Protein disulfide-isomerase is a substrate for thioredoxin reductase and has thioredoxin-like activity.
We have demonstrated that calf liver protein disulfide-isomerase (Mr 57,000) is a substrate for calf thymus thioredoxin reductase and catalyzes NADPH-dependent insulin disulfide reduction. This reaction can be used as a simple assay for protein disulfide-isomerase during purification in place of the classical method of reactivation of incorrectly oxidized ribonuclease A. Protein disulfide-isomerase contains two redox-active disulfides/molecule which were reduced by NADPH and calf thioredoxin reductase (Km approximately 35 microM). The isomerase was a poor substrate for NADPH and Escherichia coli thioredoxin reductase, but the addition of E. coli thioredoxin resulted in rapid reduction of two disulfides/molecule. Tryptophan fluorescence spectra were shown to monitor the redox state of protein disulfide-isomerase. Fluorescence measurements demonstrated that thioredoxin--(SH)2 reduced the disulfides of the isomerase and allowed the kinetics of the reaction to be followed; the reaction was also catalyzed by calf thioredoxin reductase. Equilibrium measurements showed that the apparent redox potential of the active site disulfide/dithiols of the thioredoxin domains of protein disulfide-isomerase was about 30 mV higher than the disulfide/dithiol of E. coli thioredoxin. Consistent with this, experiments using dithiothreitol or NADPH and thioredoxin reductase-dependent reduction and precipitation of insulin demonstrated differences between protein disulfide-isomerase and thioredoxin, thioredoxin being a better disulfide reductase but less efficient isomerase. Protein disulfide-isomerase is thus a high molecular weight member of the thioredoxin system, able to interact with both mammalian NADPH-thioredoxin reductase and reduced thioredoxin. This may be important for nascent protein disulfide formation and other thiol-dependent redox reactions in cells.
Lundström
J
J
Department of Physiological Chemistry, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Holmgren
A
A
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002417:Cattle; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D002845:Chromatography; D004220:Disulfides / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000032:analysis; D005453:Fluorescence; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D007535:Isomerases / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009247:NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism*; D009249:NADP / Q000494:pharmacology; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D019704:Protein Disulfide-Isomerases; D051381:Rats; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013880:Thioredoxin-Disulfide Reductase / Q000378:metabolism*; D013879:Thioredoxins / Q000378:metabolism*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004220:Disulfides; D007328:Insulin; D013879:Thioredoxins; D009249:NADP; D009247:NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases; D013880:Thioredoxin-Disulfide Reductase; D007535:Isomerases; D019704:Protein Disulfide-Isomerases