ENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF THE NEUROEXCITATORY AMINO ACID QUISQUALIC ACID BY CYSTEINE SYNTHASE

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)83736-X

Key Word Index - Quisqualis indica var. villosa; Combretaceae; cysteine synthase; isoenzyme; enzyme purification; biosynthesis; heterocyclic β-substituted alanines; quisqualic acid; O-acetyl-L-serine; cysteine.Purification of cysteine synthase from the leaves of Quisqualis indica var. villosa reveals the presence of two forms of this enzyme, separated by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50.Isoenzyme A was purified 10 000-fold and had a specific activity of 10.8 U/mg protein.Isoenzyme B was purified 460-fold with a specific activity of 0.49 U/mg protein.Both isoenzymes have the same M_rs (58 000) and dissociate into identical subunits (M_r 29 000).The K_m value of isoenzyme A is 1.9 mM for O-acetyl-L-serine and 59 μM for sulphide, while that of isoenzyme B is 7.1 mM for O-acetyl-L-serine and 4.0 mM for 3,5-dioxo-1,2,4-oxadiazolidine.Both isoenzymes catalyse the formation of cysteine from O-acetyl-L-serine and hydrogen sulphide, but only isoenzyme B catalyses the formation of L-quisqualic acid.Other significant differences occur in the substrate specificity of the two isoenzymes.Some properties of the purified cysteine synthase isoenzymes are also described.