JBC, Vol. 250, Issue 15, 6046-6053, Aug, 1975
Bovine kidney alkaline phosphatase. Catalytic properties, subunit interactions in the catalytic process, and mechanism of Mg2+ stimulation
G. Cathala and C. Brunel
Kidney alkaline phosphatase is an enzyme which requires two types of metals
for maximal activity: zinc, which is essential, and magnesium, which is
stimulatory. The main features of the Mg2+ stimulation have been analyzed.
The stimulation is pH-dependent and is observed mainly between pH 7.5 and
10.5. Mg2+ binding to native alkaline phosphatase is characterized by a
dissociation constant of 50 muM at pH 8.5,25 degrees. Binding of Zn2+ is an
athermic process. Both the rate constants of association, ka, and of
dissociation, kd, have low values. Typical values are 7 M(-1) at pH 8.0, 25
degrees, for ka and 4.10(-4) S(-1) at pH 8.0, 25 degrees, for kd. The on
and off processes have high activation energies of 29 kcal mol (-1). Mg2+
can be replaced at its specific site by Mn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+. Zinc
binding to the Mg2+ site inhibits the native alkaline phosphatase. Mn2+,
Co2+, and Ni2+ also bind to the Mg2+ site with a stimulatory effect which
is nearly identic-al with that of Mg2+, Mn2+ is the stimulatory cation
which binds most tightly to the Mg2+ site; the dissociation constant of the
Mn2+ kidney phosphatase complex is 2 muM at pH 8.5. The stoichiometry of
Mn2+ binding has been found to be 1 eq of Mn2+ per mol of dimeric kidney
phosphatase. The native enzyme displays absolute half-site reactivity for
Mn2+ binding. Mg2+ binding site and the substrate binding sites are
distinct sites. The Mg2+ stimulation corresponds to an allosteric effect.
Mg2+ binding to its specific sites does not affect substrate recognition,
it selectively affects Vmax values. Quenching of the phosphoenzyme formed
under steady state conditions with [32P]AMP as a substrate as well as
stopped flow analysis of the catalyzed hydrolysis of 2,4-dinitrophenyl
phosphate or p-nitrophenyl phosphate have shown that the two active sites
of the native and of the Mg2+-stimulated enzyme are not equivalent. Stopped
flow analysis indicated that one of the two active sites was phosphorylated
very rapidly whereas the other one was phosphorylated much more slowly at
pH 4.2. Half of the sites were shown to be reactive at pH 8.0. Quenching
experiments have shown that only one of the two sites is phosphorylated at
any instant; this result was confirmed by the stopped flow observation of a
burst of only 1 mol of nitrophenol per mol of dimeric phosphatase in the
pre-steady state hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate. The
half-of-the-sites reactivity observed for the native and for the
Mg2+-stimulated enzyme indicates that the same type of complex, the
monophosphorylated complex, accumulates under steady state conditions with
both types of enzymes. Mg2+ binding to the native enzyme at pH 8.0
increases considerably the dephosphorylation rate of this
monophosphorylated intermediate. A possible mechanism of Mg2+ stimulation
is discussed.