Identification of ionizable groups essential for the enzyme catalysis on glutathione S-transferase P

The pH-Vmax/KmGSH plot of glutathione S-transferase P (GST-P) showed a bell-shaped profile, indicating bifunctional catalysis for glutathione (GSH) conjugation. The ionization constant (Ke) and the heat of ionization (delta He) of the essential ionizable group in the GSH binding site were measured and the value of pKe1 was 5.9 and that of pKe2, 8.4, while the delta He1 and delta He2 were -0.2 and 7.9 kcal/mole, respectively. In a solvent containing 25% ethanol, pKe1 and pKe2 shifted to the alkaline side by 0.47 and 0.2, respectively. These kinetic results indicated that carboxyl and phenolic groups were ionizable groups essential for the GSH conjugation. Chemical modifications using aminomethane sulfonic acid and N-acetylimidazole supported the results of the kinetic studies.