Radiation inactivation of hepatic sulfite oxidase.

Sulfite oxidase (EC 1.8.3.1), purified from chicken liver, is comprised of two identical subunits of 55 kDa, each of which contains a molybdenum and heme prosthetic group. The functional size of sulfite oxidase was determined by radiation inactivation analysis using both full, sulfite:cytochrome c reductase, and partial, sulfite:ferricyanide reductase, catalytic activities. Inactivation of full enzyme activity indicated a target size of 42 kDa while the partial activity indicated a target size of 25 kDa. These results confirm the earlier findings of two equivalent subunits and suggest the presence of a functional domain within the subunit structure that contains the molybdenum center and exhibits a smaller molecular mass than that of the enzyme subunit.