scholarly journals Physical properties and subunit structure of l-asparaginase isolated from Erwinia carotovora

1972 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Cammack ◽  
D. I. Marlborough ◽  
D. S. Miller

1. l-Asparaginases from Erwinia carotovora and Escherichia coli (EC2 enzyme) are both capable of inhibiting and eliminating certain types of tumour cells. The Er. carotovora enzyme is a more basic protein, however, and in contrast with the EC2 enzyme it contains neither tryptophan nor cystine, and disulphide bonds are therefore absent. The molecule is very stable in solution from pH3.0 to about pH12.0, and is somewhat more stable at alkaline pH than is the Esch. coli enzyme. Calculations based on a s020,w 7.43S and a sedimentation-equilibrium molecular weight of 135000±10000 give a frictional ratio (f/f0) of 1.08. The molecular conformation is therefore very compact in solution, and the electron microscope shows the negatively stained molecules as almost spherical particles with a diameter of 7.2±0.7nm. 2. Sedimentation-velocity and equilibrium ultracentrifugation, in 5–8m solutions of urea and guanidinium chloride, and also electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel, reveal a dissociation of the native protein molecule into four subunits of similar molecular weight in the range 32500–38000. The enzymically inactive subunits can be physically reassembled into an active tetramer when urea is removed by dialysis. Although the subunit structures of the Er. carotovora enzyme and the Esch. coli enzyme molecules are similar, the secondary bonding forces holding the subunits together in the tetramer are somewhat stronger in the Er. carotovora enzyme. 3. The optical-rotatory-dispersion (o.r.d.) parameters that characterize the Cotton effects arising from ordered structure in the molecule are [m′]233=−3522±74° and [m′]200=9096±1700°. These show very marked changes as the secondary structure is disrupted and the molecule dissociates into subunits. A correlation pathway was traced on the basis of o.r.d. parameters and enzyme activity as the polypeptide chains were denatured and renatured (and reconstituted) into active molecules after the dilution of solutions in urea. Subunits resulting from treatment with sodium dodecyl sulphate do not show the typically disordered o.r.d. profile, but nevertheless they are inactive.

1971 ◽  
Vol 122 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne M. S. Marr ◽  
A. Neuberger ◽  
Wendy A. Ratcliffe

1. Tamm–Horsfall glycoprotein from rabbit urine has been isolated and characterized. The homogeneity of the preparation has been established by a variety of procedures including disc gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation in aqueous solution, sodium dodecyl sulphate and formic acid. 2. The chemical composition has been determined and a carbohydrate content of approx. 31% was obtained. The relative contents of the amino acids were shown to be very similar to those in human Tamm–Horsfall glycoprotein. A trace of lipid was also detected. 3. Leucine was identified as the only N-terminal amino acid. 4. The subunit structure was investigated in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate by gel filtration and disc gel electrophoresis. These studies indicated that the subunit possessed a molecular weight of approx. 84000±6000. A similar value was obtained after reduction and S-alkylation of the glycoprotein indicating that the disulphide bonds were all intrachain. 5. A minimum value for the chemical molecular weight of 85000±6000 was obtained from the number of N-terminal amino acids released by cyanogen bromide cleavage of the glycoprotein. 6. The immunological properties of the glycoprotein were studied. Cross reactivity was demonstrated between human Tamm–Horsfall glycoprotein and a guinea-pig anti-rabbit Tamm–Horsfall antiserum.


1982 ◽  
Vol 207 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Ilan ◽  
E Weisselberg ◽  
E Daniel

The subunit structure of erythrocruorin from the cladoceran Daphnia magna was studied. The native protein was found to have a sedimentation coefficient (S2(20), w) of 17.9 +/- 0.2 S and a molecular weight, as determined by sedimentation equilibrium, of 494 000 +/- 33 000. Iron and haem determinations gave 0.312 +/- 0.011% and 3.84 +/- 0.04%, corresponding to minimal molecular weights of 17900 +/- 600 and 16 100 +/- 200 respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis gave one band with mobility corresponding to a molecular weight of 31 000 +/- 1 500. The molecular weight of the polypeptide chain determined by sedimentation equilibrium in 6 M-guanidinium chloride and 0.1 M-2-mercaptoethanol is 31 100 +/- 1300. On a molecular-weight basis, Daphnia erythrocruorin is composed of 16 identical polypeptide chains carrying two haem groups each. The native structure is stable between pH5 and 8.5. At alkaline and acidic pH, a gradual decrease in the sedimentation coefficient down to 9.8S occurs. Above pH 10 and below pH4, a slow component with S20, w between 2.7S and 4.0S is observed. The 2.7S, 4.0S and 9.8S species are identified as single-chain subunits, subunit dimers and half-molecules respectively. We propose a model for the molecule composed of 16 2.7S subunits grouped in two layers stacked in an eclipsed orientation, the eight subunits of each layer occupying the vertices of a regular eight-sided polygon. Support for this arrangement is provided from electron microscopy and from analysis of the pH-dissociation pattern.


1970 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Fletcher ◽  
A. Neuberger ◽  
Wendy A. Ratcliffe

1. Subunit molecular weights of 76000–82000 were obtained for native and alkylated Tamm–Horsfall glycoprotein by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate. 2. A further estimate of the subunit molecular weight of 79000±4000 was obtained by disc gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate. 3. A minimum value of the chemical molecular weight of 79000±6000 was obtained from the number of N-terminal amino acids released by cyanogen bromide cleavage of the glycoprotein. 4. Similar values were obtained for the subunit molecular weight of Tamm–Horsfall glycoprotein from patients with cystic fibrosis. 5. On ultracentrifugation both in 1.0% sodium dodecyl sulphate and in 70% formic acid, Tamm–Horsfall glycoprotein sedimented as a single component, slightly faster than serum albumin. 6. On reduction of the disulphide bonds the same subunit molecular weight was obtained, which suggested that these bonds are intrachain.


1974 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Kerr ◽  
A. J. Kenny

1. Some properties of a brush-border neutral endopeptidase purified from rabbit kidney were investigated. The peptidase was assayed by its ability to hydrolyse [125I]iodoinsulin B chain. 2. The enzyme was found to be homogeneous when studied in the analytical ultracentrifuge and stained as a single glycoprotein band after electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. 3. The molecular weight was estimated by gel filtration in columns of Sephadex G-200, by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of 2-mercapto-ethanol and sodium dodecyl sulphate and by sedimentation equilibrium in the ultra-centrifuge. The estimates fell within the range 87000–96000. The mean from two sedimentation equilibrium experiments was 93000, though this estimate may be slightly inflated because of the carbohydrate component of the enzyme. No evidence of dissociation into smaller subunits was obtained in the presence of thiol, sodium dodecyl sulphate or guanidine hydrochloride. 4. The endopeptidase was maximally active at pH6.0, although in phosphate buffer, which was strongly inhibitory, an optimum above pH8 was observed. 5. The enzyme was not affected by di-isopropyl phosphofluoridate nor by several thiol reagents. It was, however, strongly inhibited by many thiols and by EDTA and other chelating agents. 6. Although activity of the EDTA-treated enzyme could be partially restored by various bivalent metal ions, the optimum concentration for its reactivation by Zn2+ was lower than that for other ions. This metal was detected in the enzyme preparation by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in an amount equivalent to approximately one atom/mol. 7. The enzyme is the only endopeptidase shown to be located in the kidney brush border and is the first mammalian example of a neutral Zn2+- activated endopeptidase to be characterized.


1975 ◽  
Vol 145 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Jeffcoat

1. Homogeneous preparations of D-4-deoxy-5-oxoglutarate hydro lyase (decarboxylating)(EC4.2.1.41) were analysed in the ultracentrifuge by the high-speed sedimentation-equilibrium method of Yphantis (1964). The molecular weight in 0.1 M-potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.2, in 6M-guanidine hydrochloride and in 0.1 M-beta-mercaptoethanol in 6M-guanidine hydrochloride was 113,000, 56,000 and 30,400 respectively. Polyacrylamidegel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate indicated a minimum molecular weight of 30,500. 2. Measurement of the thiol content of the enzyme, before and after reduction with NaBH4 or dithiothreitol under denaturing conditions, indicated the presence of eight thiol residues and two interchain disulphide bridges/enzyme molecule. 3. Amino acid analysis showed that the intact enzyme contains a total of approximately 100 arginine and lysine residues, but digestion of the enzyme with trypsin yielded about 49 peptides staining with ninhydrin in a peptide “map”. 4. With the knowledge that the enzyme contains only two substrate-binding sites, it is suggested that the enzyme probably consists of four polypeptide chains arranged in an alpha2beta2 confirmation.


1973 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. E. Richardson ◽  
N. Buttress ◽  
A. Feinstein ◽  
A. Stratil ◽  
R. L. Spooner

The single-banding components of bovine transferrin from animals homozygous for the four transferrin variants found in the U.K. were isolated. Sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation and sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis showed that the bands of a single variant have molecular weights of 77500 and 73300 respectively. The different bands of a single variant and single bands of different variants show no evidence of size heterogeneity or of low-molecular-weight peptides being split off after reduction in 6m-guanidine hydrochloride. The two slower bands of a single variant, which both contain 2 molecules of sialic acid/molecule of protein, have the same molecular weight and amino acid composition, and give identical peptide ‘maps’, although differences in composition and peptide ‘maps’ occur between the different variants. The results support the concept that bovine transferrin is essentially a single polypeptide chain, but they do not explain differences in electrophoretic mobility between bands of the same variant which are not produced by differing sialic acid content.


1976 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
R H Quarles

Rats (14 days old) were injected with [14c]fucose and young adult rats with [3H]fucose in order to label the myelin-associated glycoproteins. As previously reported, the major [14C]fucose-labelled glycoprotein in the immature myelin had a higher apparent molecular weight on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gels that the [3H]fucose-labelled glycoprotein in mature myelin. This predominant doubly labelled glycoprotein component was partially purified by preparative gel electrophoresis and converted to glycopeptides by extensive Pronase digestion. Gel filtration on Sephadex G-50 separated the glycopeptides into several clases, which were designted A,B, C AND D, from high to low molecular weight. The 14C-labelled glycopeptides from immature myeline were enriched in the highest-molecular-weight class A relative to the 3H-labelled glycopeptides from mature myelin. Neuraminidase treatment of the glycoprotein before Pronase digestion greatly decreased the proportion of glycopeptides fractionating in the higher-molecular-weight classes and largely eliminated the developmental differences that were apparent by gel filtration. However, neuraminidase treatment did not decrease the magnitude of the developmental difference revealed by electrophoresing the intact glycoprotein on sodium dodecyl sulphate gels, although it did decrease the apparent molecular weight of the glycoprotein from both the 15-day-old and adult rats by an amount comparable in magnitude to that developmental difference. The results from gel filtration of glycopeptides indicate that there is a higher content of large molecular weight, sialic acid-rich oligosaccharide units in the glycoprotein of immature myelin. However, the higher apparent molecular weight for the glycoprotein from 15-day-old rats on sodium dodcyl sulphate gels is not due primarily to its higher sialic acid content.


1983 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 280-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Coulton ◽  
D. T. F. Wan

Membrane proteins fom the cell envelope of Haemophilus influenzae type b ATCC 9795 were examined by sodium dodecyl sulphate – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. When envelopes were extracted with a phosphate-based buffer containing 2% Triton X-100, a major protein of molecular weight 43 000 was detected in fractions containing cytoplasmic membrane proteins. The cell wall material which was Triton X-100 insoluble contained six major proteins of molecular weights 46 000, 40 000, 36 000, 30 000, 27 000, and 16 000. One of these proteins showed a shift in molecular weight from 27 000 to 36 000 when it was heated over a temperature range from 50 °C to 100 °C in buffer containing 2% sodium dodecyl sulphate, 5% 2-mercaptoethanol. This alteration in mobility could be demonstrated either by the membrane-bound form of the protein or by a detergent-soluble form of the protein. Enriched preparations of the 36 000 molecular weight form were obtained by a series of purification steps. Extraction of the Triton X-100 insoluble material with buffer containing 2% Triton X-100, 5.0 mM EDTA yielded chiefly one major protein molecular weight 30 000 and many minor protein species. Pretreatment of the Triton X-100 insoluble fraction with lysozyme followed by extraction with buffer containing 2% Triton X-100, 5.0 mM EDTA released two proteins of molecular weights 16 000 and 27 000 and few minor proteins. By these operational manipulations, the proteins of molecular weights 16 000 and 27 000 may be considered as peptidoglycan-associated proteins.


1983 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Crossley ◽  
D.V. Holberton

Proteins from the axonemes and disc cytoskeleton of Giardia lamblia have been examined by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In addition to tubulin and the 30 X 10(3) molecular weight disc protein, at least 18 minor components copurify with the two major proteins in Triton-insoluble structures. The most prominent minor bands have the apparent molecular weights of 110 X 10(3), 95 X 10(3) and 81 X 10(3). Protein of 30 X 10(3) molecular weight accounts for about 20% of organelle protein on gels. In continuous 25 mM-Tris-glycine buffer it migrates mostly as a close-spaced doublet of polypeptides, which are here given the name giardins. Giardia tubulin and giardin have been purified by gel filtration chromatography in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate. Well-separated fractions were obtained that could be further characterized. Both proteins are heterogeneous when examined by isoelectric focusing. Five tubulin chains were detected by PAGE Blue 83 dye-binding after focusing in a broad-range ampholyte gel. Giardin is slightly less acidic than tubulin. On gels it splits into four major and four minor chains with isoelectric points in the pI range from 5.8 to 6.2. The amino acid composition of the giardin fraction has been determined, and compared to Giardia tubulin and a rat brain tubulin standard. Giardins are rich in helix-forming residues, particularly leucine. They have a low content of proline and glycine; therefore they may have extensive alpha-helical regions and be rod-shaped. As integral proteins of disc microribbons, giardins in vivo associate closely with tubulin. The properties of giardins indicate that in a number of respects - molecular size, charge, stoichiometry - their structural interaction with tubulin assemblies will be different from other tubulin-accessory protein copolymers studied in vitro.


1981 ◽  
Vol 197 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
E G Afting ◽  
M L Recker

Cathepsin D was purified by two-step affinity chromatography on concanavalin A- and pepstatin-Sepharose. The main purification was achieved by washing the enzyme bound to the pepstatin-Sepharose column with buffered 6 M-urea. This step separated cathepsin D from all low- and high-molecular-weight impurities. Although the 1700-fold purified acid proteinase was homogeneous on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, it still showed microheterogeneity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document