Slow-binding inhibition of the Escherichia coli pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex by acetylphosphinate

The pyruvate analogue acetylphosphinate (CH3-CO-PO2H2) inhibits the pyruvate dehydrogenase component (E1) of the Escherichia coli pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex in a time-dependent process with biphasic reaction kinetics. The formation of an initial, rapidly reversible enzyme-inhibitor complex (EI) with an apparent Ki of 0.12 +/- 0.025 microM is followed by the conversion to a tighter complex (EI) at a maximal rate of k3 = 0.87 +/- 0.34 min-1. The inhibition is reversible (dissociation rate constant k4 = 0.038 +/- 0.002 min-1), requires the presence of the cofactors thiamin pyrophosphate and Mg2+, and is competitive with regard to pyruvate. The microscopic rate constants give a value of 5 nM for the overall dissociation constant [Ki = [E] [I]/[( EI] + [EI]) = Kik4/(k3 + k4)] compared with values of 10 and 3.5 nM obtained by steady-state methods. Thus acetylphosphinate binds by 5 orders of magnitude more tightly to pyruvate dehydrogenase than does pyruvate (Km = 0.35 mM). Acetylphosphinate also affects the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex fluorescence when excited at 290 nm in a time-dependent manner with a maximal rate constant of 0.99 min-1, suggesting a conformational change in the enzyme complex as the slow step in conversion of EI to EI (k3). All these features taken together suggest that the interaction of the pyruvate dehydrogenase with acetylphosphinate involves the formation of a thiamin pyrophosphate-acetylphosphinate adduct that resembles the normal reaction intermediate, 2-(1-carboxy-1-hydroxyethyl)thiamin pyrophosphate (alpha-lactylthiamin pyrophosphate).