Chemical modification of the epsilon-amino groups of lysine residues in horseradish peroxidase and its effect on the catalytic properties and thermostability of the enzyme.

Chemical modification of horseradish peroxidase (donor:hydrogen-peroxide oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.7) (isoenzyme C) by anhydrides of mono- and dicarboxylic acids and picryl sulfonic acid has been performed. The effect of the modification on the catalytic activity, absorption and circular dichroism spectra of peroxidase has been studied. Rate constants of irreversible thermoinactivation (kin) for the native and modified peroxidase at 56--80 degrees C have been measured. The effective values of the thermodynamic activation parameters of thermoinactivation, delta H not equal to and delta S not equal to, have been also determined. A relationship between the number of modified epsilon-amino groups of lysine residues and the nature of the modifier on the one hand, and the conformation and thermostability of the enzyme on the other, is discussed. It has been shown that it is the degree of modification, rather than the nature of the modifier, that produces the major effect on the macromolecular conformation and the thermostability of the enzyme after modification. The conclusion is drawn that the thermostability of the modified enzyme increases due to the decrease of the conformational mobility in the protein moiety around the heme.