Studies on the kinetics and stoichiometry of inactivation of Pseudomonas omega-amino acid:pyruvate transaminase by gabaculine.

A homogeneous pyruvate-requiring omega-amino acid transaminase from Pseudomonas species F-126 has been examined for its behavior with gamma-aminobutyrate (GABA) as omega-amino acid substrate and for its susceptibility to the cyclic dihydroaromatic GABA analogue, gabaculine, a known suicide substrate for alpha-ketoglutarate-requiring GABA transaminases (Biochemistry 16, 4604-4610, 1977). One isomer of DL-gabaculine serves as a completely efficient titrant (no product molecules released) for this omega-amino acid transaminase by the anticipated mechanism of bound pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) derivitization. Stoichiometric titration with [2-3H]gabaculine reveals full inactivation at 0.45 labels/enzyme tetramer (see below), consistent with the subsequent demonstration that there is only 0.45 PLP molecule, bound as phenylhydrazine-titratable aldehyde form, per tetramer. Spectroscopic monitoring of inactivation also agrees with formation, on full inactivation, of 0.45 mol of m-anthranilyl-PNP adduct as the species quantitatively responsible for enzyme inactivation. Incubation of enzyme with excess PLP at 60 degrees C allows loading of enzyme with coenzyme to an average level of approximately 1 PLP/subunit, but even in this case activity is only increased up to 1.5-fold, and 1 to 1.5 molecules of gabaculine/tetramer cause complete inactivation. These data may indicate negative cooperativity between subunits.