The molecular weight of pig liver microsomal carboxylesterase

The enzyme carboxylesterase, isolated from the microsomes of pig liver, was found to have a molecular weight of 180,000 in dilute salt solutions as determined by the method of sedimentation equilibrium. In the presence of 6 m guanidine hydrochloride, 0.1 M β-mercaptoethanol, the molecular weight, uncorrected for preferential solvation, was found to be 61,000, also by the method of sedimentation equilibrium. The molecular weight determined for the enzyme (reduced and alkylated with acrylonitrile) in 6 m guanidine hydrochloride by the method of analytical gel chromatography was found to be 58,200. The method of disc gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate yielded a molecular weight of 62,000. The conclusion of the study is that the native carboxylesterase molecule is comprised of three subunits each with a molecular weight of approximately 60,000.     

Molecular weight of the major acidic glycoprotein of horse erythrocyte membrane

We describe a method for determining the subunit molecular weight of membrane glycoproteins which aggregate strongly in aqueous solutions. The sedimentation equilibrium technique which we use is completely thermodynamic in nature and makes no assumptions about the nature of the sedimenting species. We report experiments on the major acidic glycoprotein of horse erythrocyte membranes in 5 m guanidine hydrochloride. The partial specific volume and parameters describing the preferential interaction of the protein with guanidine are measured using a differential density method involving sedimentation equilibrium measurement in H₂O and in D₂O. We find the effective partial specific volume (φ′) to be rather small (0.30–0.38) implying strong preferential binding of guanidine to the protein. We find a molecular weight o1f 113,000 ± 10,000 which is in substantial disagreement with other estimates of the subunit molecular weight of the sialo protein of erythrocyte membrane. We conclude that either the subunits are so tightly aggregated that 5 m guanidine hydrochloride fails to disaggregate them or that the Na dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis method leads to a substantial underestimate of the subunit molecular weight. Circular dichroism measurements indicate the helix content of the protein to be similar in 5 m guanidine and in phosphate buffer.     

Dissociation and reassembly of Escherichia coli type 1 pili.

Escherichia coli type 1 pili, which mediate the mannose-sensitive adherence of the bacterium to eucaryotic cells, are comprised of very stable arrays of pilin protein subunits (molecular weight, approximately 17,000). Previous methods for the dissociation of pili caused their irreversible denaturation. We have found that incubation of pili in saturated guanidine hydrochloride at 37 degrees C led to their complete dissociation, as evidenced by nephelometry and electron microscopy. Gel chromatography of the dissociated pili on a Sepharose CL-6B column in the presence of saturated guanidine hydrochloride yielded a single protein peak with a molecular weight corresponding to that of pilin. Dialysis of this peak against 5 mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane hydrochloride (pH 8.0) and rechromatography in the same buffer afforded a major protein peak, probably consisting of pilin dimers. About 25% of the protein in this peak bound to a mannan-sepharose column and could be eluted with methyl alpha-D-mannoside. The pilin dimer gave a single protein band upon polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (molecular weight, 16,600) or 10 M urea and penetrated completely into 7% gels in the absence of denaturants. Reassembly of the pilin dimers into pili was achieved upon dialysis against the tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane buffer containing 5 mM MgCl2, as observed by electron microscopy. Thus, the conditions used allow renaturation of the dissociated subunits and may aid in further studies of the structure-function relationship of pili.     

The subunit structure of Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase.

Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase (EC 1.9.3.2) is composed of two subunits. Each subunit has a molecular weight of approx. 63000 and, according to the iron determination, contains two hemes. Cytochrome oxidase was subjected to various dissociation procedures to determine the stability of the dimeric structure. Progressive succinylation of 14 to 68% of the lysine residues of the enzyme increases the amount of the protein appearing in the subunit form (S20,W approximately 4 S) from 18 to 92%. At a high degree of succinylation a component with a sedimentation coefficient of approx. 2 S appears. The subunits with sedimentation coefficients of approx. 4 S and 2 S are also formed when the pH is below 4 or above 11. The same molecular weight (63000) was found for these two components in sodium dodecylsulphate electrophoresis. No dissociation of cytochrome oxidase was observed in salt solutions like 3 M NaC1 and 1 M Na2SO4, or in 6 M urea. The slight decrease in the sedimentation coefficients in NaC1 solutions is partly explained by preferential hydratation of the protein.     

The mitotic apparatus. Physical chemical characterization of the 22S protein component and its subunits

The major 22S protein of the hexylene glycol-isolated mitotic apparatus has been characterized from spindle isolates and extracts of whole eggs and acetone powders of eggs from the sea urchins Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, and Arbacia punctulata. The protein is free of nucleotide, lipid, and ATPase activity. Essentially identical in amino acid composition, proteins from these species show a relatively high content of glutamic and aspartic acids and are fairly rich in hydrophobic amino acids. Optical rotatory dispersion studies indicate a helical content of about 20%, a value consistent with the proline content of the protein. The purified proteins have sedimentation rates in the range of 22-24S, diffusion constants of 2.4-2.5F, intrinsic viscosities of 3.7-4.3 ml/g, a partial specific volume of 0.74, and an average molecular weight of 880,000. Electron microscopy indicates a globular molecule with dimensions of approximately 150 by 200 A; such size and symmetry are consistent with hydrodynamic measurements. The 22S protein yields 6-7S, 9-10S, and 13-14S subunits below pH 4 or above pH 11. The 13-14S component has an estimated molecular weight of 600,000-700,000. A 5-6S particle is formed in 8 M urea or 5 M guanidine hydrochloride, while at pH 12 the 6-7S subunit is seen; each particle has a molecular weight of 230,000-240,000. In 8 M urea plus 2% mercaptoethanol or at pH 13, the molecular weight becomes 105,000-120,000; under these conditions the particle sediments at 2.5-3S and 4S, respectively. On the basis of these molecular weights, the 6-7S, 9-10S, 13-14S, and the parent 22S particle should be dimer, tetramer, hexamer, and octamer, respectively, of the 105,000-120,000 molecular weight subunit. The various subunits will reform the 22S particle when returned to neutral buffer, with the exception of the mercaptoethanol-treated urea subunit where breakage of disulfide bonds results in a polydisperse aggregate. The 22S particle itself is not susceptible to sulfhydryl reagents, implying either that the disulfide bonds are inaccessible or that they are unnecessary for maintenance of tertiary structure once the 22S particle has formed from subunits.     

Subunits of the extracellular hemoglobin of Tubifex tubifex.

The molecular weight of the extracellular hemoglobin of Tubifex tubifex determined by equilibrium sedimentation is 3.0 +/- 0.2 . 10(6). Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate showed that the hemoglobin dissociated into four subunits: 13 000 (subunit 1), 21 000 (subunit 2), 23 000 (subunit 3) and 47 000 (subunit 4); in the presence of mercaptoethanol two subunits were observed, 13 000 +/- 1000 (subunit I) accounting for 70--80% of the whole molecule, and 26 000 (subunit II). Electrophoresis of the subunits obtained in the absence of mercaptoethanol showed that subunit I originated from subunits 1 and 4, while subunit II originated from subunits 2 and 3. These relationships were supported by N-terminal group determinations. Gel filtration in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride showed that the molecular weight of subunit I is 17 500 and that of subunit II, 36 000. Tubifex hemoglobin appears to consist of at least seven polypeptide chains.     

Aqueous N1-β-phenethylbiguanide hydrochloride as a solvent for protein molecular weight determination

Phenethylbiguanide (N-(2-phenylethyl)imidodicarbonimidic diamide) hydrochloride was shown to be a potent denaturing agent, according to optical rotation measurements, which at a concentration of 1.17 m yielded the proper molecular weight of reduced-carboxymethylated hen's egg lysozyme as determined by osmotic pressure measurements. The conformation of the unfolded molecule was identical to that in 6 m guanidine hydrochloride, as was shown by intrinsic viscosity measurements. The relatively low density of the solvent, 1.06 g/ml, recommends it for use in sedimentation-equilibrium studies. It would be possible to use rotor speeds 15% lower than those required when the more commonly used solvent, 6 m guanidine hydrochloride (density ～1.14 g/ml) is used.     

The tryptophanase from Proteus rettgeri, improved purification and properties of crystalline holotryptophanase.

The inducible tryptophanase (L-tryptophan indole-lyase (deaminating) EC 4.1.99.1) was crystallized in holoenzyme from the cell extract of Proteus rettgeri. The purification procedure included ammonium sulfate fractionation, heat treatment at 60 degrees C, DEAE-Sephadex and hydroxylapatite column chromatographies. Crystallization was performed by the addition of ammonium sulfate to the purified enzyme solution containing 20% (v/v) glycerol, 0.1 mM pyridoxal phosphate and 10 mM mercaptoethanol. The crystallized enzyme was yellow and showed absorption maxima at 340 and 420 nm. The crystalline holotryptophanase preparation was homogeneous by the criteria of ultracentrifugation and disc gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the enzyme was calculated as approx. 222 000. The amount of pyridoxal phosphate bound to the enzyme was determined to be 4 mol per mol of the enzyme. The enzyme is composed of four subunits of identical molecular size (mol. wt 55 000) and irreversibly dissociates into these subunits in the presence of a high concentration of sodium dodecylsulfate or guanidine hydrochloride. The NH2-terminal amino acid of the enzyme was identified as alanine.     

Structural studies of apolipoprotein B: physical properties of the protein in guanidine hydrochloride

Apolipoprotein B was isolated from human plasma low-density-lipoprotein without precipitation by diethyl ether/ethanol extraction of the protein in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride. The physical properties of this protein, which contained a residuum of approximately 7% phospholipid, were examined in 6 M guanidine solution under reducing conditions. The circular dichroism spectrum was indistinguishable from that of a random coil protein. Sedimentation equilibrium analyses of apolipoprotein B by the meniscus depletion method of Yphantis (1984, Biochemistry 3, 297-317) were complicated by heterogeneity and nonideality despite the low concentrations employed. 63 analyses of the weight average (Mw) and z average (Mz) molecular weight were made on the apolipoprotein B from 12 subjects. The Mw observed was a function of initial concentration, rotor speed, and a heterogeneity index (Mz/Mw). Multiple linear regression of apolipoprotein B molecular mass against these parameters suggested that an Mw of 540,000 +/- 110,000 would be observed under apparently ideal and homogeneous conditions. The sedimentation coefficient and intrinsic viscosity of the reduced protein at 25 degrees C in 6 M guanidine were 2.13 S and 116 ml/g, respectively; these values predict molecular weights of 640,000 and 250,000, respectively, if apolipoprotein B was fully denatured into a random coil. Lack of agreement between these estimates and with the sedimentation equilibrium analysis can best be explained by compactness of structure and incomplete denaturation to a random coil state. Furthermore, an irreversible temperature dependence of apolipoprotein B reduced viscosity indicated that residual structure remained in solutions of 6 M guanidine hydrochloride/20 mM dithiothreitol. Taken together, the physical data demonstrate that apolipoprotein is a single polypeptide of approximately 540 kDa, whose structure resists denaturation under conditions where most proteins exist as random coils.     

Intrinsic viscosity of ovomucoid in random coil conformation.

Ovomucoid is denatured by concentrated solutions of guanidine hydrochloride. The intrinsic viscosities of the glycoprotein in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride in the absence and presence of beta-mercaptoethanol were found to be 8.1 and 16.0 ml/g, respectively. Ovomucoid with disulphide bonds reduced exists in linear random coil conformation. However, the intrinsic viscosity of the randomly coiled protein was less than that predicted from the empirical equations describing the molecular weight dependence of intrinsic viscosities of random coil proteins in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride. On excluding the carbohydrate content of the protein, which is theoretically justified, the calculated intrinsic viscosity interestingly became closer to the measured one. The temperature dependence of the intrinsic viscosity of ovomucoid in linear random coil conformation was studied in the temperature range, 25-55 degrees. The features of the intrinsic viscosity-temperature profile are not comparable with those exhibited by other linear random coil proteins in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride.     

Novel subunit in C4b-binding protein required for protein S binding

C4b-binding protein (C4BP) is a multimeric protein with regulatory functions in the complement system. It also interacts with vitamin K-dependent protein S, which is involved in the regulation of the coagulation system. It has been demonstrated that C4BP consists of seven disulfide-linked, identical 70-kDa subunits, which are arranged to give the molecule a spider-like structure. We now have evidence for the presence of a new subunit in C4BP. On sodium dodecyl sulfate-poly-acrylamide gel electrophoresis it appears as a weakly stainable band with a molecular weight of approximately 45,000. The subunit was isolated by gel filtration in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride of reduced and carboxymethylated C4BP. Its amino-terminal sequence is distinct from previously known protein sequences. The stoichiometry of 45- to 70-kDa subunits was estimated to be 1:9, indicating the presence of one 45-kDa subunit per C4BP molecule. The new subunit was demonstrated to be a disulfide-linked component of the central core of C4BP. It was sensitive to proteolysis by chymotrypsin, and when cleaved the protein S binding ability of C4BP was lost. With protein S bound to C4BP, the 45-kDa subunit was protected from degradation by chymotrypsin, and the protein S binding site remained intact. These data suggest that the new subunit is directly involved in protein S binding.     

Integrity of polypeptide chains of spectrin from human erythrocytes.

The suggestion that the high molecular weight erythrocyte membrane protein, spectrin, consists of subunits resistant to dissociation by both sodium dodecyl sulfate and 6 m guanidine hydrochloride has been reevaluated. By gel electrophoresis in dodecyl sulfate and thin-layer gel filtration in 6 m guanidine hydrochloride as well as in the much more powerful denaturant guanidine thiocyanate, and by sedimentation velocity in 6 m guanidine hydrochloride, the molecular weight emerges in the range 2–2.5 × 10⁵. Denaturation profiles as a function of guanidine hydrochloride concentration, observed by circular dichroism, reveal that the spectrin conformation is unusually labile, with a mid-point for the unfolding process at a denaturant concentration near 1 m. Complete acylation with succinic anhydride, as well as reaction with citraconic anhydride, leaves the molecular weight unchanged even in 6 m guanidine hydrochloride. The possibility of measuring molecular weights of proteins by viscosity determination in trifluoroacetic acid was explored. A calibration with a series of proteins gave a Mark-Houwink plot with high scatter, which did not result from low precision of viscosity determination or protein degradation. Evidence is adduced from infrared spectra that the scatter is due to a variable degree of protonation of the polypeptide backbone in the acid, leading to altered hydrodynamic characteristics. Within the semiquantitive limits of the method, spectrin is not further disaggregated in trifluoroacetic acid. The presence of refractory noncovalent interactions and of covalent cross-links has been variously invoked to explain an apparent microheterogeneity in spectrin preparations. The results here described appear to render the former explanation untenable.     

Studies on thyroid hormone-binding proteins. I. The subunit structure of human thyroxine-binding globulin and its interaction with ligands.

Thyroxine-binding globulin was isolated from human plasma by ammonium sulfate fractionation, chromatographic separations on diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex, gel chromatography, and two different electrophoretic procedures. The highly purified was homogeneous when subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation analyses, and immunochemical determinations. The weight average molecular weight as determined by sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugations was 54,000 and by sedimentation diffusion data 55,000. Amino acid analyses indicated a minimum of 110 amino acid residues per molecule. By determination of the minimum in the curve for the fraction of maximum deviation from the amino acid analyses it was found that the minimum molecular weight for the polypeptide was 12,200. Carbohydrate analyses demonstrated the presence f equimolar amounts of amnnose, galactose, and glucosamine, and the carbohydrate portion constituted 7.5% of the total weight. The amino acid analyses suggested that thyroxine-binding globulin is composed of 4 subunits. Molecular weight determinations by gel chromatography in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride indicated the presence of three species of globulin with apparent molecular weights 52,000, 25,000, and 13,500, respectively. Prolonged storage in guanidine hydrochloride promoted a more than 60% yield of the monomeric species. Moreover, a half-molecule of thyroxine-binding globulin was isolated and shown to consist of two polypeptide chains of similar molecular weight...     

Comparative Analysis of Terpenoids in Roots of Ipomoea Species Induced by Inoculation of Ceratocystis fimbriata

A 7S protein in soybean globulins consisted of at least nine polypeptide chains (subunits). Complete dissociation into subunits, having a sedimentation coefficient of 1.1~1.4S and a molecular weight of 22,000~24,000, occurred in the presence of 8m urea and 4m guanidine hydrochloride. However, it was found by sedimentation, ultraviolet spectrophotometry and optical rotatory dispersion that the dissociation with various concentrations of urea accompanied simultaneously with the destruction of the internal structure of the protein. No disulfide bond appeared to participate in the binding between subunits from the results of sedimentation and disc electrophoresis. These results suggested that the subunits were very compactly and complicatedly folded on the formation of the gross structure, and hydrophobic bond with hydrogen bond also participated in the interaction between subunits.

The dissociation was interfered with the increase of ionic strength using sodium chloride, particularly in low concentration of urea. In other words, the gross structure of the 7S protein was stabilized with high ionic strength. This inclination was also recognized in alkali denaturation of the 7S protein.

Almost all tyrosine residues in the 7S protein ionized with a pK value (about 11), so they seemed to exist in the same state and to be burried in the interior of the molecule or to be participated in some combinations.     

Subunit structure of human alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2-MG) with respect to its interaction with trypsin.

SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of a recently prepared alpha 2-macroglobulin solution showed only the polypeptide chains of 190,000 molecular weight. Reduction-alkylation of this preparation followed by gel-filtration on a Sephadex G-200 column in 5.2 M guanidine hydrochloride was unable to separate a fraction of 83,000 molecular weight as previously described. Nevertheless, after incubation of a mixture alpha 2-macroglobulin-trypsin during 45 minutes at 37 degrees C, approximately 60 per cent of the preparation were converted in a component with 83,000 molecular weight as detected in SDS polyacrylamide gel. That component was isolated on Sephadex G-200 in guanidine hydrochloride and corresponds to the subunit, fraction II. According to the results of the present work together with those of previous studies, it can be assumed that alpha 2-MG is a 780,000 molecular weight protein (19S) formed of two half-molecules of equal weight (11-12S). The half-molecule contains two polypeptide chains of 180,000-190,000 molecular weight, each of them having, in its middle, a specific region particularly susceptible to attack by proteases.     

Molecular weights of apoprotein B obtained from human low-density lipoprotein (apoprotein B-PI) and from rat very low density lipoprotein (apoprotein B-PIII)

Human low-density lipoproteins (LDL) were isolated from single donors by differential centrifugation between densities of 1.020 and 1.050 g/mL. The LDL were reduced and alkylated in 7 M guanidine hydrochloride, and the lipid was removed by multiple extractions in the cold with a mixture of diethyl ether and ethanol. Sedimentation studies on the resultant human apoprotein B (apoprotein B-PI) at low concentrations in 6.00 M guanidine hydrochloride showed a single sharp boundary with a sedimentation coefficient of 2.15 +/- 0.04 S at 25 degrees C, uncorrected for viscosity or density. Diffusion experiments performed in the same solvent at low speeds in the analytical ultracentrifuge gave a D25 = 0.694 +/- 0.043 Fick. Combining these values with an apparent specific volume of 0.703 mL/g yielded a molecular weight of 387 000, indistinguishable from that obtained by sedimentation equilibrium analysis in 7 M guanidine hydrochloride. Similar values were also obtained by calibrated sedimentation analysis, by Sepharose 2B chromatography in guanidine hydrochloride, and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Rat very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), isolated from sera of Triton WR1339 treated animals, were used as the source of rat apoprotein B-PIII. The delipidated VLDL were solubilized in sodium dodecyl sulfate, and apoprotein B-PIII was isolated by Sepharose 4B chromatography. With appropriate corrections for density and viscosity, the behavior of rat apoprotein B-PIII was identical, upon analytical ultracentrifugation, in 6 and 7.7 M guanidine hydrochloride, corresponding to sedimentation and diffusion coefficients of 1.47 S and 0.92 Fick, respectively, in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride. These data may be combined to yield a molecular weight of 210 000. Similar values were obtained by calibrated sedimentation analysis, by Sepharose 2B chromatography in guanidine hydrochloride, and by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate.     

DNA as a Flocculation Factor in Pseudomonas sp.

A component responsible for flocculation was extracted from Pseudomonas strain C-120 by treating the cells with 3 M guanidine hydrochloride. The guanidine hydrochloride-extracted cells were reflocculated, not only with the guanidine hydrochloride extract but with DNA prepared from various bacteria. The reconstituted flocs were deflocculated by deoxyribonuclease or guanidine hydrochloride which indicated that the reconstituted flocs closely resembled natural flocs. In reconstitution experiments using Escherichia coli DNA at different molecular weights, it was found that DNA with a molecular weight higher than about 6 × 10⁶ was required to flocculate the guanidine hydrochloride-extracted cells. Heat-denatured DNA did not flocculate the guanidine hydrochloride-extracted cells. DNA with a high molecular weight was detected in the guanidine hydrochloride extract. It was concluded that the component involved in flocculation of this organism was highly polymerized double stranded DNA.     

Properties of the high-molecular-weight protein (spectrin) from human-erythrocyte membranes.

The high-molecular-weight protein component from human erythrocytes has been isolated and its solubility properties studied. In physiological solvent conditions the spectrin is not aggregated and is unaffected, both in hydrodynamic properties and conformation, as judged by circular dichroism and intrinsic fluorescence, by the addition of calcium ions. When the pH is decreased an opalescence first sets in, which corresponds to an associated fibrous state of the protein, and when a critical pH is reached precipitation ensues. The precipitation profile is characterised by extreme sharpness, of the kind observed in the phase separation of polyacid-polybase mixtures or of polyampholytes. The addition of calcium ions displaces this precipitation edge towards higher pH. Sodium ions have a similar but smaller effect. The position of the profile is significantly displaced in aged spectrin preparations, or those from frozen erythrocyte ghosts. Fresh preparations of spectrin consist predominantly of a component sedimenting at 9.7 S, with a minor component at 4.4 S (and traces of higher aggregates). The pattern is independent of the ionic strength, or of the presence or absence of calcium ions. The proportion of the small component increases with time, and in spectrin preparations from frozen ghosts it invariably predominates. At low concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride the larger component gives place progressively to the smaller, and vanishes completely when the concentration of the denaturant reaches 1 M. The two components coexist at concentrations below this, and are not in rapid interconversion equilibrium. On recovery of the protein from the guanidine hydrochloride by dialysis, the original pattern of two components is regained. On the other hand the larger component is not found in the material recovered from guanidine hydrochloride solutions of preparations that contain only the small component at the outset. The recovered spectrin is similar to the starting material in its circular dichroism, in its pH-precipitation profiles, and the manner in which the latter is modified by calcium ions. Molecular weight determination by sedimentation equilibrium shows that the 4.4-S species has a molecular weight of some 230 000, which is also the value derived from the extrapolated sedimentation coeffiecient in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride, and thus corresponds to single chains (of which two or more species are resolved in acrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecylsulphate); the 9.7-S species, which characterises what is evidently the native state of the extracted spectrin, is found to be a dimer. The frictional coefficients of the monomer and dimer are appreciably different. That of the dimer is compatible with a somewhat asymmetric structure, but by no means to the extent expected for a myosin-like or paramyosin-like molecule.     

Urea and guanidine hydrochloride induced dissociation and denaturation of bacteriophage F2 capsid.

A single, low molecular weight protein is found after urea or guanidine hydrochloride (Gdn.HCl) treatment of empty capsids derived from bacteriophage f2. The final product of denaturation is apparently a monomer, existing as a random coil in larger than or equal to 4.0 M Gdn.HCl but in a less extended form in 8.0 M urea. In contrast, an 11 S protein component is isolated after treatment of the intact virus with 4.0 M Gdn.HCl (Zelazo & Haschemeyer, 1969), indicating that RNA plays a role in stabilizing larger subunits. Denaturation by Gdn.HCl occurs in two stages as measured by changes in CD and Stokes radius: dissociation that involves a structural perturbation of aromatic side chains, followed by a major, cooperative transition that evidently results in the loss of all noncovalent structure. Denaturation by urea appears to be a much less cooperative process that occurs in several steps over a wide range of urea concentration (1--7 M). In both urea and Gdn.HCl, dissociation into subunits begins at a lower concentration of denaturant than the major changes in conformation.     

Electrophoretic distribution and dissociation into subunits of lactate dehydrogenase derived from human myeloid leukemia cells before and after induction of differentiation

The electrophoretic distribution of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzymes, Michaelis constant, reaction with substrate, and dissociation into subunits with guanidine hydrochloride was examined in undifferentiated and differentiated human myeloid leukemia cells. Differentiation was induced with 1/microgram/ml tunicamycin. Undifferentiated cells did not display phagocytic ability, and less than 5% of these cells had Fc receptors. After exposure to tunicamycin for 40 hr, 40% of these differentiated cells had Fc receptors, and 35% showed phagocytic activity after 160 hr. The majority of the LDH activity in the undifferentiated cells was found in fraction 3, and following differentiation almost a 50% reduction in LDH activity was observed in this fraction. In addition, LDH 3 isoenzyme levels were found to be greater in patients containing a high percentage of undifferentiated cells than in patients containing a high percentage of differentiated cells. Differentiated cells displayed LDH isoenzyme fraction pattern, Michaelis constant, and reaction with substrate similar to those found in the normal granulocytes. Differences in the dissociation of LDH into subunits with guanidine hydrochloride were found between undifferentiated and differentiated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. Treatment with 0.75 M guanidine hydrochloride caused complete inactivation of LDH derived from normal differentiated cells, whereas similar treatment caused complete inactivation of LDH derived from AML or normal granulocytes. LDH isoenzymes derived from normal granulocytes and differentiated AML cells were also more sensitive to guanidine hydrochloride depression of fluorescence intensity. The sedimentation constant for single peak LDH at 5.5 M guanidine hydrochloride was calculated as 1.65 sec for differentiated and 1.70 sec for undifferentiated cells. The molecular weight of the polypeptide subunits for undifferentiated cells was 30,000 and for differentiated cells was 39,000. The apparent parallel between leukemic cells after induction of differentiation and normal granulocytes indicates that the leukemic cells retain their maturation potential when exposed to an inducer of differentiation.