Search

The diverse inhibitors of bovine heart mitochondrial complex I (NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase) are believed to share a common large binding domain with partially overlapping sites, though it remains unclear how these binding sites relate to each other. To obtain new insight into the inhibitor binding domain in complex I, we synthesized a photoreactive azidoquinazoline {[(125)I]-6-azido-4-(4-iodophenethylamino)quinazoline, [(125)I]AzQ}, in which a photolabile azido group was introduced into the toxophoric quinazoline ring to allow specific cross-linking, and carried out a photoaffinity labeling study using bovine heart submitochondrial particles. Analysis of the photo-cross-linked proteins by peptide mass fingerprinting and immunoblotting revealed that [(125)I]AzQ specifically binds to the 49 kDa and ND1 subunits with a frequency of approximately 4:1. The cross-linking was completely blocked by excess amounts of other inhibitors such as acetogenin and fenpyroximate. Considerable cross-linking was also detected in the ADP/ATP carrier and 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, though it was not associated with dysfunction of the two proteins. The partial proteolysis of the [(125)I]AzQ-labeled 49 kDa subunit by V8-protease and N-terminal sequencing of the resulting peptides revealed that the amino acid residue cross-linked by [(125)I]AzQ is within the sequence region Thr25-Glu143 (118 amino acids). Furthermore, examination of fragment patterns generated by exhaustive digestion of the [(125)I]AzQ-labeled 49 kDa subunit by V8-protease, lysylendopeptidase, or trypsin strongly suggested that the cross-linked residue is located within the region Asp41-Arg63 (23 amino acids). The present study has revealed, for the first time, the inhibitor binding site in complex I at the sub-subunit level.

We have synthesized Deltalac-acetogenins that are new acetogenin mimics possessing two n-alkyl tails without an alpha,beta-unsaturated gamma-lactone ring and suggested that their inhibition mechanism may be different from that of common acetogenins [Hamada et al. (2004) Biochemistry 43, 3651-3658]. To elucidate the inhibition mechanism of Deltalac-acetogenins in more detail, we carried out wide structural modifications of original Deltalac-acetogenins and characterized the inhibitory action with bovine heart mitochondrial complex I. In contrast to common acetogenins, both the presence of adjacent bis-THF rings and the stereochemistry around the hydroxylated bis-THF rings are important structural factors required for potent inhibition. The inhibitory potency of a derivative possessing an n-butylphenyl ether structure (compound 7) appeared to be superior to that of the original Deltalac-acetogenins and equivalent to that of bullatacin, one of the most potent natural acetogenins. Double-inhibitor titration of steady-state complex I activity showed that the extent of inhibition of compound 7 and bullatacin is not additive, suggesting that the binding sites of the two inhibitors are not identical. Competition tests using a fluorescent ligand indicated that the binding site of compound 7 does not overlap with that of other complex I inhibitors. The effects of compound 7 on superoxide production from complex I are also different from those of other complex I inhibitors. Our results clearly demonstrate that Deltalac-acetogenins are a novel type of inhibitor acting at the terminal electron-transfer step of bovine complex I.

Studies on the inhibition mechanism of acetogenins, the most potent inhibitors of complex I, are useful to elucidate the structural and functional features of the terminal electron-transfer step of this enzyme. We synthesized acetogenin mimics that possess two alkyl tails without a gamma-lactone ring, named Deltalac-acetogenin, and examined their inhibitory action on bovine heart mitochondrial complex I. Unexpectedly, the Deltalac-acetogenin carrying two n-undecanyl groups (compound 3) elicited very potent inhibition comparable to that of bullatacin. The inhibitory potency of compound 3 markedly decreased with shortening the length of either or both alkyl tails, indicating that symmetric as well as hydrophobic properties of the inhibitor are important for the inhibition. Both acetylation and deoxygenation of either or both of two OH groups adjacent to the tetrahydrofuran (THF) rings resulted in a significant decrease in inhibitory potency. These structural dependencies of the inhibitory action of Deltalac-acetogenins are in marked contrast to those of ordinary acetogenins. Double-inhibitor titration of steady-state complex I activity showed that inhibition of compound 3 and bullatacin are not additive, though the inhibition site of both inhibitors is downstream of iron-sulfur cluster N2. Our results indicate that the mode of inhibitory action of Deltalac-acetogenins differs from that of ordinary acetogenins. Therefore, Deltalac-acetogenins can be regarded as a novel type of inhibitor acting on the terminal electron-transfer step of complex I.

The catalytic mechanism of glutathione synthetase is proposed to proceed via phosphorylation of the dipeptide substrate to yield an acyl phosphate intermediate; this intermediate is subsequently attacked by glycine, followed by loss of inorganic phosphate, leading to glutathione formation. A flexible loop (Ile226-Gly242) in Escherichia coli B glutathione synthetase is proposed to stabilize the acyl phosphate intermediate by preventing its decomposition by hydrolysis with water [Tanaka, T., Kato, H., Nishioka, T., & Oda, J. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 2259-2265; Tanaka, T., Yamaguchi, H., Kato, H., Nishioka, T., Katsube, Y., & Oda, J. (1993) Biochemistry 32, 12398-12404]. To investigate the function of the loop in the E. coli enzyme definitely, a loopless mutant in which the loop (Ile226-Arg241) was replaced with three residues of glycine was constructed. The crystal structure of the loopless mutant enzyme was essentially identical with that of the wild-type enzyme. Kinetic measurements showed that the replacement of the loop led to increases in the Km values, especially for the glycine, and a 930-fold decrease in the k0 value. Hence, the loopless mutant was 3 x 10(4) less active in terms of its specificity constant (k0/Km) for glycine than the wild-type enzyme. Moreover, the loopless mutant showed gamma-L-glutamyl-L-cysteine-dependent ATP hydrolase activity to almost the same extent as its glutathione synthetase activity. These studies support the fact that the loop enhances the recognition of glycine as well as stabilizes the acyl phosphate intermediate so that the intermediate rapidly reacts with glycine.

A novel one-pot synthesis of optically active cyanohydrin acetates from aldehydes has been accomplished by lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution coupled with in situ formation and racemization of cyanohydrins in an organic solvent. Racemic cyanohydrins 2, generated from aldehydes 1 and acetone cyanohydrin in diisopropyl ether under the catalysis of baric anion-exchange resin (OH - form), were acetylated stereoselectively by a lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia (Amano) with isopropenyl acetate as an acylating reagent

The function of the flexible loop which is disordered in crystal structure analysis of glutathione synthetase from Escherichia coli B has been investigated by limited proteolysis and kinetic measurements for the wild-type and mutant enzymes. Proteolysis of the intact enzyme using arginyl endopeptidase or trypsin brought about a time-dependent decrease in the enzymatic activity and the production of protein fragments. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and peptide sequence analysis showed that only a peptide bond between arginine 233 and glycine 234 in the loop was cleaved. Further, native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that the cleaved enzyme retained almost the same quaternary structure as that of the wild-type enzyme. Upon protease treatment, the presence of substrates, ATP and/or gamma-L-glutamyl-L-cysteine (gamma-Glu-Cys), protected the loop from cleavage, but the presence of glycine was not capable of protecting it. In addition, replacement of arginine 233 in the loop with lysine by site-directed mutagenesis increased the Michaelis constants for gamma-Glu-Cys and glycine by factors of 28 and 213, respectively. The protection against cleavage on a similar protease incubation of this mutant enzyme was also observed in the presence of ATP and/or gamma-Glu-Cys, but the effect in the presence of both substrates was half as large as that for the wild-type enzyme. These results suggest that the loop covers the active site while ATP and gamma-Glu-Cys bind there and that it protects the unstable gamma-Glu-Cys phosphate intermediate from decomposition by bulk water.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Optically active lactones were synthesized by a novel asymmetric synthesis in which enantiotopic groups remote from a prochiral center were effectively discriminated. The cyclic diamide alcohols bearing a C 2 -chiral auxiliary, (+)-[1,1'-binaphthyl]-2,2'-diamine (4), were designed and prepared such that the hydroxyl group should attack preferentially at one of the two carbonyl groups. By the catalytic action of trifluoroacetic acid, the substrates 6a,b and 19 were smoothly converted to the lactones the configurations of which were determined to be R, S, and R, respectively

at will. Although the capacity shown here compares more than well with, for example, a biological alternative method using the protein cellulasea [the amounts of timolol with optimal base-line separation were 18.9 and 19.9 pg/g of dry CSP, respectively (Figure 2), and in connection with the aforementioned polarimetric study of propranolol, with fair resolution but no base-line separation, 400 p g / g of dry CSP], work aimed at increasing the capacity of analogous imprinted polymers is in progress and will further increase the applicability of the technique for (semi)preparative isolation of pure enantiomers of compounds such as &blockers. However, we feel that already today the removal of contaminating small amounts of the nondesired enantiomer may be feasible on a technical scale with the described technique.

When the relative hydrogen-bonding effect of drugs on phases involved in the binding at the site of biological action differs from that in the 1-octanol-H2O partitioning phases used as the reference to estimate the hydrophobicity, a parameter (or parameters) which represents the "extra" hydrogen-bonding effect on the biological activity is required in the Hansch-type correlations. As a first approximation, the effect is analyzed in terms of the ratio of hydrogen-bonding association constants and the ratio of molarities of hydrogen-bonding species constituting the biological and organic phases. Sometimes, the association constants in both phases are so similar that they are not important in determining the extra hydrogen-bonding effect. The net result is that the effect is expressible by an indicator variable term the slope of which corresponds to the molarity ratio. The variable only applies to substituents having appreciable association capability in correlating a certain biological action exhibited by a series of congeners.