Two ligands of hemes c and d1 differ between the two known NiR structures, which accounts for the fact that they have quite different spectroscopic and kinetic features. The unexpected domain-crossing by the N-terminal segment of NiR-Pa is comparable to that of 'domain swapping' or 'arm exchange' previously observed in other systems and may explain the observed cooperativity between monomers of dimeric NiR-Pa. In spite of having similar sequence and fold, the different kinetic behaviour and the spectral features of NiR-Pa and NiR-Tp are tuned by the N-terminal stretch of residues. A further example of this may come from another NiR, from Pseudomonas stutzeri, which has an N terminus very different from that of the two above mentioned NiRs.

A comprehensive kinetic model for lipoxygenase catalysis is proposed which includes the simultaneous occurrence of dioxygenase and hydroperoxidase activities and is based on the assumption of a single binding site for substrate fatty acid and product.The aerobic reaction of purified lipoxygenase from rabbit reticulocytes with 9,12(Z,Z)-octadecadienoic acid (linoleic acid) as substrate was studied.The rate constants and the dissociation constants of this enzyme were calculated for the model from progress curves; the model describes correctly the experimental data.The following kinetic features of the reticulocyte enzyme are assumed to apply generally to lipoxygenases. As predicted from the model it was found that at low concentrations of oxygen the regio-and stereospecificities of the dioxygenation are diminished.During the autoactivation phase the steady-state approximation does not hold.Animal lipoxygenases (EC 1.1 3.1 1.12) have acquired particular interest owing to their key role in the biosynthesis of leukotrienes and other biologically active products of their action. So far research on their actions has been focussed on their positional and stereospecificity [l] ; mechanistic studies on their kinetics have hardly been performed. The situation is different with respect to plant enzymes, in particular soybean lipoxygenase, the kinetics of which has been studied extensively [2 -61. We undertook to set up a viable kinetic model for the reticulocyte lipoxygenase which may be considered to be a prototype of the animal lipoxygenases; this enzyme is available in purified form, sufficient amounts and has been the object of some mechanistic work by us [7]. In view of the many properties shared by plant and animal lipoxygenases we scrutinized the models proposed so far for the soybean enzyme as to their applicability to the reticulocyte enzyme and found them to be generally unsatisfactory in two respects.a is difficult to reconcile with the successful and well-tested onesite model for the anaerobic lipohydroperoxidase activity of soybean lipoxygenase [6]. A transition from a one-site catalysis under anaerobic conditions to a two-site catalysis under aerobic ones would imply either the existence of different active sites for hydroperoxidase and dioxygenase activity or the unmasking or forming of a second site by dioxygen.Therefore we tried to elaborate a one-site model which will describe both dioxygenase and concomitant hydroperoxidase activities of lipoxygenase using the kinetic model of Verhagen et al. [6] as starting point. This model and some of its predictions were tested on the reticulocyte lipoxygenase with 9,12(Z,Z)-octadecadienoic acid (linoleic acid) as substrate.The model elaborated is assumed to be applicable to study the kinetic behaviour of other lipoxygenases. MATERIALS AND METHODSLipoxygenase from reticulocytes was isolated and purified as described elsewhere [lo]. A peak fraction of the isoelectricfocussed enzyme was used with a specific activity of 8 s-and a protein content of 3.05mg/ml. Differen...

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The gene coding for nitrite reductase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been cloned and its sequence determined. The coding region is 1707 bp long and contains information for a polypeptide chain of 568 amino acids. The sequence of the mature protein has been confirmed independently by extensive amino acid sequencing. The amino-terminus of the mature protein is located at Lys-26; the preceding 25 residue long extension shows the features typical of signal peptides. Therefore the enzyme is probably secreted into the periplasmic space. The mature protein is made of 543 amino acid residues and has a molecular mass of 60204 Da. The c-heme-binding domain, which contains the only two Cys of the molecule, is located at the amino-terminal region. Analysis of the protein sequence in terms of hydrophobicity profile gives results consistent with the fact that the enzyme is fully water soluble and not membrane bound; the most hydrophilic region appears to correspond to the c-heme domain. Secondary structure predictions are in general agreement with previous analysis of circular dichroic data.Nitrite reductase; Primary structure; Pre-protein; Cytochrome oxidase; (Pseudomonas aeruginosa)

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The redox reaction between cytochrome c-551 and its oxidase from the respiratory chain of pseudomonas aeruginosa was studied by rapid-mixing techniques at both pH7 and 9.1. The electron transfer in the direction of cytochrome c-551 reduction, starting with the oxidase in the reduced and CO-bound form, is monophasic, and the governing bimolecular rate constants are 1.3(+/- 0.2) x 10(7) M-1 . s-1 at pH 9.1 and 4 (+/- 1) x 10(6) M-1 . s-1 at pH 7.0. In the opposite direction, i.e. mixing the oxidized oxidase with the reduced cytochrome c-551 in the absence of O2, both a lower absorbance change and a more complex kinetic pattern were observed. With oxidized azurin instead of oxidized cytochrome c-551 the oxidation of the c haem in the CO-bound oxidase is also monophasic, and the second-order rate constant is 2 (+/- 0.7) x 10(6) M-1 . s-1 at pH 9.1. The redox potential of the c haem in the oxidase, as obtained from kinetic titrations of the completely oxidized enzyme with reduced azurin as the variable substrate, is 288 mV at pH 7.0 and 255 mV at pH 9.1. This is in contrast with the very high affinity observed in similar titrations performed with both oxidized azurin and oxidized cytochrome c-551 starting from the CO derivative of the reduced oxidase. It is concluded that: (i) azurin and cytochrome c-551 are not equally efficient in vitro as reducing substrates of the oxidase in the respiratory chain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; (ii) CO ligation to the d1 haem in the oxidase induces a large decrease (at least 80 mV) in the redox potential of the c-haem moiety.

Complete sequencing of the prion protein open reading frame of a 68-year-old woman affected by a familial form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) revealed a new mutation at codon 210 resulting in the substitution of isoleucine for valine. Moreover, a new 24-bp deletion encompassing codons 54 to 61 or 62 to 69 was found in the other allele. Four of the 17 asymptomatic relatives tested carry the 210 mutation. Two of them were 81 and 82 years old. Four of 22 patients with CJD whose recorded familial history was negative for demented illnesses, but none of 103 healthy control subjects, tested positive for the 210 mutation. These data suggest that the 210 mutation is associated with CJD, but that environmental factors or incomplete penetrance may contribute to the development of the disease. This finding also suggests that in Italy, familial CJD is more common than previously reported.

A characteristic feature of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is the accumulation in the brain of the amyloid protease-resistant protein PrPres. PrPres derives from a host-encoded, protease-sensitive isoform, PrPsen. Mutations of this protein are linked to familial variants of the disease, and the presence of a methionine or valine residue at the polymorphic position 129 may be critical in sporadic CJD cases. We found that in the brain of patients heterozygous for the mutation in which isoleucine is substituted for valine at codon 210 (Val21Olle), the PrPres is formed by both the wild-type and mutant PrPsen. We also found that in a sporadic CJD patient, who was heterozygous (Met/Val) at position 129, PrPres is also formed by both allotypes. These data associate transmissible spongiform encephalopathies with other amyloidosis, although the nature of the transmissible agent remains unsettled.