A Rapid Two-Step Purification of Rat Cystatin C,One Major Inhibitor of Cysteine Proteinases

ABSTRACT

Rat cystatin C was purified to apparent homogeneity from rat urine after induction of a tubular dysfunction with sodium chromate. Twentyfold concentrated urine was chromatographed by a rapid purification procedure. A two-step purification including affinity chromatography on carboxymethyl papain- Sepharose and high-resolution anion exchange chromatography was developped. The purified protein has an apparent molecular mass of 15 kDa and pI of 10.2; its aminoacid composition was similar to human cystatin C. As opposed to previous data, purified urinary rat cystatin C did not contain significant amounts of carbohydrate. Antisera against rat cystatin C, raised in rabbits, partially cross-reacted with human and mouse cystatin C, indicating their antigenic similarities. Like human cystatin C, native rat cystatin C, named slow form, is degraded into a more acidic form, called fast form, by a loss of N-terminal amino acids; fast form displayed a pI of 9.4.     

Different forms of human cystatin C

Two isoelectric forms of human cystatin C with pI 9.2 and 7.8 have been isolated from urine of patients with different nephrological disorders. Treatment of both forms with alkaline phosphatase revealed that the difference between them is not due to the phosphorylation of some amino-acid residue. Further purification of cystatin C with pI 9.2 by hydrophobic chromatography and N-terminal sequencing showed that it consists predominantly of the full-length form of cystatin C with the N-terminal sequence SSPG-. Cystatin C with pI 7.8 was separated into two peaks. The first represented a pure form truncated by an octapeptide and beginning with the N-terminal sequence LVGG-. The second was a mixture containing 33% of the first peak and 66% of a truncated form with the N-terminal sequence VGGP-. Inhibitory activity of the full-length cystatin C and the pure truncated form has been measured against cathepsins B, H and L and show no significant differences in Ki values. These results further support the proposed mechanism of interaction of cysteine proteinases with their inhibitors cystatins (Bode, W., Engh, R., Musil, D., Thiele, U., Huber, R., Karshikow, A., Brzin, J., Kos, J. & Turk, V. (1988) EMBO J. 7, 2593-2599).     

Chromatofocusing of mammalian estrone sulfate sulfohydrolase activity

Estrone sulfate sulfohydrolase (estrogen sulfatase) activity was solubilized by treatment with Triton X-100 from 105,000 g pellets of guinea pig uterus, testis and brain, as well as from rat liver and human placenta. The solubilized forms were subjected to chromatofocusing in the fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) system and on conventional columns packed in our laboratory. The guinea pig tissue pattern was complex. Uterus showed peaks of activity with apparent pI's of 9.11 and 7.6; testis contained 3 peaks with pI's of 9.18, 8.7 and 7.5; brain possessed peaks with pI's of 9.28 and 8.6. In each case the major activity peak was that with pI greater than 9. Rat liver activity chromatofocused as a single peak of apparent pI = 6.87 and the human placental enzyme also showed a single, though broad, peak, of pI = 6.57. This suggests not only that the guinea pig enzyme(s) differs markedly from those of rat liver and human placenta, but that there may be qualitative differences between the forms in the three guinea pig tissues. Chromatofocusing behaviour was not independent of the specific exchange resins and ampholytes utilized. The recovered enzyme activity was fairly stable and it seems that chromatofocusing could be a useful step in purification of the guinea pig enzyme(s), particularly the main form possessing a pI greater than 9.     

Effect of CaCl2 as activity stabilizer on purification of heparinase I from Flavobacterium heparinum

Heparinase I has been purified from F. heparinum by a novel scheme with 10mM CaCl(2) added in crude extracts of cells. The enzyme was purified to apparent homogeneity through ammonium sulfate precipitation, Octyl-Sepharose chromatography, CM-52 chromatography, SP-650 chromatography, and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration chromatography. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was 90.33 U/mg protein with a purification fold of 185.1. The yield was 17.8%, which is higher than any previous scheme achieved. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was 43 kDa with a pI of 8.5. It has an activity maximum at pH range of 6.4-7.0 and 41 degrees C. CaCl(2) is a good stabilizer of the purified enzyme in liquid form toward either storaging at 4 degrees C or freezing-thawing.     

Isolation and characterization of human urinary colony-stimulating factor

CSF-1 was isolated from a large volume of human normal urine (10,000 l), using the following 5 stages of purification: concentration by dialysis, silica gel adsorption, hydrophobic chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose CL-6B, fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) and finally preparative electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels. We have isolated 8 mg of purified CSF-1 which migrated as a single band under non-reducing conditions in SDS-PAGE (staining with Coomassie Blue and the sensitive silver techniques). But in the presence of dithiothreitol, the SDS-PAGE pattern revealed a minor second band with a molecular mass of 50,000 Da. CSF-1 was purified 100,000-fold and has a specific activity of 2.16 X 10(7) units/mg protein. Its apparent molecular mass is 57,000 Da with an isoelectric point, pI = 5.8-6.0. The amino-acid composition is reported and compared with that of murine CSF-1. The carbohydrate content (sialic acid, sulphate groups, N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine) was also determined, and it shows that CSF is a glycoprotein.     

Two rat homologues of human cystatin C

Two immunochemically related forms of cystatin C-like inhibitors which differ in their Mr app and isoelectric point have been found both in urine and seminal vesicles of rats. Amino-terminal sequences of these two cystatins are identical within the same fluid and exhibit a high degree of homology with that of human cystatin C. However, cystatins C purified from urine lack eight residues at their amino-terminal end when compared to those of seminal vesicles. The occurrence of two cystatin C-like components in rat fluids has been found to be due to the presence of a glycosylated form reported here as cystatin Cg which specifically binds concanavalin A and is susceptible to endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase treatment.     

Isolation of a urinary digitalis-like factor indistinguishable from digoxin

A digitalis-like factor has been purified to apparent homogeneity from human urine based on the inhibitory effect on [3H] ouabain binding to intact human erythrocytes. The purification scheme involved large scale adsorption followed by preparative, semipreparative and analytical high-performance liquid chromatography. The purified material showed a prominent digoxin-like immunoreactivity. The behaviour of the isolated substance was identical to that of authentic digoxin in three high-performance liquid chromatography and three thin-layer chromatography systems. Moreover, fast atom bombardment mass spectrum and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum suggested that the purified material may be indistinguishable from digoxin.     

Purification of hepoxilin epoxide hydrolase from rat liver

Hepoxilin epoxide hydrolase activity was demonstrated in rat liver cytosol using as substrate [1-14C] hepoxilin A3, a recently described hydroxy epoxide derivative of arachidonic acid. The enzyme was isolated and purified to apparent homogeneity using conventional chromatographic procedures resulting in 41-fold purification. The protein eluted during isoelectric focusing at a pI in the 5.3-5.4 range. The specific activity of the purified protein was 1.2 ng/microgram protein/20 min at 37 degrees C. On sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, under denaturing conditions, a molecular mass value of 53 kDa was observed. Using native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, enzyme activity corresponded to the main protein band. The purified protein used hepoxilin A3 as preferred substrate converting it to trioxilin A3. The enzyme was marginally active toward other epoxides such as leukotriene A4 and styrene oxide. The Mr, pI, and substrate specificity of the hepoxilin epoxide hydrolase indicate that this enzyme is different from the recently reported leukotriene A4 hydrolase from human erythrocytes and rat and human neutrophils and constitutes a hitherto undescribed form of epoxide hydrolase with specificity toward hepoxilin A3. Tissue screening for enzyme activity revealed that this enzyme is ubiquitous in the rat.     

Isolation of six cysteine proteinase inhibitors from human urine. Their physicochemical and enzyme kinetic properties and concentrations in biological fluids

Six cysteine proteinase inhibitors were isolated from human urine by affinity chromatography on insolubilized carboxymethylpapain followed by ion-exchange chromatography and immunosorption. Physicochemical and immunochemical measurements identified one as cystatin A, one as cystatin B, one as cystatin C, one as cystatin S, and one as low molecular weight kininogen. The sixth inhibitor displayed immunochemical cross-reactivity with salivary cystatin S but had a different pI (6.85 versus 4.68) and a different (blocked) N-terminal amino acid. This inhibitor was tentatively designated cystatin SU. The isolated inhibitors accounted for nearly all of the cysteine proteinase inhibitory activity of the urinary pool used as starting material. The enzyme inhibitory properties of the inhibitors were investigated by measuring inhibition and rate constants for their interactions with papain and human cathepsin B. Antisera raised against the inhibitors were used in immunochemical determinations of their concentrations in several biological fluids. The combined enzyme kinetic and concentration data showed that several of the inhibitors have the capacity to play physiologically important roles as cysteine proteinase inhibitors in many biological fluids. Cystatin C had the highest molar concentration of the inhibitors in seminal plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, and milk; cystatin S in saliva and tears; and kininogen in blood plasma, synovial fluid, and amniotic fluid.     

Isolation and biochemical characteristics of a molecular form of epididymal acid phosphatase of boar seminal plasma

The fluid of boar epididymis is characterized by a high activity of acid phosphatase (AcP), which occurs in three molecular forms. An efficient procedure was developed for the purification of a molecular form of epididymal acid phosphatase from boar seminal plasma. We focused on the epididymal molecular form, which displayed the highest electrophoretic mobility. The purification procedure (dialysis, ion exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography and hydroxyapatite chromatography) used in this study gave more than 7000-fold purification of the enzyme with a yield of 50%. The purified enzyme was homogeneous by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The purified molecular form of the enzyme is a thermostable 50kDa glycoprotein, with a pI value of 7.1 and was highly resistant to inhibitors of acid phosphatase when p-nitrophenyl phosphate was used as the substrate. Hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate by the purified enzyme was maximally active at pH of 4.3; however, high catalytic activity of the enzyme was within the pH range of 3.5-7.0. Kinetic analysis revealed that the purified enzyme exhibited affinity for phosphotyrosine (K(m)=2.1x10(-3)M) and was inhibited, to some extent, by sodium orthovanadate, a phosphotyrosine phosphatase inhibitor. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of boar epididymal acid phosphatase is ELRFVTLVFR, which showed 90% homology with the sequence of human, mouse or rat prostatic acid phosphatase. The purification procedure described allows the identification of the specific biochemical properties of a molecular form of epididymal acid phosphatase, which plays an important role in the boar epididymis.     

人脑髓鞘碱性蛋白的分离纯化和鉴定

 本文介绍了从人脑中分离纯化髓鞘碱性蛋白的方法,人脑组织匀浆经甲醇—氯仿脱脂、酸提取、硫酸铵沉淀和羧甲基纤维素柱层析,得到了纯化的髓鞘碱性蛋白。该蛋白在SDS聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳中为单一带,分子量为21kD。在聚焦电泳中测得其等电点在pH10以上,氨基酸组成分析结果也与文献值接近。这为进一步研究人脑髓鞘碱性蛋白的抗原性创造了条件。     

Purification and characterization of canine alpha-1-antiproteinase.

The principal canine plasma protease inhibitor, alpha-1-antiproteinase, has been purified 90-fold with a 25% yield to apparent homogeneity. The purification scheme includes anion-exchange chromatography, to separate away the bulk of the serum albumin; affinity chromatography by insolubilized concanavalin A, to remove most of the other serum proteins as well as traces of albumin; and, finally, sizing on Sephacryl-S-200. Unique to this purification scheme is the batch use of insolubilized hemoglobin--Sepharose beads to remove the ubiquitous contaminant haptoglobin. The purified material has an apparent molecular weight of 58 000, 11.2% carbohydrate, and an E280nm1% = 5.82, and can be separated by isoelectric focusing into at least two distinct forms with pI values of 4.40 and 4.52. In addition, canine alpha-1-antiproteinase is immunologically distinct from human alpha-1-antiproteinase.     

Purification and partial characterization of the extracellular gamma-D-glutamyl-(L)meso-diaminopimelate endopeptidase I, from Bacillus sphaericus NCTC 9602

The gamma-D-glutamyl-(L)meso-diaminopimelate endopeptidase, or endopeptidase I, from Bacillus sphaericus 9602 was purified to apparent protein homogeneity. The purification was achieved by a six-step procedure: ammonium sulfate fractionation, phenyl-Sepharose chromatography, two consecutive DEAE-Trisacryl chromatographies, chromatofocusing and Sephacryl S-200 permeation chromatography. The enzyme was purified 5000-fold with a 38% recovery of lytic activity. It is an acidic protein (pI 5.4) of hydrophobic nature. Kinetic studies have shown a Km value of 0.57 mM and an apparent Vmax of 8.3 mumol min-1 (mg enzyme)-1 with N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-gamma-D-glutamyl-(L)meso-diaminopimelyl (L)-D-[14C]alanine as substrate. The enzyme was inhibited by o-phenanthroline and EDTA and was reactivated by zinc, cobalt and manganese ions; thus endopeptidase I is a metallo enzyme, probably a zinc enzyme. Moreover it is a heat-stable protein with an apparent inactivation temperature of 80 degrees C.     

Properties of p19, a novel cAMP-dependent protein kinase substrate protein purified from bovine brain

We report the purification from bovine brain and describe some of the properties of a 19-kDa protein, p19, which we have previously shown to undergo hormone-dependent, cAMP-mediated phosphorylation in several peptide hormone-producing tumor cells. The procedure for purifying p19 to apparent homogeneity utilized ammonium sulfate fractionation, sequential chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and phenyl-Sepharose, followed by fast protein liquid chromatography using a Mono Q and, finally, a C8 reverse-phase column. The yield was 0.3-0.5 mg of p19/kg of brain. The molecular weight (Mr = 19,000) and frictional ratio (f/f0 = 1.87) of p19, which were derived from its Stokes radius (33 A) and sedimentation constant (s20,w = 1.4), suggest that the native form of p19 is an asymmetrically shaped monomer. We provide evidence to suggest that p19 is isolated as a mixture of molecular forms consisting of an unphosphorylated form and of three phosphoforms indicative of multisite phosphorylation. These forms cosedimented on sucrose density gradients and coeluted on gel filtration, hydrophobic chromatography, and reverse-phase fast protein liquid chromatography. They were resolved from each other by anion-exchange chromatography. The unphosphorylated form (pI 6.2) was phosphorylated by catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase to a stoichiometry of 0.5 mol of P/mol of p19, thereby giving rise to the three phosphoforms (pI 5.8, pI 5.6, and pI 5.2, respectively). We conclude that p19 is a novel cAMP-dependent protein kinase substrate protein that is present in brain and in peptide hormone-producing tumor cells. Its function remains to be identified.     

Purification and characterization of two forms of rat interleukin-2

Rat IL-2 produced by spleen cells in culture with concanavalin A was purified using gel filtration, hydrophobic chromatography, and ion-exchange chromatography. At least two forms of rat IL-2 were found to be separable by ion-exchange chromatography. These two forms have been designated form I and form II. Form I of rat IL-2 was purified by a factor of 1297 and found to have a pI of 6.4. Form II was purified by a factor of 669 and found to have a pI between 5.4 and 6.1. Lectin chromatography was used to demonstrate that these two forms most likely differ in the extent of glycosylation. In the presence of tunicamycin the production of form II was significantly reduced. The two forms of rat IL-2 differ in their abilities to promote a mixed-lymphocyte reaction. Their differences in glycosylation may be the reason for these differences in activity.     

Purification and characterization of a low molecular weight transforming growth factor from the urine of melanoma patients

A low Mr human transforming growth factor (TGF) present in melanoma patients' urine has been purified approximately 200,000-fold to apparent homogeneity. Initial purification of an acid-soluble fraction of urine was achieved by Bio-Gel P-30 gel filtration chromatography in 1 M acetic acid. TGF activities were demonstrated in the Mr ranges of 30,000 and 6,000-10,000. These competed with epidermal growth factor (EGF) for binding to A431 membrane receptors and induced anchorage-independent growth of untransformed fibroblasts. The low Mr TGF activity obtained from P-30 chromatography was purified to apparent homogeneity by two sequential reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography steps with a mu Bondapak C18 column first using a linear gradient of acetonitrile going from 0-60% in 120 min and then by rechromatography of the activity over the same column using a shallower gradient of acetonitrile going from 20-40% in 160 min. The isoelectric point of the melanoma patient-derived urinary TGF was determined to be 6.2, which is distinct from that for human EGF. Amino acid composition analysis of the purified urinary TGF (uTGF) revealed that it is composed of at least 42 amino acid residues with a minimum estimated Mr of 4,545. Compositional analysis further revealed distinct similarities and differences between the uTGF, human EGF and TGFs secreted by various transformed human and rodent cell lines.     

Characterization of a new cysteine proteinase inhibitor of human saliva, cystatin SN, which is immunologically related to cystatin S

A new cysteine proteinase inhibitor, cystatin SN, was purified from human whole saliva by chromatography with DE32, Sephacryl S200, and CM-Sepharose CL6B. Cystatin SN is immunologically related to cystatin S and both inhibitors have a similar molecular mass of about 13 kDa. The new inhibitor, however, was clearly distinguished from cystatin S by its much higher pI value. These inhibitors showed similar inhibitory activity for ficin, but cystatin SN was a much better inhibitor for papain and dipeptidyl peptidase I. The amino acid sequence of cystatin SN deduced in the light of the known structure of cystatin S indicates that they have 10 different amino acid residues in the sequence comprising in total 113 residues.     

Recombinant amaranth cystatin (AhCPI) inhibits the growth of phytopathogenic fungi

Phytocystatins are cysteine proteinase inhibitors from plants implicated in defense mechanisms against insects and plant pathogens. We have previously characterized an amaranth cystatin cDNA and analyzed its response to different kinds of abiotic stress [37]. In order to characterize amaranth cystatin, the coding sequence was expressed in Escherichia coli using the pQE-2 vector. Recombinant cystatin was predominantly found in the soluble fraction of the cell extract. Large amounts (266 mgL^?1) of pure recombinant protein were obtained by affinity chromatography in a single step of purification. The amaranth cystatin with a pI 6.8 and an apparent 28 kDa molecular mass inhibited papain (E.C.3.4.22.2) (Ki 115 nM), ficin (E.C.3.4.22.3) (Ki 325 nM) and cathepsin L (E.C.3.4.22.15) (Ki 12.7 nM) but not stem bromelain (E.C.3.4.22.32), and cathepsin B (E.C.3.4.22.1) activities, in colorimetric assays. Furthermore, it was able to arrest the fungal growth of Fusarium oxysporum, Sclerotium cepivorum and Rhyzoctonia solani. It was further demonstrated that recombinant AhCPI is a weak inhibitor of the endogenous cysteine proteinase activities in the fungal mycelium. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the amaranth cystatin activity and encourage further studies of this protein.     

A purification method for tag-free human cystatin C recombinant protein expressed in Escherichia coli

To obtain recombinant cystatin C (CysC) protein, which can be used in immunological diagnostic kits, we focused on the preparation of tag-free CysC. The 6?×?His–TF–CysC fusion protein was found to overexpress in soluble form in cells of BL21-Gold (DE3)/pCold TF–CysC, which had been induced with isopropyl-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside. Subsequently, we established a protein purification method for tag-free CysC using immobilized metal-affinity chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography. In this method, glutathione-S-transferase–human rhinovirus 3C proteases were used to remove the protein tags. High homogeneity of the purified CysC was determined by SDS-PAGE, while the purity of the tag-free CysC was ascertained to be above 95%. With a yield of 25?mg/L from bacterial culture, the biological activity of the tag-free CysC was evaluated as inhibitors like natural CysC. The performance of this purification method was successfully evaluated in the preparation of other low molecular weight heterologous proteins in Escherichia coli.     

The cysteine proteinase inhibitor chicken cystatin is a phosphoprotein

Peptide maps obtained by reversed-phase HPLC of tryptic digests of isoelectric form 1 (pI = 6.5) and 2 (pI = 5.6) of chicken egg white cystatin revealed that the difference was located only in a single peptide (residues Ser-74-Lys-91). Ser-80 of cystatin 2 was subsequently identified as being modified by phosphorylation. Moreover, alkaline phosphatase treatment of a mixture of native cystatin forms 1 and 2 was shown by ion-exchange chromatography to cause the disappearance of isoelectric form 2 with a concomitant increase in form 1. Thus, the existence of two isoelectric forms of chicken cystatin is due to the phosphorylated form 2 and non-phosphorylated form 1.