The solubilization of tetrameric alkaline phosphatase from human liver and its conversion into various forms by phosphatidylinositol phospholipase C or proteolysis

When membrane-bound human liver alkaline phosphatase was treated with a phosphatidylinositol (PI) phospholipase C obtained from Bacillus cereus, or with the proteases ficin and bromelain, the enzyme released was dimeric. Butanol extraction of the plasma membranes at pH 7.6 yielded a water-soluble, aggregated form that PI phospholipase C could also convert to dimers. When the membrane-bound enzyme was solubilized with a non-ionic detergent (Nonidet P-40), it had the Mr of a tetramer; this, too, was convertible to dimers with PI phospholipase C or a protease. Butanol extraction of whole liver tissue at pH 6.6 and subsequent purification yielded a dimeric enzyme on electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions, whereas butanol extraction at pH values of 7.6 or above and subsequent purification by immunoaffinity chromatography yielded an enzyme with a native Mr twice that of the dimeric form. This high molecular weight form showed a single Coomassie-stained band (Mr = 83,000) on electrophoresis under denaturing conditions in sodium dodecyl sulfate, as did its PI phospholipase C cleaved product; this Mr was the same as that obtained with the enzyme purified from whole liver using butanol extraction at pH 6.6. These results are highly suggestive of the presence of a butanol-activated endogenous enzyme activity (possibly a phospholipase) that is optimally active at an acidic pH. Inhibition of this activity by maintaining an alkaline pH during extraction and purification results in a tetrameric enzyme. Alkaline phosphatase, whether released by phosphatidylinositol (PI) phospholipase C or protease treatment of intact plasma membranes, or purified in a dimeric form, would not adsorb to a hydrophobic medium. PI phospholipase C treatment of alkaline phosphatase solubilized from plasma membranes by either detergent or butanol at pH 7.6 yielded a dimeric enzyme that did not absorb to the hydrophobic medium, whereas the untreated preparations did. This adsorbed activity was readily released by detergent. Likewise, alkaline phosphatase solubilized from plasma membranes by butanol extraction at pH 7.6 would incorporate into phosphatidylcholine liposomes, whereas the enzyme released from the membranes by PI phospholipase C would not incorporate. The dimeric enzyme purified from a butanol extract of whole liver tissue carried out at pH 6.6 did not incorporate. We conclude that PI phospholipase C converts a hydrophobic tetramer of alkaline phosphatase into hydrophilic dimers through removal of the 1,2-diacylglycerol moiety of phosphatidylinositol. Based on these and others' findings, we devised a model of alkaline phosphatase's conversion into its various forms.     

Biochemical and immunological analysis of an abundant form of glutathione S-transferase,in mouse testis

One of the major forms of glutathione S-transferase (designated as Ft transferase) has been identified and purified to near homogeneity from mouse testis. The purification was achieved by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE cellulose chromatography, hydroxylapatite chromatography and the preparative isoelectric focusing. Purified Ft transferase has an isoelectric point of 4.9 ± 0.3 and was shown to be a homodimer with a native molecular weight of about 50 000.Immunologically, antisera to Ft transferase do not crossreact with F2 or F3 transferase. However, a weak cross reactivity was observed between the antisera to F3 transferase and Ft transferase. Biochemical properties of purified Ft transferase are similar to those transferases isolated from mouse liver. Tissue distributions of the multiple forms of glutathione S-transferase were examined by column isoelectric focusing of various mouse tissue homogenates. It was found that mouse Ft transferase is present only in testis as a major form and in brain as a minor form, but not in other tissues that were examined.     

Cellular localization and substrate specificity of isoelectric forms of human liver neuraminidase activity.

The four major isoelectric forms of human liver neuraminidase (with pI values between 3.4 and 4.8) have been isolated by preparative isoelectric focusing and characterized with regard to their substrate specificity using glycoprotein, glycopeptide, oligosaccharide and ganglioside natural substrates. All forms exhibited a rather broad linkage specificity and were capable of hydrolyzing sialic acid glycosidically linked alpha 2-3, alpha 2-6 and alpha 2-8, although differential rates of hydrolysis of the substrates were found for each form. The most acidic form 1 (pI 3.4) was most active on sialyl-lactose, whereas form 2 (pI 3.9) and 3 (pI 4.4) were most active on the more hydrophobic ganglioside substrates. Form 4 (pI 4.8) was most active on the low-Mr hydrophilic substrates (fetuin glycopeptide, sialyl-lactose). Each form was less active on the glycoprotein fetuin than on a glycopeptide derived from fetuin. Organelle-enriched fractions were prepared from fresh human liver tissue and neuraminidase activity on 2'-(4-methylumbelliferyl)-alpha-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid was recovered in plasma membrane, microsomal, lysosomal and cytosolic preparations. Isoelectric focusing of the neuraminidase activity recovered in each of these preparations resulted in significantly different isoelectric profiles (number, relative amounts and pI values of forms) for each preparation. The differential substrate specificity of the isoelectric forms and the different isoelectric focusing profiles of neuraminidase activity recovered in subcellular-enriched fractions suggest that specific isoelectric forms with broad but defined substrate specificity are enriched at separate sites within the cell.     

Increased levels of a unique post-translationally modified betaIVb-tubulin isotype in liver cancer

Identifying changes at the molecular level during the development of hepatocellular carcinoma is important for the detection and treatment of the disease. The characteristic structural reorganization of preneoplastic cells may involve changes in the microtubule cytoskeleton. Microtubules are dynamic protein polymers that play an essential role in cell division, maintenance of cell shape, vesicle transport, and motility. They are comprised of multiple isotypes of alpha- and beta-tubulin. Changes in the levels of these isotypes may affect not only microtubule stability and sensitivity to drugs but also interactions with endogenous proteins. We employed a rat liver cancer model that progresses through stages similar to those of human liver cancer, including metastasis to the lung, to identify changes in the tubulin cytoskeleton during carcinogenesis. Tubulin isotypes in both liver and lung tissue were purified and subsequently separated by isoelectric focusing electrophoresis. The C-terminal isotype-defining region from each tubulin was obtained by cyanogen bromide cleavage and identified by mass spectrometry. A novel post-translational modification of betaIVb-tubulin in which two hydrophobic residues are proteolyzed from the C-terminus, thus exposing a charged glutamic acid residue, was identified. The unique form of betaIVb-tubulin was quantified in the liver tissue of all carcinoma stages and found to be approximately 3-fold more abundant in nodular and tumor tissue than in control tissue. The level of this form was also found to be increased in lung tissue with liver metastasis. This modification alters the C-terminal domain of one of the most abundant beta-tubulin isotypes in the liver and therefore may affect the interactions of microtubules with endogenous proteins.     

Primary structure of beta-galactoside alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase. Conversion of membrane-bound enzyme to soluble forms by cleavage of the NH2-terminal signal anchor

This report describes the primary structure of a rat liver beta-galactoside alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase (EC 2.4.99.1), a Golgi apparatus enzyme involved in the terminal sialylation of N-linked carbohydrate groups of glycoproteins. The complete amino acid sequence was deduced from the nucleotide sequence of cDNA clones of the enzyme. The primary structure suggests that the topology of the enzyme in the Golgi apparatus consists of a short NH2-terminal cytoplasmic domain, a 17-residue hydrophobic sequence which serves as the membrane anchor and signal sequence, and a large lumenal, catalytic domain. NH2-terminal sequence analysis of a truncated form of the enzyme, obtained by purification from tissue homogenates, reveals that it is missing a 63-residue NH2-terminal peptide which includes the membrane binding domain. These and supporting results show that soluble forms of the sialyltransferase can be generated by proteolytic cleavage between the NH2-terminal signal-anchor and the catalytic domain.     

Purification and characterization of 2-alkenal reductase.

The purification of a 2-alkenal reductase to homogeneity from a rat liver 100 000 times g supernatant is described. Its molecular weight has been determined by Sephadex G-100 chromatography and sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis before and after reduction with mercaptoethanol and carboxymethylation. The monometric form has a molecular weight of 45 000. It tends to form, to a very small extent, dimeric and trimeric aggregates of molecular weights 90 000 and 135 000. The isoelectric point (IP) was determined to be 6.2 by isoelectric focusing.     

Properties of cytosolic epoxide hydrolase purified from the liver of untreated and clofibrate-treated mice. Purification procedure and physiochemical characterization of the pure enzymes

Cytosolic epoxide hydrolase was purified from the liver of untreated and clofibrate-treated male C57Bl/6 mice. The purification procedure involves chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, phenyl-Sepharose and hydroxyapatite, takes two days to perform and results in a 120-fold purification and approximately 35% yield of the enzyme from untreated mice. The purified enzyme is a dimer with a molecular mass of 120 kDa, a Stokes' radius of 4.2 nm, a frictional ratio of 1.0 and an isoelectric point of 5.5. The subunits behave identically upon isoelectric focusing in 8 M urea and only one band with a molecular mass of 60 kDa is seen after sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The form purified from clofibrate-treated mice had very similar properties and was apparently identical to the control form as judged by amino acid analysis and peptide mapping as well. These analyses also demonstrated that the cytosolic enzyme is clearly different from microsomal epoxide hydrolase isolated from rat liver. Furthermore, Ouchterlony immunodiffusion using antibodies raised in rabbits towards the control form of cytosolic epoxide hydrolase revealed identity between the two forms of cytosolic epoxide hydrolase, but no reaction with the microsomal epoxide hydrolase was observed. These findings indicate large structural differences between the cytosolic and microsomal forms of epoxide hydrolase in the liver.     

Selective preparation and characterization of membranous and soluble forms of alkaline phosphatase from rat tissues. A comparison with the serum enzyme

We developed a method for selective preparation of two forms of alkaline phosphatase from rat tissues. The enzyme was extracted by n-butanol treatment at pH 5.5 and pH 8.5 as soluble and aggregated (membranous) forms, respectively. The soluble form prepared from liver was found to be identical with the serum enzyme. Complete solubilization of the membrane-bound enzyme without detergents had a great advantage in its purification. Rat hepatoma AH-130 cells enriched in alkaline phosphatase were first used for purification of the liver-type enzyme. The hepatoma enzyme, purified by chromatographies on concanavalin-A-Sepharose, Sephacryl S-300 and hydroxyapatite was used for production of antibodies specific for the liver-type isozyme. An immunoaffinity column, prepared with anti-(hepatoma-enzyme) IgG was utilized for the enzyme purification from other tissues including the membranous form. Analyses of amino acid composition of the purified enzymes revealed that all the liver-type enzymes from hepatoma, liver, kidney and serum had the same composition, whereas the intestinal type consisted of the composition distinctly different from that in the liver type. In addition, there was no significant difference in amino acid composition between the soluble and membranous forms, suggesting a possible involvement in the membranous form of a hydrophobic component other than its polypeptide domain. The present method for selective preparation of the soluble and membranous forms of alkaline phosphatase will be useful for a further investigation on the interaction of the enzyme with membranes.     

Purification of glycogen phosphorylase from small quantities of mouse skeletal muscle

A new approach to the purification of skeletal muscle glycogen phosphorylase is described. The purification scheme is particularly suited to preparation of the enzyme from small amounts of tissue. A combination of dye-ligand chromatography and hydrophobic chromatography yields homogenous enzyme with good recoveries. The purification is rapid and may be completed in a working day.     

Protein disulphide-isomerase of chick-embryo tendon.

Protein disulphide-isomerase can be partially purified from the high-speed-supernatant fraction of extensively disrupted chick-embryo tendon tissue. The catalytic properties of the preparation resemble those of the enzyme from mammalian liver. Gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing show the enzyme to be very acidic, with pI 4.4 +/- 0.3. Gel filtration indicates an Mr for the active enzyme of 140 000. The enzyme can be partially purified by preparative gel filtration or isoelectric focusing, but its limited stability has prevented purification to homogeneity; active fractions from both gel filtration and isoelectric focusing show two major polypeptide components by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The major polypeptides present in partially purified preparations have Mr 45 000 and 55 000; the latter band co-distributes with the enzyme activity in fractionations by both gel filtration and isoelectric focusing. The subcellular location of the enzyme cannot be established from work on homogenates of whole tissue, which are extensively disrupted. In homogenates from isolated tendon cells, the enzyme is located in a vesicle fraction that is excluded from Sepharose 2B but is of low density and can only be sedimented at very high speeds. This fraction is identified as deriving from the endoplasmic reticulum on the grounds of marker-enzyme studies and electron microscopy.     

Plant acyl-CoA oxidase. Purification, characterization, and monomeric apoprotein

Purified glyoxysomes from cotyledons of germinating cucumber seedlings were used as a source to separate matrix enzymes of the organelle by hydrophobic chromatography. Glyoxysomal acyl-CoA oxidase eluted from the column like hydrophobic proteins and exhibited an Mr of 150,000. An oxidase with identical properties could be prepared in large quantities by a purification procedure starting with crude extracts from cotyledons of 4-day-old etiolated seedlings. The purification procedure included chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose and hydroxylapatite and molecular sieving. 1500-fold purification led to an enzyme of apparent homogeneity characterized by a specific activity of 27 units/mg of protein. Plant acyl-CoA oxidase is a homodimer with a subunit of Mr 72,000. Monospecific antibodies raised in rabbits were used to reveal dissimilarity to the fungal oxidase. The plant enzyme also differed markedly in molecular structure and amino acid composition from the liver peroxisomal enzyme. Glyoxysomal acyl-CoA oxidase acts selectively on fatty acyl-CoAs with 16 or 18 C atoms, cis-9-unsaturated esters with a C16 or C18 acyl moiety being converted with higher rates than saturated or polyunsaturated fatty acyl-CoAs. Besides the enzymatically active organellar form of acyl-CoA oxidase, the monomeric apoprotein was detected when short-term labeling of cotyledons in vivo was performed. The apoprotein (immunoprecipitable by antibodies raised against the glyoxysomal enzyme) did not differ in size from the subunit of the glyoxysomal dimeric enzyme.     

Production and Characterization of a New Specific Antiserum Against the Taurine Putative Biosynthetic Enzyme Cysteine Sulfinate Decarboxylase

Abstract: We have shown previously that cysteine sulfinate decarboxylase (CSD), the putative biosynthetic enzyme of taurine in the brain, is identical to the liver enzyme according to biochemical, kinetic, and immunochemical criteria. In the present work, CSD was purified in its native form from rat liver. The purification was performed in eight steps, which included conventional chromatography (diethylaminoethyl cellulose, hydroxylapatite), followed by HPLC (hydrophobic, adsorption, and ion-exchange HPLC). The purification factor was 11,000, and the final yield was around 2%. The procedure led to the enrichment of a protein, the molecular mass of which was 51,000 daltons as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The final fraction was more than 90% homogeneous. By using this fraction as the antigen, an antiserum was raised in rabbit that (a) quantitatively immunoprecipitated CSD activity from liver and brain extract, and (b) immunolabeled one band (51,000 daltons) on immunoblots of partially purified fractions from liver. Enrichment of CSD specific activity and that of the protein immunolabeled by the antiserum for a given step, e.g., hydrophobic HPLC, were consistently parallel. The antiserum was used to carry out CSD immunocytochemistry in cerebellum. Numerous small cells were labeled in the Purkinje cell layer, the granular layer, and the white matter. In the molecular layer, Bergmann radial fibers were im munostained. The Purkinje and stellate cells were devoid of any labeling at the cell body and terminal levels. The antiserum appears to be specific for CSD and suitable for immunocytochemical visualization of CSD in the brain.     

High-performance hydrophobic interaction chromatography: purification of rat liver carbamoylphosphate synthetase I and ornithine transcarbamoylase

The applicability of high-performance hydrophobic interaction chromatography using newly developed silica-based ether-bonded phases is demonstrated in the purification of the rat liver enzymes carbamoylphosphate synthetase I and ornithine transcarbamoylase from crude mitochondrial extracts. As a result of the mild adsorption/elution conditions in this high-performance chromatographic mode, the enzymes are recovered in 20 min with 3- to 15-fold increases in specific activity. Since the enzymes are labile and may aggregate in solution, in one case up to Mr 330,000, this rapid purification demonstrates the potential of hydrophobic interaction chromatography in complex biological systems.     

Multiple Forms of Glutamate Decarboxylase in Porcine Brain

Three forms of glutamate decarboxylase from hog brain (termed α-, ß-, and γ-GAD) were separated by hydrophobic interaction chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose, by isoelectric focusing, and by polyacryl-amide gel electrophoresis. When rechromatographed on phenyl-Sepharose, each form migrated as a single entity, indicating that the forms are not readily interconvertible. The three forms are not different-sized aggregates of one form, since all three have the same approximate molecular weight (100,000) as determined by Sephadex G-200 chromatography. The pIs of the three forms separated by phenyl-Sepharose were determined by isoelectric focusing. The values obtained (5.3, 5.5, and 5.8 for α-, ß-, and γ-GAD, respectively) were comparable to the pIs of the three peaks of activity observed upon focusing of enzyme that had been subjected to phenyl-Sepharose chromatography. These results indicate that phenyl-Sepharose chromatography and isoelectric focusing separate the same three components. When synaptosomal extracts were analyzed by phenyl-Sepharose chromatography without intervening purification steps, all three forms were present, but the proportion of ß-GAD was somewhat higher and that of γ-GAD somewhat lower than in the usual preparations.     

The 165-kDa DNA topoisomerase I from Xenopus laevis oocytes is a tissue-specific variant.

Two forms of topoisomerase I can be purified from Xenopus laevis. A protein with a molecular mass of 165 kDa has been identified as topoisomerase I in ovaries (Richard and Bogenhagen, 1989. J. Biol. Chem. 264, 4704-4709). When a similar purification is performed using liver tissue, topoisomerase I is purified as a 110-kDa protein. Separate rabbit antisera were raised against oocyte and liver topoisomerase I polypeptides. Each antiserum reacts in immunoblotting or immunoprecipitation procedures only with the tissue-specific topoisomerase I polypeptide against which it was generated. The failure of the antiserum raised against liver topoisomerase I to cross-react with the oocyte enzyme suggests that the smaller topoisomerase I is not derived from the 165-kDa oocyte enzyme by proteolysis. X. laevis tissue culture cells lysed and processed in the presence of SDS contain the 110-kDa form of topoisomerase I. The 165-kDa form of topoisomerase I disappears during oocyte maturation in vitro.     

Preparative electrophoretic method for the purification of a hydrophobic membrane protein: subunit c of the mitochondrial ATP synthase from rat liver.

A method is described for the purification of subunit c of ATP synthase from rat liver mitochondria. After sample preparation and solvent extraction, the protein was purified to homogeneity by a single-step preparative electrophoretic procedure, using aqueous buffer and containing lithium dodecyl sulfate. The subunit is an extremely hydrophobic and insoluble protein and all solubilization attempts, using a variety of detergents, were unsuccessful except for lithium dodecyl sulfate. Buffer exchange and FPLC gel filtration removed the detergent from the purified sample, leaving the protein in a soluble form. The mammalian protein is composed of 75 amino acid residues, with a molecular mass of 7602 Da and is classified as a proteolipid. Subunit c accounts for 25 and 85% of the intralysosomal accumulation, within neurons, of storage material in juvenile and late-infantile forms of Batten's disease, respectively. This purification procedure allows access to a continuous supply of pure subunit c from a conventional source such as rat liver and preserves precious autopsy materials. The protein could be used as substrate in future proteolytic studies involving pepstatin-insensitive lysosomal proteases and for raising of more specific antibodies. The procedure could also be adapted/modified and used as a model for purifying other extremely insoluble proteins.     

Advances in the Purification of the Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uniporter Using the Labeled Inhibitor 103Ru360

For many years the calcium uniporter has eluded attempts of purification, partly because of the difficulties inherent in the purification of low-abundance hydrophobic proteins (Reed and Bygrave, 1974). Liquid-phase preparative isoelectric focusing improved the fractionation of mitochondrial membrane proteins. A single 6-h run resulted in a 90-fold increase in specific activity of pooled active fractions over a semipurified fraction, allowing for enrichment of the calcium transport function in cytochrome oxidase vesicles. An additional powerful tool in the isolation of the uniporter was the use of the labeled inhibitor ¹⁰³Ru₃₆₀ as an affinity ligand; by following this procedure a protein of 18 kDa was purified in nondenatured, but rather inactive, form. The labeled protein corresponds to the protein that showed Ca²⁺ transport activity.     

Purification and characterization of two isofunctional forms of NAD(P)H: quinone reductase from mouse liver

NAD(P)H:(quinone-acceptor) oxidoreductase (EC 1.6.99.2) is a widely distributed enzyme which promotes two-electron reductions of quinones and thereby protects cells against damage by reactive oxygen species generated during oxidative cycling of quinones and semiquinone radicals. Quinone reductase activity represents a minor component (about 0.006%) of mouse liver cytosolic proteins under basal (uninduced) conditions. Two isofunctional forms of this quinone reductase have been purified to homogeneity (1700-fold) in 30% yield from the liver cytosols of female CD-1 mice in which the enzymes were induced by administration of 2(3)-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole. The purification involved ion exchange, hydrophobic, and affinity chromatographies. The two enzyme forms have been designated "hydrophilic" and "hydrophobic" based on the order of elution from phenyl-Sepharose. The more abundant hydrophilic form has been crystallized in the presence of FAD in the form of macroscopic tetragonal crystals. The two forms have similar isoelectric points (pI 9.2) and subunit molecular weights (Mr = 30,000) and probably exist as dimers in the native state. Purified preparations of the enzymes are equiactive with NADH and NADPH and show almost complete dependence on added FAD for catalytic activity. The Km values for FAD of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic forms are 2.72 and 1.72 nM, respectively. Their catalytic activities are the same and are remarkably high for nicotinamide nucleotide-linked dehydrogenases; maximum velocities (expressed per mg of pure enzyme) approach 4000 units/mg of protein under appropriate assay conditions. When menadione is the electron acceptor, the Km value for this quinone is very low (Km congruent to 2 microM). Both enzyme forms are potently inhibited by dicoumarol. Rabbit antisera against the hydrophilic quinone reductase precipitate quantitatively the entire quinone reductase activity of mouse liver cytosols obtained from animals maintained on a standard diet or those induced with 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole. The quinone reductase activity of rat liver cytosols is also quantitatively precipitated by this antiserum.     

Purification and chemical characterization of papain-solubilized histocompatibility-2 antigens from mouse liver.

A large scale purification of histocompatibility-2 (H-2) antigens from mouse liver is described. The antigens were solubilized by a limited papain digestion of a crude preparation of liver membranes (strain A/J) and purified by ion exchange chromatography, gel filtration, affinity chromatography, and isoelectric focusing. The overall degree of purification of H-2Kk was 1,300-fold and that of H-2Dd was 1,500-fold; approximately 8 mg of purified H-2a antigens were obtained from 1 kg of liver. The purification was followed by a sensitive radioimmunoassay in which H-2a-containing fractions were used to inhibit the binding of 125I-labeled H-2a to appropriate antisera. H-2Dd and H-2Kk co-purified through all the steps but the concentration of H-2Kk was 2- to 3-fold higher than that of H-2Dd in the liver homogenate as well as in the purified H-2 preparation. beta 2-microglobulin was initially present in a 3- to 10-fold excess over H-2 in the liver homogenate, but the purified H-2 preparation contained approximately 2 mol of alloantigenic heavy chain/mol of beta 2-microglobulin. Isoelectric focusing and disc-gel electrophoresis showed a charge heterogeneity of H-2, with a mean isoelectric point of pH 4.9. Electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels showed one band. Denaturing conditions were required to remove beta 2-microglobulin and small amounts of impurities from H-2. The amino acid sequence of the first 27 residues of the isolated heavy chains was determined.     

Protein binding to polymer brush,based on ion-exchange,hydrophobic, and affinity interactions

The major limitations associated with conventional packed bed chromatography for protein separation and purification can be overcome by using adsorptive microporous membranes as chromatographic media. Microporous membranes have advantages as support matrices in comparison to conventional bead supports because they are not compressible and they eliminate diffusion limitations. As a result, higher throughput and shorter processing times are possible using these membrane systems. In this paper, we review the current state of development in the area of attaching functionalized polymer brushes onto a microporous membrane to form a novel chromatographic medium for protein separation and purification. The functionalized polymer brushes were appended onto the pore surface of a microporous hollow-fiber membrane uniformly across the membrane thickness by radiation-induced graft polymerization and subsequent chemical modifications. We review various applications of this adsorptive membrane chromatography by focusing on polymer brushes bearing ion-exchange, hydrophobic and affinity groups. Proteins were captured in multilayers by the ion-exchange group-containing polymer brushes due to the formation of a three-dimensional space for protein binding via the electrostatic repulsion of the polymer brushes. In contrast, proteins were captured in a monolayer at most by the polymer brushes containing hydrophobic or affinity ligands. By permeating a protein solution through the pores rimmed by the polymer brushes, an ideal capturing rate of the proteins with a negligible diffusional mass-transfer resistance was achieved by the functionalized polymer brushes, based on ion-exchange, hydrophobic, and affinity interactions.