The type 5, acid phosphatase from spleen of humans with hairy cell leukemia. Purification, properties, immunological characterization, and comparison with porcine uteroferrin

The spleens of patients with hairy cell leukemia contain high levels of a tartrate-insensitive, cationic, acid phosphatase (the human Type 5 isozyme). This phosphatase has been purified by a procedure which involves only two chromatographic steps: CM-cellulose chromatography and immunoaffinity chromatography on sheep antibodies generated against porcine uteroferrin. Uteroferrin is an abundant iron-containing acid phosphatase that can be recovered readily from porcine uterine secretions. Like uteroferrin, the purified human Type 5 phosphatase is a glycoprotein of molecular weight about 34,000. It contains two atoms of iron/molecule. The human phosphatase and uteroferrin also resemble each other closely in electrophoretic mobility, substrate specificity, and response to a variety of activators and inhibitors. Mouse monoclonal antibodies have been raised to uteroferrin and to the human Type 5 phosphatase. Three monoclonal antibodies which bind with high affinities to distinct sites on the uteroferrin molecule also recognize the human spleen enzyme, but bind to it with much lower affinity. These antibodies also recognize cationic acid phosphatases purified from bovine and rat spleens. A monoclonal antibody raised against the human enzyme, but selected for binding to uteroferrin, appears to recognize a relatively conserved site on all four phosphatases. We conclude that the human Type 5 isozyme belongs to a growing class of structurally related, iron-containing acid phosphatases which includes the iron-transport protein, uteroferrin.     

Absence of iron transfer from uteroferrin to transferrin

Transfer of iron from native porcine uteroferrin to apotransferrin was investigated using EPR spectroscopy. Purple (oxidized) or pink (reduced) forms of uteroferrin were incubated with porcine or human apotransferrin under conditions of temperature (37 degrees C) and pH (6.8) approximating those found in the allantoic fluid of the pregnant sow. Studies were also performed in the presence of mediators such as ascorbate, citrate, and ATP in concentrations previously claimed to be effective in promoting large-scale transfer of iron (Buhi, W. C., Ducsay, C. A., Bazer, F. W., and Roberts, R. M. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 1712-1723). Our experiments indicate that even in the presence of mediators, less than 20% of the iron in uteroferrin is transferred to apotransferrin at the end of 24 h and such transfer may be accompanied by denaturation of uteroferrin. We therefore conclude that the direct transfer of iron to apotransferrin is unlikely to be a physiological role of uteroferrin.     

Beta-lactamase of Lysobacter enzymogenes: induction, purification and characterization

Lysobacter enzymogenes produces an inducible beta-lactamase and induction with 100 micrograms ampicillin ml-1 resulted in an increase of more than 100-fold in enzyme activity. Various other beta-lactam antibiotics also served as effective inducers. The enzyme was obtained from cells by osmotic shocking to release periplasmic components and it was purified primarily by ion-exchange chromatography and PAGE. The beta-lactamase consists of one polypeptide with a molecular mass of about 28 kDa and an isoelectric point greater than 9.6. It is strongly inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate and clavulanic acid but not by EDTA. The enzyme readily hydrolyses several penicillins and cephalosporins, but not oxacillin or cloxacillin. The enzyme therefore belongs to group 2b of the bacterial beta-lactamases.     

Detection of a g' = 1.74 EPR signal in bovine spleen purple acid phosphatase

When purified with hydroxylapatite, bovine spleen purple acid phosphatase, bearing two iron atoms/molecule, is EPR-silent. In contrast, enzyme purified without hydroxylapatite exhibits the distinctive g' = 1.74 EPR signal characteristic of porcine uteroferrin, with an intensity accounting for about 10% of the total iron. The intensity of the signal is increased 8-fold by the addition of ferrous iron. This treatment, while shifting the visible absorption maximum of the protein from 550 to 525 nm, does not significantly alter the intensity of its visible absorption. Loss of the g' = 1.74 EPR signal upon addition of phosphate to EPR-active preparations and the detection of virtually stoichiometric amounts of phosphate in the protein as isolated suggest that phosphate-binding may abolish the g' = 1.75 EPR signal. Such binding may bring the two iron atoms of the enzyme into juxtaposition, causing loss of EPR signal intensity either through spin-lattice relaxation broadening or antiferromagnetic exchange coupling, perhaps involving phosphate or other ligands intercalated between the two paramagnetic iron atoms.     

The carbohydrate structure of porcine uteroferrin and the role of the high mannose chains in promoting uptake by the reticuloendothelial cells of the fetal liver

Uteroferrin, the iron-containing, progesterone-induced phosphatase of the porcine uterus, is a glycoprotein carrying a single oligosaccharide chain. Most of the uteroferrin isolated from either uterine secretions or allantoic fluid has endoglycosidase H-sensitive carbohydrate chains with either five or six mannose residues. As determined by 1H-NMR spectroscopy, the Man6 oligosaccharide has the following structure. (Formula: see text) The Man5 species lacks the terminal alpha 1,2-linked residue. Uteroferrin is transported across the pig placenta and has been proposed to be involved in iron transfer to the fetus (see Buhi, W. C., Ducsay, C. A., Bazer, F. W., and Roberts, R. M. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 1712-1721). Injection of 125I-labeled uteroferrin into the umbilical vein of midpregnant fetuses resulted in incorporation of label into the liver, the major site of fetal erythropoiesis. Light and electron microscope autoradiography revealed that the primary sites of uteroferrin uptake were the reticuloendothelial cells lining the liver sinusoids. Reticuloendothelial cells isolated from either fetal pig or adult rat livers were shown to accumulate uteroferrin when cultured in vitro. Uptake was inhibited by yeast mannan and by glycopeptides isolated from either ovalbumin or uteroferrin. Rat cells did not accumulate uteroferrin whose high mannose chains had been removed using endoglycosidase H. Moreover, the K uptake values (3 X 10(-7) M), specific competition by D-mannose and L-fucose bovine serum albumin, and inhibition by EDTA are consistent with an uptake mechanism involving a receptor for high-mannose oligosaccharides on the liver sinusoidal cells. It is suggested that one function of this receptor in the fetal pig is to remove maternally derived uterine glycoproteins from the fetal circulation. In the case of uteroferrin this process provides iron to the fetal liver.     

Molecular cloning and temporal expression during pregnancy of the messenger ribonucleic acid encoding uteroferrin, a progesterone-induced uterine secretory protein

A lambda gt11 expression library containing cDNA inserts prepared from porcine endometrial mRNA was immunologically screened by using an antiserum developed against porcine uteroferrin (Uf), a glycoprotein that has been strongly implicated in transplacental iron transport in the pregnant pig. Antibody reactive clones (lambda 4a3, 13.1, and 2.2) were isolated after screening 1.5 x 10(5) recombinant phages. Clones 4a3 and 13.1 expressed Uf antigenic determinants in beta-galactosidase fusion proteins and specifically selected antibody which reacted with Uf in immunoblots prepared from uterine cytosolic extracts. In addition, all three cDNA clones collectively contained DNA sequences that encoded an 85-amino acid peptide which corresponded to a region within the carboxyterminal portion of the Uf protein. Northern blot hybridization of these cDNAs to RNAs extracted from whole uterine tissue of pregnant pigs revealed a single uterine poly(A)+ RNA of approximately 1.7 kilobases in length, which was not found in liver and mammary tissue RNAs. The concentration of the Uf mRNA changed in a temporal fashion during pregnancy in a manner that was distinct from that of the progesterone receptor mRNAs. Highest levels of Uf mRNA were found at mid and late pregnancy (days 45-110) and were about 50-fold greater than at day 30 of pregnancy. By contrast, RIA analysis of the uterine tissue extracts showed that maximum amounts of Uf were present at day 60 and then declined sharply. Thus the pattern of Uf mRNA present in the uterus did not parallel the amount of Uf polypeptide that could be recovered from the tissue. The tissue specific and temporal regulation of Uf gene expression emphasizes that the protein plays an important role in uterine activity and/or fetal development.     

A new isochorismate synthase specifically involved in menaquinone (vitamin K2) biosynthesis encoded by the menF gene

Abstract A new gene ( menF ) encoding an isochorismate synthase specifically involved in menaquinone (vitamin K₂) biosynthesis has been cloned and sequenced. Overexpression of the encoded polypeptide under the influence of a T7 promoter showed an increase in specific activity of 2200-fold. Treatment with protamine sulfate resulted in another 3.5-fold increase in specific activity (7700-fold compared to the parent strain). The relative molecular mass of the overexpressed protein was M _r 49 000, which is in full agreement with the DNA sequence predicted molecular mass of 48777 Da. Purified enzyme converted chorismate to isochorismate with the product of the reaction shown to be isochorismate by its thermal conversion to salicylic acid. The fluorescence spectrum generated by the formed salicylic acid was identical to that of authentic salicylic acid. The 5' end of the flanking menD gene has also been redefined.     

Post-proline cleaving enzyme. Purification of this endopeptidase by affinity chromatography.

The endopeptidase, post-proline cleaving enzyme, has been purified 10,500-fold in an overall yield of 18% from lamb kidney. The enzyme possesses a specific activity of 45 mumol/mg/min as tested with the substrate Z-Gly-Pro-Leu-Gly (Km = 6.0 X 10(-5)), has a molecular weight of 115,000, is comprised of two subunits with a molecular weight of 57,000, and exhibits maximal activity at pH 7.5 to 8.0. With the exception of the -Pro-Pro linkage, the -Pro-X-peptide bond (X equals L- and D-amino acid residues) located internally in the peptide sequence can be hydrolyzed (cleavage occurs faster when X = lipophilic side chain as compared to X = acidic side chain). The appropriate -Pro-X- bonds in zinc-free porcine insulin, oxytocin, arginine vasopressin, angiotensin II, bradykinin-potentiating factor were cleaved. Human gastrin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, denatured guinea pig skin collagen, and ascaris cuticle collagen were not degraded. Dipeptides with the structure Z-Pro-LD-X competitively inhibit post-proline cleaving enzyme.     

Selective cleavage of human ACTH, beta-lipotropin, and the N-terminal glycopeptide at pairs of basic residues by IRCM-serine protease 1. Subcellular localization in small and large vesicles

We present a study of the cleavage specificity of IRCM-serine protease 1 from frozen porcine pituitary neurointermediate lobes using polypeptide substrates representing different segments of human pro-opiomelanocortin. Using 125I-labeled ACTH(11-24) and a 125I-labeled model beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH) peptide, the preference of this protease for cleavage C-terminal to the pairs of basic residues Lys-Arg and Lys-Lys was clearly seen. This study was extended to larger unlabeled natural human polypeptides including ACTH(1-39), beta-LPH(1-89), and the N-terminal glycopeptide (1-76), which are known to serve as substrates for further cleavage in vivo. In these substrates IRCM-serine protease 1 cleaved C-terminal to all pairs of basic residues known to be cleaved in vivo. In addition, the enzyme cleaved between two pairs of basic amino acids found in NT(1-76) which are also known to be cleaved in vivo. Many potential "tryptic-like" cleavage sites were not cleaved by the enzyme. However, IRCM-serine protease 1 cleaved C-terminal to Phe-Arg in the three melanocyte-stimulating hormone sequences of pro-opiomelanocortin. In order to better understand the physiological role of IRCM-serine protease 1, differential centrifugation was used to study the subcellular distribution of the enzyme from porcine pituitary anterior lobe homogenates. We present evidence that the active enzyme form, isolated from the subcellular fractions, possesses a similar molecular architecture as the enzyme isolated from frozen tissue (Mr 38,000 catalytic domain linked via disulfide bridge(s) to another polypeptide chain(s) to form an Mr 88,000 monomeric structure). The majority of IRCM-serine protease activity is found to be associated with small vesicles (150,000 X g for 5 h) of as yet undetermined nature. In addition, a latent activity was found to be associated with a 27,000 X g (15 min) pellet containing the majority of mature secretory granules. If IRCM-serine protease 1 participates in prohormone maturation in vivo, we propose a model in which this protease is present in an enzymatically active form in small vesicles, possibly within clathrin-coated structures (prosecretory granules) which are then transformed to mature secretory granules by a process which would also inactivate most of the enzyme.     

Subunit interactions control protein phosphatase 2A. Effects of limited proteolysis, N-ethylmaleimide, and heparin on the interaction of the B subunit.

Protein phosphatase 2A consists of a heterotrimeric complex composed of a catalytic subunit (C) and two associated subunits (A and B). Limited tryptic digestion of the heterotrimeric ABC form resulted in the selective degradation of the Mr = 55,000 B subunit to a 48-kDa polypeptide. The cleavage sites were determined to be within a 3-7-kDa region of the COOH terminus. Proteolysis led to dissociation of the B subunit from the enzyme complex and correlated with an increase in cardiac myosin light chain, smooth muscle myosin light chain peptide, and Leu-Arg-Arg-Ala-Ser-Leu-Gly (Kemptide) phosphatase activity. Purification of the digestion products and native gel electrophoresis indicated that dissociation of the B subunit was responsible for the increase in phosphatase activity. Kinetic analyses with several substrates revealed that dissociation of the B subunit resulted in a 2-7-fold increase in Vmax and a 1.6-5 fold increase in Km. Proteolytic dissociation of the B subunit increased the sensitivity of protein phosphatase 2A to inhibition by okadaic acid. Inhibition of the trypsinized enzyme was very similar to that observed for the purified AC form of protein phosphatase 2A. Incubation of the ABC complex with N-ethylmaleimide resulted in dissociation of the C subunit and generation of an AB complex. Selective release of the C subunit indicated that the B subunit interacts directly with the A subunit and that one or more free sulfhydryls are required to maintain the heterotrimeric structure of protein phosphatase 2A. Treatment of the enzyme with heparin resulted in an increase in specific activity that was due to the release of the B subunit from the complex. These results provide evidence that the B subunit binds directly to the A subunit to modulate enzyme activity and substrate specificity and that the COOH-terminal region of this protein is important for interaction with the AC complex. Dissociation of the B subunit by polyanionic substances related to heparin may represent a mechanism for regulating the activity of this enzyme.     

Affinity purification and properties of porcine brain aldose reductase.

Aldose reductase (alditol:NADP+ 1-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.21) has been purified 1500-fold from porcine brain in a four-step procedure employing Blue-Sepharose 6B affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme was shown to be apparently homogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme is a single chain polypeptide of molecular weight 40 000, pH optimum 5.0 K(app)(xylose) 4 mM; K(app)(NADPH) 3 microM. The relative substrate activities, activation with sulfate ion, and limited oxidative and NADH-related reductive activities confirm the classification of this enzyme as aldolase reductase. The activity of the reductase with p-nitrobenzaldehyde and 3-indolacetaldehyde and the similarity of its physical properties with the 'low Km' aldehyde reductase of porcine brain previously reported indicates that these enzymes may be identical.     

Mitochondrial adenylate kinase from chicken liver. Purification characterization and its cell-free synthesis

Mitochondrial adenylate kinase has been purified 5400-fold from chicken liver extract in an overall yield of 36%. The purified enzyme has a specific activity of 810 U/mg, a molecular weight of 28 000, and the following amino acid composition: 21 aspartic acid or asparagine, 14 threonine, 17 serine, 27 glutamic acid or glutamine, 16 proline, 22 glycine, 22 alanine, 15 valine, 6 methionine, 11 isoleucine, 29 leucine, 5 tyrosine, 7 phenylalanine, 16 lysine, 7 histidine, 19 arginine, 3 half-cystine, and no tryptophan, totalling 257 residues. The purified enzyme has one disulfide bond and one sulfhydryl group. The disulfide bond is related to the active conformation of the enzyme, whereas the sulfhydryl group does not contribute to the enzyme activity. The sulfhydryl group is easily oxidized in the presence of Cu2+ resulting in the formation of dimer with about one half of the specific activity of the monomer. The enzyme is similar to porcine heart mitochondrial adenylate kinase in antigenicity but different from chicken cytosolic adenylate kinase. Mitochondrial adenylate kinase was synthesized in the mRNA-dependent rabbit reticulocyte lysate system programmed with total chicken liver RNA. The mobility in sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis of the product obtained in vitro was the same as that of the purified mitochondrial adenylate kinase. This evidence indicates that the mitochondrial adenylate kinase is synthesized as a polypeptide with a molecular weight indistinguishable from that of the mature protein.     

Human placental chorionic renin: production, purification and characterization

Native human renin, produced from the culture of human chorionic trophoblasts, has been purified to homogeneity on a milligram scale using a five-step purification scheme. The chorion cells secrete 50-200 milliGoldblatt Units of trypsin-activatable prorenin per ml into the medium. The pro-enzyme is partially purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation and chromatographies on QAE-Sephadex and cibracon blue-agarose. Following conversion of prorenin to the active enzyme by porcine trypsin, the renin is purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography and gel filtration. Chorionic prorenin has a molecular weight of 43,000; the active enzyme 40,000. Both proteins exist as a single polypeptide chain as determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions. The average specific activity of six different preparations was found to be 1072 Goldblatt Units/mg. The amino acid composition and N-terminal sequence of the active enzyme has been determined and is identical to the human kidney enzyme. Microheterogeneity of chorionic renin was demonstrated by isoelectrofocusing analysis. The physical characterization of chorionic renin is compared with that reported for the human kidney enzyme.     

The Biosynthetic Pathway of (Z)-11-Hexadecenal,the Sex Pheromone Component of the Rice Stem Borer,Chilo sappressalis WALKER (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Lipoxygenase-3, the major component of the enzyme in rice grain, was purified 2980-fold with a yield of 7% from embryos. The purified enzyme had a specific activity of 280 μmol O₂ formed/min per mg protein. This enzyme was inactivated by SH compounds, such as cysteine and glutathione. The inactivation was prevented by the addition of catalase or replacement of the air by N₂ gas. These two treatments were also effective for the stable storage of the purified enzyme. The molecular weights measured by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel and gradient gel electrophoresis were 93,000 and 89,000, respectively, indicating that the enzyme is a single polypeptide chain. The purified enzyme contained 0.73 Fe atom per molecule. The absorption spectrum suggested that the enzyme is a non-heme iron protein. Some similarities in amino-acid composition were observed between rice, soybean, and pea lipoxygenases. The purified enzyme specifically produced 9-d-hydroperoxy-10,12(E,Z)-octadecadienoic acid when linoleic acid was used as a substrate.     

Regulation, purification, and properties of xanthine dehydrogenase in Neurospora crassa.

Xanthine dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.37) is the first enzyme in the degradative pathway by which fungi convert purines to ammonia. In vivo, the activity is induced 6-fold by growth in uric acid. Hypoxanthine, xanthine, adenine, or guanine also induce enzyme activity but to a lesser degree. Immunoelectrophoresis using monospecific antibodies prepared against Neurospora crassa xanthine dehydrogenase shows that the induced increase in enzyme activity results from increased numbers of xanthine dehydrogenase molecules, presumably arising from de novo enzyme synthesis. Xanthine dehydrogenase has been purified to homogeneity by conventional methods followed by immunoabsorption to monospecific antibodies coupled to Sepharose 6B. Electrophoresis of purified xanthine dehydrogenase reveals a single protein band which also exhibits enzyme activity. The average specific activity of purified enzyme is 140 nmol of isoxanthopterine produced/min/mg. Xanthine dehydrogenase activity is substrate-inhibited by xanthine (0.14 mM), hypoxanthine (0.3 mM), and pterine (10 micron), is only slightly affected by metal binding agents such as KCN (6 mM), but is strongly inhibited by sulfhydryl reagents such as p-hydroxymercuribenzoate (2 micron). The molecular weight of xanthine dehydrogenase is 357,000 as calculated from a sedimentation coefficient of 11.8 S and a Stokes radius of 6.37 nm. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis of the enzyme reveals a single protein band having a molecular weight of 155,000. So the xanthine dehydrogenase protein appears to be a dimer. In contrast to xanthine dehydrogenases from animal sources which typically possess as prosthetic groups 2 FAD molecules, 2 molybdenum atoms, 8 atoms of iron, and 8 acid-labile sulfides, the Neurospora enzyme contains 2 FAD molecules, 1 molybdenum atom, 12 atoms of iron, and 14 eq of labile sulfide/molecule. The absorption spectrum of the enzyme shows maxima between 400 and 500 nm typical of a non-heme iron-containing flavoprotein.     

Isolation of the DNA polymerase alpha core enzyme from mouse cells

DNA polymerase alpha has been purified from mouse hybridoma cells approximately 30,000-fold using a combination of conventional and high performance liquid chromatography. In contrast to previous characterizations of mammalian DNA polymerase alpha, this enzyme has a single high molecular mass polypeptide (185 kDa) in tight association with a 68-kDa polypeptide and this structure appears to be the core DNA polymerase of the mouse cells. The biochemically purified enzyme, with a specific activity of approximately 200,000 units/mg protein, has an estimated molecular mass by gel filtration chromatography of 240 kDa and sedimentation value of 9 S, consistent with the enzyme being a heterodimer of 185 and 68 kDa. The enzyme is sensitive to both N-ethylmaleimide and aphidicolin and insensitive to ddTTP. Using an activated DNA template, the apparent Km values for the deoxynucleotide triphosphates are approximately 0.5-1 microM. The purified DNA polymerase has neither exonuclease nor primase activities and is the predominant DNA polymerase alpha activity in the mouse cells.     

A human serine endopeptidase, purified with respect to activity against a peptide with phosphoserine in the P1' position, is apparently identical with prolyl endopeptidase

The present work describes the detection, purification, and characterization of a serine endopeptidase with preference for a phosphoserine in the P1' position of the substrate. During probing for the enzyme in crude extracts, as well as during its 64,000-fold purification, 32P-labeled guanidovaleryl-Arg-Ala-Ser(P)-isobutyl amide (I) was used to measure the cleavage of the Ala-Ser(P) bond. With this substrate, kcat was 1.7 s-1 and Km was 30 microM at the pH optimum, 7.5. The enzyme was classified as a serine peptidase from its reaction with a set of inhibitors, among which diisopropyl fluorophosphate was effective at low (20 microM) concentration. The endopeptidase showed an Mr of 74,000 under native as well as denaturing and reducing conditions, indicating that the native enzyme consists of only one major polypeptide chain. The molecular size and inhibition profile suggested identity of this enzyme with prolyl endopeptidase (EC 3.4.21.26). This was supported by its activity against specific substrates, such as succinyl-Gly-Pro-Leu-Pro-7-amido-4-methylcoumarin (kcat = 7.2 s-1 and Km = 290 microM), and by the inhibition of the latter activity by I. Compared with the cleavage of 100 microM I, Gly-Val-Leu-Arg-Arg-Ala-Ser-Val-Ala-Gln-Leu, after phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase, was cleaved at the Ala-Ser(P) bond at a relative rate of 0.43, while cleavage of the Ala-Ser bond of the unphosphorylated undecapeptide was undetectable, i.e. less than 0.03. The pentapeptide Arg-Arg-Pro-Ser-Val was rapidly cleaved at the Pro-Ser bond (relative rate, 2.2). Still, the cleavage of the Pro-Ser(P) bond of the corresponding phosphorylated pentapeptide was even higher (relative rate, 4.0). These data suggest that phosphorylation of a serine residue in the P1' position of at least a few substrates of prolyl endopeptidase will increase the rate of their cleavage.     

Porcine A blood group-specific N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase. I. Purification from porcine submaxillary glands.

The membrane-bound N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase from porcine submaxillary glands which provides A blood group specificity to mucin has been purified 38,000-fold by affinity chromatography on UDP-hesanolamine-agarose in aqueous Triton X-100. Design of a suitable purification procedure was developed by assessing the strength of interaction between enzyme and affinity adsorbent using batch desorption. The pure transferase has an apparent molecular weight of 100,000 as judged by zonal centrifugation and by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the absence of a reducing agent. The reduced and carboxymethylated protein has an apparent molecular weight of 46,000 and 57,000 as judged by sedimentation equilibrium and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively, suggesting that the native enzyme contains two subunits. It is a glycoprotein with a specific activity of 30 micronmol/min/mg of enzyme, which is 55,000 times that reported for the same enzyme isolated from human serum.     

Glycogen debranching enzyme: purification, antibody characterization, and immunoblot analyses of type III glycogen storage disease.

Type III glycogen storage disease is caused by a deficiency of glycogen debranching-enzyme activity. Many patients with this disease have both liver and muscle involvement, whereas others have only liver involvement without clinical or laboratory evidence of myopathy. To improve our understanding of the molecular basis of the disease, debranching enzyme was purified 238-fold from porcine skeletal muscle. In sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the purified enzyme gave a single band with a relative molecular weight of 160,000 that migrated to the same position as purified rabbit-muscle debranching enzyme. Antiserum against porcine debranching enzyme was prepared in rabbit. The antiserum reacted against porcine debranching enzyme with a single precipitin line and demonstrated a reaction having complete identity to those of both the enzyme present in crude muscle and the enzyme present in liver extracts. Incubation of antiserum with purified porcine debranching enzyme inhibited almost all enzyme activity, whereas such treatment with preimmune serum had little effect. The antiserum also inhibited debranching-enzyme activity in crude liver extracts from both pigs and humans to the same extent as was observed in muscle. Immunoblot analysis probed with anti-porcine-muscle debranching-enzyme antiserum showed that the antiserum can detect debranching enzyme in both human muscle and human liver. The bands detected in human samples by the antiserum were the same size as the one detected in porcine muscle. Five patients with Type III and six patients with other types of glycogen storage disease were subjected to immunoblot analysis. Although anti-porcine antiserum detected specific bands in all liver and muscle samples from patients with other types of glycogen storage disease (Types I, II, and IX), the antiserum detected no cross-reactive material in any of the liver or muscle samples from patients with Type III glycogen storage disease. These data indicate (1) immunochemical similarity of debranching enzyme in liver and muscle and (2) that deficiency of debranching-enzyme activity in Type III glycogen storage disease is due to absence of debrancher protein in the patients that we studied.