Studies on adenosine triphosphate transphosphorylases. XVIII. Synthesis and preparation of peptides and peptide fragments of rabbit muscle ATP-AMP transphosphorylase (adenylate kinase) and their nucleotide-binding properties.

Two peptide fragments, derived from the head and tail of rabbit muscle myokinase, were found to possess remarkable and specific ligand-binding properties (Hamada et al., 1979). By initiating systematic syntheses and measurements of equilibrium substrate-binding properties of these two sets of peptides, or portions thereof, which encompass the binding sites for (a) the magnesium complexes of the nucleotide substrates (MgATP2- and MgADP-) and (b) the uncomplexed nucleotide substrates (ADP3- and AMP2-) of rabbit muscle myokinase, some of the requirements for binding of the substrates to ATP-AMP transphosphorylase are being deduced and chemically outlined. One requirement for tight nucleotide binding appears to be a minimum peptide length of 15-25 residues. In addition, Lys-172 and/or Lys-194 may be involved in the binding of epsilon AMP. The syntheses are described as a set of peptides corresponding to residues 31-45, 20-45, 5-45, and 1-45, and a set of peptides corresponding to residues 178-192, 178-194, and 172-194 of rabbit muscle adenylate kinase. The ligand-binding properties of the first set of synthetic peptides to the fluorescent ligands: epsilon MgATP/epsilon ATP and epsilon MgADP/epsilon ADP are quantitatively presented in terms of their intrinsic dissociation constants (K'd) and values of N (maximal number of moles bound per mole of peptide); and compared with the peptide fragment MT-I (1-44) obtained from rabbit muscle myokinase (Kuby et al., 1984) and with the native enzyme (Hamada et al., 1979). In addition, the values of N and K'd are given for the second set of synthetic peptides to the fluorescent ligands epsilon AMP and epsilon ADP as well as for the peptide fragments MT-XII(172-194) and CB-VI(126-194) (Kuby et al., 1984) and, in turn, compared with the native enzyme. A few miscellaneous dissociation constants which had been derived kinetically are also given for comparison (e.g., the Ki for epsilon AMP and the value of KMg epsilon ATP obtained for the native enzyme) (Hamada and Kuby, 1978), and the K'd measured for Cr3+ ATP [corrected] and the synthetic peptide I1-45 (Fry et al., 1985b).

Studies on adenosine triphosphate transphosphorylases. Amino acid sequence of rabbit muscle ATP-AMP transphosphorylase.

The total amino acid sequence of rabbit muscle adenylate kinase has been determined, and the single polypeptide chain of 194 amino acid residues starts with N-acetylmethionine and ends with leucyllysine at its carboxyl terminus, in agreement with the earlier data on its amino acid composition [Mahowald, T. A., Noltmann, E. A., & Kuby, S. A. (1962) J. Biol. Chem. 237, 1138-1145] and its carboxyl-terminus sequence [Olson, O. E., & Kuby, S. A. (1964) J. Biol. Chem. 239, 460-467]. Elucidation of the primary structure was based on tryptic and chymotryptic cleavages of the performic acid oxidized protein, cyanogen bromide cleavages of the 14C-labeled S-carboxymethylated protein at its five methionine sites (followed by maleylation of peptide fragments), and tryptic cleavages at its 12 arginine sites of the maleylated 14C-labeled S-carboxymethylated protein. Calf muscle myokinase, whose sequence has also been established, differs primarily from the rabbit muscle myokinase's sequence in the following: His-30 is replaced by Gln-30; Lys-56 is replaced by Met-56; Ala-84 and Asp 85 are replaced by Val-84 and Asn-85. A comparison of the four muscle-type adenylate kinases, whose covalent structures have now been determined, viz., rabbit, calf, porcine, and human [for the latter two sequences see Heil, A., Müller, G., Noda, L., Pinder, T., Schirmer, H., Schirmer, I., & Von Zabern, I. (1974) Eur. J. Biochem. 43, 131-144, and Von Zabern, I., Wittmann-Liebold, B., Untucht-Grau, R., Schirmer, R. H., & Pai, E. F. (1976) Eur. J. Biochem. 68, 281-290], demonstrates an extraordinary degree of homology.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

An aberrant adenylate kinase isoenzyme from the serum of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The sera from patients with human Duchenne (X-linked) progressive muscular dystrophy contain elevated adenylate kinase (ATP: AMP phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.4.3) activities, in addition to their characteristically high creatine kinase (ATP; creatine N-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.3.2) activities. By agarose gel electrophoresis of human Duchenne dystrophic serum, the presence of an apparently normal human serum adenylate kinase together with a variant species of adenylate kinase was detected. The latter enzyme species appeared, in its mobility, to be similar to that of the normal human liver-type adenylate kinase. The presence of this aberrant liver-type adenylate kinase could also be demonstrated by characteristic (for the liver type) inhibition patterns with P1,P5-di-(adenosine-5')pentaphosphate, 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate) and phosphoenolpyruvate. On the other hand, by inhibition titrations with an anti-muscle-type adenylate kinase, hemolysates from the erythrocytes of several Duchenne and Becker's dystrophics were found to contain approx. 96% muscle-type adenylate kinase and their serum approx. 97% muscle-type adenylate kinase. These same patients contained approx. 89% M-M type creatine kinase in their serum (by inhibition against anti-human muscle-type creatine kinase) indicative of the presence also of M-B plus B-B type active isoenzymes. All of these data can best be explained by the presence of a variant or mutant adenylate kinase isoenzyme in the dystrophic serum. This isoenzyme appears to resemble the liver type in its inhibition patterns with P1,P5-di(adenosine-5')pentaphosphate, 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate) and phosphoenolpyruvate, and in its heat stability (compare also the agarose gel electrophoresis pattern); but structurally, it is a muscle type, or derived from a muscle type, as shown immunologically by inhibition reactions with anti-muscle-type adenylate kinase. Whether this is a fetal-type isoenzyme of adenylate kinase will require further investigation.