The specific, submicromolar-Km ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase purified from human placenta is enzymically indistinguishable from recombinant NUDT9 protein, including a selectivity for Mn2+ as activating cation and increase in Km for ADP-ribose, both elicited

Free ADP-ribose is a putative second messenger and also a potentially toxic compound due to its non-enzymic reactivity towards protein side chains. ADP-ribose hydrolysis is catalysed by NDP-sugar/alcohol pyrophosphatases of differing specificity, including a highly specific, low-Km ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase. In humans, a submicromolar-Km ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase has been purified from placenta, while recombinant NUDT9 has been described as a similarly specific enzyme with a nudix motif, but with a 102–103 higher Km. Here, a comparative study of both proteins is presented showing that they are in fact enzymically indistinguishable; crucially, they both have submicromolar Km for ADP-ribose. This study firmly supports the view that the ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase present in human tissues is a product of the NUDT9 gene. In addition, this study reveals previously unknown properties of both enzyme forms. They display the same, differential properties in the presence of Mg2+ or Mn2+ as activating cations with respect to substrate specificity, ADP-ribose saturation kinetics, and inhibition by fluoride. Treatment with H2O2 alters the Mg2+/Mn2+ responses and increases the Km values for ADP-ribose, changes that are reversed by DTT. The results are discussed in relation to the proposed roles for ADP-ribose in oxidative/nitrosative stress and for ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase as a protective enzyme whose function is to limit the intracellular accumulation of ADP-ribose.