Amino acid sequence of the beta subunit of follicle-stimulating hormone from human pituitary glands.

The beta subunit of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH-beta) from human pituitary glands was reduced and S-aminoethylated prior to thermolytic, tryptic, and chymotryptic digestions. Each digest was gel-filtered on Sephadex G-50 to seperate the glycopeptides. The glycopeptides and the peptides were isolated by high voltage paper electrophoresis at pH 6, 3.5, and 2.0. The purity of the isolated peptides was confirmed by amino acid analyses. The amino acid sequences of peptides were determined by Edman degradation followed by subtractive amino acid analysis and, in certain cases, confirmed by dansylation. COOH-terminal sequences of the peptides were determined by digestion with carboxypeptidases A and B and by hydrazinolysis. The tryptophan content of human follicle-stimulating hormone, of the beta subunit of human follicle-stimulating hormone, and of the glycopeptides obtained from the enzymic digests was determined by fluorescence spectra, titration against N-bromosuccinimide, colorimetric estimation with p-dimethyl aminobenzaldehyde, hydrolysis with methane sulfonic acid containing 0.2% tryptamine followed by amino acid analysis, microbiological assay, and sequence analysis. The presence of 1 tryptophan residue in the beta subunit was indicated.     

Studies on modification of tryptophan, methionine, tyrosine and arginine residues of human follicle-stimulating hormone and its subunits.

Based on the regeneration of the hormonal activity following recombination, the alpha and beta subunits of human follicle-stimulating hormone have been designated as 'functional' or 'nonfunctional'. Chemical modifications of the tryptophan, methionine, tyrosine and arginine residues of human follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and the 'functional' human follicle-stimulating hormone alpha and beta subunits have indicated that the tryptophan in human follicle-stimulating hormone-beta and human luteinizing hormone-beta is essential for the biological activity. The iodination of human follicle-stimulating hormone-alpha did not interfere with the hormonal activity. The modification of arginine abolishes the biological activity of the hormones. The accessibility of tyrosine and methionine in human follicle-stimulating hormone-alpha, of arginine in both native hormones and subunits, and the non-availability of the tryptophan residues to 2-hydroxy 5-nitrobenzyl bromide suggest that the alpha subunit lies on the surface of the native molecule.     

Isolation and characterization of calcitonin from pericardium and esophagus of eel.

Calcitonin was extracted from the pericardium and esophagus of eel in quantities sufficient to permit purification and chemical characterization. Homogeneous calcitonin could be isolated by a six-step fractionation starting from acetone powder of the organs. The fractionation procedure consisted of acid extraction, gel filtration on Sephadex G-75, chromatography on SP-Sephadex C-25, gel filtration on the Sephadex G-50, chromatography on carboxymethylcellulose, and gel filtration on Sephadex G-50. Fractionation of the hormone was monitored by assay of its biological activity and from its behaviour on thin layer chromatography and polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis. The hormone contained 32 amino acid residues, like calcitonins from other species of animals, but its amino acid composition was different from those of previously characterized hormones. Eel calcitonin possessed almost the same, or higher, biological activity as the salmon or chicken hormone, which show the highest specific activity among calcitonins so far isolated.     

Linear structure of the oligosaccharide chains in alpha1-protease inhibitor isolated from human plasma.

Two glycopeptides present in equal amounts were isolated from a pronase digest of alpha1-protease inhibitor of human plasma by gel filtration on Sephadex G-50 and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. The carbohydrate side chains in both glycopeptides are linked through asparaginyl residues. The glycopeptides were digested sequentially with specific glycosidases; and after each step, the released sugars as well as the composition of the residual peptides were determined. The linear structures of these glycopeptides deduced from these data are shown below. Based on the total carbohydrate content of the intact protein and with these structural data, it is postulated that 4 oligosaccharide units are attached to 1 molecule of the protein; 2 of these were represented as in Equation 1, the other 2 as in Equation 2.     

The primary structure of L-asparaginase from Escherichia coli

The carboxymethylated L-asparaginase from Escherichia coli A-1--3 was fragmented with cyanogen bromide and the resulting peptides were isolated by using gel filtration on Sephadex G-50 and column chromatography on DE-52. The amino acid sequences of the 7 cyanogen bromide peptides thus obtained were established completely or partially by further fragmentation with trypsin, chymotrypsin and pepsin, and the Dansyl Edman method. Based on the above results and the complete sequences of the tryptic peptides from the carboxymethylated L-asparaginase reported in the previous paper, the whole sequence of the enzyme was established. The reported sequence consists of 321 amino acid residues and its calculated molecular weight is 34 080.     

N-terminal amino acid sequence of persimmon fruit beta-galactosidase.

beta-Galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) from persimmon fruit was purified 114-fold with a 15% yield using Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, CM-Sephadex ion exchange, and Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration chromatography, with subsequent electroelution from nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) gels. The estimated molecular mass of the native beta-galactosidase by Sephacryl S-200 was 118 kD. After sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE of the enzyme electroeluted from native gels, two subunits with estimated molecular masses of 34 and 44 kD were observed, suggesting that the native enzyme was an aggregate of several subunits. Amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid sequences of the two major subunits were different.     

Purification and characterization of the glycoprotein allergen from Prosopis juliflora pollen

Highly active glycoprotein allergens have been isolated from pollen of Prosopis juliflora by a combination of Sephadex G-100 gel filtration and Sodium dodecyl sulphate-Poly-acrylamide gel electrophoresis. The glycoprotein fraction was homogeneous, and had molecular weight 20,000. The purified glycoprotein allergen contained 20% carbohydrate, mainly arabinose and galactose. Enzymatic digestion of glycoprotein with protease released glycopeptides of molecular weight ranging from less than 1,000 to more than 5,000 on Sephadex G-25 gel filtration. Antigenicity or allergenicity testing of these glycopeptides by immunodiffusion, immunoelectrophoresis, and radioallergosorbent test indicated complete loss of allergenic activity after digestion with protease whereas incubation with beta-D-galactosidase and periodate oxidation had little affect on the allergenic activity of the glycoprotein fraction. But incubation with alpha-D-glucosidase did not affect the allergenic activity significantly. All these tests indicated that protein played significant role in allergenicity of P. juliflora pollen.     

Covalent structure of collagen. Amino acid sequence of an arthritogenic cyanogen bromide peptide from type II collagen of bovine cartilage

Bovine articular type II collagen was prepared by limited pepsin digestion, differential salt fractionation and carboxymethylcellulose chromatography. Cyanogen bromide digestion of purified type II collagen alpha chains yielded twelve distinct peptides designated CB1-12. The peptide alpha 1(II)-CB11 was isolated by carboxymethylcellulose chromatography and Sephadex G-75S gel filtration. Automated Edman degradation together with chymotrypsin, thermolysin and trypsin digestion enabled identification of its complete amino acid sequence. Compared with type I and type III collagen, the data show similarity with alpha 1(I)-CB8 and alpha 1(III)-CB6-1-8-10-2 peptides, respectively. The peptide is located within residues 124-402 of the alpha 1(II) collagen chain and with its identification, now extends the known amino acid sequence of bovine type II cartilage collagen to 660 amino acid residues including alpha 1(II)-CB1-2-6-12-11-8-10 (partial). This corresponds to alpha 1(I)-CB0-1-2-4-5-8-3-7 (partial; 1-660) and alpha 1(III)-CB3A-3B-3C-7-6-1-8-10-2-4-5 (partial; 1-660) of bovine alpha 1(I) and alpha 1(III) collagen chains.     

Highly acidic proteins from human brain: purification and properties of Glu-50 protein

Three extremely acidic proteins were isolated from human brain and purified to apparent homogeneity. One of them, Glu-50 protein, contained much glutamic acid (about 50% of the total amino acids). Its purification involved ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sephadex A-50 chromatography, and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and G-75. Its molecular weight was determined to be 11,000 by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 34,000-36,000 by gel filtration on Sephadex G-75, suggesting that it consists of three identical polypeptide chains. Its isoelectric point was pH 3.9. Its N-terminal amino acid sequence was NH2-Asp-Glu-Pro-Pro-Asp-Glu and its C-terminal amino acid was Lys. It contained no detectable carbohydrate.     

Luteinizing hormone of the sperm whale. Isolation, separation into subunits and study of the amino acid sequence of the alpha-subunit

The luteinizing hormone isolated from sperm-whale pituitary was separated into two subunits, alpha- and beta-, by ion-exchange chromatography on sulfoethyl-Sephadex. The hormone subunits were reconstituted, carboxymethylated and cleaved by BrCN and proteolytic enzymes. In order to block tryptic hydrolysis at lysine residues the alpha-subunit was subjected to maleylation. Large-sized fragments of BrCN were cleaved by chymotrypsin and trypsin, while large-sized fragments of trypsin were split by chymotrypsin. The resulting peptides were separated by gel filtration on Sephadex, ion-exchange chromatography on Aminex A-5 and thin-layer partition chromatography on cellulose. The amino acid sequence of the peptides was determined by the Edman method, using identification of the N-terminal amino acids in a reaction with dansyl chloride or dimethylaminoazobenzene-4-isothiocyanate. It was shown that the alpha-subunit of the luteinizing hormone is a peptide chain consisting of 96 amino acid residues with covalently linked carbon chains at asparagine residues at positions 56 and 82. The N-terminal amino acid of the alpha-subunit is phenylalanine, the C-terminal amino acid is serine. The alpha-subunit is heterogeneous at the N-end, i. e. beside phenylalanine it contains threonine and trace amounts of proline, aspartate, glutamate and glycine.     

Carbohydrate structure of the major glycopeptide from human cold-insoluble globulin

Cold-insoluble globulin (CIg) is a member of a group of circulating and cell-associated, high-molecular-weight glycoproteins termed fibronectins. CIg was isolated from human plasma by affinity chromatography on gelatin-Sepharose. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified glycoprotein gave a double band that migrated near myosin. The CIg glycopeptides were released by pronase digestion and isolated by chromatography on Sephadex G-50. Affinity chromatography of the major G-50 peak on Con A-Sepharose resulted in two fractions: one-third of the glycopeptides were unbound and two-thirds were weakly bound (WB). Sugar composition analysis of the unbound glycopeptides by GLC of the trimethylsilyl methyl glycosides gave the following molar ratios: sialic acid, 2.5; galactose, 3.0; N-acetylglucosamine, 4.9; and mannose, 3.0. Sugar composition analysis of the WB glycopeptides gave the following molar ratios: sialic acid, 1.7; galactose, 2.0; N-acetylglucosamine, 4.1; and mannose, 3.0. The WB CIg glycopeptides cochromatographed on Sephadex G-50 with WB transferrin glycopeptides giving an estimated molecular weight of 2,800. After degradation with neuraminidase alone or sequentially with β-galactosidase the CIg and transferrin glycopeptides again cochromatographed. Methylation linkage analysis of the intact and the partially degraded glycopeptides indicated that the carbohydrate structure of the major human CIg glycopeptide resembles that of the major glycopeptide from transferrin.     

Purification and properties of cytochrome c-556 from Agrobacterium tumefaciens B2a.

Cytochrome c-556 from Agrobacterium mefaciens B2a was isolated in a pure, homoneous state. The best purification procedure volved ammonium sulphate fractionation, delting on Sephadex G-25, column chromatographic fractionation on DEAE- and CM-cellulose, and gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 superfine. Substitution of the CM-cellulose step by isoelectric focusing was successful. The purity of the final preparation is warranted by the purity index value, the electrophoretic patterns in the absence and presence of sodium dodecylsulphate, the sedimentation profile and the N-terminal amino acid analysis (alanine). The absorption spectrum of reduced cytochrome c-556 has maxima at 318, 419, 526 and 555.5 nm. The molar extinction coefficient for the alpha-band is 20 200M-1cm-1. The isoelectric point, determined both by preparative and analytical isoelectric focusing, is 5.55 +/- 0.10. The molecular weight of cytochrome c-556 was determined by gel filtration as 12000 and by dodecylsulphate gel electrophoresis as 11 500.     

Isolation and characterization of two coho salmon gonadotropins, GTH I and GTH II

Two gonadotropins, GTH I and GTH II, were isolated from pituitaries of spawning coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) using sequential extractions with ammonium acetate (pH 9.0) and 40% ethanol, precipitation with 80% ethanol, gel filtration chromatography (Sephadex G-100), anion-exchange chromatography (Mono-Q Sepharose), and gel filtration chromatography (Sephadex G-75). Coho salmon GTH I and GTH II stimulated steroidogenesis in vitro in a similar dose-dependent manner when incubated with either ovaries or testes of prepubertal coho salmon. An in vivo bioassay using coho salmon parr demonstrated that coho salmon GTH I and GTH II did not contain thyrotropic activity. Molecular weights were estimated by gel filtration chromatography to be 43,000 and 39,000 for GTH I and GTH II, respectively. Analysis of coho salmon GTH I and GTH II on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (rpHPLC) revealed that they consist of alpha and beta subunits with N-terminal amino acid residues of Tyr, Gly (alpha, beta of GTH I) and Tyr,Ser (alpha, beta of GTH II). Coho salmon GTH I-beta and GTH II-beta differed from each other in amino acid composition, N-terminal amino acids (Gly vs. Ser), and molecular weights in SDS-PAGE (19,000 vs. 20,000) and had a high degree of chemical similarity to chum salmon GTH I-beta and GTH II-beta, respectively. Specific rabbit antisera to the beta subunits of coho salmon GTH I and GTH II were generated. The observation of two GTHs with distinctly different chemical characteristics in coho salmon is similar to what has previously been found in chum salmon.     

Studies on pig serum lipoproteins. IV. Isolation and characterization of glycopeptides from pig serum low density lipoprotein.

Three glycopeptides were isolated from the pronase digest of the protein moiety of pig serum low density lipoprotein. The isolation procedure consisted of pronase digestion, gel filtration on Sephadex G-25 and G-50 columns, paper chromatography and DEAE-Sephadex A-50 column chromatography. Based on the carbohydrate analysis, the isolated glycopeptides were classified into two types. One type (GDI) consisted of mannose and N-acetylglucosamine residues in the molar ratio of 6:2 and had a molecular weight of about 2,300. The other type (GDII and GDIII) consisted of sialic acid, mannose, galactose, fucose, and N-acetylglucosamine residues in the molar ratio of 1:4:2:1:3 and 2:4:3:1:3, respectively. The molecular weights of GDII and GDIII were about 2,100 and 3,100, respectively. The results on the strong alkaline treatment of these glycopeptides suggested that all carbohydrate chains were linked to the peptide chains through N-acetylglucosaminyl-asparagine linkages. Of these glycopeptides and pig serum lipoproteins, only glycopeptide GDI and native LDL strongly interacted with concanavalin A.     

Covalent structure of collagen: amino acid sequence of cyanogen bromide peptides from the amino-terminal segment of type III collagen of human liver

Human liver type III collagen was prepared by limited pepsin digestion, differential salt precipitation, and carboxymethylcellulose chromatography. Cyanogen bromide digestion of purified type III collagen chains yielded nine distinct peptides. Three peptides, alpha1(III)-CB3, alpha1(III)-CB7, and alpha1(III)-CB6, were isolated by carboxymethylcellulose chromatography and Sephadex G-50 SF gel filtration. Automated Edman degradation together with selective hydroxylamine cleavage and chymotrypsin and trypsin digestion enabled determination of their complete amino acid sequence. Compared with type I collagen, the data show tentative homology of alpha1(III)-CB3 with alpha1(I)-CB1, alpha1(I)-CB2, and alpha1(I)-CB4; alpha1(III)-CB7 with alpha1(I)-CB5; and alpha1(III)-CB6 with the amino-terminal portion of alpha1(I)-CB8. Close interspecies homology was found between the sequences presented here with 90 residues of alpha1(III)-CB3 and 26 of alpha1(III)-CB8 of calf aorta. The present study establishes the amino acid sequence of 229 residues near the amino terminus or nearly one-quarter of the type III collagen chains. The disaccharide, Glc-Gal, was convalently bound to hydroxylysine at a position corresponding to the same location in the alpha1(I) chain.     

Isolation and fractionation of glycopeptides from porcine thyroglobulin

1. Glycopeptides were isolated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-25 and Sephadex G-50 from a Pronase digest of porcine thyroglobulin. 2. Isolated glycopeptides were separated into five main fractions on a column of DEAE-Sephadex A-25. Of these fractions I to III were further purified by SE-Sephadex C-25 or DEAE-Sephadex A-25 column chromatography. Several of the purified glycopeptides were homogeneous on paper electrophoresis. 3. Based on the chemical composition and molecular weight of the fractionated glycopeptides, two distinct types of heterosaccharide chain were demonstrated. 4. One type of the heterosaccharide unit consisted of four to eight residues of mannose and two residues of glucosamine and had a molecular weight of 1000-1700. The other type of unit contained sialic acid, fucose and galactose in addition to mannose and glucosamine and had a molecular weight of about 3600. 5. Mild alkaline treatment of the glycopeptide did not result in the destruction of threonine and serine. 2-Acetamido-1-N-(4-l-aspartyl)-2-deoxy-beta-d-glucopyranosylamine was isolated from partial acid hydrolysates.     

Isolation of immunizing cyanogen bromide-peptides of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

The isolated structural protein with the N-terminal amino acid threonine of foot-and-mouth disease virus, type O₁ strain Kaufbeuren was treated with CNBr and the cleavage peptides were separated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 followed by ion exchange chromatography on phosphocellulose. Two peptides with molecular weights of about 5.200 daltons still capable of inducing antibodies in guinea pigs were purified. The antibodies were found to neutralize the homologous foot-and-mouth disease virus as detected by the neutralization test in suckling mice. The findings strongly suggest that the primary structure of small CNBr cleavage peptides carries antigenic determinants similar to those on the native virus protein with the N-terminale amino acid threonine.     

Reconstitution of rapeseed high molecular weight protein from isolated subunits

The high molecular weight protein was isolated from rapeseed and characterised. Six subunits were isolated in SDS (0.01%) solution on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100. Reassociation by removing SDS by co-dialysis, against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.9) was done and the yield was about 90%. The reconstituted protein was indistinguishable from the intact protein in all respects. The subunits isolated from the native protein and the reconstituted protein were found to have identical molecular weights and N-terminal amino acids. No disulphide bonds were observed in the subunit association. Amino acid analysis of the proteins and the six subunits was performed and the number of each amino acid residue calculated.     

The complete amino acid sequence of a cardiotoxin from the venom of Naja naja (Cambodian Cobra).

The complete amino acid sequence of a small, basic protein with cardiotoxic activity is described. This toxin, designated Naja naja F8, was isolated from the venom of Naja naja, of Cambodian origin, by gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 followed by gradient ion exchange chromatography on Bio-Rex 70. The cardiotoxin F8, molecular weight 6727 from amino acid composition, consists of 60 amino acids in a single peptide chain cross-linked by four disulfide bridges and is devoid of histidine, tryptophan, and glutamic acid. The chymotryptic and tryptic peptides from the performic acid oxidized toxin were separated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-25 and zone electrophoresis in columns of cellulose powder. The sequence was established by Edman degradation, using the direct phenylthiohydantoin method, and with the aid of carboxypetidase A, and is similar to the consequences reported for other cardiotoxins, cytotoxins, and/or lytic factors from cobra venoms, all of which show considerable homology with the functionally distinct neurotoxins.     

Characterization of a gonadal factor involved in the control of FSH secretion.

This communication presents evidence for the existence in the ovine testis of proteinaceous factors which suppress LH as well as FSH. Isolation of these factors has been achieved by using three different procedures: cytosol preparation, metaphosphoric acid extraction and ultrafiltration. Chromatography of cytosol or metaphosphoric acid extract on Sephadex G-75 resulted in separation into three protein fractions designated as G-75-I, II and III in order of their elution. When administered to castrated male rats, Fraction G-75-I suppressed circulatory levels of LH (53% inhibition, P less than 0.05) without altering FSH. The most retarded fraction, G-75-III, suppressed FSH (29% inhibition, P less than 0.001) without any concomitant change in LH. When fraction G-75-III was further fractionated on Sephadex G-25, three components were found and two, G-25-II and G-25-III, were biologically active. These fractions were homogeneous on polyacrylamide disc-gel electrophoresis. The FSH-suppressing factor (inhibin) was heat labile and susceptible to trypsin digestion, indicating that it is proteinaceous. Treatment with urea did not reveal any subunits. The molecular weight of this factor, as determined by gel filtration and SDS-urea gel electrophoresis was estimated to be around 1400-1500. The absence of sialic acid and the molecular weight data suggested that the isolated material was a simple protein and probably a small peptide. Gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 of the metaphosphoric acid extracts of liver, kidney, testis and ovary revealed an identical elution pattern for ovarian and testicular inhibin.