Pyruvic acid dehydrogenase prosthetic groups

Fig. 12-7 The reactions of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. The reactants in the overall reaction are shown in boxes. E, = pyruvate decarboxylase (TPP = thiamine pyrophosphate as prosthetic group), E2 = dihydrolipoyl trans-acetylase (oxidized lipoic acid as prosthetic group). E3 = dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (FAD as prosthetic group).

Figure 17-5. Oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Lipoic acid is joined by an amide link to a lysine residue of the transacetylase component of the enzyme complex. It forms a long flexible arm, allowing the lipoic acid prosthetic group to rotate sequentially between the active sites of each of the enzymes of the complex. (NAD nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide FAD, flavin adenine dinucleotide TDP, thiamin diphosphate.)...

In 1915, Harden and Norris observed that dried yeast, when mixed with lactic acid, reduced methylene blue and formed pyruvic acid 4). Thirteen years later Bernheim prepared an extract from acetone-dried baker s yeast, which had lactate dehydrogenase activity (5). Bach and co-workers demonstrated that the lactate dehydrogenase activity was associated with a 6-type cytochrome, which they named cytochrome 62 (6). In 1954, the enzyme was crystallized, enabling the preparation of pure material and the identification of flavin mononucleotide as a second prosthetic group (2). Since then, significant advances have been made in the analysis of the structure and function of the enzyme. Much of the earlier work on flavocytochrome 62 has already been summarized in previous review articles (7-10). In this article we shall describe recent developments in the study of this enzyme, ranging fi om kinetic, spectroscopic, and structural data to the impact of recombinant DNA technology. 

Lipoic acid contains a sulfhydryl group that could act as an acceptor for electrons from isocitrate. Those electrons could then be transferred to NAD" via FAD. The roles of the prosthetic groups would be similar to those they play in the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate dehydrogenase. 

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