Purification and characterization of Acyl-CoA carboxylase from the goose uropygial gland which produces multimethyl-branched acids and evidence for its identity with avian Acetyl-CoA carboxylase

Acyl-CoA carboxylase was purified from the 140,000g supernatant of the goose uropygial gland extract by means of Sepharose 4B-CL gel filtration, ammonium sulfate precipitation, and affinity chromatography with monomeric avidin-Sepharose 4B-CL. The purified enzyme showed a pH optimum of 8 and had a specific activity ranging from 2-8 μmol/min/mg protein for acetyl-CoA. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-electrophoresis showed a single band corresponding to a molecular weight of 238,000. Carboxylase activity was stimulated threefold by 20 mm citrate. Maximal activity was observed with 25 mm bicarbonate, 10 mm Mg²⁺, 3 mm ATP, and 1 to 2 mm acyl-CoA. The enzyme carboxylated acetyl-CoA, propionyl-CoA, butyryl-CoA, pentanoyl-CoA, and hexanoyl-CoA, with a V of 8.8, 5.7, 0.9, 0.04, and 0.03 μmol/min/mg, respectively; K_m values for the five CoA esters were quite similar. The carboxylated products from these substrates were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. This carboxylase was inhibited by sodium and chloride ions. Chemical modification of the enzyme with pyridoxal-5′-phosphate showed inhibition of activity that was time and concentration dependent. The inhibition was reversed by dilution except when treated with sodium borohydride before dilution. Acetyl-CoA partially (40%) protected the enzyme from inhibition, whereas 3′-dephosphoacetyl-CoA, which showed a K_m 3.5 times that of acetyl-CoA, was much less efficient in protecting the enzyme against inactivation by pyridoxal phosphate. These results suggest that the ε{lunate}-amino group of a lysine residue is involved in binding acetyl-CoA via interaction with the 3′-phosphate. Chemical modification of the enzyme with phenylglyoxal showed inhibition of activity that was time and concentration dependent. However, none of the substrates protected the enzyme from inactivation; citrate partially protected the enzyme, possibly by changing the configuration of the enzyme. Amino acid analysis of the protein showed striking similarities with carboxylases purified from other animals. Ouchterlony double-diffusion analysis with rabbit antiserum prepared against the gland enzyme showed fusion of precipitation lines with the enzymes from goose liver and chicken liver. These results strongly support the conclusion that the uropygial gland, which synthesizes multimethyl-branched acids, employs the same carboxylase as that present in other tissues.