Pig heart NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase is allosterically activated by ADP which reduces the Km of isocitrate. The new ADP analogue 6-(4-bromo-2,3-dioxobutyl)thioadenosine 5'-diphosphate (BDB-TADP) reacts irreversibly with the enzyme at pH 6.1 and 25 degrees C, causing a rapid loss of the ability of ADP to increase the initial velocity of assays conducted at low isocitrate concentrations and a slower inactivation measured using saturating isocitrate concentrations. The rate constant for loss of ADP activation exhibits a nonlinear dependence on BDB-TADP concentration; in the presence of 0.2 mM MnSO4, KI for the reversible enzyme-reagent complex is 0.069 mM with kmax at saturating reagent concentrations equal to 0.031 min-1. For reaction at the site causing overall inactivation, KI for the initial reversible enzyme-reagent complex is estimated to be 0.018 mM with kmax = 0.0083 min-1 in the presence of 0.2 mM MnSO4. Total protection against both reactions is provided by 1 mM ADP plus 0.2 mM MnSO4 or by 0.1 mM ADP plus 0.2 mM MnSO4 plus 0.2 mM isocitrate, but not by NAD, ATP, or ADP plus EDTA. The BDB-TADP thus appears to modify two distinct metal-dependent ADP-binding sites. Incubation of isocitrate dehydrogenase with 0.14 mM BDB-[beta-32P]TADP at pH 6.1 in the presence of 0.2 mM MnSO4 results in incorporation of 0.81 mol of reagent/mol of average subunit when the ADP activation is completely lost and the enzyme is 68% inactivated. The time-dependent incorporation is consistent with the postulate that covalent reaction of 0.5 mol of BDB-TADP/mol of average enzyme subunit causes complete loss of ADP activation, while reaction with another 0.5 mol of BDB-TADP would lead to total inactivation. The enzyme is composed of three distinct subunits in the approximate ratio 2 alpha:1 beta:1 gamma. The distribution of BDB-[beta-32P]TADP incorporated into modified enzyme is 63:30:7% for alpha:beta:gamma throughout the course of the reaction. These results indicate the 6-(4-bromo-2,3-dioxobutyl)thioadenosine 5'-diphosphate functions as an affinity label of two types of potential metal-dependent ADP sites of NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase and that these allosteric sites are present on two (alpha and beta) of the enzyme's three types of subunits.