3-phosphohistidine and 6-phospholysine are substrates of a 56-kDa inorganic pyrophosphatase from bovine liver.

A 56-kDa inorganic pyrophosphatase isolated from bovine liver hydrolyzed PPi, imidodiphosphate, 3-phosphohistidine, and 6-phospholysine at rates of 0.11, 0.44, 1.09, and 1.22 mumol/min/mg protein, respectively, in a reaction mixture containing 1 mM MgCl2 at pH 8.2. The hydrolysis of imidodiphosphate was influenced by various treatments in a different manner from that of N-phosphorylated amino acids, indicating that the pyrophosphatase has two different catalytic sites for imidodiphosphate and N-phosphorylated amino acids, respectively. Evidence for separate catalytic sites consists of the following findings: the activity on hydrolysis of imidodiphosphate gave a bell-shaped pH curve with a peak at pH 6.5, while the activity on hydrolysis of N-phosphorylated amino acids maintained a high level in the pH range between 6.0 and 9.5. One hundred micromolar p-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonate inhibited the hydrolysis of imidodiphosphate by 35% and did not inhibit that of N-phosphorylated amino acids. Two millimolar magnesium chloride repressed the hydrolysis of imidodiphosphate and had no inhibitory effect on the hydrolysis of N-phosphorylated amino acids. Moreover, methylenediphosphonic acid, an analog of imidodiphosphate, stimulated the hydrolysis of imidodiphosphate in the presence of MgCl2, while it potentiated the substrate inhibition on hydrolysis of N-phosphorylated amino acids.