Sulfoxide reduction catalyzed by guinea pig liver aldehyde oxidase in combination with one-electron reducing flavoenzymes.

The mechanism of the enhancing effect of methyl viologen (MV) and flavin-adenine dinucleotide (FAD) on sulfoxide reduction which is mediated by a combination of aldehyde oxidase (AO) from guinea pig liver and one-electron reducing flavoenzymes, such as milk xanthine oxidase (XO), was examined. The activity of anaerobic reduction of diphenyl sulfoxide (DPSO) to diphenyl sulfide (DPS) was less than 1 nmol/min/mg protein of AO preparation in a system consisting of hypoxanthine, XO and AO. However, the sulfoxide reduction by this system was enhanced about 6- and 100-fold by the additions of FAD and MV, respectively. In the system containing MV or FAD, other one-electron reducing flavoenzymes such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (reduced form) (NADH) dehydrogenase, lipoamide dehydrogenase and glutathione reductase with an appropriate electron donor, could replace XO. The ability of supplemented flavoenzymes to facilitate DPSO reduction correlated with their abilities to reduce MV and FAD. When AO was omitted from the combined system, no sulfoxide reduction was observed. Stoichiometric study revealed that MV semiquinone and FADH2 were oxidized at ratios of 2 and 1 mol, respectively, per mol of DPS formed. These results indicate that either MV or FAD serves as an electron carrier from the supplemented flavoenzymes to AO, a terminal reductase of sulfoxide.