Thromboxane synthase (TXAS) is a "non-classical" cytochrome P450. Without any need for an external electron donor, or for a reductase or molecular oxygen, it uses prostaglandin H 2 (PGH 2 ) to catalyze either an isomerization reaction to form thromboxane A 2 (TXA 2 ) or a fragmentation reaction to form 12-L-hydroxy-5,8,10-heptadecatrienoic acid and malondialdehyde (MDA) at a ratio of 1:1:1 (TXA 2 :heptadecatrienoic acid:MDA). We report here kinetics of TXAS with heme ligands in binding study and with PGH 2 in enzymatic study. We determined that 1) binding of U44069, an oxygen-based ligand, is a two-step process; U44069 first binds TXAS, then ligates the hemeiron with a maximal rate constant of 105-130 s ; the rate of catalytic conversion of PGH 2 to TXA 2 or MDA was at least 15,000 s ؊1 and the lower limit of the rates for products release was 4,000 -6,000 s ؊1. Given that the cellular PGH 2 concentration is quite low, we concluded that under physiological conditions, the substrate-binding step is the rate-limiting step of the TXAS-catalyzed reaction, in sharp contrast with "classical" P450 enzymes.

Prostacyclin synthase (PGIS) and thromboxane synthase (TXAS) are atypical cytochrome P450s. They do not require NADPH or dioxygen for isomerization of prostaglandin H 2 (PGH 2 ) to produce prostacyclin (PGI 2 ) and thromboxane A 2 (TXA 2 ). PGI 2 and TXA 2 have opposing actions on platelet aggregation and blood vessel tone. In this report, we use a lipid hydroperoxide, 15-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HPETE), to explore the active site characteristics of PGIS and TXAS. The two enzymes transformed 15-HPETE not only into 8,, like many microsomal P450s, but also to 15-ketoeicosatetraenoic acid (15-KETE) and 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE). 13-OH-14,15-EET and 15-KETE result from homolytic cleavage of the O-O bond, whereas 15-HETE results from heterolytic cleavage, a common peroxidase pathway. About 80% of 15-HPETE was homolytically cleaved by PGIS and 60% was homolytically cleaved by TXAS. The V max of homolytic cleavage is 3.5-fold faster than heterolytic cleavage for PGIS-catalyzed reactions (1100 min −1 vs. 320 min −1 ) and 1.4-fold faster for TXAS (170 min −1 vs. 120 min −1 ). Similar K M values for homolytic and heterolytic cleavages were found for PGIS (∼60 μM 15-HPETE) and TXAS (∼80 μM 15-HPETE), making PGIS a more efficient catalyst for the 15-HPETE reaction.Keywords prostacyclin synthase; thromboxane synthase; cytochrome P450; peroxide bond cleavage; homolytic; heterolytic; hydroperoxides; epoxyalcohol Prostacyclin synthase (PGIS) and thromboxane synthase (TXAS) are members of the cytochrome P450 superfamily, which uses heme as the prosthetic group and has a cysteine thiolate proximal ligand [1,2]. PGIS and TXAS convert prostaglandin H 2 (PGH 2 ) to prostacyclin (PGI 2 ) and thromboxane A 2 (TXA 2 ), respectively. PGI 2 inhibits platelet activation and aggregation and induces vasodilation, whereas TXA 2 stimulates platelet secretion, aggregation and vasoconstriction [3]. Both PGI 2 and TXA 2 are rapidly hydrolyzed To whom correspondence should be addressed: Lee-Ho Wang Division of Hematology Department of Internal Medicine 6431 Fannin Houston, TX 77030 Tel: 713-500-6794 Fax: 713-500-6810 e-mail: lee-ho.wang@uth.tmc.edu 1 The abbreviations used are: PGIS, prostacyclin synthase; PGI 2 , prostacyclin; PGHS, prostaglandin H synthase; TXAS, thromboxane synthase; TXA 2 , thromboxane A 2 ; 8,11-eicosatrienoic acid; ESI/MS, electron-spray ionization/ mass spectrometry; EPR, electron paramagnetic resonance; SVD, singular value decomposition.Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Hecker and Ullrich proposed a caged radical mechanism for TXAS ...