Characterization of the subunit composition of HGPRTase from human erythrocytes and cultured fibroblasts

Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase is a ubiquitous human enzyme, the inherited deficiency of which leads to a specific metabolic-neurological syndrome. Native acrylamide isoelectric focusing revealed that the human enzyme consists of different numbers of isoenzymes depending on the tissue of origin. The erythrocytic enzyme has the most isoenzymes while the enzyme from cultured fibroblasts has only a single isoenzyme. The isoenzyme pattern of the erythrocytic enzyme changes on storage of the crude hemolysate at 4 C. Treatment of the stored crude hemolysate with 4.5 m urea and 0.35 mm -mercaptoethanol results in an isoenzyme pattern similar to that of the fresh crude extract. Thus the additional isoenzymes are generated on storage not by covalent modification of the enzyme but probably by binding of small molecules to the enzyme or to association of the enzyme molecules. Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase has been purified to 80% homogeneity in three steps, DEAE Sephadex chromatography, heat treatment at 85 C for 5 min, and hydroxylapatite chromatography. Denaturing two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of the erythrocytic enzyme revealed that the erythrocytic enzyme is composed of three major types of subunits (1–3) with the same molecular weight but different isoelectric points. In contrast, the fibroblast enzyme is composed of only a single type of subunit, which comigrates with subunit 1 of the erythrocytic enzyme. Since there is a single genetic locus in humans for HGPRTase (the enzyme is X linked) (Nyhan et al., 1967), the observed subunit modification of the erythrocyte enzyme appears to be the result of posttranslational modification. These findings provide a simple explanation for the observed electrophoretic properties of human HGPRTase. A patient with 0.5% of HGPRTase activity in his erythrocytes was found to have small amounts (> 0.5% but < 5% of normal) of the erythrocytic HGPRTase subunits.This work was supported by a grant from NIAMDD, National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service. L. J. G. was supported by a fellowship from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. D. W. M. is an Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.