Substrate share in the suicide inactivation of mushroom tyrosinase

To address the real cause of the suicide inactivation of mushroom tyrosinase (MT), under in vitro conditions, cresolase and catecholase reactions of this enzyme were investigated in the presence of three different pairs of substrates, which had been selected for their structural specifications. It was showed that the cresolase activity is more vulnerable to the inactivation. Acetylation of the free tyrosyl residues of MT did not cure susceptibility of the cresolase activity, but clearly decreased the inactivation rate of MT in the presence of 4-[(4-methylbenzo)azo]-1,2-benzenediol (MeBACat) as a catecholase substrate. Considering the results of the previous works and this research, some different possible reasons for the suicide inactivation of MT have been discussed. Accordingly, it was proposed that the interruption in the conformational changes in the tertiary and quaternary structures of MT, triggered by the substrate then mediated by the solvent molecules, might be the real reason for the suicide inactivation of the enzyme. However, minor causes like the toxic effect of the ortho-quinones on the protein body of the enzyme or the oxidation of some free tyrosyl residues on the surface of the enzyme by itself, which could boost the inactivation rate, should not be ignored. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.