Photoaffinity labeling of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase with 8-azido-S-adenosylmethionine.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase commits tetrahydrofolate-bound one carbon units to use in the regeneration of the methyl group of adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) in eucaryotes and its activity is allosterically inhibited by AdoMet. Limited proteolysis and scanning transmission electron microscopy have been employed to show that the enzyme is a dimer of identical subunits and that each subunit is composed of spatially distinct domains with molecular masses of approximately 40 and 37 kDa (Matthews, R. G., Vanoni, M. A., Hainfeld, J. F., and Wall, J. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 11647-11650). We now report the use of the photoaffinity label 8-azido-S-adenosylmethionine (8-N3AdoMet) to locate the binding site for the allosteric inhibitor on the 37-kDa domain. In the absence of light, 8-N3AdoMet is itself an inhibitor of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase activity, with a Ki value 4.8-fold higher than AdoMet, and like AdoMet it induces slow transitions between active and inactive forms. Photoaffinity labeling is dependent on irradiation with ultraviolet light and is prevented by AdoMet but not by ATP. Limited proteolysis of the photolabeled enzyme results in the formation of a labeled 37-kDa fragment which is further processed to a labeled 34-kDa fragment. On conversion of the 34-kDa fragment to a 31-kDa polypeptide, all label is lost, suggesting that the labeling is restricted to an approximately 3-kDa region near one end of the 37-kDa polypeptide. Limited proteolysis of the native enzyme, while completely desensitizing the enzyme to inhibition by AdoMet or 8-N3AdoMet, does not prevent subsequent photolabeling of the 37-kDa peptide fragment. This photolabeling does not occur in the presence of excess AdoMet. These latter experiments suggest that the desensitization of the enzyme eliminates the ability of allosteric effectors to stabilize an inactive form of the enzyme, but does not abolish specific binding of 8-N3AdoMet or AdoMet.