The oxidation of Schiff bases of pyridoxal and pyridoxal phosphate with amino acids by manganous ions and peroxidase

On the mechanism and rate of spontaneous decomposition of amino acids

Spontaneous decarboxylation of amino acids is among the slowest known reactions; it is much less facile than the cleavage of amide bonds in polypeptides. Establishment of the kinetics and mechanisms for this fundamental reaction is important for gauging the proficiency of enzymes. In the present study, multiple mechanisms for glycine decomposition in water are explored using QM/MM Monte Carlo simulations and free energy perturbation theory. Simple CO(2) detachment emerges as the preferred pathway for decarboxylation; it is followed by water-assisted proton transfer to yield the products: CO(2) and methylamine. The computed free energy of activation of 45 kcal/mol, and the resulting rate-constant of 1 × 10(-21) s(-1), can be compared with an extrapolated experimental rate constant of ~2 × 10(-17) s(-1) at 25 °C. The half-life for the reaction is more than 1 billion years. Furthermore, examination of deamination finds simple NH(3)-detachment yielding α-lactone to be the favored route, though it is less facile than decarboxylation by 6 kcal/mol. Ab initio and DFT calculations with the CPCM hydration model were also carried out for the reactions; the computed free energies of activation for glycine decarboxylation agree with the QM/MM result, whereas deamination is predicted to be more favorable. QM/MM calculations were also performed for decarboxylation of alanine; the computed barrier is 2 kcal/mol higher than for glycine in qualitative accord with experiment.

The oxidation of Schiff bases of pyridoxamine with -oxo acids by manganous ions and peroxidase

1. Oxygen was taken up rapidly when pyruvate was added to mixtures of pyridoxamine and Mn(2+) ions after lag periods that were shortened by peroxidase (donor-hydrogen peroxide oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.7). 2. The total oxygen uptake was proportional to the pyridoxamine added and was accompanied by the disappearance of pyridoxamine; the pyruvate acted catalytically and hydrogen peroxide was not formed. 3. At pH6 more than half the pyridoxamine that disappeared was accounted for as pyridoxal and ammonia; it is suggested that the primary reaction is the oxidative deamination of the pyridoxamine. 4. Results were similar when alpha-oxobutyrate or glyoxylate were substituted for pyruvate, except that the reactions were slower and the yield of pyridoxal less. 5. The oxidative decarboxylations of alpha-oxoglutarate and phenylpyruvate are catalysed by Mn(2+) ions and these reactions are activated by peroxidase; pyridoxamine increased both the rates and total oxygen uptakes in these reactions, and ammonia was produced. 6. The lag periods in the oxidation of mixtures of pyridoxamine and alpha-oxo acids, catalysed by Mn(2+) ions, were also shortened by traces of colloidal manganese dioxide. 7. It is suggested that the activating effect of peroxidase depends on its catalysis of manganese oxidation.

The inactivation of pea-seedling diamine oxidase by peroxidase and 1,5-diaminopentane

1. The rate of oxidative deamination of 1,5-diaminopentane by pea-seedling extracts, which contain diamine oxidase [diamine-oxygen oxidoreductase (deaminating), EC 1.4.3.6], was increased by adding pyridoxal or pyridoxal phosphate. 2. Evidence was obtained that pyridoxal does not activate the apoenzyme of diamine oxidase, but prevents the inactivation of the enzyme. 3. This inactivation only occurred when 1,5-diaminopentane was the substrate and depended on a second thermolabile factor in the extract besides the diamine oxidase. 4. Purified diamine oxidase, when catalysing the oxidation of 1,5-diaminopentane, was rapidly inactivated in the presence of peroxidase. 5. The inactivation was prevented not only by pyridoxal and pyridoxal phosphate but also by several unrelated compounds including alpha-oxoglutarate, catechol and o-aminobenzaldehyde. 6. It is suggested that peroxidase catalyses the further oxidation of the product of the oxidative deamination of 1,5-diaminopentane to a compound that inactivates diamine oxidase. 7. The results diminish the relevance of previous evidence that plant diamine oxidase contains pyridoxal phosphate.