Substrate Activation in the Carboxypeptidase A Catalysis of Ester Hydrolysis

Abstract

The hydrolyses of the O-hippuryl derivatives of glycolic acid (1a), 2-methyllactic acid (1b), and p-chloromandelic acid (1c) by bovine carboxypeptidase A display substrate activation. The hydrolyses of the latter two esters also display substrate inhibition at high substrate concentrations (>0.03 and >0.05 M respectively). Partial kinetic analyses are presented, and these phenomena are discussed in terms of reaction schemes which involve substrate binding at both activating and inhibiting regulatory sites.The hydrolysis of 1b by this enzyme is the first indication that the presence of a hydrogen atom on the α-carbon atom of the alcohol moiety is not obligatory for ester substrates of carboxypeptidase A. The binding of 1c at the catalytic site is approximately 1000 times weaker than for O-hippurylmandelic acid and indicates a dramatic influence for the p-chloro substituent on the binding of the phenyl ring of the mandelic acid unit.