Ferritin: protection of enzymatic activity against the inhibition by divalent metal ions in vitro.

Ferritin binds a large quantity of Be2+ (Price D.J. and Joshi, J.G. J. Biol. Chem. 258 (1983) 10873) as well as other divalent metal ions. Therefore the ability of this protein to protect enzymes against or reverse the inhibition by metal ions was studied. Evidence presented here shows that the inhibition by Be2+ of the enzymes Na+K+ATPase, alkaline phosphatase and phosphoglucomutase is reversed by ferritin. Be2+ can be transferred reversibly between phosphoglucomutase and ferritin depending upon the relative concentrations of the 2 proteins. Ferritin also reactivated phosphoglucomutase inhibited by Zn2+, Cu2+, or Cd2+. Incubation of ferritin containing Be2+ with 4-10 fold molar excess of phosphoglucomutase (with respect to Be2+) removed 90% of the Be2+ from ferritin. The rates of inactivation of phosphoglucomutase by Be2+ donated by apoferritin or ferritin were identical. Based upon these observations it is suggested that Be2+ bound to the protein shell and to the iron core are in equilibrium with each other with the equilibrium favoring ferritin-Be2+ complex.