Modifications of Δ5-3-ketosteroid isomerase induced by ultraviolet irradiation in the presence of the solid-phase photoaffinity reagent Δ6-testosterone agarose

The nature of the products formed during the photoinactivation of Δ⁵-3-ketosteroid isomerase in the presence of the solid-phase photoaffinity reagent Δ⁶-testosterone succinyl agarose has been investigated after ultraviolet irradiation. The polypeptide products eluted from the agarose phase by sodium cholate, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and pH 10.5 triethylamine buffer have been characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, pH 4–6 gel isoelectric focusing, and amino acid analysis. The amino acid compositions of the cholate eluted and SDS eluted products are found to be similar to that of native isomerase, whereas the covalently bound polypeptide eluted by pH 10.5 triethylamine possesses a distinetly different composition. Digestion of the covalently bonded isomerase polypeptide with trypsin yields an agarose-bound peptide fraction that has been characterized by its amino acid composition. This composition is different from that of the undigested covalently bound polypeptide and suggests that the site of covalent attachment lies somewhere between residues 28 and 45 of the isomerase polypeptide.     

N-Terminal Sequence of Pig Brain Choline Acetyltransferase Purified by a Rapid Procedure

A procedure is reported that allows the purification and amino terminal sequencing of pig brain choline acetyltransferase. The enzyme (present in extremely low amounts in this tissue) is eluted together with its antibody from an affinity column by a mild pH shift and the resulting enzyme-antibody complex separated by gel electrophoresis. The band corresponding to the enzyme is electroeluted from the gel using volatile solutions allowing the direct determination of the amino acid composition and partial sequence. The first 11 residues are: Pro-Ile-Leu-Glu-Lys-Thr-Pro-Pro-Lys-Met-Ala.     

Isolation by high-performance liquid chromatography and partial characterization of a 57,000-dalton herpes simplex virus type 1 polypeptide.

A Nonidet P-40 extract of HSV-1-purified virions was fractionated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The first peak fraction eluted at 25% organic solvent. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that it contained a 57,000-dalton polypeptide. The polypeptide was characterized by determination of the amino acid composition and the N-terminal amino acid sequence. Adsorption of the detergent extract before RP-HPLC showed that the polypeptide reacted with monoclonal antibodies LP1 directed against herpes simplex virus polypeptide VP-16.     

Studies of the cyanogen bromide fragments of the apoprotein of human serum low density lipoproteins.

The apoprotein of human serum low density lipoproteins was reduced and carboxymethylated and then cleaved by cyanogen bromide (CNBr). The peptides which were produced from this cleavage (90% yield, based upon loss of methionine) were resolved by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis into 10 major bands, each having an amino acid composition very similar to that of intact reduced and carboxymethylated LDL apoprotein. The fractionation of the CNBr fragments by preparative gel filtration was dependent upon the nature of the eluting solvent. NH4OH and SDS solvents eluted all of the material in the void volume. In 6 M guanidinium chloride solvents several peaks were, however, resolved, each having an amino acid composition similar to that of the unfractionated products. Whereas no NH2-terminal was detected in reduced and carboxylmethylated LDL apoprotein, automated Edman degradation of the protein following treatment with CNBr revealed the presence of several NH2-termini. The results suggest that LDL apoprotein may be made of segments of, at least, very similar amino acid composition and that both the protein itself and derivative fragments have a great tendency to aggregate even in denaturing solvents.     

Surfactin isoforms from Bacillus subtilis HSO121: separation and characterization

Natural surfactin is a mixture of cyclic lipopeptides built from variants of a heptapeptide and a beta-hydroxy fatty acid. A biosurfactant-producing strain, Bacillus subtilis HSO121, was isolated from the production water of an oil field. The strain was able to produce eight surfactin isoforms which have been isolated by acid-precipitation followed by extraction into methanol. A novel procedure for the purification of surfactin was achieved. It consists of a solid-phase extraction on C(18) gel followed by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography using Prep. HiQ sil C18W, column. The surfactin isoforms were eluted by linear acetonitrile gradient from 80-100%. The peaks were analyzed by TLC on silica gel, and after acid hydrolysis their amino acid compositions were determined by HPLC analysis. Eight isoforms of surfactin had nearly the same amino acid composition and appeared a single spot in TLC. According to the R(f) values with the amino acid composition, these peaks belong to the surfactin group of lipopeptides. Infrared analysis of the purified samples also revealed a pattern similar to that of surfactin. This is a very effective method for isolating and fractionating lipopeptides, of the same or different nature.     

Locating peptides generated by limited proteolysis in known protein sequences by means of computer search

A computational method is presented for locating peptides on known protein sequences using their molecular weights (estimated by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) and their composition (obtained by amino acid analysis from eluted gel bands). The technique is easy and rapid, and appears particularly valuable if recoveries of peptides are low, or if they are heterogeneous due to secondary proteolytic degradation. An analysis of limited proteolysis of maltoporin (Schenkman, S. et al. [1984] J. Biol. Chem. 259, 7570-7576) is used to illustrate applicability and reliability of the method, which can also be applied to confirm gene-derived sequences.     

Carbon dioxide assimilation in blue-green algae: initial studies on the structure of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase.

D-Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase was purified from the blue-green alga Anabaena cylindrica (Lemm) by procedures involving acid precipitation, ammonium sulfate fractionation, and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration. The enzyme was homogeneous by the criterion of polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis and was a multimer of a single-size polypeptide chain of 54,000 daltons. The carboxylases from four species of blue-green algae (Anabaena, Nostoc strain MAC, Agmenellum quadruplicatum strain PR-6, and Anacystis nidulans strain TX20) were closely similar in molecular size, since enzyme activity was eluted at the same volume after sucrose gradient centrifugation. Further analysis by gel filtration indicated that the four blue-green algal carboxylases were nearly identical in molecular weight, ranging from 449 to 453,000. The amino acid composition of the Anabaena carboxylase was determined and was found to resemble closely the composition of the large subunit from eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms.     

Purification and characterization of a low molecular weight zinc binding protein from human placenta

A low molecular weight, native zinc binding, cytosolic protein (LMZP) has been isolated, purified and characterized from human normal term placenta. Gel filtration of heat treated placental cytosol after sequential acetone precipitation (80% ppt) revealed a major zinc binding protein in the range of low molecular weight. This partially purified zinc binding fraction was further fractionated on DEAE-Sephadex A-25. The zinc was eluted in one of the three peak fractions. Further, the purity of zinc binding protein was confirmed on fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC). The purified placental LMZP was homogenous on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a single band. Ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of LMZP showed an absorption maximum at 257 nm which disappeared at pH 2. Molecular weight of LMZP as determined by gel chromatography, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and amino acid analysis was 6 kDa. It was calculated that 1 g atom of zinc was bound to 1 mole of the LMZP. Unlike in classical metallothionein, the amino acid composition of placental LMZP revealed the presence of aromatic amino acids, lower content of cysteine and higher content of histidine, glutamic acid and aspartic acid (10, 9 and 5 residues/mole, respectively).     

NADH: (acceptor) oxidoreductase from bovine adrenal medulla chromaffin granules

The NADH:(acceptor) oxidoreductase from membranes of bovine adrenal medulla chromaffin granules has been purified by column chromatography. After solubilization of the membranes with emulphogen, a nonionic detergent, the enzyme was purified by dye-ligand chromatography and gel filtration. The oxidoreductase appeared essentially homogeneous on two gel electrophoretic systems. On polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, the enzyme revealed a dimeric structure with a combined molecular weight of about 55,000. The enzyme eluted as a detergent-lipid-protein aggregate with a Stoke's radius of 43 Å on gel filtration columns in the presence of emulphogen. The amino acid composition of the oxidoreductase was found to be distinct from that of similar enzymes from other organelles. Topographical experiments indicated that the enzyme is a transmembrane protein.     

Expression of cDNA encoding human basic fibroblast growth factor in E. coli

The cDNA encoding human basic fibroblast growth factor was expressed in E. coli under the control of trp promoter. Bacterially synthesized hbFGF was highly purified using a heparin affinity HPLC column. By this chromatography, hbFGF was eluted as four distinct forms, which were indistinguishable by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, amino acid composition, and partial terminal sequence analysis. These molecules stimulated the growth of fibroblasts and endothelial cells although their specific activities varied. The angiogenesis activity of these molecules was also confirmed.     

Purification and partial peptide sequence analysis of the boar 32 kDa sperminogen

Boar 32 kDa sperminogen was purified from acid extracts of washed epididymal spermatozoa, and partial peptide sequence was determined. Boar sperminogen was purified from the acid extracts of boar spermatozoa by gel filtration through Sephadex G-75 column, followed by preparative SDS-PAGE. Gelatin zymographic analysis of the gel-filtered fractions showed that sperminogen was composed of three separate proteolytic bands. Among the three proteolytic bands, the 32 kDa sperminogen band which showed the strongest proteolytic activities upon activation was sliced out and eluted from the gel fragments. The eluted 32 kDa sperminogen was then subjected to peptide sequencing. Since the N-terminus of the 32 kDa sperminogen was blocked for peptide sequencing by Edman degradation method, the internal amino acid sequence of the sperminogen was obtained from the CNBr-digested peptides of sperminogen. The amino acid sequence of the analyzed peptide of the 32 kDa sperminogen showed 100% identity with that of proacrosin.     

Application of Fluoresceinisothiocyanate Labeling of Protein to SDS-Electrophoresis and Subsequent Sequence Analysis

Fluoresceinisothiocyanate was applied to fluorescent labeling of protein for the determination of molecular weight by SDS Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Proteins having molecular weight ranging from 15,000 to 70,000 were tested. The resolved FITC-labeled protein was eluted from the gel and was submitted to amino acid sequence analysis.     

Purification and biochemical characterization of three major acidic proteins (BSP-A1, BSP-A2 and BSP-A3) from bovine seminal plasma.

Three major acidic proteins of bovine seminal plasma, BSP-A1, BSP-A2 and BSP-A3, were purified to homogeneity, by employing fast protein liquid chromatography, gel filtration and h.p.l.c. The proteins were purified on the basis of their stimulatory effect on the basal release of gonadotropins by rat anterior-pituitary cells in culture. All three proteins migrated as distinct single bands in the presence or absence of 2-mercaptoethanol in SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Their Mr values were estimated to be between 15,000 and 16,500 by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Similar Mr estimates were obtained when they were subjected to gel filtration on a calibrated column of Sephadex G-75 equilibrated in 0.05 M-acetic acid, pH 3.0. However, BSP-A1 and BSP-A2 were eluted as aggregated molecules (Mr 60,000-120,000) during gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 equilibrated in 0.05 M-NH4HCO3, pH 8.5, or phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, containing 0.15 M-NaCl. In the presence of 8 M-urea both BSP-A1 and BSP-A2 were eluted at positions corresponding to Mr values of 17,000-20,000. BSP-A1 and BSP-A2 had an identical amino acid composition, which differed largely from that of BSP-A3. All three proteins contained aspartic acid as the N-terminal residue, and cysteine was identified as the C-terminal residue. BSP-A1 and BSP-A2 are glycoproteins containing galactosamine, sialic acid and neutral sugars, but BSP-A3 did not contain any covalently attached sugars. Whereas BSP-A2 and BSP-A3 were eluted unadsorbed, BSP-A1 bound to wheat-germ lectin-Sepharose 6MB and could be eluted by the competing sugar N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Treatment of BSP-A1 and BSP-A2 with trypsin resulted in complete loss of gonadotropin-release activity, but BSP-A3 retained full activity. Antibody raised against BSP-A1 did not cross-react with BSP-A3, or vice versa. All these properties indicated marked structural differences between BSP-A3 and BSP-A1 (or BSP-A2). On the basis of amino acid composition it was concluded that BSP-A1, BSP-A2 and BSP-A3 are the same as the gonadostatins [Esch, Ling, Bohlen, Ying & Guillemin (1983) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 113, 861-867].     

Purification of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor from porcine brain

The muscarinic acetylcholine receptor of porcine cerebrum has been purified to apparent homogeneity by affinity chromatography, with conjugated 3-(2'-aminobenzhydryloxy)tropane (ABT) as described previously (Haga, K., and Haga, T. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 13575-13579). In a single step purification using 900 ml of digitonin/cholate-solubilized preparations and 300 ml of the ABT-agarose gel, we obtained, in a yield of 10-15%, more than 250 pmol of muscarinic receptors which bind [3H]N-methylscopolamine with a specific activity of 1,000-5,000 pmol/mg of protein (1,000-5,000-fold purification). The muscarinic receptors eluted from the ABT-agarose gel with 0.1 mM atropine were adsorbed to hydroxylapatite and then recovered as a concentrated solution. Muscarinic receptors were further purified by rechromatography with the same gel or by gel permeation high pressure liquid chromatography. The amino acid composition of the purified receptor was determined, and the specific activity of the purified preparation was estimated to be 13,100 pmol/mg of protein on the basis of amino acid composition. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified receptors with or without radioiodination revealed a single, major band with an apparent Mr of 70,000 either by silver staining or radioautogram. The major band corresponded to the band which specifically bound [3H]propylbenzylcholine mustard (irreversible muscarinic ligand). The purified receptor showed essentially the same specificity for muscarinic ligands as unpurified receptors.     

Purification and N-terminal amino acid sequence of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)/cyclin and development of ELISA for anti-PCNA antibodies

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), also called cyclin, was purified from PBS extract of rabbit thymus by using a combination of ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sephacel, HPLC ion exchange, and HPLC gel filtration column chromatography. PCNA was purified more than 600 times and was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting. SDS-PAGE showed that a 36 kD protein was selectively isolated in this purification process, and this protein was identified as PCNA by immunoblotting. Other previously identified nuclear antigens, Sm, nRNP, SS-A/Ro, SS-B/La, histone, and DNA, were not detected in this preparation by counterimmunoelectrophoresis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Purified PCNA was used as an antigen to develop ELISA for rapid and specific detection of anti-PCNA in human sera. For further purification, the 36 kD band was electrophoretically eluted from SDS gel slices. The amino acid composition and the first 25 residues from the N-terminus of the protein were determined by using electroeluted PCNA. This amino acid sequence was found to be unique and showed little sequence homology with existent proteins in the protein identification resources databank.     

The role of chloroplast-membrane-protein synthesis in the circadian clock. Purification and partial characterization of a polypeptide which is suggested to be involved in the clock.

A polypeptide (polypeptide P39), which is presumed to involved in the photosynthetic circadian rhythm in the green alga Acetabularia, was purified from the EDTA-insoluble chloroplast membrane fraction by means of preparative dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis and then partially characterized. The purity of the isolated polypeptide P39 was confirmed by a further electrophoresis on an analytical dodecylsulfate gel and further elucidated by amino-terminal analysis which shows that glycine is the only amino-terminal amino acid of the purified polypeptide material. The molecular weight of the polypeptide P39 was found to be about 39,000 on analytical gel electrophoresis and the value was further supported by those obtained from amino acid composition and peptide mapping. The amino acid composition of polypeptide P39 showed that the proportion of intermediate amino acid groups is high while the proportion of hydrophilic amino acid groups is well balanced by that of hydrophobic amino acid groups, a property characteristic of membrane proteins.     

Isolation and characteristics of dihydropyridine calcium antagonist receptor from rabbit skeletal muscles

Up to 80% of the dihydropyridine receptor is solubilized from transverse tubules of rabbit skeletal muscle by 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonium]-2-oxy-1-propane sulfonate (CHAPSO). The DHP receptor is an oligomeric complex made up of two subunits with molecular masses of 160 and 53 kD as shown by DHP-Sepharose affinity chromatography and SDS gel electrophoresis of specifically eluted proteins. The reduction of disulfide bridges of the 160 kD subunit is accompanied by a decrease in its apparent molecular mass up to 125 kD. A method is proposed for preparative isolation of the DHP receptor which is based on ion-exchange chromatography and WGA-Sepharose chromatography. Individual subunits of DHP receptor were isolated by Sepharose 4B gel filtration in SDS; their amino acid composition was determined. Both the 160 and 53 kD subunits are N-glycosylated, and the oligosaccharide portions make up to 7.5% and 6.6%, respectively.     

The purification and characterization of subunits alpha, beta, and gamma from the rabbit reticulocyte eukaryotic initiation factor 2

Eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF-2) contains three nonidentical subunits, alpha, beta, and gamma. The simultaneous purification of all three subunits was achieved by reverse-phase HPLC using a 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid-acetonitrile binary solvent system. The order of the eluted subunits, beta, alpha, and gamma, was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. After hydrolysis in 6 N HCl, picomole level amino acid composition analysis was achieved by the ninhydrin reaction on a Beckman 6300 system. Using second-derivative spectroscopic analysis, Trp was detected in all three subunits. All three subunits were subjected to amino-terminal sequence analysis. The amino-terminal of eIF-2 alpha from amino acid positions 1 to 23 inclusive was determined. The order of eight amino acids from the amino-terminal of eIF-2 gamma was also determined. This characterization and partial determination of the primary sequence of these subunits permit the utilization of molecular biology techniques in order to elucidate the complete primary structure. Additionally, the partial amino acid sequence data permitted the designation of synthetic gene probes as well as the identification of eIF-2 alpha and gamma cDNA and/or genomic clones.     

Purification and properties of an intracellular calmodulinlike protein from Bacillus subtilis cells.

Although calcium ions are crucial in a variety of bacterial processes, including spore development, reports of calmodulin in procaryotes have been few. We have purified to homogeneity a calmodulinlike protein (CaLP) from sporulating cells of Bacillus subtilis grown in a chemically defined sporulation medium; purification involved heat treatment, fractionation with ammonium sulfate, affinity chromatography, and gel filtration on high-performance columns. The protein was eluted from a phenothiazine affinity column in a calcium ion-dependent manner, stained poorly with Coomassie blue and silver stain dyes, bound poorly to nitrocellulose filters, and was not an inhibitor of the major intracellular serine proteinase. It stimulated bovine brain phosphodiesterase in a dose- and Ca2(+)-dependent manner and stimulated NAD kinase from peas in a dose-dependent manner. The B. subtilis calmodulin reacted with anti-bovine brain calmodulin antibodies in enzyme-linked immunoabsorbance assays. The amino acid composition data showed it to be distinctly different from eucaryotic calmodulins, having particularly high levels of serine and glycine. The pI of the protein was estimated to be 4.9 to 5.0. The molecular weight was estimated to be 23,000 or 25,000, based on amino acid composition and detergent gel electrophoresis, respectively. The protein reacted with rhodamine isothiocyanate, which blocked its enzyme-activating capacity and greatly increased its electrophoretic mobility and Coomassie dye-binding ability.