Photoaffinity labeling of rabbit muscle fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase with 8-azido-1,N6-ethenoadenosine 5'-triphosphate.

Steady-state kinetic measurements have shown that 8-azido-1,N6-ethenoadenosine 5'-triphosphate (8-N3-epsilon ATP) can be noncovalently bound to rabbit muscle fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase with Ki = 0.075 mM at pH 8.5. This binding is purely competitive with substrate and occurs at the strong binding site for mononucleotides. Photoaffinity labeling of aldolase in the presence of 8-azido-1,N6-ethenoadenosine 5'-triphosphate results in inactivation of the enzyme. Aldolase is protected against modification in the presence of the inhibitors hexitol 1,6-bisphosphate or ATP. The labeling is saturable, and a good correlation is observed between the loss of enzymatic activity and the incorporation of 8-N3-epsilon ATP into aldolase. In addition, aldolase loses its ability to bind to phosphocellulose following modification. Digestion of labeled protein with trypsin, chymotrypsin, and cyanogen bromide revealed substantial modification of peptide 259-269. Thr-265 was identified as the residue that was covalently modified by 8-N3-epsilon ATP. On the basis of these results and other data we propose a model for the mononucleotide binding site.