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Pyruvate:quinone oxidoreductase from Corynebacterium glutamicum: purification and biochemical characterization.

Pyruvate:quinone oxidoreductase catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to acetate and CO2 with a quinone as the physiological electron acceptor. So far, this enzyme activity has been found only in Escherichia coli. Using 2,6-dichloroindophenol as an artificial electron acceptor, we detected pyruvate:quinone oxidoreductase activity in cell extracts of the amino acid producer Corynebacterium glutamicum. The activity was highest (0.055 +/- 0.005 U/mg of protein) in cells grown on complex medium and about threefold lower when the cells were grown on medium containing glucose, pyruvate, or acetate as the carbon source. From wild-type C. glutamicum, the pyruvate:quinone oxidoreductase was purified about 180-fold to homogeneity in four steps and subjected to biochemical analysis. The enzyme is a flavoprotein, has a molecular mass of about 232 kDa, and consists of four identical subunits of about 62 kDa. It was activated by Triton X-100, phosphatidylglycerol, and dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylglycerol, and the substrates were pyruvate (kcat=37.8 +/- 3 s(-1); Km=30 +/- 3 mM) and 2-oxobutyrate (kcat=33.2 +/- 3 s(-1); Km=90 +/- 8 mM). Thiamine pyrophosphate (Km=1 microM) and certain divalent metal ions such as Mg2+ (Km=29 microM), Mn2+ (Km=2 microM), and Co2+ (Km=11 microM) served as cofactors. In addition to several dyes (2,6-dichloroindophenol, p-iodonitrotetrazolium violet, and nitroblue tetrazolium), menadione (Km=106 microM) was efficiently reduced by the purified pyruvate:quinone oxidoreductase, indicating that a naphthoquinone may be the physiological electron acceptor of this enzyme in C. glutamicum.

Aldehyde Oxidoreductases↗

Age-dependent increase in xanthine oxidoreductase differs in various heart cell types.

Myocardial xanthine oxidase has been associated with reoxygenation injury induced by oxygen radicals. The damage due to myocardial ischemia and reperfusion increases with age; therefore, one would expect to find more xanthine oxidase in adult than in young hearts. Consequently, we studied the age-dependence of xanthine oxidoreductase activity in hearts, in addition to the localization of the enzyme in cultured rat-heart cells. We measured xanthine oxidase plus dehydrogenase activity in homogenates of hearts and in homogenates of cultured neonatal myocytes and nonmuscular cells. In rat heart homogenates, xanthine oxidoreductase increased from 0.5 +/- 0.1 mU/g wet wt (newborn, mean +/- SD) to 25 +/- 4 mU/g (age 15 weeks, p less than 0.001). The value for adult rabbit heart was more than 1,000 times lower and hardly detectable. Therefore, we did not study young rabbit hearts. In rat myocyte cultures, xanthine oxidoreductase activity increased from 4.2 +/- 1.6 mU/g protein (2nd day of culture) to 17 +/- 4 mU/g (4th day, p less than 0.005). The activity in nonmuscular cells increased much more, from 10.1 +/- 1.1 to 117 +/- 25 mU/g (p less than 0.002). The age-related increase of xanthine oxidoreductase activity in rat heart is in agreement with the implied role in reperfusion damage by the enzyme. Whether myocytes, in which the enzyme has a low activity, could be damaged in this way, remains to be studied.

Aging↗

External alternative NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase redirected to the internal face of the mitochondrial inner membrane rescues complex I deficiency in Yarrowia lipolytica.

Alternative NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductases are single subunit enzymes capable of transferring electrons from NADH to ubiquinone without contributing to the proton gradient across the respiratory membrane. The obligately aerobic yeast Yarrowia lipolytica has only one such enzyme, encoded by the NDH2 gene and located on the external face of the mitochondrial inner membrane. In sharp contrast to ndh2 deletions, deficiencies in nuclear genes for central subunits of proton pumping NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductases (complex I) are lethal. We have redirected NDH2 to the internal face of the mitochondrial inner membrane by N-terminally attaching the mitochondrial targeting sequence of NUAM, the largest subunit of complex I. Lethality of complex I mutations was rescued by the internal, but not the external version of alternative NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase. Internal NDH2 also permitted growth in the presence of complex I inhibitors such as 2-decyl-4-quinazolinyl amine (DQA). Functional expression of NDH2 on both sides of the mitochondrial inner membrane indicates that alternative NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase requires no additional components for catalytic activity. Our findings also demonstrate that shuttle mechanisms for the transfer of redox equivalents from the matrix to the cytosolic side of the mitochondrial inner membrane are insufficient in Y. lipolytica.

Biological Transport↗

The recognition of a special ubiquinone functionally central in the ubiquinone-cytochrome b-c2 oxidoreductase.

Although the energy conserving membranes of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides contain a 25 (+/- 3)-fold molar excess of ubiquinone over the photochemical reaction center, the activity of the ubiquinone-cytochrome b-c2 oxidoreductase is unaffected by quinone extraction until only 3, or at most 4, ubiquinones remain; only then does further extraction prevent the function of the oxidoreductase. Since 2 of these last ubiquinones are integral parts of the photochemical reaction center, we conclude that the ubiquinone-cytochrome b-c2 oxidoreductase requires only 1, or at most 2, molecules of ubiquinone-10 for its function. Earlier kinetic data identified a major electron donor to ferricytochrome c2 as a single molecule (known as Z) which requires 2 electrons and 2 protons for its equilibrium reduction. Hence, we identify a single molecule of quinone, probably ubiquinone-10 in a special environment, as a major electron donor to ferricytochrome c2 in the ubiquinone cytochrome b-c2 oxidoreductase.

Cytochrome c Group↗

Clostridial pyruvate oxidoreductase and the pyruvate-oxidizing enzyme specific to nitrogen fixation in Klebsiella pneumoniae are similar enzymes.

The chemical characterization, EPR properties, and mechanism of pyruvate:flavodoxin (ferredoxin) oxidoreductase from Klebsiella pneumoniae and Clostridium thermoaceticum have been investigated. A simple, specific, and sensitive assay and an efficient purification (based on the high affinity of these enzymes for a dye attached to agarose) are reported. The observed iron content of 8 atoms/subunit is twice that reported by others, whereas the contents of lipoate and flavin are less than 0.1 mol/subunit, in agreement with previous reports. Spectroscopic evidence suggests that the iron is present in Fe4S4(2+,1+) clusters. Reduction of the enzyme requires the presence of CoA as well as 1.1 pyruvate/subunit, which is very nearly the theoretical amount required the reduce two Fe4S(2+,1+) clusters. In the absence of CoA, stoichiometric amounts of pyruvate are decarboxylated, but the Fe/S centers are not reduced. We conclude that the K. pneumoniae and C. thermoaceticum enzymes are adapted to rapid reduction of low potential 1-e- carriers, similar to the pyruvate oxidoreductase of Halobacterium (Kerscher, L., and Oesterhelt, D. (1977) FEBS Lett. 83, 197-201), but different in that an Fe/S center-radical pair is used in the latter enzyme in place of the pair of Fe4S4 centers we find. The K. pneumoniae and C. thermoaceticum oxidoreductases appear to be mechanistically closely related to the Clostridium acidiurici enzyme (Uyeda, K., and Rabinowitz, J. C. (1971) J. Biol. Chem. 246, 3111-3119), differing as a class from the lipoate-containing, pyridine nucleotide-reducing enzyme present in aerobes (Reed, L. J. (1974) Accts. Chem. Res. 2, 740-746). The function of the Klebsiella enzyme is to supply electrons to nitrogenase. This is accomplished in vitro with purified components via a nif-specific flavodoxin or other low potential 1-e- carriers such as viologen dyes or ferredoxins. The in vivo molar ratio of nitrogenase to the physiological reduction system, estimated from activity measurements of individual components in crude extracts, was 0.4:0.03:2:1 pyruvate oxidoreductase:flavodoxin:nitrogenase component II:nitrogenase component I.

Acetylene↗

Interaction between NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex, and NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase.

Interaction between the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex and NAD+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase was detected with a variety of techniques including polyethylene glycol precipitation, ultracentrifugation, and centrifugal gel filtration on a Sepharose 6B column. The interaction was specific in that citrate synthase, cytosolic malate dehydrogenase, and NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase did not interact with alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex. The interaction was not inhibited by either 0.1 M KCl or 0.4 M (NH4)2SO4, but was completely prevented by 5% glycerol. A new method for the preparation of NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase resulted in an enzyme having a protein subunit composition similar to that of classical complex I preparation. Evidence is given for the existence of ternary complexes containing NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase-alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex-NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase and NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase-alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex-succinate thiokinase. These data suggest that a part of the citric acid cycle may be located in the vicinity of NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase. These complexes may facilitate the transport of metabolites among these enzymes without their equilibrating with the whole compartment.

Cytosol↗

Mössbauer, EPR, and optical studies of the P-460 center of hydroxylamine oxidoreductase from Nitrosomonas. A ferrous heme with an unusually large quadrupole splitting.

Hydroxylamine oxidoreductase from Nitrosomonas europeae catalyzes the oxidative conversion of NH2OH to NO-2. The enzyme, Mr = 220,000, has an (alpha beta)3 subunit structure with each alpha beta subunit containing 7-8 c-type hemes and one unusual prosthetic group, termed P-460. The P-460 is also found in a Mr approximately equal to 17,000 protein (P-460 fragment). Mössbauer spectra of the reduced P-460 groups, in hydroxylamine oxidoreductase and the fragment, exhibit nearly identical quadrupole doublets with an unusually large splitting, delta EQ = 4.21 mm/s (no ferrous heme protein is known with delta EQ greater than 2.75 mm/s). The observed isomer shift, delta = 0.96 mm/s at 4.2 K, shows that the P-460 iron is high spin ferrous. Treatment of oxidized hydroxylamine oxidoreductase with H2O2 followed by reduction or exposure of the native sample to CO led to the disappearance of both the characteristic 460 nm absorption band (epsilon = 89 mM-1 cm-1) and the delta EQ = 4.21 mm/s doublet. The iron of the oxidized P-460 fragment is high spin ferric, with Mössbauer and EPR parameters very similar to those of metmyoglobin. Optical spectra of the reduced P-460 fragment show long wavelength bands at 650 and 688 nm which are sensitive to treatment of the fragment with reagents which react with P-460. These bands were, however, not detected in hydroxylamine oxidoreductase. The spectroscopic and chemical evidence obtained to date suggests strongly that the P-460 iron resides in a heme-like macrocycle although the presumed porphyrin must have some unusual features.

Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy↗

Electron transport to nitrogenase. Purification and characterization of pyruvate:flavodoxin oxidoreductase. The nifJ gene product.

Pyruvate:flavodoxin oxidoreductase, the nifJ gene product of Klebsiella pneumoniae, was purified to homogeneity. Pyruvate:flavodoxin oxidoreductase, flavodoxin, and nitrogenase components I and II are the only proteins required for pyruvate-coupled nitrogenase activity. The physiological source of electrons to nitrogenase in K. pneumoniae is pyruvate. Flavodoxin from Azotobacter vinelandii was only one-third as effective as K. pneumoniae flavodoxin in transferring electrons from pyruvate:flavodoxin oxidoreductase to Azotobacter and Klebsiella nitrogenases. Ferredoxins from aerobic, anaerobic and photosynthetic nitrogen-fixing organisms, as well as benzyl viologen and methyl viologen, were ineffective in coupling pyruvate oxidation to nitrogenase activity. One mol each of acetyl-CoA, CO2, and ethylene are formed by pyruvate-supported acetylene reduction. The enzyme contains 8.0 +/- 0.6 mol of iron and 6.6 +/- 0.2 mol of acid-labile sulfide per mol of protein (Mr = 240,000). Pyruvate:flavodoxin oxidoreductase is irreversibly inactivated by air.

Electron Transport↗

D-1-amino-2-propanol:NAD+ oxidoreductase. Purification and general properties of the large molecular form of the enzyme from Escherichia coli K12.

Growth of Escherichia coli K12 under relatively anaerobic conditions in a medium containing casein hydrolysate, 0.8% glycerol, and 0.8% hydroxyacetone has been found to induce the level of D-1-amino-2-propanol oxidoreductase activity 50- to 100-fold over that in cells grown in casein hydrolysate alone or with 0.8% glycerol added. A large molecular weight form of this oxidoreductase (designated Form L) has been purified to apparent homogeneity in good yield by three simple steps designed to obviate its conversion to a smaller species. The molecular weight of native Form L and its basic subunit are 417,000 +/- 20,700 and 50,500 +/- 2,770, respectively; hence Form L would appear to consist of eight identical subunits. The pH activity profile for Form L shows one optimum in the range of 8.3 to 8.6 and another at pH 10.0 to 10.2. This form of the oxidoreductase has no apparent requirement for added metal ions (rather, numerous divalent transition metal ions are strongly inhibitory) or thiol compounds; it catalyzes the oxidation of several vic-glycols but is completely stereospecific for the D-isomer of 1-amino-2-propanol, utilizes only NAD+ as cosubstrate in the oxidation reaction (Km for NAD+ with DL-1-amino-2-propanol = 1.23 mM), but both NADH and NADPH serve as cosubstrate in the reduction of hydroxyacetone. Oxidoreductase activity of Form L is highly sensitive to inhibition by Hg2+, p-mercuribenzoate, or dithiodipyridine; inhibition by the latter two compounds is completely reversed by adding a thiol in excess.

Aerobiosis↗

Purification and characterization of isoquinoline 1-oxidoreductase from Pseudomonas diminuta 7, a novel molybdenum-containing hydroxylase.

Isoquinoline 1-oxidoreductase, which catalyzes the hydroxylation of isoquinoline to 1-oxo-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline with concomitant reduction of a suitable electron acceptor, was purified from the isoquinoline degrading bacterium Pseudomonas diminuta 7 to apparent homogeneity. The native enzyme was a heterodimer with a molecular mass of 95 kDa consisting of a 16- and a 80-kDa subunit. It contained 0.85 g atom molybdenum, 3.95 g atom iron, 3.9 g atom acid-labile sulfur, 2.1 mol of phosphate, and 1 mol of CMP/mol of enzyme. CMP and phosphate are suggested to originate from molybdopterin cytosine dinucleotide of the pterin molybdenum cofactor. It is assumed that the iron and the acid-labile sulfur are arranged in two (2Fe-2S) clusters. The isoelectric point of the isoquinoline 1-oxidoreductase was within the range of pH 6.2 to 6.8. Cytochrome c, ferricyanide, and several non-physiological electron acceptors served as oxidizing substrates, whereas O2 and NAD were not used. Isoquinoline 1-oxidoreductase revealed a high specificity toward the reducing substrates isoquinoline, 5-hydroxyisoquinoline, quinazoline, and phthalazine. Isoquinoline 1-oxidoreductase was inactivated by methanol, arsenite, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, 1,10-phenanthroline, and cyanide. Additionally, the enzyme was inactivated upon incubation with its substrates isoquinoline, which slowly inhibited the enzyme in the absence of an electron acceptor, and 5-hydroxy-isoquinoline, which rapidly and very effectively inactivated the enzyme in the presence as well as in the absence of the electron acceptors iodonitrotetrazolium chloride, phenazine methosulfate, or ferricyanide.

Chromatography, Gel↗

Indolepyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus. A new enzyme involved in peptide fermentation.

Pyrococcus furiosus is a strictly anaerobic archaeon that grows optimally at 100 degrees C by a fermentative-type metabolism in which complex peptide mixtures such as yeast extract and Tryptone, and also certain sugars, are oxidized to organic acids, H2 and CO2. Enzymes involved in the utilization of peptides such as proteases, aromatic amino transferases, and glutamate dehydrogenase have been previously purified from this organism. It is shown here that P. furiosus also contains significant cytoplasmic concentrations of a new enzyme termed indolepyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase (IOR). This catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of aryl pyruvates, which are generated by the transamination of aromatic amino acids, to the corresponding aryl acetyl-CoA. IOR is a tetramer (alpha 2 beta 2) of two identical subunits (66,000 and 23,000 Da) with a molecular weight of 180,000. The enzyme contains one molecule of thiamine pyrophosphate and four [4Fe-4S]2+,1+ and one [3Fe-4S]0,1+ cluster, as determined by iron analyses and EPR spectroscopy. Significant amounts of other metals such as copper and zinc were not detected. IOR was virtually inactive at 25 degrees C and exhibited optimal activity above 90 degrees C (at pH 8.0) and at pH 8.5-10.5 (at 80 degrees C). The enzyme was sensitive to inactivation by O2, losing 50% of its activity after exposure to air for 20 min at 23 degrees C, and was quite thermostable, with a half-life of activity at 80 degrees C (under anaerobic conditions) of about 80 min. The Km values (in microM) for indolepyruvate, p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate, phenylpyruvate, CoASH, and P. furiosus ferredoxin, the physiological electron carrier, were 250, 110, 90, 17, and 48, respectively. IOR was inhibited by KCN (apparent Ki = 7.5 mM), but not by CO (1 atm). An enzyme analogous to IOR has not been reported previously. Curiously, it has few properties in common with the pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase of P. furiosus, even though the two enzymes catalyze virtually identical reactions. In fact, of known ketoacid oxidoreductases, the catalytic mechanism of IOR appears to be most similar to that of the pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Hydroxylamine oxidoreductase from Nitrosomonas europaea is a multimer of an octa-heme subunit.

A fully active form of hydroxylamine oxidoreductase from Nitrosomonas has been purified with high recovery and shown by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography and N-terminal analysis to contain only a 63-kDa subunit and to lack the 11-kDa protein previously thought to be a second subunit. Based on the previously published values of molecular weight in solution, hydroxylamine oxidoreductase probably has an alpha 2 or alpha 3 oligomeric structure. The enzyme was digested separately with trypsin and chymotrypsin and peptides which contained covalently bound heme were separated by high performance liquid chromatography and their amino acid sequences determined. A total of seven heme-containing peptides of unique amino acid sequence were obtained. Six of these heme-containing peptides clearly contained a single c-heme with optical properties indistinguishable from the tryptic heme-containing peptide from horse heart cytochrome c. No noncovalently bound heme was observed. One of the seven heme-containing peptides (T7) was unusual in that it released 2 amino acid residues after each cycle of the Edman degradation due to a nondisulfide cross-link and exhibited a Soret band that was broadened in both the ferric form at neutral pH and the pyridine ferrohemochrome. Subdigestion of peptide T7 with nonspecific proteases (Pronase, bromelain, or pepsin) resulted in the isolation of two smaller heme-containing peptides of unique sequences. One of these was spectrally identical to the other c-heme containing peptides, whereas the second was still apparently cross-linked, again releasing 2 amino acid residues after each Edman cycle. This second peptide possessed a heme-like chromophore with absorption bands (Soret, alpha and beta) red-shifted about 6 nm relative to the spectrum of c-heme-containing peptides. Thus, hydroxylamine oxidoreductase contains a total of eight covalently bound hemes per subunit, seven of which are c-hemes. The eighth, which is attached to a cross-linked peptide, is probably the unusual P460 heme which is unique to hydroxylamine oxidoreductase and thought to be at the active site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Effect of acetaldehyde on oxidoreductases in tissues of rats at different ages.

The toxicity of acetaldehyde and age related changes on oxidoreductases in the liver, brain, kidney, and muscle of female albino rats (Wistar strain) were studied. The specific activities of lactate [LDH], isocitrate [ICDH (NAD/NADP)], succinate [SDH], malate [MDH], glutamate [GDH] and glucose-6-Phosphate [G-6-PDH] dehydrogenases were significantly increased as a function of age. However, acetaldehyde treatment significantly inhibited oxidoreductases in the tissue of 21, 90 and 180 day old rats. Liver enzymes of young (21 days) rats exhibited greater sensitivity to acetaldehyde toxicity. Similar inhibition of oxidoreductases in brain and kidney of adult (180 days) rats treated with acetaldehyde was observed. LDH and GDH as compared to other enzymes studied showed higher susceptibility to acetaldehyde toxicity. The differential sensitivity of tissues and inhibition of oxidoreductases by acetaldehyde as a function of age could be attributed to hypoxic conditions, energy crisis, and mitochondrial structural changes. The results suggest that acetaldehyde affects oxidation of glucose via HMP shunt pathway, glycolytic pathways and Krebs cycle resulting in the impairment of carbohydrate metabolism.

Acetaldehyde↗

A novel electrochemical approach to the characterization of oxidoreductase reactions.

Electrochemical methods based on enzyme-electrochemical reactions have been developed for studying oxidoreductase reactions. The methods measure a current resulting from an oxidoreductase reaction with an electrode serving as a final electron acceptor (or donor) in the reaction. A theoretical equation for the enzyme-electrochemical reaction, called bioelectrocatalysis, is derived, which enables kinetic analysis of the reaction. In combination with spectrophotometry, the electrochemical method provides a method for determining the redox potentials of proteins and enzymes. An alternative method based on bulk electrolysis in a quartz cell for UV-vis spectroscopy has been developed for the measurements of protein redox potentials on a conventional spectrophotometer. The electrochemical methods are applied to kinetic and thermodynamic analyses for the reactions of a variety of enzymes including a newly discovered enzyme, quinohemoprotein amine dehydrogenase (QH-AmDH), and bilirubin oxidase (BOD) [EC 1.3.3.5, from Myrothecium verrucaria], a copper-containing enzyme useful for bioelectrocatalytic O(2) reduction in biofuel cells. The electrochemical method for kinetic analysis has been successfully applied to the analysis of oxidoreductase reactions in vivo, as demonstrated by the reaction of glucose dehydrogenase in Escherichia coli. The advantages of the electrochemical methods are discussed.

Electrochemistry↗

Partial purification and characterization of glutaryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase, electron transfer flavoprotein, and electron transfer flavoprotein-Q oxidoreductase from Paracoccus denitrificans.

Glutaryl-coenzyme A (CoA) dehydrogenase and the electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) of Paracoccus denitrificans were purified to homogeneity from cells grown with glutaric acid as the carbon source. Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase had a molecular weight of 180,000 and was made up of four identical subunits with molecular weights of about 43,000 each of which contained one flavin adenine dinucleotide molecule. The enzyme catalyzed an oxidative decarboxylation of glutaryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA, was maximally stable at pH 5.0, and lost activity readily at pH values above 7.0. The enzyme had a pH optimum in the range of 8.0 to 8.5, a catalytic center activity of about 960 min-1, and apparent Michaelis constants for glutaryl-CoA and pig liver ETF of about 1.2 and 2.5 microM, respectively. P. denitrificans ETF had a visible spectrum identical to that of pig liver ETF and was made up of two subunits, only one of which contained a flavin adenine dinucleotide molecule. The isoelectric point of P. denitrificans ETF was 4.45 compared with 6.8 for pig liver ETF. P. denitrificans ETF accepted electrons not only from P. denitrificans glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase, but also from the pig liver butyryl-CoA and octanoyl-CoA dehydrogenases. The apparent Vmax was of similar magnitude with either pig liver or P. denitrificans ETF as an electron acceptor for these dehydrogenases. P. denitrificans glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase and ETF were used to assay for the reduction of ubiquinone 1 by ETF-Q oxidoreductase in cholate extracts of P. denitrificans membranes. The ETF-Q oxidoreductase from P. denitrificans could accept electrons from either the bacterial or the pig liver ETF. In either case, the apparent Km for ETF was infinitely high. P. denitrificans ETF-Q oxidoreductase was purified from contaminating paramagnets, and the resultant preparation had electron paramagnetic resonance signals at 2.081, 1.938, and 1.879 G, similar to those of the mitochondrial enzyme.

Amino Acids↗

Relationship between the newly identified bile acid binder and bile acid oxidoreductases in human liver.

Gel filtration fractions of human hepatic cytosol obtained from an autopsy liver were examined for elution of bile acid oxidoreductases. Several enzymes including 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3 alpha-HSD), 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3 beta-HSD), 3-ketosteroid reductase, and dihydrodiol dehydrogenase eluted mainly in the 30,000-40,000 Mr fractions known to contain the newly identified bile acid binder (Stolz, A., Sugiyama, Y., Kuhlenkamp, J., and Kaplowitz, N. (1984) FEBS Lett. 177, 31-35). These enzyme activities could be resolved into six peaks of dihydrodiol dehydrogenase activity on chromatofocusing, some of which also had oxidoreductase activity with bile acids. Using equilibrium dialysis, the major lithocholate-binding activity was found to coelute with 3 beta-HSD, completely separate from 3 alpha-HSD. Reexamination of the surgical liver specimen originally used to purify the bile acid binder confirmed these results. The peak fraction from chromatofocusing, which exhibited the bulk of binding activity with bile acids, had 3 beta-HSD activity, whereas other fractions had 3 alpha-HSD. Anti-serum to the previously purified binder identified a single 36-kDa protein in both liver specimens and exclusively in the chromatofocusing fractions containing both the binding and 3 beta-HSD activity. However, upon further purification of the binder from this fraction, 3 beta-HSD activity was separated from the binder, but the homogeneous protein retained dihydrodiol dehydrogenase activity. Thus, in contrast to the rat in which the major bile acid binder is identical to 3 alpha-HSD, in human liver the bile acid binder is distinct from 3 alpha-HSD and copurifies with a different oxidoreductase that has dihydrodiol dehydrogenase activity but no activity with bile acids.

3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗

Properties and regulation of 17 beta-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase of OVCAR-3, CAOV-3, and A431 cells: effects of epidermal growth factor, estradiol, and progesterone.

Although there is a growing body of evidence that 17 beta-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase plays a role in the regulation of steroid levels in epithelial tumors of the endometrium and breast, our knowledge of its role in other gynecologic tumors is limited. In this investigation, the 17 beta-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase activity of cell lines derived from two ovarian tumors (OVCAR-3, CAOV-3) and an epidermoid tumor of the vulva (A431) was assayed under conditions which differentiate between 17 beta-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase type 1, a cytosolic isoform highly specific for estradiol, and type 2, a membrane bound isoform reactive with both estradiol and testosterone. On the basis of estradiol/testosterone activity ratios, all three cell lines appear to have type 2-like activity, with the specific activity of A431 markedly greater than that of the other cell lines. Estradiol, progesterone, or EGF, alone or in combination, were without effect on the enzymatic activity of OVCAR-3 cells. EGF decreased the activity of CAOV-3 cells slightly. In contrast, EGF stimulated A431 17 beta-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase activity 7-8-fold over a 5-day exposure. Estradiol or progesterone, singly or in combination, also did not effect the enzymatic activity of A431 cells. However, progesterone inhibited the increase in activity seen in the presence of EGF. With EGF, estradiol, and progesterone together, the increase in enzymatic activity was comparable to that with EGF alone. The effects of estradiol and progesterone appear to result from steroid actions following binding of EGF to low-affinity receptors on A431 cells.

Epidermal Growth Factor↗

Structural and sequence comparisons of quinone oxidoreductase, zeta-crystallin, and glucose and alcohol dehydrogenases.

Quinone oxidoreductase, zeta-crystallin, glucose dehydrogenase, and alcohol dehydrogenase belong to a superfamily of medium-chain dehydrogenase/reductases. The crystal structures of Escherichia coli quinone oxidoreductase (QOR) and Thermoplasma acidophilum glucose dehydrogenase have recently been determined and are compared here with the well-known structure of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase. A structurally based comparison of these three enzymes confirms that they possess extensive overall structural homology despite low sequence identity. The most significant difference is the absence of the catalytic and structural zinc ions in QOR. A multiple structure-based sequence alignment has been constructed for the three enzymes and extended to include zeta-crystallin, an eye lens structural protein with quinone oxidoreductase activity and high sequence identity to E. coli quinone oxidoreductase. Residues which are important for catalysis have been altered and the functions and activities of the enzymes have diverged, illustrating a classic example of divergent evolution among a superfamily of enzymes.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗