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Cytosolic glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH, EC 1.1.1.8) is an important branch point enzyme connecting lipid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism. We investigated the dynamic nature of G3PDH by purifying the enzyme from the liver of Richardson's ground squirrel (Urocitellus richardsonii), a hibernating species, and analyzing its structural and functional changes during hibernation. Kinetic parameters of purified G3PDH from ground squirrel liver were characterized at 37, 22 and 5°C and compared between euthermic and hibernating states. Relative to euthermic liver G3PDH, hibernator liver G3PDH had a decreased affinity for its substrate, glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P), at 37°C and 22°C. However, at 5°C, there was a significant increase in the affinity for G3P in the hibernating form of the enzyme, relative to the euthermic form. Furthermore, the structure of G3PDH in the species' hibernating state showed greater thermal stability compared to its structure in the euthermic state. Western blot analysis revealed greater tyrosine phosphorylation in hibernator G3PDH as compared to euthermic G3PDH. In addition, using the protein sequence of the hibernating thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) and bioinformatics tools, a three-dimensional model of G3PDH was built to identify the potential phosphorylation site ( 83 Tyr) responsible for the differential phosphorylation between euthermic and hibernator G3PDH. The structural and functional changes in G3PDH support the enzyme's function at a low core body temperature experienced during the species hibernating season., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase (alpha-GPO) from Enterococcus casseli flavus was successfully isolated and purified by using polyethylene glycol (PEG)/(NH4)2SO4 aqueous two-phase system (ATPS). The results showed that the chosen PEG/(NH4)2SO4 ATPS could be affected by PEG molecular weight, pH, concentration of PEG and (NH4)2SO4, and inorganic salt as well as additional amount of crude enzyme. After evaluating these influencing factors, the final optimum purification strategy was formed by 16.5% (m/m) PEG2000, 13.2% (m/m) (NH4)2SO4, pH 7.5 and 30% (m/m) additive crude enzyme, respectively. The NaCl was a negative influencing factor which would lead to lower purification fold and activity recovery. These conditions eventually resulted in the activity recovery of 89% (m/m), distribution coefficient of 1.2 and purification fold of 7.0.

Dunaliella salina could survive in media containing a wide range of NaCl concentrations ranging from about 0.05 M to saturation (around 5.5 M). Glycerol is an important osmolyte when Dunaliella survive in various salt environments, and G3pdh is a key enzyme in glycerol metabolism. The osmotic response of D. salina was investigated by studying its cell growth, glycerol content change, and isozyme activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3pdh) in different salinities. Results showed that 2.0 M NaCl was the optimal salinity for the growth of D. salina, in which condition the highest glycerol content of 64.02 +/- 3.21 (mean +/- SD) microg/mL was detected. D. salina could rapidly increase or decrease glycerol contents to adapt to hypoosmotic or hyperosmotic environments. The glycerol content declined 52.05% when salinity was changed from 2.0 to 0.5 M NaCl, and the glycerol content increased 43.61% when salinity was increased from 2.0 to 5.0 M NaCl. In the isozyme electrophoresis assay two kinds of isozymes, G3pdh and superoxide dismutase (Sod), were detected synchronously. Interestingly, it was first found that there are five isozymes of G3pdh in D. salina. G3pdh-2 mainly takes effect in moderate to high salinities, whereas the other four isozymes take effect in low salinities, which may provide an important clue for future research on osmoregulation mechanisms.

sn-Glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase is responsible for the formation of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate, the backbone of membrane phospholipids of Archaea. This activity had never been detected in cell-free extract of Sulfolobus sp. Here we report the detection of this activity on the thermostable ST0344 protein of Sulfolobus tokodaii expressed in Escherichia coli, which was predicted from genomic information on S. tokodaii. This is another line of evidence for the general mechanism of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate formation by the enzyme.

Toward enhancing in vitro membrane protein studies, we have utilized small self-assembling peptides with detergent properties ("peptergents") to extract and stabilize the integral membrane flavoenzyme, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GlpD), and the soluble redox flavoenzyme, NADH peroxidase (Npx). GlpD is a six transmembrane spanning redox enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of glycerol-3-phosphate to dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Although detergents such as n-octyl-beta-D-glucpyranoside can efficiently solubilize the enzyme, GlpD is inactivated within days once reconstituted into detergent micelles. In contrast, peptergents can efficiently extract and solubilize GlpD from native Escherichia coli membrane and maintain its enzymatic activity up to 10 times longer than in traditional detergents. Intriguingly, peptergents also extended the activity of a soluble flavoenzyme, Npx, when used as an additive. Npx is a flavoenzyme that catalyzes the two-electron reduction of hydrogen peroxide to water using a cysteine-sulfenic acid as a secondary redox center. The lability of the peroxidase results from oxidation of the sulfenic acid to the sulfinic or sulfonic acid forms. Oxidation of the sulfenic acid, the secondary redox center, results in inactivation, and this reaction proceeds in vitro even in the presence of reducing agents. Although the exact mechanism by which peptergents influence solution stability of Npx remains to be determined, the positive effects may be due to antioxidant properties of the peptides. Peptide-based detergents can be beneficial for many applications and may be particularly useful for structural and functional studies of membrane proteins due to their propensity to enhance the formation of ordered supramolecular assemblies.

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites, phylogenetically allied to the fungi. Once considered amitochondriate, now a number of mitochondrion-derived genes have been described from various species, and the relict organelle was recently identified in Trachipleistophora hominis. We have investigated the expression of potential mitochondrial targeted proteins in the spore stage to determine whether the organelle is likely to have a role in the spore or early infection stage. To investigate whether the Antonospora locustae genome codes for a different complement of mitochondrial proteins than Encephalitozoon cuniculi an EST library was searched for putative mitochondrial genes that have not been identified in the E. cuniculi genome project. The spore is the infectious stage of microsporidia, but is generally considered to be metabolically dormant. Fourteen genes for putatively mitochondrion-targeted proteins were shown to be present in purified spore mRNA by 3'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends and EST sequencing. Pyruvate dehydrogenase E1alpha and mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase proteins were also shown to be present in A. locustae and E. cuniculi spores, respectively, suggesting a role for these proteins in the early stages of infection, or within the spore itself. EST sequencing also revealed two mitochondrial protein-encoding genes in A. locustae that are not found in the genome of E. cuniculi. One encodes a possible pyruvate transporter, the other a subunit of the mitochondrial inner membrane peptidase. In yeast mitochondria, this protein is part of a trimeric complex that processes proteins targeted to the inner membrane and the intermembrane space, and its substrate in A. locustae is presently unknown.

Cytoplasmic alpha-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from fruit-bat-breast muscle was purified by ion-exchange and affinity chromatography. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was approximately 120 units/mg of protein. The apparent molecular weight of the native enzyme, as determined by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 was 59,500 +/- 650 daltons; its subunit size was estimated to be 35,700 +/- 140 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The true Michaelis-Menten constants for all substrates at pH 7.5 were 3.9 +/- 0.7 mM, 0.65 +/- 0.05 mM, 0.26 +/- 0.06 mM, and 0.005 +/- 0.0004 mM for L-glycerol-3-phosphate, NAD(+), DHAP, and NADH, respectively. The true Michaelis-Menten constants at pH 10.0 were 2.30 +/- 0.21 mM and 0.20 +/- 0.01 mM for L-glycerol-3-phosphate and NAD(+), respectively. The turnover number, k(cat), of the forward reaction was 1.9 +/- 0.2 x 10(4)s(-1). The treatment of the enzyme with 5,5'-dithiobis-2-nitrobenzoic acid (DTNB) under denaturing conditions indicated that there were a total of eight cysteine residues, while only two of these residues were reactive towards DTNB in the native enzyme. The overall results of the in vitro experiments suggest that alpha-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase of the fruit bat preferentially catalyses the reduction of dihydroxyacetone phosphate to glycerol-3-phosphate.

The osmoregulatory isoform of dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) reductase (Osm-DHAPR) is an enzyme unique to Dunaliella, photosynthetic unicellular green algae adapted to extreme environments. This is the first report of purification of an isoform of DHAP reductase from Dunaliella, specifically the osmoregulatory isoform that is involved in the synthesis of free glycerol for osmoregulation in extreme environments, such as high salinity. The Osm-DHAPR is cold labile, inactivated by ammonium sulfate, forms a strong complex with Rubisco, and is unstable in the absence of glycerol. These difficulties have been addressed, and a four-step procedure has been developed to purify the Osm-DHAPR from Dunaliella tertiolecta: precipitation of Rubisco by polyethylene glycol, followed by successive chromatography on DEAE cellulose, Sephacryl S-200, and Red Agarose. Yield of the purified enzyme was 3.6%, with a specific activity of 938 micromol.min-1.mg-1 of protein and a subunit molecular mass of approximately 38 kDa. A maximum specific activity of 2580 micromol.min-1.mg-1 of protein could be achieved by assay with 150 mM NaCl. The Osm-DHAPR had little preference for NADH or NADPH, but it is highly specific for DHAP. Other metabolites of glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and the C3 reductive photosynthetic carbon cycle were not reduced by the enzyme. The purified enzyme was stimulated three-fold by 150 to 250 mM NaCl/KCl and by 25 mM MgCl2. Detergents, lipids, or long-chain acyl CoA derivatives, all of which inhibited the chloroplastic glyceride form of DHAP reductase, did not affect the activity of Osm-DHAPR. The Osm-DHAPR has different properties than the other chloroplastic isoform of DHAP reductase from plants and algae for glycerol phosphate formation and triglyceride synthesis., (Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).)

Oxidation of glycerophosphate (GP) by brown adipose tissue mitochondria in the presence of antimycin A was found to be accompanied by significant production of hydrogen peroxide. GP-dependent hydrogen peroxide production could be detected by p-hydroxyphenylacetate fluorescence changes or as an antimycin A-insensitive oxygen consumption. One-electron acceptor, potassium ferricyanide, highly stimulated the rate of GP-dependent antimycin A-insensitive oxygen uptake, which was prevented by inhibitors of mitochondrial GP dehydrogenase (mGPDH) or by coenzyme Q (CoQ). GP-dependent ferricyanide-induced peroxide production was also determined luminometrically, using mitochondria or partially purified mGPDH. Ferricyanide-induced peroxide production was negligible, when succinate or NADH was used as a substrate. These results indicate that hydrogen peroxide is produced directly by mGPDH and reflect the differences in the transport of reducing equivalents from mGPDH and succinate dehydrogenase to the CoQ pool. The data suggest that more intensive production of reactive oxygen species may be present in mammalian cells with active mGPDH.

A gene having high sequence homology (45-49%) with the glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase gene from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum was cloned from the aerobic hyperthermophilic archaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1 (JCM 9820). This gene expressed in Escherichia coli with the pET vector system consists of 1113 nucleotides with an ATG initiation codon and a TAG termination codon. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 38 kDa by SDS/PAGE and 72.4 kDa by gel column chromatography, indicating presence as a dimer. The optimum reaction temperature of this enzyme was observed to be 94-96 degrees C at near neutral pH. This enzyme was subjected to two-substrate kinetic analysis. The enzyme showed substrate specificity for NAD(P)H-dependent dihydroxyacetone phosphate reduction and NAD(+)-dependent glycerol-1-phosphate (Gro1P) oxidation. NADP(+)-dependent Gro1P oxidation was not observed with this enzyme. For the production of Gro1P in A. pernix cells, NADPH is the preferred coenzyme rather than NADH. Gro1P acted as a noncompetitive inhibitor against dihydroxyacetone phosphate and NAD(P)H. However, NAD(P)(+) acted as a competitive inhibitor against NAD(P)H and as a noncompetitive inhibitor against dihydroxyacetone phosphate. This kinetic data indicates that the catalytic reaction by glycerol- 1-phosphate dehydrogenase from A. pernix follows a ordered bi-bi mechanism.

Cytosolic glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase was purified from jerboa (Jaculus orientalis) skeletal muscle and its physical and kinetic properties investigated. The purification method consisted of a multi-step procedure and this procedure is presented. The specific activity of the purified enzyme is 53.6 U/mg of protein, representing a 77-fold increase in specific activity. The apparent Michaelis constant (Km) for dihydroxyacetone is 137.39 (+/- 25.56) microM whereas the Km for glycerol-3-phosphate is 468.66 (+/- 27.59) microM. The kinetic mechanism of purified enzyme is 'ordered Bi-Bi' and this result is confirmed by the product inhibition pattern. Under the conditions of assay, the pH optimum occurs at pH 7.7 for the reduction of dihydroxyacetone phosphate and at pH 9.0 for glycerol-3-phosphate oxidation. In the direction of dihydroxyacetone phosphate, the optimal temperature is 35 degrees C. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is 33,000 (+/- 1000), whereas non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel yields a molecular weight of 72,000 (+/- 2000), suggesting that the enzyme may exist as a dimer. A polyclonal antiserum raised against the purified enzyme was used to localize the enzyme in different jerboa tissues by Western blot method. The purified enzyme is sensitive to N-ethylmaleimide, and incubation of the enzyme with 20 mM N-ethylmaleimide resulted in a complete loss of catalytic activity. The purified enzyme is inhibited by several metal ions including Zn2+ and by 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid.

Glycerophosphate oxidase was purified from Aerococcus viridans cells by phase partitioning in Triton X-114, ammonium sulfate fractionation, FPLC ion-exchange chromatography and FPLC hydrophobic-interaction chromatography. The purification achieved from a crude extract of A. viridans was 38-fold with a 32% recovery of activity. Under the growth conditions used, A. viridans strain CECT 978 proved to be an excellent glycerophosphate-oxidase producer, with enzyme production 2,800-fold greater than that described in the literature for the same microorganism. The culture medium used in the present work is that commonly used for cultivation of this microorganism, except that an H2O2-decomposing enzyme was added. The addition of catalase to the growth medium had a clear effect on the growth rate. Furthermore, methylglyoxal, a metabolite that is formed enzymatically from triose phosphates, was found to be an inactivator of glycerophosphate oxidase activity.

Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from pig brain mitochondria was stimulated 2.2-fold by the addition of 50 microm l-ascorbic acid. Enzyme activity, dependent upon the presence of l-ascorbic acid, was inhibited by lauryl gallate, propyl gallate, protocatechuic acid ethyl ester, and salicylhydroxamic acid. Homogeneous pig brain mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase was activated by either 150 microm L-ascorbic acid (56%) or 300 microm iron (Fe(2+) or Fe(3+) (62%)) and 2.6-fold by the addition of both L-ascorbic acid and iron. The addition of L-ascorbic acid and iron resulted in a significant increase of k(cat) from 21.1 to 64.1 s(-1), without significantly increasing the K(m) of L-glycerol-3-phosphate (10.0-14.5 mm). The activation of pure glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase by either L-ascorbic acid or iron or its combination could be totally inhibited by 200 microm propyl gallate. The metabolism of [5-(3)H]glucose and the glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from rat insulinoma cells, INS-1, were effectively inhibited by 500 microm or 1 mm propyl gallate and to a lesser extent by 5 mm aminooxyacetate, a potent malate-aspartate shuttle inhibitor. The combined data support the conclusion that l-ascorbic acid is a physiological activator of mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, that the enzyme is potently inhibited by agents that specifically inhibit certain classes of di-iron metalloenzymes, and that the enzyme is chiefly responsible for the proximal signal events in INS-1 cell glucose-stimulated insulin release.

The properties of microbial L-alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase (GPO) isolated from a mutant strain of Aerococcus viridans DBM 1509 were estimated. The stability at different temperatures and pH were detected. At 4 degrees C the enzyme lost activity during 15 d, at 20 degrees C and 30 degrees C GPO activity decreased during 30 and 25 h, respectively. The highest stability was measured at - 20 degrees C and pH 9. At 4 degrees C the stability was enhanced by the addition of 0.1 M EDTA or by lyophilization in the presence of dextrin. These conditions allow the prolongation of the low stability of microbial GPO which limited its use, and give the opportunity to increase the stability of other enzymes

One of the most remarkable biochemical differences between the members of two domains Archaea and Bacteria is the stereochemistry of the glycerophosphate backbone of phospholipids, which are exclusively opposite. The enzyme responsible to the formation of Archaea-specific glycerophosphate was found to be NAD(P)-linked sn-glycerol-1-phosphate (G-1-P) dehydrogenase and it was first purified from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum cells and its gene was cloned. This structure gene named egsA (enantiomeric glycerophosphate synthase) consisted of 1,041 bp and coded the enzyme with 347 amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence deduced from the base sequence of the cloned gene (egsA) did not share any sequence similarity except for NAD-binding region with that of NAD(P)-linked sn-glycerol-3-phosphate (G-3-P) dehydrogenase of Escherichia coli which catalyzes the formation of G-3-P backbone of bacterial phospholipids, while the deduced protein sequence of the enzyme revealed some similarity with bacterial glycerol dehydrogenases. Because G-1-P dehydrogenase and G-3-P dehydrogenase would originate from different ancestor enzymes and it would be almost impossible to interchange stereospecificity of the enzymes, it seems likely that the stereostructure of membrane phospholipids of a cell must be maintained from the time of birth of the first cell. We propose here the hypothesis that Archaea and Bacteria were differentiated by the occurrence of cells enclosed by membranes of phospholipids with G-1-P and G-3-P as a backbone, respectively.

The enzyme which seems to be responsible for the formation of the enantiomeric configuration of the glycerophosphate backbone (sn-glycerol-1-phosphate) of archaeal ether lipids was purified from a methanogenic archaeon, Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, and characterized. The enzyme, sn-glycerol-1-phosphate: NAD(P)+ oxidoreductase (sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase), was purified 7,600-fold from a cell free extract by ammonium sulfate fractionation and seven steps of chromatography. The final preparation exhibited a specific activity of 617 micromol/min/mg (Vmax) and gave a single band corresponding to 38 kDa on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. The native enzyme showed an apparent molecular mass of 302 kDa on gel-filtration chromatography, indicating it is present as a homooctamer. Maximum activity was observed at 75 degrees C at near neutral pH. The activity was stimulated by potassium ions. The Km for dihydroxyacetone phosphate was 7.5 times smaller than that for sn-glycerol-1-phosphate, suggesting that the formation of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate is the natural direction in the cell. Under the assay conditions used, no product inhibition was observed. The N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae exponentially growing in basic or 0.7 M NaCl medium were isotopically labelled with 35S-methionine, followed by protein separation and quantification by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) combined with computerised image analysis. The electrophoretic separation resolved about 650 proteins of which 13 displayed significant and at least 2-fold changes in rate of synthesis during saline growth. By sequencing of 2D-PAGE resolved proteins, one of the 8 induced spot, p42.9/5.5, was shown to correspond to the full length (containing the N-terminal extension) product of the GPD1 gene encoding the cytoplasmic glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. The expression of the TDH3 gene, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and the ENO2 gene, enolase, decreased during growth in NaCl medium, declines hypothesised to have an impact on the flux to glycerol.

Recent studies on the differentiation of human preadipocytes have extensively used GPDH as a convenient marker enzyme to follow the development of the cells. Since the properties of human adipose tissue GPDH is largely unknown, it was considered of interest to characterize the purified enzyme. Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase was purified to homogeneity using blue Sepharose and hydroxylapatite chromatography. Monomeric molecular mass of GPDH was estimated using SDS-PAGE while the dimeric mass was estimated using non-denaturing PAGE. Fluorometric titrations were used to measure the binding of NADH to the enzyme. Inactivation experiments with proteolytic enzymes, urea and heat treatment were used to investigate a possible conformational change due to NADH binding. The purified enzyme displayed a monomeric molecular mass of 35,000 Da, a dimeric molecular mass of 74,000 Da and an isoelectric point (pI) of 5.85. The enzyme exhibited a pH optimum of 7.5 for the reduction of DHAP and 9.0 for G-3-P oxidation. Glycerol (50%) was found to stabilize the enzyme activity during storage, but altered the kinetic properties of the enzyme, acting as a competitive activator with respect to DHAP reduction. GPDH was inhibited by sulfhydryl modifying reagents and fatty acids. The effectiveness of inhibition by saturated fatty acids increased proportionately with chain length from decanoate to stearate. In addition preincubation of the enzyme, in the presence of oleate, resulted in a time dependent inactivation. Time dependent inactivation of GPDH by both iodoacetate and oleate was prevented by the presence of NADH but not NAD+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

One of the most characteristic features of archaebacterial ether phospholipids is the enantiomeric configuration of their glycerophosphate backbone (sn-glycerol-1-phosphate), that is the mirror image of the structure of the eubacterial or eukaryotic counterpart. The enzyme that forms glycerophosphate of this configuration was found for the first time in a cell-free extract of the methanogen, Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, and was identified as sn-glycerol-1-phosphate:NAD+ oxidoreductase (sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase) after partial purification. Because sn-glycerol-1-phosphate has been found to be a precursor of ether lipids of this organism, sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of the enantiomeric ether lipids of methanogens.

A full-length 2.4-kb cDNA for the FAD-linked glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.99.5) was cloned from rat liver using PCR techniques. The cloned gene encodes a protein of 727 amino acids. The calculated molecular mass of 80,898 Da is higher than the apparent molecular mass observed by SDS/PAGE (74,000 Da) of the purified enzyme. This result indicates that the enzyme is synthesized as a precursor with a putative mitochondrial signal sequence. mRNA for this gene was detected in liver, heart, muscle, brain, testes, and pancreas. With the exception of testes, basal expression levels were very low in all tissues examined. However, application of thyroid hormones led to a 10- to 15-fold increase in liver glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA, whereas hypothyroidism further decreased the mRNA level.

The NAD-dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (glycerol-3-phosphate:NAD+ oxidoreductase; EC 1.1.1.8; G3P DHG) was purified 178-fold to homogeneity from Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain H44-3D by affinity- and ion-exchange chromatography. SDS-PAGE indicated that the enzyme had a molecular mass of approximately 42,000 (+/- 1,000) whereas a molecular mass of 68,000 was observed using gel filtration, implying that the enzyme may exist as a dimer. The pH optimum for the reduction of dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) was 7.6 and the enzyme had a pI of 7.4. NADPH will not substitute for NADH as coenzyme in the reduction of DHAP. The oxidation of glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) occurs at 3% of the rate of DHAP reduction at pH 7.0. Apparent Km values obtained were 0.023 and 0.54 mM for NADH and DHAP, respectively. NAD, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP), ATP and ADP inhibited G3P DHG activity. Ki values obtained for NAD with NADH as variable substrate and FBP with DHAP as variable substrate were 0.93 and 4.8 mM, respectively.

A protein has been purified from the membranes of bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei brucei. The purified material contained a single polypeptide chain of molecular mass 67 kilodaltons as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; under "native" conditions it migrated through a Sephacryl S-300 column with a similar molecular mass. The purified protein catalysed electron transfer from sn-glycerol 3-phosphate to oxygen with the subsequent formation of water. Electron transfer by the purified enzyme to O2 was dependent on the presence of low concentrations of the mediator phenazine methosulfate. This protein is clearly the major membrane-bound sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, but it also has some characteristics suggestive of the trypanosome alternative oxidase activities.

The NAD-dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.8) of the salt-tolerant yeast Debaryomyces hansenii was purified by poly(ethylene glycol) precipitation and a combination of chromatographic procedures. The enzyme existed in two forms with different ionic characters and specific activity. On SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, both forms yielded one predominant band with an apparent molecular weight of 42,000. The specific activity of the enzyme was dependent on the concentration of the enzyme and on the ionic strength of the dissolving medium. All ions tested stimulated the enzyme activity in the ionic strength range 0-100 mM, with glutamate yielding the highest activity. Above these concentrations, the dehydrogenase showed high tolerance for glutamate in concentrations up to 0.9 M, whereas malate, sulfate and chloride were inhibitory. Enzyme activity showed little sensitivity to the type of cation present and was only slightly affected by 5 M glycerol. The true Km values for the substrates were 6.6 microM for NADH, 130 microM for dihydroxyacetone phosphate, 0.3 mM for NAD and 1.2 mM for glycerol-3-phosphate, and the enzyme showed specificity for these four substrates only. It is proposed that the enzyme functions in cellular osmoregulation by providing glycerol 3-phosphate for the biosynthesis of glycerol, the main compatible solute in D. hansenii, and that the enzyme is well adapted to function in yeast cells exposed to osmotic stress.

The 150-fold purification of the L-alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase of Candida utilis electron-transport particles by very mild procedures is described. The active enzyme contains FAD, iron and copper. The function of the metals, if any, is not clear. Its molecular weight is about 5 X 10(5). The subunit composition is complex and remains unresolved because the enzyme is contaminated with protease(s). The activity of this enzyme is very low in Saccharomyces cerevisiae unless the cells are grown in glycerol. The NAD-dependent cytoplasmic alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase is present in C. utilis but could not be demonstrated in glucose-grown S. cerevisiae.

A simple purification for the membrane-associated, flavin-linked, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase of Escherichia coli has been developed which yields homogeneous enzyme in a detergent-solubilized state. 1. The dissociated form of the enzyme has a molecular weight of 58,000 and contains 0.5 mol of FAD/mol of protein monomer. 2. The solubilized enzyme-catalyzed reaction has a pH profile and temperature dependence similar to that observed for the membrane-bound enzyme. 3. The most efficient electron acceptor is potassium ferricyanide but phenazine methosulfate, methylene blue, menadione, and dichlorophenolindophenol can also be utilized. 4. The reaction is competitively inhibited by dihydroxyacetone phosphate, phosphoenolpyruvate, phosphoglycolic acid, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, and D-2- and D-3-phosphoglyceric acid. 5. The activity of the enzyme is regulated in a complex manner by ATP and GTP. 6. Detergent-depleted enzyme can be functionally reconstituted with Escherichia coli membrane vesicles to support glycerol-3-phosphate-dependent active transport of L-proline. 7. Detergent-depleted enzyme requires exogenous phospholipid or nondenaturing detergent for electron transfer activity.

Mitochondrial glycerol-3-P dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.99.5) has been purified in 20% yield from both rabbit skeletal muscle and brain using a four step procedure involving osmotic shock, solubilization with Triton X-100, hydrophobic chromatography, gel filtration, and preparative column isoelectrofocusing. The active muscle and brain enzymes were found to be 95% and 80% homogeneous, respectively. Final purification was performed on the denatured subunit. The active enzyme from each of the tissues focused at pH 5.25 +/- 0.12 and each produced similar biphasic thermal inactivation plots at 50 degrees C. Mixtures of the purified brain and muscle enzymes co-migrated in discontinuous electrophoresis gels and each enzyme exhibited a single polypeptide component on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gels either when run separately or in mixtures. The subunit molecular weight was shown to be 76,000 +/- 3,000 by SDS-gel electrophoresis and gel filtration in 6 M guanidine HCl. One mole of noncovalently bound FAD and 1 mole of iron were measured per Mr = 100,000. The amino acid composition was determined based on the assumption of 70 aspartate residues per subunit to give a Mr = 76,000. The absorption spectrum has a maximum at 416 nm and a shoulder at 450 to 460 nm which is bleached on treatment with sodium dithionite. The maximum at 416 nm is removed by treatment with mersalyl.

Three homozygous allelic forms (alpha GPDHf, alpha GPDHm and alpha GPDHs) of NAD+-dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (sn-glycerol-3-phosphate:NAD+ 2-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.8) of Drosophila virilis were purified to homogeneity and their biochemical properties were compared. Although these three forms were mutually distinguishable by electrophoresis, no significant differences were found with respect to pH optima for both forward and reverse reactions (pH 6.0--6.5 for dihydroxyacetone phosphate reduction; pH 10.0--10.5 for glycerol 3-phosphate oxidation), native and subunit molecular weights (65 000 for native form; 35 000--37 000 for subunit) and Michaelis constants for NADH, glycerol 3-phosphate and NAD+ (5.3--6.0 microM for NADH; 1.8--1.9 mM for glycerol 3-phosphate; 100--110 microM for NAD+). Significant differences among three forms were observed in thermostability at 35 degrees C and inhibition by excess of dihydroxyacetone phosphate. The alpha GPDHf form was found to be most thermolabile and the alpha GPDHs form most susceptible to the inhibition.

An FAD-containing L-alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase has been purified to homogeneity from Streptococcus faecium. The purified protein exists as a dimer (subunit Mr = 65,000); each subunit contains 1 mol of FAD. The enzyme contains no iron, as determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase reacts reversibly with sulfite to form a covalent N(5) adduct; it preferentially binds the anionic form of the native oxidized FAD, and it also stabilizes the p-quinonoid form of 8-mercapto-FAD. The enzyme shows an unusually high reactivity with ferricyanide in the absence of oxygen; however, there is no evidence for any superoxide ion (O2-.) generation under standard assay conditions. Dithionite titrations of the enzyme reveal an unusual pH dependence for the stabilization of the flavin semiquinone; only at pH 8.5 does significant anionic semiquinone accumulate. L-alpha-Glycerophosphate rapidly reduces the enzyme-bound FAD; in addition, a small amount of catalytically insignificant red semiquinone appears under these conditions. The 5-deaza-FAD-reconstituted enzyme is also reduced by substrate, strongly suggesting that a radical mechanism is not involved in the oxidation of alpha-glycerophosphate. Furthermore, nitroethane anion reduces the native enzyme; this observation suggests that an electron transfer mechanism involving a substrate carbanion is possible with this enzyme.

For the characterization of null mutants identified in Drosophila populations, several Drosophila enzymes including alcohol dehydrogenase, cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase, alpha-glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase, and phosphoglucose isomerase were co-purified to homogeneity using an 8-(6-aminohexyl)-amino-ATP-Sepharose affinity column followed by DEAE-Sepharose column chromatography. Mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase was purified by the use of CM-Sepharose and the same ATP affinity column. Alcohol dehydrogenase and alpha-glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase were mapped on a two-dimensional gel. Antiserum was raised in rabbits against these Drosophila enzymes. The presence of cross-reacting material in null mutants was characterized by double immunodiffusion, immunoelectrophoresis, and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. By immunological techniques, two natural null variants of malic enzyme and one of phosphoglucose isomerase were shown to be negative to cross-reacting material. Two low-dose-rate gamma-radiation-induced null mutants of cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase were shown to be positive to cross-reacting material. Two-dimensional gel analyses enabled the characterization of three natural null variants of alpha-glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase. The viability of some null mutants with homozygous null or null/deficiency genotypes is discussed in terms of the in vivo metabolic roles of the related enzymes.

A procedure was developed to purify the Streptococcus faecium ATCC 12755 L-alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was 131,000 and the subunit molecular weight was 72,000. Two moles of FAD were bound/mol of enzyme. Apo-L-alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase displayed physical properties similar to the holoenzyme as judged by electrophoresis in 10% buffer gels at pH 8.5 and by centrifugation in a 5 to 20% linear sucrose gradient. The apoenzyme was completely reactivated by incubation with FAD. L-alpha-Glycerophosphate oxidase was specific for L-alpha-glycerophosphate when compared with several other pohsphorylated glycerol and sugar derivatives. Oxygen was the preferred electron acceptor. At 10 mM DL-alpha-glycerophosphate (below the Km of 26 mM for L-alpha-glycerophosphate), activity was increased from 2.6- to 10-fold by increasing the buffer concentration from 0.01 to 0.1 m. This buffer effect was observed with potassium phosphate and other anionic buffers. In 0.001 m potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, activity was increased by several divalent metal ions, including 10 mM CaCl2 (7.7-fold activation) and 10 mM MgCl, (6.8-fold activation). Fructose 6-phosphate and fructose1-phosphate were inhibitors of the L-alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase.

Cytoplasmic sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC. 1.1.1.8.) can reduce dihydroxy acetone phosphate with NADPH as coenzyme under in vitro conditions, in solutions of low ionic strengths, at pH values lower than 7. The reaction is inhibited by phosphoenolpyruvate, NAD, ATP, ADP and Pi. In the cell this reaction can occur apparently only in case of specific metabolic conditions, i.e. when the local pH is low and the enzyme is protected from the inhibition by the above listed metabolites.

Soluble L-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (sn-glycerol-3-phosphate: NAD+ 2-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.8) from the mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata has been purified 130-fold with an overall yield of about 40%. The final preparation had a specific activity of about 200 mumol NADH/min/mg protein. The enzyme preparation has been shown to be homogeneous throughout disc gel electrophoresis, dodecyl sulphate gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing and ultracentrifugation. The Km values for dihydroxyacetone phosphate, NADH, L-glycerol-3-phosphate and NAD+ were respectively 0.33, 0.018, 0.74 and 0.26 mM. L-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the insect had a maximal activity around pH 6.6 for the oxidation of NADH and pH 10.0 for the reduction of NAD+. It was stable from pH 6.0 to pH 9.0 at 20 degrees C for 1 h and remained active after incubating at 30 degrees C for 30 min at pH 6.6. The enzyme was completely inactivated by incubating at 60 degrees C for 5 min. Enzyme stability versus ionic strength as well as the dependence of the reaction velocity on temperature are also reported. The active enzyme was found to have a minimum molecular weight of approx. 63 000. Molecular weight determinations by sodium dodecyl sulphate gel electrophoresis gave subunit weights of 33 500. The isoelectric point of the protein was determined by electrofocusing and found to be 5.75 +/- 0.05. The extinction coefficient at 278 nm was calculated by dry weight measurements to be E1cm 1mg/ml = 0.42 +/- 0.1. Sedimentation velocity studies on ultracentrifuge indicated a dependence of the sedimentation coefficient on the enzyme concentration. The amino acid composition of the enzyme was determined. The protein has no free N-terminal residue and the digestion with carboxypeptidases gave the C-terminal sequence: -ala-gly-ser. All these data are discussed in relation to the properties of the enzyme from other sources.

A method is presented for the simultaneous purification of hexokinase, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, triosephosphate isomerase and phosphoglycerate kinase, and the partial purification of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (NAD+), 6-phosphofructokinase, glucosephosphate isomerase, and glycerol kinase from Trypanosoma brucei. As a first step, the glycosomes, microbody-like organelles of Trypanosomatidae, containing almost exclusively enzymes involved in glucose and glycerol metabolism [Opperdoes, F. R. and Borst, P. (1977) FEBS Lett. 80, 360-364], were purified eightfold from homogenates with an average yield of 38%. Subsequently, the glycosomal content was subjected to hydrophobic interaction chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose. This step results in pure hexokinase (15% final yield) and almost pure triosephosphate isomerase, while the other glycosomal enzymes elute as mixtures of two or three enzymes. Triosephosphate isomerase was further purified to homogeneity on CM-cellulose (33% final yield), while phosphoglycerate kinase and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase were separated from each other and purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography using ATP-Sepharose (25% and 30% final yields, respectively). Fructose-bisphosphate aldolase was further characterized as a typical class I enzyme.

alpha-L-Glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase (sn-glycerol-3-phosphate:NAD+ 2-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.8) from Saccharomyces carlsbergensis was purified 400-fold. The enzyme preparation is free of interfering activities, such as glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, alcohol dehydrogenase, triose phosphate isomerase and glycerolphosphatase. At pH 7.0 it is specific for NADH (Km = 0.027 mM with 0.8 mM dihydroxyacetone phosphate) and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (Km = 0.2 mM with 0.2 mM NADH). Between pH 5.0 and 6.0 the enzyme functions with NADPH, but only at 7% of the rate with NADH. Various anions (I- greater than SO42- greater than Br- greater than Cl-) act as inhibitors competing with the substrate dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Inorganic phosphate (Ki = 0.1 mM), pyrophosphate and arsenate are strong inhibitors. The nucleotides ATP and ADP are also inhibitory, but their action seems to be of the same type as the general anion competition (Ki = 0.73 mM for ATP). The results are consistent with the notion that the enzyme may regulate the redox potential of the NAD+/NADH couple during fermentation.

We have developed a method for the simultaneous purification of hexokinase, glucosephosphate isomerase, phosphofructokinase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, triosephosphate isomerase, D-glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and glycerol kinase from Trypanosoma brucei in yields varying over 8-55%. Crude glycosomes were prepared by differential centrifugation of cell homogenates. Subsequent hydrophobic interaction chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose resulted in six pools containing various mixtures of enzymes. These pools were processed via affinity chromatography (immobilized ATP), hydrophobic interaction chromatography (octyl-Sepharose) and ion-exchange chromatography (CM- and DEAE-cellulose) which resulted in the purification of all nine enzymes. The native enzyme and subunit molecular masses, as determined by gel filtration and gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions, were compared with those of their homologous counterparts from other organisms. Trypanosomal hexokinase is a hexamer and differs in subunit composition from the mammalian enzymes (monomers) as well as in subunit size (51 kDa versus 96-100 kDa, respectively). Phosphofructokinase only differs in subunit size (51 kDa for T. brucei versus 80-90 kDa for mammals) but had identical subunit composition (tetrameric). The others all have the same subunit composition as their mammalian counterparts. Except for triosephosphate isomerase, all Trypanosoma enzymes have subunits which are 1-5 kDa larger in size. Together these nine enzymes contribute 3.3 +/- 1.6% to the total cellular protein of T. brucei and at least 90% to the total glycosomal protein. A comparison of calculated intraglycosomal concentrations of the enzymes with the glycosomal metabolite concentrations shows that in the case of aldolase, glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase and phosphoglycerate kinase, the concentration of active sites is of the same order of magnitude as that of their reactants. A common feature of the glycosomal glycolytic enzymes (with the exception of glucosephosphate isomerase) is that they are highly basic proteins with pI values between 8.8 and 10.2, values which are 1-4 higher than in the case of their mammalian cytosolic counterparts and 3-6 higher than in the case of the various unicellular organisms. It is suggested that both the larger subunit size and the basic character of the T. brucei glycolytic proteins are involved in the routing of the enzymes from their site of biogenesis (the cytosol) towards their site of action (the glycosome).

A simple procedure has been devised for the purification of alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.8) FROM Drosophila melanogaster. The method involves substrate elution of the enzyme from a carboxymethyl cellulose column, followed by salt elution from agarose-hexane-AMP and DEAE columns. The procedure requires only 3 days to complete, results in high yield, and preparations that appear homogeneous by several criteria. A subunit molecular weight of 31 700 was obtained by sodium dodecyl sulphate electrophoresis in 10% acrylamide gels. This value is half that published for the native enzyme, confirming the homodimeric structure of this enzyme suggested by genetic evidence.