Characterization of Haemophilus influenzae nucleotide pyrophosphatase. An enzyme of critical importance for growth of the organism.

A nucleotide pyrophosphatase isolated from Haemophilus influenzae was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity and characterized with respect to molecular weight, substrate specificity, pH profile, thermal stability, functional group involvement, and effectiveness of selective inhibition. The enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of NAD to NMN and AMP and appears located appropriately to facilitate the internalization of NAD needed to satisfy the V-factor growth requirement of the organism. In the processing of NAD and structurally related substrates, the enzyme exhibited negative cooperativity. Structural alterations in the purine moiety of these dinucleotide substrates had pronounced effects on the negative cooperativity of the enzyme. AMP, ADP, and several related nucleotides were observed to be effective substrate-competitive inhibitors of the enzyme. Several of the dinucleotides serving as substrates for the nucleotide pyrophosphatase were evaluated with respect to substituting for NAD in supporting growth of the organism. AMP and ADP inhibited growth of the organism when NAD served as V-factor, and this inhibition correlated well with the inhibitory effects of these nucleotides on the purified nucleotide pyrophosphatase.