Immunological comparison of glyoxalase I from yeast and mammals and quantitative determination of the enzyme in human tissues by radioimmunoassay.

Antibodies to glyoxalase I from yeast, rat liver, porcine erythrocytes and human erythrocytes were raised in rabbits. Gel precipitation and immunotitration experiments demonstrated that the mammalian enzymes were immunologically related, but distinct from the yeast enzyme. Fab fragments of the antibodies to human glyoxalase I did not inhibit the catalytic activity, indicating that the antigen binding sites were not directed towards the active site of the enzyme. A radioimmunoassay for glyoxalase I was developed. Quantitative analysis of human adult as well as fetal organs demonstrated that glyoxalase I was present in a concentration of approximately 0.2 micrograms/mg protein in most human tissues.

Comparison of glyoxalase I purified from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) with the enzyme from mammalian sources.

Glyoxalase I from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) purified by affinity chromatography on S-hexylglutathione-Sepharose 6B was characterized and compared with the enzyme from rat liver, pig erythrocytes and human erythrocytes. The molecular weight of glyoxalase I from yeast was, like the enzyme from Rhodospirillum rubrum and Escherichia coli, significantly less (approx. 32000) than that of the enzyme from mammals (approx. 46000). The yeast enzyme is a monomer, whereas the mammalian enzymes are composed of two very similar or identical subunits. The enzymes contain 1Zn atom per subunit. The isoelectric points (at 4 degrees C) for the yeast and mammalian enzymes are at pH7.0 and 4.8 respectively; tryptic-peptide ;maps' display corresponding dissimilarities in structure. These and some additional data indicate that the microbial and the mammalian enzymes may have separate evolutionary origins. The similarities demonstrated in mechanistic and kinetic properties, on the other hand, indicate convergent evolution. The k(cat.) and K(m) values for the yeast enzyme were both higher than those for the enzyme from the mammalian sources with the hemimercaptal adduct of methylglyoxal or phenylglyoxal as the varied substrate and free glutathione at a constant and physiological concentration (2mm). Glyoxalase I from all sources investigated had a k(cat.)/K(m) value near 10(7)s(-1).m(-1), which is close to the theoretical diffusion-controlled rate of enzyme-substrate association. The initial-velocity data show non-Michaelian rate saturation and apparent non-linear inhibition by free glutathione for both yeast and mammalian enzyme. This rate behaviour may have physiological importance, since it counteracts the effects of fluctuations in total glutathione concentrations on the glyoxalase I-dependent metabolism of 2-oxoaldehydes.

Inactivation of glyoxalase I from porcine erythrocytes and yeast by amino-group reagents.

Glyoxalase I from porcine erythrocytes and from yeast is inactivated by the amino-group reagents 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, 5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl chloride, and 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonate (N-3ph-S). The inactivation follows pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the apparent first-order rate constant increases with pH, indicating that the basic form of a nucleophilic group is modified. The effect of increasing the inactivator concentration was tested with N-3PH-S, and it was found that the apparent rate constant increased to a limiting value. Such a result is consistent with a mechanism involving formation of a reversible inactivator x enzyme complex prior to the actual inactivation. Experiments with erythrocyte glyoxalase I and a variety of sulfhydryl-group reagents failed to show a dependence on sulfhydryl groups for catalytic activity, in contrast to previous results with the yeast enzyme. These experiments seem to exclude the possibility that essential sulfhydryl groups of the erythrocyte enzyme are modified by the amino-group reagents. Failure of reactivation of yeast glyoxalase I, and the similarities with the erythrocyte enzyme suggest that yeast glyoxalase I is not modified at essential sulfhydryl groups either by the latter reagents. This assumption has further support from experiments involving simultaneous inactivation with amino and sulfhydryl-group reagents. The results are consistent with the interpretation that amino groups of glyoxalase I are essential for catalytic activity. Glutathione derivatives, which are reversible competitive inhibitors of glyoxalase I, were found to protect the enzyme against inactivation by amino-group reagents. However, the concentration required for half-maximal protection was considerably higher than the inhibition constant of the reversible inhibition, which indicates that at least two molecules of the protector must be bound to the enzyme before full protection is obtained.