Chemical modification studies on alkaline phosphatase from pearl oyster (Pinctada fucata): a substrate reaction course analysis and involvement of essential arginine and lysine residues at the active site.

Alkaline phosphatases (ALP, EC 3.1.3.1) are ubiquitous enzymes found in most species. ALP from a pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata (PALP), is presumably involved in nacreous biomineralization processes. Here, chemical modification was used to investigate the involvement of basic residues in the catalytic activity of PALP. The Tsou's plot analysis indicated that the inactivation of PALP by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) and phenylglyoxal (PG) is dependent upon modification of one essential lysine and one essential arginine residue, respectively. Substrate reaction course analysis showed that the TNBS and PG inactivation of PALP followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and the second-order inactivation constants for the enzyme with or without substrate binding were determined. It was found that binding substrate slowed the PG inactivation whereas had little effect on TNBS inactivation. Protection experiments showed that substrates and competitive inhibitors provided significant protection against PG inactivation, and the modified enzyme lost its ability to bind the specific affinity column. However, the TNBS-induced inactivation could not be prevented in presence of substrates or competitive inhibitors, and the modified enzyme retained the ability to bind the affinity column. In a conclusion, an arginine residue involved in substrate binding and a lysine residue involved in catalysis were present at the active site of PALP. This study will facilitate to illustrate the role ALP plays in pearl formation and the mechanism involved.