title: Differences in protein structure of xanthine dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase revealed by reconstitution with flavin active site probes.
abstract: The native flavin, FAD, was removed from chicken liver xanthine dehydrogenase and milk xanthine oxidase by incubation with CaCl2. The deflavoenzymes, still retaining their molybdopterin and iron-sulfur prosthetic groups, were reconstituted with a series of FAD derivatives containing chemically reactive or environmentally sensitive substituents in the isoalloxazine ring system. The reconstituted enzymes containing these artificial flavins were all catalytically active. With both the chicken liver dehydrogenase and the milk oxidase, the flavin 8-position was found to be freely accessible to solvent. The flavin 6-position was also freely accessible to solvent in milk xanthine oxidase, but was significantly less exposed to solvent in the chicken liver dehydrogenase. Pronounced differences in protein structure surrounding the bound flavin were indicated by the spectral properties of the two enzymes reconstituted with flavins containing ionizable -OH or -SH substituents at the flavin 6- or 8-positions. Milk xanthine oxidase either displayed no preference for binding of the neutral or anionic flavin (8-OH-FAD) or a slight preference for the anionic form of the flavin (6-hydroxy-FAD, 6-mercapto-FAD, and possibly 8-mercapto-FAD). On the other hand, the chicken liver dehydrogenase had a dramatic preference for binding the neutral (protonated) forms of all four flavins, perturbing the pK of the ionizable substituent greater than or equal to 4 pH units. These results imply the existence of a strong negative charge in the flavin binding site of the dehydrogenase, which is absent in the oxidase.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor 48109-0606.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Massey
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Schopfer
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishino
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002417:Cattle; D002645:Chickens; D005260:Female; D005182:Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007658:Ketone Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology; D008892:Milk / Q000201:enzymology; D011485:Protein Binding; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D014968:Xanthine Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D014969:Xanthine Oxidase / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005182:Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide; D014968:Xanthine Dehydrogenase; D014969:Xanthine Oxidase; D007658:Ketone Oxidoreductases