Purification and properties of the extracellular dextransucrase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides NRRL B-1299.

Dextransucrase [EC 2.4.1.5] activity from cell-free culture supernatant of Leuconostoc mesenteroides NRRL B-1299 was purified by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation, adsorption on hydroxyapatite, chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and gel filtration on Sephadex G-75. The extracellular enzyme was separated into two principal forms, enzymes I and N, and the latter was shown to be an aggregated form of the protomer, enzyme I. Enzymes I and N were both electrophoretically homogeneous and their relative activities reached 820 and 647 times that of the culture supernatant, respectively. On sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, enzyme N dissociated into the protomer enzyme I, with a molecular weight of 48,000. Enzyme I was gradually converted into enzyme N upon aging, and this conversion was stimulated in the presence of NaCl. The optimum pH and temperature of enzyme I activity were pH 6.0 and 40 degrees, respectively, while those of enzyme N were pH 5.5 and 35 degrees. The Km values of enzymes I and N were 13.9 and 13.1 mM, respectively. Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+, and Co2+ stimulated the activity of enzyme N, and EDTA showed a potent inhibitory effect on this enzyme. Moreover, the activity of enzyme N was more effectively stimulated by exogenous dextrans as compared with enzyme I.     

Enzymatic synthesis of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate inZoogloea ramigera

The enzyme activity synthesizing poly--hydroxybutyrate (PHB) was mainly localized in the PHB-containing particulate fraction ofZoogloea ramigera I-16-M, when it grew flocculatedly in a medium supplemented with glucose. On the other hand, the enzyme activity remained in the soluble fraction, when the bacterium grew dispersedly in a glucose-starved medium.The soluble PHB synthase activity became associated with the particulate fraction as PHB synthesis was initiated on the addition of glucose to the dispersed culture. Conversely, the enzyme activity was released from the PHB-containing granules to the soluble fraction when the flocculated culture was kept incubated without supplementing the medium with glucose.PHB synthase was also incorporated into the newly formed PHB fraction when partially purified soluble PHB synthase was incubated withd(-)--hydroxybutyryl CoA in vitro.Although attempts to solubilize the particulate enzyme were unsuccessful, and the soluble enzyme became extremely unstable in advanced stages of purification, both PHB synthases had the same strict substrate specificity ford(-)--hydroxybutyryl CoA, and showed the same pH optimum at 7.0.Non-Standard Abbreviations PHB poly--hydroxybutyrate     

A new synthesis of 5''-deoxy-8,5''-cyclo-adenosine and -inosine: conformationally-fixed purine nucleosides (nucleosides and nucleotides. XVI).

A versatile method for the synthesis of 5'-deoxy-8,5'-cycloadenosine, a conformationally-fixed "anti" type of adenosine, was presented. Irradiation of 2', 3'-O-isopropylidene-5'-deoxy-5'-phenylthioadenosine with 60W Hg vapor lamp afforded 2',3'-O-isopropylidene-5'-deoxy-8,5'-cycloadenosine in high yield. The use of other 5'-alkylthio derivatives also gave the cycloadenosine, though the yields were rather poor. Deacetonation of the cyclocompound with 0.1N HCl gave 5'-deoxy-8,5'-cycloadenosine. The cycloinosine derivative was similarly prepared. The nmr, mass and CD spectra of 5'-deoxy-8,5'-cycloadenosine were given and discussed with the previously reported results.     

Amino acid sequence of the alpha chain of chicken AI hemoglobin.

Adult chicken hemoglobin is heterogeneous and contains two major components, AI and AII (1). The amino acid sequence of the alpha chain of the AI component from white leghorns (small A type) was determined and compared with that of the alpha chain of the AII component, previously determined by the authors (2). An unexpectedly large difference of 65 amino acids was found between these two chains.     

Tryptic peptides from the beta polypeptide chain of AII component of chicken hemoglobin.

The aminoethylated beta polypeptide chain in AII component from the hemoglobin of adult chicken was digested with trypsin [EC 3.4.21.4] and the resulting peptides were separated and purified by ion exchange chromatography, paper chromatography, and gel filtration. Eighteen tryptic peptides, which were nonoverlapping, accounted for all of the amino acid residues in the beta polypeptide chain. The amino acid sequences of the tryptic peptides were established by a combination of enzymatic digestion and subtractive Edman degradation.     

Studies on cathepsins of rat liver lysosomes. III. Hydrolysis of peptides, and inactivation of angiotensin and bradykinin by cathepsin A.

Systematic analysis of the hydrolysis of benzyloxycarbonyl (Cbz)-dipeptides by cathepsin A [EC 3.4.12.1] purified from rat liver lysosomes showed that multiple forms of cathepsin A preferentially cleave peptide bonds with leucine, methionine, and phenylalanine. Cbz-Met-Met, -Met-Phe, -Phe-Met, and -Phe-Ala were hydrolyzed 6 to 8 times faster than the standard substrates, Cbz-Glu-Phe and Cbz-Glu-Tyr. The pH optima of the hydrolyses were 4.6 to 5.8. Hydrolysis of peptide bonds with glycine, isoleucine, and proline was very slow, but the rate depended on the nature of the adjacent amino acids. Proteins such as albumin, cytochrome c, gamma-globulin, hemoglobin, histone, myoglobin, and myosin were scarecely degraded. Peptide hormones, such as glucagon and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were hydrolyzed markedly with optimum pH's of 4.5 and 4.6, respectively. Angiotensin I, II, bradykinin, Lys- and Met-Lysbradykinin (kallidin and Met-kallidin), and substance P were also hydrolyzed at appreciable rates. pH optima for these peptide hormones were 5.2 to 5.6. On the other hand, insulin and its A chain, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH), oxytocin and vasopressin were cleaved slowly. In the hydrolyses of glucagon and other peptides, multiple forms of rat liver lysosomal cathepsin A again showed a carboxypeptidase nature, cleaving peptide bonds sequentially from the carboxyl terminal. Almost all of the amino acids were cleaved on prolonged incubation. Vaso-activites of angiotensin II and bradykinin were rapidly lost on hydrolysis by cathepsin A. Lysosomal cathepsin C [dipeptidylaminopeptidase I, EC 3.4.14.1] also activated angiotensin II, but did not inactive bradykinin. Cathepsin A, therefore, can be regarded as one of the lysosomal angiotensinases and kinases. No distinct differences were observed between the multiple forms of cathepsin A in these hydrolyses and inactivations of peptides.     

Nucleic acid metabolism in cold-treated wheat embryos

The incorporation of ₃₂P into nucleic acid fractions separatedon a MAK column was compared for normally germinated and cold-treatedwheat embryos. ₃₂P accumulation in DNA fraction was decreasedby cold treatment, although that in the RNA fractions was slightlypromoted. The synthesis of the fraction, probably mRNA, elutedafter the peak of heavy rRNA was enhanced in cold-treated embryosand suppressed when the embryos were cold-treated in the presenceof 8-azaguanine, an inhibitor of vernalization. (Received May 2, 1975; )     

Fatty acid and sterol compositions in mushrooms of ten species of polyporaceae

The simple lipids present in ten species of Polyporaceae (Piptororus betulinus, Coriolus pargamenus, C. versicolor, C. heteromorphus, Formitopsis cytisina, F. pinicola, Microporus flabelliformis, Gloephyllum saepiarium, Crytoderma citrinum and Grifola frondosa) were investigated. The fatty acids that these species had in common were C₁₆-saturated acids (except in P. betulinus) and C₁₈-unsaturated acids. Ergosterol and ergosta-7,22-dien-3β-ol were isolated from these mushrooms. Lupeol was obtained from G. saepiarium. Ergost-7-en-3β-ol, lanosterol and 24-methylene-24,25-dihydrolanosterol were tentatively identified.     

Limited proteolysis of a chemically modified third component of human complement, C3, by cathepsin G of human leukocytes

We have investigated the limited proteolysis of the third component of complement, C3, by a human leukocyte protease, cathepsin G, by using a chemically modified C3, which was prepared by treatment of C3 with methylamine and a fluorescent thiol reagent, N-(dimethylamino-4-methylcoumarinyl)-maleimide (DACM) and was thus named DACM-C3me. Although native C3 was hardly cleaved by cathepsin G, DACM-C3me was cleaved by cathepsin G into three major fragments, which were termed C3c-G (150,000 daltons, 150 kd), C3d-G (25 kd), and C3a-G (10 kd). C3c-G was composed of four disulfide-linked polypeptide chains of 75 kd, 35 kd, and two 25 kd. C3d-G and C3a-G were single-chain fragments derived from the alpha chain. The N-terminal sequence of C3d-G was determined as Thr-Glu-Asp-Ala-Val-, suggesting that cathepsin G released C3d-G by cleaving a Met-Thr peptide bond which is located at 19 residues toward the N-terminal from the cysteinyl residue forming an internal thiolester linkage in native C3. C3d-G, like C3d-K (a C3d fragment produced by the action of plasma kallikrein), was found to have bioactivities such as leukocytosis-inducing and immunosuppressive activities.