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PubMed2002

GSTB1-1 from Proteus mirabilis: a snapshot of an enzyme in the evolutionary pathway from a redox enzyme to a conjugating enzyme.

The native form of the bacterial glutathione transferase B1-1 (EC ) is characterized by one glutathione (GSH) molecule covalently linked to Cys-10. This peculiar disulfide, only found in the Beta and Omega class glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) but absent in all other GSTs, prompts questions about its role and how GSH can be activated and utilized in the reaction normally performed by GSTs. Stopped-flow and spectroscopic experiments suggest that, in the native enzyme (GSTB1-1ox), a second GSH molecule is present, albeit transiently, in the active site. This second GSH binds to the enzyme through a bimolecular interaction followed by a fast thiol-disulfide exchange with the covalently bound GSH. The apparent pK(a) of the non-covalently bound GSH is lowered from 9.0 to 6.4 +/- 0.2 in similar fashion to other GSTs. The reduced form of GSTB1-1 (GSTB1-1red) binds GSH 100-fold faster and also induces a more active deprotonation of the substrate with an apparent pK(a) of 5.2 +/- 0.1. Apparently, the absence of the mixed disulfide does not affect k(cat) and K(m) values in the GST conjugation activity, which is rate-limited by the chemical step both in GSTB1-1red and in GSTB1-1ox. However, GSTB1-1ox follows a steady-state random sequential mechanism whereas a rapid-equilibrium random sequential mechanism is adopted by GSTB1-1red. Remarkably, GSTB1-1ox and GSTB1-1red are equally able to catalyze a glutaredoxin-like catalysis using cysteine S-sulfate and hydroxyethyl disulfide as substrates. Cys-10 is an essential residue in this redox activity, and its replacement by alanine abolishes this enzymatic activity completely. It appears that GSTB1-1 behaves like an "intermediate enzyme" between the thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase and the GST superfamilies.

Catalysis↗
PubMed2003

Yeast epiarginase regulation, an enzyme-enzyme activity control: identification of residues of ornithine carbamoyltransferase and arginase responsible for enzyme catalytic and regulatory activities.

In the presence of ornithine and arginine, ornithine carbamoyltransferase (OTCase) and arginase form a one-to-one enzyme complex in which the activity of OTCase is inhibited whereas arginase remains catalytically active. The mechanism by which these nonallosteric enzymes form a stable complex triggered by the binding of their respective substrates raises the question of how such a cooperative association is induced. Analyses of mutations in both enzymes identify residues that are required for their association, some of them being important for catalysis. In arginase, two cysteines at the C terminus of the protein are crucial for its epiarginase function but not for its catalytic activity and trimeric structure. In OTCase, mutations of putative ornithine binding residues, Asp-182, Asn-184, Asn-185, Cys-289, and Glu-256 greatly reduced the affinity for ornithine and impaired the interaction with arginase. The four lysine residues located in the SMG loop, Lys-260, Lys-263, Lys-265, and Lys-268, also play an important role in mediating the sensitivity of OTCase to ornithine and to arginase and appear to be involved in transducing and enhancing the signal given by ornithine for the closure of the catalytic domain.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Kinetic misinterpretation of a coupled enzyme reaction can lead to the assumption of an enzyme-enzyme interaction. The example of 3-phospho-D-glycerate kinase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase couple.

The time course of the conversion of 3-phospho-D-glycerate (GriP) to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (GraP) catalyzed by 3-phospho-D-glycerate kinase (GriP kinase) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GraPDH) couple has been reinvestigated. The dependence of the steady-state rate on the dehydrogenase concentration is fully compatible with the consecutive nature of the reaction and therefore is not necessarily related to a complex formation of the two enzymes. To derive a Kd value of a bienzyme complex, as was done by Sukhodolets et al. [Sukhodolets, M. V., Muronetz, V. I. & Nagradova, N. K. (1987) Biochem. Int. 15, 373-379], is basically erroneous. In contrast with some previous reports, the maximal activity of GriP kinase is not influenced by the auxiliary enzyme present in the coupled assay system. Thus, no special accelerating effect can be attributed to GraPDH. 1,3-Bisphospho-D-glycerate (GriP2) bound to GriP kinase does not seem to be a substrate for GraPDH, providing evidence against channelling of GriP2 between the two enzymes.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Enzyme kinetics for a two-step enzymic reaction with comparable initial enzyme-substrate ratios.

We extend the validity of the quasi-steady state assumption for a model double intermediate enzyme-substrate reaction to include the case where the ratio of initial enzyme to substrate concentration is not necessarily small. Simple analytical solutions are obtained when the reaction rates and the initial substrate concentration satisfy a certain condition. These analytical solutions compare favourably with numerical solutions of the full system of differential equations describing the reaction. Experimental methods are suggested which might permit the application of the quasi-steady state assumption to reactions where it may not have been obviously applicable before.

Enzymes↗
PubMed2004

Maize starch-branching enzyme isoforms and amylopectin structure. In the absence of starch-branching enzyme IIb, the further absence of starch-branching enzyme Ia leads to increased branching.

Previous studies indicated that the deficiency of starch-branching enzyme (SBE) Ia in the single mutant sbe1a::Mu (sbe1a) has no impact on endosperm starch structure, whereas the deficiency of SBEIIb in the ae mutant is well known to reduce the branching of starch. We hypothesized that in maize (Zea mays) endosperm, the function of SBEIIb is predominant to that of SBEIa, and SBEIa would have an observable effect only on amylopectin structure in the absence of SBEIIb. To test this hypothesis, the mutant sbe1a was introgressed into lines containing either wx (lacking the granule-bound starch synthase GBSSI) or ae wx (lacking both SBEIIb and GBSSI) in the W64A background. Both western blotting and zymogram analysis confirmed the SBEIa deficiency in sbe1a wx and sbe1a ae wx, and the SBEIIb deficiency in ae wx and sbe1a ae wx. Using zymogram analysis, no pleiotropic effects of sbe1a genes on SBEIIa, starch synthase, or starch-debranching enzyme isoforms were observed. High-performance size exclusion chromatography analysis shows that the chain-length profiles of amylopectin as well as beta-limit dextrin were indistinguishable between wx and sbe1a wx, whereas significant differences for both were observed between ae wx and sbe1a ae wx, suggesting an effect of SBEIa on amylopectin biosynthesis that is observable only in the absence of SBEIIb. The amylopectin branch density and the average number of branches per cluster were both higher in endosperm starch from sbe1a ae wx than from ae wx. These results indicate possible functional interactions between SBE isoforms that may involve enzymatic inhibition. Both the cluster repeat distance and the distance between branch points on the short intracluster chains were similar for all genotypes however, suggesting a similar pattern of individual SBE isoforms in cluster initiation and the determination of branch point location.

1,4-alpha-Glucan Branching Enzyme↗
PubMed1995

Enzymic glycosylation of (+/-)-(3,5/4,6)-3,6-diazido-4,5- dihydroxycyclohexene. A way to prepare stereochemically pure and enzyme resistant, basic pseudo-disaccharides as competitive enzyme inhibitors.

By beta-D-galactosylation of (+/-)-(3,5/4,6)-3,6-diazido-4,5-dihydroxycyclohexene, pure (+)-3,5/4,6)-3,6-diazido-4-O-(beta-D-galactopyranosyl)-5-hydrox ycyclohexene (3) was obtained. The diamine (+)-(1,3/2,6)-3,6-diamino-1-O-(beta-D-galactopyranosyl)-2-hydroxycycl ohexane, derived from compound 3 by catalytic hydrogenation, is stable against enzymic cleavage and competitively inhibits beta-D-galactosidase from Escherichia coli with a Ki-value of 5.5 mM. Sigmatropic rearrangement of 3 in methanolic solution partially led to an unseparable mixture of the regioisomers (3,5/4,6)-3,4-diazido-5-O-(beta-D-galactopyranosyl)-6-hydroxycy clohexene and (3,5/4,6)-3,4-diazido-6-O-(beta-D-galactopyranosyl)-5-hydroxycy clohexene. Catalytic hydrogenation thereof yielded an equally unseparable mixture of the diamines (1,3/2,4)-1,2-diamino-4-O-(beta-D-galactopyranosyl)-4-hydroxycyclohex ane and (1,3/2,4)-1,2-diamino-4-O-(beta-D-galactopyranosyl)-3-hydroxycyclohex ane, inhibiting beta-D-galactosidase competitively with K(i) 0.9 mM.

Azides↗
PubMed1982

Quantitative analysis of plasma enzyme levels based upon simultaneous determination of different enzymes.

It is demonstrated that plasma elimination constants for rapidly eliminated circulating tissue enzymes can be obtained from plasma time-activity curves if a slowly eliminated reference enzyme is simultaneously sampled. Enzyme and reference enzyme must be released together into the plasma. From the elimination constants thus obtained enzyme release into the plasma can be calculated as a function of time. The method can be applied during continuous release of enzyme into the plasma. The validity of the method is tested in the dog by intravascular infusion of a preparation of cytoplasmic enzymes, obtained by incubating dog liver under anoxic conditions. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was used as reference enzyme. Infused quantities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), glucosephosphate isomerase (GPI) and ALT can be estimated with coefficients of variation (CV) of respectively 10, 19 and 7.6%. Application of the method to plasma time-activity curves of enzymes in patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), with alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBD) as reference enzyme, results in the following values for the fractional catabolic rate constants (FCR) of AST, GPI, creatine kinase (CK) and its isoenzyme CK(MB): FCRAST = 0.093 +/- 0.006 h-1; FCRGPI = 0.27 +/ 0.03 h-1 (mean +/- SE, n = 14); FCRCK = 0.20 +/) 0.02 h-1 (n = 30); FCRCK(MB) = 0.34 +/- 0.08 h-1 (n = 16). These values are considerably higher than mentioned by most authors, and this indicates that enzyme release after AMI has been underestimated. After AMI, enzymes are released in quantities proportional to the enzyme content of human heart tissue. Average release of CK conforms to this rule but large variations for individual patients are observed. Accurate estimates of the quantities of enzymes released into the plasma can be made for slowly eliminated enzymes by the use of fixed mean values for elimination constants. The results presented to this study indicate that tissue enzymes released from infarcted myocardium in patients after AMI are recovered quantitatively in the plasma. Local inactivation of enzymes or inactivation during the transport from heart to plasma is not significant in such patients.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

3-Hydroxy-3-methylgutaryl-CoA synthase. Participation of acetyl-S-enzyme and enzyme-S-hydroxymethylgutaryl-SCoA intermediates in the reaction.

Acetyl-CoA reacts stoichiometrically with a cysteinyl sufhydryl group of avian liver 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG)-CoA synthase to yield acetyl-S-enzyme (Miziorko H.M., Clinkenbeard, K.D., Reed, W.D., and Lane, M.D. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 5768-5773). Evidence that acetyl-S-enzyme condenses with the second substrate, acetoacetyl CoA, to form enzyme-S-HMG-SCoA has been obtained by trapping and characterizing this putative intermediate. [14C]Acetyl-S-enzyme was incubated briefly at -25 degrees with acetoacetyl-CoA, precipitated with trichloroacetic acid, and the labeled acylated enzyme species were isolated. Performic acid oxidation of the precipitated [14C]acyl-S-enzyme intermediates produced volatile [14C]acetic acid from unreacted [14C]acetyl-S-enzyme and nonvolatile [14C]3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaric acid from enzyme-S-[14C]HMG-SCoA. Condensation of unlabeled acetyl-S-enzyme with [14C]aceto-acetyl-CoA or acetoacetyl-[3H]CoA also produced labeled enzyme-S-HMG-SCoA. Thus, the acetyl moiety from acetyl-CoA and the acetoacetyl and CoA moieties from acetoacetyl-CoA all are incorporated into the HMG-CoA which is covalently-linked to the enzyme. Enzyme-S-[14C]HMG-SCoA was subjected to proteolytic digestion under conditions favorable for intramolecular S to N acyl transfer in the predicted cysteine-S-[14C]HMG-SCoA fragment. Performic acid oxidation of the protease-digested material yields N-[14C]HMG-cysteic acid indicating that HMG-CoA had been covalently bound to the enzyme via the -SH of an active site cysteine. An isotope trapping technique was employed to test the kinetic competence of acetyl-S-enzyme as an intermediate in the HMG-CoA synthase-catalyzed reaction. Evidence is presented which indicates that the rate of condensation of acetoacetyl-CoA with acetyl-S-enzyme to form enzyme-S-HMG-SCoA is more rapid than either the acetylation of the synthase by acetyl-CoA or the overall forward reaction leading to HMG-CoA. These observations, together with indirect evidence that hydrolysis of enzyme-S-HMG-SCoA is extremely rapid, suggest that acetylation of synthase is the rate-limiting step in HMG-CoA synthesis.

Acetates↗
PubMed1998

Safety assessment of enzyme-containing personal cleansing products: exposure characterization and development of IgE antibody to enzymes after a 6-month use test.

BACKGROUND: Enzyme-containing personal cleansing products were being considered for the consumer market. Although enzymes have been marketed safely for many years as ingredients in laundry products, their use in a personal cleansing application represented a new type of exposure for consumers that was not supported by the historical safety data. An exposure assessment and additional safety data would be needed before marketing to ensure consumer safety. OBJECTIVE: The work in this paper was designed to evaluate the potential for inhalation exposure to the enzyme during use of this new product while showering. Then a clinical trial was conducted to determine whether or not the level, duration, and routes of exposure encountered during use of this product would induce a Type I sensitization response to the enzyme. METHODS: Exposure was assessed during normal showering activities by collecting air samples with both high volume and personal samplers and quantitating enzyme levels with an ELISA. To assess the potential for sensitization, panelists were asked to use a prototype protease-containing bar product for all personal cleansing tasks and to keep a use diary reporting any associated symptoms. Physical and dermatologic examinations and skin prick tests with enzyme were conducted before the test commenced and at 2-month intervals. RESULTS: Exposure assessment results showed that airborne enzyme levels were primarily dependent on the concentration of the enzyme in the personal cleansing product. Mean values for total airborne enzyme protein ranged from 5.7 to 11.8 ng/m3 when enzyme concentration, time of use, and measurement technique remained constant. After 6 months of at-home product use, four of 61 test subjects using the enzyme-containing bar had positive skin prick test responses when tested with the enzyme. The skin prick test data were supplemented with serologic analyses, which detected IgE specific for the protease enzyme. None of these subjects showed any clinical symptoms indicative of allergic reaction. CONCLUSION: The ability of enzymes to induce development of allergic antibodies in this study led to the conclusion that this prototype enzyme-containing personal cleansing bar would represent an inappropriate use of enzymes in a consumer product application. The likelihood of both induction of an immunologic response and subsequent elicitation of allergy symptoms in a small but significant fraction of the user population was high. This finding resulted in the decision to halt further development of this prototype.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1984

Cloning of cDNA sequences for murine malic enzyme and the identification of aberrantly large malic enzyme mRNA in MOD-1 null mice.

Polysomes containing cytosolic malic enzyme mRNA and malic enzyme nascent chains were complexed with specific antibodies and purified by chromatography on protein A-Sepharose. When poly(A+) mRNA derived from the immunoselected polysomes was translated in vitro, full length malic enzyme (subunit Mr = 58,000) accounted for a significant fraction (approximately 20%) of the polypeptides synthesized. Double-stranded cDNA, synthesized using partially purified malic enzyme mRNA as a template, was inserted into pBR 322 and cloned. Twenty-five candidate malic enzyme cDNA clones were identified by differential hybridization. Four clones were studied further and each of these was shown to have malic enzyme cDNA sequences by hybrid-selected translation and specific immunoprecipitation. Plasmid pME1, which contains a 1400-base pair insert, hybridized to two mouse liver malic enzyme mRNAs with lengths of 2300 and 3500 bases. Similar analyses were performed on liver mRNAs isolated from MOD-1 mutant mice which lack cytosolic malic enzyme activity. These Northern blots disclosed a pair of aberrantly large malic enzyme mRNAs with lengths of 2800 and 4000 bases. Furthermore, anti-malic enzyme antibodies exclusively precipitated a polypeptide translation product with a Mr of 77,000 when MOD-1 mRNA was used to direct in vitro protein synthesis. Thus, it is possible that MOD-1 malic enzyme mRNA contains an additional polypeptide coding sequence. The translation of such a sequence might disrupt enzyme function and/or markedly decrease enzyme stability. The malic enzyme cDNA probe was also employed to demonstrate that the induction of malic enzyme in the livers of previously starved mice that were fed a high carbohydrate, fat-free diet was controlled pretranslationally by a parallel modulation of the malic enzyme mRNA concentration.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Structural characterization of the enzyme-substrate, enzyme-intermediate, and enzyme-product complexes of thiamin phosphate synthase.

Thiamin phosphate synthase catalyzes the formation of thiamin phosphate from 4-amino-5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methylpyrimidine pyrophosphate and 5-(hydroxyethyl)-4-methylthiazole phosphate. Several lines of evidence suggest that the reaction proceeds via a dissociative mechanism. The previously determined crystal structure of thiamin phosphate synthase in complex with the reaction products, thiamin phosphate and magnesium pyrophosphate, provided a view of the active site and suggested a number of additional experiments. We report here seven new crystal structures primarily involving crystals of S130A thiamin phosphate synthase soaked in solutions containing substrates or products. We prepared S130A thiamin phosphate synthase with the intent of characterizing the enzyme-substrate complex. Surprisingly, in three thiamin phosphate synthase structures, the active site density cannot be modeled as either substrates or products. For these structures, the best fit to the electron density is provided by a model that consists of independent pyrimidine, pyrophosphate, and thiazole phosphate fragments, consistent with a carbenium ion intermediate. The resulting carbenium ion is likely to be further stabilized by proton transfer from the pyrimidine amino group to the pyrophosphate to give the pyrimidine iminemethide, which we believe is the species that is observed in the crystal structures.

Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗
PubMed2004

Critical residues for GTP methylation and formation of the covalent m7GMP-enzyme intermediate in the capping enzyme domain of bamboo mosaic virus.

Open reading frame 1 of Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV), a Potexvirus in the alphavirus-like superfamily, encodes a 155-kDa replicase responsible for the formation of the 5' cap structure and replication of the viral RNA genome. The N-terminal domain of the viral replicase functions as an mRNA capping enzyme, which exhibits both GTP methyltransferase and S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet)-dependent guanylyltransferase activities. We mutated each of the four conserved amino acids among the capping enzymes of members within alphavirus-like superfamily and a dozen of other residues to gain insight into the structure-function relationship of the viral enzyme. The mutant enzymes were purified and subsequently characterized. H68A, the mutant enzyme bearing a substitution at the conserved histidine residue, has an approximately 10-fold increase in GTP methyltransferase activity but completely loses the ability to form the covalent m(7)GMP-enzyme intermediate. High-pressure liquid chromatography analysis confirmed the production of m(7)GTP by the GTP methyltransferase activity of H68A. Furthermore, the produced m(7)GTP sustained the formation of the m(7)GMP-enzyme intermediate for the wild-type enzyme in the presence of S-adenosylhomocysteine (AdoHcy), suggesting that the previously observed AdoMet-dependent guanylation of the enzyme using GTP results from reactions of GTP methylation and subsequently guanylation of the enzyme using m(7)GTP. Mutations occurred at the other three conserved residues (D122, R125, and Y213), and H66 resulted in abolition of activities for both GTP methylation and formation of the covalent m(7)GMP-enzyme intermediate. Mutations of amino acids such as K121, C234, D310, W312, R316, K344, W406, and K409 decreased both activities by various degrees, and the extents of mutational effects follow similar trends. The affinity to AdoMet of the various BaMV capping enzymes, except H68A, was found in good correlations with not only the magnitude of GTP methyltransferase activity but also the capability of forming the m(7)GMP-enzyme intermediate. Taken together with the AdoHcy dependence of guanylation of the enzyme using m(7)GTP, a basic working mechanism, with the contents of critical roles played by the binding of AdoMet/AdoHcy, of the BaMV capping enzyme is proposed and discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1983

Rabbit pulmonary angiotensin-converting enzyme: the NH2-terminal fragment with enzymatic activity and its formation from the native enzyme by NH4OH treatment.

The NH2-terminal sequence of 22 residues of rabbit lung angiotensin-converting enzyme has been determined as (NH2)Thr-Leu-Asp-Pro-Gly-Leu-Leu-Pro-Gly-Asp-Phe-Ala -Ala-Asp-Asn-Ala-Gly-Ala-Arg-Leu-Phe-Ala-. In the course of purification of the enzyme for structural analysis a protein of Mr = 82,000 with angiotensin-converting activity was separated from the major fraction containing the native enzyme (Mr = 140,000). This low-molecular-weight enzyme catalyzed the hydrolysis of the synthetic substrate Hip-His-Leu at a rate 23% of that with the native enzyme, and exhibited a similar Km value as well as behaviors towards various effectors of angiotensin-converting enzyme. Edman degradation of both the native and the 82K enzymes revealed that they contain identical amino acid sequences from the NH2-termini. This result and those of peptide mapping and carbohydrate and amino acid analyses indicate that the 82K enzyme is a fragment derived from the NH2-terminal portion of the native enzyme, and hence contains its catalytic site. Evidence has been obtained indicating that the active fragment was formed from the native enzyme during its elution from the antibody-affinity column with NH4OH: on treatment of the native enzyme (140K Mr) with 1 N NH4OH at room temperature, a cleavage occurred and two proteins with Mr = 82K and Mr = 62K were obtained. The 82K Mr fragment was found to be enzymatically active and to contain the same NH2-terminal sequence as the native enzyme. The other fragment (62K Mr) was devoid of the activity and was shown to derive from the COOH-terminal portion of the native enzyme by the peptide mapping and terminal analyses. Cleavage of a peptide bond with NH4OH is unusual and appears to be specific for the native angiotensin-converting enzyme from rabbit lung.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1998

Analogous enzymes: independent inventions in enzyme evolution.

It is known that the same reaction may be catalyzed by structurally unrelated enzymes. We performed a systematic search for such analogous (as opposed to homologous) enzymes by evaluating sequence conservation among enzymes with the same enzyme classification (EC) number using sensitive, iterative sequence database search methods. Enzymes without detectable sequence similarity to each other were found for 105 EC numbers (a total of 243 distinct proteins). In 34 cases, independent evolutionary origin of the suspected analogous enzymes was corroborated by showing that they possess different structural folds. Analogous enzymes were found in each class of enzymes, but their overall distribution on the map of biochemical pathways is patchy, suggesting multiple events of gene transfer and selective loss in evolution, rather than acquisition of entire pathways catalyzed by a set of unrelated enzymes. Recruitment of enzymes that catalyze a similar but distinct reaction seems to be a major scenario for the evolution of analogous enzymes, which should be taken into account for functional annotation of genomes. For many analogous enzymes, the bacterial form of the enzyme is different from the eukaryotic one; such enzymes may be promising targets for the development of new antibacterial drugs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Enzyme inhibitor screening by capillary electrophoresis with an on-column immobilized enzyme microreactor created by an ionic binding technique.

A novel strategy for screening the enzyme inhibitors from the complex mixtures by capillary electrophoresis with an on-column immobilized enzyme microreactor created by an ionic binding technique is reported. The enzyme microreactor was prepared in two steps: First, the capillary wall was dynamically coated with a polycationic electrolyte hexadimethrine bromide (HDB) by simply flushing the column using the HDB solution. Subsequently, a plug of the enzyme solution was injected and incubated for 5 min to permit the enzyme molecules to immobilize on the positively charged coating via ionic binding. To demonstrate this strategy, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was employed as a model for the enzyme immobilization, inhibition study, and inhibitor screening. It has been proved that such a prepared immobilized ACE microreactor displays a high enough activity and stability. Furthermore, the immobilized enzyme microreactor could be easily renewed. The inhibition study or inhibitor screening was accomplished through the following procedure: (i) the substrate solution was injected and incubated within the microreactor for a short time span; (ii) subsequently, the voltage was applied to separate the product of the enzyme reaction from the unreacted substrate based on their different mobilities, the peak area of the product representing the enzyme activity; (iii) a certain amount of enzyme inhibitor or candidate compound was spiked into the substrate solution to assay the reduction of the immobilized enzyme activity. Thus, the inhibitors can be easily identified if the reduced peak area of the product is observed in electropherograms. Because the injection volume of the capillary was only 9.8 nL and the enzyme could be reusable, the assay cost could be dramatically reduced. The screening of a small compound library containing natural extracts and commercially available inhibitors was performed. The present approach has proved to be simple, rapid, and robust.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗
PubMed1993

Biochemical characterization of a mutant recBCD enzyme, the recB2109CD enzyme, which lacks chi-specific, but not non-specific, nuclease activity.

RecBCD enzyme of Escherichia coli is a DNA helicase which also possesses ATP-dependent nuclease activities. We have purified a mutant recBCD enzyme, designated recB2109CD enzyme, and have examined the nuclease activities of this protein in vitro to determine whether any alteration in these activities is responsible for the recombination-deficient phenotype of the recB2109 strain. The recB2109CD enzyme possesses all of the non-specific nuclease activities (dsDNA exonuclease and ssDNA exo- and endonuclease) associated with wild-type recBCD enzyme although they are reduced approximately 2 to 3-fold relative to the wild-type enzyme. The ATP-dependent dsDNA exonuclease activity of recB2109CD enzyme requires significantly higher ATP concentrations for optimal activity when compared to the wild-type enzyme. The ATP-independent ssDNA endonuclease activity of the two enzymes is similar, but the ATP-stimulated ssDNA endonuclease and ATP-dependent ssDNA exonuclease activities of the mutant enzyme are reduced relative to those of wild-type recBCD enzyme. Despite its ability to degrade linear dsDNA non-specifically, recB2109CD enzyme lacks sequence-specific nicking activity at chi sites, which are hotspots for genetic recombination. Since this interaction with chi significantly attenuates the non-specific dsDNA exonuclease activity of wild-type recBCD enzyme, these results suggest that the non-specific dsDNA exonuclease activity of the mutant enzyme cannot be attenuated, with the consequence that a DNA substrate which is suitable for recombination is not produced.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗