Substrate specificity of CTP synthetase from Escherichia coli

The stoichiometry of the enzymatic reaction catalyzed by CTP synthetase from Escherichia coli was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The results revealed that for every mole of UTP transformed to CTP, one mole of ATP was converted to ADP. The substrate specificity of CTP synthetase from E. coli was investigated by means of UTP analogs. Chemical modification of UTP involved either the uracil, ribose or 5'-triphosphate part. None of the UTP analogs studied proved to be a substrate. The capacity of the UTP analogs to inhibit CTP synthetase was investigated. From the UTP derivatives employed only 2-thiouridine 5'-triphosphate was found to inhibit the enzyme competitively with reasonable affinity: Ki/Km(UTP) = 1. This study indicated that the three main structural elements of the UTP molecule: uracil, ribose and 5'-triphosphate moiety, contribute to substrate specificity. The behaviour of a limited number of CTP analogs as product-like inhibitors supported this view.