J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 261, Issue 24, 11003-11009, Aug, 1986
Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent histidine decarboxylase. Inactivation by alpha-fluoromethylhistidine and comparative sequences at the inhibitor- and coenzyme-binding sites
H Hayashi, S Tanase and EE Snell
Pyridoxal phosphate-dependent histidine decarboxylase from Morganella
morganii AM-15 was inactivated by (S)-alpha-fluoromethylhistidine by a
pseudo first-order reaction, with KI and k inact values of 0.1 mM and 32.2
min-1, respectively, and was most efficient at pH 6.5-7.0. Both L-
histidine and the competitive inhibitor, L-histidine methyl ester,
protected against inactivation. The apoenzyme was not inactivated. These
findings indicate that inhibition is a mechanism-based process. Under
optimal conditions a single molecule of alpha- fluoromethylhistidine
inactivates one enzyme subunit, indicating that no escaping side reaction
occurs during the inactivation process. The bound inactivator is not
released by dialysis of the native protein but is released upon
denaturation by heat or urea. This released product was not fully
characterized, but it contains the tritium of ring- labeled
alpha-fluoromethyl-[3H]histidine, exhibits the spectral properties of a
3-hydroxypyridine derivative, and does not yield any amino acids on
hydrolysis. The label was much more stable following borohydride reduction
of the inactivated protein, and a tryptic peptide containing the modified
residue was isolated. Sequencing of this peptide and the corresponding
peptide from the native enzyme revealed that the inactivator binds to a
serine residue of the holoenzyme. Two P- pyridoxyl peptides from tryptic or
CNBr digests of the NaBH4-reduced enzyme were also isolated. Sequence and
compositional data obtained with these peptides showed that the serine
residue to which the inhibitor binds is not near the lysine residue that
binds pyridoxal-P in the primary sequence of the protein, although the two
residues must be near one another in the three-dimensional structure to
account for these results. A speculative mechanism for inactivation,
consistent with the experimental findings, is presented.