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

Title: Simplified /sup 14/CO/sub 2/-trapping microassay for GTP cyclohydrolases I and II

Conference · · Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:7171167

GTP cyclohydrolases (GTP-CH) I and II catalyze the removal of the C/sub 8/ atom from GTP as formate. The reaction product of GTP-CH I is D-erythro-7,8-dihydroneopterin triphosphate, a key intermediate leading to the biosynthesis of folic acid in microorganisms and of tetrahydrobiopterin in mammals and microorganisms, and that of GTP-CH II is 2,5-diamino-6-hydroxy-4-(ribosylamino)pyrimidine 5'-phosphate, a key intermediate in the biosynthesis of riboflavin in microorganisms. They have simplified the /sup 14/CO/sub 2/-trapping assay of Burg and Brown for determining GTP-CH I and II activities. The assay consists of two consecutive steps which are carried out in a 2 ml tube. The first reaction yields formate from GTP (37/sup 0/C, 10 min). The reaction mixture contains 1 mM (8-/sup 14/C)-GTP (0.5 ..mu..Ci/..mu..mol), 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.2 for GTP-CH II and 7.7 for GTP-CH I), 0.2 M MgCl/sub 2/ for GTP-CH II or 0.3 M KCl and 1 mM EDTA for GTP-CH I, and enzyme in a final volume of 0.2 ml. The second reaction is the oxidation of /sup 14/C-formate to /sup 14/CO/sub 2/ (95/sup 0/C, 20 min) in the presence of 5% TCA and 1 mM formate (final volume 0.3 ml). Liberated /sup 14/CO/sub 2/ is trapped by the folded filter paper strip (1 x 4 cm), that has been placed inside the top of each tube and impregnated with 30 ..mu..l Protosol. This method is fast, comparable to the HPLC-fluorometric method for the assay of GTP-CH I activity, and ideal for performing a large number of determinations. Human and rat liver express both GTP-CH I and II activities. GTP-CH II is the predominant enzyme in both tissues and exists in multiple forms.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
OSTI ID:
7171167
Report Number(s):
CONF-8606151-; TRN: 86-039081
Journal Information:
Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States), Vol. 45:6; Conference: 76. annual meeting of the Federation of American Society for Experimental Biology, Washington, DC, USA, 8 Jun 1986
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English