Photo-oxidation of histidine residues in rat M1- and L-type pyruvate kinases

Rat M1- and L-type pyruvate kinases were inactivated by photo-oxidation mediated by methylene blue at pH 8.0 and O degrees C according to first-order kinetics. The pH profiles of the inactivation rates of these isozymes showed that amino acid residues having a pK value of 7.0-7.5 were involved in the inactivation. Three histidine residues per subunit of M1- or L-type enzyme were destroyed by the photo-oxidation with complete loss of the enzyme activities. However, two of the three photo-oxidized histidine residues in the L-type enzyme were more important in the inactivation reaction. The kinetics of the partially inactivated L-type enzyme suggests that complete inactivation is achieved via an intermediate form having low affinity for phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). These observations revealed the involvement of essential histidine residues of two different kinds in the catalytic mechanism of the L-type enzyme. In the photo-oxidation of M1-type enzyme, no intermediate form was observed. Addition of PEP or pyruvate to the reaction mixture markedly prevented the photo-oxidative inactivation of only the M1-type enzyme in the presence of K+ and Mg2+; the addition of ADP or ATP was ineffective even in the presence of both metal ions. This protective effect of PEP was counteracted by further addition of ATP but not by ADP. However, photo-oxidative inactivation of the L-type enzyme was not prevented even by the addition of PEP in the presence of both metal ions, owing to the low affinity for PEP at 0 degrees C, in spite of the presence of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (Fru-1,6-P2).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)