J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 261, Issue 23, 10646-10652, Aug, 1986
Kinetic, equilibrium, and spectroscopic studies on dealkylation ("aging") of alkyl organophosphonyl acetylcholinesterase. Electrostatic control of enzyme topography
HA Berman and MM Decker
The mechanism of dealkylation ("aging") of branched-alkyl organophosphonyl
conjugates of acetylcholinesterase and the consequence of this reaction on
enzyme conformation were examined by employing kinetic, equilibrium, and
spectroscopic techniques. Aging of cycloheptyl
methylphosphono-acetylcholinesterase proceeded as a unimolecular reaction
in which the enzyme became refractory to oxime reactivation and was
accelerated with increases in temperature and decreases in pH and ionic
strength of the medium. While aging occurred in a manner invariant with the
nature of the salt in buffers containing Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+, Cl-, CH3COO-,
SO2-(4), and PO3-(4), the influence of ionic strength on aging was opposite
to that predicted for a mechanism requiring charge separation during
formation of the polar transition state. Examination of the equilibrium
enzyme conformation with decidium, a fluorescent active center-selective
ligand, revealed marked alterations in ligand association and a greater
ionic strength dependence for binding after aging. The explanation for this
behavior focuses on the high net negative surface charge of the enzyme and
proposes that acetylcholinesterase topography is governed by the strength
of electrostatic interactions between charged, contiguous, mobile protein
regions within the subunit. As such, these studies reveal a reciprocal
relationship between acetylcholinesterase topography, surface charge, and
ionic strength of the medium.