The C331A mutant of neuronal nitric-oxide synthase is defective in arginine binding

It has been proposed that Cys99 of human endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is responsible for tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) binding. To examine this possibility rigorously, we expressed rat neuronal NOS (nNOS) in Escherichia coli, with the homologous Cys331 to Ala mutation, and characterized structural and functional attributes of the purified, mutated enzyme. C331A-nNOS, as isolated, was catalytically incompetent. Upon prolonged incubation with L-arginine (L-Arg), not only BH4 binding but also catalytic activity could be restored. In contrast to wild-type nNOS (WT-nNOS), which exhibits an absorbance maximum at 407 nm that shifts immediately upon L-arginine addition to a high spin form, the C331A-nNOS mutant, as isolated, exhibited an absorbance maximum at 420 nm. C331A-nNOS, as isolated, did not bind detectable levels of either [3H]Nomega-nitro-L-arginine or [3H]BH4, but [3H]BH4 binding was reinstated after extended incubation with excess L-arginine. On the other hand, C331A-nNOS and WT-NOS were identical with regard to imidazole binding affinity, CaM binding affinity, and rates of cytochrome c and 2, 6-dichlorophenolindophenol reduction. EPR spectroscopy revealed conversion of low to high spin heme after extended incubation with high concentrations of L-arginine (0.1-10 mM). The estimated Kd for L-arginine binding to C331A-nNOS was two orders of magnitude greater than WT-nNOS (>100 microM versus 2-3 microM). Here we propose that Cys331 plays an important role in stabilizing L-arginine binding to nNOS. Our findings suggest that the primary dysfunction in the C331A mutant of nNOS, as isolated, is disruption of the BH4-substrate binding interactions as broadcast from this mutated cysteine residue. Prolonged incubation with L-arginine appears to cause remodeling of the mutant protein to a form similar to that of WT-nNOS, allowing for normalized BH4 binding and nitric oxide synthetic activity.