Structural determination and stereospecificity of the choleragen-catalyzed reaction of NAD+ with guanidines.

The products of the choleragen-catalyzed reaction of NAD+ with guanidine HCl or L-arginine have been isolated by high performance liquid chromatography. Analysis of 1H NMR spectra obtained at 360 MHz establishes the structure of the isolated products to be adenosine diphosphoribosyl guanidiniums present as 1:1 mixtures of alpha and beta anomeric forms. Direct observation of the choleragen-catalyzed reaction of NAD+ with L-arginine by 1H NMR spectroscopy establishes that choleragen synthesizes an alpha anomeric linkage that is subject to subsequent anomerization. The stereospecificity of the reaction provides further evidence that choleragen behaves as an enzyme and may be related mechanistically to other ADP-ribosyltransferases.