scholarly journals Microbial metabolism of aromatic nitriles. Enzymology of C–N cleavage by Nocardia sp. (Rhodochrous group) N.C.I.B. 11216

1977 ◽  
Vol 165 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Harper

1. An organism utilizing benzonitrile as sole carbon and nitrogen source was isolated by the enrichment-culture technique and identified as a Nocardia sp. of the rhodochrous group. 2. Respiration studies indicate that nitrile degradation proceeds through benzoic acid and catechol. 3. Cell-free extracts of benzonitrile-grown cells contain an enzyme that catalyses the conversion of benzonitrile directly into benzoic acid without intermediate formation of benzamide. 4. This nitrilase enzyme was purified by DEAE-cellulose chromatography and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 in the presence and absence of substrate. The purity of the enzyme was confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gel. 5. The enzyme shows a time-dependent substrate-activation process in which the substrate catalyses the association of inactive subunits of mol.wt. 45000 to form the polymeric 12-unit active enzyme of mol.wt. 560000. The time required for complete association is highly dependent on the concentration of the enzyme, temperature and pH. 6. The associated enzyme has a pH optimum of 8.0 and Km with benzonitrile as substrate of 4mm. The activation energy of the reaction as deduced from the Arrhenius plot is 51.8kJ/mol. 7. Enzyme activity is inhibited by thiol-specific reagents and several metal ions. 8. Studies with different substrates indicate that the nitrilase is specific for nitrile groups directly attached to the benzene ring. Various substituents in the ring are compatible with activity, though ortho-substitution, except by fluorine, renders the nitrile invulnerable to attack. 9. The environmental implications of these findings and the possible significance of the enzyme in the regulation of metabolism are discussed.

1981 ◽  
Vol 195 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinz Fankhauser ◽  
Jerome A. Schiff ◽  
Leonard J. Garber

Extracts of Chlorella pyrenoidosa, Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris, spinach, barley, Dictyostelium discoideum and Escherichia coli form an unknown compound enzymically from adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate in the presence of ammonia. This unknown compound shares the following properties with adenosine 5′-phosphoramidate: molar proportions of constituent parts (1 adenine:1 ribose:1 phosphate:1 ammonia released at low pH), co-electrophoresis in all buffers tested including borate, formation of AMP at low pH through release of ammonia, mass and i.r. spectra and conversion into 5′-AMP by phosphodiesterase. This unknown compound therefore appears to be identical with adenosine 5′-phosphoramidate. The enzyme that catalyses the formation of adenosine 5′-phosphoramidate from ammonia and adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate was purified 1800-fold (to homogeneity) from Chlorella by using (NH4)2SO4 precipitation and DEAE-cellulose, Sephadex and Reactive Blue 2–agarose chromatography. The purified enzyme shows one band of protein, coincident with activity, at a position corresponding to 60000–65000 molecular weight, on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, and yields three subunits on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of 26000, 21000 and 17000 molecular weight, consistent with a molecular weight of 64000 for the native enzyme. Isoelectrofocusing yields one band of pI4.2. The pH optimum of the enzyme-catalysed reaction is 8.8. ATP, ADP or adenosine 3′-phosphate 5′-phosphosulphate will not replace adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate, and the apparent Km for the last-mentioned compound is 0.82mm. The apparent Km for ammonia (assuming NH3 to be the active species) is about 10mm. A large variety of primary, secondary and tertiary amines or amides will not replace ammonia. One mol.prop. of adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate reacts with 1 mol.prop. of ammonia to yield 1 mol.prop. each of adenosine 5′-phosphoramidate and sulphate; no AMP is found. The highly purified enzyme does not catalyse any of the known reactions of adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate, including those catalysed by ATP sulphurylase, adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate kinase, adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate sulphotransferase or ADP sulphurylase. Adenosine 5′-phosphoramidate is found in old samples of the ammonium salt of adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate and can be formed non-enzymically if adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate and ammonia are boiled. In the non-enzymic reaction both adenosine 5′-phosphoramidate and AMP are formed. Thus the enzyme forms adenosine 5′-phosphoramidate by selectively speeding up an already favoured reaction.


1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Youdale ◽  
J. P. MacManus ◽  
J. F. Whitfield

Two nonidentical subunits of mammalian ribonucleotide reductase, L1 and L2, from regenerating rat liver have been extensively purified for the first time. They were separated by dATP-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Subunit L1, which bound to dATP-Sepharose, was eluted with 50 mM ATP and purified to homogeneity (as demonstrated by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) by molecular exclusion high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). This subunit had an apparent relative mass (Mr) of 45 000 and a Km of 0.9 × 10−4 for CDP. Subunit L2, which did not bind to dATP-Sepharose, was purified by pH 5.2 precipitation followed by chromatography on CM-Sephadex, molecular exclusion HPLC, and DEAE-cellulose. This subunit contained iron and had an apparent Mr of 120 000 by HPLC molecular exclusion chromatography, but showed two bands (Mr 75 000 and Mr 47 000) on SDS–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Neither L1 nor L2 separately had any enzyme activity but when combined they reduced CDP to dCDP.


1974 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Torjesen ◽  
T. Sand ◽  
N. Norman ◽  
O. Trygstad ◽  
I. Foss

ABSTRACT Highly purified human LH, FSH and TSH were isolated from batches of 300 frozen pituitary glands (200 g) by pH, acetone and ethanol fractionation, Sephadex gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and CM-Sephadex, and preparative polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Sodium dodecyl-sulphate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used in order to check the purity, the identity and the molecular weight of the purified LH, FSH and TSH. This procedure showed that the hormone preparations consisted of two subunits with molecular weights of: LH: 21 300 and 17 900, FSH: 22 100 and 18 300 and TSH: 20 800 and 16 400. The purity of the hormone preparations was also evaluated by analytical disc electrophoresis at pH 8.9. The purified hormone preparations had radioimmunological activity as follows: LH: 20 000 IU/mg, FSH: 16 500 IU/mg and TSH: 5 IU/mg. All preparations had high biological potency.


1980 ◽  
Vol 185 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Nagamatsu ◽  
T Oka

alpha-Lactalbumin was purified to apparent homogeneity from mouse milk by combined use of gel filtration, chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and hydroxyapatite, and concanavalin A-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Mouse alpha-lactalbumin exists in several species with different charges and in two molecular-size forms. The smaller form, which constituted over 90% of total alpha-lactalbumin, included two major and two minor species, each of which showed different electrophoretic mobility on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, but gave the same single band on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in two different buffer systems and over the range 10-15% acrylamide concentrations. The molecular weight was estimated as 14 100. The two major species of the smaller form had the same amino acid composition and contained no significant amount of carbohydrate. The larger form of alpha-lactalbumin, consisting of two species with different charges, was present in a small amount (less than 10%) in the milk and was isolated by its ability to interact with concanavalin A-Sepharose. Each of the two species also gave the same single band of apparent mol.w.t 18 500 on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. However, this value may be anomalous, since this larger form appears to be glycosylated, and glycoproteins can behave anomalously on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gels by binding less sodium dodecyl sulphate. All species of mouse alpha-lactalbumin from milk were active in the lactose synthase reaction and showed identical immunological properties, as determined by the mono-specific antibody prepared against the small major species. The presence of both the larger and the smaller forms, each in a percentage concentration similar to that found in milk, was also demonstrated in alpha-lactalbumin induced by hormones in organ cultureof pregnant-mouse mammary gland.


1983 ◽  
Vol 215 (3) ◽  
pp. 617-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Friedberg ◽  
U Milbert ◽  
P Bentley ◽  
T M Guenther ◽  
F Oesch

A hitherto unknown cytosolic glutathione S-transferase from rat liver was discovered and a method developed for its purification to apparent homogeneity. This enzyme had several properties that distinguished it from other glutathione S-transferases, and it was named glutathione S-transferase X. The purification procedure involved DEAE-cellulose chromatography, (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, affinity chromatography on Sepharose 4B to which glutathione was coupled and CM-cellulose chromatography, and allowed the isolation of glutathione S-transferases X, A, B and C in relatively large quantities suitable for the investigation of the toxicological role of these enzymes. Like glutathione S-transferase M, but unlike glutathione S-transferases AA, A, B, C, D and E, glutathione S-transferase X was retained on DEAE-cellulose. The end product, which was purified from rat liver 20 000 g supernatant about 50-fold, as determined with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene as substrate and about 90-fold with the 1,2-dichloro-4-nitrobenzene as substrate, was judged to be homogeneous by several criteria, including sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing and immunoelectrophoresis. Results from sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and gel filtration indicated that transferase X was a dimer with Mr about 45 000 composed of subunits with Mr 23 500. The isoelectric point of glutathione S-transferase X was 6.9, which is different from those of most of the other glutathione S-transferases (AA, A, B and C). The amino acid composition of transferase X was similar to that of transferase C. Immunoelectrophoresis of glutathione S-transferases A, C and X and precipitation of various combinations of these antigens by antisera raised against glutathione S-transferase X or C revealed that the glutathione S-transferases A, C and X have different electrophoretic mobilities, and indicated that transferase X is immunologically similar to transferase C, less similar to transferase A and not cross-reactive to transferases B and E. In contrast with transferases B and AA, glutathione S-transferase X did not bind cholic acid, which, together with the determination of the Mr, shows that it does not possess subunits Ya or Yc. Glutathione S-transferase X did not catalyse the reaction of menaphthyl sulphate with glutathione, and was in this respect dissimilar to glutathione S-transferase M; however, it conjugated 1,2-dichloro-4-nitrobenzene very rapidly, in contrast with transferases AA, B, D and E, which were nearly inactive towards that substrate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


1979 ◽  
Vol 177 (2) ◽  
pp. 673-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
J A Kulkoski ◽  
J G Ghazarian

The chick kidney mitochondrial iron–sulphur protein (ferredoxin), a component of the NADPH–cytochrome P-450 reductase functional in the 1 alpha-hydroxylation of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, was purified to homogeneity by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and preparative electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel. A novel NADPH–cytochrome c reductase assay utilizing crude renal NADPH–ferredoxin reductase was used for the detection of the ferredoxin. A mol. wt. of 53 000 was determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and by Sephadex G-100 gel filtration of the 125I-labelled ferredoxin. The ferredoxin has a sedimentation constant (S 20, w) of 2.66S, an A411/A280 of 0.4, and a molar absorptivity of 7300 cm-1 . M-1. The electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectrum after reduction with Methyl Viologen and dithionite was characteristic of ferredoxins with signals at g = 1.956 and 2.025. Two iron and two labile sulphur atoms per molecule of ferredoxin were released by acid. Ouchterlony immunodiffusion tests by using goat anti-(bovine adrenal ferredoxin) antiserum showed precipitin reactions with the bovine adrenal ferredoxin and the chick renal ferredoxin as antigens, suggesting that the renal ferredoxin shares antigenic determinants(s) with the natural adrenal antigen. Amino acid analysis showed that of the total number of residues per molecule of ferredoxin, glutamic acid and aspartic acid are the most abundant residues, comprising 17 and 15% respectively.


1984 ◽  
Vol 219 (3) ◽  
pp. 857-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Civas ◽  
R Eberhard ◽  
P Le Dizet ◽  
F Petek

An alpha-D-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.22) and a beta-D-mannanase (EC 3.2.1.78), which were secreted into the growth medium when Aspergillus tamarii was cultivated in the presence of galactomannan, were purified by a procedure including chromatography on hydroxyapatite and DEAE-cellulose columns. Each of these enzymes showed a single protein band, corresponding to their respective activities, on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Both enzymes were shown to be glycoproteins containing N-acetylglucosamine, mannose and galactose, with molar proportions of 1:6:1.5 for alpha-D-galactosidase and 1:13:8 for beta-D-mannanase. Mr values as determined by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate and by the electrophoretic method of Hedrick & Smith [(1968) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 126, 155-164] were 56000 and 53000 respectively. The alpha-D-galactosidase differed markedly from the mycelial forms I and II studied in the preceding paper [Civas, Eberhard, Le Dizet & Petek (1984) Biochem. J. 219, 849-855] with regard to both its kinetic and structural properties.


1981 ◽  
Vol 197 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
G A Nimmo ◽  
J R Coggins

Neurospora crassa contains three isoenzymes of 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthase, which are inhibited by tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine respectively, and it was estimated that the relative proportions of the total activity were 54%, 14% and 32% respectively. The tryptophan-sensitive isoenzyme was purified to homogeneity as judged by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation. The tyrosine-sensitive and phenylalanine-sensitive isoenzymes were only partially purified. The three isoenzymes were completely separated from each other, however, and can be distinguished by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation, chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and Ultrogel AcA-34 and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate indicated that the tryptophan-sensitive isoenzyme contained one type of subunit of molecular weight 52000. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was found to be 200000 by sedimentation-equilibrium centrifugation, indicating that the enzyme is a tetramer, and the results of cross-linking and gel-filtration studies were in agreement with this conclusion.


1978 ◽  
Vol 175 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Berüter ◽  
J P Colombo ◽  
C Bachmann

Arginase was isolated from human liver and erythrocytes. The purification procedure used acetone precipitation, heat-treatment, (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography and gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol. Both enzymes migrated to the anode at pH8.3 on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. After incubation at pH8.0 and 37 degrees C the purified anionic liver arginase migrated to the cathode on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. It is assumed that the multiple forms of the enzyme reported in the literature are partly artifacts of the purification procedure. The liver arginase showed a mol.wt. of 107000 determined by gel filtration and a sedimentation coefficient of 5.9S. Treatment of the liver enzyme with 0.25% sodium dodecyl sulphate at pH10 demonstrated an oligomeric structure of the enzyme with a mol.wt. of the subunit of 35000. The kinetic properties determined for the purified liver arginase showed an optimum pH of 9.3 and an optimal MnCl2 concentration of 2mM. The Km for L-arginine was 10.5 mM and for L-canavanine 50mM, and L-lysine exhibited a competitive type of inhibition with a Ki of 4.4mM. L-Homoarginine was not a substrate for liver arginase.


1982 ◽  
Vol 205 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Mohindru ◽  
A R Rhoads

1. In the presence of Ca2+, a 5.3-S 3′:5′-cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.17) from bovine ventricle was isolated and purified by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation and DEAE-cellulose and Affi-Gel Blue chromatography. The enzyme activity was enriched 800-fold by these procedures. 2. Sucrose-density gradient centrifugation, gel filtration and non-denaturing polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis resolved a single enzyme species with an Mr of 89 000. 3. Sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme demonstrated a prominent protein band at Mr 59000 and a minor band of Mr 28000. Calmodulin was not detected. 4. The hydrolysis of micromolar concentrations of 3′:5′-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cyclic GMP) but not 3′:5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP) was stimulated by calmodulin. 5. Anomalous biphasic kinetics plots were observed for both the catalysis of cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP hydrolysis. Kinetic plots became linear in the presence of calmodulin. 6. After several months of storage at −20 degrees C, the 5.3-S enzyme was transformed into a 6.2-S cyclic GMP-specific enzyme and a 4.4-S non-specific form.


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