Effects of Proteolytic and Thermal Action on the Activity of Lactate Dehydrogenase Isozymes LD-1 and LD-5

Abstract

Abstract

L-Lactate dehydrogenase (LD) catalyzes the interconversion of pyruvate and lactate. Using a spectrophotometric assay to determine LD activity, incubation of rabbit, porcine, and bovine LD-1 and LD-5 isozymes with the protease subtilisin (Carlsberg) gave first-order degradation kinetics. Degradation half-lives were significantly lower for the LD-5 isozymes from the three species when incubated with subtilisin at temperatures from 4°C to 25°C. The energy involved in the degradation process, however, was not different. The activation energy for the conversion of pyruvate to lactate by LD-1 at pH 7.4 was significantly higher than that for LD-5 for all three species examined (P < 0.005). Thermocalorimetry showed that the LD-1 isozymes have both a higher mean temperature of denaturation and a higher heat uptake during the denaturation process than corresponding LD-5 forms. The results suggest that the LD-5 isozymes in the species studied are more metabolically efficient, whereas the LD-1 forms have greater structural stability.