The Slow and Tight Binding of MR-387A to Aminopeptidase N

MR-387A [(2S, 3R)-2-hydroxy-3-amino-4-phenylbutanoyl-L-valyl-L-prolyl-(2, 4-trans)- L-4-hydroxy-proline] reversibly inhibits aminopeptidase N (BC 3.4.11.2) in a process that is remarkable for its unusual degree of time dependence. The time required to inactivate the enzyme by 50$%$ ($t_{1/2}$) for establishing steady-state levels of $EI^*$complex was approximately 5 minutes. This indicates that the inhibition is a slow-binding process. In dissociation experiments of $EI^*$ complex, enzymic activity was regained slowly in a quadratic equation, indicating that the inhibition of aminopeptidase N by MR-387A is tight-binding and reversible. Thus, the binding of MR-387A by aminopeptidase N is slow and tight, with $K_{i}$ (for initial collision complex, EI) and $K_i{^*}$ (for final tightened complex, $EI^*$) of $2.2\times10^{-8}$ M (from Lineweaver-Burk plot) and $4.4\times10^{-10}$ M (from rate constants), respectively. These data indicate that MR-387A and aminopeptidase N are bound approximately 200-fold more tightly in the final $EI^*$complex than in the initial collision EI complex.