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H Kagamiyama

Publications and source records attributed to H Kagamiyama.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

X-ray crystallographic study of pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate-type aspartate aminotransferases from Escherichia coli in three forms.

The three-dimensional structures of pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate-type aspartate aminotransferase from Escherichia coli and its complexes with maleate and glutarate have been determined by X-ray crystallography at 2.2, 2.1, and 2.7 A resolution, respectively. The enzyme is a dimeric form comprising two identical subunits, each of which is divided into one large and one small domain. The complex with maleate showed that substrate (or inhibitor) binding induced a large conformational change from the "open" to the "closed" form, resulting in closure of the active site by the small domain movement, as was observed in the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-type enzyme. In the open form, three hydrophobic residues (hydrophobic plug) at the entrance of the active site are exposed to solvent. Maleate binding make the active site more hydrophobic by charge compensation and release of water molecules, facilitating the movement of the hydrophobic plug into the active site pocket to induce a large conformational change in the enzyme. Maleate is fixed rigidly in the active site pocket by extensive salt bridges and a hydrogen bonding network, guaranteeing the stereo-specificity of the catalysis and giving a Michaelis complex model. Contrary to our expectation, the glutarate complex was in the open form, suggesting that the equilibrium between the open and closed forms lies far toward the open form in solution. The water molecules located in the active site pocket were almost completely conserved between Escherichia coli and chicken mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase with the same type of cofactor and the same conformation.

Aspartate Aminotransferases↗
PubMed1994

Tetrahydrobiopterin synthesis and inducible nitric oxide production in pulmonary artery smooth muscle.

We recently reported (Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol. 7: 471-476, 1992) that a mixture of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and cytokines produced a time-dependent increase in mRNA and protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in cultured rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (RPASM). In the current study we extend observations on regulation of iNOS in RPASM by showing that de novo synthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is critical for LPS and cytokine-induced NO production. A mixture of LPS and the cytokines gamma-interferon, interleukin-1 beta, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha increased steady-state levels of mRNA of GTP-cyclohydrolase-I (GTP-CH), the rate-limiting enzyme in BH4 biosynthesis. Levels of mRNA to GTP-CH became detectable by 4 h, with further increases at 24 h by Northern blot analysis and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Total intracellular biopterin levels, undetectable under basal conditions, increased after 24 h exposure to LPS and cytokines (to 32.3 +/- 0.8 pmol/mg protein). LPS and cytokine-induced NO production, determined by nitrite concentrations in the medium, was decreased in a concentration-dependent manner by the GTP-CH inhibitor, 2,4-diamino-6-hydroxypyrimidine (DAHP) at 24 h. DAHP also inhibited completely the LPS- and cytokine-induced accumulation of intracellular biopterins. Sepiapterin, which supplies BH4 through a salvage pathway independent of GTP-CH, reversed the effect of DAHP on LPS and cytokine-induced NO production.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Role of an active site residue analyzed by combination of mutagenesis and coenzyme analog.

Asp222 of aspartate aminotransferase is an active-site residue which interacts with the pyridine nitrogen of the coenzyme, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP). The roles of Asp222 in the catalytic mechanism of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase have previously been explored by site-directed mutagenesis. These studies confirmed that a negatively charged residue at position 222 is essential for catalysis, but the reason for this remained speculative. In the present studies, the roles of Asp222 were clarified experimentally by analyzing the mutant D222A enzyme (Asp222 replaced by Ala) reconstituted with the coenzyme analog N(1)-methylated PLP (N-MePLP). Spectroscopic and kinetic analyses showed that Asp222 stabilizes the protonated N(1) of PLP, raising the pKa value of N(1) by more than five units, in the active site of AspAT. The positive charge at N(1) accelerates abstraction of the alpha-proton from the amino acid substrate, stabilizing the transition state by 1.4 to 4.5 kcal.mol-1 in the reaction with aspartate. X-ray crystallographic (2.0 A resolution) and CD spectroscopic studies suggest that the coenzyme analog is not held in a proper orientation within the active site of D222A (N-MePLP). This may account for the finding that the catalytic activity was recovered only partially by the reconstitution of D222A with N-MePLP. These results fully support the following postulated role of Asp222: the negative charge of Asp222 stabilizes the positive charge at N(1) of PLP and thereby enhances the function of PLP as an electron sink.

Aspartate Aminotransferases↗
PubMed1993

Escherichia coli aromatic amino acid aminotransferase: characterization and comparison with aspartate aminotransferase.

Aromatic amino acid aminotransferase (ArAT) from Escherichia coli was overexpressed in E. coli cells, purified, and characterized. The enzyme was similar to aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) of E. coli in many aspects, such as gross protein structure and spectroscopic properties. The reactions of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-form ArAT with amino acids and pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate-form ArAT with oxo acids were investigated using stopped-flow spectrophotometric techniques. The kinetic parameters for these "half" reactions could excellently explain the ArAT-catalyzed overall transamination reactions at pH 8.0. Reactions of ArAT with aspartate and tryptophan which had been deuterated at position 2 showed isotope effects of 2.5 and 6.0 in the kcat values of the half-reactions, showing that the proton-transfer step is at least partially rate-limiting for these reactions. ArAT and AspAT showed overlapping substrate specificity. Both ArAT and AspAT were active toward dicarboxylic substrates. ArAT showed, however, 10(3)-fold higher activity toward aromatic substrates than AspAT. This high activity toward aromatic substrates was in part ascribed to the active site hydrophobicity of ArAT, which was suggested to be about 1.4 times as large as that of AspAT. In addition to dicarboxylic substrate analogs, aromatic substrate analogs such as carboxylic acids, 2-methyl amino acids, and 3-hydroxy amino acids caused characteristic changes in the absorption spectra of ArAT, while these aromatic analogs did not significantly change the spectra of AspAT. In particular, the erythro-3-hydroxy analogs of phenylalanine and aspartate caused a prominent absorption of ArAT at around 500 nm, which is generally ascribed to the accumulation of quinonoid intermediates. The threo forms of these 3-hydroxy analogs acted as substrates for ArAT. The erythro and threo forms of 3-hydroxyaspartate reacted with AspAT similarly as they reacted with ArAT; however, both forms of 3-phenylserine were poor substrates for AspAT, although phenylalanine was a fairly good substrate for AspAT. The observations on the two erythro-3-hydroxy amino acids show the similar orientation of these analogs in the active site of ArAT, probably through a hydrogen-bonding network involving the hydroxy groups of the analogs and Tyr70, and suggest that the aromatic binding pocket is near or even overlaps the side-chain-carboxylate-binding site for dicarboxylic substrates.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

cDNA cloning, expression in Escherichia coli and purification of human 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin synthase.

cDNA clones for human 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin synthase, the second enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of tetrahydrobiopterin, were isolated from a human Molt-4 cell cDNA library by cross-hybridization with a rat cDNA. One cDNA clone contained the entire coding sequence of 435 base pairs. The cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli using the expression vector pMAL as a fusion protein with maltose-binding protein. After affinity purification through its maltose-binding protein domain, the fusion protein was digested by factor Xa at a specific cleavage site inserted between the domains. The main product was a protein species with a native molecular mass of 90 kDa and a subunit molecular mass of 17 kDa, and the molecular masses and its kinetic properties were similar to those of the human enzyme purified from the liver.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗
PubMed1993

Feedback regulation mechanisms for the control of GTP cyclohydrolase I activity.

Guanosine triphosphate (GTP) cyclohydrolase I, the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), is subject to feedback inhibition by BH4, a cofactor for phenylalanine hydroxylase. Inhibition was found to depend specifically on BH4 and the presence of another protein (p35). The inhibition occurred through BH4-dependent complex formation between p35 protein and GTP cyclohydrolase I. Furthermore, the inhibition was specifically reversed by phenylalanine, and, in conjunction with p35, phenylalanine reduced the cooperativity of GTP cyclohydrolase I. These findings also provide a molecular basis for high plasma BH4 concentrations observed in patients with hyperphenylalaninemia caused by phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

A hydrogen-bonding network modulating enzyme function: asparagine-194 and tyrosine-225 of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase.

The electron distribution within the coenzyme or coenzyme-substrate conjugate needs to be properly regulated during the catalytic process of aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT). Asn194 and Tyr225 may function in regulating the electron distribution through hydrogen-bonding to O(3') of the coenzyme, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) or pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate (PMP). The roles of Tyr225 have already been explored by site-directed mutagenesis (Inoue et al., 1991; Goldberg et al., 1991). In the present studies, the mutant enzymes Asn194-->Ala and Asn194-->Ala + Tyr225-->Phe were analyzed kinetically and spectroscopically and were compared with the wild-type and Tyr225-->Phe enzymes. The kinetic studies showed that Asn194 is not essential for AspAT catalysis, although the Kd values for the substrates were increased by 10- to 50-fold upon the replacement of Asn194. The measurements of the absorption and fluorescence excitation spectra revealed that the ratio of an enolimine to a ketoenamine form was considerably increased as a tautomeric form of the protonated PLP in the active site of the double mutant enzyme. The pH-pKd relationship for the binding of maleate to AspAT could be explained by a simple thermodynamic cycle where only one ionizing group (the imine nitrogen of the internal aldimine bond) affects the binding of maleate. The analyses of the pH-pKd curves for the wild-type and mutant enzymes showed that (i) the hydrogen bond between O(3') of PLP and Asn194 is weakened by the binding of maleate to AspAT, while the hydrogen bond between O(3') and Tyr225 is not changed, and that (ii) the replacement of Asn194 causes some effect hampering the binding of maleate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Asparagine↗
PubMed1993

Enzymatic synthesis of 6R-[U-14C]tetrahydrobiopterin from [U-14C]GTP.

An enzymatic method for preparing 6R-[U-14C]-tetrahydrobiopterin from [U-14C]GTP is presented. This method utilizes purified preparations of three biosynthetic enzymes for 6R-tetrahydrobiopterin, i.e., Escherichia coli GTP cyclohydrolase I, rat 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin synthase, and rat sepiapterin reductase. Based on the catalytic properties of these enzymes, the reaction conditions were optimized to complete the entire conversion reaction from GTP to 6R-tetrahydrobiopterin in a single reaction solution without the need to isolate unstable intermediates after each enzymatic reaction. The reaction conditions thereby established yielded [U-14C]biopterin in an amount equivalent to 75%, on a molar basis, of the initial amount of [U-14C]GTP. The product was subsequently isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography. The method produced labeled 6R-tetrahydrobiopterin with a specific activity of 450 Ci/mol and an overall yield of more than 60%.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1993

Rat liver aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase: spectroscopic and kinetic analysis of the coenzyme and reaction intermediates.

The physiochemical properties of the coenzyme in rat liver aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) expressed in Escherichia coli have been studied by spectroscopic analysis of the enzyme, its reaction intermediates, and its complexes with substrate analogs. The enzyme, having one pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) per subunit, shows a prominent absorption maximum at 335 nm and a weaker one at 425 nm. The spectrum did not essentially change in the pH range of 6.0-8.0. When the coenzyme was excited at 335 nm, it emitted fluorescence primarily at 520 nm. The structure for the absorption at 335 nm was ascribed to the enolimine form of the PLP-lysine Schiff base. On the reaction of AADC with L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa), the absorption of PLP showed biphasic changes before reaching a steady-state. Results of both pre-steady-state and steady-state kinetic analyses were consistent with the model that the reaction proceeds as shown in the equation: E + S<==>X1<==>X2-->E + P. The rate constant was determined for each step, and the Km value for L-dopa was obtained as 0.086 mM. The absorption spectra of the two intermediates, X1 and X2, were postulated from the calculation of the absorption changes during the first and the second steps of the reaction in which X1 and X2 showed an absorption maximum at 425 and 380 nm, respectively, with a concomitant decrease in absorbance at 335 nm. These predicted absorption spectra of X1 and X2 showed striking resemblances to those of AADC complexed with dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAc) and L-dopa methyl ester (DopaOMe), respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Autoradiographic distribution of [14C]tetrahydrobiopterin and its developmental change in mice.

Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is a regulatory factor of phenylalanine degradation as well as of catecholamine, serotonin and nitric oxide synthesis. To understand the in vivo metabolism of BH4, whole-body autoradiography was performed on mice at various developmental stages after injection of a low dose (45 micrograms/kg) of radiolabeled BH4. In adult mice, high levels of radioactivity were accumulated in the liver and kidney, suggesting that BH4 in these organs is supplied not only by intracellular de novo biosynthesis but also by uptake from the blood. In contrast, little radioactivity was found in the brain, adrenal medulla and bone marrow, in which high levels of endogenous BH4 are found, suggesting that BH4 in these organs is supplied mainly by intracellular biosynthesis. Biopterin, a fully oxidized form of BH4, was not accumulated in any tissues and was excreted rapidly. In pregnant mice, maternal BH4 passed through the placenta and was distributed uniformly to the fetal tissues. Neonatal (5- and 7-day-old) mice had a similar distribution pattern of labeled BH4 to that of adult mice, except for the liver and kidney: in the liver, selective accumulation of BH4 in the adult was not observed in 5-day-old mice; in the kidney, the distribution of high radioactivity to the inner cortex observed in the adult was found in neither 5- nor 7-day-old mice. The developmental increase in hepatic BH4 accumulation was correlated with those of the activities of phenylalanine hydroxylase and GTP cyclohydrolase I, the rate-limiting enzyme of the BH4 biosynthetic pathway.

Aging↗
PubMed1992

IMP dehydrogenase inhibitors reduce intracellular tetrahydrobiopterin levels through reduction of intracellular GTP levels. Indications of the regulation of GTP cyclohydrolase I activity by restriction of GTP availability in the cells.

GTP cyclohydrolase I exhibits a positive homotropic cooperative binding to GTP, which raises the possibility of a role for GTP in regulating the enzyme reaction (Hatakeyama, K., Harada, T., Suzuki, S., Watanabe, Y., and Kagamiyama, H. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 21660-21664). We examined whether or not the intracellular GTP level is within the range of affecting GTP cyclohydrolase I activity, using PC-12 rat pheochromocytoma and IMR-32 human neuroblastoma cells. Since GTP cyclohydrolase I was the rate-limiting enzyme for the biosynthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin in these cell lines, the intracellular activities of this enzyme were reflected in the tetrahydrobiopterin contents. We found that the addition of guanine or guanosine increased GTP but not tetrahydrobiopterin in these cells. On the other hand, three IMP dehydrogenase inhibitors, tiazofurin, 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole, and mycophenolic acid, decreased both GTP and tetrahydrobiopterin in a parallel and dose-dependent manner, and these effects were reversed by the simultaneous addition of guanine or guanosine. There was no evidence suggesting that these inhibitors inhibited other enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and regeneration of tetrahydrobiopterin. Comparing intracellular activities of GTP cyclohydrolase I in the inhibitor-treated cells with its substrate-velocity curve, we estimated that the intracellular concentration of free GTP is 150 microM at which point the activity of GTP cyclohydrolase I is elicited at its maximum velocity. Below this GTP concentration, GTP cyclohydrolase I activity is rapidly decreased. Therefore GTP can be a regulator for tetrahydrobiopterin biosynthesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Evaluation of the holoenzyme content of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase in brain and liver tissues.

We have re-evaluated the content of the holo-form of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase in rat tissues. Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase was found to consume pyridoxal 5'-phosphate while it underwent decarboxylation-dependent transamination as a side reaction. We observed that the total dopamine formation was proportional to the amount of holoenzyme. Dopamine formation in a tissue extract, which was preincubated with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, was compared with the same tissue sample but which was prepared without preincubation. Percentages of holo-form of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase obtained from such comparison were 78% for brain and 94% for liver tissues. These values were significantly higher than those reported earlier in which the decarboxylation-dependent transamination of the decarboxylase had been overlooked.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Role of Asp222 in the catalytic mechanism of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase: the amino acid residue which enhances the function of the enzyme-bound coenzyme pyridoxal 5'-phosphate.

Asp222 is an invariant residue in all known sequences of aspartate aminotransferases from a variety of sources and is located within a distance of strong ionic interaction with N(1) of the coenzyme, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), or pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate (PMP). This residue of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase was replaced by Ala, Asn, or Glu by site-directed mutagenesis. The PLP form of the mutant enzyme D222E showed pH-dependent spectral changes with a pKa value of 6.44 for the protonation of the internal aldimine bond, slightly lower than that (6.7) for the wild-type enzyme. In contrast, the internal aldimine bond in the D222A or D222N enzyme did not titrate over the pH range 5.3-9.5, and a 430-nm band attributed to the protonated aldimine persisted even at high pH. The binding affinity of the D222A and D222N enzymes for PMP decreased by 3 orders of magnitude as compared to that of the wild-type enzyme. Pre-steady-state half-transamination reactions of all the mutant enzymes with substrates exhibited anomalous progress curves comprising multiphasic exponential processes, which were accounted for by postulating several kinetically different enzyme species for both the PLP and PMP forms of each mutant enzyme. While the replacement of Asp222 by Glu yielded fairly active enzyme species, the replacement by Ala and Asn resulted in 8600- and 20,000-fold decreases, respectively, in the catalytic efficiency (kmax/Kd value for the most active species of each mutant enzyme) in the reactions of the PLP form with aspartate. In contrast, the catalytic efficiency of the PMP form of the D222A or D222N enzyme with 2-oxoglutarate was still retained at a level as high as 2-10% of that of the wild-type enzyme. The presteady-state reactions of these two mutant enzymes with [2-2H]aspartate revealed a deuterium isotope effect (kH/kD = 6.0) greater than that [kH/kD = 2.2; Kuramitsu, S., Hiromi, K., Hayashi, H., Morino, Y., & Kagamiyama, H. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 5469-5476] for the wild-type enzyme. These findings indicate that the presence of a negatively charged residue at position 222 is particularly critical for the withdrawal of the alpha-proton of the amino acid substrate and accelerates this rate-determining step by about 5 kcal.mol-1. Thus it is concluded that Asp222 serves as a protein ligand tethering the coenzyme in a productive mode within the active site and stabilizes the protonated N(1) of the coenzyme to strengthen the electron-withdrawing capacity of the coenzyme.

Aspartate Aminotransferases↗
PubMed1992

Control of cell-cycle-associated tetrahydrobiopterin synthesis in rat thymocytes.

The cell-cycle progression of rat thymocytes from G0 through G1 to DNA synthesis is associated with a transient synthesis of H4biopterin, the concentration of which reaches a maximum at the time of S-phase entry and then decreases. This synthesis of H4biopterin is controlled by the specific activity of GTP cyclohydrolase I, which peaks in G1/S cells. In contrast, the catalytic activity of sepiapterin reductase remains constant throughout the cell-cycle. At G0 the steady state mRNA levels specific for GTP cyclohydrolase I and sepiapterin reductase, respectively, are below the limits of detection. Both accumulate as the thymocytes progress through the cell-cycle but lack cyclic down regulation. The data indicate that the variations in H4biopterin synthesis during the cell-cycle are caused by growth regulated increase in GTP cyclohydrolase I mRNA expression, with subsequent post-translational inactivation. This latter is likely due to the degree of enzyme phosphorylation.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1992

Further studies on aspartate aminotransferase of thermophilic methanogens by analysis of general properties, bound cofactors, and subunit structures.

Aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) [EC 2.6.1.1] of thermophilic methanogen was further characterized with the enzyme from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum strain FTF-INRA as well as M. thermoformicicum strain SF-4. AspAT of strain FTF-INRA was similar in the amino donor specificity to the enzyme of M. thermoformicicum strain SF-4, in that it was active on L-cysteine and L-cysteine sulfinate in addition to L-glutamate and L-aspartate. The enzymes gave similar absorption spectra having maxima at around 326 and 415 nm with no pH-dependent shift but were found to contain 1 mol of tightly bound pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) per subunit. Reconstitution of each apoenzyme with added PLP resulted in partial recovery of the original enzymatic activity, suggesting a significant conformational change of the active site region upon removal of the cofactor. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and gel filtration analyses revealed a tetrameric structure (180 kDa) of identical subunits with a molecular mass of 43 kDa for each of these enzymes. Electric current was found to affect the interaction or affinity of each subunit, promoting dissociation of the native enzyme into the monomeric form. Alkaline treatment was effective only for dissociation of the enzyme from strain SF-4. They were distinguishable by the more rapid reassociation of the monomer to the native aggregated form in the enzyme of strain FTF-INRA.

Aspartate Aminotransferases↗
PubMed1992

Aspartate aminotransferase of E. coli: effects of site-directed mutagenesis on substrate recognition.

R292 is crucial for both the binding and the catalysis of the transamination reaction of dicarboxylic acid substrates. Substitution of R292 to uncharged residues greatly enhanced the catalytic efficiency of transamination of neutral amino acids without any effect on the binding. Residues at position 292 may not be involved in recognition of the neutral side chain. The indole ring of W140 not only regulates the rotational movement of the coenzyme ring during catalysis, but it also may be involved in binding the carboxyl side chain of dicarboxylic substrates. The phenol group of Y70 is essential for the stabilization of the transition states with all substrates. Benzene ring at position 70 is necessary to recognize the glutamate-2-oxoglutarate substrate pair.

Amino Acids↗