Aspartyl peptide labeled by 2-(4-bromo-2,3-dioxobutylthio)adenosine 5'-diphosphate in the allosteric ADP site of pig heart NAD+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase.

The nucleotide affinity label 2-(4-bromo-2,3-dioxobutylthio)adenosine 5'-diphosphate (2-BDB-TADP) reacts covalently with pig heart NAD+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase with a limiting value of 75% inactivation and loss of ADP activation concomitant with incorporation of about 1 mol of reagent/mol of average enzyme subunit (Huang, Y.-C., Bailey, J. M., and Colman, R. F. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 14100-14107). Complete protection against the functional changes is provided by ADP + Mn2+, and reagent incorporation is decreased to about 0.5 mol/mol of average enzyme subunit. We have now identified the critical modified peptide by comparison of the peptides labeled by 2-BDB-TADP at pH 6.8 in the absence and presence of ADP + Mn2+. After removal of excess reagent, modified enzyme was treated with [3H]NaBH4 to reduce the keto groups of the reagent and introduce a radioactive tracer into the reagent which is covalently linked to the protein. Following carboxymethylation and digestion with trypsin, the specific modified peptide was isolated using two successive high performance liquid chromatography steps: 1) 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid with an acetonitrile gradient; and 2) 20 mM ammonium acetate, pH 5.8, with an acetonitrile gradient. Gas phase sequencing gave the modified peptide Leu-Gly-Asp-Gly-Leu-Phe-Leu-Gln in which aspartic acid is the target of 2-BDB-TADP. Isolation of the corresponding tryptic peptide from unmodified enzyme yielded the sequence Leu-Gly-Asp-Gly-Leu-Phe-Leu-Gln-CmCys-CmCys-Lys. Isocitrate dehydrogenase is composed of three distinct subunits (alpha, beta, and gamma), separable by chromatofocusing in urea and identified by analytical gel isoelectric focusing. The evidence indicates that the specific peptide labeled by 2-BDB-TADP, which is at or near the ADP site, can be derived from the gamma subunit.