Site-site interaction in the phospholipid activation of D-beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase

D-beta-Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase is a lipid-requiring enzyme with absolute specificity for phosphatidylcholine (PC). The enzyme devoid of lipid, the apodehydrogenase, inserts spontaneously into phospholipid vesicles where it exists as a tetramer. We now find the lipid activation to be limited by the mole fraction of PC in the total phospholipid. These studies suggest that the concentration of the enzyme-PC complex, which is essential for enzymic activity, becomes diffusion limited at lower PC concentration. The lipid activation and the tryptophan fluorescence of purified D-beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase were studied in the presence of a constant "bilayer background" of approximately 100 nonactivating phospholipid molecules/enzyme monomer. Activation by PC was half-maximal at 20 PC molecules/enzyme monomer. This value was doubled when the amount of "background" phospholipid was doubled. Activation proceeded with positive cooperativity having a Hill coefficient of approximately 2.4. These data indicate interactions between at least three PC-binding sites. The quenching of tryptophan fluorescence by the phospholipid activator, 1-palmitoyl-2-(1-pyrenyl)-decanoyl-PC (2-pyrenyl-PC), gives a saturation curve with half-maximal quenching of 6 quencher molecules/enzyme monomer. This value is equivalent to an apparent phospholipid-protein dissociation constant in the two-dimensional membrane and corresponds to approximately 6 mol % of total phospholipid. In distinct contrast to the phospholipid activation curve, the fluorescence quenching saturation curve was hyperbolic and there was no specificity for PC. The fluorescence quenching by 2-pyrenyl-PC could be diminished by using a several-fold excess of PC or other phospholipids so as to reduce the mole fraction of quencher in the bilayer. It would appear that formation of enzyme-PC complex is a dynamic process consisting of at least two discernible steps: 1) a primary interaction, as measured by tryptophan quenching, which is hyperbolic and not specific for lecithin. This interaction is independent from and precedes 2) phospholipid activation of D-beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, which is cooperative in nature and specific for lecithin.