. The submicromolar Km of ALDH1 for all-trans retinal, and its 600-fold enhanced affinity for retinal compared to acetaldehyde, are explained by the size and shape of the substrate entrance tunnel in ALDH1. All-trans retinal fits into the active-site pocket of ALDH1, but not into the pocket of ALDH2. Two helices and one surface loop that line the tunnel are likely to have a key role in defining substrate specificity in the wider ALDH family. The relative sizes of the tunnels also suggest why the bulky alcohol aversive drug disulfiram reacts more rapidly with ALDH1 than ALDH2. The disorder of Glu268 and the observation that NAD+ binds in two distinct modes indicate that flexibility is a key facet of the enzyme reaction mechanism.

No abstract

The effect of disulfiram, [1-14C]disulfiram and some other thiol reagents on the activity of cytoplasmic aldehyde dehydrogenase from sheep liver was studied. The results are consistent with a rapid covalent interaction between disulfiram and the enzyme, and inconsistent with the notion that disulfiram is a reversible competitive inhibitor of cytoplasmic aldehyde dehydrogenase. There is a non-linear relationship between loss of about 90% of the enzyme activity and amount of disulfiram added; possible reasons for this are discussed. The remaining approx. 10% of activity is relatively insensitive to disulfiram. It is found that modification of only a small number of groups (one to two) per tetrameric enzyme molecule is responsible for the observed loss of activity. The dehydrogenase activity of the enzyme is affected more severely by disulfiram than is the esterase activity. Negatively charged thiol reagents have little or no effect on cytoplasmic aldehyde dehydrogenase. 2,2'-Dithiodipyridine is an activator of the enzyme.

1. The effect of disulfiram on the activity of the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenases of sheep liver was studied. 2. Disulfiram causes an immediate inhibition of the enzyme reaction. The effect on the cytoplasmic enzyme is much greater than on the mitochondrial enzyme. 3. In both cases, the initial partial inhibition is followed by a gradual irreversible loss of activity. 4. The pH-rate profile of the inactivation of the mitochondrial enzyme by disulfiram and the pH-dependence of the maximum velocity of the enzyme-catalysed reaction are both consistent with the involvement of a thiol group. 5. Excess of 2-mercaptoethanol or GSH abolishes the effect of disulfiram. However, equimolar amounts of either of these reagents and disulfiram cause an effect greater than does disulfiram alone. It was shown that the mixed disulphide, Et2N-CS-SS-CH2--CH2OH, strongly inhibits aldehyde dehydrogenase. 6. The inhibitory effect of diethyldithiocarbamate in vitro is due mainly to contamination by disulfiram.

1. Pre-modification of cytoplasmic aldehyde dehydrogenase by disulfiram results in the same extent of inactivation when the enzyme is subsequently assayed as a dehydrogenase or as an esterase. 2. 4-Nitrophenyl acetate protects the enzyme against inactivation by disulfiram, particularly well in the absence of NAD+. Some protection is also provided by chloral hydrate and indol-3-ylacetaldehyde (in the absence of NAD+). 3. When disulfiram is prevented from reacting at its usual site by the presence of 4-nitrophenyl acetate, it reacts elsewhere on the enzyme molecule without causing inactivation. 4. Enzyme in the presence of aldehyde and NAD+ is not at all protected against disulfiram. It is proposed that, under these circumstances, disulfiram reacts with the enzyme-NADH complex formed in the enzyme-catalysed reaction. 5. Modification by disulfiram results in a decrease in the amplitude of the burst of NADH formation during the dehydrogenase reaction, as well as a decrease in the steady-state rate. 6. 2,2'-Dithiodipyridine reacts with the enzyme both in the absence and presence of NAD+. Under the former circumstances the activity of the enzyme is little affected, but when the reaction is conducted in the presence of NAD+ the enzyme is activated by approximately 2-fold and is then relatively insensitive to the inactivatory effect of disulfiram. 7. Enzyme activated by 2,2'-dithiodipyridine loses most of its activity when stored over a period of a few days at 4 degrees C, or within 30 min when treated with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate. 8. Points for and against the proposal that the disulfiram-sensitive groups are catalytically essential are discussed.