The organic functional group in copper-containing amine oxidases. Resonance Raman spectra are consistent with the presence of topa quinone (6-hydroxydopa quinone) in the active site.

Resonance Raman spectroscopy has been used to probe the structure of the organic cofactor in copper-containing amine oxidases from bovine plasma, porcine kidney, pea seedlings, and the bacterium Arthrobacter P1. The enzymes were first derivatized with phenylhydrazine or p-nitrophenylhydrazine; resonance Raman spectra were obtained on the intact derivatized enzymes and on a derivatized active-site peptide isolated from bovine plasma amine oxidase. Spectra of the intact amine oxidase phenylhydrazones are practically identical, consistent with the enzymes examined containing a similar cofactor. Only minor frequency shifts and some intensity variations are detected between the resonance Raman spectra of intact bovine plasma amine oxidase and the isolated peptide. These spectral perturbations are attributable to differences in the micro-environment between the intact, folded protein and the isolated small peptide in aqueous solution. This rules out the possibility that a new structure is formed during the isolation of the derivatized active-site peptide. Importantly, the resonance Raman spectra of the phenylhydrazine and p-nitrophenylhydrazine derivatives of the bovine plasma amine oxidase peptide are identical to the spectra of the corresponding derivatives of topa quinone (6-hydroxydopa quinone). Hence these data provide strong, independent support for the recent identification of topa as the organic functional group in bovine plasma amine oxidase (Janes, S. M., Mu, D., Wemmer, D., Smith, A. J., Kaur, S., Maltby, D., Burlingame, A. L., and Klinman, J.P. (1990) Science 248, 981-987).