Purification and properties of inosine-guanosine phosphorylase from Escherichia coli K-12.

A xanthosine-inducible enzyme, inosine-guanosine phosphorylase, has been partially purified from a strain of Escherichia coli K-12 lacking the deo-encoded purine nucleoside phosphorylase. Inosine-guanosine phosphorylase had a particle weight of 180 kilodaltons and was rapidly inactivated by p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid (p-CMB). The enzyme was not protected from inactivation by inosine (Ino), 2'-deoxyinosine (dIno), hypoxanthine (Hyp), Pi, or alpha-D-ribose-1-phosphate (Rib-1-P). Incubating the inactive enzyme with dithiothreitol restored the catalytic activity. Reaction with p-CMB did not affect the particle weight. Inosine-guanosine phosphorylase was more sensitive to thermal inactivation than purine nucleoside phosphorylase. The half-life determined at 45 degrees C between pH 5 and 8 was 5 to 9 min. Phosphate (20 mM) stabilized the enzyme to thermal inactivation, while Ino (1 mM), dIno (1 mM), xanthosine (Xao) (1 mM), Rib-1-P (2 mM), or Hyp (0.05 mM) had no effect. However, Hyp at 1 mM did stabilize the enzyme. In addition, the combination of Pi (20 mM) and Hyp (0.05 mM) stabilized this enzyme to a greater extent than did Pi alone. Apparent activation energies of 11.5 kcal/mol and 7.9 kcal/mol were determined in the phosphorolytic and synthetic direction, respectively. The pH dependence of Ino cleavage or synthesis did not vary between 6 and 8. The substrate specificity, listed in decreasing order of efficiency (V/Km), was: 2'-deoxyguanosine, dIno, guanosine, Xao, Ino, 5'-dIno, and 2',3'-dideoxyinosine. Inosine-guanosine phosphorylase differed from the deo operon-encoded purine nucleoside phosphorylase in that neither adenosine, 2'-deoxyadenosine, nor hypoxanthine arabinoside were substrates or potent inhibitors. Moreover, the E. coli inosine-guanosine phosphorylase was antigenically distinct from the purine nucleoside phosphorylase since it did not react with any of 14 monoclonal antisera or a polyvalent antiserum raised against deo-encoded purine nucleoside phosphorylase.