title: Evidence for the identity of glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase and class III alcohol dehydrogenase.
abstract: Formaldehyde dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.1) is a widely occurring enzyme which catalyzes the oxidation of S-hydroxymethylglutathione, formed from formaldehyde and glutathione, into S-formyglutathione in the presence of NAD. We determined the amino acid sequences for 5 tryptic peptides (containing altogether 57 amino acids) from electrophoretically homogeneous rat liver formaldehyde dehydrogenase and found that they all were exactly homologous to the sequence of rat liver class III alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH-2). Formaldehyde dehydrogenase was found to be able at high pH values to catalyze the NAD-dependent oxidation of long-chain aliphatic alcohols like n-octanol and 12-hydroxydodecanoate but ethanol was used only at very high substrate concentrations and pyrazole was not inhibitory. The amino acid sequence homology and identical structural and kinetic properties indicate that formaldehyde dehydrogenase and the mammalian class III alcohol dehydrogenases are identical enzymes.
authors: Department of Medical Chemistry, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Koivusalo
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Baumann
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Uotila
mesh_terms: D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics*; D000445:Aldehyde Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003600:Cytosol / Q000201:enzymology; D005260:Female; D005978:Glutathione / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics*; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000302:isolation & purification; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase; C020145:formaldehyde dehydrogenase (glutathione); D000445:Aldehyde Oxidoreductases; D005978:Glutathione