Rapid and high-yield purification of porcine heart tissue-type plasminogen activator by heparin-sepharose choromatography

A rapid and high-yield procedure for the purification of single polypeptide tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) from porcine heart tissue has been developed. Delipidated heart tissue was extracted with 0.45 M potassium acetate. The extract was fractionated with ammonium sulfate and purified by a combination of affinity chromatography on heparin-Sepharose CL-6B and gel filtration on Toyopearl HW-55S. The final product had a specific activity of 220,000 IU/mg protein and gave a single protein band (apparent molecular weight; 67,000) in SDS-polyacrylamide gels in the presence or absence of a reducing agent. The increase in specific activity was 3,200-fold, most of which was achieved in the step of heparin-Sepharose chromatography. The yield calculated from the active ammonium sulfate precipitate was about 90% and 500 micrograms or more of the purified enzyme was obtained from 1 kg wet tissue. This procedure may also be useful for the large-scale production of highly purified t-PA from other tissues or tissue culture cells.     

Glucose transporter expression in brain. cDNA sequence of mouse GLUT3, the brain facilitative glucose transporter isoform, and identification of sites of expression by in situ hybridization.

Complementary DNAs encoding the mouse GLUT3/brain facilitative glucose transporter have been isolated and sequenced. The predicted amino acid sequence indicates that mouse GLUT3 is composed of 493 amino acids and has 83 and 89% identity and similarity, respectively, to the sequence of human GLUT3. In contrast to human GLUT3 mRNA, which can be readily detected by RNA blotting in all human tissues that have been examined, mouse GLUT3 mRNA was only present at significant levels in brain. In situ hybridization showed differential expression of GLUT3 mRNA in several regions of adult mouse brain. Specific expression was observed in the hippocampus, with GLUT3 mRNA levels being higher in areas CA1 to CA3 than in the dentate gyrus. It was also detected in the Purkinje cell layer of the cerebellum and in the cerebral cortex, with higher expression in the piriform cortex than in other regions of the cortex. Antisera to mouse GLUT3 immunoblotted a series of proteins of 45-50 kDa in mouse brain plasma membranes. These results are consistent with GLUT3 being a neuronal glucose transporter.     

Enzymatic formation of propylene bromohydrin from propylene by glucose oxidase and lactoperoxidase

The time course of the peroxidative bromination of propylene accompanied by in situ generation of hydrogen peroxide by glucose oxidase was examined to improve the productivity of propylene bromohydrin. To prevent the rapid inactivation of lactoperoxidase by excess hydrogen peroxide, it was effective to use lactoperoxidase in large excess as compared with glucose oxidase, and to raise the concentration of bromide ion. However, the rate of glucose consumption was lowered at high concentrations of bromide ion, and at higher mole fraction of oxygen as compared with propylene in the gas mixture. Therefore, it seemed that for the favorable production of bromohydrin there existed the optimal conditions for the concentration of bromide ion and for the composition of oxygen-propylene gas mixture. Such kinetic behaviors of the sequential enzymatic reactions were explained by a mechanism involving free hypobromous acid as a reactive intermediate. Furthermore, the stability of the coimmobilized enzymes with k-carrageenan gels was investigated in continuous operations. The half-life of the enzymes was ca. 60 h for the production of propylene bromohydrin.     

Tripeptidyl carboxypeptidase activity of kininase II (angiotensin-converting enzyme)

The degradation of des-Arg9-brady kinin and its analogues by highly purified preparations of hog lung and kidney kininase II (angiotensin-converting enzyme; peptidyldipeptide hydrolase, EC 3.4.15.1) was studied. The degradative peptides fragments were separated and isolated by high performance liquid chromatography and identified by amino acid analysis. Both enzymes released C-terminal tripeptides from des-Arg9-bradykinin, des-Arg9-(Leu8)-bradykinin, Pro-Pro-Gly-Phe-Ser-Pro-Phe, Pro-Gly-Phe-Ser-Pro-Phe, Gly-Phe-Ser-Pro-Phe, Bz-Gly-Ser-pro-Phe and Bz-Gly-Ala-Pro-Phe. Hydrolysis of Phe-Ser-Pro-Phe, Bz-Gly-His-Pro-Phe, Bz-Gly-Phe-Pro-Phe and Bz-Gly-Gly-Pro-Phe by both enzymes was negligible. These data indicate that kininase II can release C-terminal tripeptides of substrates having a proline residue in the penultimate position such as des-Arg9-bradykinin and its analogues, and that this enzyme is able not only to act as a dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase but also acts as a tripeptidyl carboxy-peptidase. The tripeptidyl carboxypeptidase enzyme was sensitive to inhibition by kininase II inhibitors.     

Inhibition of rat liver tryptophan pyrrolase activity and elevation of brain tryptophan concentration by administration of DL-alpha-amino-beta-pyridinepropanoic acid (pyridylalanine) analogs

Single doses of DL-alpha-amino-beta-(2-pyridine)propanoic acid (2-PA, 100 mg/kg) significantly decreased the holoenzyme and apoenzyme activities of rat liver tryptophan pyrrolase (TP) and increased brain tryptophan, serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindole-3-ylacetic acid concentrations. 2-PA had no inhibitory effect on either of the enzyme activities in vitro, but its expected metabolites were effective. Single doses of DL-alpha-amino-beta-(3-pyridine)propanoic acid (3-PA, 100 mg/kg) decreased only the holoenzyme activity and elevated brain tryptophan and its metabolites levels in rats. 3-PA and its metabolite, 3-pyridylpyruvate, inhibited only the holoenzyme activity in vitro. DL-alpha-Amino-beta-(4-pyridine)propanoic acid (4-PA) caused significant changes in liver TP (holo- and apoenzyme forms) activity and brain tryptophan concentration only after repeated administration (100 mg/kg/day). 4-PA was a weak inhibitor of the holoenzyme, but its metabolites apparently inhibited the holo- and apoenzyme activities in vitro. These findings suggest that PA analogs (and/or their metabolites) increased brain tryptophan (and hence 5-HT synthesis) by directly inhibiting liver TP activity.     

Synthesis of peptide fragments related to eglin c and examination of their inhibitory effect on human leukocyte elastase, cathepsin G and alpha-chymotrypsin

Various kinds of peptide fragments related to eglin c were prepared by the conventional solution method and their inhibitory effects on human leukocyte elastase, cathepsin G and alpha-chymotrypsin were examined. Peptide (31-40) inhibited cathepsin G (Ki = 2.3 x 10(-4) M), peptide (41-49) potently inhibited cathepsin G and alpha-chymotrypsin (Ki = 4.2 x 10(-5) M and 2.0 x 10(-5) M, respectively), and peptide (60-63) inhibited leukocyte elastase (Ki = 1.6 x 10(-4) M), whereas, peptide (31-35) weakly inhibited both elastase and cathepsin G (Ki = 2.1 x 10(-3) M and 7.3 x 10(-4) M, respectively).     

Inhibition of proline endopeptidase activity by acyl-coenzyme A esters

Coenzyme A (CoA), its related compounds and acylcarnitine non-competitively inhibited the activity of proline endopeptidase (PEPase) purified from rat liver cytosol. The degree of inhibition was in the order of acyl-CoA greater than CoA greater than dephospho-CoA greater than or equal to acylcarnitine. However, carnitine did not inhibit the enzyme activity. Among the compounds examined, n-decanoyl-CoA showed the highest inhibitory activity (Ki = 9 microM). These results suggest that both the acyl group and CoA contribute to the inhibition of PEPase by acyl-CoA. The abilities of n-decanoyl-CoA and its related compounds to quench the intrinsic fluorescence at 332 nm from PEPase excited at 280 nm, was used as a probe for the binding affinity of the enzyme for these compounds. The quenching of fluorescence by CoA was nearly equal to that by n-decanoyl-CoA. n-Decanoylcarnitine and carnitine were unable to quench the fluorescence. These results indicate that n-decanoyl-CoA at least binds to PEPase through its CoA portion.