Formation and characterization of an active phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-cobalt(III) complex

Avian mitochondrial phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) was incubated with Co2+ and H2O2 to form a stable Co3+-PEPCK complex. PEPCK, similarly incubated with H2O2 and either Mg2+ or Mn2+, resulted in no significant loss in activity over 30 min. PEPCK, incubated with Co2+ and H2O2 at pH 7.4, showed rapid inhibition as observed by a 40% decrease in activity after 5 min. The loss of activity is linear with the incorporation of cobalt into PEPCK, resulting in 15-25% activity for the stoichiometric Co3+-PEPCK complex. The incorporation of and inhibition by Co3+ is protected by PEP and GTP (ITP). Treatment of the Co3+-PEPCK complex with beta-mercaptoethanol results in a loss of cobalt and full recovery of activity. The reduction and reactivation are protected by PEP and GTP (ITP). EPR, PRR, circular dichroism, and fluorescence studies all indicate that Co3+ has been selectively incorporated into the cation site of PEPCK, resulting in a catalytically active enzyme-cation species. The substrates form Michaelis complexes with Co3+-PEPCK, and the catalytic reaction occurs as a second sphere complex as previously suggested [Lee & Nowak (1984) Biochemistry 23, 6506); Duffy & Nowak (1985) Biochemistry 24, 1152]. Proteolytic digestion of the Co3+-PEPCK complex and isolation of the cobalt-containing peptide by reverse phase HPLC were performed to identify the location of the cation binding site. From mass, amino acid composition, and sequence analyses of the isolated cobalt-peptide, the region Thr276-Lys301 is responsible for metal chelation. This very homologous region, located in the central portion of PEPCK, contains two highly conserved aspartic acids, Asp295 and Asp296, that are the only feasible metal binding ligands.