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M Tokushige

Publications and source records attributed to M Tokushige.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Studies on aspartase VIII. Protease-mediated activation: comparative survey of protease specificity for activation and peptide cleavage.

The active species of aspartase from Escherichia coli is further 3-5 fold activated upon limited proteolysis with trypsin releasing carboxy-terminal peptides as reported previously (N. Yumoto, M. Tokushige, and R. Hayashi. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 616, 319 (1980) ). Survey of the protease specificity for the activation revealed that subtilisin BPN' and several other proteases having far broader substrate specificity than trypsin also activated the enzyme. The results of sequence analyses revealed that subtilisin BPN' cleaved mainly the serylarginine bond near the carboxy-terminal and released an octapeptide, while trypsin cleaved mainly the arginyltyrosine bond which is just next to the subtilisin cleavage site. These results suggest that the protease-mediated activation does not necessarily require a site-specific peptidyl cleavage, but the cleavage of any bond within a certain region centered at arginine, the eighth residue from the carboxy-terminal, is sufficient.

Ammonia-Lyases↗
PubMed1981

Studies on aspartase. VII. Subunit arrangement of Escherichia coli aspartase.

Aspartase (L-aspartate ammonia-lyase, EC 4.3.1.1) of Escherichia coli is composed of four subunits of seemingly identical molecular weight (Suzuki, S., Yamaguchi, J. And Tokushige, M.(1973) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 321, 369-381). The subunit arrangement of the enzyme was studied by two distinct methods, cross-linking of subunits with a bifunctional reagent, dimethyl suberimidate, and statistical classification of negatively stained electron microscopic images. In the former method, the densitometric patterns of the cross-linked aspartase were analyzed quantitatively after separating each component by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the results were compared with the theoretical distribution. In the latter method, a number of electron microscopic images were classified into several groups according to their characteristic appearance. The results obtained by these two methods are compatible with the possibility that the enzyme has a tetrameric structure consisting of two pairs of dimers, in which the two pairs of rod-shape subunits meet perpendicularly, being typical of D2 symmetry.

Ammonia-Lyases↗
PubMed1980

Studies on aspartase. VI. Trypsin-mediated activation releasing carboxy-terminal peptides.

Aspartase (L-aspartate ammonia-lyase, EC 4.3.1.1) of Escherichia coli, already of full activity, is 3-5-fold activated by a limited proteolysis with trypsin (Mizuta, K. and Tokushige, M. (1976) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 452, 253-261). Structural bases for the activation were investigated. The NH2-termini of the native enzyme and of the trypsin-activated enzyme were found to be equally serine, as analyzed by the dansylation method. However, the COOH-terminal glutamate of the native enzyme was altered to arginine upon activation, as revealed by treatments with carboxypeptidases Y, A and B. The released peptides were obtained by molecular sieve membrane filtration following trypsin activation of the enzyme. The peptides were separated by high voltage paper electrophoresis, and the amino acid composition and the terminal residues were determined. The results showed that one or a few related peptides consisting of 7-17 residues were released from the COOH-terminal upon activation. The circular dichroism spectrum of the enzyme suggested that the helical content of the activated enzyme was about 5% less than that of the native enzyme, an indication that the trypsin-activated enzyme has a somewhat looser conformation than the native enzyme. Determination of the fluorescence decay time of the enzyme protein indicated that the tryptophan residue became more exposed to outer environment than that of the native enzyme upon trypsin-activation.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1979

Occurrence of thermolabile and regulatory NAD-linked glutamate dehydrogenase in Pseudomonas fluorescens.

NAD-linked glutamate dehydrogeanse [EC 1.4.1.2] was detected together with NADP-linked glutamate dehydrogenase [EC 1.4.1.4] and aspartase [EC 4.3.1.1] in Pseudomonas fluorescens cells. The three enzymes were distinctly separated by DEAE-Sephadex column chromatography. The NAD-linked enzyme was extremely thermolabile and was rapidly inactivated even at temperatures as low as 35--40 degrees C. The combined addition of NAD+ and glutamate, however, effectively stabilized the enzyme. The glutamate saturation profile of the NAD-linked enzyme exhibited cooperativity with a Hill coefficient (n) of 1.4. ATP inhibited the enzyme in an allosteric manner, increasing the n value to 2.2. These results suggest a novel type of metabolic regulation shared by the three enzymes in the biosynthesis and catabolism of amino acids.

Glutamate Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1979

Studies on regulatory functions of malic enzymes. VII. Structural and functional characteristics of sulfhydryl groups in NADP-linked malic enzyme from Escherichia coli W.

NADP-linked malic enzyme from Escherichia coli W contains 7 cysteinyl residues per enzyme subunit. The reactivity of sulfhydryl (SH) groups of the enzyme was examined using several SH reagents, including 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) and N-ethylmaleimide (NEM). 1. Two SH groups in the native enzyme subunit reacted with DTNB (or NEM) with different reaction rates, accompanied by a complete loss of the enzyme activity. The second-order modification rate constant of the "fast SH group" with DTNB coincided with the second-order inactivation rate constant of the enzyme by the reagent, suggesting that modification of the "fast SH group" is responsible for the inactivation. When the enzyme was denatured in 4 M guanidine HCl, all the SH groups reacted with the two reagents. 2. Althoug the inactivation rate constant was increased by the addition of Mg2+, an essential cofactor in the enzyme reaction, the modification rate constant of the "fast SH group" was unaffected. The relationship between the number of SH groups modified with DTNB or NEM and the residual enzyme activity in the absence of Mg2+ was linear, whereas that in the presence of Mg2+ was concave-upwards. These results suggest that the Mg2+-dependent increase in the inactivation rate constant is not the result of an increase in the rate constant of the "fast FH group" modification. 3. The absorption spectrum of the enzyme in the ultraviolet region was changed by addition of Mg2+. The dissociation constant of the Mg2+-enzyme complex obtained from the Mg2+- dependent increment of the difference absorption coincided with that obtained from the Mg2+- dependent enhancement of NEM inactivation. 4. Both the inactivation rate constant and the modification rate constant of the "fast SH group" were decreased by the addition of NADP+. The protective effect of NADP+ was increased by the addition of Mg2+. Based on the above results, the effects of Mg2+ on the SH-group modification are discussed from the viewpoint of conformational alteration of the enzyme.

Cysteine↗
PubMed1979

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase of Escherichia coli. Affinity labeling with bromopyruvate.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase [EC 4.1.1.31] from Escherichia coli W was alkylated by incubation with bromopyruvate, substrate analog, leading to irreversible inactivation. The reaction followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Mg2+, an essential cofactor for catalysis, enhanced the inactivation, and the enhancing effect increased as the pH increased. The inactivation rate showed a tendency to saturate with increasing concentrations of bromopyruvate, indicating that an enzyme-bromopyruvate complex was formed prior to the alkylation. DL-Phospholactate, a potent competitive inhibitor with respect to phosphoenolpyruvate, protected the enzyme from inactivation in a competitive manner. Examination of the acid hydrolysate of the enzyme modified with [14C]bromopyruvate by paper chromatography showed that radioactivity was solely incorporated into carboxyhydroxyethyl cysteine. In addition, determination of sulfhydryl groups of the native and modified enzymes with 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate) showed that inactivation occurred concomitant with the modification of one cysteinyl residue per subunit. The results indicate that bromopyruvate reacted with the enzyme as an active-site-directed reagent.

Affinity Labels↗
PubMed1979

Studies on regulatory functions of malic enzymes. VI. Purification and molecular properties of NADP-linked malic enzyme from Escherichia coli W.

NADP-linked malic enzyme [EC 1.1.1.40] was highly purified from Escherichia coli W cells. The purified enzyme was homogeneous as judged by ultracentrifugation and gel electrophoresis. The apparent molecular weights obtained by sedimentation equilibrium analysis, from diffusion and sedimentation constants, and by disc electrophoresis at various gel concentrations were 471,000, 438,000, and 495,000, respectively. The subunit molecular weights obtained by sedimentation equilibrium analysis in the presence of 6 M guanidine hydrochloride and gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate were 76,000 and 82,000, respectively. The sedimentation coefficient (S(0)20, W) was 13.8S, and the molecular activity was 44,700 min-1 at 30 degrees C. The amino acid composition of the enzyme was determined, and the results were compared with those of NAD-linked malic enzyme from the same organism and those of pigeon liver NADP-linked malic enzyme. The partial specific volume was calculated to be 0.738 ml/g. The Km value for L-malate was 2.3 mM at pH 7.4. Malonate, tartronate, glutarate, and DL-tartrate competitively inhibited the activity. The saturation profile for L-malate exhibited a marked cooperativity in the presence of both chloride ions and acetyl-CoA. However, acetyl-CoA alone did not show cooperativity or produce inhibition in the absence of chloride ions. Vmax and Km were determined as a function of pH. The optimum pH for the reaction was 7.8. Inspection of the Dixon plots suggested that three ionizable groups of the enzyme are essential for the enzyme activity. In addition to the oxidative decarboxylase activity, the enzyme preparation exhibited divalent metal ion-dependent oxaloacetate decarboxylase and alpha-keto acid reductase activities. Based on the above results, the molecular properties of the enzymatic reaction are discussed.

Acetyl Coenzyme A↗
PubMed1978

Studies on regulatory functions of malic enzymes. V. Comparative studies of malic enzymes in bacteria.

Screening of four malic enzymes--NAD-linked enzyme [EC 1.1.1.38], NAD, NADP-linked enzyme [EC 1.1.1.39], NADP-linked enzyme [EC 1.1.1.40], and D-malic enzyme--was carried out with cell-free extracts of the following 16 strains of bacteria by the aid of Sepharose 6B column chromatography: 9 strains of enteric bacteria, 3 strains of Pseudomonas, Alcaligenes faecalis, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Rhodospirillum rubrum, and Clostridium tetanomorphum. All the strains tested contained at least one malic enzyme. The NADP-linked enzyme activity was found in all the strains except C. tetanomorphum, the NAD-linked enzyme activity in 12 strains--8 strains of enteric bacteria, 2 strains of Pseudomonas, Ag. tumefaciens, and C. tetanomorphum--and D-malic enzyme activity in 4 strains--A, aerogenes (IFO 3319 and 12059), Ps. fluorescens, and R. rubrum. The NADP-linked and NAD-linked enzyme activities of two strains of Pseudomonas were not separated by the chromatography. The available evidence suggested that the NAD, NADP-linked enzyme was not present in these 16 strains. The comparative studies of molecular, enzymatic, and serological properties of the malic enzymes in these 16 strains revealed a close similarity of the same types of malic enzymes among enteric bacteria.

Alcaligenes↗
PubMed1977

Studies on aspartase. IV. Reversible denaturation of Escherichia coli aspartase.

Aspartase (L-aspartate ammonia lyase, EC 4.3.1.1) of Escherichia coli, denatured in 4 M guanidine-HCl, was renatured in vitro by simple dilution with a concomitant restoration of the activity. While the native enzyme exhibited a marked negative Cotton effect centered at 233 +/- 1 nm in optical rotatory dispersion, the enzyme denatured in 4 M guanidine-HCl retained little optical activity. Upon dilution of the denatured enzyme, however, more than 90% of the ordered structure was recovered in 1 min, while the restoration of the activity proceeded much more slowly. Estimation of molecular weights by gel permeation chromatography indicated that the tetrameric enzyme is subject to reversible dissociation into monomeric subunits under the experimental conditions. Various environmental factors such as temperature, pH and protein concentration exhibited profound influence on the rate and extent of the reactivation. In order to examine the correlation between the restoration of the activity and the quaternary structure, electron microscopic inspection of the kinetic processes of reversible denaturation was attempted. Upon dilution of the denatured enzyme at 4 degrees C, neither the activity nor tetrameric images were detected over several min. Upon the temperature shift up to 25 degrees C, however, the activity regain was rapidly proceeded concomitant with the appearance of tetrameric molecules. These results are compatible with the possibility that the subunit assembly is an essential prerequisite, thought not sufficient, for enzyme activity.

Ammonia-Lyases↗
PubMed1976

Studies on aspartase. III. Alteration of enzymatic properties upon trypsin-mediated activation.

Highly purified aspartase (L-aspartate ammonia-lyase, EC 4.3.1.1) from Escherichia coli, already of full activity, is further activated 3.3-fold by limited treatment with trypsin. The activation requires a few minutes to attain maximum level, and hereafter the activity gradually decreases to complete inactivation. Prior or intermediate addition of soybean trypsin inhibitor results in an immediate cessation of any further change in the enzyme activity. Upon trypsin-mediated activation no appreciable change is detected in the molecular weight of the enzyme subunits as judged from sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, nor in the pH vs. activity profile in the presence of added metal ions. However, S0.5 and hill coefficient for L-aspartate considerably increase upon activation. As the trypsin-mediated activation proceeds, a marked absorbance difference spectrum of the trypsin-treated aspartase vs. untreated aspartase appears with negative absorbance maxima at 278 and 285 nm. When the trypsin-activated enzyme is denatured in 4 M guanidine-HCl, followed by removal of the denaturant by dilution, the enzyme activity is readily restored to as much as 1.5 times that of the native enzyme, indicating that the trypsin-activated enzyme is rather a stable molecule.

Ammonia-Lyases↗