Biochemical basis of thiamin-responsive maple syrup urine disease.

The biochemical basis for the therapeutic effects of thiamin in thiamin-responsive MSUD was investigated in intact and disrupted fibroblast cultures from normal subjects and patients with various forms of MSUD. Decarboxylation of [1-14C]KIV by intact cells from thiamin-responsive MSUD was at 30-40% of the normal rate with or without thiamin in the incubation medium. Under similar conditions, intact classical MSUD fibroblasts failed to decarboxylate KIV. BCKA dehydrogenase activity measured in disrupted cells from the thiamin-responsive subject exhibited sigmoidal kinetics in the absence of TPP with an elevated Km value of 7 mM for KIV. When assayed with 0.2 mM TPP present, the mutant enzyme showed a shift in kinetics to near Michaelis-Menten type as observed with the normal BCKA dehydrogenase, and a lower Km value of 4 mM for KIV, suggesting a TPP-mediated increase in the affinity of the mutant enzyme for substrate. By contrast, TPP increased only Vmax and was without effect on the apparent Km for KIV of BCKA dehydrogenase from normal subjects, classical MSUD, and a thiamin-non-responsive MSUD variant (Grade 3). Measurement of apparent Km for TPP of the BCKA dehydrogenase showed a 16-fold increase in the constant to 25 microM for the thiamin-responsive mutant compared to normal or classical MSUD enzymes. These findings demonstrate that the primary defect in the thiamin-responsive MSUD patient is a reduced affinity of the mutant BCKA dehydrogenase for TPP that results in impaired oxidative decarboxylation of BCKA.

Thiamin-responsive maple-syrup-urine disease: decreased affinity of the mutant branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase for alpha-ketoisovalerate and thiamin pyrophosphate.

The biochemical basis for the therapeutic effects of thiamin in thiamin-responsive maple-syrup-urine disease (MSUD) was investigated in intact and disrupted fibroblast cultures from normals and patients with various forms of MSUD. Decarboxylation of alpha-keto[1-14C]isovalerate (KIV) by intact cells from a thiamin-responsive MSUD patient was at 30-40% of the normal rate with or without thiamin in the incubation medium. Under similar conditions, intact classical MSUD fibroblasts failed to decarboxylate KIV. Branched-chain alpha-keto acid (BCKA) dehydrogenase activity measured in disrupted cells from the thiamin-responsive subject showed sigmoidal kinetics in the absence of thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP), with an increased concentration of substrate needed for half-maximal velocity (K0.5 for KIV = 7 mM vs. 0.05 mM in normal cells). When assayed with 0.2 mM TPP present, the mutant enzyme showed (i) a shift in kinetics to near Michaelis-Menten type as observed with the normal BCKA dehydrogenase and (ii) a lower K0.5 value of 4 mM for KIV, suggesting a TPP-mediated increase in the mutant enzyme's affinity for substrate. By contrast, TPP increased only the Vmax and was without effect on the apparent Km for KIV of the BCKA dehydrogenase from cells of normals and patients with classical MSUD and variant thiamin-responsive MSUD (grade 3). Measurement of the apparent Km for TPP of the BCKA dehydrogenase from thiamin-responsive mutant MSUd cells showed a 16-fold increase in the constant to 25 microM compared to enzymes from normal or classical MSUD cells. These findings demonstrate that the primary defect in the thiamin-responsive MSUD patient is a reduced affinity of the mutant BCKA dehydrogenase for TPP that results in impaired oxidative decarboxylation of BCKA.

Detection of heterozygotes in maple-syrup-urine disease: measurements of branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase and its components in cell cultures.

To detect heterozygotes for maple-syrup-urine disease (MSUD), activities of branched-chain-alpha-ketoacid (BCKA) dehydrogenase and its components in skin fibroblasts of two obligatory heterozygotes and amnion cells of a fetus at risk were measured. Intact heterozygous cells were found to decarboxylate [1-14C] alpha-ketoisovalerate at rates equal to or only slightly lower than normal subjects. The inability to differentiate heterozygotes from normals with the intact cell assay confirms earlier studies with intact leukocytes using [1-14C]leucine as substrate. By contrast, measurements of BCKA dehydrogenase activity with disrupted cell suspensions showed MSUD heterozygotes with 30%--60% of normal activity. Moreover, biphasic kinetics in heterozygous cells were observed with increasing substrate concentrations. The altered biphasic kinetics probably reflect expression of the normal allele in the early hyperbolic portion of the curve of the mutant allele in the later secondary rise at high substrate concentrations. Assays of component activities showed concordant E1 decarboxylase deficiency in both heterozygous- and homozygous-affected cells, whereas the E3, dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase-component, activity was normal. The above results taken together appear to provide an approach to detection of the heterozygote in MSUD.

Catalytic and structural properties of the dihydrolipoyl transacylase component of bovine branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase.

Branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase is a multienzyme complex consisting of three catalytic components, i.e. branched-chain alpha-keto acid decarboxylase (E1), dihydrolipoyl transacylase (E2), and dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (E3). In this report the E2 component of highly purified branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase from bovine kidney and liver was characterized with an independent radiochemical assay for this component. The assay uses the model reaction: R-14CO-S-CoA + Lip-(SH)2 in equilibrium R-14CO-S-Lip-SH + CoA-SH, which is similar to that catalyzed by the transacetylase component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. In this reaction, exogenous dihydrolipoamide substitutes for the protein (E2)-bound dihydrolipoyl moiety, and [1-14C]acyl-CoA synthesized enzymatically is the acyl-CoA substrate. The thioester structure of the reaction product, S-acyldihydrolipoamide, was identified by mass spectrometry, its characteristic absorption at 232-245 nm and by formation of hydroxamate with hydroxylamine. Rates of the E2-catalyzed transacylation reaction with various [1-14C]acyl-CoAs are in the order of [1-14C]isobutyryl-CoA greater than [1-14C] isovaleryl-CoA greater than [1-14C]acetyl-CoA. The activity with acetyl-CoA is 15% of that with isobutyryl-CoA. The E2 activity is strongly inhibited by arsenite. Modification of the covalently bound lipoyl moiety through reductive acylation in the presence of N-ethylmaleimide is without effect on the transacylation reaction. These data, along with results of initial velocity and product inhibition suggest that the model reaction proceeds via a random Bi Bi mechanism. Limited proteolysis of purified bovine liver branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase with trypsin results in complete loss of the overall activity catalyzed by the complex. Nonetheless the activity of the E2 component is not affected. The tryptic digestion cleaves E2 subunits (Mr = 52,600) into a major fragment of Mr = 25,700. By contrast, E1 alpha and E1 beta subunits of the complex are relatively resistant to proteolysis with trypsin. The results indicate that structural properties of the E2 component of branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase are similar but not identical to those of the transacetylase component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.

Subunit structure of the dihydrolipoyl transacylase component of branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase complex from bovine liver. Characterization of the inner transacylase core.

Limited proteolysis has been used to probe the subunit structure (Mr = 52,000) of the dihydrolipoyl transacylase (E2) component of the branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase complex from bovine liver. Digestion of the complex at 0 degrees C with a low concentration of trypsin produces an inner E2 core that retains the activity for the transacylation reaction and is completely dissociated from the decarboxylase (E1) component. The trypsinized E2 maintains the highly assembled structure and migrates faster than the native E2 in the Sepharose 4B column. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows that the inner E2 core consists of two lipoate-free tryptic fragments, i.e. fragment A and fragment B with Mr = 26,000 and 22,000, respectively. Both fragments apparently fail to bind the E1 component. Fragment A is converted into fragment B by increasing trypsin concentrations. Fragment B is a stable limit polypeptide containing the intersubunit-binding sites for E2. The assemblage of fragment B confers the cubelike appearance of the inner E2 core in electron micrographs. Activity measurements indicate that the larger fragment A, but not fragment B, possesses transacylation activity. It is likely that a critical portion of the active site is present in the 4,000-dalton fragment that is lost during the conversion of fragment A to B.