title: The three nitric-oxide synthases differ in their kinetics of tetrahydrobiopterin radical formation, heme-dioxy reduction, and arginine hydroxylation.
abstract: The nitric-oxide synthases (NOSs) make nitric oxide and citrulline from l-arginine. How the bound cofactor (6R)-tetrahydrobiopterin (H4B) participates in Arg hydroxylation is a topic of interest. We demonstrated previously that H4B radical formation in the inducible NOS oxygenase domain (iNOSoxy) is kinetically coupled to the disappearance of a heme-dioxy intermediate and to Arg hydroxylation. Here we report single turnover studies that determine and compare the kinetics of these transitions in Arg hydroxylation reactions catalyzed by the oxygenase domains of endothelial and neuronal NOSs (eNOSoxy and nNOSoxy). There was a buildup of a heme-dioxy intermediate in eNOSoxy and nNOSoxy followed by a monophasic transition to ferric enzyme during the reaction. The rate of heme-dioxy decay matched the rates of H4B radical formation and Arg hydroxylation in both enzymes. The rates of H4B radical formation differed such that nNOSoxy (18 s(-1)) > iNOSoxy (11 s(-1)) > eNOSoxy (6 s(-1)), whereas the lifetimes of the resulting H4B radical followed an opposite rank order. 5MeH4B supported a three-fold faster radical formation and greater radical stability relative to H4B in both eNOSoxy and nNOSoxy. Our results indicate the following: (i) the three NOSs share a common mechanism, whereby H4B transfers an electron to the heme-dioxy intermediate. This step enables Arg hydroxylation and is rate-limiting for all subsequent steps in the hydroxylation reaction. (ii) A direct correlation exists between pterin radical stability and the speed of its formation in the three NOSs. (iii) Uncoupled NO synthesis often seen for eNOS at low H4B concentrations may be caused by the slow formation and poor stability of its H4B radical.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, The Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA. weic@ccf.org
authors.forename: Chin-Chuan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Zhi-Qiang
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Durra
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hemann
authors.forename: Russ
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hille
authors.forename: Elsa D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Garcin
authors.forename: Elizabeth D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Getzoff
authors.forename: Dennis J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Stuehr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine / Q000378:metabolism*; D001708:Biopterins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000378:metabolism; D006418:Heme / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006900:Hydroxylation; D007700:Kinetics; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism*; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D005609:Free Radicals; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D001708:Biopterins; D006418:Heme; D001120:Arginine; C496320:NOS1 protein, human; C496319:NOS2 protein, human; C496314:NOS3 protein, human; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; C496322:Nos1 protein, rat; C496318:Nos2 protein, rat; C496316:Nos3 protein, rat; C003402:sapropterin