Highly sulfated glycosaminoglycans inhibit aggrecanase degradation of aggrecan by bovine articular cartilage explant cultures.

The catabolism of 35S-labeled aggrecan and loss of tissue glycosaminoglycans was investigated using bovine articular cartilage explant cultures maintained in medium containing 10(-6) M retinoic acid or 40 ng/ml recombinant human interleukin-1alpha (rHuIL-1alpha) and varying concentrations (1-1000 microg/ml) of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (heparin, heparan sulfate, chondroitin 4-sulfate, chondroitin 6-sulfate, dermatan sulfate and keratan sulfate) and calcium pentosan polysulfate (10 microg/ml). In addition, the effect of the sulfated glycosaminoglycans and calcium pentosan polysulfate on the degradation of aggrecan by soluble aggrecanase activity present in conditioned medium was investigated. The degradation of 35S-labeled aggrecan and reduction in tissue levels of aggrecan by articular cartilage explant cultures stimulated with retinoic acid or rHuIL-1alpha was inhibited by heparin and heparan sulfate in a dose-dependent manner and by calcium pentosan polysulfate. In contrast, chondroitin 4-sulfate, chondroitin 6-sulfate, dermatan sulfate and keratan sulfate did not inhibit the degradation of 35S-labeled aggrecan nor suppress the reduction in tissue levels of aggrecan by explant cultures of articular cartilage. Heparin, heparan sulfate and calcium pentosan polysulfate did not adversely affect chondrocyte metabolism as measured by lactate production, incorporation of [35S]-sulfate or [3H]-serine into macromolecules by articular cartilage explant cultures. Furthermore, heparin, heparan sulfate and calcium pentosan polysulfate inhibited the proteolytic degradation of aggrecan by soluble aggrecanase activity. These results suggest that highly sulfated glycosaminoglycans have the potential to influence aggrecan catabolism in articular cartilage and this effect occurs in part through direct inhibition of aggrecanase activity.     

Heparin regulates vascular endothelial growth factor165-dependent mitogenic activity, tube formation, and its receptor phosphorylation of human endothelial cells. Comparison of the effects of heparin and modified heparins

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a family of glycoproteins with potent angiogenic activity. We reported previously that heparin has an affinity for VEGF165, the major isoform of VEGF, whereas 2-O-desulfated heparin and 6-O-desulfated heparin have weak but significant affinity (Ashikari-Hada, S., Habuchi, H., Kariya, Y., Itoh, N., Reddi, A. H., and Kimata, K. (2004) J. Biol. Chem. 279, 12346-12354). In this study, we first examined the effect of heparin and modified heparins (completely desulfated N-sulfated heparin, 2-O-desulfated heparin, and 6-O-desulfated heparin) on VEGF165-dependent mitogenic activity and tube formation on type I collagen gels of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Both were enhanced by heparin, but not by modified heparins, suggesting that both the 2-O-sulfate group of hexuronic acid and the 6-O-sulfation group of N-sulfoglucosamine in heparin/heparan sulfate are necessary for VEGF165 activity. We then examined the activation of VEGF receptor (VEGFR) to understand the mechanism. We have made several new findings; 1) heparin yielded a 1.7-fold enhancement of VEGF165-induced phosphorylation of VEGFR-2; 2) depletion of cell surface heparan sulfate by heparinase/heparitinase treatment and preferential reduction of trisulfated disaccharide units of cell surface HS by sodium chlorate treatment resulted in the reduction of such phosphorylation, suggesting the involvement of a heparin-like domain in the phosphorylation of VEGFR-2; and 3) VEGF121, an isoform without the exon 7-encoded region, which has no capacity to bind to heparin, did not show these effects. It is therefore likely that a heparin-like domain of heparan sulfate/heparin forms a complex with VEGF165 and VEGFR-2 via the exon 7-encoded region, thereby enhancing VEGF165-dependent signaling.     

Preparation of completely 6-O-desulfated heparin and its ability to enhance activity of basic fibroblast growth factor

Although regioselective removal of 6-O-sulfate groups of heparin has been undertaken by several researchers, complete 6-O-desulfation with little side reaction has not been attained successfully. In this work, a modified method with a certain silylating reagent, N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide, has been established to produce completely 6-O-desulfated heparin with few other chemical changes. The degrees of 6-O-desulfation were estimated by means of chemical disaccharide analyses and/or (13)C NMR spectra. Although the completely 6-O-desulfated heparin lost about 20% of 2-O-sulfate groups, any other chemical changes and depolymerization were not detected. The completely 6-O-desulfated heparin displayed strong inhibition of COS-1 cell adhesion to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)-coated well in a dose-dependent manner, as was clarified by the competitive cell-adhesion assay. Furthermore, the completely 6-O-desulfated heparin was shown to promote in vitro A31 fibroblast proliferation in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of bFGF. These results suggest that signal transduction through bFGF/bFGF receptor in A31 cells occurs in the absence of 6-O-sulfate groups in heparin. The involvement of 6-O-sulfate group(s) of heparin/heparan sulfate in the promotion of bFGF mitogenic activity was reported by several groups. This discrepancy between our results and those of other groups would be due to the differences in molecular size of heparin/heparan sulfate derivatives and/or cell species used for the assay.     

Site-directed mutagenesis and molecular modeling identify a crucial amino acid in specifying the heparin affinity of FGF-1.

Heparin potentiates the mitogenic activity of FGF-1 by increasing the affinity for its receptor and by extending its biological half-life. During the course of labeling human FGF-1 with Na(125)I and chloramine T, it was observed that the protein lost its ability to bind to heparin. In contrast, bovine FGF-1 retained its heparin affinity even after iodination. To localize the region responsible for the lost heparin affinity, chimeric FGF-1 proteins were constructed from human and bovine FGF-1 expression constructs and tested for their heparin affinity after iodination. The results showed that the C-terminal region of human FGF-1 was responsible for the loss of heparin affinity. This region harbors a single tyrosine residue in human FGF-1 in contrast to a phenylalanine at this position in bovine FGF-1. Mutating this tyrosine residue in the human FGF-1 sequence to phenylalanine did not restore the heparin affinity of the iodinated protein. Likewise, changing the phenylalanine to tyrosine in the bovine FGF-1 did not reduce the ability of the iodinated protein to bind to heparin. In contrast, a mutant human FGF-1 that has cysteine-131 replaced with serine (C131S) was able to bind to heparin even after iodination while bovine FGF-1 (S131C) lost its binding affinity to heparin upon iodination. In addition, the human FGF-1 C131S mutant showed a decrease in homodimer formation when exposed to CuCl(2). Molecular modeling showed that the heparin-binding domain of FGF-1 includes cysteine-131 and that cysteine-131, upon oxidation to cysteic acid during the iodination procedures, would interact with lysine-126 and lysine-132. This interaction alters the conformation of the basic residues such that they no longer bind to heparin.     

Glycosaminoglycans and acidic glycoproteins in rabbit uterus under estrogenic conditions.

Uterine slices obtained from the estrogen-treated rabbits were digested with pronase. Glycosaminoglycans and acidic glycopeptides were then isolated by Dowex 1 column chromatography and preparative electrophoresis on cellulose acetate membrane (Separax), in succession. Each subfraction thus obtained was identified by the mobility on Separax electrophoresis and the digestibility with mucopolysaccharidases (Streptomyces hyaluronidase, testicular hyaluronidase, chondroitinase AC, chondroitinase ABC and heparinase). The resulting data showed that each complex saccharide (hyaluronic acid, heparan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate A, chondroitin sulfate C, dermatan sulfate, sulfated glycopeptide and sialoglycopeptide) was separated into 2-5 fractions, indicating charge and/or molecular heterogeneity of each complex saccharide.     

Purification and characterization of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase from the squid cartilage

N-Acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase (GalNAc4S-6ST), which transfers sulfate from 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) to position 6 of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate in chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate, was purified 19,600-fold to apparent homogeneity from the squid cartilage. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme showed a broad protein band with a molecular mass of 63 kDa. The protein band coeluted with GalNAc4S-6ST activity from Toyopearl HW-55 around the position of 66 kDa, indicating that the active form of GalNAc4S-6ST may be a monomer. The purified enzyme transferred sulfate from PAPS to chondroitin sulfate A, chondroitin sulfate C, and dermatan sulfate. The transfer of sulfate to chondroitin sulfate A and dermatan sulfate occurred mainly at position 6 of the internal N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate residues. Chondroitin sulfate E, keratan sulfate, heparan sulfate, and completely desulfated N-resulfated heparin were not efficient acceptors of the sulfotransferase. When a trisaccharide or a pentasaccharide having sulfate groups at position 4 of N-acetylgalactosamine was used as acceptor, efficient sulfation of position 6 at the nonreducing terminal N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate residue was observed.     

Purification and characterization of mucopolysaccharidase from an oral strain of Bacteroides sp.

A mucopolysaccharidase in the cell extract of an oral strain of Bacteroides sp. was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, gel filtration on Sephadex G-200, and isoelectric focusing. Specific activity increased 110-fold and recovery was 2%. The molecular weight was determined to be 89,000 by gel filtration, and the isoelectric point was 7.0. The optimum pH for the activity was 6.5. The enzyme was inactivated by heating at 60 degrees C for 5 min. The purified mucopolysaccharidase degraded hyaluronic acid more rapidly than chondroitin and chondroitin sulfate A and C. However, it had no activity against chondroitin sulfate B, heparin, and heparan sulfate. Since unsaturated disaccharides were derived from the enzyme substrate, this enzyme was considered to be a mucopolysaccharide lyase.     

Purification and characterization of mucopolysaccharidase from an oral strain of Bacteroides sp

A mucopolysaccharidase in the cell extract of an oral strain of Bacteroides sp. was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, gel filtration on Sephadex G-200, and isoelectric focusing. Specific activity increased 110-fold and recovery was 2%. The molecular weight was determined to be 89,000 by gel filtration, and the isoelectric point was 7.0. The optimum pH for the activity was 6.5. The enzyme was inactivated by heating at 60 degrees C for 5 min. The purified mucopolysaccharidase degraded hyaluronic acid more rapidly than chondroitin and chondroitin sulfate A and C. However, it had no activity against chondroitin sulfate B, heparin, and heparan sulfate. Since unsaturated disaccharides were derived from the enzyme substrate, this enzyme was considered to be a mucopolysaccharide lyase.     

Low-density lipoprotein binding affinity of arterial wall proteoglycans: characteristics of a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan subfraction

The characteristics of an arterial wall chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CS-PG) subfraction that binds avidly to low-density lipoproteins (LDL) was studied. A large CS-PG was extracted from bovine aorta intima-media under dissociative conditions, purified by density-gradient centrifugation and gel filtration chromatography, and further subfractionated by affinity chromatography on LDL-agarose. A proteoglycan subfraction, representing 25% of the CS-PG, showed an elution profile (with dissociation from LDL-agarose occurring between 0.5 and 1.0 M NaCl) corresponding to that of heparin, heretofore considered to be the most strongly binding glycosaminoglycan with LDL. The proteoglycan subfraction which migrated as a single band on composite agarose-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis contained chondroitin 6-sulfate, chondroitin 4-sulfate and dermatan sulfate in a proportion of 70:22:8. The core protein of the proteoglycan had an apparent molecular weight of 245,000, and contained approx. 33 glycosaminoglycan chains with an average molecular weight of 32,000. The CS-PG subfraction, like heparin, formed insoluble complexes in the presence of 30 mM Ca2+. Complexing of LDL with proteoglycan resulted in two classes of interactions with 0.1 and 0.3 proteoglycan monomer bound per LDL particle characterized by an apparent Kd of 4 and 21 nM, respectively. This indicates that multiple LDL particles bind to single proteoglycan monomers even at saturation. In contrast, LDL-heparin interactions showed a major component characterized by an apparent Kd of 151 nM and a Bmax of 9 heparin molecules per LDL particle. The occurrence of a potent LDL-binding proteoglycan subfraction within the family of arterial CS-PG may be of importance in terms of lipid accumulation in atherogenesis.     

Enhancement of neurite outgrowth-promoting activity by heparin derivatives in sodium chlorate-treated explant cultures of rat central neurons

Periodate-oxidized/borohydride-reduced 2-O-desulfated heparin (OR2DSH) was prepared using intact heparin from pig intestine as the starting material. Successive treatments of the heparin by oxidation with sodium periodate and reduction with sodium borohydride yielded periodate-oxidized/borohydride-reduced heparin (OR-heparin). Subsequent 2-O-desulfation of OR-heparin, according to a previously established method, yielded OR2DSH. Digestion of OR2DSH with heparitinases generated unsaturated disaccharides, comprising 86.5% DeltaDiHS-(6,N)S (DeltaUA1-->4GlcNS(6S)) and 13.5% DeltaDiHS-NS (DeltaUA1-->4GlcNS), as well as undigested oligosaccharides in which uronate moieties were derivatized by the cleavage of the covalent bond between the C-2 and C-3 positions by periodate-oxidation. The molecular mass of OR2DSH was determined to be 11 kDa, which is almost the same as those of other heparin derivatives such as 2-O-desulfated heparin (2DSH), 6-O-desulfated heparin (6DSH) and N-desulfated N-reacetylated heparin (NDSNAc-heparin). The ability of OR2DSH to enhance neurite outgrowth-promoting activity was evaluated using the explant culture of neocortical tissue from rat embryo in which endogenous heparan sulfate at the cell surface lost substantial numbers of sulfate groups by the action of 40 micro M sodium chlorate. The maximum activity of OR2DSH (29.7%) was achieved at 10 micro g/ml, and those of OR-heparin (21.7%), 2DSH (18.7%) and intact heparin (16.3%) were 100 micro g/ml, whereas that of NDSNAc-heparin (16.5%) was 1,000 micro g/ml. Completely 6-O-desulfated heparin (100:6DSH) exhibited very weak activity (3.3%) at 1,000 micro g/ml. These results suggest that the potency of OR2DSH to enhance neurite outgrowth-promoting activity is exerted synergetically by two different components in OR2DSH, i.e., the IdoA alpha1-->4GlcNS(6S) unit, which contains 6-O- and 2-N-sulfate groups, and the uronate moiety in which the covalent bond between C-2 and C-3 is cleaved, although the mode of action remains to be clarified.     

Differential binding of the regulatory subunits (RII) of cAMP-dependent protein kinase II from bovine brain and muscle to RII-binding proteins

The association of regulatory subunits (RII) of Type II cAMP-dependent protein kinase from bovine cerebral cortex (RII-B) and bovine cardiac and skeletal muscle (RII-H) with specific binding proteins in bovine brain cytosol and purified brain microtubules was demonstrated using a solid phase binding assay. RII-binding proteins present in bovine cerebral cortex were immobilized on nitrocellulose filters after separation by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Incubation of the filters with 32P-labeled regulatory subunits showed that both RII-B and RII-H interact with the 75,000-dalton calmodulin-binding protein (P75) and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2). However, significant differences in binding affinities and capacities were observed. RII-B displayed a higher affinity for P75 compared to RII-H while RII-H preferentially bound to MAP-2. Quantitation of radioactive RII bound to MAP-2 showed that MAP-2 bound 4-6 times more RII-H than RII-B. The differential binding affinities and capacities of RII-H and RII-B for MAP-2 were not affected by autophosphorylation since both phospho and dephospho forms of RII displayed the same binding characteristics. Competitive binding studies suggest that RII-H and RII-B bind to the same sites on MAP-2. The biochemical basis for the differential binding of RII-B and RII-H to the same sites of MAP-2 is unknown. However, other high affinity RII-binding proteins present in cerebral cortex (i.e. P75) might affect the affinity of RII-B for MAP-2. 32P-RI did not bind to P75 nor MAP-2 under the conditions used.     

PURIFICATION AND SOME PROPERTIES OF ACID MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDES OF BOVINE BRAIN

Abstract— (1) Acid mucopolysaccharide was obtained from bovine brain and fractionated by Dowex 1 ×−2 column chromatography. Infrared spectra, elution profiles and chemical composition revealed that it was essentially composed of hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulphates.
(2) Six unsaturated dissacharides containing different types of ester-sulphate, namely ΔDi-OSh, ΔDi-OS, ΔDi-4S, ΔDi-6S, ΔDi-diS_D, and ΔDi-diS_E, were detected in the chondroitinase-ABC and -AC digests of sulphated acid mucopolysaccharide fractions. Their molar fraction was determined and the monosulphated disaccharides, ΔDi-4S and ΔDi-6S, wére found to be the two main components. A time course curve of digestion with condroitinase-ABC indicated the existence of small amounts of uronic acid-containing components resistant to chondroitinase-ABC.
(3) The peptide chains bound to acid mucopolysaccharides were mainly composed of hydrophilic amino acids. Beta-elimination reaction was performed and at least two amino acids, serine and threonine residues, appeared to be the amino acids of the carbohydrate-protein linkage regions of chondroitin sulphate fractions.
(4) Optical rotatory dispersion of acid mucopolysaccharide-methylene blue complexes suggested that chondroitin sulphate of bovine brain as well as authentic chondroitin sulphate A and C belonged to right-screw sense helical acid mucopolysaccharides, while heparin belonged to left-screw sense.     

Affinity of osteogenin, an extracellular bone matrix associated protein initiating bone differentiation, for concanavalin A

Subcutaneous implantation of demineralized bone matrix results in bone differentiation. The bone inductive protein, osteogenin, was isolated recently by heparin affinity chromatography. The affinity of osteogenin for various lectins was examined to attain further purification and characterization. Osteogenin extracted from bovine bone matrix binds to concanavalin A (Con A) but not to wheat germ agglutinin or soybean lectin. The present data indicate that the bone inductive protein, osteogenin, is a glycoprotein. The use of a Con A Sepharose affinity column followed by preparative gel electrophoresis resulted in a greater than 250,000 fold purification of osteogenin.     

Effects of heparin and other acid mucopolysaccharides on the activity of a cytolytic pore-forming protein (perforin) from cytotoxic T-lymphocytes

A cytolytic protein (perforin) was rapidly purified from a cell line of mouse cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) by DEAE-cellulose, heparin-Sepharose, and phenyl-Sepharose chromatographies. The purified perforin was activated by heparin, the half maximal concentration being 3-10 ng/ml, depending on the calcium concentration. Other acid mucopolysaccharides, such as chondroitin sulfates A and C, keratan polysulfate, and heparin sulfate, also enhanced the lysis of erythrocytes by perforin, but the concentrations required for activation were more than 100-fold higher than that of heparin. Chondroitin, hyaluronic acid, and keratan sulfate, however, had no effect on the perforin activity. It was suggested that heparin potentiates the lytic activity of perforin and acid mucopolysaccharides may actually be involved in target cell lysis by CTL.     

The bovine insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding protein purified from conditioned medium requires the N-terminal tripeptide in IGF-1 for binding

The insulin-like growth factor binding protein (BP) secreted by bovine kidney (MDBK) cells has been purified by affinity chromatography on a rat IGF-2 Sepharose column. Purified BP migrated as a single band of Mr 40,000 upon SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. An N-terminal sequence of 53 residues was obtained which was very similar up to residue 21 to the corresponding rat BRL-3A BP sequence. In competitive binding experiments with bovine IGF-1 and IGF-2, and recombinant human IGF-1, BP had a similar affinity for these ligand when IGF-1 tracer was used, but a higher affinity for IGF-2 with IGF-2 as radioligand. The N-terminal destripeptide truncated form of bovine IGF-1, which has enhanced biological activity, was found to have a markedly reduced affinity for BP compared to intact IGF-1. The increased bioactivity of destripeptide IGF-1 can be explained by this reduced affinity for BP.     

Purification of heparin,dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate from mixtures by sequential precipitation with various organic solvents

Heparin, dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate in mixtures were fractionated by sequential precipitation with methanol, ethanol and propanol. The recovered fractions from 0.1 to 2.0 volumes of various solvents were analyzed by agarose-gel electrophoresis and densitometric analysis. Heparins with different relative percentages of slow-moving and fast-moving components were precipitated from 0.5 to 0.7 volumes of methanol, and in this range of volumes, the amount of slow-moving component of heparin decreases and that of the fast-moving species increases. From 0.8 to 1.6 volumes of methanol, mixtures with different percentages of the fast-moving component, dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate are precipitated. Heparin was precipitated from mixtures in the range of 0.1 to 0.4 volumes of ethanol, and from 0.5 to 0.8 volumes mixtures with different relative percentages of dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate were precipitated. From 1.0 to 2.0 volumes of ethanol, high purity (about 100%) chondroitin sulfate can be precipitated. Propanol induces the precipitation of heparin from 0.3 to 0.4 volumes, whilst dermatan sulfate with a purity greater than 85% is precipitated at 0.5 and 0.6 volumes of propanol. 100% chondroitin sulfate is obtained with volumes greater than 0.8. Heparin and chondroitin sulfate from a bovine lung extract of glycosaminoglycans were purified by sequential precipitation with ethanol. The fraction precipitated with 0.4 volumes of ethanol shows greater than 90% heparin and that recovered from 0.9 to 2.0 volumes is composed of 100% chondroitin sulfate.     

大鼠正常肝、肝癌前病变组织谷胱甘肽S-转移酶的纯化及部分性质的研究

本文用S-己基谷胱甘肽-琼脂糖-6B亲和层析一步纯化法分别获得电泳纯大鼠正常肝GST_S及含增生结节大鼠肝GST_S。经DE_(52)阴离子交換柱将含增生结节大鼠肝GST_S分离为三个同功酶组份,依次命名为C_(DE)A1及A2,C_(DE)占上柱总GST_S活性84.8％。等电聚焦电泳测定等电点分别为7.8、6.7及6.3。经CM_(52)阳离子交換柱获得五个同功酶组份,依次命名为A_(CM),C1,C2,C3及C4,等电点分别为7.8,7.4,7.9,8.3及8.6。A_(CM)的活性占CM_(52)柱上柱总活性的10％。SDS-PAGE电泳结果和正常大鼠肝GST_S比较,含增生结节大鼠肝GST_S同样出现Ya,Yb及Yc三条区带,而后者的氨基酸组成也与正常大鼠肝GST_S相近,但是和大鼠正常肝组织比较后者GST_S活性明显升高,以阳离子同工酶的活性为主。     

Purification of heparinase and heparitinase by affinity chromatography on glycosaminoglycan-bound ah-sepha-rose 4b

Heparinase and heparitinase were separated from an extract of Flavobacterium heparinum, induced with heparin by using column chromatography on hydroxylapatite. As the heparinase preparation contained chondroitinases B and C, chondroitinase B was removed by rechromatography on a hydroxylapatite column. Chondroitinase C was then eliminated by column chromatography on O-phosphono(“phospho”)-cellulose. The heparinase preparation thus obtained was free from sulfoamidase for 2-deoxy-2-sulfoamino-D-glucose (GlcN-2S), sulfatase for 2-amino-2-deoxy-6-O-sulfo D-glucose (GlcN-6S), as well as (δ_4,5glycosiduronase for the unsaturated disaccharides obtained from heparin. The remaining sulfatase for 4-deoxy-α-L-thero-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid 2-sulfate (δUA-2S) in the heparinase preparation was removed by affinity chromatography with dermatan sulfate-bound AH-Sepharose 4B coated with dermatan sulfate. The heparitinase preparation separated by column chromatography on hydroxyla patite was purified by affinity chromatography with heparin-bound AH-Sepharose 4B coated with heparin. Sulfatase for 2-amino-2-deoxy-6-O-sulfo-D-glucose (GlcN-6S) and δ_4,5glycosiduronase for the unsaturated disaccharides obtained from heparin were removed by this chromatography. Sulfatase for 4-deoxy-α-L-threo-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid 2-sulfate (δUA-2S) remaining in the heparitinase preparation was finally removed by column chromatography on hydroxylapatite. The recoveries of the purified preparations of heparinase and heparitinase were estimated to be 39 and 50%, respectively, from the crude enzyme fractions obtained by the first column chromatography on hydroxyl- patite. The purified heparinase and heparitinase were free from all enzymes that could degrade the sulfated unsaturated disaccharides produced from heparin with heparinase.     

Affinity chromatography of protein kinase C-phorbol ester receptor on polyacrylamide-immobilized phosphatidylserine

An affinity column, prepared by immobilizing phosphatidylserine and cholesterol in polyacrylamide, was utilized in the purification of protein kinase C. Protein kinase activity and phorbol ester binding were monitored by assaying Ca2+ plus phosphatidylserine-dependent phosphorylation of histone H1 and [3H]phorbol dibutyrate binding, respectively. Both activities were present in a cytosolic extract of rabbit renal cortex, eluted together from a DEAE-cellulose column, bound to the affinity column in the presence of Ca2+, and eluted symmetrically upon application of EGTA. Recovery from the affinity column was high (30-50%) and resulted in as much as a 6000-7700-fold purification, depending on the region of the DEAE-cellulose peak that was applied. Following affinity column purification, protein kinase and phorbol ester binding activity eluted symmetrically upon gel filtration, with a molecular weight of approximately 80 kDa. A protein of the same size was present in silver-stained gels following sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of affinity column purified samples from the DEAE-cellulose peak. From 2-4 other, smaller proteins were also present, their number and relative amounts depending on the region of the DEAE-cellulose peak used. These data indicate that Ca2+-dependent/binding to a polyacrylamide-immobilized phospholipid provides a useful technique for purification of protein kinase C as well as other, unidentified proteins exhibiting a Ca2+ plus phospholipid-dependent interaction.     

Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) protects Na,K-ATPase isoenzymes during cerebral ischemia.

Disturbances of Na,K-ATPase activity are implicated in the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia. Previous experiments have shown that EGb 761 protects NaK-ATPase activity against one hour of cerebral ischemia. In the brain however, the 3 isoenzymes responsible for Na,K-ATPase activity may be differentially affected by various times of ischemia. In the present study, we investigated the effect of a longer period of ischemia, and the protection provided by a pre-treatment with EGb 761 on each of the 3 cerebral NaK-ATPase isoenzymes. In control and EGb 761 pre-treated mice exposed to a 6 hr unilateral occlusion of the middle cerebral artery, Na,K-ATPase activity was decreased by 60% and lipid peroxidation was increased by 40% in the ipsilateral (ischemic) cortex compared to the contralateral one. In parallel, membrane integrity was altered. The alteration of NaK-ATPase activity, as a whole, resulted from a decrease in the activity of the 3 isoenzymes. The two isoenzymes of high ouabain affinity however, had their affinities decreased while the sensitivity of the lowest affinity isoenzyme was increased. Pre-treatment with EGb 761 abolished the differences observed between ipsi- and contralateral cortex, with the exception of the change in ouabain affinity of the low affinity isoenzyme. Ischemia also induced changes in Na,K-ATPase isoenzyme ouabain affinities in the contralateral cortex that where not prevented by EGb 761.