Purification and characterization of 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase of Mycobacterium smegmatis

3-Hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase [EC 1.1.1.35] was purified 100-fold to homogeneity from crude extracts of Mycobacterium smegmatis, using ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration, and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, hydroxyapatite, and NAD-Sepharose 4B columns. Its molecular weight was estimated to be 50,300 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. NADH acted twelve times more efficiently than NADPH as an electron donor for the reduction of 3-ketoacyl-CoA, and there was strict substrate stereospecificity (L form) in the oxidation of 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA. The pH optimum depended upon the direction of reaction, i.e., 6.0 for the oxidation of NADH and 9--10 for the reduction of NAD. The Km values for different thioesters of acetoacetate, i.e., esters of CoA, pantetheine, and acetyl-cysteamine were determined to be 0.036, 1.19, and 44.4 mM, respectively. Antibodies raised against the dehydrogenase of M. smegmatis strongly inhibited the enzyme activity, but did not affect the corresponding dehydrogenase of pig heart. The antibodies were found to inhibit the acetyl-CoA dependent elongation of fatty acids by the crude extract of M. smegmatis. These findings, together with those on the reconstitution of the elongation activity reported previously (Shimakata, T., Fujita, Y., & Kusaka, T. (1977) J. Biochem. 82, 725-732) indicate that 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase is involved in the acetyl-CoA dependent elongation of fatty acids in M. smegmatis.