J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 259, Issue 9, 5923-5931, May, 1984
Guanylate cyclase from bovine lung. Evidence that enzyme activation by phenylhydrazine is mediated by iron-phenyl hemoprotein complexes
LJ Ignarro, KS Wood, B Ballot and MS Wolin
The mechanism of activation of soluble guanylate cyclase purified from
bovine lung by phenylhydrazine is reported. Heme-deficient and heme-
containing forms of guanylate cyclase were studied. Heme-deficient enzyme
was activated 10-fold by NO but was not activated by phenylhydrazine.
Catalase or methemoglobin enabled phenylhydrazine to activate guanylate
cyclase 10-fold and enhanced activation by NO to over 100-fold.
Heme-containing enzyme was activated only 3-fold by phenylhydrazine but
over 100-fold by NO. Added hemoproteins enhanced enzyme activation by
phenylhydrazine to 12-fold without enhancing activation by NO. Reducing or
anaerobic conditions inhibited, whereas oxidants enhanced enzyme activation
by phenylhydrazine plus catalase, and KCN had no effect. In contrast,
enzyme activation by NO and NaN3 was inhibited by oxidants or KCN. NaN3
required native catalase, whereas phenylhydrazine also utilized
heat-denatured catalase for enzyme activation. Thus, the mechanism of
guanylate cyclase activation by phenylhydrazine differed from that by NO or
NaN3. Guanylate cyclase activation by phenylhydrazine resulted from an
O2-dependent reaction between phenylhydrazine and hemoproteins to generate
stable iron-phenyl hemoprotein complexes. These complexes activated
guanylate cyclase in the absence of O2, but lost activity after
acidification, basification, or heating. Gel filtration of prereacted
mixtures of [U- 14C]phenylhydrazine plus hemoproteins resulted in
co-chromatography of radioactivity, protein, and guanylate cyclase
stimulating activity, and yielded a phenyl-hemoprotein binding
stoichiometry of four under specified conditions (one phenyl/heme).
[14C]Phenyl bound to heme- containing but not heme-deficient guanylate
cyclase and binding correlated with enzyme activation. Moreover, reactions
between enzyme and iron-[14C] phenyl hemoprotein complexes resulted in the
exchange or transfer of iron-phenyl heme to guanylate cyclase and this
correlated with enzyme activation.