skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Characterization of mitochondrial thioredoxin reductase from C. elegans

Journal Article · · Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
 [1];  [1]
  1. Department of Biochemistry, 89 Beaumont Ave, Given Laboratory, Room B413, Burlington, VT 05405 (United States)

Thioredoxin reductase catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of the catalytic disulfide bond of thioredoxin. In mammals and other higher eukaryotes, thioredoxin reductases contain the rare amino acid selenocysteine at the active site. The mitochondrial enzyme from Caenorhabditis elegans, however, contains a cysteine residue in place of selenocysteine. The mitochondrial C. elegans thioredoxin reductase was cloned from an expressed sequence tag and then produced in Escherichia coli as an intein-fusion protein. The purified recombinant enzyme has a k {sub cat} of 610 min{sup -1} and a K {sub m} of 610 {mu}M using E. coli thioredoxin as substrate. The reported k {sub cat} is 25% of the k {sub cat} of the mammalian enzyme and is 43-fold higher than a cysteine mutant of mammalian thioredoxin reductase. The enzyme would reduce selenocysteine, but not hydrogen peroxide or insulin. The flanking glycine residues of the GCCG motif were mutated to serine. The mutants improved substrate binding, but decreased the catalytic rate.

OSTI ID:
20854386
Journal Information:
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol. 346, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.05.095; PII: S0006-291X(06)01130-2; Copyright (c) 2006 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0006-291X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English