[Inhibitors of exonuclease A5]

Over 30 compounds resembling to or being structural elements of the minimal substrate of exonuclease A5 were tested for their ability to inhibit the reaction catalyzed by this nuclease. The compounds containing less than two phosphate groups were shown to possess a low inhibitory activity, if any. CDP, double-stranded DNA and nucleoside-3',5'-diphosphates (pNp) proved to be effective exonuclease A5 inhibitors. Pyrophosphate stimulated the reaction in the case of low molecular weight substrates only. For the inhibitory activity of pNp to occur, the intactness of the nucleoside moiety as a whole was shown to be necessary, the activity level depending on the structure of both the base and the sugar components. A competitive mechanism of the inhibitory action was demonstrated for pTp, pdCp, pdGp, pdAp and pUp and the Ki values were determined. The affinity for the inhibitor decreased in the following order: pdCp greater than or equal to pTp greater than pdGp greater than pdAp. Ki for pdCp and pTp were found to be approximately 3.10(-6) M. The investigation of the inhibition mechanism as well the determination of Ki were accomplished with the help of homogenous low molecular weight substrates--ApApA and the phosphoamide MeOPheNH(pdA)2. These were chosen after kinetic parameters determination of the hydrolysis of 22 exonuclease A5 substrates, predominatly of the RpNpN type. On the basis of data obtained the specificity of exonuclease A5 is also discussed. Possible usefulness of immobilized competitive inhibitors of the pNp type not only for single nuclease isolation but for the separation of a mixture of different nucleases is considered. This possibility is based on the almost universal inhibitory effect of pNp on different nucleases and at the same time on their different affinity for the enzymes. In particular, this approach might be useful for the elimination of exonucleases and some other nucleolytic enzymes from the preparations of endonucleases-restrictases.