Purification and properties of serine hydroxymethyltransferase and C₁-tetrahydrofolate synthase from L1210 cells

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase and the trifunctional enzyme C₁-tetrahydrofolate synthase have been purified to near homogeneity from L1210 cells. Kinetic constants (K(m) and k(cat)) have been determined for both folate and non-folate substrates. The effect of increasing glutamate chain length on affinity and catalytic efficiency were determined for the four activities. The studies show that the structural and catalytic properties of the two L1210 enzymes are very similar to the corresponding enzymes purified from rabbit liver. Antibodies to both rabbit serine hydroxymethyltransferase and C₁-tetrahydrofolate synthase cross-react with the corresponding L1210 enzymes. The intracellular concentration of active sites of serine hydroxymethyltransferase and C₁-tetrahydrofolate synthase in L1210 cells are both 9 μM. The combined concentration of these two enzymes exceeds the previously reported concentration of 10 μM for total intracellular folates. A network thermodynamic computer model of one carbon metabolism (Seither, R.L., Trent, D.F., Mikulecky, D.C., Rape, T.J., and Goldman, L.D. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 17016-17023) suggests that complete inhibition of cytosolic serine hydroxymethyltransferase would neither significantly decrease the rates of biosynthesis of purines and thymidylate nor significantly alter the rate of interconversion of tetrahydrofolate cofactors to dihydrofolate with subsequent inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase.