Dihydroorotase from Escherichia coli. Purification and characterization

Dihydroorotase (4,5-L-dihydroorotate amidohydrolase (EC 3.5.2.3], which catalyzes the reversible cyclization of N-carbamyl-L-aspartate to dihydro-L-orotate, has been purified to homogeneity from an over-producing strain of Escherichia coli. Treatment of 70 g of frozen cell paste produces about 7 mg of pure enzyme, a yield of about 35%. The native molecular weight, determined by equilibrium sedimentation, is 80,900 +/- 4,300. The subunit molecular weight, determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is 38,400 +/- 2,600, and by amino acid analysis is 41,000. The enzyme is thus a dimer and contains 0.95 +/- 0.08 tightly bound zinc atoms per subunit when isolated by the described procedure, which would remove any loosely bound metal ions. Isoelectric focusing under native conditions yields a major species at isoelectric point 4.97 +/- 0.27 and a minor species at 5.26 +/- 0.27; dihydroorotase activity is proportionately associated with both bands. The enzyme has a partial specific volume of 0.737 ml/g calculated from the amino acid composition and a specific absorption at 278 nm of 0.638 for a 1 mg/ml solution. At 30 degrees C, the Michaelis constant and kcat for dihydro-DL-orotate (at pH 8.0) are 0.0756 mM and 127 s-1, respectively; for N-carbamyl-DL-aspartate (at pH 5.80), they are 1.07 mM and 195 s-1.     

The effects of pH and inhibitors upon the catalytic activity of the dihydroorotase of multienzymatic protein pyr1-3 from mouse Ehrlich ascites carcinoma

We have studied factors affecting the catalytic activity of dihydroorotase (EC 3.5.2.3), purified as part of a multienzymatic protein which contains carbamyl phosphate synthetase, aspartate transcarbamylase, and dihydroorotase (ME pyr1-3) and which initiates de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis in mouse Ehrlich ascites carcinoma. The apparent Km value for N-carbamyl-L-aspartate increases by 2 orders of magnitude as the pH increases from 7.0 to 8.3, consistent with equilibration of dihydroorotase (E) between four states of protonation (E in equilibrium EH in equilibrium EH2 equilibrium EH3), where EH3 is the only catalytically active form of dihydroorotase for the biosynthetic reaction, having a Km for N-carbamyl-L-aspartate of 30 micro M. The apparent Km for L-dihydroorotate shows a converse dependence upon pH, remaining relatively constant at alkaline pH and increasing progressively as the pH is decreased below 7.0. These data are consistent with the above model if E and EH are catalytically active for the degradative reaction, both having Km values of 4.4 micro M for L-5,6-dihydroorotate. The D isomers of carbamylaspartate and dihydroorotate are also substrates for dihydroorotase. At pH 7.33, the apparent Km values for N-carbamyl-L-aspartate and N-carbamyl-D-aspartate are 247 and 204 micro M, respectively, but the Vmax for N-carbamyl-D-aspartate is only 1.7% of that obtained with N-carbamyl-L-aspartate. Orotate and a series of 5-substituted derivatives are competitive inhibitors of dihydroorotase. At pH 7.27, the apparent Ki for orotate using N-carbamyl-L-aspartate as substrate is 170 micro M and with L-5,6-dihydroorotate as substrate, the apparent Ki value is 9.6 micro M, suggesting that the enzyme exists in different forms in the presence of each substrate. Dihydroorotase is inhibited in a time-dependent manner by 50 mM L-cysteine and the presence of N-carbamyl-L-aspartate or L-5,6-dihydroorotate protects against this ultimately complete inactivation. 2-Mercaptoacetate, 2-mercaptoethylamine, 3-mercaptopropionate, and L-2,3-diaminopropionate have a similar although less potent inhibitory effect. To account for the data obtained, we propose a model for the equilibria existing between various protonated forms of dihydroorotase which is consistent with the pH dependencies of the apparent Km values observed and the Vmax values observed previously (Christopherson, R.I., and Jones, M.E. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254, 12506-12512). In addition, a catalytic mechanism is presented for the interconversion of N-carbamyl-L-aspartate and L-5,6-dihydroorotate.     

Mercaptan and dicarboxylate inhibitors of hamster dihydroorotase

In mammals, dihydroorotase is part of a trifunctional protein, dihydroorotate synthetase, which catalyzes the first three reactions of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. Dihydroorotase catalyzes the formation of a peptide-like bond between the terminal ureido nitrogen and the beta-carboxyl group of N-carbamyl-L-aspartate to yield heterocyclic L-dihydroorotate. A variety of evidence suggests that dihydroorotase may have a catalytic mechanism similar to that of a zinc protease [Christopherson, R. I., & Jones, M. E. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 3358-3370]. Tight-binding inhibitors of the zinc proteases, carboxypeptidase A, thermolysin, and angiotensin-converting enzyme have been synthesized that combine structural features of the substrates with a thiol or carboxyl group in an appropriate position to coordinate a zinc atom bound at the catalytic site. We have synthesized (4R)-2-oxo-6-thioxohexahydropyrimidine-4-carboxylate (L-6-thiodihydroorotate) and have found that this analogue is a potent competitive inhibitor of dihydroorotase with a dissociation constant (Ki) in the presence of excess Zn2+ ion of 0.17 +/- 0.02 microM at pH 7.4. The potency of inhibition by L-6-thiodihydroorotate in the presence of divalent metal ions decreases in the order Zn2+ greater than Ca2+ greater than Co2+ greater than Mn2+ greater than Ni2+; L-6-thiodihydroorotate alone is less inhibitory and has a Ki of 0.85 +/- 0.14 microM. 6-Thioorotate has a Ki of 82 +/- 8 microM which decreases to 3.8 +/- 1.4 microM in the presence of Zn2+. Zn2+ alone is a moderate inhibitor of dihydroorotase and does not enhance the potency of other inhibitors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Pyrimidine biosynthesis in parasitic protozoa: purification of a monofunctional dihydroorotase from Plasmodium berghei and Crithidia fasciculata

Dihydroorotase (DHOase) catalyzes the reversible cyclization of N-carbamoyl-L-aspartate (L-CA) to L-5,6-dihydroorotate (L-DHO), which is the third enzyme in de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. The enzyme was purified from two parasitic protozoa, Crithidia fasciculata (about 16,000-fold) and Plasmodium berghei (about 790-fold). The C. fasciculata enzyme had a native molecular weight (Mr) of 42,000 +/- 5000, determined by gel filtration chromatography, and showed a single detectable protein band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) with Mr 44,000 +/- 3000. The DHOase from P. berghei had a native molecular weight of 40,000 +/- 4000 and a subunit molecular weight on SDS-PAGE of 38,000 +/- 3000. The DHOase from both parasites, in contrast to the mammalian enzyme which resides on a trifunctional protein of the first two enzymes of the pathway, carbamoyl-phosphate synthase and aspartate transcarbamylase, is monomeric and has no oligomeric structure as studied by chemical cross-linking with dimethyl suberimidate. The rate of cyclization of L-CA by the C. fasciculata enzyme was relatively high at acidic pH, decreasing to a very low rate at alkaline pH. In contrast, the rate of ring cleavage of L-DHO was very low at acidic pH and increased to a higher rate at alkaline pH. These pH-activity profiles gave an intersection at pH 6.6. The Km and kcat for L-CA were 0.846 +/- 0.017 mM and 39.2 +/- 6.4 min-1, respectively; for L-DHO, they were 25.85 +/- 2.67 microM and 258.6 +/- 28.5 min-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Divalent metal derivatives of the hamster dihydroorotase domain.

Dihydroorotase (DHOase, EC 3.5.2.3) is a zinc enzyme that catalyzes the reversible cyclization of N-carbamyl-L-aspartate to L-dihydroorotate in the third reaction of the de novo pathway for biosynthesis of pyrimidine nucleotides. The recombinant hamster DHOase domain from the trifunctional protein, CAD, was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified. The DHOase domain contained one bound zinc atom at the active site which was removed by dialysis against the chelator, pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate, at pH 6.0. The apoenzyme was reconstituted with different divalent cations at pH 7.4. Co(II)-, Zn(II)-, Mn(II)-, and Cd(II)-substituted DHOases had enzymic activity, but replacement with Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Mg(2+), or Ca(2+) ions did not restore activity. Atomic absorption spectroscopy showed binding of one Co(II), Zn(II), Mn(II), Cd(II), Ni(II), or Cu(II) to the enzyme, while Mg(II) and Ca(II) were not bound. The maximal enzymic activities of the active, reconstituted DHOases were in the following order: Co(II) --> Zn(II) --> Mn(II) --> Cd(II). These metal substitutions had major effects upon values for V(max); effects upon the corresponding K(m) values were less pronounced. The pK(a) values of the Co(II)-, Mn(II)-, and Cd(II)-substituted enzymes derived from pH-rate profiles are similar to that of Zn(II)-DHOase, indicating that the derived pK(a) value of 6.56 obtained for Zn-DHOase is not due to ionization of an enzyme-metal aquo complex, but probably a histidine residue at the active site. The visible spectrum of Co(II)-substituted DHOase exhibits maxima at 520 and 570 nm with molar extinction coefficients of 195 and 210 M(-1) cm(-1), consistent with pentacoordination of Co(II) at the active site. The spectra at high and low pH are different, suggesting that the environment of the metal binding site is different at these pHs where the reverse and forward reactions, respectively, are favored.     

Purification and properties of alkaline phosphatase from the mucosa of rat small intestine

Alkaline phosphatase [orthophosphoric monoester phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.1] was purified from the mucosa of rat small intestine by butanol extraction, ethanol fractionation, gel filtration, with controlled-pore glass-10 and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. On the gel filtration, the enzyme activity was separated into three peaks; A in the void volume, B and C at lower molecular weight positions. Enzyme A was purified to homogeneity. The activity of enzymes A, B, and C was detected even on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at the position of the protein of enzyme A, which had a molecular weight of 110,000 daltons. Enzymatic properties such as pH optimum, Km value for the substrate, heat inactivation and inhibition by amino acids were the same in all three enzymes. Based on these findings, together with the elution positions on gel filtration, enzyme A was regarded as an aggregate, and enzymes B and C as dimer and monomer molecules, respectively.     

Purification and properties of alkaline phosphatase from boar seminal plasma

An alkaline phosphatase was purified from boar seminal plasma using adsorption to calcium phosphate gel, gel filtration, and ion-exchange chromatography. The preparation gave a single band on SDS polyacrylamide electrophoresis. The enzyme was a non-specific alkaline phosphatase that hydrolysed pyrophosphate slowly and had no phosphodiesterase activity. The pH optimum was 10 and the Km was approximately 0.2 mM with p-nitrophenyl phosphate as substrate. The enzyme was a zinc metalloenzyme as indicated by the loss of activity when treated with o-phenanthroline and the restoration of activity by zinc and magnesium ions. It also lost activity when treated with thiols. Molecular weight estimates from SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and gel filtration suggest that the enzyme is a tetramer of identical subunits, each of which has a molecular weight of 68,000.     

Spinach nitrate reductase: purification, molecular weight, and subunit composition

Nitrate reductase was purified about 3,000-fold from spinach leaves by chromatography on butyl Toyopearl 650-M, hydroxyapatite-brushite, and blue Sepharose CL-6B columns. The purified enzyme yielded a single protein band upon polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions. This band also gave a positive stain for reduced methylviologen-nitrate reductase activity. The specific NADH-nitrate reductase activities of the purified preparations varied from 80 to 130 units per milligram protein. Sucrose density gradient centrifugation and gel filtration experiments gave a sedimentation coefficient of 10.5 S and a Stokes radius of 6.3 nanometers, respectively. From these values, a molecular weight of 270,000 ± 40,000 was estimated for the native reductase. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the denatured enzyme yielded a subunit band having a molecular weight of 114,000 together with a very faint band possessing a somewhat smaller molecular weight. It is concluded that spinach nitrate reductase is composed of two identical subunits possessing a molecular weight of 110,000 to 120,000.     

Purification and characterization of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase from calf thymus.

Poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase from calf thymus has been purified to apparent homogeneity by a simple and rapid method with a recovery of 10 to 20%. The enzyme activity absolutely requires the presence of DNA. Histone further stimulates the reaction. The Km for NAD and the maximal velocity at 25 degrees C and pH 8.0 in the presence of both compounds are 55 micron and 1,400 nmol/min/mg, respectively. The sedimentation coefficient (s020,w) of the enzyme is 5.80 S. The molecular weight is calculated to be 108,000 by sedimentation equilibrium method using a partial specific volume of 0.736 ml/g. This value is in good agreement with the molecular weight values of 115,000 and 120,000 determined by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 and gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, respectively. The enzyme is colorless and its absorption spectrum shows a maximum at 280 nm. From a CD spectrum, alpha helical content is estimated to be approximately 30%. The enzyme is a basic protein having a pI value of 9.8 and is rich in lysine rather than arginine. Neutral sugar, phospholipid, and DNA are not detected in the final preparation. These data indicate that the purified enzyme is a simple globular protein composed of a single polypeptide having an approximate molecular weight of 110,000.     

Purification and characterization of the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1. Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.8) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was purified 9400-fold by affinity chromatography giving rise to an electrophoretically homogeneous preparation. 2. The molecular weight of the enzyme was determined by gel filtration with Sephadex G-100 and by sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis. Both methods reveal a molecular weight of 51,000. 3. The enzyme requires Mg2+ and has its pH optimum at 8.5. 4. Isoelectric focussing as well as gel electrophoresis of the purified extract reveals a single band which exhibits enzyme activity. The isoelectric point of the enzyme is 5.1. 5. The enzyme displays Michaelis-Menten kinetics with apparent Michaelis constants for hypoxanthine, guanine and phosphoribosylpyrophosphate of 23 microns, 18 microns, and 50 microns respectively.     

Purification and properties of a lipolytic acyl-hydrolase from potato leaves.

A lipolytic acyl-hydrolase was purified 520-fold from an homogenate of potato leaves (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Benimaru). The purified enzyme showed a single protein band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme had an isoelectric point of 4.6 and a molecular weight of about 110,000. It had pH optima of 5.5 and 5.0, and Km values of 0.26 and 0.54 mM for monogalactosyldiacylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine, respectively. The pH dependences were altered by the addition of Triton X-100. No separation of these two hydrolyzing activities was achieved; the ratio of the specific activity of galactolipase to that of phospholipase (about 7/1) remained constant throughout the purification procedures. Both the activities were changed in parallel with each other by the addition of reagents and by heat treatment. The enzyme clearly catalyzed the deacylation of the several classes of galacto- and phospholipids. These results suggest that a single enzyme is responsible for both activities.     

Tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase from wheat germ

Tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS) was purified 5,000-fold from wheat germ extract by ultracentrifugation, precipitation with ammonium acetate, and column chromatography. Under denaturing conditions the enzyme ran as a single band on SDS-polyacrylamide electrophoresis with an apparent Mr of 55,000. The native molecular weight determined by gel filtration was 110,000, suggesting a quaternary structure of an alpha 2 type for native TyrRS. Purified enzyme activity, based on the aminoacylation reaction, was studied in terms of Mg2+, ATP, pH, and KCl dependence. Optimum concentrations were 6 mM Mg2+, 4 mM ATP, and 200 mM KCl at pH 8. The Km values for ATP, tyrosine, and tRNA were 40, 3.3, and 1.5 microM, respectively. The instability of the TyrRS activity and the methods used for stabilizing it are discussed. In wheat germ extract we found a second tyrosylating activity that works with Escherichia coli tRNA, but not with wheat germ tRNA. We believe that this enzyme is the mitochondrial tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase of wheat germ.     

Prenyltransferase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Purification to homogeneity and molecular properties.

Prenyltransferase (EC 2.5.1.1) has been purified to homogeneity from the supernatant fraction of yeast by ammonium sulfate fractionation, diethylaminoethyl-cellulose and hydroxylapatite chromatography, and column isoelectric focusing techniques. The active enzyme from isoelectric focusing columns emerged as a single symmetrical peak with specific activities 15- to 35-fold higher than previously reported preparations. The enzyme was found to be homogeneous by continuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 8.4 and discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 6.9 as well as sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoresis at pH 7.0. By means of gel chromatography and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the protein was shown to be a dimer with a molecular weight of 84,000 plus or minus 10%. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was determined to be 5.3. The enzyme synthesizes farnesyl and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphates from dimethylallyl, geranyl, and farnesyl pyrophosphates. Michaelis constants for the enzyme were 4, 8, and 14 mu M for isopentenyl, dimethylallyl, and geranyl pyrophosphates, respectively.     

Purification and properties of spinach leaf debranching enzyme

Starch debranching enzyme was purified from intact spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. cv Vital) chloroplasts and from a spinach leaf extract using affinity chromatography on Sepharose 6B-bound cycloheptaamylose (Schardinger β-dextrin). The enzyme from both sources was homogeneous upon sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Spinach leaf debranching enzyme appears to consist of a single polypeptide chain, since the molecular weight of the native protein (110,000 daltons) was not changed by treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate. Only one spinach leaf debranching enzyme band could be detected after electrophoresis of a leaf extract on amylopectin-containing polyacrylamide gel, the retardation factor of which coincided with that of the single band seen with the chloroplast enzyme. The purified enzyme exhibited strong pullulanase activity, the specific activity being 69 units per milligram protein with pullulan and 22 units per milligram protein with amylopectin. Cycloheptaamylose is a potent competitive inhibitor of spinach leaf debranching enzyme. The pH optimum of the enzyme was found to be 5.5. The purified enzyme is rather unstable at both 20° and 0°C. Part of the activity lost under storage or at a suboptimal pH could immediately be restored by the addition of thiols. The reactivatable protein, being of the same molecular weight as the native enzyme, exhibited a somewhat altered electrophoretic mobility resulting in one or two minor bands on a zymogram.     

Chicken ornithine transcarbamylase: purification and some properties

Ornithine transcarbamylase [EC 2.1.3.3] has been purified from chick kidney to homogeneity. The molecular weight is 110,000 as determined by gel filtration. Sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the enzyme showed that the enzyme exists as a trimer of identical subunits of 36,000 daltons like other mammalian species ornithine transcarbamylases. In 0.1 M triethanolamine/HCl, the apparent optimum pH of the purified enzyme was 7.5 in the presence of 5 mM ornithine. The curve shifted toward a more alkaline region with a decrease in ornithine concentration. The specific activity of the purified enzyme as 77 units at pH 7.5. The Km for carbamyl phosphate was 0.11 mM and the Km for ornithine was 1.21 mM. With an increase in pH, a decrease in Km values for ornithine and an increase in the extent of inhibition by ornithine were observed. On using antibody against bovine liver ornithine transcarbamylase, the precipitin lines for the chick and bovine enzymes showed a spur pattern. Even when excess amounts of the antibody were added, the chick enzyme did not lose the activity while the bovine enzyme activity was inhibited completely.     

D-glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus megaterium M 1286: purification, properties and structure.

1) Glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus megaterium has been purified to a specific activity of 550 U per mg protein. The homogeneity of the purified enzyme was demonstrated by gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. 2) The amino acid composition has been determined. 3) The molecular weight of the native enzyme was found to be 116000 by gel permeation chromatography, in good agreement with the values of 120000 and 118000, which were ascertained electrophoretically according to the method of Hedrick and Smith and by density gradient centrifugation, respectively. 4) In the presence of 0.1% sodium dodecylsulfate and 8M urea, the enzyme dissociates into subunits with a molecular weight of 30000 as determined by dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis. These values indicate that the native enzyme is composed of four polypeptide chains, each probably possessing one coenzyme binding site, which can be concluded from fluorescent titration of the NADH binding sites. 5) In polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis, samples of the purified enzyme exhibit three bands of activity, which present the native (tetrameric) form of glucose dehydrogenase and two monomeric forms (molecular weight 30000), arising under the conditions of pH and ionic strength of this method. 6) The enzyme shows a sharp pH optimum at pH 8.0 in Tris/HCl buffer, and a shift of the pH optimum to pH 9.0 in acetate/borate buffer. The limiting Michaelis constant at pH 9.0 for NAD is 4.5 mM and 47.5 mM for glucose. The dissociation constant for NAD is 0.69 mM. 7) D-Glucose dehydrogenase is highly specific for beta-D-glucose and is capable of using either NAD or NADP. The enzyme is insensitive to sulfhydryl group inhibitors, heavy metal ions and chelating agents.     

Purification and physico-chemical properties of glutamine synthetase from pea chloroplasts]

A highly purified, practically homogeneous glutamine synthetase was isolated from pea leaf chloroplasts. The enzyme purity was assayed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and analytical ultracentrifugation. The sedimentation coefficient is 16,3S. The sedimentation equilibrium analysis showed that the molecular weight of the enzyme is equal to 480 000. The minimal molecular weights of the enzyme as calculated from the data of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of SDS and the amino acid analysis were found to be 62 000 and 60 000, respectively. The enzyme contains a large amount of dicarboxylic and sulfur-containing amino-acids. The N-terminal amino acid is glycine. The isoelectric point for the enzyme lies within the pH range of 4,2-4-4.     

1, 4-alpha-Glucan phosphorylase from Klebsiella pneumoniae purification, subunit structure and amino acid composition.

1. A 1,4-alpha-glucan phosphorylase from Klebsiella pneumoniae has been purified about 80-fold with an over-all yield greater than 35%. The purified enzyme has been shown to be homogeneous by gel electrophoresis at different pH-values, by isoelectric focusing, by dodecylsulfate electrophoresis and by ultracentrifugation. 2. The molecular weight of the native enzyme has been determined to be 180 000 by ultra-centrifugation studies, in good agreement with the value of 189 000 estimated by gel permeation chromatography. 3. The enzyme dissociates in the presence of 0.1% dodecylsulfate or 5 M guanidine hydrochloride into polypeptide chains. The molecular weight of these polypeptide chains has been found to be 88 000 by dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 99 000 by sedimentation equilibrium studies, indicating that the native enzyme is composed of two polypeptide chains. 4. The enzyme contains pyridoxalphosphate with a stoichiometry of two moles per 180 000 g protein, confirming that the 1,4-alpha-glucan phosphorylase from Klebsiella pneumoniae is a dimeric enzyme. 5. The amino acid composition of the enzyme has been determined, and its correspondence to that of 1,4-alpha-glucan phosphorylases from other sources is discussed. 6. The pI of the enzyme has been shown to be 5.3 and its pH-optimum to be about pH 5.9. The enzyme is stable in the range from pH 5.9 to 10.5.     

Purification of Epstein-Barr virus DNA polymerase from P3HR-1 cells.

The Epstein-Barr virus DNA polymerase was purified from extracts of P3HR-1 cells treated with n-butyrate for induction of the viral cycle. Sequential chromatography on DNA cellulose, phosphocellulose, and blue Sepharose yielded an enzyme preparation purified more than 1,300-fold. The purified enzyme was distinct from cellular enzymes but resembled the viral DNA polymerase in cells infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 or 2. The active enzyme had an apparent molecular weight of 185,000 as estimated by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed a major polypeptide corresponding to a molecular weight of ca. 110,000. This polypeptide correlated with the catalytic function of the purified enzyme, whereas the other, less abundant polypeptides did not. By immunoblotting, the 110,000-molecular-weight polypeptide could be identified as a viral polypeptide. It could not be determined whether the native enzyme was composed of more than one polypeptide.     

Effects of Some Metals on Carbonic Anhydrase from Brains of Rainbow Trout

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme was purified from rainbow trout brain by Sepharose-4B-L: -tyrosine-sulfanilamide affinity chromatography. The enzyme was obtained with a specific activity of 2,275 EU mg(-1) and a yield of 22.5%. The sample obtained from the affinity column was used for kinetic properties and inhibition studies. Both optimum and stable pH were found as 9.0 in 1 M Tris-SO(4) at 4 degrees C, respectively. To check the purity and subunit molecular weight of enzyme, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was performed, and MW was found as approximately 29.0 kDa. The molecular weight of native enzyme was estimated to be approximately 27.3 kDa by gel filtration chromatography. The purified enzyme had apparent K (m),V (max), and k (cat) as follows: 0.92 mM, 0.207 micromol.min(-1) and 43.6 s(-1) for p-nitrophenylacetate. The inhibitory effects of Co(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Ag(I), and Cd(II) on CA enzyme activity were determined using the esterase method under in vitro conditions at low concentrations of the corresponding metals. The obtained IC(50) values, which cause 50% inhibition on in vitro enzyme activity, were 0.05, 30, 0.31, 159, and 82.5 mM for cobalt, copper, zinc, silver, and cadmium, respectively. K ( i ) values were also calculated from Linewaever-Burk plots for these substances as 0.014, 27.68, 2.15, 193.86, and 94.18 for cobalt, copper, zinc, silver, and cadmium, respectively; it was determined that cobalt, silver and cadmium inhibited the enzyme competitively, copper inhibited noncompetitively while zinc inhibited the enzyme uncompetitively.