Rapid events in the processes of electron transfer and substrate binding to cytochrome P-450 BM3 from Bacillus megaterium and its constituent haem-containing and flavin-containing domains have been investigated using stopped-flow spectrophotometry. The formation of a blue semiquinone flavin form occurs during the NADPH-dependent reduction of the flavin domain and a species with a similar absorption maximum is also seen during reduction of the holoenzyme by NADPH. EPR spectroscopy confirms the formation of the flavin semiquinone. The formation of this semiquinone is transient during fatty acid monooxygenation by the holoenzyme, but in the presence of excess NADPH the species reforms once fatty acid is exhausted. Electron transfers through the reductase domain are too rapid to limit the fatty acid monooxygenation reaction. The substrate-binding-induced haem iron spin-state shift also occurs much faster than the k,,, at 25°C. The rate of first electron transfer to the haem domain is also rapid; but it is of the order of 5-10-times larger than the k,,, for the enzyme (dependent on the fatty acid used).Given that two successive electron transfers to haem iron are required for the oxygenation reaction, these rates are likely to exert some control over the rate of fatty acid oxygenation reactions. The presence of large amounts of NADPH also results in decreased rates of electron transfer from flavin to haem iron. In the difference spectrum of the active fatty acid hydroxylase, features indicative of a high-spin iron haem accumulate. These are in accordance with the presence of large amounts of an Fe'+-product bound enzyme during turnover and indicate that product release may also contribute to rate limitation. Taken together, these data suggest that the catalytic rate is not determined by the accumulation of a single intermediate in the reaction scheme, but rather that it is controlled in a series of steps.Keywords: cytochrome P-450; stopped-flow kinetics ; EPR; electron transfer.The cytochrome P-450 monooxygenases (P-450) are a ubiquitous superfamily of haem enzymes which catalyse insertion of oxygen into an enormous variety of both physiological and nonphysiological organic substrates [l -31. P-450 generally fall into one of two broad classes. Class I P-450 (bacterial/mitochondrial) are three component systems comprised of an NAD(P)H-binding flavoprotein reductase, a small iron-sulfur protein and the P-450, which is membrane bound in eukaryotic forms [4]. Class I1 P-450 (microsomal) are two component systems comprising an FAD-containing and FMN-containing NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and the P-450. This class is found almost exclusively in eukaryotes, where both components are membrane bound [4].There are many prokaryotic class I P-450, the best characterised being the P-450cum camphor hydroxylase from Pseudomonus putida. P-450cum (CUP 101) was the first P-450 for which an atomic structure was determined [5]. More recently, a unique prokaryotic class I1 flavocytochrome P-450 from Bacillus megaterium has been char...

The cytochromes P-450 (P-450s) constitute an extremely large family ('superfamily') of haemoproteins that catalyse the oxidation of a wide range of physiological and non-physiological compounds. A remarkable feature of the P-450s is the manipulation of the same basic structure and chemistry to achieve an enormous range of functions in organisms as diverse as bacteria and man. Indeed, the P-450s have been described as 'the most versatile biological catalyst known'. Much research is focussed on mammalian P-450s, with their roles in such processes as steroid transformations and the metabolism of carcinogens and other xenobiotics. However, our knowledge of the structure and function of the P-450s has been advanced by analysis of a limited number of its bacterial members, primarily P-450cam from Pseudomonas putida. Four P-450 structures have been solved to date, all of which are from bacterial sources. The aim of this review is to assess current knowledge of the many bacterial P-450s, with emphasis on their diverse biological roles and on the advances in our knowledge of this extremely important enzyme class, which have been made feasible through their study.

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A crystal structure is reported for the C168S mutant of a typical 2-Cys peroxiredoxin III (Prx III) from bovine mitochondria at a resolution of 3.3 A. Prx III is present as a two-ring catenane comprising two interlocking dodecameric toroids that are assembled from basic dimeric units. Each ring has an external diameter of 150 A and encompasses a central cavity that is 70 A in width. The concatenated dodecamers are inclined at an angle of 55 degrees, which provides a large contact surface between the rings. Dimer-dimer contacts involved in toroid formation are hydrophobic in nature, whereas the 12 areas of contact between interlocked rings arise from polar interactions. These two major modes of subunit interaction provide important insights into possible mechanisms of catenane formation.

To determine whether the reduction in brain alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex activity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with an abnormality in one of its three constituent enzyme subunits, we measured protein levels of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (El), dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase (E2), and dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3), in postmortem brain of 29 patients with AD (mean age, 73 years; age range of onset, 50-78 years) and 29 control subjects. In the AD group protein levels of all three subunits were significantly reduced by 23 to 41% in the temporal cortex, whereas in the parietal cortex (El: -28%; E3: -32%) and hippocampus (E3: -33%) significant changes were limited to El and E3. alpha-Ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex activities were more markedly reduced (by 46-68%) and did not correlate with protein levels, suggesting that decreased enzyme activity cannot be primarily explained by loss of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex protein. We did not find two E2 immunoreactive forms in the brain of any patient, as has been reported in fibroblasts of patients with very-early-onset chromosome 14-linked AD. We conclude that brain protein and activity levels of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex are reduced in patients with AD who have onset after 50 years and suggest that these changes, which are also observed in other human brain disorders, may represent a nonspecific consequence of different neurodegenerative processes. Nevertheless, reduced levels of this rate-limiting enzyme of the Krebs cycle could contribute to the brain neurodegenerative mechanisms of AD.