Purification, characterization, and cDNA cloning of opine dehydrogenases from the polychaete rockworm Marphysa sanguinea

Alanopine dehydrogenase (AlDH) and three isoforms of strombine/alanopine dehydrogenase (St/AlDH) were purified from muscle tissue of the polychaete rockworm Marphysa sanguinea. The four enzymes, which can be distinguished by the isoelectric point, are monomeric 42 kDa proteins, possess similar pH–activity profiles, and display specificity for pyruvate and NAD(H). The three isoforms of St/AlDH show equivalent Km and Vmax for glycine and l-alanine and for d-strombine and meso-alanopine. Free amino acid levels in the muscle and d-strombine accumulation in vivo during muscle activity suggest that St/AlDHs function physiologically as StDH. AlDH shows specificity for l-alanine and meso-alanopine, but not for glycine or d-strombine. The amino acid sequences of AlDH and one of the St/AlDH isoforms were determined by a combination of amino acid sequence analysis and cDNA cloning. St/AlDH cDNA consisted of 1586 bp nucleotides that encode a 399-residue protein (43,346.70 Da), and AlDH cDNA consisted of 1587 bp nucleotides that encode a 399-residue protein (43,886.68 Da). The two amino acid sequences deduced from the cDNA displayed 67% amino acid identity, with greatest similarity to that of tauropine dehydrogenase from the polychaete Arabella iricolor.