Purification of the constituent enzyme fractions of mycobacillin synthetase.

The final purification of the three-fraction enzyme complex mycobacillin synthetase was done by hydroxyapatite column chromatography and sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation; each of the fractions obtained migrates as a single component in SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and gel electrofocusing. The Mr of the enzyme fractions A, B and C by gel filtration is 260 000, 190 000 and 105 000, and that by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis is 252 000, 198 000 and 108 000 respectively. None of the enzyme fractions appears to possess subunit structure.     

Preliminary evidence for a processing error in the biosynthesis of Gaucher activator in mucolipidosis disease types II and III.

Activator protein (AP), which stimulated fibroblast sphingomyelinase activity, was isolated from the spleen of a patient with Gaucher's disease type I by the combined techniques of heat and alcohol denaturation, DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, gel filtration, preparative polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and decyl-agarose chromatography. Urea/sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis showed two bands, one with an Mr of approx. 3,000 and the other with an Mr of 5,000-6,500. Similarly, SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis performed in the absence of urea revealed the presence of two components, one of which adsorbed to a concanavalin A (Con A) column. Both components stimulated sphingomyelinase activity. On a non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel containing Triton X-100, four major components, two of which bound to Con A, were detected with the dye Stains-All. Cross-reacting material (CRM) to polyclonal Gaucher spleen AP antibodies was detected in normal fibroblasts and in fibroblasts from patients with sphingomyelinase and beta-glucocerebrosidase deficiency states (Niemann-Pick and Gaucher's diseases respectively). CRM in normal fibroblasts adsorbed to Con A columns and had the same mobility on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis as Con A-adsorbing Gaucher spleen AP. Normal AP was not observed in mucolipidosis type II (I-cell disease) fibroblasts; instead, extracts from these cells revealed the presence of two closely migrating bands with higher Mr values than normal fibroblast CRM. Furthermore, extracts of media from I-cell fibroblast cultures, but not from control or Gaucher fibroblast cultures, contained AP activity towards sphingomyelinase and beta-glucocerebrosidase. Fibroblasts from a patient with mucolipidosis type III (pseudo-Hurler polydystrophy) showed an intermediate pattern consisting of normal as well as the higher-Mr CRM. Our data provide evidence for the existence of AP in cultured skin fibroblasts and suggest that these proteins may be targetted to the lysosome by post-translational modification in a similar manner to that reported for lysosomal enzymes.     

Biosynthesis of intestinal microvillar proteins. Translational evidence in vitro that aminopeptidase N is synthesized as a Mr-115000 polypeptide.

A crude RNA fraction, prepared from pig small intestine, was found to be more efficient than a fraction enriched in polyadenylated RNA in directing translation of polypeptides with Mr greater than 100000 in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system. Aminopeptidase N (EC 3.4.11.2) synthesized in vitro was immunopurified from the translation mixture and analysed by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. It was found to have an apparent Mr of 115000 regardless of whether the translation was performed in the absence or presence of proteinase inhibitors. This result contradicts the possibility of aminopeptidase N being synthesized as a large single-chain precursor polypeptide.     

Molecular forms of myeloperoxidase in human plasma.

A radioimmunoassay for myeloperoxidase was established with the use of affinity-purified anti-(human myeloperoxidase) immunoglobulins. By the use of ion-exchange followed by immunoaffinity chromatography a preparation of immunoreactive, catalytically active myeloperoxidase was obtained from fresh human plasma. In non-denaturing gel electrophoresis, the plasma preparation showed about four catalytically active components of mobility very similar to that of the granulocyte enzyme. SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis combined with protein blotting showed that the two polypeptides of strongest antigenicity in the plasma preparation corresponded in Mr to the large and the small subunits of the granulocyte enzyme. In addition, the plasma preparation contained a higher-Mr immunoreactive polypeptide, possibly a precursor form of the enzyme, together with another of Mr similar to that of the large subunit of eosinophil peroxidase.     

A new form of ferritin heterogeneity explained. Isolation and identification of a nineteen-amino-acid-residue fragment from siderosomal ferritin of rat liver.

Ferritin present within siderosomes of iron-loaded rats has a faster anodal mobility than that of cytosolic ferritin from the same rats. A 19-amino-acid-residue peptide was isolated from this fast ferritin and shown to be derived from the C-terminal end of its L-subunit. A 17.3 kDa peptide seen on electrophoresis in denaturing gels of this ferritin accounts for the major portion of the original 182-residue subunit. The two peptides arise from cleavage within the 'insertion region' of the L-subunit sequence that occurs between the D and E helices and lies on the outside of the assembled molecule. This cleavage is present in about 80% of the L-subunits of siderosomal ferritin but nevertheless leaves the molecular structure otherwise intact. It gives rise to an apparent decrease in molecular size, accounting for the faster anodal mobility on native gels. Hence a new form of heterogeneity in ferritin preparations has been explained.     

Variation in the distribution of two human heart ferritin species. Isoferritin profile and subunit composition in normal and iron-overloaded subjects.

On polyacrylamide slab electrophoresis two ferritin species, termed fast and slow, were present in three control and four iron-loaded human hearts. The ratio of the fast to slow species varied between hearts and correlated with the distribution of isoferritins, which had pI values ranging from 4.8 to 5.6. The acidic isoferritins were prominent in all hearts, but one control and the four iron-loaded hearts contained, in addition, basic isoferritins. All ferritins were composed of two subunits, an acidic H type and a more basic HL type, which was the main subunit in normal liver. Hearts with the highest proportions of acidic isoferritin contained the highest proportion of the H subunit.     

The purification and characterization of 3-dehydroquinase from Streptomyces coelicolor.

The enzyme 3-dehydroquinase was purified over 4000-fold to homogeneity from Streptomyces coelicolor. The subunit Mr estimated from polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of SDS was 16,000. The native Mr estimated by gel filtration on a Superose 6 column was 209,000, indicating that the enzyme is a large oligomer. The enzyme was found to be extremely thermostable. This stability, along with the structural and kinetic properties of the enzyme, suggest that it is very similar to the quinate-inducible 3-dehydroquinase found in Neurospora crassa and Aspergillus nidulans. This similarity was confirmed by direct N-terminal sequencing.     

Purification and characterization of biotin-binding protein II from chicken oocytes.

BBP-II, the major biotin-binding protein from chicken oocytes, was purified 12,000-fold with a 22% yield. The purification procedure includes butan-1-ol extraction of yolk lipids, phosphocellulose chromatography of the water-soluble proteins, DEAE-cellulose chromatography at pH 7.4 and hydroxyapatite column chromatography. Final purification was obtained by using a second DEAE-cellulose column chromatography at pH 6.0. BBP-I activity separated from BBP-II activity during elution from the first DEAE-cellulose column. Purified BBP-II was homogeneous on both polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis under conditions that would detect a 1% impurity. The subunit Mr determined from SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis was 18,200 (72,600 for tetramer), which compares favourably with an Mr value of 17,300 (69,100) calculated from the amino acid analysis. A single precipitin line formed when rabbit antiserum to the protein was directed against a crude chicken egg-yolk sample. BBP-II purified by this procedure lacked carbohydrate and phosphate, was stable indefinitely when frozen, and was quite stable at room temperature. The N-terminal amino acid sequence showed polymorphism at three positions in the first 23 residues and was about 45% identical with the N-terminal 22 residues of avidin. Antiserum to BBP-II cross-reacted with BBP-I and similar proteins in the yolk of eggs from various birds and alligator as judged by immunodiffusion and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. No cross-reaction was observed with chicken egg-white by either of these methods.     

Purification and characterization of a high-Mr carbonic anhydrase from sheep parotid gland.

Approximately half the carbonic anhydrase activity of sheep parotid-gland homogenate is derived from a high-Mr protein [Fernley, Wright & Coghlan (1979) FEBS Lett. 105, 299-302]. This enzyme has now been purified to homogeneity, and its properties were compared with those of the well-characterized sheep carbonic anhydrase II. The protein has an apparent Mr of 540,000 as measured by gel filtration under non-denaturing conditions and an apparent subunit Mr of 45,000 as measured by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. After deglycosylation with the enzyme N-glycanase the protein migrates with an apparent Mr of 36,000 on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The CO2-hydrating activity was 340 units/mg compared with 488 units/mg for sheep carbonic anhydrase II measured under identical conditions. This enzyme does not, however, hydrolyse p-nitrophenyl acetate. The enzyme contains 0.8 g-atom of zinc/mol of protein subunit. The peptide maps of the two carbonic anhydrases differ significantly from one another, indicating they are not related closely structurally. Unlike the carbonic anhydrase II isoenzyme, which has a blocked N-terminus, the high-Mr enzyme has a free glycine residue at its N-terminus.     

Co2+-mediated time- and temperature-dependent activation of neutral alpha-D-mannosidase from monkey brain.

Neutral alpha-D-mannosidase from monkey brain was purified by Co2+-chelate affinity chromatography and immunoadsorbent affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme, with subunit Mr 45,000, was essentially homogeneous with only traces of two contaminant proteins as revealed by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and AgNO3 staining. The purified enzyme, on preincubation with Co2+ at 37 degrees C or 60 degrees C followed by assay, showed a time-dependent enhancement in activity. The enhanced activity of the enzyme persisted even after removal of the Co2+. Bacitracin could partially prevent the activation. An aminopeptidase activity that was stimulated by Co2+ both at 37 degrees C and at 60 degrees C was present in the purified enzyme. After preincubation of the enzyme with Co2+ there was evidence for the release of amino acids, as revealed by t.l.c., but the Mr determined by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis was not appreciably altered. It is suggested that a Co2+-stimulated thermostable aminopeptidase, inseparable from the neutral mannosidase, may be involved in the stimulation of neutral mannosidase activity during its preincubation with Co2+.     

Purification and characterization of 3-dehydroquinase from Escherichia coli.

A procedure has been developed for the purification of 3-dehydroquinase from Escherichia coli. Homogeneous enzyme with specific activity 163 units/mg of protein was obtained in 19% overall yield. The subunit Mr estimated from polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate was 29,000. The native Mr, estimated by gel permeation chromatography on Sephacryl S-200 (superfine) and on TSK G3000SW, was in the range 52,000-58,000, indicating that the enzyme is dimeric. The catalytic properties of the enzyme have been determined and shown to be very similar to those of the biosynthetic 3-dehydroquinase component of the arom multifunctional enzyme of Neurospora crassa.     

Quaternary structure of erythrocruorin from the nematode Ascaris suum. Evidence for unsaturated haem-binding sites.

The quaternary structure of erythrocruorin from the nematode Ascaris suum was studied. The native protein had a sedimentation coefficient, at a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml, of 11.6 +/- 0.3 S and an Mr, as determined by sedimentation equilibrium, of 332,000 +/- 17,000. SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis gave one band with a mobility corresponding to an Mr of 43,000 +/- 2000. The Mr of the polypeptide chain was determined to be 41,600 +/- 1,500 by sedimentation equilibrium in 6 M-guanidinium chloride and 0.1 M-2-mercaptoethanol. Cross-linking with glutaraldehyde followed by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis yielded a maximal number of eight bands. The haem content of Ascaris erythrocruorin was observed to vary from one preparation to another. This finding was shown to be due to non-realization of the full binding capacity for haem. By titration with haemin, the haem content was found to attain a maximal value of 2.86 +/- 0.14%, corresponding to a minimal Mr per haem group of 21,000 +/- 1,000. Our findings indicate that Ascaris suum erythrocruorin is composed of eight identical polypeptide chains, carrying two haem sites each.     

cDNA cloning and in vitro synthesis of the Dolichos biflorus seed lectin

The Dolichos biflorus seed lectin contains two structurally related subunits. A cDNA library was constructed using RNA isolated from D. biflorus seeds actively synthesizing the seed lectin. The library was expressed in Escherichia coli using a lambda Charon 16 vector, and lectin-specific antiserum was used to isolate a seed lectin cDNA. Hybridization of the D. biflorus seed lectin cDNA to RNA isolated from seeds actively producing both lectin subunits identifies a single-size RNA of 1100 bases. An oligodeoxyribonucleotide probe, constructed from an amino acid sequence common to both lectin subunits, detects the same size RNA. Translation of seed mRNA in vitro and immunoprecipitation of translation products using a lectin-specific antiserum yields a single polypeptide of slightly higher molecular mass than the largest seed lectin subunit. This seed lectin precursor is indistinguishable from a polypeptide synthesized from mRNA hybrid selected by the seed lectin cDNA. These data support the existence of a single polypeptide precursor for both subunit types of the D. biflorus seed lectin and suggest that differences between the subunit types arise by posttranslational processing.     

Characterization and localization of human placental ferritin.

Ferritin has been purified from normal full-term human placentae and its antigenic and molecular characteristics compared with adult liver ferritin. Placental ferritin is composed predominantly of a single subunit type, co-migrating with a liver ferritin standard on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Comparison of dose-response curves in an immunoradiometric assay indicated some tissue-specific antigenicity for placental ferritin. This was supported by immunofluorescence studies on cryostat sections of human placentae by using antibodies to placental and spleen ferritin. Specific staining for placental ferritin was demonstrated within placental syncytiotrophoblast, particularly localized towards the microvillus plasma membrane. Ferritin has also been shown by electrophoretic and antigenic analysis to be present in protein fractions solubilized from isolated human syncytiotrophoblast microvillus plasma-membrane preparations, suggesting that ferritin may play an active role in the transfer of iron from maternal transferrin across the syncytiotrophoblast plasma membrane.     

Purification and characterization of rat liver glycosylasparaginase.

1. Rat liver glycosylasparaginase [N4-(beta-N-acetylglucosaminyl)-L-asparaginase, EC 3.5.1.26] was purified to homogeneity by using salt fractionation, CM-cellulose and DEAE-cellulose chromatography, gel filtration on Ultrogel AcA-54, concanavalin A-Sepharose affinity chromatography, heat treatment at 70 degrees C and preparative SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme had a specific activity of 3.8 mumol of N-acetylglucosamine/min per mg with N4-(beta-N-acetylglucosaminyl)-L-asparagine as substrate. 2. The native enzyme had a molecular mass of 49 kDa and was composed of two non-identical subunits joined by strong non-covalent forces and having molecular masses of 24 and 20 kDa as determined by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 3. The 20 kDa subunit contained one high-mannose-type oligosaccharide chain, and the 24 kDa subunit had one high-mannose-type and one complex-type oligosaccharide chain. 4. N-Terminal sequence analysis of each subunit revealed a frayed N-terminus of the 24 kDa subunit and an apparent N-glycosylation of Asn-15 in the same subunit. 5. The enzyme exhibited a broad pH maximum above 7. Two major isoelectric forms were found at pH 6.4 and 6.6. 6. Glycosylasparaginase was stable at 75 degrees C and in 5% (w/v) SDS at pH 7.0.     

Two low-molecular-weight Ca2+-binding proteins isolated from squid optic lobe by phenothiazine--Sepharose affinity chromatography.

We have isolated two Ca2+-binding proteins from squid optic lobes, each of which is also able to bind phenothiazines in a Ca2+-dependent manner. These proteins have each been purified and partly characterized. One of the proteins corresponds to calmodulin, in that it has a similar amino acid content to bovine brain calmodulin, including a single residue of trimethyl-lysine, it co-migrates with bovine calmodulin both on alkaline-urea- and on sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, and will activate calmodulin-dependent phosphodiesterase. The second protein has the same subunit molecular weight as calmodulin, as determined by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, Mr 17 000, but migrates more slowly than this protein on alkaline-urea-gel electrophoresis. It has an amino acid composition distinct from calmodulin, containing no trimethyl-lysine, its CNBr fragments migrate on alkaline gels in a pattern distinct from those of calmodulin and it shows little ability to activate phosphodiesterase. The u.v.-absorption spectra of the proteins indicate the absence of tryptophan and the presence of a high phenylalanine/tyrosine ratio in each. Both proteins also bind 3-4 calcium ions/mol at 0.1 mM-free Ca2+ and each binds chlorpromazine in a Ca2+-dependent manner.     

Oxidative radioiodination damage to human lactoferrin.

Oxidative iodination of human lactoferrin (Lf) as commonly performed by using the chloramine-T, the Iodogen or the lactoperoxidase method produces an unreliable tracer protein because of excessive and heterogeneous polymer formation. Before iodination a minor tetramer fraction may be demonstrable in iron-saturated Lf only. Iodination-induced polymerization of iron-poor as well as iron-saturated Lf occurs independently of the presence or absence of 10 mM-EDTA and the 125I-/Lf molar ratio used for iodination. 125I-Lf polymers are mainly covalently linked, as suggested by the lack of substantial dissociation in SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Damage to the 125I-Lf monomer may be another consequence of oxidative iodination. This is demonstrated in SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis where 50% of the radioactivity of apparently normal monomer (Mr 75,000) is displaced to a lower-Mr region (30,000-67,000) after reduction with dithiothreitol. Non-oxidative iodination by the Bolton-Hunter technique produces an antigenetically stable tracer that is not being subjected to polymerization and monomer degradation as judged by high-performance gel chromatography and SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis with and without dithiothreitol treatment. It is concluded that oxidation in itself leads to covalent non-disulphide cross-linking between human Lf molecules and, possibly, to intramolecular peptide-bond breaking becoming unmasked under reducing conditions. In biological experiments with human 125I-Lf this problem should be carefully considered.     

Characterization of cytoplasmic and chloroplast 5S ribosomal ribonucleic acid from broad-bean leaves

Green leaves of the broad bean (Vicia faba) contain two 5S RNA components that can be separated from each other by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The major component is located in the larger subunit of cytoplasmic ribosomes, whereas the minor component occurs in the larger subunit of chloroplast ribosomes. Their electrophoretic mobilities relative to those of Escherichia coli 5S RNA (120 nucleotides) and plant 4S RNA (78 nucleotides) suggest that they consist of 118 and 122 nucleotide residues respectively. Thermal ;melting' profiles of plant cytoplasmic and chloroplast 5S RNA species at 260nm indicate the similarity of their secondary structures, not only to each other, but also to those of E. coli and mammalian 5S RNA species. The base compositions of the two plant 5S RNA species have more in common with each other than with the corresponding molecules from either E. coli or mammalian cells.     

Rat liver uroporphyrinogen III synthase has similar properties to the enzyme from Euglena gracilis, including absence of a requirement for a reversibly bound cofactor for activity.

Uroporphyrinogen III synthase purified from rat liver is a monomer of Mr 36,000 by gel filtration and 28,000 by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The enzyme exists in two interconvertible forms separable on h.p.l.c. Both forms of the enzyme could be renatured with full activity after SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, demonstrating the absence of a reversibly bound cofactor. The enzyme activity could be inhibited by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate in the absence and in the presence of NaBH4, consistent with (an) essential lysine residue(s). The enzyme thus shows great similarity to that from Euglena gracilis.