title: Mycobacterium tuberculosis FprA, a novel bacterial NADPH-ferredoxin reductase.
abstract: The gene fprA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, encoding a putative protein with 40% identity to mammalian adrenodoxin reductase, was expressed in Escherichia coli and the protein purified to homogeneity. The 50-kDa protein monomer contained one tightly bound FAD, whose fluorescence was fully quenched. FprA showed a low ferric reductase activity, whereas it was very active as a NAD(P)H diaphorase with dyes. Kinetic parameters were determined and the specificity constant (kcat/Km) for NADPH was two orders of magnitude larger than that of NADH. Enzyme full reduction, under anaerobiosis, could be achieved with a stoichiometric amount of either dithionite or NADH, but not with even large excess of NADPH. In enzyme titration with substoichiometric amounts of NADPH, only charge transfer species (FAD-NADPH and FADH2-NADP+) were formed. At NADPH/FAD ratios higher than one, the neutral FAD semiquinone accumulated, implying that the semiquinone was stabilized by NADPH binding. Stabilization of the one-electron reduced form of the enzyme may be instrumental for the physiological role of this mycobacterial flavoprotein. By several approaches, FprA was shown to be able to interact productively with [2Fe-2S] iron-sulfur proteins, either adrenodoxin or plant ferredoxin. More interestingly, kinetic parameters of the cytochrome c reductase reaction catalyzed by FprA in the presence of a 7Fe ferredoxin purified from M. smegmatis were determined. A Km value of 30 nm and a specificity constant of 110 microM(-1) x s(-1) (10 times greater than that for the 2Fe ferredoxin) were determined for this ferredoxin. The systematic name for FprA is therefore NADPH-ferredoxin oxidoreductase.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisiologia e Biochimica Generali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raimondi
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aliverti
authors.forename: Giuliana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zanetti
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002384:Catalysis; D004579:Electron Transport / Q000502:physiology; D005287:Ferredoxin-NADP Reductase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005288:Ferredoxins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D005420:Flavoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000201:enzymology*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005288:Ferredoxins; D005420:Flavoproteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D005287:Ferredoxin-NADP Reductase