5-Formyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin is the intermediate in the process of methanogenesis in Methanosarcina barkeri.

Formylmethanofuran:tetrahydromethanopterin (H4MPT) formyltransferase and 5,10-methenyl-H4MPT cyclohydrolase purified from Methanosarcina barkeri catalyze a formyl group transfer and the hydrolysis of the methenyl function, respectively. The results from UV spectroscopy and HPLC analyses, and comparison with results obtained with the enzymes isolated from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum showed 5-formyl-H4MPT to be the product of the formyltransferase and cyclohydrolase reactions in M. barkeri. The findings disagree with an earlier report in which 10-formyl-H4MPT was identified as the product of the cyclohydrolase in the latter organism. In addition, it was observed that 10-formyl-H4MPT, which is non-enzymically formed from 5,10-methenyl-H4MPT at alkaline pH, becomes rapidly converted into the 5-formyl derivative. The latter finding explains why the nature of the formyl species previously had been improperly assigned.

Purification and properties of 5,10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin dehydrogenase and 5,10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin reductase, two coenzyme F420-dependent enzymes, from Methanosarcina barkeri.

5,10-Methylenetetrahydromethanopterin dehydrogenase and 5,10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin reductase have been purified to homogeneity by a factor of 86 and 68, respectively, from methanol-grown Methanosarcina barkeri cells. The dehydrogenase was isolated as a hexamer of a single 35 kDa subunit, whereas the reductase was composed of four identical 38 kDa subunits. The purified oxygen-stable enzymes catalyzed the oxidation of 5,10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin and methyltetrahydromethanopterin with Vmax values of 3000 and 200 mumol min-1 mg-1, respectively. The methanogenic electron carrier coenzyme F420 was a specific electron acceptor for both enzymes. Steady state kinetics for the two enzymes were in agreement with ternary complex (sequential) mechanisms. Methylene reductase and methylene dehydrogenase are proposed to function in the methanol oxidation step to CO2.

Purification and characterization of coenzyme F420-dependent 5,10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin dehydrogenase from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum strain delta H.

5,10-Methylenetetrahydromethanopterin dehydrogenase from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum strain delta H was purified to homogeneity with nearly complete recovery. The aerobically stable monofunctional enzyme catalyzed the reversible oxidation of 5,10-methylene-5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin to its 5,10-methenyl derivative. For the reaction a midpoint potential E'0 = - 362 mV was calculated at 60 degrees C. The methanogenic electron carrier coenzyme F420 was strictly required as the co-substrate. The dehydrogenase (Mr 216,000) was purified as an apparent hexamer of six identical 36 kDa subunits. Oxidation of 5,10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin coupled to coenzyme F420 reduction catalyzed by the dehydrogenase with a turnover number of 2400 S-1 proceeded via a ternary complex mechanism. High concentrations of monovalent cations markedly stimulated the reaction.

Purification and properties of 5,10-methenyltetrahydromethanopterin cyclohydrolase from Methanosarcina barkeri.

The 5,10-methenyltetrahydromethanopterin cyclohydrolase from Methanosarcina barkeri was purified 313-fold to a specific activity of 470 mumol min-1 mg-1 at 37 degrees C and pH 7.8. At this stage, the enzyme was pure as judged from polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The monofunctional enzyme was oxygen stable, but the presence of a detergent proved to be essential for its stability. Like the cyclohydrolase purified from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum (A. A. Dimarco, M. I. Donnelly, and R. S. Wolfe, J. Bacteriol. 168:1372-1377, 1986), the protein showed an apparent Mr of 82,000, and it is composed of two identical subunits as was concluded from nondenaturating and denaturating polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzymes from M. thermoautotrophicum and M. barkeri markedly differ with respect to the hydrolysis product of 5,10-methenyltetrahydromethanopterin: 5-formyl- and 10-formyltetrahydromethanopterin, respectively. The apparent Km for 5,10-methenyltetrahydromethanopterin was 0.57 mM at 37 degrees C and pH 7.8.

Purification and properties of 5,10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin reductase, a coenzyme F420-dependent enzyme, from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum strain delta H.

5,10-Methylenetetrahydromethanopterin reductase was purified 22-fold to apparent homogeneity from the methanogenic bacterium Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. The enzyme catalyzes the reduction of 5,10-methylene- to 5-methyltetrahydromethanopterin. The electron carrier coenzyme F420 is specifically used as the cosubstrate. The reductase reaction may proceed in both directions, methylene reduction is, however, thermodynamically favored. In addition, the velocity of the reaction in this direction exceeds the reverse reaction by a factor of 26. The reductase is composed of a single subunit with an estimated Mr = 35,000. The active enzyme does not contain a flavin prosthetic group or iron-sulfur clusters, in contrast to 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductases purified from eukaryotic and eubacterial sources, which catalyze an analogous reaction as the methanogenic reductase.

Mutagenicity and DNA-excision repair induced by isoniazid after metabolic activation by isolated human and rat hepatocytes.

The mutagenic potency of isoniazid (INH) (a widely used antitubercular drug) towards Salmonella typhimurium strain hisG46 was studied in the Salmonella/hepatocyte suspension-assay, comprising isolated human or rat hepatocytes as metabolic system. The potency of INH to induce DNA-excision repair in these hepatocytes was also measured. With rat hepatocytes, INH appeared to be only weakly mutagenic and did not induce significant increases in hepatocellular DNA-excision repair. With isolated hepatocytes of two human subjects, INH appeared also only weakly mutagenic. However, with hepatocytes of two other human subjects, INH was found to be highly mutagenic. Comparable results were obtained for the induction of hepatocellular DNA-excision repair.

Influence of ethanol induction on the metabolic activation of genotoxic agents by isolated rat hepatocytes.

The effects of ethanol-feeding to rats, over a 6-week period, on the activation of genotoxic compounds of different chemical classes, requiring metabolic conversion to exert their mutagenic activity, were studied in isolated rat hepatocytes. The influence of such treatment on cytochrome P-450 content and N-acetylation in isolated hepatocytes was also investigated. Benzidine (BZ), dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), diethylnitrosamine (DEN), isoniazid (INH) and cyclophosphamide (CP) were more effectively activated to products mutagenic towards Salmonella typhimurium by hepatocytes from ethanol-pretreated rats than by hepatocytes from controls. The mutagenic potency of 2-aminofluorene (2-AF) and 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) was not influenced by ethanol pretreatment. Ethanol consumption was found to be associated with increased cytochrome P-450 content and enhanced N-acetylation in the isolated hepatocytes. Our results support the hypothesis that an alteration of the hepatic drug-metabolizing system may be responsible for the ethanol-induced increase in susceptibility to certain genotoxic compounds.

Purification and properties of methanol:5-hydroxybenzimidazolylcobamide methyltransferase from Methanosarcina barkeri.

Methanol:5-hydroxybenzimidazolylcobamide methyltransferase from Methanosarcina barkeri has been purified to approximately 90% homogeneity by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and QAE-A50 Sephadex columns. The molecular weight, estimated by gel electrophoresis, was found to be 122,000, and the enzyme contained two different subunits with molecular weights of 34,000 and 53,000, which indicates an alpha 2 beta structure. The enzyme contains three or four molecules of 5-hydroxybenzimidazolylcobamide, which could be removed by treatment of the enzyme with 2-mercaptoethanol or sodium dodecyl sulfate. In both cases the enzyme dissociated into its subunits. For stability, the enzyme required the presence of divalent cations such as Mg2+, Mn2+, Sr2+, Ca2+, or Ba2+. ATP, GTP, or CTP was needed in a reductive activation process of the enzyme. This activation was brought about by a mixture of H2, ferredoxin, and hydrogenase, but also by CO, which is thought to reduce the corrinoid chemically. The CO dehydrogenase-like activity of the methyltransferase is discussed.