Complex of D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase with Cu2+ ion. The properties of ternary Cu-enzyme-coenzyme complex.

The formation of ternary Cu-enzyme-coenzyme complex from cupric ion and D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase holoenzyme results in similar spectral changes as the formation of binary Cu-apoenzyme complex, which indicates that the complex bonds between cupric ion and the holoenzyme, and cupric ion and the apoenzyme are similar. Spectrophotometric titration, chemical modification experiments and inhibition studies with cupric ion gave evidence that cupric ion is selectively bound on Cys-149 residue also in the Cu-GAPD-NAD complex. The charge transfer interaction between the coenzyme and Cu-GAPD, i.e. the difference spectrum of the combination of NAD with Cu-GAPD complex, is different from that of the enzyme-coenzyme complex in the absence of cupric ion. The shape of this "modified enzyme-coenzyme charge transfer spectrum" is influenced by various anions. The difference absorption does not depend on the pH in the range of 5.5 to 9. This indicates that the bound cupric ion abolishes the effect of deprotonation of a functional group in the protein on the charge transfer interaction. It is suggested that this functional group is a histidine imidazole, which activates the Cys-149 thiol group in the native enzyme and binds the metal ion in the cupric complex in a Cys-Cu-His chelate structure.