Rat liver 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase: A comparison and immunological study of purified solubilized preparations,and alteration of enzyme levels by cholestyramine feeding

Some properties of various preparations of solubilized 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase from rat liver are described. One, prepared by solubilization with deoxycholate, has been brought to a level of purity such that only a sińgle component is detected by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A second preparation, solubilized by high salt concentration and heat treatment, has also been purified to a high level of purity so that only minor contaminants are detected. The deoxycholate-solubilized 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase has a molecular weight of 197,000–202,000. Electrophoresis of both preparations treated with mercaptoethanol on polyacrylamide gels in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate revealed one band with a molecular weight of 65,000. The data are consistent with the trimeric structure consisting of three polypeptide chains of apparently identical molecular weight. An antiserum to the deoxycholate-solubilized preparation has been prepared. Despite major differences among these preparations in specific activity, in stability to cold, and in the requirement of high salt concentration for preservation, both samples react in the same manner to the antibody and are immunologically indistinguishable. A preparation solubilized by freeze-thawing also reacts with the antiserum. Possible reasons for the variations in specific activity are considered, and it is concluded that specific activity changes cannot be reliably related to protein concentration unless the protein is isolated.Application of the immunological assay to an analysis of the effect of feeding cholestyramine to rats shows that compared to normals the diurnal cycle is unchanged but the rate of enzyme protein synthesis in the cholestyramine-fed rats is greatly accelerated. However, the first-order rate constant for degradatation of enzyme protein remains essentially unchanged throughout the falling phases of the cycle. The specific activity relationships of the enzyme protein of cholestyramine-fed rats appear to be altered when compared to that of normally fed controls.