Inhibition kinetics of green crab (Scylla serrata) alkaline phosphatase by zinc ions: a new type of complexing inhibition

A study of Pb2+ induced unfolding and aggregation of arginine kinase from Euphausia superba: kinetics and computational simulation integrating study

Arginine kinase is a crucial phosphagen kinase in invertebrates, which is associated to the environmental stress response, plays a key role in cellular energy metabolism. In this study, we investigated the Pb²⁺-induced inhibition and aggregation of Euphausia superba arginine kinase (ESAK) and found that significantly inactivated ESAK in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 = 0.058 ± 0.002 mM). Spectrofluorimetry results showed that Pb²⁺ induced tertiary structural changes via the internal polarity increased and the non-polarity decreased in ESAK and directly induced ESAK aggregation. The ESAK aggregation process induced by Pb²⁺ occurred with multi-phase kinetics. The addition of osmolytes did not show protective effect on Pb²⁺-induced inactivation of ESAK. The computational molecular dynamics (MD) simulation showed that three Pb²⁺ interrupt the entrance of the active site of ESAK and it could be the reason on the loss of activity of ESAK. Several important residues of ESAK were detected that were importantly contributed the conformation and catalytic function of ESAK. Our study showed that Pb²⁺-induced misfolding of ESAK and the complete loss of activity irreversibly, which cannot be recovered by osmolytes.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Enzymatic methods for the determination of pollution in seawater using salt resistant alkaline phosphatase from eggs of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius

A new salt resistant alkaline phosphatase from eggs of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius (StAP) has been shown to have a unique property to hydrolyze substrate in seawater without loss of enzymatic activity. The enzyme has pH optimum at 8.0-8.5. Model experiments showed various concentrations of copper, zinc, cadmium and lead added to seawater or a standard buffer mixture to inhibit completely the enzyme activity at the concentrations of 15-150 μg/l. StAP sensitivity to the presence in seawater of metals, pesticides, detergents and oil products appears to be considerably less. Samples of seawater taken from aquatic areas of the Troitsy Bay of the Peter the Great Bay, Japan Sea have been shown to inhibit the enzyme activity; the same was shown for the samples of fresh waters. The phosphatase inhibition assay developed proved to be highly sensitive, technically easy-to use allowing to test a great number of samples.

Ov-16 [4-(3,4-dihydroxybenzoyloxymethyl)phenyl-O-β-D-glucopyranoside] inhibits melanin synthesis by regulating expressions of melanogenesis-regulated gene and protein

Ov-16 (4-(3,4-dihydroxybenzoyloxymethyl)phenyl-O-β-D-glucopyranoside), a polyphenolic glycoside that is isolated from oregano (Origanum vulgare L.), can scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals. This investigation is the first to study in detail the hypopigmentary properties of Ov-16. It demonstrates that 0-1000 μg/ml Ov-16 inhibits the activity of mushroom tyrosinase (Tyr) in a concentration-dependent manner. The inhibitionary Tyr kinetics of Ov-16 towards the oxidation of L-DOPA was found to be uncompetitive. Following the treatment of human skin premalignant kerationcyte HaCaT cells, human skin fibroblast Hs68 cells and mice melanoma B16 cells with Ov-16 (0-100 μg/ml), cell viability was >98%, suggesting that Ov-16 is non-toxic. Ov-16 can reduce cellular Tyr activity, DOPA oxidase activity and melanin synthesis in B16 cells that are stimulated by the α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH). Moreover, Ov-16 inhibited the production of melanin in Streptomyces bikiniensis without affecting the growth of the microorganism. The treatment of B16 cells with Ov-16 considerably reduced the gene expressions of melanocortin-1 receptor (Mc1r), microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf), Tyr, tyrosinase-related proteins-2 (Trp-2) and Trp-1, as determined by RT-PCR. The expressions of Mc1r, Mift, Tyr, Trp-2 and TrpP-1 protein in Ov-16-treated B16 cells were also significantly reduced, as determined by western blotting and fluorescent staining analysis. These results suggest that Ov-16 exhibits hypopigmentary performance.

Irreversible competitive inhibitory kinetics of cardol triene on mushroom tyrosinase

Cardol triene was first purified from cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) nut shell liquid and identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. The effects of this compound on the activity of mushroom tyrosinase were studied. The results of the kinetic study showed that cardol triene was a potent irreversible competitive inhibitor and the inactivation was of the complexing type. Two molecules of cardol triene could bind to one molecule of tyrosinase and lead to the complete loss of its catalytic activity. The microscopic rate constants were determined for the reaction of cardol triene with the enzyme. The anti-tyrosinase kinetic research of this study provides a comprehensive understanding of inhibitory mechanisms of resorcinolic lipids and is beneficial for the future design of novel tyrosinase inhibitors.

Inhibition kinetics of hydrogen peroxide on β-N-acetyl-d-glucosaminidase from prawn (Penaeus vannamei)

The effects of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on prawn NAGase activity for the hydrolysis of pNP-beta-D-GlcNAc have been studied. The results show that H2O2 can reversible inhibit the enzyme (IC50 = 0.85 M) and the inhibition is of a mixed type. The kinetics show that k+o is much larger than k+0, indicating the free enzyme is more susceptible than the enzyme-substrate complex in the H2O2 solution. It is suggested that the presence of the substrate offers marked protection against inhibition by H202. Changes of activity and conformation of the enzyme in different concentrations of H202 have been compared by measuring the fluorescence spectra and residual activity and show that the change of conformation is more rapidly than that of the residual activity, which implies that the whole conformation of the enzyme changes more rapidly than the conformation of the active centre of the enzyme in the H2O2 solution.

Inhibitory kinetics of mercuric ion on the activity of beta-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase from green crab (Scylla serrata)

Chemical modification of p-chloromercuribenzoate (PCMB) on beta-N-acetyl-d-glucosaminidase (NAGase, EC 3.2.1.52) from green crab (Scylla serrata) has been studied. The results show that sulfhydryl group is essential for the activity of the enzyme. Inhibitory kinetics of the enzyme by mercuric chloride (HgCl2) has been studied using the kinetic method of the substrate reaction during inhibitor of enzyme. The kinetic results show that the inhibition of the enzyme by mercuric ion (Hg2+) at lower than 1.0 microM is a reversible reaction with residual activity and the inhibition belongs to be competitive. The inhibition kinetics model of Hg2+ on the enzyme was set up and the microscopic rate constants were determined and the data obtained were well fitted with the model. It was also turned out that only one molecule of HgCl2 binds to the enzyme molecule to lead the enzyme lose its activity. The above results suggest that the cysteine residue is essential for activity and is situated at the active site of the enzyme.

Inhibitory Effect of Ammonium Tetrathiotungstate on Tyrosinase and Its Kinetic Mechanism

Tyrosinase requires two copper ions at the active site, in order to oxidize phenols to catechols. In this study, the inhibitory effect of the copper-chelating compound, ammonium tetrathiotungstate (ATTT), on the tyrosinase activity was investigated. ATTT was determined to inactivate the activity of mushroom tyrosinase, in a dose-dependent manner. The kinetic substrate reaction revealed that ATTT functions as a kinetically competitive inhibitor in vitro, and that the enzyme-ATTT complex subsequently undergoes a reversible conformational change, resulting in the inactivation of tyrosinase. In human melanin-producing cells, ATTT evidenced a more profound tyrosinase-inhibitory effect than has been seen in the previously identified tyrosinase inhibitors, including kojic acid and hydroquinone. Our results may provide useful information for the development of whitening agent.

Inhibition kinetics of mushroom tyrosinase by copper-chelating ammonium tetrathiomolybdate

With a strategy of chelating coppers at tyrosinase active site to detect an effective inhibitor, several copper-specific chelators were applied in this study. Ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (ATTM) among them, known as a drug for treating Wilson's disease, turned out to be a significant tyrosinase inhibitor. Treatment with ATTM on mushroom tyrosinase completely inactivated enzyme activity in a dose-dependent manner. Progress-of-substrate reaction kinetics using the two-step kinetic pathway and dilution of the ATTM revealed that ATTM is a tight-binding inhibitor and high dose of ATTM irreversibly inactivated tyrosinase. Progress-of-substrate reaction kinetics and activity restoration with a dilution of the ATTM indicated that the copper-chelating ATTM may bind slowly but reversibly to the active site without competition with substrate, and the enzyme-ATTM complex subsequently undergoes reversible conformational change, leading to complete inactivation of the tyrosinase activity. Thus, inhibition by ATTM on tyrosinase could be categorized as complexing type of inhibition with a slow and reversible binding. Detailed analysis of inhibition kinetics provided IC50 at the steady-state and inhibitor binding constant (K(I)) for ATTM as 1.0+/-0.2 microM and 10.65 microM, respectively. Our results may provide useful information regarding effective inhibitor of tyrosinase as whitening agents in the cosmetic industry.

Characterization of structural and catalytic differences in rat intestinal alkaline phosphatase isozymes

To understand the differences between the rat intestinal alkaline phosphatase isozymes rIAP-I and rIAP-II, we constructed structural models based on the previously determined crystal structure for human placental alkaline phosphatase (hPLAP). Our models of rIAP-I and rIAP-II displayed a typical alpha/beta topology, but the crown domain of rIAP-I contained an additional beta-sheet, while the embracing arm region of rIAP-II lacked the alpha-helix, when each model was compared to hPLAP. The representations of surface potential in the rIAPs were predominantly positive at the base of the active site. The coordinated metal at the active site was predicted to be a zinc triad in rIAP-I, whereas the typical combination of two zinc atoms and one magnesium atom was proposed for rIAP-II. Using metal-depleted extracts from rat duodenum or jejunum and hPLAP, we performed enzyme assays under restricted metal conditions. With the duodenal and jejunal extract, but not with hPLAP, enzyme activity was restored by the addition of zinc, whereas in nonchelated extracts, the addition of zinc inhibited duodenal IAP and hPLAP, but not jejunal IAP. Western blotting revealed that nearly all of the rIAP in the jejunum extracts was rIAP-I, whereas in duodenum the percentage of rIAP-I (55%) correlated with the degree of AP activation (60% relative to that seen with jejunal extracts). These data are consistent with the presence of a triad of zinc atoms at the active site of rIAP-I, but not rIAP-II or hPLAP. Although no differences in amino acid alignment in the vicinity of metal-binding site 3 were predicted between the rIAPs and hPLAP, the His153 residue of both rIAPs was closer to the metal position than that in hPLAP. Between the rIAPs, a difference was observed at amino acid position 317 that is indirectly related to the coordination of the metal at metal-binding site 3 and water molecules. These findings suggest that the side-chain position of His153, and the alignment of Q317, might be the major determinants for activation of the zinc triad in rIAP-I.

Inactivation kinetics of mushroom tyrosinase by cetylpyridinium chloride

Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) was found to inactivate tyrosinase from mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). CPC can bind to the enzyme molecule and induce the enzyme conformation changes. The fluorescence intensity (at 338.4 nm) of the enzyme decreased distinctly with increasing CPC concentrations, and a new little fluorescence emission peak appeared near 372 nm. The inactivation of the enzyme by CPC had first been studied by using the kinetic method of the substrate reaction described by Tsou. The results showed that the enzyme was inactivated by a complex mechanism that had not been previously identified. The enzyme first quickly binds with CPC reversibly and then undergoes a slow irreversible inactivation. The inactivation reaction is a single molecule reaction and the apparent inactivation rate constant is a saturated trend being independent of CPC concentration if the concentration is sufficiently high. The micro rate constants of inactivation and the association constant were determined.

Inhibitive effect of zinc ion on fatty acid synthase from chicken liver

Fatty acid synthase (FAS; acyl-CoA:malonyl-CoA C-acyltransferase [decarboxylating, oxoacyl- and enoyl-reducing and thioester-hydrolyzing], EC 2.3.1.85) is an important enzyme participating in energy metabolism in vivo which is related to adiposis and cancer [Cancer Lett. 167 (1) (2001) 99; Nat. Med. 8 (4) (2002) 335]. Tests of fast- and slow-binding inhibitions showed that fatty acid synthase of chicken liver is rapidly and irreversibly inactivated by low Zn(2+) concentrations. Electrophoresis and FPLC results showed that FAS cross-links occurred in the presence of high Zn(2+) concentrations (>4 microM) which may be another reason that FAS lost its activity. The modification velocity of FAS by DTNB decreased with increasing Zn(2+) concentration, which confirmed that Zn(2+) interacted with SH groups. Substrate protective experiments and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed that all three substrates tested had some protective effects on FAS in the presence of Zn(2+), and malonyl-CoA was the most effective of the three substrates. In the presence of malonyl-CoA, the activity loss of FAS decreased sharply and almost no cross-link was observed in SDS-PAGE. This suggests that the phosphopantetheine SH group is the critical group in the cross-link and inhibition of FAS in the presence of Zn(2+).

Nonribosomal peptide synthetases-evidence for a second ATP-binding site

delta-(L-alpha-Aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine synthetase (ACVS) catalyses, via the protein thiotemplate mechanism, the nonribosomal biosynthesis of the penicillin and cephalosporin precursor tripeptide delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine (ACV). The complete and fully saturated biosynthetic system approaches maximum rate of product generation with increasing ATP concentration. Nonproductive adenylation of ACVS, monitored utilising the ATP-[32P]PP(i) exchange reaction, has revealed substrate inhibition with ATP. The kinetic inhibition pattern provides evidence for the existence of a second nucleotide-binding site with possible implication in the regulatory mechanism. Under suboptimal reaction conditions, in the presence of MgATP(2-), L-Cys and inorganic pyrophosphatase, ACVS forms adenosine(5')tetraphospho(5')adenosine (Ap(4)A) from the reverse reaction of adenylate formation involving a second ATP molecule. The potential location of the second ATP binding site was deduced from sequence comparisons and molecular visualisation in conjunction to data obtained from biochemical analysis.

Refolding and reactivation of calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase with excess magnesium ions

It is well known that Mg(2+) is an essential component in many biological processes. This research investigated the courses of both the reactivation and the refolding in the absence and presence of Mg(2+) ions. Calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase (CIP) was extensively denatured in 3 M guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) solution for 2 h. Under suitable renaturation conditions, about 60-70% of the activity was recovered in the absence and presence of different magnesium ion concentrations. The refolding processes followed two-phase courses, whereas the reactivation processes were monophasic after dilution in proper solutions with or without Mg(2+). The magnesium ions affected both the reactivation and the refolding courses of unfolded CIP. A comparison of rate constants for the refolding of unfolded CIP with those for recovery of enzyme activity at different Mg(2+) concentrations showed that they were not synchronized. The activity recovery was speeded up due to the presence of Mg(2+) ions; while the refolding course of unfolded CIP was somewhat inhibited by the excess Mg(2+).

Kinetics of mushroom tyrosinase inhibition by quercetin

The effects of quercetin on the activity of mushroom tyrosinase were studied. The equilibrium constants for this inhibitor binding with the enzyme molecule were established. The inhibition mechanism obtained from Lineweaver-Burk plots show that quercetin is a competitive inhibitor. In the time course of the oxidation of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) catalyzed by the enzyme in the presence of different concentrations of quercetin, the rate decreased with increasing time until a straight line was approached. The inhibition of tyrosinase by quercetin is a slow and reversible reaction with residual enzyme activity. The microscopic rate constants were determined for the reaction of quercetin with the enzyme.

The 1.9 A crystal structure of heat-labile shrimp alkaline phosphatase

Alkaline phosphatases are non-specific phosphomonoesterases that are distributed widely in species ranging from bacteria to man. This study has concentrated on the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase from arctic shrimps (shrimp alkaline phosphatase, SAP). Originating from a cold-active species, SAP is thermolabile and is used widely in vitro, e.g. to dephosphorylate DNA or dNTPs, since it can be inactivated by a short rise in temperature. Since alkaline phosphatases are zinc-containing enzymes, a multiwavelength anomalous dispersion (MAD) experiment was performed on the zinc K edge, which led to the determination of the structure to a resolution of 1.9 A. Anomalous data clearly showed the presence of a zinc triad in the active site, whereas alkaline phosphatases usually contain two zinc and one magnesium ion per monomer. SAP shares the core, an extended beta-sheet flanked by alpha-helices, and a metal triad with the currently known alkaline phosphatase structures (Escherichia coli structures and a human placental structure). Although SAP lacks some features specific for the mammalian enzyme, their backbones are very similar and may therefore be typical for other higher organisms. Furthermore, SAP possesses a striking feature that the other structures lack: surface potential representations show that the enzyme's net charge of -80 is distributed such that the surface is predominantly negatively charged, except for the positively charged active site. The negatively charged substrate must therefore be directed strongly towards the active site. It is generally accepted that optimization of the electrostatics is one of the characteristics related to cold-adaptation. SAP demonstrates this principle very clearly.

Zinc inhibition of cAMP signaling

Zn(2+) is required as either a catalytic or structural component for a large number of enzymes and thus contributes to a variety of important biological processes. We report here that low micromolar concentrations of Zn(2+) inhibited hormone- or forskolin-stimulated cAMP production in N18TG2 neuroblastoma cells. Similarly, low concentrations inhibited hormone- and forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity in membrane preparations and did so primarily by altering the V(max) of the enzyme. Zn(2+) also inhibited recombinant isoforms, indicating that this reflects a direct interaction with the enzyme. The IC(50) for Zn(2+) inhibition was approximately 1-2 microm with a Hill coefficient of 1.33. The dose-response curve for Zn(2+) inhibition was identical for AC1, AC5, and AC6 as well as for the C441R mutant of AC5 whose defect appears to be in one of the catalytic metal binding sites. However, AC2 displayed a distinct dose-response curve. These data in combination with the findings that Zn(2+) inhibition was not competitive with Mg(2+) or Mg(2+)/ATP suggest that the inhibitory Zn(2+) binding site is distinct from the metal binding sites involved in catalysis. The prestimulated enzyme was found to be less susceptible to Zn(2+) inhibition, suggesting that the ability of Zn(2+) to inhibit AC could be significantly influenced by the coincidence timing of the input signals to the enzyme.