Improved Purification and Some Molecular and Kinetic Properties of sn-Glycerol-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The purification procedure for isolating sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1. 1. 1. 8) from Saccharomyces cerevisiaewas improved by the introduction of an ion-exchange step. Enzyme yields were doubled and the specific activity was increased as compared to the original procedure. A new value of 42, 000 was obtained for the molecular weight by several denaturing methods. By native gel chromatography the molecular weight appears to be 31, 000 as reported earlier. Michaelis constants were found to be 0. 37mM with dihydroxyacetone phosphate as the variable substrate and 0. 018mM for NADH as the variable substrate.     

Purification and properties of an NADP-specific 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase from Streptococcus faecalis.

A procedure is described for the purification of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-phospho-D-gluconate:NADP oxidoreductase (decarboxylating) EC 1.1.1.44) from cell extracts of Streptococcus gaecalis. A 180-fold purification was achieved with an over-all yield of about 12% and an average specific activity of 14. The enzyme was homogeneous as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoelectrophoresis, and sedimentation equilibrium, studies. Its weight average molecular weight, as measured by sedimentation equilibrium, was 108,000 +/- 3,600. Other methods employed for molecular weight determinations gave values that ranged between 106,000 and 115,000. An analysis of the enzyme by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed it to be a dimer composed of subunits having equal molecular weight. The amino acid composition of the streptococcal enzyme is reported. The apparent Km values for NADP and 6-phosphogluconate were calculated from kinetic data and found to be 0.015 mM and 0.024 mM, respectively. Kinetic studies also indicated that the binding of one substrate did not affect the apparent affinity of the enzyme for the other substrate.     

Pigeon-liver NAD kinase. The structural and kinetic basis of regulation of NADPH.

NAD kinase was purified from pigeon liver by an improved procedure which included chromatography on phosphocellulose. The resultant preparation was homogeneous as judged by gel electrophoresis, but electrofocusing gave indications of heterogeneity. The enzyme appeared to be of molecular weight 270000, and to consist of subunits of molecular weight 34000; it may therefore be an octomer. Kinetic studies over a wide range of substrate concentrations revealed departures from Michaelis-Menten behaviour with the substrate NAD+; these were interpreted tentatively in terms of negative homotropic interactions between identical binding sites, since thermal and chemical inactivation studies revealed no evidence for more than one type of catalytic site. The significance of the kinetics and of the type of inhibition produced by NADPH is discussed in terms of the regulation of NAD kinase activity in vivo.     

Purification and Characterization of d-Aminoacylase from Alcaligenes faecalis DA1

A d-aminoacylase from Alcaligenes faecalis DA1 has been purified to homogeneity by a simple purification procedure with two columns, Fractogel DEAE-650 and HW-50. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was found to be 580 U/mg of protein with N-acetyl-dl-methionine as the reaction substrate. The apparent molecular weight and isoelectric point of this enzyme were determined to be 55,000 and 5.4, respectively.     

Isolation and properties of enzyme preparations from the whale pancreas

A simple and convenient technique was developed for isolation of the proteolytic enzyme complexes from the whale (Balaenoptera) pancreas. The proposed techniques enables the proteolytic complexes to be obtained with the protein yield 2.6 times higher than the classical procedure. The proteolytic activity increased 3.2 times (casein as a substrate), esterase activities, 1.4 times (N-benzoyl-L-tyrosine methyl ester as a substrate) and 1.2 times (N-alpha-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester as a substrate). Soybean and barley trypsin inhibitors and ovomycoid in free and immobilized state inhibit the esterase activities of the proteolytic complexes. An additional purification of the proteolytic complexes was carried out using the affinity sorbent Soybean trypsin inhibitor--Sepharose 4B. The molecular weight of the enzymes determined by means of PAAG electrophoresis was found to be 20 000-20 500. The hydrolysis of some synthetic substrates by the proteolytic enzyme complexes obtained according to the proposed techniques was being studied.     

Purification and properties of human hepatic 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.

3 alpha-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3 alpha-HSD) was purified greater than 500-fold from human liver cytosol. The purification was monitored using 5 beta-[3H]dihydrocortisol (5 beta-DHF) as substrate. Electrophoretically homogeneous enzyme was obtained using a procedure that involved ammonium sulfate precipitation and three successive column chromatography steps: DEAE-cellulose, hydroxylapatite and Blue-Sepharose. The enzyme is a monomer since the native molecular weight was found to be 37,000, using a calibrated Sephadex G-75 column, and the denatured subunit molecular weight was determined to be 38,500, by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. The enzyme had a pI of 5.6-5.9. The 3-ketosteroids: cortisol, testosterone, progesterone and androstenedione, were not substrates for 3 alpha-HSD indicating that a saturated 4,5 double bond was required for substrate activity. The conformation at the 5 position, however, did not influence substrate activity since 5 alpha- and 5 beta-DHF and 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone were all reduced at similar rates. The purified enzyme preferred NADPH to NADH as a cofactor and showed a broad peak of activity in the pH range of 6.8-7.4. The apparent Km for 5 beta-DHF was 18 microM. The enzyme was markedly stabilized by 50 mM phosphate buffer containing 10 to 20% glycerol at 4 degrees C. Freezing and thawing of the enzyme resulted in a large loss of activity during early stages of the purification. This is the first report of the purification to homogeneity of 3 alpha-HSD from human tissue.     

Purification and characterization of kynurenine--2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase from the liver, brain and small intestine of rats.

1. Kynurenine-2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase (isoenzyme 1) was purified to homogeneity from the liver, brain and small intestine of rats by the same procedure. The three enzyme preparations had nearly identical pH optima, substrate specificities and molecular weights. Isoenzyme 1 was active with 2-oxoglutarate but not with pyruvate as amino acceptor, and utilized a wide range of amino acids as amino donors. Amino acids were effective in the following order to activity: L-aspartate greater than L-tyrosine greater than L-phenylalanine greater than L-tryptophan greater than 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan greater than L-kynurenine. The molecular weight was approximately 88 000 as determined by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. The pH optimum was between 8.0 and 8.5. On the basis of substrate specificity, substrate inhibition, subcellular distribution and polyacrylamide-disc-gel electrophoresis, it is suggested that liver, brain and small intestinal kynurenine-2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase (isoenzyme 1) is identical with mitochondrial tyrosine-2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase and also with mitochondrial aspartate-2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase. 2. An additional kynurenine-2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase (isoenzyme 2) was purified from the liver. This enzyme was specific for 2-oxoglutarate and L-kynurenine. Sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation gave a molecular weight of approximately 100 000. The pH optimum was between 6.0 and 6.5. This enzyme was not detected in the brain or small intestine.     

Purification and properties of phosphoserine aminotransferase from bovine liver

L-Phosphoserine aminotransferase was purified from bovine liver to apparent homogeneity as judged by nondenaturing and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, analytical ultracentrifugation, and immunochemical analysis. The purification procedure described involves the specific elution of the enzyme from Cibacron blue-agarose by micromolar concentrations of its substrate, phosphohydroxypyruvate. The purified enzyme had a specific activity of approximately 13 mumol of phosphohydroxypyruvate formed min-1 mg-1 of protein at 38 degrees C. Determinations of the native molecular weight and the subunit molecular weight indicated that the phosphoserine aminotransferase from bovine liver was a dimer composed of two subunits with identical molecular weights of 43,000.     

Isolation and properties of human neutrophil myeloperoxidase

Human leukocyte myeloperoxidase has been purified to homogeneity by a three-step procedure which includes dialysis of a granule extract against low-salt buffer. Sephadex G-75 chromatography, and carboxymethylcellulose chromatography. The final product was homogeneous when examined by acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation. The molecular weight determined by the latter procedure was 118000. With or without reduction of the protein by 2-mercaptoethanol, subunits were formed which migrated as a single band after sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. With reduction, the molecular weight of the apparently identical subunits was 59000, and 42000 without reduction. Other general properties of human leukocyte myeloperoxidase, including amino acid composition, amino terminal sequence analysis, and absorption spectra, are also reported. Myeloperoxidase, in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and chloride ion, and no other substrate, autoinactivates. After completion of the inactivation reaction, several oxidizable amino acids in the enzyme are modified, and the absorption peak at 430 nm disappears. The presence of a substrate of the myeloperoxidase system (alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor), or of high concentration of chloride ion, completely protects the enzyme from autoinactivation.     

β-Ketothiolase from Hydrogenomonas eutropha H16 and its significance in the regulation of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate metabolism

1. beta-Ketothiolase was purified 49-fold from fructose-grown cells of Hydrogenomonas eutropha H16 with a yield of 27%; the purification procedure involved precipitation by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, DEAE-cellulose chromatography and exclusion chromatography on Sephadex G-200; the freeze-dried enzyme is stable. The molecular weight determined by sucrose-gradient centrifugation (8.2S) and by gel filtration is 147000-150000. The optimum pH for the cleavage reaction is 8.1, that for the condensation reaction 7.8, both measured in Tris-HCl buffer. 2. The kinetics of the cleavage reaction are described. Substrate-saturation curves were measured with both acetoacetyl-CoA and CoA as the variable substrates. The concentration of the second substrate was kept constant and was varied during successive experiments. The cleavage reaction is characterized by substrate inhibition by acetoacetyl-CoA, which is partially relieved by free CoA. Hill plots indicate two acetoacetyl-CoA-binding sites. 3. The substrate(acetyl-CoA)-saturation curve for the condensation reaction is hyperbolic. The K(m) was 3.9x10(-4)m-acetyl-CoA. In the presence of CoA sigmoidal curves were obtained, with an increasing sigmoidicity from 0.03 to 0.30mm-CoA. The inhibitory action of CoA on the beta-ketothiolase condensation reaction and its possible involvement in the regulation of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate synthesis and degradation are discussed.     

The purification and characterization of rat liver lysosomal alpha-L-fucosidase.

The alpha-L-fucosidase from rat liver lysosomes was purified approximately 27,000-fold (from cytoplasmic extract) by a rapid procedure requiring only 7 h anf providing enzyme in a 20 per cent yield. The procedure is based upon affinity chromatography with agarose-epsilon-aminocaproyl-fucosamine. The isolated enzyme was found to be pure by a number of different analytical gel techniques and is essentially free of other lysosomal gylcosidases. The purified enzyme exhibits a positive periodic acid-Schiff stain, suggesting that it is a glycoprotein. The purified enzyme has a pH optimum of 5.7 to 5.9, a Vmax of 27 mumol/min/mg of protein, and a Km of 0.19 mM with p-nitrophenyl alpha-L-fucopyranoside as substrate. L-Fucose was the only possibly physiological effector of the enzyme which was identified; it exhibited a Ki of 1.6 mM, with p-nitrophenyl alpha-L-fucopyranoside as substrate. The enzyme has a subunit molecular weight of approximately 55,000 by Na dodecyl-SO4 electrophoresis in a variety of gel systems. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was indicated to be approximately 160,000 by sucrose density centrifugation, 300,000 by molecular sieve chromatography on Sephadex G-200, and 217,000 by sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation. The weight of evidence suggests that the enzyme is a tetramer. Incubation on the absence of sulfhydryl reagents under appropriate conditions generates a second alpha-L-fucosidase activity band on gels corresponding to a molecular weight of approximately 40,000 to 50,000. This result suggests that the subunit is relatively stable and may reassociate to form active enzyme. Alpha-L-Fucosidase requires a high concentration of protein and the presence of a sulfhydryl reagent for stabilization. It is rapidly inactivated by p-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonic acid, this inactivation being rapidly reversible by the addition of 10 mM 2-mercaptoethanol. The enzyme catalyzed the hydrolysis of 1 leads to 2, 1 leads to 3, and 1 leads to 4 fucosyl linkages and was found to be active on glycopeptides but not on native glycoproteins. The amino acid and carbohydrate composition of the enzyme was determined. The native enzyme contains the following sugars (residues per tetramer): fucose (3.5), mannose (32), galactose (8), glucose (9), glucosamine (32), and sialic acid (8). Rat liver lysosomal alpha-glucosidase, also produced in the rapid isolation procedure described herein, contained less than 0.1 residue of sialic acid per subunit.     

Purification and properties of DL-lactate dehydrogenase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides

A dl-lactate dehydrogenase from the bacterium, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, has been purified and characterized with respect to amino acid composition, molecular weight, and kinetic properties. The turnover number of the enzyme was 1.7 × 10⁵ moles DPNH/mole enzyme/min for the most active of three preparations. On the basis of a sedimentation constant of 3.52 S and a diffusion constant of 5.0 × 10^?7 cm²/ ml, the molecular weight of the enzyme was determined to be approximately 64,000. Similar values were derived from sedimentation equilibrium data. The enzyme exhibits typical Michaelis-Menten kinetics except when lactate is the variable substrate. In this case, double reciprocal plots of activity versus substrate concentration are curved upward, suggesting that lactate either activates or stabilizes a more active form of the enzyme.     

Rat kidney histamine N-methyltransferase: purification and partial characterization

Histamine N-methyltransferase (HMT, EC 2.1.1.8) was purified 8,420-fold in 44% yield from rat kidney. The basic steps in the purification included differential centrifugation, calcium phosphate adsorption, DEAE cellulose chromatography, and affinity chromatography on an S-adenosylhomocysteine-agarose matrix. The resulting protein was homogeneous as determined by gel electrophoresis and was stable for at least five months at -80 degrees C. The apparent molecular weight of the enzyme was found to be 31,500 as determined by gel filtration through Sephadex G-100 and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was determined to be 5.4. The Km's for histamine and S-adenosyl-L-methionine were 12.4 +/- 1.3 microM and 10.2 +/- 0.5 microM, respectively. When S-adenosyl-L-methionine was the variable substrate, the Ki's for S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine and S-adenosyl-D-homocysteine were 31.9 +/- 3.4 microM and 32.0 +/- 3.5 microM, respectively. When histamine was the variable substrate, the Ki for S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine was 11.8 +/- 0.6 microM. Comparison of physico-chemical and catalytic properties of the rat kidney and the guinea pig enzymes suggest that these proteins have similar structural and catalytic characteristics.     

A single cyclohexadienyl dehydrogenase specifies the prephenate dehydrogenase and arogenate dehydrogenase components of the dual pathways to L-tyrosine in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Dual biosynthetic pathways diverge from prephenate to L-tyrosine in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate and L-arogenate being the unique intermediates of these pathways. Prephenate dehydrogenase and arogenate dehydrogenase activities could not be separated throughout fractionation steps yielding a purification of more than 200-fold, and the ratio of activities was constant throughout purification. Thus, the enzyme is a cyclohexadienyl dehydrogenase. The native enzyme has a molecular weight of 150,000 and is a hexamer made up of identical 25,500 subunits. The enzyme is specific for NAD+ as an electron acceptor, and identical Km values of 0.25 mM were obtained for NAD+, regardless of whether activity was assayed as prephenate dehydrogenase or as arogenate dehydrogenase. Km values of 0.07 mM and 0.17 mM were calculated for prephenate and L-arogenate, respectively. Inhibition by L-tyrosine was noncompetitive with respect to NAD+, but was strictly competitive with respect to either prephenate or L-arogenate. With cyclohexadiene as variable substrate, similar Ki values for L-tyrosine of 0.06 mM (prephenate) and 0.05 mM (L-arogenate) were obtained. With NAD+ as the variable substrate, similar Ki values for L-tyrosine of 0.26 mM (prephenate) and 0.28 mM (L-arogenate), respectively, were calculated. This is the first characterization of a purified, monofunctional cyclohexadienyl dehydrogenase.     

Isolation of a sodium dodecyl sulfate-insoluble transglutaminase substrate from liver plasma membranes

Rat liver plasma membranes contain transglutaminase activity and a large molecular weight protein complex which serves as a substrate for this enzyme. When plasma membranes were solubilized in sodium dodecyl sulfate and disulfide-reducing agents the transglutaminase substrate was recovered in the detergent-insoluble fraction. The insolubility of the complex suggested that it might be further studied by adsorbing membranes onto glass slides, then extracting with the detergent and reducing agent. After extraction, dark field light microscopy revealed numerous flattened sheets which varied in size from 4 to 12 micrometers. To confirm that these structures were the large molecular weight transglutaminase substrate, the plasma membranes were solubilized in sodium dodecyl sulfate and dithiothreitol and sedimented through a sucrose gradient containing the agent. The large molecular weight substrate was the only material found at the 1.11/1.23 g/cm3 interface. Microscopic examination showed the same structures previously observed on the glass slides. We conclude that the large molecular weight transglutaminase substrate is a sodium dodecyl sulfate-insoluble, morphologically distinct, protein complex. Due to its considerable size, nondissociable nature, and association with the lateral membrane, the sodium dodecyl sulfate-insoluble transglutaminase substrate may serve as a type of skeleton or scaffolding for this plasma membrane domain.     

Chromatographic separation of multiple renin substrates in women: effect of pregnancy and oral contraceptives

Chromatographic separation of multiple renin substrates was carried out to study the effect of pregnancy and oral contraceptives (OCs) in women. Blood plasma proteins were separated on a Sephadex G-200 column and the amount of renin substrate in each fraction was determined. The molecular weight of the renin substrate peaks was estimated by comparison with the elution position of proteins of known molecular weight. Normal nonpregnant women revealed the presence of 2 renin substrates: a major 1 with a molecular weight of 65000 and 1 amounting to 3-5% of the quantity of the major peak with a molecular weight of 450000-500000. In women taking OCs the same 2 peaks were seen but the quantity of each was increased markedly. In pregnant women at term, a 3rd renin substrate of intermediate size was seen (molecular weight 350000 daltons). The quantities of the intermediate and low molecular weight renin substrates were found to be greatly increased in pregnancy.     

Phthalate metabolism in Pseudomonas fluorescens PHK: purification and properties of 4,5-dihydroxyphthalate decarboxylase.

Pseudomonas fluorescens PHK uses 4,5-dihydroxyphthalate as the sole carbon source for o-phthalate catabolism. This intermediate is the substrate for a decarboxylase of the pathway yielding protocatechuate. The decarboxylase was purified to homogeneity by an affinity chromatography procedure in which the reaction product, protocatechuate, was used as a ligand. We describe some properties of the enzyme, including its apparent molecular weight of 420,000 as determined by gel filtration and of 66,000 after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis, consistent with a hexameric functional protein. The apparent Km for the substrate 4,5-dihydroxyphthalate was 10.4 microM. The characteristics of this enzyme are compared with those described for the isofunctional enzyme from P. testosteroni.     

Purification and properties of a quinone-dependent p-nitrophenylphosphatase from Clostridium sticklandii

A highly specialized phosphatase that depends on both a quinone (e.g., 2-methyl-1,4-napthoquinone) and a sulfhydryl compound for activity was purified to homogeneity from extracts of Clostridium sticklandii. Selective adsorption to Cibacron Blue-Sepharose 4B followed by elution with p-nitrophenylphosphate was an effective enrichment procedure. An affinity matrix containing vitamin K5 (4-amino-2-methyl-1-naphthol) covalently attached to Sepharose 4B selectively retained the enzyme and was also used in its purification. The only known substate for the enzyme, p-nitrophenylphosphate, is hydrolyzed to equivalent amounts of orthophosphate and p-nitrophenol. Although a protein phosphotyrosine residue seemed a likely candidate as the natural substrate, the enzyme failed to hydrolyze 32P-labeled phosphotyrosine residues in casein, in vinculin, or in denatured glutamine synthetase. Also, free O-phosphotyrosine and numerous phosphate esters that serve as substrates for common phosphomonoesterases were not hydrolyzed. The molecular weight of the native enzyme, estimated by Sephacryl-S-200 gel chromatography, is 27,600. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis showed a single component with a molecular weight of 28,600. From the amino acid composition, a minimum molecular weight of 28,000 was calculated.     

Rat Kidney Histamine N-Methyltransferase: Purification and Partial Characterization

Abstract

Histamine N-methyltransferase (HMT, EC 2.1.1.8) was purified 8,420-fold In 44% yield from rat kidney. The basic steps in the purification included differential centrlfugation, calcium phosphate adsorption, DEAE cellulose chromatography, and affinity chromatography on an S-adenosylhomocysteine-agarose matrix. The resulting protein was homogeneous as determined by gel electrophoresis and was stable for at least five months at ?80°C. The apparent molecular weight of the enzyme was found to be 31,500 as determined by gel filtration through Sephadex G-100 and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The Isoelectric point of the enzyme was determined to be 5.4. The K_m's for histamine and S-adenosyl-L-methionine were 12.4 ± 1.3 μM and 10.2 ±0.5 μM, respectively. When S-adenosyl-L-methionlne was the variable substrate, the K₁'s for S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine and S-adenosyl-D-homocys-teine were 31.9 ± 3.4 μM and 32.0 ± 3.5 μM, respectively. When histamine was the variable substrate, the K₁ for S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine was 11.8 ± 0.6 μM. Comparison of physico-chemical and catalytic properties of the rat kidney and the guinea pig enzymes suggest that these proteins have similar structural and catalytic characteristics.     

Purification and properties of pig heart pyruvate kinase

Using essentially a two-step procedure involving phosphocellulose column chromatography followed by gel filtration on Sephadex G200, pig heart pyruvate kinase (PH PyK) was purified 267-fold to at least 97% purity. PH PyK co-sedimented with rabbit muscle PyK during sucrose density ultracentrifugation yielding an S_20,w of 10 and a corresponding molecular weight of about 237,000. Sodium docedyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis yielded a subunit molecular weight of approximately 59,000, suggesting that native PH PyK exists as a tetramer. The isoelectric point (pI) was determined to be 8.2, and thepH optimum (pHo) for the forward reaction is 7.2. Steady-state kinetics with phospho(enol)pyruvate (PEP) as the variable substrate show that there is a threefold decrease in the Km for PEP in the presence of 1.0 mM fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP), and that the activity of PH PyK is increased over fourfold by FDP at low (0.1 mM) PEP concentrations. Lineweaver-Burk plots are linear in the presence and absence of FDP, indicating that the Michaelis-Menten curves are hyperbolic. The amino acid composition for pig heart PyK shows close similarities between pig muscle and kidney PyKs, but not liver PyK. Among the data on pI,pHo, and FDP activation, only the activation by FDP is useful in tentatively designating pig heart PyK as an M₂ isozyme.Presented in partial fulfillment for the Master of Science degree.