Biomedical subjects

W T Wolodko

Publications and source records attributed to W T Wolodko.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1987

Studies of the process of renaturation and assembly of Escherichia coli succinyl-CoA synthetase from its alpha and beta subunits.

Succinyl-CoA synthetase catalyzes the substrate-level phosphorylation step of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The enzyme, as isolated from Escherichia coli, has an alpha 2 beta 2 subunit structure. It is known that substrate-binding sites are distributed between both subunit types and that the active enzyme is the nondissociating tetramer. This paper describes a study of the process of assembly of the enzyme from its denatured constituent subunits. Starting with equimolar mixtures of the subunits that are prepared in denaturing conditions (6 M urea, 5% acetic acid), rapid renaturation to produce virtually a fully active enzyme occurs after neutralization and dilution under suitable conditions. This process occurs most efficiently in the presence of either ATP or Pi, indicating that occupation of the phosphoryl-binding site on the refolding alpha subunit facilitates productive intrasubunit interactions. We have determined conditions of protein concentration, pH, temperature, final urea concentration, and buffer compositions that optimize both the rate and extent of production of active enzyme. The final refolded product is indistinguishable from the native species with respect to its specific catalytic activity, size, and other physical properties. To probe further the mechanism and route of renaturation, we have shown that the rate of appearance of activity has first-order dependence on each of the two subunits. The step that determines the rate of assembly is thus bimolecular, such as the association of structural monomers to form a dimeric transient species. The highly specific mutual interactions between the refolding transient species of subunits must be essential for the correct assembly of this enzyme from the two gene products in vivo.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1987

The subunits of succinyl-coenzyme A synthetase--function and assembly.

Succinyl-CoA synthetase is made up of two kinds of subunits, designated alpha and beta. The enzyme from Escherichia coli is an alpha 2 beta 2 tetramer (mol. mass. 142 kDa), whereas the mammalian mitochondrial species is an alpha beta dimer. By means of active enzyme centrifugation, we have shown that the active form of the bacterial enzyme is the tetramer even at very low assay concentrations, while the pig heart enzyme is a non-associating dimer over a wide concentration range. The E. coli enzyme shows distinct half-of-the-sites reactivity with respect to the phosphorylation of a histidine residue in the alpha-subunit that represents a step in catalysis. Many lines of evidence (hybrid enzyme formation, oxygen exchange kinetics, 31P-n.m.r. studies) suggest that co-operative interactions between alternatingly functional active sites on the two halves of the E. coli enzyme contribute to its catalytic efficacy. In further refining this model for catalysis, we have shown that the monothiophosphorylated E. coli enzyme does not catalyse exchange of 18O from the beta, gamma-bridge to the beta-non-bridge position of ATP, indicating that the enzyme does not undergo even transient bis-phosphorylation. As a first step in studying the in vivo synthesis and assembly of the enzyme in the mammalian mitochondrial matrix, we have cloned and sequenced a 900 bp cDNA fragment that encodes most of the alpha subunit of rat liver succinyl-CoA synthetase. The derived amino acid sequence shows an impressive degree of homology to that of the alpha subunit of the enzyme from E. coli. We have shown that the alpha subunit in rat liver is a discrete nuclear gene product, complete with cleavable signal sequence to specify mitochondrial targetting.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Active enzyme sedimentation, sedimentation velocity, and sedimentation equilibrium studies of succinyl-CoA synthetases of porcine heart and Escherichia coli.

Succinyl-CoA synthetases from Escherichia coli and porcine heart muscle have been viewed as prototypes of two classes of the enzyme. The bacterial enzyme has been reported to be an alpha 2 beta 2 tetramer, with many suggestions in the literature for cooperative interactions between active sites that may contribute to its catalytic efficacy. In contrast, gel filtration experiments of others have indicated that the heart enzyme is a simple alpha beta dimer, with no evidence of dimerization or interaction between like sites. All previous estimates of molecular size of these enzymes have been carried out at concentrations that are much higher than those that are used during activity measurements. The present study was carried out to confirm the differences in the quaternary structures of these two species of succinyl-CoA synthetase and to extend our knowledge of these structures to very low concentrations to enable correlation of their subunit structures with their catalytic properties. Conventional sedimentation velocity centrifugation with both enzymes indicates behavior typical of noninteracting globular proteins with no evidence of size heterogeneity. The sedimentation coefficients at infinite dilution (s20,w) have been determined to be 7.04 S and 4.55 S for the E. coli and porcine heart enzymes, respectively. Sedimentation velocity measurements have been extended to very low enzyme concentrations (typical of those used in activity measurements) by active enzyme centrifugation experiments, in which we have determined the rate of sedimentation of a zone of active enzyme through a chromogenic substrate solution.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Crystallization of succinyl-CoA synthetase from Escherichia coli.

Well formed, tetragonal prisms of succinyl-CoA synthetase from Escherichia coli have been crystallized at room temperature from ammonium sulfate and mixtures of sodium and potassium phosphates. A systematic survey of the conditions for crystallization of the enzyme has been carried out. This has shown the addition of a small amount of an organic solvent (acetone, 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol, tert-butyl alcohol, or tertamyl alcohol) to the phosphate media and of CoA to the sulfate media to be beneficial in producing large, single crystals suitable for analysis by x-ray diffraction methods. Preliminary examination of precession photographs reveals that the crystals from phosphate media have a unit cell of symmetry P4222 with dimensions a = b = 94 A and c = 248 A. Evidence suggests that there may be only half of the (alpha beta)2 tetramer/asymmetric unit in these crystals. The crystals from ammonium sulfate media have unit cell dimensions of a = b = 99 A and c = 399 A, a space group of P4122 (P4322), and one tetramer/asymmetric unit. They diffract to a resolution of 3.4 A. Both crystal types have large solvent contents of about 65% of the unit cell volumes. A parameter called "quality index" is introduced to facilitate comparison of crystals grown under a variety of conditions with respect to their quality of x-ray diffraction.

Coenzyme A↗

PubMed1983

Thiophosphorylation as a probe for subunit interactions in Escherichia coli succinyl coenzyme A synthetase. Further evidence for catalytic cooperativity and substrate synergism.

Succinyl-CoA synthetase has an (alpha beta)2 subunit structure and shows half-of-the-sites reactivity with respect to the formation of the phosphohistidyl residues that acts as a catalytic intermediate. Adenosine 5'-O-(3-thio)triphosphate has been found to be a substrate, but the overall maximum velocity is 3 orders of magnitude lower than that seen with ATP. Moreover, steps of the reaction involving thiophosphoryl transfer are much slower than the corresponding phosphoryl transfers. These properties of adenosine 5'-O-(3-thio)triphosphate as a substrate have been exploited to test the concept of alternating sites catalytic cooperativity proposed earlier as a rationale for the subunit structure of succinyl-CoA synthetase. As predicted by this model for catalysis, the rate of discharge of thiophosphate from the enzyme in the presence of succinate and CoA is stimulated by ATP. Neither of two nonhydrolyzable analogs of ATP has an equivalent effect. The results indicate that the transfer of the thiophosphoryl group from the enzyme to succinate at one active site is not favored until the neighboring active site is phosphorylated by ATP, with accompanying reciprocal changes in the conformations of the two halves of the enzyme molecule.

Acyl Coenzyme A↗

PubMed1981

Capacity for alternating sites cooperativity in catalysis by succinyl-coenzyme A synthetase.

Succinyl-coenzyme A synthetase [succinate:CoA ligase (ADP-forming), EC 6.2.1.5] of Escherichia coli in an alpha 2 beta 2 tetramer. A histidyl residue in the alpha subunit is phosphorylated as a catalytic intermediate. It has been suggested [Bild, G. S., Janson, C. & Boyer, P. D. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 8109--8115] that the mechanism of action of this enzyme involves intersubunit cooperativity in which attachment of substrates at one of the two active sites promotes catalytic events at the other. This scheme would require that the two active sites, although otherwise equivalent, should act alternately. We have prepared a hybrid enzyme species that contains one 35S-labeled alpha subunit (dephosphorylated), one nonradioactive alpha subunit (phosphorylated), and two beta subunits per tetrameric molecule. With the aid of a selective chromatographic procedure for the isolation of peptides that contain phosphohistidyl residues, we have shown that each of the alpha subunits undergoes phosphorylation when the hybrid enzyme is exposed briefly to substrates. This result demonstrates that the two active sites are capable of alternate activity and lends support to the concept of alternating sites cooperativity. The half-of-the-sites phosphorylation that occurs with this enzyme is not a consequence of permanent asymmetry or other lack of equivalence of the two alpha subunits.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1980

Subunits of succinyl-coenzyme A synthetase: coordination of production in Escherichia coli and discovery of a factor that precludes refolding.

Succinyl-coenzyme A synthetase of Escherichia coli has an alpha 2 beta 2 subunit structure. By measuring reconstituted enzyme activity present after addition of purified alpha or beta subunits to cell extracts followed by refolding, we have shown that extracts contain no significant excess of either subunit species. This equivalence suggests that the expression of the respective structural genes for the subunits is coordinately controlled. The presence of cell extract does not affect the rate or extent of reassembly of the subunits, pointing to a high degree of specificity of mutual recognition by the refolding subunits. In the course of these experiments, we have detected the presence in cell extracts of a low-molecular-weight factor that specifically inactivates unfolded alpha or beta subunits or prevents their reassembly into catalytically active enzyme. Under conditions where the subunits are completely inactivated, the factor has no detectable effect on native or refolded tetrameric enzyme, suggesting that the factor may react only with unfolded protein.

Coenzyme A Ligases↗

PubMed1975

Rabbit cardiac myosin. I. Physical and chemical characterization of the native molecule.

Rabbit cardiac myosin, isolated from frozen tissue, was effectively purified by batchwise treatment with DEAE-cellulose in addition to suing cilution-precipitation techniques. An extensive experimental program was subsequently carried out with respect to the enzymic amino acid, optical and physicochemical properties of native cardiac myosin. This program has included the following: examination of the effects of pH and varying concentrations of ATP, CaCl2, MgCl2, and PCMB on its ATPase activity; measurement of its circular dichroic spectrum in solvent buffers, at different pH or containing ATP in the absence or presence of Ca-2+ or Mg-2+ ions; study of the concentration dependence of its viscosity and sedimentation velocity at low temperatures; and investigation of its molecular weight by the Archibald method and low- and high-speed sedimentation equilibrium. The results of these studies were consistent with the interpretation that cardiac myosin is comprised of highly asymmetric, semi-rigid molecules with a molecular weight in the order of 4.7 times 10-5, which display non-ideality even in solvent buffers of high ionic strength at neurtal pH. In addition, computer analysis of the high-speed sedimentation equilibrium data has provided evidence for the presence of a self-association reaction at low protein concentration. Even though the specif ATPase activity of cardiac myosin was found to be approximately one-third that reported for skeletal myosin in all cases, it was concluded, on the the basis of the essentially analogous physical and chemical properties of rabbit cardiac and skeletal myosin, that the two proteins are very similar in terms of molecular size, shape, and secondary structure.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed1975

Rabbit cardiac myosin. II. Proteolytic fragmentation with insolubilized papain.

The substructure of the cardiac myosin molecule was examined by the limited proteolytic digestion of the parent molecule with (dialdehyde starch)-methylenedianiline-mercuripapain, S-MDA-mercuripapain, at low temperatures and neutral pH, using moderate enzyme to myosin rations. Pertinent properties of the insoluble enzyme complex were also examined. Kinetic, ultracentrifugal, and chromatographic observations of the fragmentation process revealed that a single type of lytic reaction occurs during the early stages, predominately releasing heavy meromyosin subfragment 1 (HMM-S1) and myosin rods. With further time digestion, the rods are additionally cleaved yielding light meromyosin and HMM-S2, and HMM-S1 is found to be partially degraded. The major proteolytic subfragments were isolated, purified, and characterized with respect to their enzymatic, optical, amino acid, and physicochemical properties. Only HMM-S1 exhibited Ca-2+-activated ATPase activity, and at a level three- to fourfold higher than that of native myosin. Moreover, its hydrohynamic properties suggest that it is globular in structure. On the other hand, light meromyosin-A (LMM-A) (which consists mainly of rods), and HMM-S2 appear to be highly asymmetric, rigid, alpha-helical molecules devoid of the amino acid proline. Strong similarities were evident in all aspects upon comparison of these results with documented information concerning the skeletal system. On the basis of the physical and chemical properties of the proteolytic subfragments relative to that of native myosin, it was further concluded that the cardiac myosin molecule is a double-stranded, alpha-helical rod ending in tow subfragment 1 globules, of which only one may be enzymatically active at a time.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗