The effect of pyridoxal phosphate on rabbit muscle aldolase

Aldolase and actin protect rabbit muscle lactate dehydrogenase from ascorbate inhibition

Muscle-type LDH (LDH-m4) activity is critical for efficient anaerobic glycolysis. The results here show that rabbit LDH-M4 is inhibited by concentrations of ascorbate normally found in tissues. Aldolase and muscle G-actin were found to protect and to reverse inhibitions of LDH-m4 by ascorbate. G-actins showed some species specificity. Myosin, tropomyosin and troponin from rabbit muscle and muscle proteins from other animal sources had no affect on the inhibitions by ascorbate. The substrate inhibition of LDH-m4 by pyruvate is partially relieved by the presence of aldolase and lowers the Km without affecting the Vm. G-actin under similar conditions has no affect. It is believed that these studies reflect some of the resting properties of glycolytic enzymes that bind and unbind to contractile elements. It is proposed that ascorbate facilitates the storage of glycogen in muscle at rest by inhibiting glycolysis.

Inactivation of enoyl-CoA reductase in pigeon liver fatty acid synthetase by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate: evidence for the presence of one lysine residue at the active site

Pigeon liver fatty acid synthetase (FAS) was rapidly inactivated by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP). Assays of the partial activities of the PLP-treated synthetase showed that only the enoyl-CoA reductase was decreased significantly. The inactivation of both the overall activity and enoyl-CoA reductase activity of FAS by PLP could be reversed by dialysis or dilution but not by reduction with sodium borohydride. Malonyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA did not protect the enzyme, whereas NADPH provided 68% protection against PLP-inactivation indicating that PLP modified lysine residues present at or near the co-enzyme binding site. PLP-treated enzyme after reduction with sodium borohydride exhibited fluorescence with a maximum at 397 nm (irradiation at 325 nm). Stoichiometric analysis showed that modification of four lysine residues per enzyme molecule resulted in complete inactivation of the overall and enoyl-CoA reductase activities of FAS. NADPH prevented the inactivation by protecting two of these lysine residues from modification, suggesting the presence of two essential lysine residues per enzyme molecule. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that each subunit of the enzyme contains an enoyl-CoA reductase domain in which a lysine residue, at or near the active site, interacts with NADPH.

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate related changes in retention of 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D-receptor ligands in rat intestinal mucosa cell nuclei

After feeding rats a vitamin B-6-deficient diet, we observed a decrease in pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentrations in intestinal mucosa cells to 32 and 48% of control in cytoplasm and cell nuclei, respectively. Correlation analysis suggested that there were two pyridoxal 5'-phosphate pools in the nuclei: a "mobile" pool (equivalent to about 5% the concentration of the cytoplasmic pyridoxal 5'-phosphate), and a "stable" pool, which was independent of cytoplasmic fluctuations of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (about 9 pmol pyridoxal 5'-phosphate/mg DNA). Reduction in pyridoxal 5'-phosphate content in the cells of vitamin B-6-deficient animals was accompanied by a substantial increase in 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-receptor ligand concentration in the cell nuclei (76.6 +/- 19.7 vs 762 +/- 291 fmol/mg DNA, mean +/- SEM). The degree of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D accumulation in the nuclei appeared to be an exponential function of the "mobile" nuclear pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentration. Semilogarithmic transformation of the data yielded a straight line, representing an inverse correlation between the cytoplasm-related nuclear pool of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and the logarithm of the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D concentration in the nuclei (r = -0.95). These data suggest that pyridoxal 5'-phosphate may be related to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D retention in the nuclei, possibly through interaction of the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate with the vitamin D receptor protein in the nuclei.

Is pyridoxal 5'-phosphate an affinity label for phosphate-binding sites in proteins?: The case of bovine glutamate dehydrogenase

The effects of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PalP) on ox liver glutamate dehydrogenase (94% inactivation by 1.8 mM reagent at pH 7 and 25 degrees C) have been compared with those of three analogues, 5'-deoxypyridoxal (96% inactivation), pyridoxal 5'-sulphate (97%) and pyridoxal 5-methylsulphonate (94%), in order to establish whether PalP acts as an affinity label for this enzyme. Like PalP and unlike pyridoxal, which is a much less potent inactivator, none of the analogues has a free 5'-OH group to cyclize with the aldehyde function. The result with 5'-deoxypyridoxal shows that a negative charge, such as that of the phosphate group, is not required for efficient inactivation. With all four reagents, addition of an excess of cysteine or lysine led to 90-100% re-activation over 3-20 h. Dialysis also caused reactivation to a similar extent. A combination of 2.15 mM NADH, 1 mM GTP and 10 mM 2-oxoglutarate gave complete protection against PalP, but only partial protection against the analogues. 5'-Deoxypyridoxal still caused 20-25% inactivation in the presence of the protection mixture. Absorbance measurements after reduction with NaBH4 show the characteristic features of a reduced Schiff's base and allowed estimation of the extent of reaction. With all the reagents the protection mixture decreased incorporation by about 1 mol/mol, but levels of incorporation without protection varied from about 2 mol/mol for PalP up to about 5 mol/mol for 5'-deoxypyridoxal. The labelling at additional sites may explain the residual inactivation in the presence of potent protecting agents.

Probing the pyrophosphate-binding site in potato tuber UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase with pyridoxal diphosphate

Potato tuber UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (EC 2.7.7.9) catalyzes the reversible uridylyl transfer from UDP-glucose to MgPPi forming glucose 1-phosphate and MgUTP, according to an ordered bi-bi mechanism in which UDP-glucose and MgPPi bind in this order. To probe the active site of this enzyme, we have applied pyridoxal 5'-diphosphate, a reactive PPi analogue. The enzyme was rapidly inactivated when incubated with the reagent in the presence of Mg2+ followed by sodium borohydride reduction. The degree of the inactivation was decreased by MgUTP, MgPPi, and glucose 1-phosphate, but enhanced by UDP-glucose. The enhancement was prevented by co-addition of Pi, the competitive inhibitor with respect to PPi. The complete inactivation corresponded to the incorporation of 0.9-1.1 mol of reagent/mol of enzyme monomer. In the presence of UDP-glucose, labels were almost exclusively incorporated into Lys-329. Thus, this residue may be located near the bound MgPPi and its modification is promoted, probably through conformational changes, by the binding of UDP-glucose to the enzyme. The results of the modification by the same reagent of the mutant enzymes in which Lys-329 and Lys-263 are individually replaced by Gln suggest the roles of these lysyl residues in the binding of MgPPi and in the UDP-glucose-induced conformational changes, respectively.

Alternate use of divergent forms of an ancient exon in the fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase gene of Drosophila melanogaster

The fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase gene of Drosophila melanogaster contains three divergent copies of an evolutionarily conserved 3' exon. Two mRNAs encoding aldolase contain three exons and differ only in the poly(A) site. The first exon is small and noncoding. The second encodes the first 332 amino acids, which form the catalytic domain, and is homologous to exons 2 through 8 of vertebrates. The third exon encodes the last 29 amino acids, thought to control substrate specificity, and is homologous to vertebrate exon 9. A third mRNA substitutes a different 3' exon (4a) for exon 3 and encodes a protein very similar to aldolase. A fourth mRNA begins at a different promoter and shares the second exon with the aldolase messages. However, two exons, 3a and 4a, together substitute for exon 3. Like exon 4a, exon 3a is homologous to terminal aldolase exons. The exon 3a-4a junction is such that exon 4a would be translated in a frame different from that which would produce a protein with similarity to aldolase. The putative proteins encoded by the third and fourth mRNAs are likely to be aldolases with altered substrate specificities, illustrating alternate use of duplicated and diverged exons as an evolutionary mechanism for adaptation of enzymatic activities.

Alternate use of divergent forms of an ancient exon in the fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase gene of Drosophila melanogaster

The fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase gene of Drosophila melanogaster contains three divergent copies of an evolutionarily conserved 3' exon. Two mRNAs encoding aldolase contain three exons and differ only in the poly(A) site. The first exon is small and noncoding. The second encodes the first 332 amino acids, which form the catalytic domain, and is homologous to exons 2 through 8 of vertebrates. The third exon encodes the last 29 amino acids, thought to control substrate specificity, and is homologous to vertebrate exon 9. A third mRNA substitutes a different 3' exon (4a) for exon 3 and encodes a protein very similar to aldolase. A fourth mRNA begins at a different promoter and shares the second exon with the aldolase messages. However, two exons, 3a and 4a, together substitute for exon 3. Like exon 4a, exon 3a is homologous to terminal aldolase exons. The exon 3a-4a junction is such that exon 4a would be translated in a frame different from that which would produce a protein with similarity to aldolase. The putative proteins encoded by the third and fourth mRNAs are likely to be aldolases with altered substrate specificities, illustrating alternate use of duplicated and diverged exons as an evolutionary mechanism for adaptation of enzymatic activities.

Possible involvement of Lys603 from Escherichia coli glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase in the binding of its substrate fructose 6-phosphate

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is a competitive inhibitor of glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase with respect to the substrate fructose 6-phosphate. Irreversible inactivation of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-treated enzyme with [14C]-cyanide resulted in covalent incorporation of close to 1 mol pyridoxal 5'-phosphate/mol enzyme subunit. The enzyme-pyridoxal-5'-phosphate complex could also be inactivated by reduction with NaBH3CN. Sequence analysis of the unique radioactively labelled tryptic peptide, resulting from inactivation with [3H]NaBH3CN, identified the C-terminal nonapeptide encompassing the modified Lys603. The presence of fructose 6-phosphate protected this residue from pyridoxylation. Direct evidence that a lysine residue is involved in the binding of the substrate as a Schiff base came from the isolation at 4 degrees C of a enzyme-fructose-6-phosphate complex in a 1:1 molar ratio. Treatment of the enzyme-[14C]fructose-6-phosphate complex with NaBH3CN revealed one site of modification in the tryptic peptide map. In contrast, trapping the same complex with potassium cyanide resulted in the isolation of several radiolabelled peptides containing lysines which could potentially bind fructose 6-phosphate. However, since the radioactivity was not specifically associated with the lysine residues, it is suggested that these 14C-labelled peptides resulted from the decomposition of an unstable alpha,alpha'-dihydroxyaminonitrile adduct rather than from a lack of specificity of fructose 6-phosphate fixation. Lys603 is then the candidate of choice for fructose 6-phosphate binding since it lies at or near the active site as demonstrated by the trapping experiments with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate described above, and among the lysines which belong to the sugar-binding domain this is the only one conserved between the three members of the purF, glutamine-dependent, amidotransferase subfamily which include the glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase from Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the Rhizobium nodulation protein NodM.

Identification of lysyl residues located at the substrate-binding site in UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase from potato tuber: affinity labeling with uridine di- and triphosphopyridoxals

Uridine di- and triphosphopyridoxals were used to probe the substrate-binding site in potato tuber UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (EC 2.7.7.9). The enzyme was rapidly inactivated in time- and dose-dependent manners when incubated with either reagent followed by reduction with sodium borohydride. The inactivations were almost completely retarded by UDP-Glc and UTP but only slightly by alpha-D-glucose 1-phosphate. The complete inactivation corresponded to the incorporation of about 0.9-1.0 mol of either reagent per mole of enzyme monomer. Both reagents appear to bind specifically to the UDP-Glc-(UTP)-binding site. Structural studies of the labeled enzymes revealed that the two reagents modified the identical set of five lysyl residues (Lys-263, Lys-329, Lys-367, Lys-409, and Lys-410), in which Lys-367 was most prominently modified. The ratios of the amounts of labels incorporated into these residues were similar for the two reagents. Furthermore, linear relationships were observed between the residual activities and the amounts of incorporation into each lysyl residue. We conclude that the five lysyl residues are located at or near the UDP-Glc(UTP)-binding site of potato tuber UDP-Glc pyrophosphorylase and that the modification of these residues occurs in a mutually exclusive manner, leading to the inactivation of the enzyme.

Inhibition of thymidylate synthase by glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate

1. A number of common metabolites which had carbonyl and/or phosphate groups were tested for their ability to alter the activity of thymidylate synthase from Lactobacillus casei. Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate was found to be an effective inhibitor of thymidylate synthase. 2. Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate reversibly inhibited thymidylate synthase with a K1 of 12-13 microM; the inhibition was competitive with dUMP and noncompetitive with 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate which is consistent with an ordered addition of substrates.

Inactivation of human hepatitis B virus DNA polymerase by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate

Human hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA polymerase activity was inhibited by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) specifically and noncompetitively with respect to deoxythymidine triphosphate (DTTP). NaBH4 reduction of PLP-HBV core proteins resulted in the complete inactivation of HBV DNA polymerase, and PLP modification of the enzyme was though to be mediated through Schiff-base formation. HBV DNA polymerase has a Michaelis constant (Km) of 0.31 microM for dTTP and an apparent inhibition constant (Ki) of 0.2 mM for PLP. Its inactivation and modification by PLP may be useful in the study of not only the reaction mechanism of catalysis, but also the physicochemical nature of the enzyme.

Inhibition of thymidylate synthase by pyridoxal phosphate

1. Pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) reversibly inhibited thymidylate synthase from Lactobacillus casei with a KI of 0.6-0.9 microM. 2. The inhibition was competitive with dUMP and noncompetitive with 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate which is consistent with an ordered addition of substrates. 3. The spectrum of PLP was altered by the addition of thymidylate synthase. The spectral changes suggest formation of a thiohemiacetal with an enzyme sulfhydryl group rather than Schiff base formation with a lysine side chain.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies on the proximity between lysine-107 and cysteine-239 in rabbit muscle aldolase

Spatial relationships between Lys-107, which binds the C-6 phosphate group of the substrate, and fast-reacting Cys-239, located outside the active site of rabbit muscle aldolase, were studied by means of resonance energy transfer. The Lys-107 residue was covalently linked to pyridoxal phosphate (fluorescence donor) and the Cys-239 residue was modified by 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (fluorescence acceptor). The energy transfer between donor and acceptor has been demonstrated. The steady-state and the lifetime measurements indicate that in solution the distance between Lys-107 and Cys-239 in the aldolase molecule is 12.4 A assuming chi 2 = 2/3.

Molecular architecture of rabbit skeletal muscle aldolase at 2.7-A resolution

The molecular architecture of the rabbit skeletal muscle aldolase (D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-lyase, EC 4.1.2.13) tetramer has been determined to 2.7-A resolution. Solution of the three-dimensional structure of rabbit muscle aldolase utilized phase information from a single isomorphous Pt(CN)4(2-) derivative, which was combined with iterative-phase refinement based upon the noncrystallographic 222-fold symmetry exhibited by the tetramer subunits. The electron-density map calculated from the refined phases (mf = 0.72) was interpreted on the basis of the known amino acid sequence (363 amino acids per subunit). The molecular architecture of the aldolase subunit corresponds to a singly wound beta-barrel of the parallel alpha/beta class structures as has been observed in triose phosphate isomerase, pyruvate kinase, phosphogluconate aldolase, as well as others. Close contacts between tetramer subunits are virtually all between regions of hydrophobic residues. Contrary to other beta-barrel structures, the known active-site residues are located in the center of the beta-barrel and are accessible to substrate from the COOH side of the beta-barrel. Biochemical and crystallographic data suggest that the COOH-terminal region of aldolase covers the active-site pocket from the COOH side of the beta-barrel and mediates access to the active site. On the basis of sequence studies, active-site residues as well as residues lining the active-site pocket have been totally conserved throughout evolution. By comparison, homology in the COOH-terminal region is minimal. It is suggested that the amino acid sequence of the COOH-terminal region may be, in part, the basis for the variable specific activities aldolases exhibit toward their substrates.

Affinity labeling of rabbit muscle fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase with 5'-[p-(fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]-1,N6-ethenoadenosine

Aldolase contains one tight binding site and one weak binding site per subunit for ATP [Kasprzak, A. and Kochman, M. (1980) Eur. J. Biochem. 104, 443-450]. The reaction of the ATP analog 5'-[p-(fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]-1,N6-ethenoadenosine with rabbit aldolase A results in linear inactivation of enzyme with respect to covalent linkage of fluorescent label. The enzyme is completely protected against modification in the presence of saturating covalent binding (k2 = 0.033 min-1) is preceded by a fast reversible binding step (Ki = 6.8 mM). Chemical modification of aldolase leads to formation of stable N epsilon (4-carboxybenzenesulfonyl-lysine (Cbs-Lys) and O-(4-carboxybenzenesulfonyl-tyrosine (Cbs-Tyr) derivatives. Almost all Cbs-Lys was found in the N-terminal CNBr peptide (CN-1), whereas Cbs-Tyr was present both in the N-terminal (CN-1) and C-terminal (CN-2) peptide. From carboxypeptidase digestion and tryptic peptide analysis, Cbs-Lys was localized in position 107, a small part of Cbs-Tyr was detected in position 84, and the majority of Cbs-Tyr was found in the C-terminal position Tyr-363. We conclude that the covalent binding of the ATP analog occurs at the mononucleotide tight-binding site of aldolase and is associated with modification of Lys-107 and Tyr-363. This conclusion is based on the measurements of enzymatic activity loss as a function of ATP analog incorporation as well as on previous data. It is postulated that Lys-107, which is the C-6 phosphate binding site for fructose-1,6-P2, is in close proximity to the functionally important Tyr-363. The rather small extent of modification of Tyr-84 (0.15 mol/subunit), is due either to nonspecific protein modification or labeling of the weak mononucleotide binding site.

o-Phthalaldehyde, a fluorescence probe of aldolase active site

Conditions were determined in which approximately one mole of omicron-phthalaldehyde reacts with one mole of aldolase subunit yielding a stable fluorescent isoindole derivative. During this chemical modification, a linear relationship was observed between the enzyme inactivation and absorbance change (337 nm) or fluorescence change (lambda em 420 nm, and lambda ex 338 nm) characteristic for isoindole ring formation. The reaction follows second-order kinetics, k = 1.1 X 10(3) M-1 S-1, in 50 mM borate buffer, pH 8.4 at 25 degrees C. The modification of aldolase results in loss of approximately one -SH group per protein subunit. The enzyme is protected against modification by substrates and competitive inhibitors. Essentially no isoindole derivative is formed when the glycerol-1-phosphate-lysyl derivative of aldolase is used for modification studies. It is concluded that aldolase modification occurs at the active-site region. Isolation of cross-linked peptides suggests that Lys-227 and Cys-336 are involved in formation of the isoindole derivative. This result supports Cys-336 as the active-site cysteine necessary for aldolase catalytic activity. Fluorescence studies have shown that the isoindole group linked to aldolase has its lambda max, em markedly shifted toward shorter wavelength in comparison to the fluorescence of free isoindole derivatives in aqueous solution. In model studies a linear relationship between lambda max, em of 1-(beta-hydroxyethylthio)-2-beta-hydroxyethylisoindole and the solvent polarity or acidity was observed. The results of the studies suggest that the microenvironment of the cleft in aldolase which binds isoindole appears to be of low acidity and low polarity. The apparent low polarity experienced by the isoindole probe may be due to its location in an actual low-polarity portion of the active site, or may be due to non-relaxing surroundings of the probe.

Factors influencing pyrroline 5-carboxylate synthesis from glutamate by rat intestinal mucosa mitochondria

Factors influencing pyrroline 5-carboxylate (P5C) synthesis from glutamate by a subcellular fraction enriched in mitochondria of rat small intestinal mucosa have been studied. P5C synthesis decreased rapidly if this subcellular fraction was preincubated at 20 degrees C in the absence of substrates; this effect suggests that the enzyme(s) catalyzing P5C synthesis from glutamate (P5C synthase) is unstable in the absence of substrates. In the presence of substrates P5C synthesis increased linearly for the first 30 min of incubation, suggesting that the substrates promote enzyme stability. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is an effective inhibitor of P5C synthase whereas pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate and pyridoxal are not inhibitory. Potassium phosphate, KCl, and KBr each inhibited P5C synthase but potassium-Hepes (4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid) did not. Potassium phosphate was the most potent inhibitor followed by KBr, and then KCl. These results suggest P5C synthase is sensitive to anion inhibition. Both L-ornithine and D-ornithine inhibited P5C synthase; L-proline did not inhibit. Several analogs of ornithine and proline were also tested and none was found to inhibit P5C synthase; the inhibition by ornithine is, therefore, rather specific and it may prove to contribute to the regulation of metabolism of these amino acids.

Inactivation of yeast fatty acid synthetase by modifying the beta-ketoacyl reductase active lysine residue with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate

Treatment of yeast fatty acid synthetase with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate inhibited the enzyme. Assays of the partial activities of the pyridoxal phosphate-treated synthetase showed that only the beta-ketoacyl reductase was significantly inhibited. NADPH prevented inactivation of the enzyme by pyridoxal phosphate, indicating that pyridoxal modifies a residue near or in the beta-ketoacyl reductase site. The pyridoxal-treated synthetase shows a fluorescence spectrum with a maximum of 426 nm after uv irradiation at 325 nm. Binding of the pyridoxal phosphate to the synthetase is reversible as shown by the disappearance of the fluorescence band after dialysis of pyridoxal-treated enzyme. Reduction with NaBH4 of the pyridoxal-treated enzyme eliminates this fluorescence maximum and causes the appearance of a new band at 393 nm. These observations suggest that pyridoxal phosphate interacts with the synthetase by forming a Schiff base with lysine residue at the beta-ketoacyl reductase site. Amino acid analyses of the HCl hydrolysates of the borohydride-reduced, pyridoxal-treated synthetase showed the presence of 6 mol of N6-pyridoxal derivative of lysine per mole of fatty acid synthetase, indicating the presence of six sites of beta-ketoacyl reductase in the native enzyme. Autoradiography of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels of the pyridoxal phosphate enzyme reduced with NaB3H4 indicates that the alpha subunit contains the beta-ketoacyl reductase domain. These findings are consistent with the proposed structure of the alpha 6 beta 6 complex required for palmitoyl-CoA synthesis.

An exploration of the binding site of aldolase using alkanediol monoglycolate bisphosphoric esters

Alkanediol monoglycolate bisphosphoric esters (P-O-CH2-CO-O-(CH2)n-O-P), which are analogues of the aldolase (D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-lyase, EC 4.1.2.13) substrate fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, were synthesized and used for probing its active site. The Ki value was lowest when the maximum distance between the phosphorus atoms of the bisphosphate was brought close to that of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. The binding constants estimated from difference spectra correlate well with Ki values for the substrate analogues. Propanediol monoglycolate bisphosphoric ester protected aldolase from inactivation by 1,2-cyclohexanedione, which preferentially attacks arginine-55. However, propanol phosphate had little protective effect. The synthesized phosphate compounds protected the enzyme against inactivation by trypsin, and also against spontaneous denaturation. These results suggest that the synthesized phosphate compounds bind to aldolase at the active site, which tends to keep the distance constant between the two phosphate-binding sites for the open-chain form of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, and stabilize the natural conformation of the enzyme. Both arginine-55 and lysine-146 are shown to participate in the phosphate-binding site for the C-1-phosphate of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate.

Pyridoxal phosphate as a probe of reovirus transcriptase

The ribonucleoprotein core of reovirus is a multienzyme complex that transcribes messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) from double-stranded RNA templates. So far, the core has resisted attempts to disassemble it and identify the polypeptide species responsible for RNA polymerase activity. As an alternative approach, we tested pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP) as a potential affinity labeling reagent for reovirus transcriptase in vitro; PLP has been used as an affinity reagent for cellular and viral nucleic acid polymerases. We found that PLP inhibited reovirus transcriptase reversibly (apparent Ki = 0.2 mM), but the inhibition was noncompetitive with respect to each of the four ribonucleoside triphosphates. This interaction required both the aldehyde and phosphate moieties in PLP, since pyridoxamine and pyridoxal were relatively inactive. To identify the polypeptides involved, we labeled the PLP--core complex by reductive alkylation with [3H]borohydride. At PLP concentrations close to the apparent Ki, labeling was selective for the two largest virion polypeptides, lambda 1 and lambda 2. At saturation, there were only 10 high-affinity PLP binding sites per core in each of the lambda polypeptide species. These findings implicate either or both lambda polypeptide species in viral transcription and they indicate that a special population, representing no more than 10% of the total lambda molecules in each core, participates in RNA synthesis.

Phosphoribulokinase from Nitrobacter winogradskyi: activation by reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and inhibition by pyridoxal phosphate

CO2 fixation by particle-free extracts from Nitrobacter winogradskyi increased by addition of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). Ribulose-1,5-diphosphate, however, increased CO2 fixation, even in the absence of NADH. Phosphoribulokinase (EC 2.7.1.19) was the enzyme of Nitrobacter extracts that was activated specifically by NADH. Pyridoxal-5-phosphate inhibited both CO2 fixation and NADH-activated phosphoribulokinase from Nitrobacter. However, it did not affect phosphoribulokinase from spinach leaves. Since the spinach enzyme had also no requirement for reduced pyridine nucleotides, it appears that pyridoxal phosphate interferes only with the binding of NADH and not with the binding of ribulose-5-phosphate and adenosine-5'-triphosphate. The regulation of phosphoribulokinase activity by NADH provided Nitrobacter with an energy-dependent control mechanism of CO2 assimilation.