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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Highly selective chemical modification of cruciform loops by diethyl pyrocarbonate.

Diethyl pyrocarbonate reacts with the single-stranded loops of cruciform structures with great selectivity. Adenine bases are carbethoxylated, as a result of which the backbone may be cleaved with piperidine, and the level of chemical modification at each base may be determined. We have studied the ColE1 and (A-T)34 cruciforms of pColIR315 and pXG540. In each case we observe maximal modification at the most central adenosine of the loop, and an overall pattern of modification corresponding to a total loop size of about six bases. The results may be interpreted in terms of a model in which the loop has a defined tertiary structure. No modification was detected at either cruciform four-way junction, suggesting that this region is fully base-paired.

Base Sequence

Identification by proton nuclear magnetic resonance of the histidines in cytochrome b5 modified by diethyl pyrocarbonate.

Diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEP) is an electrophilic reagent that is used to modify reversibly the histidine residues of proteins. Unfortunately, the lability of the acylated histidine adduct usually does not permit the isolation and identification of the modified histidine. By use of 500-MHz proton NMR spectroscopy, it has been possible to identify the C-H resonances of the nonaxial histidines of trypsin-solubilized bovine, rabbit, and porcine cytochrome b5 and therefore observe the interaction of DEP with specific histidine residues of cytochrome b5. In addition, the pKa of the peripheral histidines of bovine and rabbit cytochrome b5 have been measured in D2O. In the bovine protein it was found that the histidines are modified sequentially with increasing DEP concentration in the order His-26 greater than His-15 greater than His-80. This order is maintained in the rabbit protein with the following additions: His-26 approximately His-27 greater than His-15 greater than or equal to His-17 greater than His-80. The relative reactivity of the peripheral histidines with DEP was rationalized by considering three of their characteristics: (1) the pKa of the histidine, (2) the fraction of the side chain exposed to the solvent, and (3) the hydrogen-bond interactions of the imidazole ring.

Animals

Chemical modification of Pseudomonas ochraceae 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoglutarate aldolase by diethyl pyrocarbonate.

Diethyl pyrocarbonate inactivates Pseudomonas ochraceae 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoglutarate aldolase [4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoglutarate pyruvate-lyase: EC 4.1.3.17] by a simple bimolecular reaction. The inactivation is not reversed by hydroxylamine. The pH curve of inactivation indicates the involvement of a residue with a pK of 8.8. Several lines of evidence show that the inactivation is due to the modification of epsilon-amino groups of lysyl residues. Although histidyl residue is also modified, this is not directly correlated to the inactivation. No cysteinyl, tyrosyl, or tryptophyl residue or alpha-amino group is significantly modified. The modification of three lysyl residues per enzyme subunit results in the complete loss of aldolase activity toward various 4-hydroxy-2-oxo acid substrates, whereas oxaloacetate beta-decarboxylase activity associated with the enzyme is not inhibited by this modification. Statistical analysis suggests that only one of the three lysyl residues is essential for activity. l-4-Carboxy-4-hydroxy-2-oxoadipate, a physiological substrate for the enzyme, strongly protects the enzyme against inactivation. Pi as an activator of the enzyme shows no specific protection. The molecular weight of the enzyme, Km for substrate or Mg2+, and activation constant for Pi are virtually unaltered after modification. These results suggest that the modification occurs at or near the active site and that the essential lysyl residue is involved in interaction with the hydroxyl group but not with the oxal group of the substrate.

Amino Acids

Active site histidine in spinach ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase modified by diethyl pyrocarbonate.

[3H] Diethyl pyrocarbonate was synthesized [Melchior, W. B., & Fahrney, D. (1970) Biochemistry 9, 251-258] from [3H] ethanol prepared by the reduction of acetaldehyde by NaB3H4. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) from spinach was inactivated with this reagent at pH 7.0 the presence of 20 mM Mg2+, and tryptic peptides that contained modified histidine residues were isolated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Labeling of the enzyme was conducted in the presence and absence of the competitive inhibitor sedoheptulose 1,7-bisphosphate. The amount of one peptide that was heavily labeled in the absence of this compound was reduced 10-fold in its presence. The labeled residue was histidine-298. This result, in combination with our earlier experiments [Saluja, A. K., & McFadden, B. A. (1982) Biochemistry 21, 89-95], suggests that His-298 in spinach RuBisCO is located in the active site domain and is essential to enzyme activity. This region of the primary structure is strongly conserved in seven other ribulosebisphosphate carboxylases from divergent sources.

Amino Acid Sequence

Essential histidyl residues of ferredoxin-NADP+ oxidoreductase revealed by diethyl pyrocarbonate inactivation.

Diethyl pyrocarbonate inhibited diaphorase activity of ferredoxin-NADP+ oxidoreductase with a second-order rate constant of 2 mM-1 X min-1 at pH 7.0 and 20 degrees C, showing a concomitant increase in absorbance at 242 nm due to formation of carbethoxyhistidyl derivatives. Activity could be restored by hydroxylamine, and the pH curve of inactivation indicated the involvement of a residue having a pKa of 6.8. Derivatization of tyrosyl residues was also evident, although with no effect on the diaphorase activity. Both NADP+ and NADPH protected the enzyme against inactivation, suggesting that the modification occurred at or near the nucleotide binding domain. The reductase lost all of its diaphorase activity after about two histidine residues had been blocked by the reagent. In differential-labeling experiments with NADP+ as protective agent, it was shown that diaphorase inactivation resulted from blocking of only one histidyl residue per mole of enzyme. Modified reductase did not bind pyridine nucleotides. Modification of the flavoprotein in the presence of NADP+, i.e., with full preservation of diaphorase activity, resulted in a significant impairment of cytochrome c reductase activity, with a second-order rate constant for inactivation of about 0.5 mM-1 X min-1. Reversal by hydroxylamine and spectroscopic data indicated that this second residue was also a histidine. Ferredoxin afforded only slight protection against this inhibition. Conversely, carbethoxylation of the enzyme did not affect complex formation with the ferrosulfoprotein. Redox titration of the modified reductase with NADPH and with reduced ferredoxin suggested that the second histidine might be located in the electron pathway between FAD and ferredoxin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Diethyl Pyrocarbonate

Cyclization of uridine monophosphate by diethyl pyrocarbonate.

Reaction between diethyl pyrocarbonate and uridine 2'-phosphate or uridine 3'-phosphate leads to the formation in high yields of uridine 2':3'-cyclic phosphate. This reaction product was identified in experiments involving (a) ultraviolet spectrophotometry, (b) paper chromatography, (c) high voltage paper electrophoresis at both pH 3.5 and 7.4, (d) acid hydrolysis, and (e) digestion with pancreatic ribonuclease.

Alkaline Phosphatase

On the role of histidine residues in cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase: chemical modification with diethyl pyrocarbonate.

Ethoxyformylation with diethyl pyrocarbonate of approximately 1.5 His residues per molecule of enzyme reduced the cyclising activity of both the alpha-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase from Klebsiella pneumoniae strain M 5 al and the beta-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase from Bacillus circulans strain 8 by greater than 90%. Pre-incubation with substrate protected the enzymes from ethoxyformylation. Digestion of starch by the modified enzymes resulted in a delayed formation of cyclodextrins (cyclomalto-oligosaccharides, CDs), but a marked increase in the production of reducing saccharides. Similarly, coupling of alpha CD and maltose and successive disproportionation yielded mainly glucose and malto-oligosaccharides. The results are discussed in the context of the role of conserved His residues for binding of substrate and the transfer reactions.

Amino Acid Sequence

Conformational change of band 3 protein induced by diethyl pyrocarbonate modification in human erythrocyte ghosts.

Diethyl pyrocarbonate inhibited the phosphate exchange across the human erythrocyte membrane. The exchange rate was inhibited only when the membranes were modified with the reagent from the cytosolic surface of resealed ghosts. The intracellular modification by diethyl pyrocarbonate inhibited the extracellular binding of [3H]dihydro-4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid to band 3 protein. Furthermore, the extracellular 4,4'-dinitrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid protected the membranes from the intracellular modification by diethyl pyrocarbonate. These results suggest that the extracellular binding of 4,4'-dinitrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid to band 3 protein induces the conformational change of the intracellular counterpart of band 3 protein and the diethyl pyrocarbonate susceptible residue(s) is (are) hidden from the cytosolic surface of the cell membrane in connection with the conformational change. Conversely, under the conditions where the diethyl pyrocarbonate modification is confined to the intracellular side of the membrane, the extracellular binding site of [3H]dihydro-4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid is hidden from the cell surface.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid

Diethyl pyrocarbonate inactivation of human placental aldehyde reductase II.

Diethyl pyrocarbonate inactivated aldehyde reductase II (L-gulonate:NADP+ 6-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.19) from human placenta. A concentration of 0.5-1.0 mM diethyl pyrocarbonate caused 40-65% loss of activity. The inactivation of the enzyme by diethyl pyrocarbonate was reversed by hydroxylamine and was accompanied by a large change in the absorbance of the protein at 242 nm, but not at 278 nm, indicating that only the histidine residues were modified. NADPH, but not glucuronate afforded significant protection to the enzyme from inactivation by diethyl pyrocarbonate. With 0.2-1.0 mM diethyl pyrocarbonate, 4-5 histidine residues were modified with a pseudo-first-order rate process. A double log plot of the fraction of the unmodified residues indicates that only one functional histidine residue is essential for the catalytic activity of aldehyde reductase II.

Carbohydrate Dehydrogenases

Histidine modification with diethyl pyrocarbonate shows heterogeneity of benzodiazepine receptors.

The effect of diethyl pyrocarbonate modification of histidine on the specific binding of [3H]diazepam and its enhancement with muscimol and (+/-)-pentobarbital was investigated. Diethyl pyrocarbonate treatment produced a dose-related inhibition of specific [3H]diazepam binding to rat brain membranes with a maximal inhibition of approximately 40% at 1 mM. Scatchard analysis of the binding data showed that diethyl pyrocarbonate, while having no effect on the affinity (Kd), decreased the binding capacity (Bmax) of diazepam from a control value of 1543 +/- 116 fmol/mg of protein to 789 +/- 79 fmol/mg of protein (mean +/- SD; P less than 0.005; n = 4). Under conditions in which approximately 40% of the diazepam binding sites were modified by diethyl pyrocarbonate treatment, the ability of muscimol and pentobarbital to enhance diazepam binding was not altered. These results suggest that a histidine residue is critical for a part (approximately 40%) of the benzodiazepine binding sites and that there may exist a heterogeneity of benzodiazepine binding sites. Furthermore, these results indicate that perhaps only a portion of the benzodiazepine binding sites are functionally coupled to the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor-ionophore complex.

Animals

Inactivation of dihydrofolate reductase from Lactobacillus casei by diethyl pyrocarbonate.

The role of histidine residues of dihydrofolate reductase from Lactobacillus casei was investigated with diethyl pyrocarbonate. This enzyme has no cysteine residues and differs in this respect from many nicotinamide nucleotide dehydrogenases, which have catalytically important sulfhydryl groups. X-ray studies of this enzyme have shown that histidine residues are involved in substrate binding but not in proton transfer [Matthews et al. (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 6946]. Dihydrofolate reductase was inactivated by diethyl pyrocarbonate; the second-order rate constant for the reaction was 29 M-1 min-1 at 0 degrees C. The difference spectrum of native and diethyl pyrocarbonate inactivated enzyme had a maximum near 242 nm, which indicated a reaction with histidine residues. The absence of any spectral difference near 280 nm indicated that diethyl pyrocarbonate had not reacted with tyrosine residues. Dihydrofolate reductase lost all of its enzymatic activity after about six of the seven histidine residues had been modified. No catalytic activity was lost during an initial rapid reaction with about four histidine residues, but a subsequent slower reaction involving an additional one or two residues was associated with the loss of activity. The enzyme was protected from inactivation by either of the substrates NADPH or dihydrofolate. In fact, treatment with diethyl pyrocarbonate in the presence of either substrate, but particularly with NADPH, resulted in substantially greater activity than that found with untreated enzyme. Treatment with 1 M hydroxylamine partially restored activity to dihydrofolate reductase that had been inactivated by diethyl pyrocarbonate.

Binding Sites

Reaction of diethyl pyrocarbonate with nucleic acid components. I. Adenine.

The use of diethyl pyrocarbonate as a nuclease inhibitor in the preparation of RNA of high molecular weight has prompted a study of the possible reactions of this compound with nucleic acid components under the conditions generally employed for providing inhibition. The first substrate investigated was adenine, which has been found to undergo ring opening with the formation of 5(4)-N-carbethoxyaminoimidazole-4(5)-N'- carbethoxycarboxamidine (II). This product was converted efficiently to isoguanine by treatment with ammonia. The structure of II was established by spectroscopy. For comparisons of reactivity and of spectroscopic and chromatographic properties with the adenine-diethyl pyrocarbonate product, the compounds 9-carbethoxyadenine, 6-N-carbethoxyaminopurine (V), and 6-ethylaminopurine were made; compound V was made by employing the 1-ethoxyethyl protecting group in the synthetic sequence. Purine compounds can be converted to 9-(1-ethoxyethyl) derivatives simply by refluxing in acetal. The facile reaction of adenine with diethyl pyrocarbonate illustrates the importance of gaining information as to the fate of various nucleic acid components in the presence of diethyl pyrocarbonate.

Adenine

The reaction of diethyl pyrocarbonate with pyruvate kinase.

Diethyl pyrocarbonate inactivates muscle pyruvate kinase with the substitution of 3-4 histidine residues per subunit. Phosphoenolpyruvate, ATP and ADP to a lesser extent, and Mg(2+) and pyruvate to a small extent, protect against inactivation.

Adenosine Diphosphate

Chemical modification of 3 alpha,20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase with diethyl pyrocarbonate. Evidence for an essential, highly reactive, lysyl residue.

Diethyl pyrocarbonate inactivated the tetrameric 3 alpha,20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase with second-order rate constants of 1.63 M-1 s-1 at pH 6 and 25 degrees C or 190 M-1 s-1 at pH 9.4 and 25 degrees C. The activity was slowly and partially restored by incubation with hydroxylamine (81% reactivation after 28 h with 0.1 M hydroxylamine, pH 9, 25 degrees C). NADH protected the enzyme against inactivation with a Kd (10 microM) very close to the Km (7 microM) for the coenzyme. The ultraviolet difference spectrum of inactivated vs. native enzyme indicated that a single histidyl residue per enzyme subunit was modified by diethyl pyrocarbonate, with a second-order rate constant of 1.8 M-1 s-1 at pH 6 and 25 degrees C. The histidyl residue, however, was not essential for activity because in the presence of NADH it was modified without enzyme inactivation and modification of inactivated enzyme was rapidly reversed by hydroxylamine without concomitant reactivation. Progesterone, in the presence of NAD+, protected the histidyl residue against modification, and this suggests that the residue is located in or near the steroid binding site of the enzyme. Diethyl pyrocarbonate also modified, with unusually high reaction rate, one lysyl residue per enzyme subunit, as demonstrated by dinitrophenylation experiments carried out on the treated enzyme. The correlation between inactivation and modification of lysyl residues at different pHs and the protection by NADH against both inactivation and modification of lysyl residues indicate that this residue is essential for activity and is located in or near the NADH binding site of the enzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Binding Sites

Recognition of tRNA by the enzyme ATP/CTP:tRNA nucleotidyltransferase. Interference by nucleotides modified with diethyl pyrocarbonate or hydrazine.

Treatment of tRNA with diethyl pyrocarbonate or hydrazine prior to incubation with the enzyme ATP/CTP:tRNA nucleotidyltransferase and [alpha-32P]ATP results in exclusion of modified bases from labeled molecules. Purines modified with diethyl pyrocarbonate, which interfere with enzyme recognition, cluster at the corner of the tRNA molecule, where the D- and psi-loops are juxtaposed in all 15 tRNAs used in this study. When the enzyme is isolated from Escherichia coli, few other sites of interference are evident near the 3'-end; when the homologous enzyme from yeast is used, more exclusions are apparent near the 3'-end. Modification of uridines with hydrazine has no effect on interaction with the enzyme, except for one uridine near the 3'-end of tRNA(Gly). Interference of enzyme activity by modified bases can be overcome by longer incubation times or increased concentrations of enzyme.

Diethyl Pyrocarbonate

Chemical modification of pig kidney 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase with diethyl pyrocarbonate. Evidence for an essential histidyl residue.

Diethyl pyrocarbonate inhibits pig kidney holo-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase with a second-order rate constant of 1170 M-1 min-1 at pH 6.8 and 25 degrees C, showing a concomitant increase in absorbance at 242 nm due to formation of carbethoxyhistidyl derivatives. Activity can be restored by hydroxylamine, and the pH curve of inactivation indicates the involvement of a residue with a pKa of 6.03. Complete inactivation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase requires the modification of 6 histidine residues/mol of enzyme. Statistical analysis of the residual enzyme activity and of the extent of modification shows that, among 6 modifiable residues, only one is critical for activity. Protection exerted by substrate analogues, which bind to the active site of the enzyme, suggests that the modification occurs at or near the active site. The modified inactivated 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase still retains most of its ability to bind substrates. Thus, it may be suggested that the inactivation of enzyme by diethyl pyrocarbonate is not due to nonspecific steric or conformational changes which prevent substrate binding. However, the modified enzyme fails to produce at high pH either an enzyme-substrate complex or an enzyme-product complex absorbing at 390 nm. Considerations on this peculiar feature of the modified enzyme consistent with a catalytic role for the modified histidyl residue are discussed. The overall conclusion of this study may be that the modification of only one histidyl residue of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase inactivates the enzyme and that this residue plays an essential role in the mechanism of action of the enzyme.

Animals

Modification of the insulin receptor by diethyl pyrocarbonate: effect on insulin binding and action.

Insulin binding to rat liver plasma membranes is inhibited in a time- and dose-dependent fashion by prior treatment of membranes with the histidine-specific reagent diethyl pyrocarbonate. If all receptors are occupied by unlabeled hormone during diethyl pyrocarbonate treatment, no inhibition of 125I-labeled insulin binding is observed folowing washout of unlabeled hormone and unreacted reagent. Scatchard analysis of the binding inhibtion due to diethyl pyrocarbonate reveals a loss in receptor number rather than a change in receptor affinity for hormone. Fat cells treated with diethyl pyrocarbonate exhibit a rightward shift in the dose-response relationship for insulin-stimulated glucose oxidation consistent with a loss in receptor number due to the reagent. The pH profile for inhibition of insulin binding by diethyl pyrocarbonate and the partial reversibility of this inhibition by hydroxylamine are consistent with modification of a histidine residue. These results suggest that a histidine residue at or near the receptor binding site is required for formation of the biologically relevant insulin - receptor complex.

Adipose Tissue

Effect of diethyl pyrocarbonate modification on spectral and steady-state kinetic properties of bovine heart cytochrome oxidase.

The histidine-specific reagent diethyl pyrocarbonate has been used to chemically modify bovine heart cytochrome oxidase. Thirty-two of sixty-seven histidine residues of cytochrome oxidase are accessible to modification by diethyl pyrocarbonate. Effects on the Soret and alpha bands of the heme spectrum indicate disturbance in the environment of one or both of the heme groups. However, diethyl pyrocarbonate modification does not alter the 830-nm absorbance band, suggesting that the environment of CuA is unchanged. Maximal modification of cytochrome oxidase by diethyl pyrocarbonate results in loss of 85-90% of the steay-state electron transfer activity, which can be reversed by hydroxylamine treatment. However, modification of the first 20 histidines does not alter either activity or the heme spectrum, but only when 32 residues have been modified are the activity and heme spectral changes complete. The steady-state kinetic profile of fully modified oxidase is monophasic; the phase corresponding to tight cytochrome c binding and low turnover is retained, whereas the high turnover phase is abolished. Proteoliposomes incorporated with modified oxidase have a 65% lower respiratory control ratio and 40% lower proton pumping stoichiometry than liposomes containing unmodified oxidase. These results are discussed in terms of a redox-linked proton pumping model for energy coupling via cytochrome oxidase.

Animals