Effect of ethanol on the redox state of the coenzyme bound to alcohol dehydrogenase studied in isolated hepatocytes.

Human lactase was isolated from solubilized small-intestinal brush-border membranes by a combination of chromatography on concanavalin A-Sepharose, Bio-Gel 1.5m and chromatofocusing, with a yield of approx. 1% and a 750-fold purification. The enzyme appeared to be homogeneous on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis under both reduced and non-reduced conditions, with an apparent Mr of approx. 170,000. On gel filtration, however, it displayed an apparent Mr of approx. 380,000. The protein had a pI of 4.8, as judged by the chromatofocusing experiment, and had a lactase activity whose optimum is at pH 6.0. In addition to the beta-galactosidase activity, the protein also hydrolysed to various extents cellobiose, phlorizin, p-nitrophenyl beta-D-galactoside, p-nitrophenyl beta-D-glucoside, o-nitrophenyl beta-D-galactoside and o-nitrophenyl beta-D-fucoside. Antisera had been raised against the purified enzyme in two rabbits. One of the antibody populations could inhibit the enzyme in a concentration-dependent manner. This antibody population was used to set up an antibody-bound Sepharose column for the use in an immunoaffinity purification of lactase from crude intestinal homogenate. A partially purified preparation of lactase could thus be obtained. The antibody population was also used to set up a radioimmunoassay for quantifying the enzyme. The competition assay could detect about 0.5 micrograms of lactase protein/ml.     

Human N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulphate sulphatase. Purification, monoclonal antibody production and native and subunit Mr values.

Initial purification of N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulphate sulphatase from human liver homogenates containing approx. 1 mg of enzyme in 26 g of soluble proteins was achieved by a six-column chromatography procedure and yielded approx. 40 micrograms of a single major protein species. Enzyme thus prepared was used to produce N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulphate sulphatase-specific monoclonal antibodies. The use of a monoclonal antibody linked to a solid support facilitated the purification of approx. 0.5 mg of N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulphate sulphatase from a similar liver homogenate. Moreover the enzyme isolated contained a single protein species, shown by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis to have an Mr of 57,000, which dissociated into subunits of Mr 43,000 and 13,000 in the presence of reducing agents. Essentially identical enzyme preparations were isolated from homogenates of human kidney and lung and from concentrated human urine. The native protein Mr of enzyme from human liver and kidney was assessed by gel-permeation chromatography to be 43,000 on Ultrogel AcA and Bio-Gel P-150. The liver N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulphate sulphatase was shown to have pH optima of approx. 4 and 5.5 with the oligosaccharide substrate (GalNAc4S-GlcA-GalitolNAc4S) and fluorogenic substrate (methylumbelliferyl sulphate) respectively. Km values of 60 microM and 4 mM and Vmax. values of 2 and 20 mumol/min per mg were determined with the oligosaccharide and fluorogenic substrates respectively.     

Calf rennet lysozyme.

A glycosidase displaying endo-N-acetylmuramoylhydrolase specificity (EC 3.2.1.17) was isolated from calf rennet. This lysozyme was also present in abomasal secretions from calf and adult cattle. Multiple molecular forms revealed by electrofocusing might be artefacts. The main enzyme form had Mr approx. 15 000, pH optimum 5.0, pI7.5, and a remarkable conformation stability. Competitive inhibition was observed with both N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid, with apparent Ki values of 29 mM and 2.4 mM respectively. The isolated enzyme also displayed significant chitinase activity.     

Identity of alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase with alanine:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase in rat liver cytosol

Rat liver soluble fraction contained 3 forms of alanine: glyoxylate aminotransferase. One with a pI of 5.2 and an Mr of approx. 110,000 was found to be identical with cytosolic alanine:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase. The pI 6.0 enzyme with an Mr of approx. 220,000 was suggested to be from broken mitochondrial alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase 2 and the pI 8.0 enzyme with an Mr of approx. 80,000 enzyme from broken peroxisomal and mitochondrial alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase 1. These results suggest that the cytosolic alanine: glyoxylate aminotransferase activity is due to cytosolic alanine: 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase.     

Penicillium chrysogenum extracellular acid phosphatase: purification and biochemical characterization

An extracellular acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.2) from crude culture filtrate of Penicillium chrysogenum was purified to homogeneity using high-performance ion-exchange chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography. SDS-PAGE of the purified enzyme exhibited a single stained band at an Mr of approx. 57,000. The mobility of the native enzyme indicated the Mr to be 50,000, implying that the active form is a monomer. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was estimated to be 6.2 by isoelectric focusing. Like acid phosphatases from several yeasts and fungi the Penicillium enzyme was a glycoprotein. Removal of carbohydrate resulted in a protein band with an Mr of 50,000 as estimated by SDS-PAGE, suggesting that 12% of the mass of the enzyme was carbohydrate. The enzyme was catalytically active at temperatures ranging from 20 degrees C to 65 degrees C with a maximum activity at 60 degrees C and the pH optimum was at 5.5. The Michaelis constant of the enzyme for p-nitrophenyl phosphate was 0.11 mM and it was inhibited competitively by inorganic phosphate (ki = 0.42 mM).     

Purification and characterization of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate 3-kinase from pig aortic smooth muscle.

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) 3-kinase, which phosphorylates InsP3 to form inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate, was purified to apparent homogeneity by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation and sequential chromatographic steps on DEAE-sepharose, calmodulin-Affi-Gel and DEAE-5PW h.p.l.c. The purified enzyme had a specific activity of 24.4 nmol of inositol tetrakisphosphate formed/min per mg of protein, which represented a purification of approx. 195-fold with a 0.29% recovery, compared with the cytosol fraction of the muscle. SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis showed a single protein-staining band of Mr 93,000. Moreover, the major protein peak, of Mr 84,000, was detected by TSK gel G3000SW gel-permeation chromatography of the purified sample. As this value was approximately consistent with the Mr determined by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoretic analysis, the InsP3 3-kinase might be a monomeric enzyme. The purified enzyme had a Km for InsP3 of 0.4 microM, with an optimum pH range of 5.8-7.7. The enzyme was maximally activated by calmodulin, with a stoichiometry of 1:1.     

Hormone-sensitive lipase from bovine adipose tissue

Hormone-sensitive lipase has been purified to near homogeneity from bovine perirenal adipose tissue. The purification method involves isoelectric precipitation at pH 5.0, followed by partial solubilisation in Triton N-101 and ion-exchange chromatography on DE-52. After additional solubilisation, the enzyme is further purified by chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose and heparin-Sepharose. This procedure can be completed within three working days and yields approx. 30 units of enzyme with a specific activity of 30 U/mg. The enzyme has been identified as a polypeptide of Mr 84 000 by affinity labelling with [3H]diisopropyl fluorophosphate. This polypeptide comprises approx. 60-80% of the protein in the final preparation, as judged by scanning densitometry of SDS-polyacrylamide gels stained with silver or with Coomassie blue R. The polypeptide of Mr 84 000 serves as a substrate for cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, phosphorylation correlating with activation of the lipase. Polyclonal antibody to the lipase has been raised in a rabbit and shown to specifically cross-react with the Mr 84 000 subunit.     

Heparan sulphate-degrading endoglycosidase in liver plasma membranes.

An endoglycosidase is described in isolated liver plasma membranes that brings about a rapid and selective degradation of membrane-associated heparan sulphate, pre-labelled biosynthetically with Na2(35)SO4. The enzyme attacked mainly the polysaccharide chains of a hydrophobic membrane proteoglycan and it had little effect on a proteoglycan that could be displaced from the membranes with 1.0 M-NaCl. The highest activity was measured in the pH range 7.5-8.0, and the enzyme was almost completely inhibited below pH 5.5. Breakdown of susceptible polysaccharide chains was fast, being complete in 20-30 min. The major oligosaccharide fraction (Mr approx. 6000) produced by the enzyme was considerably smaller than the intact heparan sulphate chains. Enzyme activity was retained in membranes solubilized in 1% (v/v) Triton X-100. The high pH optimum and plasma-membrane association distinguish this enzyme from other heparan sulphate-degrading endoglycosidases that have acid pH optima and may be of lysosomal origin. A plasma-membrane endoglycosidase could modulate cellular interactions mediated by heparan sulphate, and/or release biologically active fragments of the polysaccharide from the cell periphery.     

Ornithine decarboxylase from Tetrahymena thermophila: purification, reversible modification and multiple forms

T. thermophila ornithine decarboxylase was purified 1100-fold by an improved procedure to a specific activity of 2.31 x 10(4) nmol/hr/mg protein with a 28% yield. The purified enzyme was a monomer of Mr = 68,000 and had two isoelectric forms with pl's of 5.14 and 5.17 respectively. The Mr = 68,000 enzyme was reversibly modified by a cellular factor of approx. Mr = 10,000 to give rise to two additional forms with decreased DEAE-cellulose affinity.     

Inositol phosphate metabolism in bradykinin-stimulated human A431 carcinoma cells. Relationship to calcium signalling.

A high-Mr neutral endopeptidase-24.5 (NE) that cleaved bradykinin at the Phe5-Ser6 bond was purified to apparent homogeneity from human lung by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation, ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The final enzyme preparation produced a single enzymically active protein band after electrophoresis on a 5% polyacrylamide gel. Human lung NE had an Mr of 650,000 under non-denaturing conditions, but after denaturation and electrophoresis on an SDS/polyacrylamide gel NE dissociated into several lower-Mr components (Mr 21,000-32,000) and into two minor components (Mr approx. 66,000). The enzyme activity was routinely assayed with the artificial substrate Z-Gly-Gly-Leu-Nan (where Z- and -Nan represent benzyloxycarbonyl- and p-nitroanilide respectively). NE activity was enhanced slightly by reducing agents, greatly diminished by thiol-group inhibitors and unchanged by serine-proteinase inhibitors. Human lung NE was inhibited by the univalent cations Na+ and K+. No metal ions were essential for activity, but the heavy-metal ions Cu2+, Hg2+ and Zn2+ were potent inhibitors. With the substrate Z-Gly-Gly-Leu-Nan a broad pH optimum from pH 7.0 to pH 7.6 was observed, and a Michaelis constant value of 1.0 mM was obtained. When Z-Gly-Gly-Leu-Nap (where -Nap represents 2-naphthylamide) was substituted for the above substrate, no NE-catalysed hydrolysis occurred, but Z-Leu-Leu-Glu-Nap was readily hydrolysed by NE. In addition, NE hydrolysed Z-Gly-Gly-Arg-Nap rapidly, but at pH 9.8 rather than in the neutral range. Although human lung NE was stimulated by SDS, the extent of stimulation was not appreciable as compared with the extent of SDS stimulation of NE from other sources.     

Purification and some properties of a novel heat-stable cis-toluene dihydrodiol dehydrogenase.

cis-Toluene dihydrodiol dehydrogenase was purified 200-fold from cells of a thermotolerant Bacillus species grown with toluene as the sole source of carbon and energy. The purified enzyme preparation was remarkably heat-stable and exhibited a half-life of 100 min at 80 degrees C, the temperature optimum. The activation energy of the reaction was 36 kJ.mol-1. Isoelectric focusing indicated that the pI of the native enzyme was 6.4 and that of the denatured enzyme 6.5. Although the pH optimum was 9.8, the enzyme was most stable at pH 8. The Mr of the enzyme was approx. 172,000 as determined by gel filtration and 166,000 by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The enzyme was composed of six apparently identical subunits with Mr values of 29,500. Kinetic analysis revealed that the Km for cis-toluene dihydrodiol was 92 microM and for NAD+ was 80 microM. The apparent Km values for cis-benzene dihydrodiol and cis-naphthalene dihydrodiol were 330 microM and 51 microM respectively. The enzyme was inhibited by mercurials but was unaffected by metal-ion chelators. Steady-state kinetics and product-inhibition patterns suggested that the enzyme mechanism was ordered Bi Bi.     

Purification to homogeneity of human placental acid sphingomyelinase

Acid sphingomyelinase was purified to homogeneity from human placenta in the presence of a dialyzable detergent, n-octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside. The major steps in the procedure included column chromatographies with Con A-Sepharose, sphingosylphosphorylcholine-Sepharose 4B, hexyl-agarose, and Mono P. The purified enzyme with pI 7.4 had a specific activity of approx 170,000 units/mg protein with a yield of 3.6%. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed a single protein band of Mr 62,000. Gel filtration with a Superose 12 column gave a single peak, and the enzyme in the presence 50 mM n-octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside was of Mr 123,000, indicating that the native enzyme occurs in a dimeric form. The optimal pH was 5.5 with both sphingomyelin and an artificial substrate, 2-N-hexadecanoylamino-4-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine. The Km values were 55 microM with sphingomyelin and 340 microM with the artificial substrate. The enzyme activity was not affected by Mg2+ (1-5 mM), confirming that the enzyme is acid sphingomyelinase. The enzyme was stable at -80 degrees C for more than 4 months. In addition to the enzyme with pI 7.4, the Mono P chromatofocusing gave two peaks (pI 7.0 and 6.7) possessing the enzymatic activity.     

3-Hydroxybenzoate:coenzyme A ligase from cell cultures of Centaurium erythraea: isolation and characterization

In xanthone biosynthesis, 3-hydroxybenzoate:coenzyme A ligase (3HBL) supplies the starter substrate for the formation of an intermediate benzophenone. 3HBL from cell cultures of the medicinal plant Centaurium erythraea was purified to apparent homogeneity using a seven-step-procedure. The enzyme was an AMP-forming CoA ligase with a Km = 14.7 microM for 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, 8.5 microM for coenzyme A and 229 microM for ATP. The pH and temperature optima were 7.5 and 35 degrees C, respectively. In SDS-PAGE, two polypeptides of Mr 41,500 and 40,500 were detected. Both proteins were structurally related to each other as shown by tryptic digestion. Their N-termini were blocked. The difference in their apparent molecular masses could not be attributed to glycosylation. 3HBL had a native Mr of approx. 50,000 and is thus active as a monomer.     

Purification and properties of rabbit brain and liver 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferases isolated by monoclonal-antibody immunoadsorbent chromatography.

The use of a monoclonal-antibody immunoaffinity column for the rapid isolation of 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferases (EC 2.6.1.19) from rabbit brain and liver is described. Homogeneous enzyme protein is eluted from the immunoadsorbent with 100mM-citrate buffer, pH5, and remains stable at 4 degrees C for several days. One such column (bed volume 8 ml) has been used 40 times in a 9-month period to isolate 10-15 units of enzyme activity (specific activity approx. 3.5-7.5 units/mg) per extraction. Kinetic and spectral analysis of the enzymes from the two tissues revealed a close similarity. Sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis showed the isolated enzyme to have a monomeric Mr of 52 000, and this was confirmed by h.p.l.c. gel exclusion at pH 5.0. The results of Sephadex G-100 chromatography at different pH values are taken to indicate that the enzyme behaves as a dimer at pH 7.0 and above, but as a monomer at pH 5.0. 4-Aminobutyrate aminotransferase isolated from the brain by the procedure of Fowler & John [(1981) Biochem. J. 197, 149-152] is more stable than the immunoaffinity-purified material, and has been shown to contain a contaminant protein of Mr 84 000 that exhibits succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase activity.     

The purification and properties of ox liver short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase.

The FAD-containing short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase was purified from ox liver mitochondria by using (NH4)2SO4 fractionation, DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and chromatofocusing on PBE 94 resin. The enzyme is a tetramer, with a native Mr of approx. 162 000 and a subunit Mr of 41 000. Short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenases are usually isolated in a green form. The chromatofocusing step in the purification presented here partially resolved the enzyme into a green form and a yellow form. In the dye-mediated assay system, the enzyme exhibited optimal activity towards 50 microM-butyryl-CoA at pH 7.1. Kinetic parameters were also determined for a number of other straight-chain acyl-CoA substrates. The u.v.- and visible-absorption characteristics of the native forms of the enzyme are described, together with complexes formed by addition of butyryl-CoA, acetoacetyl-CoA and CoA persulphide.     

Purification and characterization of a paired basic residue-specific pro-opiomelanocortin converting enzyme from bovine pituitary intermediate lobe secretory vesicles

Pro-opiomelanocortin (adrenocorticotropin/endorphin prohormone) is processed to yield active hormones by cleavages at paired basic amino acid residues. In this study, an enzyme that specifically cleaves at the paired basic residues of this prohormone has been purified from bovine pituitary intermediate lobe secretory vesicles, the intracellular processing site of proopiomelanocortin. This enzyme, named pro-opiomelanocortin converting enzyme, has been characterized as a glycoprotein of Mr approximately 70,000. It has an apparent isoelectric point between 3.5 and 4.0. The pH optimum of the pro-opiomelanocortin converting enzyme is between 4 and 5, but the enzyme is highly active at the intravesicular pH of 5.1-5.6. The enzyme specifically cleaved the Lys-Arg pairs of pro-opiomelanocortin to yield Mr = to 21,000-23,000 ACTH, beta-lipotropin, Mr 13,000 and 4,500 ACTH, beta-endorphin, and a Mr = 16,000 NH2-terminal glycopeptide, the products synthesized by the pituitary intermediate lobe in situ. NH2- and COOH-terminal analysis of the products indicated that the pro-opiomelanocortin converting enzyme cleaves the peptide bond either between the Lys and Arg or on the carboxyl side of the Arg at Lys-Arg pairs of pro-opiomelanocortin. The intracellular localization, pH optimum, and cleavage specificity of the enzyme suggest that it may function as a pro-opiomelanocortin processing enzyme in the pituitary intermediate lobe in vivo.     

The insulin-secretory-granule carboxypeptidase H. Purification and demonstration of involvement in proinsulin processing.

A carboxypeptidase B-like enzyme was detected in the soluble fraction of purified insulin secretory granules, and implicated in insulin biosynthesis. To investigate the role of this activity further, we purified the enzyme from rat insulinoma tissue by gel-filtration chromatography and affinity elution from p-aminobenzoyl-arginine. A yield of 42%, with a purification factor of 674 over the homogenate, was achieved. Analysis of the purified carboxypeptidase by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis under either reducing or non-reducing conditions showed it to be a monomeric protein of apparent Mr 55,000. The preparation was also homogeneous by high-performance gel-filtration chromatography. The enzyme bound to concanavalin A, showing it to be a glycoprotein. Amino acid analysis or chemical deglycosylation and SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis indicated a protein Mr of 50,000, suggesting a carbohydrate content of approx. 9% by weight. The purified enzyme was able to remove basic amino acids from the C-terminus of proinsulin tryptic peptides to generate insulin, but did not further degrade the mature hormone. It was inhibited by EDTA, 1,10-phenanthroline and guanidinoethylmercaptosuccinic acid, and stimulated 5-fold by CoCl2. The pH optimum of the conversion of diarginyl-insulin into insulin was in the range 5-6, with little activity above pH 6.5. Activity was also expressed towards a dansylated tripeptide substrate (dansyl-phenylalanyl-leucyl-arginine; Km = 17.5 microM), and had a pH optimum of 5.5. These properties are indistinguishable from those of the activity located in secretory granules, and are compatible with the intragranular environment. The insulin-secretory-granule carboxypeptidase shared several properties of carboxypeptidase H from bovine adrenal medulla and pituitary. We propose that the carboxypeptidase that we purified is the pancreatic isoenzyme of carboxypeptidase H (crino carboxypeptidase B; EC 3.4.17.10), and is involved in the biosynthesis of insulin in the pancreatic beta-cell.     

Purification and characterization of major extracellular proteinases from Trichophyton rubrum.

Two extracellular proteinases that probably play a central role in the metabolism and pathogenesis of the most common dermatophyte of man, Trichophyton rubrum, were purified to homogeneity. Size-exclusion chromatography and Chromatofocusing were used to purify the major proteinases 42-fold from crude fungal culture filtrate. The major enzyme has pI 7.8 and subunit Mr 44 000, but forms a dimer of Mr approx. 90 000 in the absence of reducing agents. A second enzyme with pI 6.5 and subunit Mr 36 000, was also purified. It is very similar in substrate specificity to the major enzyme but has lower specific activity, and may be an autoproteolysis product. The major proteinase has pH optimum 8, a Ca2+-dependence maximum of 1 mM, and was inhibited by serine-proteinase inhibitors, especially tetrapeptidyl chloromethane derivatives with hydrophobic residues at the P-1 site. Kinetic studies also showed that tetrapeptides containing aromatic or hydrophobic residues at P-1 were the best substrates. A kcat./Km of 27 000 M-1 X S-1 was calculated for the peptide 3-carboxypropionyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide. The enzyme has significant activity against keratin, elastin and denatured type I collagen (Azocoll).     

Purification and properties of phosphofructokinase 2/fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase from chicken liver and from pigeon muscle

Phosphofructokinase 2 and fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase extracted from either chicken liver or pigeon muscle co-purified up to homogeneity. The two homogeneous proteins were found to be dimers of relative molecular mass (Mr) close to 110,000 with subunits of Mr 54,000 for the chicken liver enzyme and 53,000 for the pigeon muscle enzyme. The latter also contained a minor constituent of Mr 54,000. Incubation of the chicken liver enzyme with the catalytic subunit of cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase in the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP resulted in the incorporation of about 0.8 mol phosphate/mol enzyme. Under similar conditions, the pigeon muscle enzyme was phosphorylated to an extent of only 0.05 mol phosphate/mol enzyme and all the incorporated phosphate was found in the minor 54,000-Mr constituent. The maximal activity of the native avian liver phosphofructokinase 2 was little affected by changes of pH between 6 and 10. Its phosphorylation by cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase resulted in a more than 90% inactivation at pH values below 7.5 and in no or little change in activity at pH 10. Intermediary values of inactivation were observed at pH values between 8 and 10. Muscle phosphofructokinase 2 had little activity at pH below 7 and was maximally active at pH 10. Its partial phosphorylation resulted in a further 25% decrease of its already low activity measured at pH 7.1 and in a negligible inactivation at pH 8.5. Phosphoenolpyruvate and citrate inhibited phosphofructokinase 2 from both origins non-competitively. The muscle enzyme and the phosphorylated liver enzyme displayed much more affinity for these inhibitors than the native liver enzyme. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase from both sources had about the same specific activity but only the chicken liver enzyme was activated about twofold upon incubation with ATP and cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase. All enzyme forms were inhibited by fructose 6-phosphate and this inhibition was released by inorganic phosphate and by glycerol 3-phosphate. Both liver and muscle fructose 2,6-bisphosphatases formed a 32P-labeled enzyme intermediate when incubated in the presence of fructose 2,6-[2-32P]bisphosphate.