scholarly journals Purification and characterization of a γ-melanotropin precursor from frozen human pituitary glands

1980 ◽  
Vol 191 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
F E Estivariz ◽  
J Hope ◽  
C McLean ◽  
P J Lowry

A new melanocyte-stimulating peptide has been isolated from acid extracts of frozen human pituitary glands by salt/ethanol fractionation, Sephadex G-75 gel filtration and DEAE- and cM-cellulose ion-exchange chromatography. The peptide is glycosylated, has an N-terminal tryptophan residue and an apparent mol.wt. of 16000 as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Its amino acid analysis closely resembles residues Trp-105 to Gln-29 predicted for the common precursor protein of bovine corticotropin and beta-lipotropin by Nakanishi, Inoue, Kita, Nakamura, Chang, Cohen & Numa [(1979) Nature (London) 278, 423-427]. This fragment is expected to have melanotropin activity due to the tetrapeptide -His-Phe-Arg-Trp- (residues -51 to -48) of the predicted sequence of the common precursor. It was found to have a molar potency of 1 × 10(-5) relative to alpha-melanotropin in the frog skin bioassay. These characteristics are consistent with the isolated melanotropin peptide being a non-corticotropin, non-lipotropin peptide of the human common precursor protein of corticotropin and lipotropin. The peptide neither potentiates the adrenal weight-maintenance activity of corticotropin-(1-24)-tetracosapeptide when administered to hypophysectomized rats, nor stimulates release of non-esterified fatty acids from isolated rat epididymal cells. A second N-terminal-tryptophan glycopeptide was also isolated, which had an amino-acid composition similar to that predicted for the bovine common precursor protein, residues Trp-105 to Gly-35.

1978 ◽  
Vol 173 (2) ◽  
pp. 633-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
R K Craig ◽  
D McIlreavy ◽  
R L Hall

1. Guinea-pig caseins A, B and C were purified free of each other by a combination of ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. 2. Determination of the amino acid composition showed all three caseins to contain a high proportion of proline and glutamic acid, but no cysteine. This apart, the amino acid composition of the three caseins was markedly different, though calculated divergence values suggest that some homology may exist between caseins A and B. Molecular-weight estimates based on amino acid composition were in good agreement with those based on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 3. N-Terminal analysis showed lysine, methionine and lysine to be the N-terminal residues of caseins A, B and C respectively. 4. Two-dimensional separation of tryptic digests revealed a distinctive pattern for each casein. 5. All caseins were shown to be phosphoproteins. The casein C preparation also contained significant amounts of sialic acid, neutral and amino sugars. 6. The results suggest that each casein represents a separate gene product, and that the low-molecular-weight proteins are not the result of a post-translational cleavage of the largest. All were distinctly different from the whey protein alpha-lactalbumin.


1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 899-908 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Moranelli ◽  
M. Yaguchi ◽  
G. B. Calleja ◽  
A. Nasim

The extracellular α-amylase activity of the yeast Schwanniomyces alluvius has been purified by anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and gel-filtration chromatography on Sephadex G-100. Sodium dodecyl sulfate – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) and N-terminal amino acid analysis of the purified sample indicated that the enzyme preparation was homogeneous. The enzyme is a glycoprotein having a molecular mass of 52 kilodaltons (kDa) estimated by SDS–PAGE and 39 kDa by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100. Chromatofocusing shows that it is an acidic protein. It is resistant to trypsin but sensitive to proteinase K. Its activity is inhibited by the divalent cation chelators EDTA and EGTA and it is insensitive to sulfhydryl-blocking agents. Exogenous divalent cations are inhibitory as are high concentrations of monovalent salts. The enzyme has a pH optimum between 3.75 and 5.5 and displays maximum stability in the pH range of 4.0–7.0. Under the conditions tested, the activity is maximal between 45 and 50 °C and is very thermolabile. Analysis of its amino acid composition supports its acidic nature.


1974 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Torjesen ◽  
T. Sand ◽  
N. Norman ◽  
O. Trygstad ◽  
I. Foss

ABSTRACT Highly purified human LH, FSH and TSH were isolated from batches of 300 frozen pituitary glands (200 g) by pH, acetone and ethanol fractionation, Sephadex gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and CM-Sephadex, and preparative polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Sodium dodecyl-sulphate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used in order to check the purity, the identity and the molecular weight of the purified LH, FSH and TSH. This procedure showed that the hormone preparations consisted of two subunits with molecular weights of: LH: 21 300 and 17 900, FSH: 22 100 and 18 300 and TSH: 20 800 and 16 400. The purity of the hormone preparations was also evaluated by analytical disc electrophoresis at pH 8.9. The purified hormone preparations had radioimmunological activity as follows: LH: 20 000 IU/mg, FSH: 16 500 IU/mg and TSH: 5 IU/mg. All preparations had high biological potency.


1992 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 891-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Tsujibo ◽  
Yukio Yoshida ◽  
Katsushiro Miyamoto ◽  
Chiaki Imada ◽  
Yoshiro Okami ◽  
...  

Chitinase (EC 3.2.1.14) was isolated from the culture supernatant of a marine bacterium, Alteromonas sp. strain O-7. The enzyme (Chi-A) was purified by anion-exchange chromatography (DEAE-Toyopearl 650 M) and gel filtration (Sephadex G-100). The purified enzyme showed a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular size and pI of Chi-A were 70 kDa and 3.9, respectively. The optimum pH and temperature of Chi-A were 8.0 and 50 °C, respectively. Chi-A was stable in the range of pH 5–10 up to 40 °C. Among the main cations, such as Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+, contained in seawater, Mg2+ stimulated Chi-A activity. N-Bromosuccinimide and 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl bromide inhibited Chi-A activity. The amino-terminal 27 amino acid residues of Chi-A were sequenced. This enzyme showed sequence homology with chitinases from terrestrial bacteria such as Serratia marcescens QMB1466 and Bacillus circulons WL-12. Key words: marine bacterium, Alteromonas sp., chitinase.


2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDWARD A. SVETOCH ◽  
NORMAN J. STERN ◽  
BORIS V. ERUSLANOV ◽  
YURI N. KOVALEV ◽  
LARISA I. VOLODINA ◽  
...  

We evaluated anti-Campylobacter activity among 365 Bacillus and Paenibacillus isolates from poultry production environments. One novel antagonistic Bacillus circulans and three Paenibacillus polymyxa strains were identified and further studied. Cell-free ammonium sulfate precipitate (crude antimicrobial preparation) was obtained from each candidate culture. Zones of Campylobacter growth inhibition surrounding 10 μl of this crude antimicrobial preparation were quantified using a spot test. Campylobacter growth resumed when the preparation was preincubated with selected protease enzymes, demonstrating peptide characteristics consistent with a bacteriocin. These peptides were further purified using combinations of molecular mass resolution and ion exchange chromatography. Molecular masses of the peptides were estimated at approximately 3,500 Da by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Isoelectric focusing was used to determine the pI values of the peptides. Amino acid sequences of the bacteriocins and more precise molecular masses were obtained by matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization–time of flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis. The bacteriocin from P. polymyxa NRRL B-30507 had a pI of 4.8, that from P. polymyxa NRRL B-30509 had a pI of 7.2, that from P. polymyxa NRRL B-30508 had a pI of 4.8, and that from B. circulans NRRL B-30644 had a pI of 7.8. The amino acid sequences were consistent with those of class IIa bacteriocins. These antagonists and the corresponding bacteriocins may be useful in the control of Campylobacter infection in poultry.


1980 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 825-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Guy ◽  
R Leclerc ◽  
G Pelletier

To clearly identify cells and organelles containing the common precursor (31,000 dalton) for both adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH), an immunohistochemical localization of a fragment (16,000 dalton) of the precursor that is not common to beta-LPH and ACTH was conducted in rat and human pituitary glands. With the help of specific antibodies that do not cross-react with beta-LPH and ACTH, the 16,000-dalton fragment was localized in the cells that also produce ACTH and beta-LPH in both the pars distalis and pars intermedia of the rat pituitary. At the electron microscope level, the secretory granules that contain ACTH were also stained for 16,000-dalton fragment. In the human pituitary, the 16,000-dalton fragment was also observed in all the secretory granules of lipocorticotrophs. These results suggest that, after enzymatic cleavage, fragment(s) of the common precursor and/or the whole common precursor remain packaged within the secretory granules with peptides of known activity.


1982 ◽  
Vol 208 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
R W Swann ◽  
C B Gonzalez ◽  
S D Birkett ◽  
B T Pickering

A reverse-phase high performance liquid-chromatography (h.p.l.c.) protocol has been developed, whereby all the major known posterior-pituitary components that are derived from the processing of pro-oxytocin and pro-vasopressin can be separated one from another. Thus, in a single chromatographic step, it has been possible to separate vasopressin (VP), oxytocin (OT), oxytocin-neurophysin (rOT-Np), vasopressin-neurophysin (rVP-Np) and vasopressin-glycopeptide (rVP-GP) from acid extracts of the neurointermediate lobes of rat pituitary glands. All these peptides except rVP-GP were labelled in the neural lobe by 24h after a hypothalamic injection of [35S]cysteine, whereas all except VP were labelled by 24h after a similar injection of [3H]leucine. Three major labelled proteins were isolated from 20 min [35S]cysteine-injected rats when extracts of the supraoptic nucleus were subjected to Sephadex G-75 chromatography, h.p.l.c. and sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Immunoprecipitation with antisera raised against rat neurophysins, VP and OT revealed 21000- and 19000-mol.wt. common precursors to VP and rVP-Np and a 15000-mol.wt. common precursor to OT and rOT-Np. Some immunoreactive rVP-Np could occasionally be detected in the Vo of Sephadex G-75 chromatograms of Wistar rat supraoptic-nucleus extracts, but no evidence of [35S]neurophysin in this fraction was obtained from h.p.l.c. fingerprinting of its S-carboxymethylated tryptic digests. Radioimmunoassay for rVP-Np and rOT-Np revealed that about 70-80% of the total recovered immunoreactive neurophysin (IR-Np) in the supraoptic nucleus eluted from Sephadex G-75 and h.p.l.c. in the positions of rVP-Np and rOT-Np. Evidence is presented for an approx. 20000-mol.wt. rOT-Np in both Wistar and Brattleboro rats and for an approx. 20000-mol.wt. component in the Brattleboro rat that is recognized by vasopressin-neurophysin antisera.


1973 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Chrétien ◽  
Claude Gilardeau

ABSTRACT A protein isolated from ovine pituitary glands has been purified, and its homogeneity assessed by NH2- and COOH-terminal amino acid determination, ultracentrifugation studies, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis after carboxymethylation. Its chemical and immunochemical properties are closely similar to those of beef and pork neurophysins, less similar to those of human neurophysins. It contains no tryptophan (like other neurophysins) or histidine (like all except bovine neurophysin-I and human neurophysins). It has alanine at the NH2-terminus and valine at the COOH-terminus. Its amino acid composition is similar to, but not identical with those of porcine and bovine neurophysins.


1976 ◽  
Vol 155 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Kennedy ◽  
R R. Eady ◽  
E Kondorosi ◽  
D K Rekosh

The molybdenum- and iron-containing protein components of nitrogenase purified from Klebsiella pneumoniae, Azotobacter vinelandii, Azotobacter chroococcum and Rhizobium japonicum bacteroids all gave either one or two protein-staining bands after sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, depending on the commercial brand of sodium dodecyl sulphate used. The single band obtained with K. pneumoniae Mo-Fe protein when some commercial brands of sodium dodecyl sulphate were used in the preparation of the electrode buffer was resolved into two bands by the addition of 0.01% (v/v) dodecanol to the buffer. Protein extracted from the two bands obtained after electrophoresis of K. pneumoniae Mo-Fe protein gave unique and distinct peptide ‘maps’ after tryptic digestion. Undissociated Mo-Fe protein contained both sets of tryptic peptides. These data are consistent with Mo-Fe protein from K. pneumoniae being composed of non-identical subunits. Amino acid analyses of the subunit proteins revealed some clear differences in amino acid content, but the two subunits showed close compositional relatedness, with a different index [Metzer, H., Shapiro, M.B., Mosiman, J.E. & Vinton, J.G. (1968) Nature (London) 219, 1166-1168] of 4.7.


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