[Kinetic manifestations of the interaction of active centers in swine skeletal muscle D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase].

The kinetic method and selective chemical modification have been used in studies of the kinetic manifestations of active site interactions in D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAP dehydrogenase). The reactions of glyceraldehyde and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate oxidation were studied in the absence of substrate excess. In support of the data obtained previously it was shown that only a part of the tightly bound NAD molecules can be reduced after substrate addition. "Partial reducibility" is observed at various degrees of saturation of the enzyme with NAD involving a single NAD molecule per tetrametric enzyme. These facts can hardly be explained by assumption of functional non-equivalence of active sites, whether induced by coenzyme or preexisting in the apoenzyme. It was proven by selective alkylation of the catalytic SH groups that "partial reducibility" is due to the circumstance that equilibrium in the system under investigation is established at nearly equal NAD and NADH concentrations. A plot of initial reaction rates versus NAD concentration (at non-saturating substrate concentrations) gives S-shaped curves; this is explained by considerable enzyme activation upon saturation of the fourth site with coenzyme. After modification of three active sites with iodoacetate the S-shape of the curve disappeared. This fact leads to the conclusion that active site interactions are required for formation of the S-shaped curves. The activity of a single site functioning in the modified enzyme reached values equal to those of the active sites in the native enzyme in the fully activated state. A model is proposed which can explaine the variations in mode of enzyme activation in the native and modified states. It is suggested that the surroundings of all four SH groups must be altered in order to activate the enzyme; such changes can be induced either by alkylation of the SH groups or by NAD binding. Evidence is presented that important functional properties of GAP dehydrogenase cannot be elucidated at low enzyme concentrations and with excess of substrates: three active sites are saturated under such conditons and practically inactive, and the fourth site obeys Michaelis - Menten kinetics.