Descripción: Organic solvents miscible in water (cosolvents) exerted a dual effect on the activation stage of two thioredoxin-linked enzymes of the reductive pentose phosphate cycle, phosphoribulokinase and NADP-glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase, both from spinach chloroplast; the enzyme specific activity was stimulated and inhibited by low and high concentrations of alcohols, respectively. On the contrary, cosolvents inhibited the catalytic process. In the stimulation of phosphoribulokinase activation, organic solvents reduced the requirement for thioredoxin-f and changed the thiol specificity, so that monothiols became functional. The cosolvent-mediated enhancement of NADP-glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase was obtained in the absence of modulators. With both enzymes, the concentration of the organic solvents required for activation was inversely proportional to its hydrophobicity (1-butanol < 1-propanol < 2-propanol < ethanol). The present results demonstrate the participation of a new component, the enzyme microenvironment, in the regulation of thioredoxin-linked chloroplast enzymes. © 1985.

Descripción: 2-Cys peroxiredoxins (2-Cys Prxs) are ubiquitous peroxidases with important roles in cellular antioxidant defense and hydrogen peroxide-mediated signaling. Post-translational modifications of conserved cysteines cause the transition from low to high molecular weight oligomers, triggering the functional change from peroxidase to molecular chaperone. However, it remains unclear how non-covalent interactions of 2-Cys Prx with metabolites modulate the quaternary structure. Here, we disclose that ATP and Mg2+ (ATP/Mg) promote the self-polymerization of chloroplast 2-Cys Prx (polypeptide 23.5 kDa) into soluble higher order assemblies (>2 MDa) that proceed to insoluble aggregates beyond 5mMATP. Remarkably, the withdrawal of ATP or Mg2+ brings soluble oligomers and insoluble aggregates back to the native conformation without compromising the associated functions. As confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, ATP/Mg drive the toroid-like decamers (diameter 13 nm) to the formation of large sphere-like particles (diameter ∼30 nm). Circular dichroism studies on ATP-labeled 2-Cys Prx reveal that ATP/Mg enhance the proportion of β-sheets with the concurrent decrease in the content of α-helices. In line with this observation, the formation of insoluble aggregates is strongly prevented by 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol, a cosolvent employed to induce α-helical conformations. We further find that the response of self-polymerization to ATP/Mg departs abruptly from that of the associated peroxidase and chaperone activities when two highly conserved residues, Arg129 and Arg152, are mutated. Collectively, our data uncover that non-covalent interactions of ATP/Mg with 2-Cys Prx modulate dynamically the quaternary structure, thereby coupling the non-redox chemistry of cell energy with redox transformations at cysteine residues. © 2011 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.