The substrate affinity label 3-bromo-2-ketoglutarate (BrKG) reacts covalently with pig heart NAD+-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase with complete inactivation and incorporation of about 0.8 mol of reagent/mol of average enzyme subunit [Bednar, R.A., Hartman, F.C., & Colman, R.F. (1982) Biochemistry 21, 3681-3689]. Protection against inactivation is provided by isocitrate and Mn2+. We have now identified a critical modified peptide by comparison of the peptides labeled by BrKG at pH 6.1 in the absence and presence of isocitrate and Mn2+. Modified enzyme, isolated from unreacted BrKG, was incubated with [3H]NaBH4 to reduce the keto group of protein-bound 2-ketoglutarate and thereby introduce a radioactive tracer into the modified amino acid. Following carboxymethylation and digestion with trypsin, the specific modified peptide was isolated by reverse-phase HPLC, first in 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid with a gradient in acetonitrile and then in 20 mM ammonium acetate, pH 5.8, with an acetonitrile gradient. Gas-phase sequencing gave the modified peptide: Ser-Ala-X-Val-Pro-Val-Asp-Phe-Glu-Glu-Val-Val-Val-Ser-Ser-Asn-Ala-Asp-Gl u-Glu- Asp-Ile-Arg. The corresponding tryptic peptide that was isolated from unmodified enzyme yielded the same sequence except for (carboxymethyl)cysteine at position 3, suggesting that cysteine is the target of 3-bromo-2-ketoglutarate. Pig heart NAD+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase is composed of three distinct subunits (alpha, beta, and gamma) that can be separated by chromatofocusing in urea and identified by analytical gel isoelectric focusing. The peptide modified by 3-bromo-2-ketoglutarate, which is in or near the substrate site, is derived only from the separated gamma subunit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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