Purification and characterization of a high molecular weight phosphoprotein phosphatase from rabbit liver

A high molecular weight phosphoprotein phosphatase was purified from rabbit liver using high speed centrifugation, acid precipitation, ammonium sulfate fractionation, chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, Sepharose-histone, and Bio-Gel A-0.5m. The purified enzyme showed a single band on a nondenaturing polyacrylamide anionic disc gel which was associated with the enzyme activity. The enzyme was made up of equimolar concentrations of two subunits whose molecular weights were 58,000 (range 58,000-62,000) and 35,000 (range 35,000-38,000). Two other polypeptides (Mr 76,000 and 27,000) were also closely associated with our enzyme preparation, but their roles, if any, in phosphatase activity are not known. The optimum pH for the reaction was 7.5-8.0. Km value of phosphoprotein phosphatase for phosphorylase a was 0.10-0.12 mg/ml. Freezing and thawing of the enzyme in the presence of 0.2 M beta-mercaptoethanol caused an activation (100-140%) of phosphatase activity with a concomitant partial dissociation of the enzyme into a Mr 35,000 catalytic subunit. Divalent cations (Mg2+, Mn2+, and Co2+) and EDTA were inhibitory at concentrations higher than 1 mM. Spermine and spermidine were also found to be inhibitory at 1 mM concentrations. The enzyme was inhibited by nucleotides (ATP, ADP, AMP), PPi, Pi, and NaF; the degree of inhibition was different with each compound and was dependent on their concentrations employed in the assay. Among various types of histones examined, maximum activation of phosphoprotein phosphatase activity was observed with type III and type V histone (Sigma). Further studies with type III histone indicated that it increased both the Km for phosphorylase a and the Vmax of the dephosphorylation reaction. Purified liver phosphatase, in addition to the dephosphorylation of phosphorylase a, also catalyzed the dephosphorylation of 32P-labeled phosphorylase kinase, myosin light chain, myosin, histone III-S, and myelin basic protein. The effects of Mn2+, KCl, and histone III-S on phosphatase activity were variable depending on the substrate used.     

Molecular organization of a high molecular weight multi-protease complex from rat liver

A latent multifunctional protease with a molecular weight of 722,000 to 760,000 purified from rat liver cytosol has been reported. This paper reports on the structure and subunit composition of the enzyme. Electron microscopy showed that the enzyme was a ring-shaped particle of 160(+/- 7) A diameter and 110(+/- 10) A height with a small hole of 10 to 30 A diameter (1 A = 0.1 nm). Small-angle X-ray scattering analysis indicated that the enzyme had a prolate ellipsoidal structure with an ellipsoid cavity in the center. The maximum dimension of the enzyme was estimated to be 210 A from a pair-distance distribution function. The radius of gyration obtained from a Guinier plot and the Stokes radius based on the ellipsoidal model were 66 A and 76 A, respectively. On two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, the purified enzyme separated into 13 to 15 characteristic components with molecular weights of 22,000 to 33,000 and isoelectric points of 4 to 9. These multiple components were not artifacts produced by limited proteolysis during purification of the enzyme, because the cell-free translation products in a reticulocyte lysate with poly(A)-mRNA of rat liver consisted of multiple components of similar sizes, and because peptide mapping analyses with lysylendopeptidase and V8 protease demonstrated clear differences in the primary structures of these components. The 13 main components were isolated from the purified enzyme by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography and shown to be non-identical. A model of the enzyme is proposed on the basis of these observations and previous physicochemical studies. Interestingly, the morphology of this protease is similar to that of the 16 to 22 S ring-shaped particles found in a variety of eukaryotic organisms. The structural similarity between this multi-protease complex and various reported subcellular particles is discussed.     

Expression and characterization of a recombinant yeast isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase

We describe the heterologous expression of a recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IRS) gene in Escherichia coli, as well as the purification and characterization of the recombinant gene product. High level expression of the yeast isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase gene was facilitated by site-specific mutagenesis. The putative ribosome-binding site of the yeast IRS gene was made to be the consensus of many highly expressed genes of E. coli. Mutagenesis simultaneously created a unique BclI restriction site such that the gene coding region could be conveniently subcloned as a "cassette." The variant gene was cloned into the expression vector pKK223-3 (Brosius, J., and Holy, A. (1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 6929-6933) thereby creating the plasmid pKR4 in which yeast IRS expression is under the control of the isopropyl-thio-beta-galactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible tac promoter. Recombinant yeast IRS, on the order of 10 mg/liter of cell culture, was purified from pKR4-infected and IPTG-induced E. coli strain TG2. Yeast IRS was purified to homogeneity by a combination of anion-exchange and hydroxyapatite gel chromatography. Inhibition of yeast IRS activity by the antibiotic pseudomonic acid A was tested. The yeast IRS enzyme was found to be 10(4) times less sensitive to inhibition by pseudomonic acid A (Ki = 1.5 x 10(-5) M) than the E. coli enzyme. E. coli strain TG2 infected with pKR4, and induced with IPTG, had a plating efficiency of 100% at inhibitor concentrations in excess of 25 micrograms/ml. At the same concentration of pseudomonic acid A, E. coli strain TG2 infected with pKK223-3 had a plating efficiency less than 1%. The ability of yeast IRS to rescue E. coli from pseudomonic acid A suggests that the eukaryotic synthetase has full activity in its prokaryotic host and has specificity for E. coli tRNA(ile).     

Purification and characterization of a family of high molecular weight surface-array proteins from Campylobacter fetus

A variety of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria possess crystalline surface layers, although little is known of their function. We previously have shown that the high molecular weight surface-array proteins of Campylobacter fetus are important in both the pathogenicity and antigenicity of this organism. For biochemical and immunological characterization, we purified high molecular weight (100,000, 127,000, 149,000) surface-array proteins from three C. fetus strains using sequential gel filtration and ion exchange high performance liquid chromatography. These proteins are acidic with pI values between 4.12 and 4.25 and contain large proportions of acidic amino acids (19.7%-22.0%) in addition to hydrophobic amino acids (37.3%-38.5%). They share a novel amino-terminal sequence through at least 19 residues. Carbohydrate analysis using periodic acid-Schiff staining and treatment with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid shows no evidence of glycosylation. Antiserum to a purified Mr = 100,000 protein from C. fetus 82-40 LP cross-reacts with three other purified C. fetus surface-array proteins by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with titers greater than 12,800. We conclude that: 1) there is a family of surface-array proteins of C. fetus with common structural and antigenic characteristics; 2) that these molecules have similar biochemical characteristics to surface-array proteins described for other bacteria; but however, 3) by amino-terminal sequence analysis these are unique.     

Purification and characterization of a high molecular weight type 1 phosphoprotein phosphatase from the human erythrocyte

The major Mn2+-activated phosphoprotein phosphatase of the human erythrocyte has been purified to homogeneity from the cell hemolysate. It is sensitive to both inhibitors 1 and 2 of rabbit skeletal muscle, preferentially dephosphorylates the beta subunit of the phosphorylase kinase, and dephosphorylates a broad range of substrates including phosphorylase a, p-nitro-phenyl phosphate, phosphocasein, the regulatory subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, and both spectrin (Km = 10 microM) and pyruvate kinase (Km = 18 microM) purified from the human erythrocyte. The purified enzyme is stimulated by Mn2+ and to a lesser extent by higher concentrations of Mg2+. The purification procedure was selected to avoid any change in molecular weight, hence subunit composition, between the crude and purified enzyme. Maintenance of the original structure is demonstrated by non-denaturing gel electrophoresis and gel filtration chromatography. Gel filtration of the purified holoenzyme shows a single active component with a Stokes radius of 58 A at a molecular weight position of 180,000. Sedimentation velocity in a glycerol gradient gives a value of 6.1 for S20, w. Together these data indicate a molecular weight of about 135,000. Two bands of equal intensity appear on sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis at molecular weights of 61,700 and 36,300, suggesting a subunit composition of two 36,000 and one 62,000 subunits. The 36-kDa catalytic subunit can be isolated by freezing and thawing the holoenzyme or by hydrophobic chromatography of the holoenzyme. The catalytic subunit shows unchanged substrate and inhibitor specificity but altered metal ion activation.     

Purification and characterization of a high molecular weight proteinase (macropain) from human erythrocytes

An alkaline proteinase, previously identified in rat liver and heart, has been purified from the soluble fraction of human erythrocytes. The proteinase has an apparent molecular weight of 600 000 and is composed of eight subunits with molecular weights ranging from 32 000 to 21 000. The proteinase degrades both protein and synthetic peptide substrates with a broad pH optimum of 7.5-11.0. Among the synthetic peptides tested, tripeptides with arginine at the P1 position (e.g. Z-Val-Leu-Arg-4-methoxy-2-napthylamine and Boc-Leu-Gly-Arg-4-methylcoumarin-7-amide) are particularly good substrates. The proteinase appears to be sulfhydryl-dependent and is inhibited completely by mersalyl acid and by hemin; inhibitors of serine and metallo-type proteinases have no effect on proteinase activity. Interestingly, a variety of other proteinase inhibitors such as leupeptin, chymostatin and N-ethylmaleimide failed to completely inhibit protein-hydrolyzing activities of the enzyme. These results indicate that these activities may be accounted for by at least two different catalytic sites. Proteinase activity is stable in the presence of 1 M urea, 0.5% Triton X-100 or 0.03% SDS and is not affected by ATP. Based on the high molecular weight and sulfhydryl-dependence, we have named this proteinase macropain.     

Purification and characterization of a high molecular weight eosinophil chemotactic factor from Schistosoma japonicum eggs

A high m.w. eosinophil chemotactic factor (ECF-SjE) was isolated and purified from a soluble egg antigen preparation (SEA) of Schistosoma japonicum by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200, anion-exchange chromatography on DE52, and isoelectric focusing. ECF-SjE had a m.w. of more than 900,000 and an isoelectric point of 4.1. It contained 40% (w/w) sugar residues and bound to concanavalin A (Con A). The chemotactic activity of ECF-SjE was heat stable (100 degrees C, 60 min) and resistant to pronase digestion, but was destroyed by periodate oxidation. IgG antibody to ECF-SjE was detected in the serum of a rabbit infected with S. japonicum, demonstrating the antigenic nature of ECF-SjE. The antigenicity of ECF-SjE was also sensitive to periodate oxidation. Thus, ECF-SjE is a glycoprotein or proteoglycan from the eggs of S. japonicum, and the sugar chain is important for the expression of chemotactic and antigenic activities. However ECF-SjE differs from the major allergenic components of S. japonicum (JEAL) in m.w. and isoelectric point. A low m.w. eosinophil chemotactic factor was also detected in SEA. Together they are proposed to have a role in the direct accumulation of eosinophils in the egg-induced granulomas in S. japonicum infection.     

Purification and characterization of a broad specificity beta-glucosidase from sheep liver

1. A soluble beta-glucosidase from sheep liver has been isolated and purified 114-fold by conventional enzyme fractionation procedures. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was 5910 mU/mg of protein. 2. The enzyme has a broad specificity and hydrolyzes the p-nitrophenyl derivatives of beta-D-glucose, beta-D-galactose, beta-D-fucose, beta-D-xylose and alpha-L-arabinose. The best Vmax/Km value corresponds to the beta-glucosidase activity. 3. The enzyme has a pH optimum between 4.5-5.5 for all the activities, and mol. wt 95,000. 4. A variety of chemicals was tested as possible activators or inhibitors. 5. The enzyme is strongly inhibited by aldono 1-5 lactones and DMDP. 6. The kinetic evidences suggest a substrate activation model and the existence of two active sites (a "gluco-fuco" site and a "galacto" site). 7. The activation energies were calculated from beta-glucosidase and beta-galactosidase activities.     

Purification of valyl-tRNA synthetase high-molecular-mass complex from rabbit liver

A high-molecular-mass complex containing valyl-tRNA synthetase has been purified to homogeneity from rabbit liver. The molecular mass of the complex is about 800 kDa. The complex consists of four polypeptides of 130, 50, 40 and 30 kDa.     

Purification and general characterization of FAD synthetase from rat liver

Flavin adenine dinucleotide synthetase (ATP:FMN adenylyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.2) has been enriched more extensively than previously from fresh rat liver. For this, 10% homogenates in sucrose-phosphate buffer were treated with 0.1% Tween-20 prior to high-speed centrifugation to obtain soluble proteins. Those precipitated by 40% saturation with ammonium sulfate were subjected to stepwise addition of calcium phosphate gel to remove pyrophosphatase, and the remaining synthetase was further enriched by passage through a tricalcium phosphate column. An apparent yield of greater than 70% and purification over 70-fold was achieved from the high-speed supernatant fraction. The synthetase activity in solution at 4 degrees was largely lost within a week unless protected by thiols which could partly restore inactivated enzyme. The pH optimum for synthetase activity is near 7.7 when assayed with suitable concentrations of FMN, ATP, and Mg2+. Purified enzyme could be separated into lower (140,000) and higher (325,000) molecular weight components when subjected to molecular sieving on a Sephadex G-200 column.     

Characterization of a low molecular weight protein of the ATP synthetase complex from beef heart and rat liver mitochondria with a high affinity monoclonal antibody

A monoclonal antibody raised against beef heart mitochondria elicited a strong reaction on Western Blot with a 16 kD protein in preparations of beef heart mitochondria, ammonia particles, oligomycin sensitive ATPase and Complex V, in addition to showing a lesser affinity for the partially purified 30 kD ADP/ATP carrier. The antibody also reacted with a 17 kD protein in rat liver mitochondria and an enriched membrane vesicle fraction. The N-terminal sequence of the first twenty amino acids of both the beef heart and rat liver proteins contained significant homology. Comparison with results in the literature indicate that the proteins represent the delta subunit of the ATP synthetase complex. Further evidence suggests that the epitope for the antibody may reside at the C-terminal 30-40 amino acid residues of both proteins.     

Latent high molecular weight complex of transforming growth factor beta 1. Purification from human platelets and structural characterization

Human transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) was purified as a latent high Mr complex from human platelets by a six-step procedure. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions revealed that the complex was composed of at least three components with apparent Mr values of 13,000, 40,000, and 125,000-160,000. The 13-kDa subunit was part of a disulfide-bonded dimer and was identified by amino acid sequencing as TGF-beta 1. The 40-kDa subunit was identified as the amino-terminal part of the TGF-beta 1 precursor lacking the hydrophobic signal sequence. Partial sequencing of the 125-160-kDa protein revealed that it is distinct from known proteins. The 40-kDa and the 125-160-kDa subunits are linked by disulfide bonds, forming a complex with an apparent Mr of 210,000 on SDS gels under nonreducing conditions. Experiments with partial reduction revealed that each complex contains two 40-kDa components linked by disulfide bonds; in addition, the dimer is disulfide-linked to one 125-160-kDa binding protein. TGF-beta 1 binds noncovalently to the 210-kDa complex, and in bound form, TGF-beta 1 is inactive. Incubations of the latent form of TGF-beta 1 at extreme pH values, in 0.02% SDS or in 8 M urea, lead to activation of TGF-beta 1, whereas the complex was resistant to treatment with 5 M NaCl or heat (3 min at 95 degrees C).     

Purification and characterization of thymidylate synthetase from rat regenerating liver

Thymidylate synthetase (EC 2.1.1.45) from rat regenerating liver has been purified over 5000-fold to apparent homogeneity by a procedure involving two affinity methods. Molecular weight of the native enzyme was found to be about 68,000, as determined by gel filtration. Electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels containing sodium dodecyl sulfate yielded a single band of molecular weight of 35,000, suggesting that thymidylate synthetase is a dimer of very similar or identical subunits. The Michaelis constants for deoxyuridylate (dUMP) and (+/-)L-5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate are 6.8 microM and 65 microM, respectively. Reaction kinetics and product inhibition studies reveal the enzymatic mechanism to be ordered sequential. 5-Fluoro-dUMP, halogenated analog of the nucleotide substrate is a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme, with an apparent Ki value of 5 nM. Amethopterin, analog of the cofactor is also a competitive inhibitor with an apparent Ki value of 23 microM.     

Purification and characterization of the high molecular weight microtubule associated proteins from neonatal rat brain

The changes in the levels of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) during advanced embryonic stages, neonatal and adult organisms reflect the importance of these cytoskeletal proteins in relation to the morphogenesis of the central nervous system. MAP-1B is found in prenatal brains and it appears to have the highests levels in neonatal rat brains, being a developmentally-regulated protein. In this research, a fast procedure to isolate MAP-1B, as well as MAP-2 and MAP-3 from neonatal rat brains was designed, based on the differential capacity of poly L-aspartic acid to release MAPs during temperature-dependent cycles of microtubule assembly in the absence of taxol. The high molecular weight MAP-1B was recovered in the warm supernatants after microtubular protein polymerization in the presence of low concentrations of polyaspartic acid. Instead, MAP-2 and a 180 kDa protein with characteristics of MAP-3 remained associated to the polymer after the assembly. Further purification of MAP-1B was attained after phosphocellulose chromatography. Isolation of MAP-2 isoforms together with MAP-3 was achieved on the basis of their selective interactions with calmodulin-agarose affinity columns. In addition, MAP-2 and MAP-3 were also purified on the basis of their capacities to interact with the tubulin peptide -II (422–434) derivatized on an Affigel matrix. However, MAP-1B did not interact with the -II tubulin fragment, but it showed interaction with the Affigel-conjugated -I (431–444) tubulin peptide. The different MAPs componentes were characterized by western blots using specific monoclonal antibodies. A salient feature of neonatal rat brain MAP-3 was its interactions with site-directed antibodies that recognize binding epitopes on the repetitive sequences of tau and MAP-2. However, these site-specific antibodies did not interact with MAP-1B from the neonatal rat brain tissue.Abbreviations PAA poly (L-aspartic acid) - HMW-MAPs high molecular weight microtubule associated proteins     

Purification of a liver alkaline protease which degrades oxidatively modified glutamine synthetase. Characterization as a high molecular weight cysteine proteinase

A nonlysosomal alkaline protease which degrades the oxidatively modified form of Escherichia coli glutamine synthetase has been purified to apparent homogeneity from rat and mouse liver acetone powders. Its molecular weight was determined to be 300,000 by Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration but results of further studies using high pressure liquid chromatography gel filtration suggest a value of 650,000. Examination of the subunit structure by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed multiple bands of molecular weights between 22,000 and 34,000. The alkaline protease was inhibited by thiol reagents. Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, aprotinin, leupeptin, antipain, and chymostatin partially inhibited the protease. The inhibition by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride was prevented by dithiothreitol, and alpha 1-antitrypsin and soybean trypsin inhibitor did not inhibit. No inhibition was observed with metalloprotease inhibitors. The alkaline protease is active over a broad range of pH with optimum activity for the degradation of oxidized glutamine synthetase around pH 9.0. Its activity is not stimulated by MgATP. A study of the products of insulin B chain degradation demonstrated major cleavage sites at Gln13-Ala14, Leu15-Tyr16, Cys(SO3H)19-Gly20, Gln4-His5, and Leu17-Val18. Based on its endopeptidase activity and its inhibitor specificity, the alkaline protease should be classified as a cysteine proteinase. It appears to be distinct from previously described proteinases and is likely involved in nonlysosomal mechanisms of intracellular protein turnover.     

A Chinese hamster ovary leucyl-tRNA synthetase mutant with a uniquely altered high molecular weight leucyl-tRNA synthetase complex

The Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture temperature-sensitive mutant ts025Cl with a defect in leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS) does not have an inherently more thermolabile LeuRS, but instead the mutation causes the complete loss of the LeuRS high molecular weight complexes which are present in normal wild-type cells. The mutant cell LeuRS has a single 8 S enzyme form which corresponds hydrodynamically to the 8 S free form of wild-type enzyme. Both 8 S forms have the same thermostability and the same K _m for leucine, indicating that there is no inherent defect in the catalytic activity of the enzyme. The temperature-sensitive phenotype can be explained by the lack of thermostable high molecular weight forms of LeuRS.This work was supported by NIH Grant GM 19506 to A.E.H. and GM 20737 to D.E.O.     

Claudin-2 forms homodimers and is a component of a high molecular weight protein complex

Tight junctions are multiprotein complexes that form the fundamental physiologic and anatomic barrier between epithelial and endothelial cells, yet little information is available about their molecular organization. To begin to understand how the transmembrane proteins of the tight junction are organized into multiprotein complexes, we used blue native-PAGE (BN-PAGE) and cross-linking techniques to identify complexes extracted from MDCK II cells and mouse liver. In nonionic detergent extracts from MDCK II cells, the tight junction integral membrane protein claudin-2 was preferentially isolated as a homodimer, whereas claudin-4 was monomeric. Analysis of the interactions between chimeras of claudin-2 and -4 are consistent with the transmembrane domains of claudin-2 being responsible for dimerization, and mutational analysis followed by cross-linking indicated that the second transmembrane domains were arranged in close proximity in homodimers. BN-PAGE of mouse liver membrane identified a relatively discrete high molecular weight complex containing at least claudin-1, claudin-2, and occludin; the difference in the protein complex sizes between cultured cells and tissues may reflect differences in tight junction protein or lipid composition or post-translational modifications. Our results suggest that BN-PAGE may be a useful tool in understanding tight junction structure.