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R E Barden

Publications and source records attributed to R E Barden.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Photoaffinity labelling of carnitine acetyltransferase with S-(p-azidophenacyl)thiocarnitine.

A photolabile reagent, p-azidophenacyl-DL-thiocarnitine, was synthesized and tested as a photoaffinity label for carnitine acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.7) from pigeon breast. p-Azidophenacyl-DL-thiocarnitine is an active-site-directed reagent for this acetyltransferase, since it is a competitive inhibitor (Ki 10 microM) versus carnitine. U.v. irradiation of a mixture of p-azidophenacyl-DL-thiocarnitine and enzyme produces irreversible inhibition. Acetyl-DL-carnitine protects the enzyme from inhibition by photoactivated p-azidophenacyl-DL-thiocarnitine. In the presence of 30 mM-2-mercaptoethanol as a scavenger, the relationship between loss of activity and photoincorporation of reagent suggests that one molecule of reagent is incorporated per molecule of inhibited enzyme. However, peptide maps of enzyme labelled with p-azidophenacyl[14C]thiocarnitine indicate that several (about six) tryptic peptides (of a possible 60-65) are modified. The presence of 5 mM-acetyl-DL-carnitine significantly decreases the incorporation of reagent in each labelled tryptic peptide.

Acetyltransferases

S-(4-bromo-2,3-dioxobutyl)-CoA labels two distinct sites on citrate synthase.

The chemical nature of the inactivation of citrate synthase by S-(4-bromo-2,3-dioxobutyl)-CoA, an active site-directed irreversible inhibitor, has been investigated. Active site-directed inactivation leads to derivatization of either Lys22 by epsilon-amino Schiff base formation or Glu363 by apparent alkylation of the gamma-carboxyl group, respectively. Lys22 is labeled in the tight (catalytic) form of the enzyme while Glu363 is labeled in the open (product release) form. Glu363 and Lys22 are both located at or near the entrance to an active site in the crystal structure of citrate synthase (Remington, S., Wiegand, G., and Huber, R. (1982) J. Mol. Biol. 158, 111-152). Glu363 is in the sequence of the protomer forming the active site while Lys22 is in the sequence of the other polypeptide in the homodimer. Labeling in this region appears to inactivate the enzyme by preventing access of substrates to the active site. A distinct and separate labeling process involves derivatization of Asn192 in the tight (catalytic) form and Ser198 and/or Ser199 in the open (product release) form at a locus far removed from the active site. Labeling at the second site may simply identify chemically reactive residues, or it may identify the binding site for long chain acyl-CoA, which has been identified as a possible allosteric negative effector of citrate synthase (Caggiano, A. V., and Powell, G. L. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254, 2800-2806). This second labeling process apparently inactivates the enzyme by interfering with catalytically essential conformational changes.

Affinity Labels

Photoaffinity labeling of acyl-coenzyme A:glycine N-acyltransferase with p-azidobenzoyl-coenzyme A.

A photolabile reagent, p-azidobenzoyl-CoA, has been synthesized and tested as a photoaffinity label for acyl-CoA:glycine N-acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.13) from beef liver. p-Azidobenzoyl-CoA is an active-site-directed reagent for this N-acyltransferase, since it is an alternate substrate (Km = 26 micronM, when [glycine] = 100 mM). Ultraviolet irradiation of a mixture of p-azidobenzoyl-CoA and the N-acyltransferase produces irreversible inhibition. Benzoyl-CoA protects the enzyme from inhibition by photoactivated p-azidobenzoyl-CoA. Acyl-CoA:glycine N-acyltransferase is composed of a single polypeptide with a molecular weight of about 35 000. Photolabeling experiments show that there is one active site per molecule of enzyme.

Acyltransferases

Biotin enzymes.

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Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase

Some physico-chemical properties of aqueous solutions of N alpha-acyl-l-histidine.

The critical micelle concentrations of aqueous solutions of N alpha-acyl-L-histidine have been determined by the spectral shift method with Rhodamine 6G and by the light scattering method. With the spectral shift method critical micelle concentrations of 40, 9.0, 1.0, 0.11, and 0.012 mM were obtained for N alpha-acyl-L-histidine containing saturated acids of 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 carbons respectively, at 45 degrees C and pH 8.6 in the absence of added salt. For the homologs containing 10, 12, and 14 carbon acids, critical micelle concentration of 9.0, 1.0 and 0.11 mM were determined by the light scattering method. The light scattering studies yield micelle weights of 60, 66, and 84 thousand for the C-10, C-12, and C-14 homologs, respectively. N alpha-acyl-L-histidine is an unusual surfactant in that the hydrophilic portion of the molecule is relatively large and contains both an ionic group (carboxylate group) and a nonionic group (imidazole side-chain). The bulky hydrophilic group of N alpha-acyl-L-histidine causes this molecule to exhibit physico-chemical behavior which is not typical of that exhibited by most ionic surfactants. In particular, the dependence of the critical micelle concentration on the acyl chain length and on the concentration of added salt is atypical. Chemical shift measurements (by NMR) on the C-2 and C-5 protons of imidazole in micellar N alpha-dodecanoyl-L-histidine indicate that the imidazole group is, indeed, positioned at the water-micelle interface.

Chromatography, Thin Layer

Structural properties of pyruvate carboxylases from chicken liver and other sources.

Varieties of pyruvate carboxylase [pyruvate: CO2 ligase (ADP-forming), EC 6.4.1.1] obtained from the livers of several species of vertebrates, including humans, all show the same basic structure. They are composed of large polypeptide chains of molecular weights ranging from 1.2 to 1.3 X 10(5) for the different varieties of the enzyme. The native form of the enzyme appears to be a tetramer with a molecular weight of about 5 X 10(5). In the case of pyruvate carboxylase from chicken liver each polypeptide chain contains a biotin moiety, thus supporting the thesis that the tetramer contains four identical polypeptide chains. Pyruvate carboxylase from yeast appears to be basically similar to those from the vertebrate species and has a tetrameric structure. Each protomer contains a single polypeptide chain with a molecular weitht of 1.25 X 10(5). In contrast, pyruvate carboxylase from two bacterial species, Pseudomonas citronellolis and Axotobacter vinelandii, appears to be a dimer with a molecular weight (2.5 X 10(5)) about half that of the animal and yeast species. As a further difference, each of the protomers of the bacterial enzymes contain two polypeptides of 6.5 and 5.4 X 10(5) molecular weight in case of the Pseudomonas enzyme. The larger of the two polypeptides contains the biotin moiety. The functional units of the bacterial enzyme thus appear to contain two polypeptides while that of the liver and yeast enzymes is made up of a single chain. Neither of these arrangements corresponds with those of other biotin enzymes whose structure has been extensively studied (acetyl-CoA carboxylases from liver or Excherichia coli, and transcarboxylase from Propionibacterium).

Animals