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PubMed1980

Hyperphenylalaninemia due to dihydropteridine reductase deficiency: diagnosis by measurement of oxidized and reduced pterins in urine.

Hyperphenylalaninemia due to dihydropteridine reductase deficiency results from the inability to maintain the aromatic amino acid hydroxylase cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin, in its reduced or active form. Diagnosis of the disease is usually made by direct enzymatic assay on liver biopsies or in cultured skin fibroblasts. Evidence is presented that normal children and classic phenylketonuric children excrete mainly tetrahydrobiopterin in their urines, whereas children with dihydropteridine reductase deficiency excrete only oxidized forms of biopterin. Details of a rapid high performance liquid chromatographic assay for the measurement of the various forms of biopterin in urine are presented. This assay can be used to screen for suspected dihydropterine reductase mutants.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Molecular cloning of rat liver sulfite oxidase. Expression of a eukaryotic Mo-pterin-containing enzyme in Escherichia coli.

The cDNA encoding sulfite oxidase has been cloned from a rat liver cDNA library. The gene contains a single open reading frame of 1464 nucleotides encoding a protein of 488 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence contains a 22-residue amino-terminal presequence that may serve as a mitochondrial targeting signal. The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA shows significant similarity to those of sulfite oxidase from chicken liver and nitrate reductases from algal, fungal, and plant sources. Two cysteine residues are conserved in all of these proteins, and it is proposed that one or both of these cysteines serve as ligands to molybdenum. The gene has been expressed in Escherichia coli to a level equivalent to that observed in rat liver. The recombinant enzyme has been found to contain the molybdopterin form of the molybdenum cofactor and is active as determined by the sulfite dependent reduction of cytochrome c.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Biosynthesis of methanopterin.

The biosynthetic pathway for the generation of the methylated pterin in methanopterins was determined for the methanogenic bacteria Methanococcus volta and Methanobacterium formicicum. Extracts of M. volta were found to readily cleave L-7,8-dihydroneopterin to 7,8-dihydro-6-(hydroxymethyl)pterin, which was confirmed to be a precursor of the pterin portion of the methanopterin. [methylene-2H]-6-(Hydroxymethyl)pterin was incorporated into methanopterin by growing cells of M. volta to an extent of 30%. Both the C-11 and C-12 methyl groups of methanopterin originate from [methyl-2H3]methionine, as confirmed by the incorporation of two C2H3 groups into 6-ethyl-7-methylpterin, a pterin-containing fragment derived from methanopterin. Cells grown in the presence of [methylene-2H]-6-(hydroxymethyl)pterin, [ethyl-2H4]-6-[1 (RS)-hydroxyethyl]pterin, [methyl-2H3]-6- (hydroxymethyl)-7-methylpterin, [ethyl-2H4, methyl-2H3]-6-[1 (RS)-hydroxyethyl]-7-methylpterin, and [1-ethyl-3H]-6-[1 (RS)-hydroxyethyl]-7-methylpterin showed that only the non-7-methylated pterins were incorporated into methanopterin. Cells extracts of M. formicicum readily condensed synthetic [methylene-3H]-7,8-H2-6-(hydroxymethyl)pterin-PP with methaniline to generate demethylated methanopterin, which is then methylated to methanopterin by the cell extract in the presence of S-adenosylmethionine. These observations indicate that the pterin portion of methanopterin is biosynthetically derived from 7,8-H2-6-(hydroxymethyl)pterin, which is coupled to methaniline by a pathway analogous to the biosynthesis of folic acid. This pathway for the biosynthesis of methanopterin represents the first example of the modification of the specificity of a coenzyme through a methylation reaction.

Aniline Compounds↗
PubMed1998

Comparative functioning of dihydro- and tetrahydropterins in supporting electron transfer, catalysis, and subunit dimerization in inducible nitric oxide synthase.

The nitric oxide synthases (NOS) are the only heme-containing enzymes that require tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) as a cofactor. Previous studies indicate that only the fully reduced (i.e., tetrahydro) form of BH4 can support NO synthesis. Here, we characterize pterin-free inducible NOS (iNOS) and iNOS reconstituted with eight different tetrahydro- or dihydropterins to elucidate how changes in pterin side-chain structure and ring oxidation state regulate iNOS. Seven different enzyme properties that are important for catalysis and are thought to involve pterin were studied. Only two properties were found to depend on pterin oxidation state (i.e., they required fully reduced tetrahydropterins) and were independent of side chain structure: NO synthesis and the ability to increase heme-dependent NADPH oxidation in response to substrates. In contrast, five properties were exclusively dependent on pterin side-chain structure or stereochemistry and were independent of pterin oxidation state: pterin binding affinity, and its ability to shift the heme iron to its high-spin state, stabilize the ferrous heme iron coordination structure, support heme iron reduction, and promote iNOS subunit assembly into a dimer. These results clarify how structural versus redox properties of the pterin impact on its multifaceted role in iNOS function. In addition, the data reveal that during NO synthesis all pterin-dependent steps up to and including heme iron reduction can take place independent of the pterin ring oxidation state, indicating that the requirement for fully reduced pterin occurs at a point in catalysis beyond heme iron reduction.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Reconstitution of Escherichia coli DNA photolyase with various folate derivatives.

DNA photolyase from Escherichia coli contains both flavin and pterin. However, the isolated enzyme is depleted with respect to the pterin chromophore (0.5 mol of pterin/mol of flavin). The extinction coefficient of the pterin chromophore at 360 nm is underestimated by a method used in earlier studies which assumes stoichiometric amounts of pterin and flavin. The extinction coefficient of the pterin chromophore, determined on the basis of its (p-aminobenzoyl)polyglutamate content (epsilon 360 = 25.7 x 10(3) M-1 cm-1), is in good agreement with that expected for a 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate derivative. Also consistent with this structure, the pterin chromophore could be reversibly hydrolyzed to yield a 10-formyltetrahydrofolate derivative or reduced to yield a 5-methyltetrahydrofolate derivative. The isolated enzyme could be reconstituted with various folate derivatives to yield enzyme that contained equimolar amounts of pterin and flavin. Similar results were obtained in reconstitution studies with the natural pterin chromophore, with 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate, and with 10-formyltetrahydrofolate. The results show that the polyglutamate moiety, previously identified in the natural chromophore, is not critical for binding. Reconstitution with the natural pterin chromophore did not affect catalytic activity. The latter is consistent with our previous studies which show that, although the pterin chromophore acts as a sensitizer in native enzyme, it is not essential for dimer repair which can occur at the same rate under saturating light with flavin (1,5-dihydro-FAD) as the only chromophore.

Deoxyribodipyrimidine Photo-Lyase↗
PubMed2002

Reactions catalyzed by the heme domain of inducible nitric oxide synthase: evidence for the involvement of tetrahydrobiopterin in electron transfer.

The heme domain (iNOS(heme)) of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Characterization of the expressed iNOS(heme) shows it to behave in all respects like full-length iNOS. iNOS(heme) is isolated without bound pterin but can be readily reconstituted with (6R)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-L-biopterin (H(4)B) or other pterins. The reactivity of pterin-bound and pterin-free iNOS(heme) was examined, using sodium dithionite as the reductant. H(4)B-bound iNOS(heme) catalyzes both steps of the NOS reaction, hydroxylating arginine to N(G)-hydroxy-L-arginine (NHA) and oxidizing NHA to citrulline and *NO. Maximal product formation (0.93 plus minus 0.12 equiv of NHA from arginine and 0.83 plus minus 0.08 equiv of citrulline from NHA) requires the addition of 2 to 2.5 electron equiv. Full reduction of H(4)B-bound iNOS(heme) with dithionite also requires 2 to 2.5 electron equiv. These data together demonstrate that fully reduced H(4)B-bound iNOS(heme) is able to catalyze the formation of 1 equiv of product in the absence of electrons from dithionite. Arginine hydroxylation requires the presence of a bound, redox-active tetrahydropterin; pterin-free iNOS(heme) or iNOS(heme) reconstituted with a redox-inactive analogue, 6(R,S)-methyl-5-deaza-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterin, did not form NHA under these conditions. H(4)B has an integral role in NHA oxidation as well. Pterin-free iNOS(heme) oxidizes NHA to citrulline, N(delta)-cyanoornithine, an unidentified amino acid, and NO(-). Maximal product formation (0.75 plus minus 0.01 equiv of amino acid products) requires the addition of 2 to 2.5 electron equiv, but reduction of pterin-free iNOS(heme) requires only 1 to 1.5 electron equiv, indicating that both electrons for the oxidation of NHA by pterin-free iNOS(heme) are derived from dithionite. These data provide strong evidence that H(4)B is involved in electron transfer in NOS catalysis.

Arginine↗
PubMed1992

Macrophage nitric oxide synthase: relationship between enzyme-bound tetrahydrobiopterin and synthase activity.

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) (EC 1.14.23) catalyzes the oxidation of L-arginine to citrulline and nitric oxide. The complex reaction carried out by NOS, which involves NADPH, O2, and enzyme-bound FAD, FMN, and tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), has only recently begun to be elucidated. Herein we report the characterization of the pterin requirement of murine macrophage NOS. Although purified NOS activity was not dependent on BH4, activity was significantly enhanced by BH4 in a concentration-dependent fashion. NOS purified in the absence of added BH4 was found to contain substoichiometric concentrations of enzyme-bound pterin, where increased concentrations of bound pterin correlated with an increase in activity when assayed in the absence of exogenous BH4. However, NOS purified in the presence of BH4 followed by gel filtration exhibited a 1 mol of pterin:1 mol of NOS 130-kDa subunit stoichiometry and activity that was essentially independent of exogenous BH4. Experiments to probe a redox role for the pterin were carried out using pterin analogues. 6(R,S)-Methyltetrahydropterin was found to increase NOS activity in enzyme purified in the absence of BH4. However, the deaza analogue, 6(R,S)-methyl-5-deazatetrahydropterin, was not only incapable of supporting enzymatic turnover but also inhibited citrulline formation in a concentration-dependent manner. Overall, these results support a role for BH4 in the NOS reaction that involves stabilization of the enzyme and redox chemistry wherein a 1:1 stoichiometry between bound pterin and NOS subunit results in maximum activity.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1991

Characterization of tightly bound substrates in pure preparations of dihydrofolate reductase: implications for studies on enzymes.

Investigations have been made to determine the identity and binding characteristics of the pterins that are bound tightly to dihydrofolate reductases which are isolated from vertebrate sources by a well established procedure. This procedure involves the binding of enzyme to a Sepharose-methotrexate column, elution with dihydrofolate and removal of free dihydrofolate by dialysis or by size-exclusion chromatography. Addition to such preparations of NADPH results in oxidation of the nucleotide and from the progress curves so obtained, it is possible to identify the bound pterin and to calculate the stoichiometry of binding. The data indicated that stoichiometric amounts of dihydrofolate or folate plus dihydrofolate were bound to the dihydrofolate reductases. It can also be concluded that binding occurs at the active sites of the enzymes. Enzyme preparations from which bound pterin had been removed by isoelectric focussing reacted with folate or dihydrofolate to form 1:1 enzyme-pterin complexes from which the pterin could not be removed by dialysis or by size-exclusion chromatography. From the magnitude of the dissociation constants for the enzyme-pterin complexes and the concentration of enzyme present in fractions after the step involving affinity chromatography on Sepharose-methotrexate, it could be concluded that the presence of bound folate and/or dihydrofolate in pure preparations of dihydrofolate reductase is simply a consequence of an association-dissociation reaction. Preparations of the enzyme from bacterial sources were also found to contain bound pterins. The findings have implications with respect to kinetic and thermodynamic studies on dihydrofolate reductase and other enzymes which are isolated by affinity chromatography techniques.

Chromatography↗
PubMed2005

Ultraviolet photodegradation of folic acid.

The vitamin folate is vital for all living creatures. Scientists have suggested that ultraviolet degradation of folate in vivo played a role in the evolution of mankind. In order to better understand the photodegradation of folate, we have provided a spectroscopic study of the ultraviolet photodegradation of aqueous folic acid under aerobic conditions. We found strong indications that the folic acid molecule is cleaved into p-aminobenzoyl-L-glutamic acid and 6-formyl pterin when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. When the irradiation continues, 6-formyl pterin is degraded to pterin-6-carboxylic acid. The photodegradation of folic acid is divided into three phases. In the first phase, the formation of photoproducts follows a zero order rate law. In the second phase the presence of photoproducts sensitizes the degradation of folic acid and the degradation process is accelerated. In the third phase the degradation of 6-formyl pterin to pterin-6-carboxylic acid is the dominating process. This reaction follows a first order rate law. We show that both 6-formyl pterin and pterin-6-carboxylic acid sensitize the photodegradation of folic acid. However, experiments performed in heavy water indicate that generation of singlet oxygen is probably not the explanation for the photosensitizing of folic acid.

Folic Acid↗
PubMed2005

Screening for tetrahydrobiopterin deficiencies using dried blood spots on filter paper.

Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) deficiency among newborns with hyperphenylalaninemia must be rapidly diagnosed and distinguished from classical phenylketonuria (PKU) to initiate immediately specific treatment and to prevent irreversible neurological damage. The characteristic pattern of urinary pterins makes it possible to differentiate between PKU and BH4 deficiencies, and to identify different variants of BH4 deficiency. However, collection, storage, and shipment of urine samples for pterin analysis is cumbersome. A method for the measurement of different pterins (neopterin, biopterin, and pterin) in blood collected on filter paper was developed as a potential alternative to the screening for BH4 deficiencies in urine and for the monitoring of BH4 pharmacokinetics. Pterins pattern in blood spots was comparable with those in plasma and urine. We thus established reference values for pterins in blood spots in patients with hyperphenylalaninemia and identified new patients with GTP cyclohydrolase I deficiency, 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin synthase deficiency, and dihydropteridine reductase deficiency using dried blood spots on filter paper.

Biopterins↗
PubMed1985

Reduced 6,6,8-trimethylpterins. Preparation, properties and enzymic reactivities with dihydropteridine reductase, phenylalanine hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase.

The substrates of dihydropteridine reductase (EC 1.6.99.7), quinonoid 7,8-dihydro(6 H)pterins, are unstable and decompose in various ways. In attempting to prepare a more stable substrate, 6,6,8-trimethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro(3 H)pterin was synthesised and the quinonoid 6,6,8-trimethyl-7,8-dihydro(6 H)pterin derived from it is extremely stable with a half-life in 0.1 M Tris/HCl (pH 7.6, 25 degrees C) of 33 h. Quinonoid 6,6,8-trimethyl-7,8-dihydro(6 H)pterin is not a substrate for dihydropteridine reductase but it is reduced non-enzymically by NADH at a significant rate and it is a weak inhibitor of the enzyme: I50 200 microM, pH 7.6, 25 degrees C when using quinonoid 6-methyl-7,8-dihydro(6 H)pterin as substrate. 6,6,8-Trimethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterin is a cofactor for phenylalanine hydroxylase (EC 1.14.16.1) with an apparent Km of 0.33 mM, but no cofactor activity could be detected with tyrosine hydroxylase (EC 1.14.16.2). Its phenylalanine hydroxylase activity, together with the enhanced stability of quinonoid 6,6,8-trimethyl-7,8-dihydro(6 H)pterin, suggest that it may have potential for the treatment of variant forms of phenylketonuria.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Identification of a novel tatiopterin derivative in Methanogenium tationis.

Recently, a novel pterin has been isolated from Methanogenium tationis. This pterin derivative, which was called tatiopterin, was characterized as a methanopterin-like structure with an additional aspartyl and glutamyl group in the side chain and with a 7-proton instead of a 7-methyl group in the pterin moiety. The sequence of the aspartyl and glutamyl group remained unsolved. In this study, a novel pterin was purified from Mg.tationis and analyzed by 600 MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy and fast atom bombardment-mass spectroscopy. This pterin was found to be an aspartyl derivative of methanopterin with a 7-proton in the pterin part of the molecule. No glutamyl group could be detected. Apparently, Mg.tationis is able to synthesize two types of tatiopterin derivatives. For these cofactors the trivial names 'tatiopterin-0' (lacking a glutamyl group) and 'tatiopterin-I' (containing one glutamyl group) are introduced here.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1986

Two indirect methods for detecting ureide synthesis by nodulated legumes.

Two methods were developed for the detection of altered ureide metabolism in legume nodules. Both techniques are based on the positive correlation between the presence of high xanthine dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.37) specific activity in nodules and the ability of those nodules to produce the ureides, allantoin and allantoic acid. In the first method, nodulated legumes are treated for 2 weeks with a soil drench of allopurinol. After allopurinol treatment, leaves of N(2)-fed, ureide-producing legumes, soybean, cowpea, and lima bean, became very chlorotic. Leaves of KNO(3) (-) or NH(4)Cl-fed ureide-producing legumes were unaffected by the allopurinol treatment. Leaves of the amide-producing legumes, alfalfa, clover, peak, and lupin, were unaffected by the allopurinol treatment with N(2), KNO(3), or NH(4)Cl as nitrogen source. These experiments showed that long-term allopurinol treatments are useful in differentiating between ureide- and amide-producing legumes when effectively nodulated. A second method was developed for the rapid, qualitative estimation of xanthine dehydrogenase activity in legume nodules. This method utilizes pterin, an alternate substrate for xanthine dehydrogenase. Xanthine dehydrogenase hydroxylates pterin in the presence of NAD(+) to produce isoxanthopterin. When exposed to long wave ultraviolet light (365 nanometers), isoxanthopterin emits blue fluorescence. When nodules of ureide-producing legumes were sliced in half and placed in microtiter plate wells containing NAD(+) and pterin, isoxanthopterin was observed after 6 hours of incubation at room temperature. Allopurinol prevented isoxanthopterin production. When slices of amide-producing legume nodules were placed in wells with pterin and NAD(+), no blue fluorescence was observed. The production of NADH by xanthine dehydrogenase does not interfere with the fluorescence of isoxanthopterin. These observations agree with the high specific activity of xanthine dehydrogenase in nodules of ureide-producing legumes and the low activity measured in amide-producing nodules. The wild soybean, Glycine soja Sieb. and Zucc., was examined for ureide synthesis. Stems of wild soybean plants had a high ureide abundance with N(2) as sole nitrogen source when nodulated with either Rhizobium fredii or Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Ureide abundance declined when nitrate or ammonium was added to the nutrient solution. Nodule slices of these plants produced isoxanthopterin when incubated with pterin. Nodule crude extracts of G. soja had high levels of xanthine dehydrogenase activity. Both Glycine max and G. soja plants were found to produce ureides when plants were inoculated with fast-growing R. fredii. The two methods described here can be used to discriminate ureide producers from amide producers as well as detect nitrogen-fixing legumes which have altered ureide metabolism. A nodulated legume that lacks xanthine dehydrogenase activity as demonstrated by the pterin assay cannot produce ureides since ureide synthesis has been shown to require xanthine dehydrogenase activity both in vivo and in vitro. A nodulated legume that remains green during allopurinol treatment also lacks ureide synthesis since the leaves of ureide-producing legumes are very chlorotic following allopurinol treatment.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Properties of xanthine dehydrogenase variants from rosy mutant strains of Drosophila melanogaster and their relevance to the enzyme's structure and mechanism.

Xanthine dehydrogenase, a molybdenum, iron-sulfur flavoenzyme encoded in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster by the rosy gene, has been characterised both from the wild-type and mutant files. Enzyme assays, using a variety of different oxidising and reducing substrates were supplemented by limited molecular characterisation. Four rosy strains showed no detectable activity in any enzyme assay tried, whereas from four wild-type and three rosy mutant strains, those for the [E89K], [L127F] and [L157P]xanthine dehydrogenases (in all of which the mutation is in the iron-sulfur domain), the enzyme molecules, although present at different levels, had extremely similar or identical properties. This was confirmed by purification of one wild-type and one mutant enzyme. [E89K]xanthine dehydrogenase. These both had ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra similar to milk xanthine oxidase. Both were found to be quite stable molecules, showing very high catalytic-centre activities and with little tendency to become degraded by proteolysis or modified by conversion to oxidase or desulfo forms. In three further rosy strains, giving [G353D]xanthine dehydrogenase and [S357F]xanthine dehydrogenase mutated in the flavin domain, and [G1011E]xanthine dehydrogenase mutated in the molybdenum domain, enzyme activities were selectively diminished in certain assays. For the G353D and S357F mutant enzymes activities to NAD+ as oxidising substrate were diminished, to zero for the latter. In addition for [G353D]xanthine dehydrogenase, there was an increase in apparent Km values both for NAD+ and NADH. These findings indicate involvement of this part of the sequence in the NAD(+)-binding site. The G1011E mutation has a profound effect on the enzyme. As isolated and as present in crude extracts of the files, this xanthine dehydrogenase variant lacks activity to xanthine or pterin as reducing substrate, indicating an impairment of the functioning of its molybdenum centre. However, it retains full activity to NADH with dyes as oxidising substrate. Mild oxidation of the enzyme converts it, apparently irreversibly, to a form showing full activity to xanthine and pterin. The nature of the group that is oxidised is discussed in the light of redox potential data. It is proposed that the process involves oxidation of the pterin of the molybdenum cofactor from the tetrahydro to a dihydro oxidation state. This conclusion is fully consistent with recent information [Romäo, M. J., Archer, M., Moura, I., Moura. J.J.G., LeGall, J., Engh, R., Schneider, M., Hof, P. & Huber, R. (1995) Science 270. 1170-1176) from X-ray crystallography on the structure of a closely related enzyme from Desulfovibrio gigas. It is proposed, that apparent irreversibility of the oxidative activating process for [G1011E]xanthine dehydrogenase, is due to conversion of its pterin to the tricyclic derivative detected by these workers. The data thus provide the strongest evidence available, that the oxidation state of the pterin can have a controlling influence on the activity of a molybdenum cofactor enzyme. Implications regarding pterin incorporation into xanthine dehydrogenase and in relation to other molybdenum enzymes are discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

Pteridines and mono-amines: relevance to neurological damage.

Patients with phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency show increased concentrations of biopterins and neopterins, and reduced concentrations of serotonin and catecholamines, when phenylalanine concentrations are raised. The pterin rise reflects increased synthesis of dihydroneopterin and tetrahydrobiopterin, and the amine fall a reduction in amine synthesis due to inhibition by phenylalanine of tyrosine and tryptophan transport into neurones. The pterin and amine changes appear to be independent of each other and are present in the central nervous system as well as the periphery; they disappear when phenylalanine concentrations are reduced to normal. Patients with arginase deficiency show a similar amine disturbance but have normal pterin levels. The amine changes probably contribute neurological symptoms but pterin disturbance is not known to affect brain function. Patients with defective biopterin metabolism exhibit severely impaired amine synthesis due to tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency. Pterin concentrations vary with the site of the defect. Symptoms include profound hypokinesis and other features of basal ganglia disease. Neither symptoms nor amine changes are relieved by controlling phenylalanine concentrations. Patients with dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR) deficiency accumulate dihydrobiopterins and develop secondary folate deficiency which resembles that occurring in patients with defective 5,10-methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase activity. The latter disorder is also associated with Parkinsonism and defective amine and pterin turnover in the central nervous system, and a demyelinating illness occurs in both disorders. In DHPR deficiency cerebral calcification may develop in a similar distribution to that seen in congenital folate malabsorption and methotrexate toxicity. Symptoms are ameliorated by therapy with 5-formyltetrahydrofolate but exacerbated by folic acid.

Amines↗
PubMed1997

Structure-based identification of a ricin inhibitor.

Ricin is a potent cytotoxin which has been used widely in the construction of therapeutic agents such as immunotoxins. Recently it has been used by governments and underground groups as a poison. There is interest in identifying and designing effective inhibitors of the ricin A chain (RTA). In this study computer-assisted searches indicated that pterins might bind in the RTA active site which normally recognizes a specific adenine base on rRNA. Kinetic assays showed that pteroic acid could inhibit RTA activity with an apparent Ki of 0.6 mM. A 2.3 A crystal structure of the complex revealed the mode of binding. The pterin ring displaces Tyr80 and binds in the adenine pocket making specific hydrogen bonds to active site residues. The benzoate moiety of pteroic acid binds on the opposite side of Tyr80 making van der Waals contact with the Tyr ring and forming a hydrogen bond with Asn78. Neopterin, a propane triol derivative of pterin, also binds to RTA as revealed by the X-ray structure of its complex with RTA. Neither pterin-6-carboxylic acid nor folic acid bind to the crystal or act as inhibitors. The models observed suggest alterations to the pterin moiety which may produce more potent and specific RTA inhibitors.

Antidotes↗
PubMed1985

Defects of tetrahydrobiopterin synthesis and their possible relationship to a disorder of purine metabolism (the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome).

The metabolic pathways of pterin de novo synthesis, interconversion and salvage which lead to the tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor of phenylalanine 4-monooxygenase, tyrosine 2-monooxygenase and tryptophan 5-monooxygenase are reviewed and data on the enzymes which catalyze the individual steps are presented. Analogies drawn between the inborn errors of tetrahydrobiopterin production and the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, in which purine salvage is deficient, are used as a basis for the hypothesis that the neurological manifestations of the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome are due to neurotransmitter imbalance which stems from an imbalance of the aromatic amino acid monooxygenase activities which are themselves due to impaired pterin biosynthesis. The latter arises because, in the absence of the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase catalyzed purine salvage pathway, the supply of GTP for the GTP cyclohydrolase reaction, which is the first reaction on the pterin de novo synthesis pathway, is reduced. It is proposed that the different aromatic amino acid monooxygenases are differentially affected by this constrained pterin production. The activities of those most directly related to the quantal production of the cerebral neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and 5-hydroxytryptamine are affected whereas liver phenylalanine 4-monooxygenase activity is not overtly impaired. The results of different lines of research which support this concept are cited, as is direct evidence for a selective reduction of dopamine production in the basal ganglia of patients with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. It is proposed that lack of GMP for functions, other than its role in pterin de novo synthesis, accounts for the features of the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome which do not occur when only tetrahydrobiopterin production is deficient as in the inborn errors of tetrahydrobiopterin synthesis.

Biopterins↗
PubMed1998

A chemical approach to systematically designate the pyranopterin centers of molybdenum and tungsten enzymes and synthetic models.

The recent growth in the chemistry of the oxo-molybdenum enzymes has demonstrated the need for developing systematic methods for naming and abbreviating the novel pterin cofactors that bind to the metal ion via the sulfur atoms of an ene-1,2-dithiolate moiety. Historically, the term "molybdopterin" was coined to designate a special pterin that binds molybdenum and the molybdenum-bound form was termed the "molybdenum cofactor". However, recent studies have demonstrated that this novel pterin also binds tungsten. Furthermore, considerable variation has been found in the pterin entity itself. Taken together, these facts show that molybdenum- and tungsten-containing enzymes possess a family of cofactors rather than a single "molybdenum cofactor". This article proposes a unified methodology for describing these cofactors and their metal-free pterin units in light of recent results from protein crystallography. The various numbering schemes that have been used for this heterocycle are considered, as well as the IUPAC rules which are currently being used for related tricyclic compounds. A unified methodology for uniquely designating and abbreviating each cofactor is proposed. The available chemical and spectroscopic information on the pyranopterin entities that are present in the molybdenum and tungsten enzymes, the precursors to these centers, and synthetic pyranopterins are in part the basis of the systematic names and simplifying abbreviations.

Models, Chemical↗