Sulfhydryl reagent susceptibility in proteins with high sequence similarity--triosephosphate isomerase from Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania mexicana.

The amino acid sequence of triosephosphate isomerase from Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Leishmania mexicana have an identity of 68%. Using the numbering system for the T. brucei enzyme, in their aligned sequences, the T. cruzi and leishmanial enzymes have cysteine residues at positions 14, 40, 117 and 126. T. brucei triosephosphate isomerase has cysteine residues at positions 14, 40 and 126, and a valine residue at position 117. Dithionitrobenzoic acid and methylmethane thiosulfonate inhibited the three enzymes, but T. cruzi triosephosphate isomerase was more than 100-fold more sensitive. The sensitivity of wild type triosephosphate isomerase from T. cruzi and T. brucei to the reagents was equal to that of the Cys117Val and Val117Cys mutant enzymes, respectively. Triosephosphate isomerases that have cysteine residues at positions 40 and 126, but lack a cysteine residue at position 14 are insensitive to methylmethane thiosulfonate. Thus, sulfhydryl reagents act on Cys14. At stoichiometric concentrations, the reagents inhibited the three enzymes as a consequence of structural alterations as measured by binding of 8-anilino-1-napthalenesulfonic acid to previously buried hydrophobic regions. However, the times for half-maximal alterations were 10 min, 15 hours and over 30 hours for T. cruzi, T. brucei and L. mexicana triosephosphate isomerase, respectively. The effect of pH on the action of the sulfhydryl reagents and molecular modeling showed no differences in the solvent accessibility of Cys14. As Cys14 forms part of the dimer interface, the data indicate that, in the three enzymes, barriers of different magnitude hinder the interaction between the sulfhydryl reagents and Cys14. The barrier is lower in T. cruzi triosephosphate isomerase which makes its dimer interface more susceptible for perturbation.

Deamidation of triosephosphate isomerase in reverse micelles: effects of water on catalysis and molecular wear and tear.

The specific deamidation of asparagine-71 of triosephosphate isomerase increases upon substrate binding and catalysis. This deamidation at the dimer interface initiates subunit dissociation, unfolding, and protein degradation. The apparent connection between catalysis and terminal marking supports the concept of "molecular wear and tear", and raises questions related to the molecular events that lead to deamidation. In order to explore this interaction, triosephosphate isomerase was entrapped in reverse micelles with different water contents that support different catalytic rates. Deamidation was quantified for the free enzyme, the enzyme in the presence of substrates, and the enzyme which had been covalently modified at the catalytic center with the substrate analogue 3-chloroacetol phosphate (CAP). Both in water and in reverse micelles of cetyltrimethylammonium with 3% and 6% water, substrate binding enhanced deamidation. Studies of the extent of deamidation at various water concentrations showed that deamidation per catalytic turnover was about 6 and 17 times higher in 6% and 3% water than in 100% water, respectively. The enzyme was also entrapped in micelles formed with toluene, phospholipids, and Triton X-100 to explore the process at much lower water concentrations (e.g., 0.3%). Under these conditions, catalysis was very low, and hardly any deamidation took place. Deamidation of the CAP-labeled enzyme was also markedly diminished. At these low-water conditions, the enzyme exhibited markedly increased thermostability and resistance to hydrolysis of the amide bonds. The data suggest that the rate of deamidation not only is dependent on the number of catalytic events but also is related to the time that asparagine-71 exists in a conformation or solvent environment more favorable for deamidation.

Pre-steady-state studies of the adenosine triphosphatase activity of coupled submitochondrial particles. Regulation by ADP.

ATPase activities were measured in 10 mM MgCl2, 5 mM ATP, 1 mM ADP, and 1 microM FCCP with submitochondrial particles from bovine heart that had been stimulated by delta mu H+-forming substrates and with particles whose natural inhibitor protein was partially removed by heating. The activities were not linear with time. With both particles, the rate of ATP hydrolysis in the 7-fold greater than that in the steady state. Pre-steady-state and steady-state kinetic studies showed that the decrease of ATPase activity was due to the binding of ADP in a high-affinity site of the enzyme (K0.5 of 10 microM). Inhibition of ATP hydrolysis was accompanied by the binding of approximately 1 mol of ADP/mol of particulate F1; 10 microM ADP gave half-maximal binding. ADP could be replaced by IDP, but with an affinity 50-fold lower (K0.5 of 0.5 mM). Maximal inhibition by ADP and IDP was achieved in less than 5 s. Inhibition was enhanced by uncouplers. Even in the presence of pyruvate kinase and phosphoenolpyruvate, the rates of hydrolysis were about 2.5-fold higher in the first seconds of reaction than in the steady state. This decrease of ATPase activity also correlated with the binding of nearly 1 mol of ADP/mol of F1. This inhibitory ADP remained bound to the enzyme after several thousand turnovers. Apparently, it is possible to observe maximal rates of hydrolysis only in the first few catalytic cycles of the enzyme.

Inhibition of mitochondrial F1 ATPase and sarcoplasmic reticulum ATPase by hydrophobic molecules.

The hydrophobic nature of the active site of two energy-transducing ATPases was explored by comparing interactions between Pi and each of three hydrophobic drugs in the absence and presence of organic solvents. The drugs tested were the Fe . bathophenanthroline complex and the anticalmodulin drugs, calmidazolium and trifluoperazine. All inhibit the Pi in equilibrium with ATP exchange reaction catalyzed by submitochondrial particles and the ATPase activity of both submitochondrial particles and soluble F1 ATPase. The inhibition by the three drugs is reversed by either raising the Pi concentration or by adding organic solvent (dimethylsulfoxide, ethyleneglycol or methanol) to the medium. The inhibition of the Pi in equilibrium with ATP exchange by trifluoperazine becomes more pronounced when the electrochemical proton gradient formed across the membrane of the submitochondrial particles is decreased by the addition to the medium of the proton ionophore carbonylcyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone. The ATPase activity and the Ca2+ uptake by sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles are inhibited by the Fe . bathophenanthroline complex, calmidazolium and trifluoperazine. Phosphorylation of the ATPases by Pi, synthesis of ATP from ADP and Pi and the fast efflux of Ca2+ observed during reversal of the Ca2+ pump are inhibited by the three drugs. The inhibition is reversed by raising the concentration of Pi or dimethylsulfoxide. The three drugs tested appear to compete with Pi for a common binding site on the Ca2+-ATPase. The data presented are interpreted according to the proposal that the catalytic site of an enzyme involved in energy transduction undergoes a hydrophobic-hydrophilic transition during the catalytic cycle.