Steady State Kinetics of Glutamine Cyclotransferase

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-1994

Department

Chemistry and Biochemistry

School

Mathematics and Natural Sciences

Abstract

The reaction mechanism of papaya latex glutamine cyclotransferase was studied using pH and temperature dependencies, a proton inventory technique, and molecular modeling. The pH-dependence of the Michaelis-Menten parameters showed that the published pH dependence of the enzyme "activity" was mainly the result of pH-dependent change of the active (unprotonated) substrate concentration. The enzyme activity as such changed very slightly in the pH range between 4.5 and 10. The solvent kinetic isotope effect reflected a change in Vm while the proton inventory was found to be linear with the fractionation factor of the exchangeable proton in the transition state of 0.785. The results were not consistent with an acyl-enzyme mechanism, but rather favored a simple intramolecular cyclization of the glutamine residue to the pyroglutamic acid residue. The mechanism proposed consists of the following main steps: (i) intramolecular nucleophilic attack on the γ-C=O carbon by the nitrogen of the α-amino group, (ii) transfer of a proton from the α-amino group to the nitrogen of the amide group, facilitated by an acidic group of the enzyme, and (iii) expulsion of the ammonia-leaving group promoted by this or another acidic enzyme group.

Publication Title

Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics

Volume

309

Issue

2

First Page

300

Last Page

307

Link to Full Text

Find in your library

Share

COinS