Biomedical subjects

S I Beale

Publications and source records attributed to S I Beale.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1989

Biosynthesis of Tetrapyrrole Pigment Precursors : Pyridoxal Requirement of the Aminotransferase Step in the Formation of delta-Aminolevulinate from Glutamate in Extracts of Chlorella vulgaris.

The aminotransferase that catalyzes the formation of delta-aminolevulinic acid from glutamate-1-semialdehyde or from glutamate in a reconstituted enzyme system was isolated and partially purified from Chlorella vulgaris. The apparent molecular weight of the aminotransferase was determined by Sephadex G-100 and Ultrogel AcA 54 gel filtration to be 60,000 +/- 5,000. Catalytic activity of the aminotransferase required pyrixodal phosphate (PALP). The cofactor could not be removed by gel filtration after exposure of the enzyme to PALP. Aminotransferase was inhibited by gabaculine (3-amino-2,3-dihydrobenzoic acid). The concentration of gabaculine required for half maximal inhibition was about 0.05 micromolar. Aminotransferase activity could be regained upon the removal of gabaculine by gel filtration and supplementing the assay medium with PALP. Neither the inhibitory action of gabaculine nor its reversibility was affected by preincubation of the enzyme with the keto acids levulinate and delta-aminolevulinic acid.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1989

Identification of the enzymatic basis for delta-aminolevulinic acid auxotrophy in a hemA mutant of Escherichia coli.

The hemA mutation of Escherichia coli K-12 confers a requirement for delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). Cell extract prepared from the hemA strain SASX41B was incapable of producing ALA from either glutamate or glutamyl-tRNA, whereas extract of the hem+ strain HB101 formed colorimetrically detectable amounts of ALA and transferred label from 1-[14C]glutamate and 3,4-[3H]glutamyl-tRNA to ALA. Extracts of both strains converted glutamate-1-semialdehyde to ALA and were capable of aminoacylating tRNAGlu. Glutamyl-tRNA formed by extracts of both strains could be converted to ALA by the extract of hem+ cells. The extract of hemA cells did not convert glutamyl-tRNA formed by either strain to ALA. However, the hemA cell extract, when supplemented in vitro with glutamyl-tRNA dehydrogenase isolated from Chlorella vulgaris cells, formed about as much ALA as did the unsupplemented hem+ cell extract. We conclude from these observations that the enzyme activity that is lacking in the ALA auxotrophic strain carrying the hemA mutation is that of glutamyl-tRNA dehydrogenase.

Aminolevulinic Acid↗

PubMed1989

Transformation of glutamate to delta-aminolevulinic acid by soluble extracts of Chlorobium vibrioforme.

Formation of the tetrapyrrole pigment precursor delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) from glutamate was detected and partially characterized in extracts of the strictly anaerobic green photosynthetic bacterial species Chlorobium vibrioforme by using assay methods derived from those developed for algae and cyanobacteria. ALA formation in Chlorobium extracts was saturated at 10 mM glutamate and required NADPH and ATP at optimal concentrations of 0.3 and 3 mM, respectively. Preincubation of the enzyme extract with RNase A destroyed the ALA-forming activity completely. Activity in the RNase-treated extract was restored by supplementation with Chlorobium RNA after addition of RNasin to block further RNase action. RNA from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 and Escherichia coli tRNAGlu also restored activity. Activity was inhibited 50% by 0.2 microM hemin. ALA formation was completely abolished by the addition of 5 microM 3-amino-2,3-dihydrobenzoic acid (gabaculine). These results indicate that Chlorobium extracts share with those of plants, eucaryotic algae, cyanobacteria, prochlorophytes, and methanogens the capacity for RNA-dependent ALA formation from glutamate.

Aminolevulinic Acid↗

PubMed1988

Algal heme oxygenase from Cyanidium caldarium. Partial purification and fractionation into three required protein components.

Enzymatic heme oxygenase activity has been partially purified from extracts of the unicellular red alga Cyanidium caldarium, and the macromolecular components have been separated into three protein fractions, referred to as Fractions I, II, and III, by serial column chromatography through DEAE-cellulose and Reactive Blue 2-Sepharose. Fraction I is retained by DEAE-cellulose at low salt concentration and eluted by 1 M NaCl. Fraction II is retained by Blue Sepharose at low salt concentration and eluted by 1 M NaCl. Fraction III is retained on 2',5'-ADP-agarose and eluted by 1 mM NADPH, while Fraction II is not retained on ADP-agarose. Fractions I-III, have Mr values of 22,000, 38,000, and 37,000, respectively (all +/- 2,000), as determined by Sephadex gel filtration chromatography. In vitro heme oxygenase activity requires the presence of all three fractions, plus substrate, O2, reduced pyridine nucleotide, and another reductant. Ascorbate, isoascorbate, and phenylenediamine serve equally well as the second reductant, but hydroquinone can also be used, with lower activity resulting. Fractions I-III are heat sensitive and inactive by Pronase digestion. Fraction I has a visible absorption spectrum similar to that of ferredoxin and is bleached by dithionite reduction or incubation with p-hydroxymercuribenzoate. Fraction I can be replaced by commercially available ferredoxin derived from the red alga Porphyra umbilicalis, and to a smaller extent, by spinach ferredoxin. Fraction III contains ferredoxin-linked cytochrome c reductase activity and can be partially replaced by spinach ferredoxin-NADP+ oxidoreductase. Reconstituted heme oxygenase and ferredoxin-linked cytochrome c reductase activities are both abolished if Fraction I or III is preincubated with 0.1 mM p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, but heme oxygenase activity is only slightly affected if Fraction II is preincubated with p-hydroxymercuribenzoate. Preincubation of Fraction II with 0.5 mM diethylpyrocarbonate inactivates heme oxygenase in the reconstituted system, and 10 microM mesohemin partially protects this Fraction against diethylpyrocarbonate inactivation. Algal heme oxygenase is inhibited 80% by 2 microM Sn-protoporphyrin even in the presence of 20 microM mesohemin. Fraction II is rate limiting in unfractionated and reconstituted incubation mixtures. None of the three cell fractions could be replaced by bovine spleen microsomal heme oxygenase or NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase.

Catalase↗

PubMed1988

Transformation of glutamate to delta-aminolevulinic acid by soluble extracts of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and other oxygenic prokaryotes.

delta-Aminolevulinic acid is the first committed precursor in the biosynthesis of hemes, phycobilins, and chlorophylls. Plants and algae synthesize delta-aminolevulinic acid from glutamate via an RNA-dependent 5-carbon pathway. Previous reports demonstrated that cyanobacteria form delta-aminolevulinic acid from glutamate in vivo. We now report the direct measurement of this activity in vitro. Three oxygenic prokaryotes were examined, the unicellular cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 (Agmenellum quadruplicatum PR-6) and the chlorophyll a- and b-containing filamentous prochlorophyte Prochlorothrix hollandica. delta-Aminolevulinic acid-forming activity was detected in soluble extracts of all three species. delta-Aminolevulinic acid formation by Synechocystis extracts was further characterized. Activity depended upon addition of reduced pyridine nucleotide, ATP, and Mg2+ to the incubation mixture. NADPH was a more effective pyridine nucleotide than NADH at low concentrations, but NADPH inhibited delta-amino-levulinic acid formation above 1 mM, whereas NADH did not. The pH optimum was about 7.6, and the ATP concentration optimum was 0.1 mM. Activity was stimulated by addition of RNA derived from Synechocystis or Chlorella, and abolished by preincubation with RNase A. After RNase inactivation, activity was restored by addition of RNasin to block further RNase action, followed by supplementation with Synechocystis RNA. Activity was inhibited by micromolar concentrations of hemin, as was previously found with plant and algal extracts. Complete dependence on added glutamate could not be achieved. Radioactivity was incorporated into delta-aminolevulinic acid when the incubation mixture contained 1-[14C]glutamate. Activity in the Synechocystis enzyme extract was stimulated by the addition of a partially purified enzyme fraction from Chlorella. It thus appears that prokaryotic oxygenic organisms share with chloroplasts the capacity for biosynthesis of photosynthetic pigments from glutamate via the RNA-dependent 5-carbon pathway.

Aminolevulinic Acid↗

PubMed1988

Characterization of the RNA Required for Biosynthesis of delta-Aminolevulinic Acid from Glutamate : Purification by Anticodon-Based Affinity Chromatography and Determination That the UUC Glutamate Anticodon Is a General Requirement for Function in ALA Biosynthesis.

The heme and chlorophyll precursor delta-aminolevulinic acid acid (ALA) is formed in plants and algae from glutamate in a process that requires at least three enzyme components plus a low molecular weight RNA which co-purifies with the tRNA fraction during DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. RNA that is effective in the in vitro ALA biosynthetic system was extracted from several plant and algal species that form ALA via this route. In all cases, the effective RNA contained the UUC glutamate anticodon, as determined by its specific retention on an affinity resin containing an affine ligand directed against this anticodon. Construction of the affinity resin was based on the fact that the UUC glutamate anticodon is complementary to the GAA phenylalanine anticodon. By covalently linking the 3' terminus of yeast tRNA(Phe(GAA)) to hydrazine-activated polyacrylamide gel beads, a resin carrying an affine ligand specific for the anticodon of tRNA(Glu(UUC)) was obtained. Column chromatography of plant and algal RNA extracts over this resin yielded a fraction that was highly enriched in the ability to stimulate ALA formation from glutamate when added to enzyme extracts of the unicellular green alga Chlorella vulgaris. Enhancement of ALA formation per A(260) unit added was as much as 50 times greater with the affinity-purified RNA than with the RNA before affinity purification. The affinity column selectively retained RNA which supported ALA formation upon chromatography of RNA extracts from species of the diverse algal groups Chlorophyta (Chlorella Vulgaris), Euglenophyta (Euglena gracilis), Rhodophyta (Cyanidium caldarium), and Cyanophyta (Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803), and a higher plant (spinach). Other glutamate-accepting tRNAs that were not retained by the affinity column were ineffective in supporting ALA formation. These results indicate that possession of the UUC glutamate anticodon is a general requirement for RNA to participate in the conversion of glutamate to ALA in plants and algae.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1988

Biosynthesis of Tetrapyrrole Pigment Precursors : Formation and Utilization of Glutamyl-tRNA for delta-Aminolevulinic Acid Synthesis by Isolated Enzyme Fractions from Chlorella Vulgaris.

The universal tetrapyrrole precursor delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is formed from glutamate (Glu) in algae and higher plants. In the postulated reaction sequence, Glu-tRNA is produced by a Glu-tRNA synthetase, and the product serves as a substrate for a reduction step catalyzed by a pyridine nucleotide-requiring Glu-tRNA dehydrogenase. The reduced intermediate is then converted into ALA by a transaminase. An RNA and three enzyme fractions required for ALA formation from Glu have been isolated from soluble Chlorella extracts. The recombined fractions catalyzed ALA production from Glu or Glu-tRNA. The fraction containing the synthetase produced Glu-tRNA from Glu and tRNA in the presence of ATP and Mg(2+). The isolated product of this reaction served as substrate for ALA production by the partially reconstituted enzyme system lacking the synthetase fraction and incapable of producing ALA from Glu. The production of ALA from Glu-tRNA by this partially reconstituted system did not require free Glu or ATP, and was not affected by added ATP. These results show that (a) free Glu-tRNA is an intermediate in the formation of ALA from Glu, (b) ATP is required only in the first step of the reaction sequence, and NADPH only in a later step, (c) Glu-tRNA production is the essential reaction catalyzed by one of the enzyme fractions, (d) this enzyme fraction is active in the absence of the other enzymes and is not required for activity of the others. The specific Glu-tRNA synthetase required for ALA formation has an approximate molecular weight of 73,000 +/- 5,000 as determined by Sephadex G-100 gel filtration and native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Other Glu-tRNA synthetases were present in the cell extracts but were ineffective in the the ALA-forming process.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1988

The tRNA Required for in Vitro delta-Aminolevulinic Acid Formation from Glutamate in Synechocystis Extracts : Determination of Activity in a Synechocystis in Vitro Protein Synthesizing System.

RNA is an essential component for the enzymic conversion of glutamate to delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), the universal heme and chlorophyll precursor, as carried out in plants, algae, and some bacteria. The RNA required in this process was reported to bear a close structural resemblance to tRNA(Glu(UUC)), and it can be isolated by affinity chromatography directed against the UUC anticodon. Affinity-purified tRNA(Glu(UUC)) from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 was resolved into two major subfractions by reverse-phase HPLC. Only one of these was effectively charged with glutamate in enzyme extract from Synechocystis, but both were charged in Chlorella vulgaris enzyme extract. When charged with glutamate, the two glutamyl-tRNA(Glu(UUC)) species produced were equally effective in supporting both ALA formation and protein synthesis in vitro, as measured by label transfer from [(3)H]glutamyl-tRNA to ALA and protein. These results indicate that one of the two tRNA(Glu(UUC)) species is used by Synechocystis for both protein biosynthesis and ALA formation. Both of the tRNA(Glu(UUC)) subfractions from Synechocystis supported ALA formation in Chlorella enzyme extract. Escherichia coli tRNA(Glu(UUC)) was charged with glutamate, but did not support ALA formation in Synechocystis enzyme extract. Unfractionated tRNA from Chlorella, pea, and E. coli, having been charged with [(3)H] glutamate by Chlorella enzyme extract and then re-isolated, were all able to transfer label to proteins in the Synechocystis enzyme extract.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1987

Enzymatic conversion of glutamate to delta-aminolevulinic acid in soluble extracts of Euglena gracilis.

Glutamate was converted to the chlorophyll and heme precursor delta-aminolevulinic acid in soluble extracts of Euglena gracilis. delta-Aminolevulinic acid-forming activity depended on the presence of native enzyme, glutamate, ATP, Mg2+, NADPH or NADH, and RNA. The requirement for reduced pyridine nucleotide was observed only if, prior to incubation, the enzyme extract was filtered through activated carbon to remove firmly bound reductant. Dithiothreitol was also required for activity after carbon treatment. delta-Aminolevulinic acid formation was stimulated by RNA from various plant tissues and algal cells, including greening barley leaves and members of the algal groups Chlorophyta (Chlorella vulgaris, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii), Rhodophyta (Cyanidium caldarium), Cyanophyta (Anacystis nidulans, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803), and Prochlorophyta (Prochlorothrix hollandica), but not by RNA derived from Escherichia coli, yeast, wheat germ, bovine liver, and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. E. coli glutamate-specific tRNA was inhibitory. Several of the RNAs that did not stimulate delta-aminolevulinic acid formation nevertheless became acylated when incubated with glutamate in the presence of Euglena enzyme extract. RNA extracted from nongreen dark-grown wild-type Euglena cells was about half as stimulatory as that from chlorophyllous light-grown cells, and RNA from aplastidic mutant cells stimulated only slightly. delta-Aminolevulinic acid-forming enzyme activity was present in extracts of light-grown wild-type cells, but undetectable in extracts of aplastidic mutant and dark-grown wild-type cells. Gabaculine inhibited delta-aminolevulinic acid formation at submicromolar concentration. Heme inhibited 50% at 25 microM, but protoporphyrin IX, Mg-protoporphyrin IX, and protochlorophyllide inhibited only slightly at this concentration.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1987

Polyethylene-based high-performance liquid chromatography of chloroplast pigments: resolution of mono- and divinyl chlorophyllides and other pigment mixtures.

In addition to most chlorophylls and their derivatives, monovinyl and divinyl chlorophyll species were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography, using a polyethylene column and a simple elution with aqueous acetone. Peak retention and resolution of the pigment separation were greatly increased by increasing the polarity of the mobile phase and also by decreasing the column temperature. Polyethylene chromatography showed chlorophyll separation behavior similar to that of the octadecyl silica column, but it showed no adsorption of the pigment species containing free carboxylic acid groups, enabling the complete separation of chlorophylls and their derivatives. Polyethylene is a superior alternative stationary phase to the known reversed-phase materials for chlorophyll separation and analysis.

Acetone↗

PubMed1987

Formation of delta-Aminolevulinic Acid from Glutamic Acid in Algal Extracts : Separation into an RNA and Three Required Enzyme Components by Serial Affinity Chromatography.

Extracts from plant chloroplasts and algae catalyze the conversion of glutamate to delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in the first committed step of the tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathway leading to chlorophylls, hemes, and bilins. The conversion requires ATP, Mg(2+), and NADPH as cofactors. Soluble extracts from Chlorella vulgaris have now been resolved into four macromolecular fractions, all of which are required to reconstitute activity. One fraction contains a low molecular weight RNA which can be separated from the protein components in an active high-speed supernatant by treatment with 1 molar NaCl followed by precipitation of the proteins with (NH(4))(2)SO(4) at 70% saturation. The proteins recovered from the (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitate are reactivated by addition of a fraction containing tRNAs isolated from Chlorella by phenol-chloroform extraction and DEAE cellulose chromatography. Three required protein fractions were resolved from the RNA-depleted (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitate by serial affinity chromatography on Reactive Blue 2-Sepharose and 2',5'-ADP-agarose. Glycerol was found to stabilize the enzyme activity during the separation process. The majority of the glutamate:tRNA ligase activity was associated with the fraction which was retained by Blue-Sepharose and not retained by ADP-agarose, in agreement with the reported properties of the affinity ligands. The active material in the fraction not retained by Blue-Sepharose eluted as a single component on gel filtration chromatography, with an apparent molecular weight of 67,000. The active component in the RNA fraction also eluted as a single component on gel filtration chromatography.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1986

Biosynthesis of the farnesyl moiety of heme a from exogenous mevalonic acid by cultured chick liver cells.

Chick embryo liver cells, when cultured for 41 h in the presence of [2-14C]mevalonic acid, took up label and incorporated radioactivity into heme a, but not into protoheme. Incubation of cells with delta-[4-14C]aminolevulinic acid (ALA) resulted in uptake of label and incorporation of radioactivity into both protoheme and heme a. These results show that both protoheme and heme a are synthesized during the incubation period, and that mevalonic acid is a specific precursor of the farnesyl moiety of heme a. Incubation of cells with [1,2-14C]acetate plus N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX, an inhibitor of heme synthesis, resulted in negligible incorporation of label into protoheme and heme a, although cellular lipids were highly labeled. This result indicates that the heme purification methods employed were capable of separating hemes from lipids, and that the measured incorporation of label into hemes from [14C]mevalonic acid and [14C]ALA was not due to lipid contamination.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Biosynthesis of protoheme and heme a from glutamate in maize.

The heme and chlorophyll precursor delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) can be formed by two biosynthetic routes: from the intact carbon skeleton of glutamate via a five-carbon pathway, which occurs in chloroplasts and bluegreen algae, and by ALA synthase-catalyzed condensation of succinyl-CoA and glycine, which occurs in bacteria and animal mitochondria. The biosynthetic route of plant mitochondrial heme a was determined by incubating terminal epicotyl sections of 8-day-old etiolated Zea mays seedlings in the dark with l-1-[(14)C]glutamate (which can be incorporated into ALA only via the five-carbon route) or 2-[(14)C]glycine (which would be incorporated via ALA synthase). Label incorporation was measured in highly purified protoheme and heme a. In 12-hour incubations, label uptake was greater than 70%. Total cellular protoheme was labeled 29.7 times more effectively by glutamate than glycine. Heme a was labeled 4.1 times more effectively by glutamate than by glycine. To assess the relative ability of the two amino acids to contribute label to the farnesyl moiety of heme a, label incorporation into total cellular nonsaponifiable lipids was measured. Glycine labeled this fraction 11.3 times more effectively than glutamate. Thus, a contribution by glycine to the farnesyl moiety may account for the small amount of label appearing in heme a. Our results indicate that in etiolated maize, noncovalently bound hemes, including mitochondrial heme a, are made mostly, and possibly entirely, from ALA synthesized via the five-carbon pathway. There is little or no contribution from ALA formed via ALA synthase, and no evidence was found for the operation of this enzyme in maize.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1986

Stimulation of delta-Aminolevulinic Acid Formation in Algal Extracts by Heterologous RNA.

Formation of the chlorophyll and heme precursor delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) from glutamate in soluble extracts of Chlorella vulgaris, Euglena gracilis, and Cyanidium caldarium was stimulated by addition of low molecular weight RNA derived from greening algae or plant tissue. Enzyme extracts were prepared for the ALA formation assay by high-speed centrifugation, partial RNA depletion, and gel filtration through Sephadex G-25. RNA was extracted from greening barley epicotyls, greening cucumber cotyledon chloroplasts, and growing cells of Chlorella, Euglena, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and Anacystis nidulans, freed of protein, and fractionated on DEAE-cellulose to yield an active component corresponding to the tRNA-containing fraction. RNA from homologous and heterologous species stimulated ALA formation when added to enzyme extracts, and the degree of stimulation was proportional to the amount of RNA added. Algal enzyme extracts were stimulated by algal RNAs interchangeably, with the exception of RNA prepared from aplastidic Euglena, which did not stimulate ALA production. RNA from greening cucumber cotyledon chloroplasts and greening barley epicotyls stimulated ALA formation in algal enzyme incubations. In contrast, tRNA from Escherichia coli, both nonspecific and glutamate-specific, as well as wheat germ, bovine liver, and yeast tRNA, failed to reconstitute ALA formation. Moreover, E. coli tRNA inhibited ALA formation by algal extracts, both in the presence and absence of added algal RNA. Chlorella extracts were capable of catalyzing aminoacyl bond formation between glutamate and both the activity reconstituting and nonreconstituting RNAs, indicating that the inability of some RNAs to stimulate ALA formation was not due to their inability to serve as glutamyl acceptors. The first step in the ALA-forming reaction sequence has been proposed to be activation of glutamate via aminoacyl bond formation with a specific tRNA, analogous to the first step in peptide bond formation. Our results suggest that the RNA that is required for ALA formation may be functionally distinct from the glutamyl-tRNA species involved in protein synthesis.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1985

RNA is required for enzymatic conversion of glutamate to delta-aminolevulinate by extracts of Chlorella vulgaris.

Formation of delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) from glutamete catalyzed by a soluble extract from the unicellular green alga, Chlorella vulgaris, was abolished after incubation of the cell extract with bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase). Cell extract was prepared for the ALA formation assay by high-speed centrifugation and gel-filtration through Sephadex G-25 to remove insoluble and endogenous low-molecular-weight components. RNA hydrolysis products did not affect ALA formation, and RNase did not affect the ability of ATP and NADPH to serve as reaction substrates, indicating that the effect of RNase cannot be attributed to degradation of reaction substrates or transformation of a substrate or cofactor into an inhibitor. The effect of RNase was blocked by prior addition of placental RNase inhibitor (RNasin) to the cell extract, but RNasin did not reverse the effect of prior incubation of the cell extract with RNase, indicating that RNase does not act by degrading a component generated during the ALA-forming reaction, but instead degrades an essential component already present in active cell extract at the time the ALA-forming reaction is initiated. After inactivation of the cell extract by incubation with RNase, followed by administration of RNasin to block further RNase action, ALA-forming activity could be restored to a higher level than originally present by addition of a C. vulgaris tRNA-containing fraction isolated from an active ALA-forming preparation by phenol extraction and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. Baker's yeast tRNA, wheat germ tRNA, Escherichia coli tRNA, and E. coli tRNAglu type II were unable to reconstitute ALA-forming activity in RNase-treated cell extract, even though the cell extract was capable of catalyzing the charging of some of these RNAs with glutamate.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1985

Enzymatic conversion of glutamate to delta-aminolevulinate in soluble extracts of the unicellular green alga, Chlorella vulgaris.

Cell-free preparations from the unicellular green alga, Chlorella vulgaris, catalyze the conversion of glutamate to delta-aminolevulinate, which is the first committed step in heme and chlorophyll biosynthesis. Most activity remains in the supernatant fraction after centrifugation at 264,000g. Additional activity can be solubilized from the high-speed pellet by treatment with 0.5 M NaCl. After gel filtration through Sephadex G-25, the reaction catalyzed by the high-speed supernatant requires glutamate, ATP, Mg2+, and NADPH. Boiled extract is inactive. The pH optimum is between 7.8 and 7.9 and the temperature optimum is 30 degrees C. Concentrations required for half-maximal activity are 0.05 mM glutamate, 0.4 mM ATP, 6 mM MgCl2, and 0.4 mM NADPH or 0.7 mM NADH. The reaction requires no additional amino donor. Involvement of pyridoxal phosphate in the catalytic mechanism is suggested by sensitivity to pyridoxal antagonists; 50% inhibition is achieved with 5 microM gabaculine or 0.4 mM aminooxyacetate. Involvement of two or more enzymes is suggested by the nonlinear reaction rate dependence on protein concentration. Evidence for the involvement of an activated glutamate intermediate was obtained by product formation after sequential addition and removal of substrates, and by inhibition (80%) with 1 mM hydroxylamine. Protoheme inhibits the activity by 50% at 1.2 microM. Preincubation of the extract with ATP causes stimulation and/or stabilization of the activity compared to preincubation without ATP or no preincubation. In preparations obtained from C. vulgaris strain C-10, which requires light for greening, dark-grown cells yield one-third as much activity as 4-h-greened cells.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1984

Enzymatic heme oxygenase activity in soluble extracts of the unicellular red alga, Cyanidium caldarium.

Extracts of the phycocyanin-containing unicellular red alga, Cyanidium caldarium, catalyzed enzymatic cleavage of the heme macrocycle to form the linear tetrapyrrole bilin structure. This is the key first step in the branch of the tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathway leading to phycobilin photosynthetic accessory pigments. A mixed-function oxidase mechanism, similar to the biliverdin-forming reaction catalyzed by animal cell-derived microsomal heme oxygenase, was indicated by requirements for O2 and a reduced pyridine nucleotide. To avoid enzymatic conversion of the bilin product to phycocyanobilins and subsequent degradation during incubation, mesoheme IX was substituted for the normal physiological substrate, protoheme IX. Mesobiliverdin IX alpha was identified as the primary incubation product by comparative reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography and absorption spectrophotometry. The enzymatic nature of the reaction was indicated by the requirement for cell extract, absence of activity in boiled cell extract, high specificity for NADPH as cosubstrate, formation of the physiologically relevant IX alpha bilin isomer, and over 75% inhibition by 1 microM Sn-protoporphyrin, which has been reported to be a competitive inhibitor of animal microsomal heme oxygenase. On the other hand, coupled oxidation of mesoheme, catalyzed by ascorbate plus pyridine or myoglobin, yielded a mixture of ring-opening mesobiliverdin IX isomers, was not inhibited by Sn-protoporphyrin, and could not use NADPH as the reductant. Unlike the animal microsomal heme oxygenase, the algal reaction appeared to be catalyzed by a soluble enzyme that was not sedimentable by centrifugation for 1 h at 200,000g. Although NADPH was the preferred reductant, small amounts of activity were obtained with NADH or ascorbate. A portion of the activity was retained after gel filtration of the cell extract to remove low-molecular-weight components. Considerable stimulation of activity, particularly in preparations that had been subjected to gel filtration, was obtained by addition of ascorbate to the incubation mixture containing NADPH. The results indicate that C. caldarium possesses a true heme oxygenase system, with properties somewhat different from that catalyzing heme degradation in animals. Taken together with previous results indicating that biliverdin is a precursor to phycocyanobilin, the results suggest that algal heme oxygenase is a component of the phycobilin biosynthetic pathway.

Biliverdine↗

PubMed1984

Biosynthesis of Protoheme and Heme a Precursors Solely from Glutamate in the Unicellular Red Alga Cyanidium caldarium.

Two biosynthetic routes to the heme, chlorophyll, and phycobilin precursor, delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) are known: conversion of the intact five-carbon skeleton of glutamate, and ALA synthase-catalyzed condensation of glycine plus succinyl-coenzyme A. The existence and physiological roles of the two pathways in Cyanidium caldarium were assessed in vivo by determining the relative abilities of [2-(14)C]glycine and [1-(14)C]glutamate to label protoheme and heme a. Glutamate was incorporated to a much greater extent than glycine into both protoheme and heme a, even in cells that were unable to form chlorophyll and phycobilins. The small incorporation of glycine could be accounted for by transfer of label to intracellular glutamate pools, as determined from amino acid analysis. It thus appears that C. caldarium makes all tetrapyrroles, including mitochondrial hemes, solely from glutamate, and there is no contribution by ALA synthase in this organism.

Journal Article↗