Abstract:
S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) hydrolase catalyzes the reversible hydrolysis of SAH to adenosine and homocysteine. Each molecule SAH contains tightly bound NAD+ which is a cofactor and part of the reaction. When adenosine binds to the SAH-hydrolase, NAD+ is reduced to NADH and the enzyme is transformed to its closed, inactive form.
We used highly purified SAH-hydrolase from bovine kidneys, removed the cofactor NAD+ and reconstituted the enzyme with NAD+/NADH ratios between 1/0 and 0/1. Then we examined the adenosine binding characteristics of the different enzyme forms and received the following results:
1. The speed of association declined with rising contents of NADH. At a ratio of NAD+/NADH 1/0, steady state was reached within 30 minutes, whereas at a ratio of 0/1, it took 8 hours.
2. At concentrations of 3H-adenosine up to 60 µM, saturation of the enzyme with different NAD+/NADH ratios could be reached. Depending on the NAD+/NADH ratio of the enzyme, Scatchard analysis showed either one or two adenosine binding sites. SAH hydrolase in its native form and at a ratio of NAD+/NADH 0.5/0.5 exhibited two binding sites for adenosine with a KD1 of 9.2 +/- 0.6 nmol/l and a KD2 1.4 +/- 0.1 µmol/l, respectively. SAH hydrolase with NAD+/ NADH ratios of 1/0 and 0/1 revealed one binding site only, with a low affinity of 4.9 +/- 0.3 µmol/l and a high affinity of 48.2 +/- 2.7 nmol/l, respectively.
3. To identify the adenosine binding sites, SAH hydrolase was incubated with [2-3H]-8-azido-Ado. After irradiation, the reaction mixture was digested by Asp-N or trypsin and the peptides, purified by HPLC, were sequenced. It showed that the SAH hydrolase in its native form and at a ratio of NAD+/NADH 0.5/0.5 contains 2 different photolabelled peptides, whereas the examination of the NAD+ form and the NADH form revealed one photolabelled peptide only. These results match the finding of one or two adenosine binding sites, respectively.