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M Tokushige

Publications and source records attributed to M Tokushige.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Studies of enzyme-catalyzed modification of proteins. I. Tyrosinase-catalyzed modification of asparaginase.

Asparaginase [EC 3.5.1.1.] of Escherichia coli, an anti-tumor enzyme, was inactivated in a time-dependent fashion by mushroom tyrosinase [EC1.14.18.1.]. The inactivation did not proceed, however, when heat-inactivated tyrosinase was used. Exculusion of the atmospheric oxygen or addition of diethyldithiocarbamate, a copper selective chelating agent, prevented the inactivation. The difference absorption spectrum of tyrosinase-inactivated asparaginase versus intact asparaginase exhibited the appearance of marked absorption peaks at 300 and 350 nm. These results indicate that the tyrosyl residue(s) of asparaginase, which is essential for the activity is enzymatically modified by tyrosianes.

Asparaginase↗

Studies on aspartase. II. Role of sulfhydryl groups in aspartase from Escherichia coli.

Aspartase (L-aspartate ammonia-lyase, EC 4.3.1.1) of Escherichia coli W contains 38 half-cystine residues per tetrameric enzyme molecule. Two sulfhydryl groups were modified with N-ethylmaleimide or 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) per subunit, while 8.3 sulfhydryl groups were titrated with p-mercuribenzoic acid. In the presence of 4 M guanidine - HCl, 8.6 sulfhydryl groups reacted with DTNB per subunit. Aspartase was inactivated by various sulfhydryl reagents following pseudo-first-order kinetics. Upon modification of one sulfhydryl group per subunit with N-Ethylmaleimide, 85% of the original activity was lost; a complete inactivation was attained concomitant with the modification of two sulfhydryl groups. These results indicate that one or two sulfhydryl groups are essential for enzyme activity. L-Aspartate and DL-erythro-beta-hydroxyaspartate markedly protected the enzyme against N-ethylmaleimide-inactivation. Only the compounds having an amino group at the alpha-position exhibited protection, indicating that the amino group of the substrate contributes to the protection of sulfhydryl groups of the enzyme. Examination of enzymatic properties after N-ethylmaleimide modification revealed that 5-fold increase in the Km value for L-aspartate and a shift of the optimum pH for the activity towards acidic pH were brought about by the modification, while neither dissociation into subunits nor aggregation occurred. These results indicate that the influence of the sulfhydryl group modification is restricted to the active site or its vicinity of the enzyme.

Ammonia-Lyases↗