Sulfite oxidase (SO) is encoded by the nuclear SUOX gene and catalyzes the final step in cysteine catabolism thereby oxidizing sulfite to sulfate. Oxidation of sulfite is dependent on two cofactors within SO, a heme and the molybdenum cofactor (Moco), the latter forming the catalytic site of sulfite oxidation. SO localizes to the intermembrane space of mitochondria where both—pre-SO processing and cofactor insertion—are essential steps during SO maturation. Isolated SO deficiency (iSOD) is a rare inborn error of metabolism caused by mutations in the SUOX gene that lead to non-functional SO. ISOD is characterized by rapidly progressive neurodegeneration and death in early infancy. We diagnosed an iSOD patient with homozygous mutation of SUOX at c.1084G>A replacing Gly362 to serine. To understand the mechanism of disease, we expressed patient-derived G362S SO in Escherichia coli and surprisingly found full catalytic activity, while in patient fibroblasts no SO activity was detected, suggesting differences between bacterial and human expression. Moco reconstitution of apo-G362S SO was found to be approximately 90-fold reduced in comparison to apo-WT SO in vitro. In line, levels of SO-bound Moco in cells overexpressing G362S SO were significantly reduced compared to cells expressing WT SO providing evidence for compromised maturation of G362S SO in cellulo. Addition of molybdate to culture medium partially rescued impaired Moco binding of G362S SO and restored SO activity in patient fibroblasts. Thus, this study demonstrates the importance of the orchestrated maturation of SO and provides a first case of Moco-responsive iSOD.

Molybdenum cofactor deficiency and isolated sulfite oxidase deficiency are two rare genetic disorders that are caused by impairment of the mitochondrial enzyme sulfite oxidase. Sulfite oxidase is catalyzing the terminal reaction of cellular cysteine catabolism, the oxidation of sulfite to sulfate. Absence of sulfite oxidase leads to the accumulation of sulfite, which has been identified as a cellular toxin. However, the molecular pathways leading to the production of sulfite are still not completely understood. In order to identify novel treatment options for both disorders, the understanding of cellular cysteine catabolism – and its alterations upon loss of sulfite oxidase – is of utmost importance. Here we applied a new detection method of sulfite in cellular extracts to dissect the contribution of cytosolic and mitochondrial glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) in the transformation of cysteine sulfinic acid to sulfite and pyruvate. We found that the cytosolic isoform GOT1 is primarily responsible for the production of sulfite. Moreover, loss of sulfite oxidase activity results in the accumulation of sulfite, H 2 S and persulfidated cysteine and glutathione, which is consistent with an increase of SQR protein levels. Surprisingly, none of the known H 2 S-producing pathways were found to be upregulated under conditions of sulfite toxicity suggesting an alternative route of sulfite-induced shift from oxidative to H 2 S dependent cysteine catabolism.

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H2O2 can be accepted by several peroxygenases as a clean oxidant, able to supply both the necessary electrons and oxygen atom at the same time. The biocatalysts, in turn, are able to catalyse an array of interesting oxygen insertion reactions at enantio‐ and regio‐selectivities hard to attain with classical chemical methods. The sensitivity of most peroxygenases towards H2O2, however, requires this oxidant to be generated in situ. Here, we suggest the application of (modified) sulfite oxidases to couple the oxidation of sulfites to the reduction of oxygen. This enables us to use calcium sulfite, an industrial waste product from scrubbing flue gases, as an electron donor to reduce oxygen. This will supply the required peroxide in a controlled manner and enables us to perform these challenging reactions at the expense of simple salts.

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