Stereochemistry of the reactions of glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminomutase with 4,5-diaminovalerate

Conversion of glutamate 1-semialdehyde to the tetrapyrrole precursor, 5-aminolevulinate, takes place in an aminomutase-catalyzed reaction involving transformations at both the non-chiral C5 and the chiral C4 of the intermediate 4,5-diaminovalerate. Presented with racemic diaminovalerate and an excess of succinic semialdehyde, the enzyme catalyzes a transamination in which only the L-enantiomer is consumed. Simultaneously, equimolar 4-aminobutyrate and aminolevulinate are formed. The enzyme is also shown to transaminate aminolevulinate and 4-aminohexenoate to L-diaminovalerate as the exclusive amino product. The interaction of the enzyme with pure D- and L-enantiomers of diaminovalerate prepared by these reactions is described. Transamination of L-diaminovalerate yielded aminolevulinate quantitatively showing that reaction at the C5 amine does not occur significantly. A much slower transamination reaction was catalyzed with D-diaminovalerate as substrate. One product of this reaction, 4-aminobutyrate, was formed in the amount equal to that of the diaminovalerate consumed. Glutamate semialdehyde was deduced to be the other primary product and was also measured in significant amounts when a high concentration of the enzyme in its pyridoxal form was reacted with D-diaminovalerate in a single turnover. Single turnover reactions showed that both enantiomers of diaminovalerate converted the enzyme from its 420-nm absorbing pyridoxaldimine form to the 330-nm absorbing pyridoxamine via rapidly formed intermediates with different absorption spectra. The intermediate formed with L-DAVA (max 420 nm) was deduced to be the protonated external aldimine with the 4-amino group. The intermediate formed with D-DAVA (max 390 nm) was deduced to be the unprotonated external aldimine with the 5-amino group.