THE METABOLISM OF THE ERYTHROCYTE: X. THE INORGANIC PYROPHOSPHATASE OF THE ERYTHROCYTE

Abstract

The activity of the pyrophosphatase which catalyzes the hydrolysis of inorganic pyrophosphate in the erythrocyte of the human, the rabbit, and the chicken is confined entirely to the cytoplasm of the cell. Following preincubation, the enzyme activity in the human erythrocyte is diminished, but pre-incubation in the presence of cysteine or glutathione prevents the diminution of the enzyme activity. Aging of the hemolyzate of the human erythrocytes results in a marked loss of the inorganic pyrophosphatase activity. The diminished activity can be restored by the addition of cysteine or glutathione to the reaction mixture; but after the hemolyzate has aged for five or six days at 5 °C, the loss in the enzyme activity can no longer be restored with these reagents. Fluoride and calcium ions inhibit the activity of the enzyme, while magnesium ions are essential for its activity. Calcium is a noncompetitive inhibitor, while the inhibition by fluoride is of a "quadratic" nature. If a constant ratio of magnesium to pyrophosphate is maintained, the quadratic inhibition can be converted to the "uncompetitive" type of inhibition.