Isolation and characterization of a sulfated glycoprotein from rabbit uterus.

Crude glycoproteins were extracted with 0.15 M NaCl from the pooled endometrial scrapings of rabbit uteri after treatment with estrogen. The crude glycoproteins were fractionated with ammonium sulfate, followed by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, treatment with CM-Sephadex C-25 and gel filtration on Sephadex G-200. Subsequently, purification of an acidic glycoprotein was carried out by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 and then Sepharose 4B. The results of electrophoresis and enzymatic digestion, together with analytical data and the infrared spectrum indicated that the acidic glycoprotein was a sulfated glycoprotein.     

A latent collagenase from rheumatoid synovial fluid. Purification and partial characterization

1. A latent collagenase (EC 3.4.24.3) has been isolated from rheumatoid synovial fluids and purified by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation and column chromatography, utilising Sephadex G-150, DEAE Sephadex A-50 and Sephadex G-100 superfine grade. 2. The final preparation activated by trypsin (EC 3.4.21.4) had a specific activity against thermally reconstituted collagen fibrils of 259 micrograms collagen degraded/min per mg enzyme protein, representing a nearly 800-fold increase over that of the original rheumatoid synovial fluid. 3. The latent collagenase preparation can be activated by trypsin and to some extent by HgCl2 but not by 3 M NaSCN, 3.5 M NaCl, 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) or p-chloromercuribenzoate. 4. Inhibition studies and the acrylamide gel electrophoretic pattern of collagen degradation products showed that the trypsin-activated enzyme has the essential features of a neutral collagenase. 5. The molecular weights, determined by calibrated gel filtration, were 52 000 and 43 000 for the latent and the activated enzyme, respectively. 6. The nature of the latency of synovial fluid collagenase is discussed.     

Simultaneous microdetermination of homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in brain tissue using Sephadex G-10 and QAE-Sephadex A-25

Homovanillic acid (HVA) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in animal brains were simultaneously purified by two steps of column chromatography on Sephadex G-10 and QAE-Sephadex A-25. Perchloric acid extracts of brain tissue were directly passed through a column of Sephadex G-10. The gel retained both HVA and 5-HIAA, thereby separating them from Cl0^?₄ which interferes with subsequent purification process and from endogenous substances which give blank fluorescence. HVA was loosely adsorbed on the gel and was easily desorbed with dilute acetic acid. This effluent was successively passed onto a column of QAE-Sephadex A-25 placed beneath the G-10 column and the adsorbed HVA was eluted with 0.1 M Na₂HPO₄. The 5-HIAA remaining on the Sephadex G-10 without being desorbed by acetic acid was eluted with dilute ammonia. The recovery of both acid metabolites by this column procedure was more than 90%. Thus, it is possible to determine the levels of HVA and 5-HIAA in single brains of small rodents.     

IUB commission of editors of biochemical journals the citation of bibliographic references in biochemical journals recommendations (1971)

A pentose-rich acidic glycoprotein was isolated from protease digested bovine vitreous humor by fractionation on an AG1-X2 column using NaCl solution gradient.The material eluted at 0.35 M NaCl (glycoprotein) was electrophoretically heterogeneous at pH 8.6 after partial purification on Sephadex G-25. Gel filtration on G-100 resolved the glycoprotein into two fractions. These fractions differ in molecular weight; mol. wt approx. 95 000 material consisted of two components on electrophoresis and mol. wt approx. 28 000 material showed only a single component on electrophoresis. The lower molecular weight component was re-chromatographed on Sephadex G-100 yielding a single orcinol positive component which gave a homogeneous band on gel electrophoresis.Quantitative analysis of this material gave 30% protein, 7.0% pentose, 18.7% glucosamine, 9.2% galactosamine, 10.9% hexuronic acid and 16.1% hexose.Treatment with 0.5 M NaOH at 20°C for 24 h resulted in a 50% decrease in the threonine content suggesting the possible involvement of this amino acid in the protein-carbohydrate linkage group.Paper chromatography of the fraction hydrolysate demonstrated the presence of glucurone, xylose, arabinose, glucose and galactose.     

A novel anticoagulant protein from Scapharca broughtonii

An anticoagulant protein was purified from the edible portion of a blood ark shell, Scapharca broughtonii, by ammonium sulfate precipitation and column chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50, Sephadex G- 75, DEAE-Sephacel, and Biogel P-100. In vitro assays with human plasma, the anticoagulant from S. broughtonii, prolonged the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and inhibited the factor IX in the intrinsic pathway of the blood coagulation cascade. But, the fibrin plate assay did not show that the anticoagulant is a fibrinolytic protease. The molecular mass of the purified S. broughtonii anticoagulant was measured to be about 26.0 kDa by gel filtration on a Sephadex G-75 column and SDSPAGE under denaturing conditions. The optimum activity in the APTT assay was exhibited at pH 7.0-7.5 and 40-45 degrees C in the presence of Ca(2+).     

A rapid method of preparing the (H3-H4-H2A-H2b)(2) histone octamer in large quantities]

A simple and fast method for isolation of large amounts of the histone octamer (H2A-H2B-H3-H4)2 is proposed. This method is based on chromatin adsorption by hydroxyapatite with subsequent extraction of the histone octamer with 50 mM sodium-phosphate buffer containing 4 M NaCl pH 8.0. It was shown that the properties of the histone octamer isolated by this extractive procedure are identical with those of the histone octamer obtained by elution on a Sephadex G-100 column. The histone tetramer (H3-H4)2 and dimer (H2A-H2B) were obtained after gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 in 50 mM sodium-acetate (pH 5.6).     

A rapid and gentle method for the salt extraction of chromatin core histones H2A,H2B,H3 and H4 from rat liver nuclei

A complex of histones H2A, H2B, H3 and H4 has been isolated from purified rat liver nuclei by a method which is both gentle and rapid. Nuclei were homogenised in 0.25 M sucrose and the residual nuclear material obtained after centrifligation was adsorbed on calcium phosphate gel. After removing histone H1 from the adsorbed material by washing with 1M NaCl in 25 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 6.0, histones H2A, H2B, H3 and H4 were eluted together, with 2 M NaCl in 25 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0. The core histones so obtained migrated as a single sharp band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under non-denaturing conditions. Fractionation of the freshly prepared core histones on a Sephadex G-100 column yielded two major protein peaks. The peak having the larger elution volume contained histones H2A and H2B in equal amounts while the peak with the smaller elution volume contained all the four histones. Histones H3 and H4 were present in larger proportions in the second peak.     

Preparations of extracellular proteinases from Aspergillus ochraceus 513 and Aspergillus alliaceus 7dN1

Preparations of extracellular proteolytic enzymes with high anticoagulant activity resembling protein C activators were isolated from the culture liquids of Aspergillus ochraceus 513 and Aspergillus alliaceus 7 dN1 by precipitation with ammonium sulfate and subsequent purification from ammonium ions by gel filtration on a column with Sephadex G-25. The pH and temperature activity optima and stability of the proteolytic enzymes from A. ochraceus 513 and A. alliaceus 7 dN1 were determined.     

Purification, characterization and subcellular localization of pig liver alpha-L-iduronidase

alpha-L-Iduronidase was purified about 100,000-fold from pig liver by employing column chromatography on cellulose phosphate (P11), concanavalin A-Sepharose 4B, heparin-Sepharose 4B, Toyopearl HW-55, Sephadex G-100 and chelating Sepharose 6B charged with cupric ions. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 70 kDa by Sephadex G-100 column chromatography. The purified enzyme gave a single band on disc polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis without using sodium dodecyl sulfate. However, two separate components of 70 kDa and 62 kDa appeared when it was analyzed by SDS/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These 70-kDa and 62-kDa components were confirmed as alpha-L-iduronidase immunochemically. The isoelectric points of these enzymes were both 9.1 as measured by isoelectric focusing in a polyacrylamide gel containing ampholine and sucrose. The optimal pH and Km values were 3.0-3.5 and 65 microM 4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-L-iduronide, respectively. The purified enzyme was stable in the pH range 3.5-6.0 under conditions with or without 0.5 M NaCl. However, in the presence of 0.5 M NaCl, it was unstable at pH 3.0. Moreover, it was conversely stabilized at pH 7.0 in the presence of 0.5 M NaCl. Immunohistochemically, the enzyme was found in the Kupffer cells and was abundant on their lysosomal membranes. In liver cells, however, the immunohistochemical reaction was weak.     

Purification of phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus by hydrophobic chromatography on palmitoyl cellulose.

Phospholipase C (phosphatidylcholine choline-phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.E) from Bacillus cereus (IAM-1208) was adsorbed to palmitoyl cellulose from a crude enzyme solution at pH 5--9. The adsorption was not influenced by ionic strength up to 2 M NaCl. The adsorbed enzyme was eluted almost completely by washing the cellulose with a suitable detergent, such as Triton X-100, Adekatol SO-120, Cation DT-205, or sodium deoxycholate. The enzyme was then purified by column chromatography on a palmitoylated textile (palmitoylated gauze) with an overall recovery of 91% and a 467-fold increase in specific activity over that of enzyme in the crude culture supernatant. Subsequent fractionation with acetone and chromatography on a Sephadex G-75 column separated two nearly homogeneous phospholipase C's. The enzyme adsorbed on palmitoyl cellulose was active, although its activity was about one-fourth that of free phospholipase C. Therefore, the enzyme appeared to be adsorbed to the cellulose through a hydrophobic site that was distinct from the catalytic site on the enzyme molecule.     

Halophilic Nuclease of a Moderately Halophilic Bacillus sp.: Production, Purification, and Characterization

A moderately halophilic bacterium, Bacillus sp., isolated from rotting wood on the seashore in Nauru, produced an extracellular nuclease when cultivated aerobically in media containing 1 to 2 M NaCl. The enzyme was purified from the culture filtrate to an electrophoretically homogeneous state by ethanol precipitation, DEAE-Sephadex A-50 column chromatography, and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration. The enzyme consisted of two charge isomers and showed both RNase and DNase activities. Molecular weight was estimated to be 138,000 by Sephadex G-200 gel filtration. The enzyme had marked halophilic properties, showing maximal activities in the presence of 1.4 to 3.2 M NaCl or 2.3 to 3.2 M KCl. The enzyme hydrolyzed thymidine-5′-monophosphate-p-nitrophenyl ester at a rate that increased with NaCl concentration up to 4.8 M. In the presence of both Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺, activity was greatly enhanced. The activity was lost by dialysis against water and low-salt buffer, but it was protected when 10 mM Ca²⁺ was added to the dialysis buffer. When the inactivated enzyme was dialyzed against 3.5 M NaCl buffer as much as 68% of the initial activity could be restored. The enzyme exhibited maximal activity at pH 8.5 and at 50°C on DNA and at 60°C on RNA and attacked RNA and DNA exonucleolytically and successively, producing 5′-mononucleotides.     

Identification of a protease inhibitor from rat peritoneal macrophages as poly(ADP-ribose)

Rat peritoneal macrophages contain a chymotrypsin-like protease and its specific inhibitor, both being associated with chromatin of the cells. The inhibitor was separated from the protease by gel filtration through a Sephadex G-75 column, further treated with trypsin, DNase and RNase, and then purified successively on Sephadex G-75, Sephadex G-25, and dihydroxyboryl Bio-Gel P-60 columns. The purified inhibitor had a molecular weight in the range from 2,000 to 3,500 and an absorption maximum at 260 nm at pH 7.0. When the inhibitor was digested by snake venom phosphodiesterase, the inhibitory potency was lost, yielding 5'-AMP and 2'-(5'-phosphoribosyl)-5'-AMP as the digestion products which were identified by high pressure liquid chromatography. The inhibitory potency was neutralized specifically by anti-poly(ADP-ribose) antiserum. The profile of inhibition by the isolated inhibitor was nearly identical with that produced by authentic poly(ADP-ribose). It was therefore concluded that the inhibitor isolated was identical with poly(ADP-ribose), whose chain length ranged from 4 to 7 ADP-ribosyl units. This is the first demonstration that a intracellular protease inhibitor can be endogenous poly(ADP-ribose).     

Dissociation of cAMP changes and myocardial contractility in taurine perfused rat heart.

Selenocysteine in the catalytic site of glutathione peroxidase was stabilized by conversion to the carboxymethyl derivative. A selenium-containing tryptic fragment was partially purified by column chromatography through cellulose phosphate, Sephadex G-25 superfine, DEAE-Agarose, and again through Sephadex G-25 superfine. Automated sequential Edman degradation yielded a residue of the phenylthiohydantoin of carboxymethyl-selenocysteine, indicating that the selenocysteine in the native enzyme is located within the polypeptide chain.     

Chromatographic Separation and Purification of Secretory IgA from Human Milk

Defatted and decaseinated human milk was concentrated and was fractionated on a preparative DEAE cellulose column. Elution with various concentrations of sodium chloride in Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.0, 0.01 M) resulted in fractions that were rich in either secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) (0.1 M Nad) or free secretory component (SC) (0.05 M NaCl). The fractions, which were eluted with 0.10 M NaCl from the preparative column, were further fractionated on a G-200 Sephadex column. Repeated fractionation on this column resulted in a single purified fraction, which contained very high SIgA activity and showed immunological cross-reaction with both SC and serum IgA. Additional studies indicated that this fraction was homogeneous as shown by immunoprecipitin and disc gel electrophoresis. Injection of this purified SIgA into rabbits resulted in the production of monospecific antiscil.     

Isolation and characterization of twenty-three ribosomal proteins from large subunits of yeast.

The proteins of large ribosomal subunits from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were separated into 25 fractions by chromatography on columns of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). Twenty-three proteins were then purified from the 12 CMC fractions by filtration through Sephadex G-75, Sephadex G-100, and Sephacryl S-200, and/or by phosphocellulose column chromatography. The isolated proteins are YP 1, YP 2, YP 9, YP 11, YP 13', YP 16, YP 18, YP 26, YP 39, YP 41, YP 42, YP 42', YP 44, YP 45, YP 47', YP 52a, YP 53, YP 55, YP 59, YP 62, YP 68, YP A1, and YP A2. The molecular weight and amino acid composition of these proteins are presented.     

Isolation of a human serum protein that inhibits the growth of Cryptococcus neoformans

Human serum at 5 to 10% (v/v) in tissue culture medium RPMI-1640, inhibits the growth of Cryptococcus neoformans by 80 to 93%. Serum fractionated on molecular sieve columns (Sephadex G-200) yielded an active protein fraction. This fraction at 100 μg protein/ml inhibited the growth of C. neoformans by 54%. When an active G-200 fraction was applied to a dye affinity column (Affi-Gel Blue) the fraction with inhibitory activity was bound by the column and was eluted with 1.4 M NaCl in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). The bound fraction at 62.5 μg protein/ml inhibited C. neoformans growth by 82%. On native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Nu-PAGE) the bound fraction migrated as a major and a minor band. Under the reducing conditions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-PAGE the bound fraction yielded 4 prominent bands with MW ranging from 175 kDa to 45 kDa. Purification of the active Sephadex G-200 peak was achieved using an anion exchange column (DEAE-Sephacel). Protein eluted with 0.1 M NaCl had strong anticryptococcal activity (12.5 μg/ml, 79% inhibition), which in SDS-PAGE migrated as a single band with an approximate MW of 85 kDA. This protein appears important in natural host resistance to C. neoformans and polymorphisms or deficiencies may have epidemiologic and diagnostic relevance. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Primary amino acid sequence of follicle-stimulating hormone from human pituitary glands. I. alpha subunit.

Follicle-stimulating hormone of a high state of physicochemical and biological purity was isolated from acetone-preserved human pituitary glands. The follicle-stimulating hormone was dissociated into alpha and beta subunits by treatment with 8 M urea and the subunits were separated by ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-25. The subunits were freed of undissociated or reassociated follicle-stimulating hormone by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100. For the establishment of the primary amino acid sequence, the alpha subunit was reduced and either carboxyamidomethylated or S-aminoethylated prior to a thermolytic or a tryptic digestion. Each digest was gel filtered on a column of Sephadex G-50 to separate the glycopeptides from the peptides. The glycopeptides and the peptides were purified further by sequential gel filtration on Sephadex G-25, G-15, and Bio-Gel-P-2 and were isolated by high voltage electrophoresis at pH 6, 3.5, and 2. The purity of the isolated peptides was ascertained further by amino acid analysis. The amino acid sequences of the peptides were determined by Edman degradation followed by subtractive amino acid analysis. COOH-terminal sequences were established by digestion with carboxypeptidases A and B. The primary amino acid sequence of human follicle-stimulating hormone-alpha is identical to that of human chorionic gonadotropin-alpha and differs from that of human luteinizing hormone-alpha in having the tripeptide Ala-Pro-Asx- at the NH2-terminal end.     

Purification of the phosphofructokinase regulatory factors

In this paper, the existence and purification of two species of phosphofructokinase regulatory factor activity are reported. The purification procedure included liver homogenization and ultracentrifugation, a 93 degrees C heat step on the supernate, precipitation with ammonium sulfate, DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, and Sephadex G-75 (fine) chromatography. Two discrete regions of factor activity were eluted from the DEAE-cellulose column with a 0 to 0.5 M linear NaCl gradient. The lesser anionic fraction was not significantly retarded by DEAE-cellulose at pH 7.6, and was referred to as factor A. The more anionic form, factor B, eluted at about 0.2 M NaCl. The presence of two active fractions was confirmed by separation of factor activity (prior to DEAE-cellulose chromatography) into two discrete species by preparative isoelectric focusing on granulated gel. The isoelectric points were approximately 7.0 for factor B and 8.5 for factor A. Factor A and factor B exhibited quite different elution volumes, i.e., apparent molecular weights, when applied to a Sephadex G-75 column. Rechromatography on a Sephadex G-75 column was used for further purification and estimation of native molecular weight. The gel filtration method yielded a molecular weight of 13,800 +/- 1,800 for factor A. Factor A activity eluted as a symmetrical protein peak of constant specific activity, suggesting a homogeneous preparation. For factor B, the absorption at 280 nm and activity profile did not directly overlap. When the peak absorbance at 280 nm was considered, a molecular weight range of 39,000 +/- 4,000 was found, and on the basis of activity the molecular weight range was 36,000 +/- 4,000. After the final Sephadex G-75 chromatographic step, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis of each SDS-treated factor preparation indicated that factor A, after visualization by silver staining, was homogeneous, with a subunit molecular weight of approximately 12,000. The factor B preparation consisted of two major polypeptides (11,000 and 18,000). The data appeared to support the conclusions that factor B was a dimer of the 18,000-Da subunit, and that the major contaminant was a tetramer of the 11,000-Da subunit.     

Purification and properties of the Pichia guilliermondii acid nucleotide pyrophosphatase hydrolyzing flavin adeninine dinucleotide

Acid nucleotide pyrophosphatase was isolated from the cell-free extracts of Pichia guilliermondii Wickerham ATCC 9058. The enzyme was 25-fold purified by saturation with ammonium sulphate, gel-filtration on Sephadex G-150 column and ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 column. The pH optimum was 5.9, temperature optimum--45 degrees C. The enzyme catalyzed the hydrolysis of FAD, NAD+ and NADH, displaying the highest activity with NAD+. The Km, values for FAD, NAD+ and NADH were 1.3 x 10(-5) and 2.9 x 10(-4) M, respectively. The hydrolysis of FAD was inhibited by AMP, ATP, GTP, NAD+ and NADP+. The K1 for AMP was 6.6 x 10(-5) M, for ATP--2.0 X 10(-5) M, for GTP--2.3 X 10(-6) M, for NAD+--1.7 X 10(-4) M. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 136 000 as estimated by gel-filtration on Sephadex G-150 and 142 000 as estimated by thin-layer gel-filtration chromatography on Sephadex G-200 (superfine). Protein-bound FAD of glucose oxidase was not hydrolyzed by acid nucleotide pyrophosphatase. The enzyme was stable at 2 degrees C in 0.05 M tris-maleate buffer, pH 6.2. Alkaline nucleotide pyrophosphatase hydrolyzing FAD was also detected in the cells of P. guilliermondii.     

Thermal stability of ribosomal ribonucleic acid from baby hamster kidney cells

1. RNA has been prepared from baby hamster kidney cells by extraction with a phenol–EDTA mixture and further purified by passing through a column of Sephadex G-25 that had been equilibrated with water. 2. Aging of the total RNA extracts at 4° or heating at 95° followed by rapid cooling caused a conversion of 28s RNA into material sedimenting in sucrose gradients at approx. 18s. 3. When heated RNA was re-extracted with phenol the sedimentation profile was not returned to that of the unheated RNA. 4. The 28s and 18s RNA fractions were collected separately from sucrose gradients by precipitation with 2vol. of ethanol and passed through a Sephadex G-25 column equilibrated with water. 5. Heat treatment of purified 28s RNA at 95° caused the sedimentation coefficient to increase to approx. 40s, whereas similar treatment of 18s RNA caused no significant increase. If the RNA was heated before the Sephadex G-25 treatment the sedimentation coefficient of the 28s and 18s RNA decreased to approx. 12s and 8s. 6. Heating mixtures of purified 28s and 18s RNA at 95° caused some aggregation of 18s material with the 28s fraction.