Biomaterial Database

Circular dichroism assay for decarboxylation of optically pure amino acids: application to ornithine decarboxylase. 1996

H B Brooks, and M A Phillips

Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas, 75235-9041, USA.

A circular dichroism (CD) assay for decarboxylation of optically pure amino acids is described. The viability of this assay is demonstrated using the Trypanosoma brucei ornithine decarboxylase (ODC)-catalyzed reaction of L-ornithine to putrescine and CO2. The results from the CD assay (kcat of 7.5 +/- 0.7 s-1 and Km 230 +/- 60 microM) were identical to the results obtained from the commercially available dye-linked assay which couples CO2 production with NADH oxidation (kcat of 7.3 +/- 0.5 s-1 and Km 320 +/- 30 microM). The CD assay has advantages over the currently used 14CO2 and dye-linked assays since it can be continuously monitored and does not contain additional enzymes. The CD assay will enable the determination of the effects of pH, ionic strength, and D2O on catalysis by ODC. Furthermore, the availability of cuvets with pathlengths from 0.01 to 100 mm provides an effective range for the CD assay from 10 microM to 2.5 M L-ornithine concentration for this assay. This technique should be generally applicable for steady-state analysis of other decarboxylases but is not easily amenable to the analysis of crude enzyme preparations.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007700	Kinetics	The rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.
D009952	Ornithine	An amino acid produced in the urea cycle by the splitting off of urea from arginine.	2,5-Diaminopentanoic Acid,Ornithine Dihydrochloride, (L)-Isomer,Ornithine Hydrochloride, (D)-Isomer,Ornithine Hydrochloride, (DL)-Isomer,Ornithine Hydrochloride, (L)-Isomer,Ornithine Monoacetate, (L)-Isomer,Ornithine Monohydrobromide, (L)-Isomer,Ornithine Monohydrochloride, (D)-Isomer,Ornithine Monohydrochloride, (DL)-Isomer,Ornithine Phosphate (1:1), (L)-Isomer,Ornithine Sulfate (1:1), (L)-Isomer,Ornithine, (D)-Isomer,Ornithine, (DL)-Isomer,Ornithine, (L)-Isomer,2,5 Diaminopentanoic Acid
D009955	Ornithine Decarboxylase	A pyridoxal-phosphate protein, believed to be the rate-limiting compound in the biosynthesis of polyamines. It catalyzes the decarboxylation of ornithine to form putrescine, which is then linked to a propylamine moiety of decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine to form spermidine.	Ornithine Carboxy-lyase,Carboxy-lyase, Ornithine,Decarboxylase, Ornithine,Ornithine Carboxy lyase
D011700	Putrescine	A toxic diamine formed by putrefaction from the decarboxylation of arginine and ornithine.	1,4-Butanediamine,1,4-Diaminobutane,Tetramethylenediamine,1,4 Butanediamine,1,4 Diaminobutane
D002460	Cell Line	Established cell cultures that have the potential to propagate indefinitely.	Cell Lines,Line, Cell,Lines, Cell
D002942	Circular Dichroism	A change from planar to elliptic polarization when an initially plane-polarized light wave traverses an optically active medium. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	Circular Dichroism, Vibrational,Dichroism, Circular,Vibrational Circular Dichroism
D003653	Decarboxylation	The removal of a carboxyl group, usually in the form of carbon dioxide, from a chemical compound.	Decarboxylations
D013237	Stereoisomerism	The phenomenon whereby compounds whose molecules have the same number and kind of atoms and the same atomic arrangement, but differ in their spatial relationships. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th ed)	Molecular Stereochemistry,Stereoisomers,Stereochemistry, Molecular,Stereoisomer