Biomaterial Database

A bifunctional enzyme catalyzes the first two steps in N-acetylneuraminic acid biosynthesis of rat liver. Purification and characterization of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase. 1997

S Hinderlich, and R Stäsche, and R Zeitler, and W Reutter

Institut für Molekularbiologie und Biochemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 22, D-14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany.

Biosynthesis of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), a prominent component of glycoconjugates, is initiated by the action of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase (UDP-GlcNAc 2-epimerase, EC 5.1. 3.14) and N-acetylmannosamine kinase (ManNAc kinase, EC 2.7.1.60). We demonstrate for the first time that the two activities are parts of one bifunctional enzyme in rat liver. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity from rat liver cytosol using salmine sulfate precipitation and chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose, ATP-agarose, and Mono Q. The purification resulted in one polypeptide with an apparent molecular mass of 75 kDa. Immunoprecipitation with a polyclonal antibody against the polypeptide reduced both enzyme activities in equal amounts. Gel filtration analysis of purified UDP-GlcNAc 2-epimerase/ManNAc kinase showed that the polypeptide self-associates as a dimer and as a hexamer with apparent molecular masses of 150 and 450 kDa, respectively. The hexamer was fully active for both enzyme activities, whereas the dimer catalyzed only the phosphorylation of N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc). Incubation of the dimer with UDP-N-acetylglucosamine led to reassembly of the fully active hexamer; maximal quantities of the hexamer were produced after incubation for 3 h. Kinetic analysis of purified hexameric and dimeric enzyme revealed significantly lower Michaelis constants (93 +/- 3 to 121 +/- 15 microM for ManNAc and 1.18 +/- 0. 13 to 1.67 +/- 0.20 mM for ATP) and higher cooperativity (Hill coefficients of 1.42 +/- 0.16 to 1.17 +/- 0.06 for ManNAc and 1.30 +/- 0.09 to 1.05 +/- 0.14 for ATP) for the hexamer for both substrates of ManNAc kinase. The Michaelis constant of UDP-GlcNAc 2-epimerase for its substrate was 11 +/- 2 microM. The Hill coefficient of 0.45 +/- 0.07 represents strongly negative cooperativity in substrate binding. UDP-GlcNAc 2-epimerase was feedback inhibited by CMP-Neu5Ac. Complete inhibition was achieved with 60 microM CMP-Neu5Ac, and highly positive cooperativity (Hill coefficient of 4.1) was found for inhibitor binding.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007700	Kinetics	The rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.
D008099	Liver	A large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates that is responsible for detoxification, metabolism, synthesis and storage of various substances.	Livers
D010766	Phosphorylation	The introduction of a phosphoryl group into a compound through the formation of an ester bond between the compound and a phosphorus moiety.	Phosphorylations
D011487	Protein Conformation	The characteristic 3-dimensional shape of a protein, including the secondary, supersecondary (motifs), tertiary (domains) and quaternary structure of the peptide chain. PROTEIN STRUCTURE, QUATERNARY describes the conformation assumed by multimeric proteins (aggregates of more than one polypeptide chain).	Conformation, Protein,Conformations, Protein,Protein Conformations
D002238	Carbohydrate Epimerases	Enzymes that catalyze the epimerization of chiral centers within carbohydrates or their derivatives. EC 5.1.3.	Carbohydrate Isomerases,Epimerases, Carbohydrate,Isomerases, Carbohydrate
D002384	Catalysis	The facilitation of a chemical reaction by material (catalyst) that is not consumed by the reaction.	Catalyses
D002850	Chromatography, Gel	Chromatography on non-ionic gels without regard to the mechanism of solute discrimination.	Chromatography, Exclusion,Chromatography, Gel Permeation,Chromatography, Molecular Sieve,Gel Filtration,Gel Filtration Chromatography,Chromatography, Size Exclusion,Exclusion Chromatography,Gel Chromatography,Gel Permeation Chromatography,Molecular Sieve Chromatography,Chromatography, Gel Filtration,Exclusion Chromatography, Size,Filtration Chromatography, Gel,Filtration, Gel,Sieve Chromatography, Molecular,Size Exclusion Chromatography
D004591	Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel	Electrophoresis in which a polyacrylamide gel is used as the diffusion medium.	Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis,SDS-PAGE,Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-PAGE,Gel Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide,SDS PAGE,Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate PAGE,Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-PAGEs
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D051381	Rats	The common name for the genus Rattus.	Rattus,Rats, Laboratory,Rats, Norway,Rattus norvegicus,Laboratory Rat,Laboratory Rats,Norway Rat,Norway Rats,Rat,Rat, Laboratory,Rat, Norway,norvegicus, Rattus