Design of exo affinity labeling reagents

Photoaffinity labeling of methyl farnesoate epoxidase in cockroach corpora allata

The last enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway to juvenile hormone III in the corpora allata of hemimetabolous insects is methyl farnesoate epoxidase, a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase. Assays with intact glands incubated in vitro and with gland homogenates have identified a series of 1,5-disubstituted imidazoles as potent inhibitors of the enzyme. We have designed, synthesized and tested two imidazoles, diazirine-Ice T and benzophenone-Ice T, in which a radiolabeled and photoactivatable diazirine or benzophenone group was introduced to label the hydrophobic substrate binding site of the enzyme. Our results show that these bifunctional compounds inhibit JH III synthesis by intact glands as well as methyl farnesoate epoxidation by gland homogenates. Moreover both compounds selectively label a protein of ca. 55 kDa in corpora allata of the cockroach, Diploptera punctata. These photoaffinity labels, which use an imidazole to coordinate to the heme iron and a photoreactive group to modify the hydrophobic substrate binding pocket, are specific and effective probes for the molecular analysis of methyl farnesoate epoxidase.

Inhibition and labeling of the Ca2(+)-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum by periodate oxidized ATP

The analog of ATP obtained by oxidation of the ribose ring of ATP with periodate (oxATP) was used as a reagent for the inhibition and labeling of the Ca2(+)-ATPase purified from sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes. The substrate concentration dependence for hydrolysis showed a biphasic pattern for both ATP and oxATP as substrates. Preincubation of Ca2(+)-ATPase in the presence of 0.05 mM CaCl2, 5 mM MgCl2, 100 mM KCl and oxATP led to an irreversible inhibition. This inhibition occurred faster at alkaline pH. The presence of ADP, adenyl-5'-imidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP) or EGTA in the preincubation medium decreased the rate of inhibition. OxATP covalently labels the enzyme: the labeling was decreased by ADP. This ADP-protected labeling increased with time until it reached approx. 1 mol [3H]oxATP per mol ATPase. The rate of labeling of the ADP-protected group correlated with the rate of loss of ADP-protected activity. Trypsin digestion of oxATP-labeled ATPase followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate showed that fragment A1 contained a high degree of label that is displaced by ADP. We propose that the A1 fragment is situated close to the ribose ring when the adenosine moiety of ATP is bound to the catalytic site of the Ca2(+)-ATPase.

A new class of sugar analogues for use in the investigation of sugar transport

D-Mannose derivatives have been synthesised which are crosslinked through their C-4 hydroxyls to propyl-2-amine. Coupling to the amino group gave a fluorodinitrobenzene derivative, a nitroazidophenyl derivative and an azidosalicylamide derivative. Each of these derivatives was shown to have high affinity for the human erythrocyte sugar transport system. The affinity constant for the nitroazidophenyl derivative was not altered by temperature changes. In rat adipocytes treated with insulin, the affinity constants for the derivatives were up to 1000-fold lower than for the parent sugar. In the absence of insulin the affinity constants for the derivatives, but not for D-mannose, were 3-times higher than in insulin-treated cells. By preparation of radiolabelled derivatives we have shown that the compounds are not transported either by erythrocytes or by adipocytes. Thus the crosslinked sugars are good outside-specific analogues.

A computer-generated three-dimensional model of the B chain of bovine alpha-thrombin

A computer graphic molecular display system has been used to construct a three-dimensional model of the B chain of bovine thrombin. The model is derived from the bovine alpha-chymotrypsin structure as determined by X-ray crystallographic studies. The amino acid sequence of bovine thrombin has been substituted for that of alpha-chymotrypsin, preserving the beta-barrel structure and maximizing homology of the amino acid sequence of the two proteins. With the exception of an area in the vicinity of the specificity binding pocket, most of the changes observed in thrombin occur on the surface of the molecule. The most notable changes observed in the model are the increases on the surface of positively charged (arginine and lysine) and negatively charged (glutamate and aspartate) residues. A glutamate replaces methionine 192 near the entrance to the specificity binding pocket. The nature of this site was further altered by the substitution of an aspartate for serine 189 and an alanine for serine 190. The structure of the resulting specificity binding pocket is consistent with that of serine proteases, which have trypsin-like substrate specificity. The computer graphics molecular display system has been used to insert models of synthetic thrombin inhibitors into the active site of the thrombin B chain model. With the model, it has been possible to correlate the interaction of thrombin with the observed binding constants of two inhibitors of trypsin-like serine proteases, p-amidinophenylmethylsulfonylfluoride (Ki = 1.27 x 10(-6) M) and m-[m-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxypropoxy]benzamidine (KD = 2.9 x 10(-6) M).