Purification and characterization of an apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease from HeLa cells

An endodeoxyribonuclease from HeLa cells acting on apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites has been purified to apparent homogeneity as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The presence of Triton X-100 was necessary throughout the purification for stabilization and stimulation of activity. The endonuclease has an apparent native molecular weight of 32,000 determined by molecular sieving and an apparent subunit molecular weight of 41,000 as judged by its electrophoretic mobility in SDS-polyacrylamide gels. The activity has an absolute requirement for Mg2+ or Mn2+ and a broad pH optimum between 6.7 and 9.0 with maximal activity near pH 7.5. The enzyme has no detectable exonuclease activity, nor any endonuclease activity on untreated duplex or single-stranded DNA. It is inhibited by adenine, hypoxanthine, adenosine, AMP, ADP-ribose, and NAD+, but it is unaffected by caffeine, the pyrimidine bases, ADP, ATP, or NADH. The use of a variety of damaged DNA substrates provided no indication that the enzyme acts on other than AP sites. The enzyme appears to cleave AP DNA so as to leave deoxyribose-5-phosphate at the 5' terminus and a 3'-OH at the 3' terminus; it also removes deoxyribose-5-phosphate from AP DNA which has deoxyribose at the 3' terminus. Specific antibody has been produced in rabbits which interacts only with a 41,000-dalton protein present in the purified enzyme (presumably the enzyme itself), as well as with partially purified AP endonuclease fractions from human placenta and fibroblasts.     

Glycoprotein biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Purification of the alpha-mannosidase which removes one specific mannose residue from Man9GlcNAc

A soluble form of the specific alpha-mannosidase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which catalyzes the following reaction, was purified at least 100,000-fold by conventional chromatography procedures: (Formula: see text). The purified enzyme migrates on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as a single band of about 60 kDa in the absence of reducing agent, and as two bands of about 44.5 kDa and 22.5 kDa in the presence of reducing agent. The apparent molecular weight of the soluble enzyme is about 75,000 by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200. The specific alpha-mannosidase does not require the addition of divalent cation for activity, but it is inhibited by Tris, EDTA, Mn2+, Co2+, Zn2+, and Mg2+. The inhibition caused by EDTA can be reversed completely by Ca2+ and partially by Mg2+, but not by other divalent cations. The soluble alpha-mannosidase arises from a larger hydrophobic form of the enzyme which is found in the detergent phase during partition in Triton X-114. The formation of the soluble enzyme, which is recovered in the aqueous phase during partition in Triton X-114, is time- and temperature-dependent and is prevented by pepstatin, but not by other protease inhibitors. These results indicate that the purified soluble alpha-mannosidase represents the catalytically active domain of the enzyme which has been proteolytically released from its membrane-bound form.     

An ATP-inhibited endonuclease from cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) inflorescence: purification and characterization

In our studies on the role of enzymes in plant DNA replication, recombination, and repair, we isolated from cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) inflorescences a single-stranded DNA-specific endonuclease that was inhibited by ATP. The endonuclease, designated cauliflower nuclease II, was purified to near homogeneity through six successive column chromatographies. The enzyme is a single polypeptide with a molecular mass of 70 kDa as judged by the results of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacry amide gel electrophoresis, activity gel, and gel-filtration column chromatography. The enzyme can cleave a linear or a circular single-stranded DNA but cannot cut or nick a double-stranded DNA. The mode of activity of the nuclease is endonucleolytic and non-processive. Interestingly, the endonuclease activity is strongly inhibited by less than 0.1 mM ATP, although the role of this inhibition is thus far unclear. While ATPγS and GTP can also inhibit the activity, other ribonucleoside triphosphates are much less effective. The optimum pH of the enzyme is 5.6. The enzyme requires an exceptionally high ionic strength, 0.2 M KCI for optimum activity, and without these ions no activity can be detected. The endonuclease activity is stimulated by Ca²⁺, which cannot be replaced by Mg²⁺ or Mn²⁺. The features of the enzyme and its relation to plant DNA metabolism are discussed. Received: 26 March 1998 / Accepted: 4 June 1998     

DNAses of the cell nuclei: Mn2+-dependent endonuclease

Comparison of catalytic properties of a Mn2(+)-dependent and a Ca2+, Mg2+ dependent endonucleases of rat liver cell nuclei was carried out. The Mn2(+)-dependent endonuclease has Mr 31 kDa by SDS-PAAG-electrophoresis; pH optimum 5.5; calcium-magnesium synergism less than 3 in rat liver DNA, RF M13 DNA and phage M13 DNA. The rate of hydrolysis of single strand and double strand circular DNA was the same. The Mn2(+)-dependent endonuclease split DNA by double hit manner, and didn't change the manner in the presence of different divalent cations. Ca2+, Mg2(+)-dependent endonuclease has pH optimum 6.5; calcium-magnesium synergism up to 40 in rat liver DNA and 175 in RF M13 DNA. The rate of hydrolysis of single strand DNA was higher than double-strand DNA.     

酿脓链球菌Cas9核酸酶的重组表达、分离纯化及酶学特性

【背景】Cas9核酸酶是一种RNA引导的核酸内切酶,可与单链向导RNA (single-guide RNA,sgRNA)形成稳定的核糖核蛋白复合物,识别和切割特定的核苷酸片段。由于其具备高灵活性和高效率的特点,目前已经成为基础科学研究领域和临床治疗方法中使用最广泛的基因编辑工具。【目的】为Cas9核酸酶的合理开发和利用提供理论依据。【方法】利用大肠杆菌表达系统表达野生型酿脓链球菌(Streptococcus pyogenes) Cas9核酸酶,经硫酸铵沉淀和镍柱亲和层析两步纯化获得较高纯度表达产物,并对其热稳定性、pH稳定性、金属离子的影响等酶学特性进行研究。【结果】经高密度发酵后,大肠杆菌湿菌重达191.0 g/L。纯化后酿脓链球菌Cas9核酸酶的比酶活达641.29 U/mg,纯化倍数为16.02,收率为46.40%。Cas9核酸酶在25-42°C保温2 h后剩余酶活保持在65%以上,而在45°C保温15 min后全部失活;其在pH 6.0-10.0范围内稳定性较高,剩余酶活大于68%,在pH9.0时稳定性最高;0.5-20.0mmol/L浓度范围内的Mg²⁺...     

Purification and characterization of rat kidney UDP-N-acetylglucosamine: alpha-6-D-mannoside beta-1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase.

In order to investigate the molecular mechanism of the specific increase of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:alpha-6-D-mannoside beta-1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GlcNAcT-V, EC 2.4.1.155) activity after viral or oncogenic transformation, we have purified the enzyme from a Triton X-100 extract of rat kidney acetone powder. GlcNAcT-V was purified by sequential affinity chromatography using first UDP-hexanolamine-agarose and then a synthetic oligosaccharide inhibitor-agarose column. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme revealed two major bands at apparent molecular masses of 69 and 75 kDa. The enzyme was recovered in a 26% final yield with a 450,000-fold increase in specific activity to a Vmax of 18.8 mumols/(mg.min). Enzyme activity was stabilized and enhanced by the addition of 20% glycerol, 0.5 mg/ml IgG, and 0.2 M NaCl. The optimal ranges of pH and Triton X-100 concentrations for enzyme activity were 6.5-7.0 and 1.0-1.5%, respectively. The divalent cations, Mn2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+, were each found to have a negligible (less than 10%) effect on activity; moreover, the enzyme was fully active in the presence of 20 mM EDTA. The Km value of the purified enzyme toward a synthetic trisaccharide acceptor was 90 microM, and the Ki value toward a synthetic active site inhibitor was 140 microM.     

Isolation of Ca2+, Mg2+-dependent nuclease from calf thymus chromatin

Ca2+,Mg2+-dependent nuclease was isolated from calf thymus chromatin by stepwise chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose, CM-Sephadex and DNA-Sepharose. The enzyme was purified more than 700-fold. SDS-PAGE electrophoresis revealed one protein band possessing an enzymatic activity. The molecular mass of the nuclease as determined by gel filtration is 25700 Da, that determined by 12% SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is 28,000 Da. In the presence of various ions the enzyme activity decreases in the following order: (Ca2+ + Mn2+) greater than (Ca2+ + Mg2+) greater than Mn2+; the pH optimum is at 8.0. In media with Mg2+, Ca2+, Co2+ and Zn2+ the nuclease is inactive. Some other properties of the enzyme are described.     

Partial purification and characterization of beta-mannosyltransferase from suspension-cultured soybean cells

The beta-mannosyltransferase that catalyzes the synthesis of Man-beta-GlcNAc-GlcNAc-PP-dolichol from GDP-mannose and dolichyl-PP-GlcNAc-GlcNAc was solubilized from microsomes of suspension-cultured soybean cells by treatment with 1.5% Triton X-100 and was purified about 700-fold by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, hydroxylapatite, and a GDP affinity column. The purified enzyme was reasonably stable in the presence of 20% glycerol and 0.5 mM dithiothreitol. The enzyme required either detergent (Triton X-100 or NP-40) or phospholipid for maximum activity, but the effects of these two were not additive. Thus, either phosphatidylcholine or Triton X-100 could give maximum stimulation. In terms of phospholipid stimulation, both the head group and the acyl chain appeared to be important since phosphatidylcholines with 18-carbon unsaturated fatty acids were most effective. The purified enzyme had a sharp pH optimum of 6.9-7.0 and required a divalent cation. Mg2+ was the best metal ion with optimum activity occurring at 6 mM, but Mn2+ was reasonably effective while Ca2+ was slightly stimulatory. The Km for GDP-mannose was calculated to be 1.7 X 10(-6) M and that for dolichyl-PP-GlcNAc-GlcNAc about 9 X 10(-6) M. The enzyme was inhibited by a number of guanosine nucleotides such as GDP-glucose, GDP, GMP, and GTP, but various uridine and adenosine nucleotides were without effect. The purified enzyme was apparently free of alpha-1,3-mannosyltransferase (and perhaps other mannosyltransferases) and dolichyl-P-mannose synthase since the only product seen from dolichyl-PP-GlcNAc-GlcNAc and GDP-mannose was Man-beta-GlcNAc-GlcNAc-PP-dolichol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Purification and characterization of UV endonucleases I and II from murine plasmacytoma cells

Three endonucleases from murine plasmacytoma cells that specifically nick DNA which was heavily irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light were resolved by Sephacryl S-200 column chromatography. Two of these, UV endonucleases I and II, were purified extensively. UV endonuclease I appears to be a monomeric protein with a molecular mass of 43 kDa; UV endonuclease II has an S value of 2.9 S, with a corresponding molecular mass estimated at 28 kDa. Both enzymes act as a class I AP endonuclease, cleaving phosphodiester bonds via a beta-elimination mechanism, so as to form an unsaturated deoxyribose at the 3' terminus. Both have thymine glycol DNA glycosylase activity and their substrate specificities generally appear to be overlapping but not identical. UV endonuclease I acts on both supercoiled and relaxed DNAs, whereas II acts only on supercoiled DNA. Both enzymes are active in EDTA, but have different optima for salt, pH, and Triton X-100. Each enzyme is also present in cultured diploid human fibroblasts.     

The influence of lysosomes on glycogen metabolism.

Treatment of rabbit spermatozoa with 50mM-MgCl2 removes the plasma and the outer acrosomal membranes. Subsequent treatment with the detergents Hyamine 2389 and Triton X-100 solubilizes spermatozoal neuraminidase bound to the inner acrosomal membrane. The enzyme was further purified by DEAE-cellulose, Sephadex G-150 and Bio-Gel P-300 column chromato. The enzyme showed a single major band, with the possibility of some minor contaminants, on disc-gel electrophoresis. It had a specific activity of 0.37 micronmal of sialic acid released/min per mg with purified boar Cowper's-gland mucin as the substrate. The enzyme had marked specificity for 2 leads to 6'-linked sialic acid in glycoproteins. The Km of spermatozoal neuraminidase was 1.72 X 10(-6)M with Cowper's-gland mucin, 1.17 X 10(-5)M with fetuin and 8.8 X 10(-4)M with sialyl-lactose as a substrates. The Vmax. was 0.112 micronmol/min per mg with the Cowper's-gland mucin, 0.071 micronmol/min per mg with fetuin and 0.033 micronmol/min per mg with sialyl-lactose as substrate. The enzyme hydrolysed sheep submaxillary-gland mucin as readily as the Cowper's-gland mucin. The optimum of enzyme activity was at pH 5.0 on the Cowper's-gland mucin and at pH4.3 on sialyl-lactose. The enzyme activity was unaffected by 20mM-Na+ and-K+, but was inhibited by 20mM-Ca2+,-Mn2+,-Co2+ and -Cu2+. The enzyme was unstable in dilute solutions, but could be stored indefinitely freeze-dried at --20 degrees C.     

Mitochondrial endonuclease activities specific for apurinic/apyrimidinic sites in DNA from mouse cells

Endonuclease activity which specifically cleaves baseless (apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP] sites in supercoiled DNA has been purified from mitochondria of the mouse plasmacytoma cell line, MPC-11. Two variant forms separate upon purification; these have small but reproducible differences in catalytic and chromatographic properties, but similar physical properties. Both have a sedimentation coefficient of 4.0, corresponding to a molecular weight of 61,000 (assuming a globular configuration) and a peptide molecular weight of about 65,000 as determined by immunoblot analysis with antiserum raised against the major AP endonuclease from HeLa cells. Thus mitochondrial AP endonuclease appears to be a monomer of about 65 kDa, making it distinguishable from the major AP endonuclease of MPC-11 cells which, like those of other mammalian cells, appears to be a monomer of about 41 kDa. A possible 82-kDa precursor form was also detected by immunoblot analysis of a crude mitochondrial fraction. Mitochondrial AP endonuclease activity is greatly stimulated by divalent cations, has a pH optimum between 6.5 and 8.5, and cleaves the AP site by a class II mechanism to generate a 3'-OH nucleotide residue. These properties resemble those of the major mammalian AP endonucleases but, unlike those enzymes, mitochondrial AP endonuclease activity is neither inhibited by adenine or NAD+ nor stimulated by Triton X-100. Since the mitochondrial activity generates active primer termini for DNA synthesis, it could function in base excision DNA repair; alternatively, it might have a role in eliminating damaged mitochondrial genomes from the gene pool.     

Cloning, expression, and characterization of a cold-adapted lipase gene from an antarctic deep-sea psychrotrophic bacterium, Psychrobacter sp 7195

A psychrotrophic strain 7195 showing extracellular lipolytic activity towards tributyrin was isolated from deep-sea sediment of Prydz Bay and identified as a Psychrobacter species. By screening a genomic DNA library of Psychrobacter sp. 7195, an open reading frame of 954 bp coding for a lipase gene, lipA1, was identified, cloned, and sequenced. The deduced LipA1 consisted of 317 amino acids with a molecular mass of 35,210 kDa. It had one consensus motif, G-N-S-M-G (GXSXG), containing the putative active-site serine, which was conserved in other cold-adapted lipolytic enzymes. The recombinant LipA1 was purified by column chromatography with DEAE Sepharose CL-4B, and Sephadex G-75, and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, in sequence. The purified enzyme showed highest activity at 30 degrees C, and was unstable at temperatures higher than 30 degrees C, indicating that it was a typical cold-adapted enzyme. The optimal pH for activity was 9.0, and the enzyme was stable between pH 7.0-10.0 after 24 h incubation at 4 degrees C. The addition of Ca2+ and Mg2+ enhanced the enzyme activity of LipA1, whereas the Cd2, Zn2+, Co2+, Fe3+, Hg2+, Fe2+, Rb2+, and EDTA strongly inhibited the activity. The LipA1 was activated by various detergents, such as Triton X-100, Tween 80, Tween 40, Span 60, Span 40, CHAPS, and SDS, and showed better resistance towards them. Substrate specificity analysis showed that there was a preference for trimyristin and p-nitrophenyl myristate (C14 acyl groups).     

Purification and characterization of a deoxyriboendonuclease from Mycobacterium smegmatis

A deoxyriboendonuclease has been purified to near homogeneity from a fast growing mycobacterium species, M. smegmatis and characterized to some extent. The size of enzyme is about 43 kDa as determined by a denaturing gel analysis. It shows optimum activity at 32 degrees C in Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.2) containing 2.5 mM of MgCl2. Both EDTA and K+ but not Na+ inhibit its activity. Evidences show that the enzyme is not a restriction endonuclease but catalyzes the endonucleolytic cleavage of both the double- as well as the single-strand DNA non-specifically. It has been shown that the cleavage by this enzyme generates DNA fragments carrying phosphate groups at 5' ends and hydroxyl group at the 3' ends, respectively. Analysis reveals that no endonuclease having size and property identical to our deoxyriboendonuclease had been purified from M. smegmatis before. The property of our enzymes closely matches with the deoxyriboendonucleases purified from diverse sources including bacteria.     

Characterization of calcium-ion-activated adenosine triphosphatase in the plasma membrane of rat mast cells.

The properties of a Ca2+ activated adenosine triphosphatase shown to be present in homogenates of purified rat peritoneal mast cells were investigated. The enzyme was activated by Ca2+, Mg2+, and to a lesser extent by Mn2+ and Co2+. Ca2+ alone was necessary for full activity and the further addition of Mg2+ did not have any effect. The chelating agents EGTA (ethanedioxybis(ethylamine)tetra-acetate) and EDTA completely inhibited the reaction. The pH optimum was 7.8. Reduced glutathione, cysteine, dithiothreitol, N-ethylmaleimide, urea, ADP, NaF, increasing ionic strength and Triton X-100 all inhibited the reaction. On subcellular fractionation of mast-cell homogenates by density-gradient centrifugation, the distribution of Ca2+ activated adenosine triphosphatase resembled that of 5'-nucleotidase, but differed from that of the other markers used, suggesting localization in the plasma membrane. Further experiments indicated that the enzyme is present on the external surface of the plasma membrane.     

Restriction barrier composed of an extracellular nuclease and restriction endonuclease in the unicellular cyanobacterium Microcystis sp.

Abstract The unicellular cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa K-81 has two types of restriction barrier, an extracellular nuclease and sequence-specific endonuclease. The nuclease was detected in the culture supernatant and it was easily released from the cells by washing with water or buffer containing Triton X-100. This nuclease was identified as a polypeptide of about 28 kDa that digested covalently closed circular and linear double-stranded DNAs, including chromosomal DNA from M. aeruginosa K-81. Among another 13 Microcystis strains examined, 3 produced an extracellular nuclease. Furthermore, M. aeruginosa K-81 contained two sequence-specific endonucleases, Mae K81I and Mae K81II, which were isoschizomers of Sp /I and Sau 96I, respectively.     

A mouse DNA repair enzyme (APEX nuclease) having exonuclease and apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease activities: purification and characterization.

A mouse repair enzyme having priming activity on bleomycin-damaged DNA for DNA polymerase was purified to apparent homogeneity and characterized. The enzyme extracted from permeabilized mouse ascites sarcoma (SR-C3H/He) cells with 0.2 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.5) was purified by successive chromatographies on phosphocellulose, DEAE-cellulose, phosphocellulose (a second time), Sephadex G-100, single-stranded DNA cellulose and hydroxyapatite. The purified enzyme has an Mr of 34,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Enzymatical studies indicated that it is a multifunctional enzyme having exonuclease, apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease and phosphatase activities, similar to Escherichia coli exonuclease III. This enzyme is tentatively designated as APEX nuclease for apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease and exonuclease activities. The amino acid composition, amino-terminal amino acid sequence and an internal amino acid sequence of APEX nuclease are determined.     

Purification and characterization of membrane-bound malate dehydrogenase from Acetobacter sp. SKU 14

Membrane-bound NAD(P)-independent malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.99.16) was purified to homogeneity from the membrane of thermotolerant Acetobacter sp. SKU 14, an isolate from Thailand. The enzyme was solubilized from the membrane fraction of glycerol-grown cells with 1% Triton X-100 in the presence of 0.1 M KCl, and purified to homogeneity through steps of column chromatographies on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and DEAE-Toyopearl in the presence of 0.1% Triton X-100. The purified enzyme showed a single protein band in both native-PAGE and SDS-PAGE. The enzyme was a homodimer with a molecular mass of 60 kDa subunit and had noncovalently bound FAD as the cofactor. The enzyme was stable over pH 5 and had its maximum activity at pH 11.0 when ferricyanide was used as an electron acceptor. The enzyme activity was elevated by the addition of ammonium ions. The substrate specificity was very strict to only L-malate, of which the apparent Km was 10 mM and over 20 compounds involving D-malate were not oxidized by the enzyme.     

Purification and chemical modification of a phosphatidylinositol kinase from sheep brain.

A membrane-bound phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) kinase has been purified approximately 9500-fold to apparent homogeneity from sheep brains. The purification procedure involves: solubilisation of the membrane fraction with Triton X-100, ammonium sulphate fractionation and a number of ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography steps. The purified enzyme exhibited a final specific activity of 1149 nmol.min-1.mg-1. The molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated to be 55 kDa by SDS/PAGE and 150 +/- 10 kDa by HPLC gel filtration in the presence of Triton X-100. Kinetic measurements have shown that the apparent Km value of PtdIns kinase for the utilisation of PtdIns is 22 microM and for ATP 67 microM. Mg2+ was the most effective divalent cation activator of PtdIns kinase, with maximal enzymatic activity reached at a concentration of 10 mM Mg2+. In addition to adenosine and ADP, the 2'(3')-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) derivative of ATP was found to be a strong competitive inhibitor of the enzyme, with a Ki of 32 microM. Enzymatic activity was found to be stimulated by Triton X-100 but inhibited by deoxycholate.     

Purification and Characterization of Phospholipase C Preferentially Hydrolysing Phosphatidylcholine in Tetrahymena Membranes

A phospholipase C (PLC) activity that preferentially hydrolyses phosphatidylcholine to diacylglycerol and phosphorylcholine was found to be present in Tetrahymena pyriformis, strain W and most of its activity was recovered in the membrane fraction. This enzyme was extracted with 1% Triton X-100 from the membrane fraction and purified to apparent homogeneity by sequential chromatographies on Fast Q-Sepharose, hydroxyapatite HCA-100S, Mono Q and Superose 12 gel filtration columns. The purified enzyme had specific activity of 2083 nmol of diacylglycerol released/mg of protein/min for dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine hydrolysis. Its apparent molecular mass was 128 kDa as determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and was 127 kDa by gel filtration chromatography, indicating that the enzyme is present in a monomeric form. The enzyme exhibited an optimum pH 7.0 and the apparent K_m value was determined to be 166 μM for dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine. A marked increase was observed in phosphatidylcholine hydrolytic activity in the presence of 0.05% (1.2 mM) deoxycholate. Ca²⁺ but not Mg²⁺ enhanced the activity at a concentration of 2 mM. This purified phospholipase C exhibited a preferential hydrolytic activity for phosphatidylcholine but much less activity was observed for phosphatidylinositol (～ 9%) and phosphatidylethanolamine (～ 2%).     

Purification of a phospholipase A2 from human monocytic leukemic U937 cells. Calcium-dependent activation and membrane association

The existence of an intracellular phospholipase A2 (PLA2) involved in the production of 1-O-alkyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and free arachidonic acid has been repeatedly postulated. Using 1-O-hexadecyl-2-[3H]arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine as a substrate and a series of conventional and high-pressure liquid chromatographic techniques, we have purified a PLA2 from the soluble fraction of differentiated human monocytic U937 cells. The enzyme has been purified nearly 2000-fold to homogeneity. The purified enzyme has a molecular mass of 56 kDa, under reducing conditions, by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis. The enzyme activity has a pH optimum of 8.0 and is calcium concentration-dependent. The EC50 for the activation of the enzyme activity by calcium is 300 nM. When the cells were homogenized in the presence of the calcium chelator EGTA (0.2 mM), the enzyme was found to be soluble (more than 90% of the activity in the 100,000 x g supernatant). However, when Ca2+ concentration was controlled from 10 nM to 100 microM in Ca2(+)-EGTA buffers, increasing amounts of the activity were found in the particulate fraction (100,000 x g pellet). This suggests that membrane translocation and activation of the soluble PLA2 may be regulated by physiological intracellular levels of Ca2+. The purified enzyme hydrolyzed different phosphatidylcholine substrates presented in either vesicular or Triton X-100 mix micellar forms. In both situations, the enzyme showed a high degree of specificity for arachidonic acid on the sn-2 position of the substrate. Substitution of palmitic or oleic on the sn-2 position substantially reduced the hydrolytic activity of the enzyme. When vesicles of arachidonic acid-containing phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylinositol were presented to the purified enzyme, all of them were hydrolyzed with comparable efficiency. However, only phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol were hydrolyzed when presented in Triton X-100 mixed micelles.