scholarly journals The subunit structure of horse spleen apoferritin: the molecular weight of the oligomer and its stability to dissociation by dilution (Short Communication)

1973 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
pp. 855-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert R. Crichton ◽  
Robert Eason ◽  
Allan Barclay ◽  
Charles F. A. Bryce

The oligomer molecular weight of horse spleen apoferritin was determined by sedimentation-equilibrium techniques and a value of 443000 found. It is concluded that the apoferritin molecule consists of 24 subunits. At concentrations as low as 0.01μm there is no evidence of subunit dissociation.

1972 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Jones ◽  
J. M. Creeth ◽  
R. A. Kekwick

1. Human α2-macroglobulin was prepared from a fraction obtained during the large-scale separation of normal human plasma proteins for clinical use. 2. Sedimentation-equilibrium measurements indicated a molecular weight of 725000. A value of 18.1S was obtained for s020,w. 3. The dissociation that occurs in the pH range 4.5–2.5 and in the region of neutrality in urea-containing solutions is consistent with a dimeric structure of the molecule. 4. The effects of the thiol reagents mercaptoethanol, mercaptoethylamine and N-acetylcysteine were investigated over a range of experimental conditions. Distinct components having sedimentation coefficients of 15, 12 and 8.5S were identified. 5. Conditions were found under which limited reduction with thiol liberated a subunit with a molecular weight approximately one-quarter of that of the intact molecule. This subunit retains the serological specificity of the whole molecule.


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.


1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kapoor

Pyruvate kinase isolated from Neurospora and purified to homogeneity has been shown to be a tetramer of molecular weight around 242 000 by gel filtration studies and 239 000 daltons by sedimentation equilibrium measurements. The monomer produced by treatment with guanidine hydrochloride is found to be 51 000–52 000 daltons by sedimentation equilibrium studies; a molecular weight of 62 000 was determined for the monomer generated by SDS treatment by electrophoresis in SDS–polyacrylamide gels. The enzyme has an isoelectric point of 6.35–6.41. Substrate saturation kinetics of PEP show a variable extent of cooperativity depending upon the buffer ions employed in the assay. ADP is the most effective phosphoryl group acceptor, GDP and IDP being poor substitutes. A divalent cation, Mg2+, is required for activity. At low concentrations, Ca2+ acts as an activator of pyruvate kinase but it is inhibitory at high concentrations. Fructose 1,6-diphosphate is the most potent allosteric activator, fructose 6-phosphate being next in order of effectiveness. Valine is a powerful inhibitor. Phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan are without any effect individually, but their simultaneous presence results in a considerable activation. Alanine does not affect this enzyme appreciably.


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.


1980 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 221 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Blagrove ◽  
GG Lilley ◽  
R Davey

There have been many physicochemical studies of legumin, one of the major storage globulins isolated from pea seed. The more recent literature values for the molecular weight of this protein are in the range 390 000-420 000. These results are not consistent with the subunit molecular weight of legumin determined by dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, if a hexameric model is assumed. We have measured the molecular weight of a highly purified sample of Pisum legumin by meniscus depletion sedimentation equilibrium and have found a value of 350 000 � 10 000. Since the oligomeric protein is homogeneous with respect to molecular weight, the heterogeneity reported for the subunit polypeptides, using various conditions of electrophoresis, presumably reflect differences in charge and amino acid composition. The molecular weight of legumin is significantly greater than the value of 325 000 found for cucurbitin, the equivalent crystalline protein isolated from pumpkin seed.


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.


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rashid A. Anwar ◽  
Mariana Vlaovic

The enzyme UDP-N-acetylenolpyruvoylglucosamine reductase (EC 1.1.1.158) was purified to homogeneity from Escherichia coli by affinity chromatography on a NADP-agarose column. The evidence suggests that the enzyme (molecular weight 35 000) is composed of two nonidentical subunits of molecular weight 21 500 and 13 500, respectively. The absorption spectrum of the purified enzyme shows no absorption band around 450 nm and thus does not support the previous suggestions that the enzyme is a flavoprotein. However, the A280: A260 ratio gives a value of 0.86 which suggests the presence of tightly bound nucleotide. A quantitative transfer of tritium from 1,4-[4-3H]NADPH to UDP-N-acetylenolpyruvoylglucosamine to form UDP-N-[3H]acetylmuramic acid was also observed, which clearly shows that the enzyme is not a flavoprotein.


1959 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 734 ◽  
Author(s):  
HA McKenzie ◽  
RG Wake

α-, β-, and x-casein are aggregated at neutral pH and room temperature in salt solution. They may be disaggregated at high pH or at neutral pH in concentrated urea solution. At neutral pH in salt solution, α-casein forms aggregates centring around a preferred size. As the pH is increased the size decreases until at pH 11 (I 0.20) it is disaggregated completely. Measurements of the molecular weight by sedimentation and diffusion at pH 11 give a value of 24,800�1000. Approach to sedimentation-equilibrium measurements at pH 12, using the Archibald method, gives a value of 25,500�1000. In 6M urea solution at pH 7.3 sedimentation and diffusion give a value of 27,600�1000. At room temperature and neutral pH, β-casein is present as single molecules in equilibrium with an aggregate of very high molecular weight. At pH 11, it is disaggregated with a molecular weight of 17,300�800 (by sedimentation-diffusion). At pH 7 in 631 urea a value of 19,800�1000 is obtained for the molecular weight. Preliminary measurements by the Archibald method at pH 12 give a value of 26,000�3000 for the molecular weight of x-casein. These results are discussed in relation to those of other workers.


1970 ◽  
Vol 24 (03/04) ◽  
pp. 325-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H Tishkoff ◽  
L. C Williams ◽  
D. M Brown

SummaryAs a corollary to our previous studies with bovine prothrombin, we have initiated a study of human prothrombin complex. This product has been isolated in crystalline form as a barium glycoprotein interaction product. Product yields were reduced compared to bovine product due to the increased solubility of the barium glycoprotein interaction product. On occasion the crystalline complex exhibited good yields. The specific activity of the crystalline complex was 1851 Iowa u/mg. Further purification of human prothrombin complex was made by removal of barium and by chromatography on Sephadex G-100 gels. The final product evidenced multiple procoagulant activities (II, VII, IX and X). The monomeric molecular weight determined by sedimentation equilibrium in a solvent of 6 M guanidine-HCl and 0.5% mercaptoethanol was 70,191 ± 3,057 and was homogeneous with respect to molecular weight. This product was characterized in regard to physical constants and chemical composition. In general, the molecular properties of human prothrombin complex are very similar to the comparable bovine product. In some preparations a reversible proteolytic enzyme inhibitor (p-aminophenylarsonic acid) was employed in the ultrafiltration step of the purification scheme to inhibit protein degradation.


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