Identification of an active site cysteine residue in Escherichia coli pyruvate oxidase.

The cysteine-directed reagent N-ethylmaleimide rapidly and completely inactivates pyruvate oxidase. This inactivation is correlated with the reaction of one cysteine residue per enzyme monomer. In the presence of the cofactor, thiamin pyrophosphate, the enzyme is not inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide. Furthermore, the N-ethylmaleimide-inactivated enzyme exhibits a very low affinity for the cofactor as determined by a fluorescence quenching technique. The presence of a reactive cysteine residue at the thiamin pyrophosphate binding site is therefore indicated. Although N-ethylmaleimide completely inactivates the enzyme, a second sulfhydryl reagent methylmethanethiosulfonate is only partially inhibitory. It is shown that methylmethanethiosulfonate and N-ethylmaleimide react with the same cysteine residue. Thus, the N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive residue is probably not directly involved in catalysis.