Chemical modification of Lys-6 in Taiwan cobra phospholipase A2 with 4-chloro-3,5-dinitrobenzoate.

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) from Naja naja atra snake venom was modified with 4-chloro-3,5-dinitrobenzoate, and one major carboxydinitrophenylated (CDNP) PLA2 was separated by high performance liquid chromato-graphy. CDNP-PLA2 contained only one CDNP group on Lys-6 and showed a 93% drop in enzymatic activity. However, carboxydinitrophenylation did not significantly affect the secondary structure of the enzyme molecule as revealed by the CD spectra, and Ca2+ binding and antigenicity of CDNP-PLA2 were unaffected. Conversion of nitro groups to amino groups resulted in a partial restoration of enzymatic activity of CDNP-PLA2 to 35% of that of native enzyme. These results suggested that the positively charged side chain of Lys-6 played a role in the enzymatic mechanism of PLA2. However, the partial restoration in PLA2 activity reflects that a distortion of the active conformation arising from incorporation of a bulky CDNP group should occur.