site (protected by micelles). This conformational transformation seems to be consecutive to the dimerization, as has been recently proposed.

The preparation of 3-nitrotyrosyl derivatives of three elapid venom cardiotoxins

Nitration studies using tetranitromethane were conducted on the tyrosine residues of cardiotoxins, naja melanoleuca VII1, Naja haje annulifera VII1 and Hemachatus haemachates toxin 12B. Various partially and fully nitrated derivatives were formed. Analysis of the products of nitrating naja melanoleuca VII1 showed that the average relative reactivities of the three tyrosine residues were Tyr-25 greater than Tyr-22 greater than Tyr-51. It was significant that Tyr-51 could be easily modified in both N. melanoleuca VII1 and N. haje annulifera VII1. In contrast, other workers had found Tyr-51 in N. naja atra cardiotoxin to be unreactive towards tetranitromethane except under denaturing conditions. Fully nitrated derivatives of N. melanoleuca VII1 (Tyr-22, -25 and -51), N haje annulifera VII1 (Tyr-22 and -51) and H. haemachates 12B (Tyr-22), prepared under mild reaction conditions, were isolated by ion-exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatographies. All three derivatives were pure by disc gel electrophoresis at pH 8.9 and amino acid analysis. They were therefore suitable for spectral and biological studies. The results were compared and contrasted to; those of other workers.

Involvement of tyrosyl residues in the substrate binding of pigeon liver malic enzyme

The reactions of pigeon liver malic enzyme (L-malate:NADP+ oxidoreductase (oxaloacetate-decarboxylating), EC 1.1.1.40) with tetranitromethane and N-acetylimidazole have been investigated to obtain information about the functional role of tyrosine residues in this enzyme. Incubation of the sulfhydryl-masked enzyme with tetranitromethane or N-acetylimidazole caused a time-dependent loss of all enzymatic activities of this enzyme. The absorption spectra of both the nitrated and acetylated enzyme indicated modification of tyrosine residues. The enzymatic activity of the acetylated enzyme was reversed by hydroxylamine. No amino group modification was observed. Preincubation of the enzyme with dicarboxylate substrate (or inhibitor), nucleotide coenzyme and divalent metal ions protected the enzyme against these reagents. The acetylated enzyme showed different kinetic properties from the native enzyme. The apparent Michaelis constants for malate and oxaloacetate increase by 2-5-fold. The binding between acetylated enzyme and NADPH was not abolished. These results strongly suggest the involvement of tyrosine residues in the dicarboxylic acid binding of malic enzyme.