The Role of Pyridoxal Phosphate in the Catalysis of Glycogen Phosphorylases

Glycogen phosphorylases catalyze the degradation of glycogen by phosphate (or arsenate) to glucose 1-phosphate (or glucose + arsenate). All glycogen phosphorylases that have been studied so far contain pyridoxal 5′-phosphate, a vitamin B₆-derivative, as cofactor. Removal of the cofactor results in an inactive apoenzyme. However, reduction of the azomethine bond linking pyridoxal phosphate to an ?-aminolysyl side chain of the enzyme with NaBH₄ does not inactivate glycogen phosphorylase. If therefore the cofactor should be involved in catalysis in glycogen phosphorylase it must function differently from all other classical pyridoxal phosphate dependent enzymes, for these are inactivated by reduction. ³¹P-NMR spectroscopy has revealed that the 5′-phosphate group of pyridoxal phosphate is present in catalytically active forms of glycogen phosphorylases as dianion in a hydrophobic environment shielded from aqueous solvent. Covalent and/or allosteric activation of muscle glycogen phosphorylases is accompanied by a transition of the monoprotonated form to the dianionic form of the phosphate group of the cofactor. We now report on such ionization changes in unregulated active potato- and E. coli maltodextrin phosphorylases on binding of glucose and oligosaccharides and following catalytic turnover, i.e. arsenolysis of α-1,4-glycosidic bonds. (Like glycogen phosphorylases, maltodextrin phosphorylases belong to the class of α-glucan phosphorylases.) The results of experiments carried out by our group together with recent findings on the three dimensional structure of crystalline muscle glycogen phosphorylases indicate a participation of the dianionic phosphate group as proton acceptor for the glucosyl transfer to and from the glucosyl acceptor. Although other interpretations are not excluded, at present little doubt remains that in the case of glycogen phosphorylases the dianionic phosphate group of the cofactor functions in catalysis.     

Application of a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method to the analysis of water-soluble vitamins in Italian pasta

A sensitive and selective liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the determination of several water-soluble vitamins, namely vitamins B₁, B₂, B₆ (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxamine), and PP (nicotinamide and nicotinic acid), pantothenic acid, and folic acid was developed and validated. The analytes were characterized by means of their electrospray (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mass spectra. In general, the positive ion spectra were 100- to 1000-fold more intense than the corresponding negative ion ones. Chromatography of water-soluble vitamins was obtained by using a reversed-phase C16 Amide (15 cm, 5 μm) column and a mobile phase made of ammonium formate buffer (20 mM, pH 3.75)/methanol under gradient elution conditions. Linearity of the MS response was observed over three to four orders for both ESI and APCI, and limits of detection were in the low μg/l range for both the ionization techniques. In particular, the sensitivity of ESI was about two- to five-fold higher for all vitamins except PP vitamers, for which APCI produced a better response. Precision calculated at two concentration levels (0.05 and 1.0 mg/l) was within 0.2-7.4% for all intra- and inter-day determinations and for all analytes. The LC-ESI-MS/MS method was applied to the quantitative analysis of the natural content of vitamins in typical Italian pasta samples, as well as in fortified pasta samples produced for the US market.