Dependence of an alkyl glycol-ether monooxygenase activity upon tetrahydropterins

Glyceryl-ether monooxygenase (1-alkyl-sn-glycerol,tetrahydropteridine: oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.14.16.5) catalyzes the oxidative cleavage of 1-O-alkyl glycerol or glycol derivatives to a long-chain aldehyde and the glycerol or glycol derivative. The specificity for tetrahydropterins of a similar, perhaps identical, enzyme that cleaves O-hexadecyl ethylene glycol in rat liver microsomes was examined with the use of an assay based on [1-3H]ethylene glycol formation from 2-hexadecyloxy [1-3H]ethan-1-ol. Several tetrahydropterin derivatives are effective electron donors for this reaction, and 2,4,5-triamino-6-hydroxypyrimidine is somewhat effective, but NADH, NADPH, ascorbate, reduced dichlorophenolindophenol and glutathione are inactive. Tetrahydropterin derivatives differ from each other in apparent Km and apparent Vmax. The order of increasing apparent Km values is tetrahydropterin approximately 6-methyltetrahydropterin approximately tetrahydrobiopterin less than 6.7-dimethyltetrahydropterin less than tetrahydrofolate. The order of increasing apparent Vmax values is tetrahydrofolate approximately tetrahydropterin less than 6-methyltetrahydropterin approximately tetrahydrobiopterin approximately 6,7-dimethyltetrahydropterin. Results obtained with the use of a spectrophotometric assay, in which tetrahydropterin oxidation is coupled to NADH oxidation by dihydropteridine reductase (NAD(P)H: 6,7-dihydropteridine oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.99.7), indicated that the ratio of 6,7-dimethyltetrahydropterin or 6-methyltetrahydropterin oxidized to ether lipid degraded is about 1.1 to 1.3. Unlike cytochrome P-450-dependent hydroxylases, this alkyl glycol-ether monooxygenase is not inhibited by carbon monoxide. 1-O-hexadecyl-rac-glycerol (chimyl alcohol) competitively inhibits the oxidation of the glycol ether indicating that the same enzyme probably catalyzes the oxidation of both O-alkyl glycol and 1-O-alkyl glycerol.