Our previous studies (Pattison, S. E., and Dunn, M. F. (1975), Biochemistry 14, 2733) have shown that the reaction of divalent metal ion chelators with the 140 000 mol wt mouse submaxillary nerve growth factor protein (7S NGF) activates the iota-subunit esteropeptidase activity ca. sevenfold. Ultraviolet-visible spectral studies with the chelator 2,2',2''-terpyridine (terpyridine) and fluorescence emission studies with 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid (HQSA) in combination with both conventional and rapid-mixing stopped-flow kinetic techniques have been employed in the present study to investigate (a) the mechanism of the chelator-induced activation process, and (b) the identity of the divalent metal ion involved. The spectral studies confirm the presence of stoichiometrically significant amounts of tightly bound zinc ion in native 7S NGF (1-2 g-atoms of An2+/mol of 7S NGF). The kinetic studies show that the reaction of terpyridine with 7S NGF occurs via a two-step process involving first a rapid, apparent second-order step (k1 = 1 x 10(6) M-1 s-1) to form a 7S NGF-Zn2+-chelator monocomplex, then a slow step to form a bis(terpyridine)-Zn(II) complex and activated 7S NGF in an apparent first-order process (kobsd = 0.10 min-1). This rate is, within experimental error, identical with the apparent first-order rate constant for the chelator-induced activation process (monitored by the rate of change in the steady-state rate of hydrolysis of chromophoric substrate, alpha-N-benzoyl-D,L-arginine-p-nitroanilide). Kinetic studies of the reaction of HQSA with native 7S NGF show that, under the same conditions of concentration, the rate of formation of the tris(HQSA)-Zn(II) complex is identical with the rate of the HQSA-induced activation of the 7S NGF esteropeptidase. Thus, these studies unambiguously establish that zinc ion is the metal ion involved in the chelator-induced activation process, and that activation involves removal of zinc ion from native 7S NGF.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

On the mechanism of divalent metal ion chelator induced activation of the 7S nerve growth factor esteropeptidase. Thermodynamics and kinetics of activation.

The 7S nerve growth factor protein (7S NGF) is a multisubunit zinc metalloprotein containing a masked trypsin-like esteropeptidase activity. Reaction of the native 7S NGF oligomer with divalent metal ion chelators effects an approximately sevenfold activation of the esteropeptidase activity via the sequestering and dissociation of the 7S NGF-bound zinc ion (Pattison, S. E., and Dunn, M. F. (1975), Biochemistry 14, 2733; Pattison, S. E., and Dunn, M. F. (1976), Biochemistry, preceding paper in this issue). In this study, investigation of the relationship between chelator concentration and the extent of activation, as measured by the steady-state rate of hydrolysis of alpha-N-benzoyl-D,L-arginine-p-nitroanilide, has demonstrated that (a) the chelator-induced activation is a freely reversible process, (b) activated 7S NGF undergoes a slow loss of reversibility when incubated with chelator over long time-periods, (c) the affinity constant of 7S NGF for zinc ion is approximately 10(10.5) +/- 10(0.5) M(-1), (d) chelator activation depends only on the ability of the chelator to sequester zinc ion, and (e) the activation process does not involve dissociation of the 7S oligomer to smaller subunit aggregates under conditions of low ionic strength.

Animals↗

PubMed1975

Roles of zinc ion and reduced coenzyme in horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase catalysis. The mechanism of aldehyde activation.

1,4,5,6-Tetrahydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (H2NADH) has been investigated as a reduced coenzyme analog in the reaction between trans-4-N,N-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde (I) (lambdamax 398 nm, epsilonmax 3.15 X 10-4 M-minus 1 cm-minus 1) and the horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase-NADH complex. These equilibrium binding and temperature-jump kinetic studies establish the following. (i) Substitution of H2NADH for NADH limits reaction to the reversible formation of a new chromophoric species, lambdamax 468 nm, epsilonmax 5.8 x 10-4 M-minus 1 cm-minus 1. This chromophore is demonstrated to be structurally analogous to the transient intermediate formed during the reaction of I with the enzyme-NADH complex [Dunn, M. F., and Hutchison, J. S. (1973), Biochemistry 12, 4882]. (ii) The process of intermediate formation with the enzyme-NADH complex is independent of pH over the range 6.13-10.54. Although studies were limited to the pH range 5.98-8.72, a similar pH independence appears to hold for the H2NADH system. (iii) Within the ternary complex, I is bound within van der Waal's contact distance of the coenzyme nicotinamide ring. (iv) Formation of the transient intermediate does not involve covalent modification of coenzyme. Based on these findings, we conclude that zinc ion has a Lewis acid function in facilitating the chemical activation of the aldehyde carbonyl for reduction, and that reduced coenzyme plays a noncovalent effector role in this substrate activating step.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1975

On the relationship of zinc ion to the structure and function of the 7S nerve growth factor protein.

The 7S nerve growth factor (7S NGF) is an oligomeric protein consisting of three distinct classes of subunits, alpha,beta, and gamma (A. P. Smith, S. Varon, and E. M. Shooter (1968), Biochemistry 7, 3259). The beta subunit contains the growth promoting activity while gamma is a potent esteropeptidase. The proteolytic activity of gamma is virtually completely inhibited in the 7S NGF aggregate (L. A. Greene, E. M. Shooter, and S. Varon (1969), Biochemistry 8, 3735). In this paper, we report that divalent metal ion chelating agents effect a seven- to tenfold increase in the esteropeptidase activity of 7S NGF at pH 7.40. Plots of esteropeptidase activity vs. chelator concentration give saturation curves which are either sigmoidal (EDTA) or hyperbolic (o-phenanthroline) depending on the chemical structure of the chelator. A survey of common divalent metal ions shows that only zinc ion (Ki = 8 times 10(7) M) and, to a lesser extent, cadmium ion are effective, reversible inhibitors of both 7S NGF and the gamma subunit esteropeptidase activities. We have found that during isolation of 7S NGF, Zn2+ is selectively associated with the oligomer in a ratio of approximately 1-2 g-atoms of zinc/mol of 7S NGF with an apparent affinity which is orders of magnitude tighter than is indicated by the Ki value for the gamma subunit. Dialysis to pH 4.0 where 7S NGF is known to undergo a reversible dissociation (A. P. Smith, S. Varon, and E. M. Shooter (1968), Biochemistry 7, 3259) brings about a tenfold reduction in the zinc ion content of the protein. This reduction is reversed on dialysis back to pH 7.4. In contrast, the isolated subunits contain only trace amounts of zinc ion at pH 7.4. Preliminary metal ion exchange experiments indicate that, of the common metal ions known to substitute for zinc in other zinc-metalloproteins, only cadmium ion is effective in substituting for zinc ion in 7S NGF. The fact that zinc ion is specifically bound to native 7S NGF, and that the zinc ion content of the system is critically dependent on the subunit aggregation state strongly suggests that zinc ion is an integral structural component of native 7S NGF.

Animals↗

PubMed1974