Activation of Variants of Hypoxanthine-guanine Phosphoribosyl Transferase by the Normal Enzyme

Deficient hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT; EC 2.4.2.8) enzymes from erythrocytes of patients with hyperuricemia and with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome migrate 15% faster in polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis than the normal enzyme. A half-sister of two males with partial deficiency, who had 34% of normal HGPRT activity in her erythrocytes, yielded profiles containing two distinct zones of activity; one corresponded to the enzyme found in normal individuals and one to the variant of her half-brothers. However, in her profile her variant enzyme showed notably greater activity than that observed in her half-brothers. This increase was due to an activation of the variant by normal enzyme. Electrophoresis of mixtures of normal enzyme with partially deficient enzymes from patients with hyperuricemia and with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome also led to activation of deficient HGPRT variants by normal enzymes. Deficient variants were also activated by normal enzyme on filtration through Sephadex G-25. Experiments in which deficient variant enzymes were activated with purified normal enzyme labeled with (125)I indicated that deficient enzymes incorporate components of the normal enzyme. No such activation of deficient enzymes was ever obtained when mixtures of deficient and normal enzymes were put together in a test tube.