scholarly journals Isolation of the smallest component of silk protein

1980 ◽  
Vol 187 (2) ◽  
pp. 413-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Tokutake

Silk proteins were solubilized from cocoons with ethylenediamine/cupric hydroxide solution. A series of polymers of the smallest component, detected by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, could be converted into the smallest component by reduction and aminoethylation. Fibroin and sericin fractions were separated by precipitation of sericin at pH 5.5. On gel electrophoresis, sericin showed distinct bands but fibroin did not. The components of fibroin and sericin were fractionated by gel filtration on Sepharose 6B. The smallest component in the sericin fraction was purified by rechromatography and showed a single band on gel electrophoresis. Its mol. wt. was 24 000, and its amino acid composition was determined.

1987 ◽  
Vol 241 (3) ◽  
pp. 685-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Manjunath ◽  
M R Sairam

Three major acidic proteins of bovine seminal plasma, BSP-A1, BSP-A2 and BSP-A3, were purified to homogeneity, by employing fast protein liquid chromatography, gel filtration and h.p.l.c. The proteins were purified on the basis of their stimulatory effect on the basal release of gonadotropins by rat anterior-pituitary cells in culture. All three proteins migrated as distinct single bands in the presence or absence of 2-mercaptoethanol in SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Their Mr values were estimated to be between 15,000 and 16,500 by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Similar Mr estimates were obtained when they were subjected to gel filtration on a calibrated column of Sephadex G-75 equilibrated in 0.05 M-acetic acid, pH 3.0. However, BSP-A1 and BSP-A2 were eluted as aggregated molecules (Mr 60,000-120,000) during gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 equilibrated in 0.05 M-NH4HCO3, pH 8.5, or phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, containing 0.15 M-NaCl. In the presence of 8 M-urea both BSP-A1 and BSP-A2 were eluted at positions corresponding to Mr values of 17,000-20,000. BSP-A1 and BSP-A2 had an identical amino acid composition, which differed largely from that of BSP-A3. All three proteins contained aspartic acid as the N-terminal residue, and cysteine was identified as the C-terminal residue. BSP-A1 and BSP-A2 are glycoproteins containing galactosamine, sialic acid and neutral sugars, but BSP-A3 did not contain any covalently attached sugars. Whereas BSP-A2 and BSP-A3 were eluted unadsorbed, BSP-A1 bound to wheat-germ lectin-Sepharose 6MB and could be eluted by the competing sugar N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Treatment of BSP-A1 and BSP-A2 with trypsin resulted in complete loss of gonadotropin-release activity, but BSP-A3 retained full activity. Antibody raised against BSP-A1 did not cross-react with BSP-A3, or vice versa. All these properties indicated marked structural differences between BSP-A3 and BSP-A1 (or BSP-A2). On the basis of amino acid composition it was concluded that BSP-A1, BSP-A2 and BSP-A3 are the same as the gonadostatins [Esch, Ling, Bohlen, Ying & Guillemin (1983) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 113, 861-867].


1984 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Sterling ◽  
Gordon A. Campbell ◽  
Milton A. Brenner

Abstract. The thyroid hormone receptor of the inner membrane of rat liver mitochondria was purified by osmotic and freeze-thaw lyses followed by partial purification on Sephadex G-200, and then by affinity chromatography with T3-Sepharose 4B. A single predominant protein band demonstrable on sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was present in the first 4 mm NaOH elution peak of affinity chromatography. This was collected from affinity peaks from about 30 rat livers followed by preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A single absorbance peak was observed by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The purified protein was analyzed for binding constants, amino acid composition, and characterized by analytical ultracentrifugation. The association constant (KA) exceeded 1011 m−1. The sedimentation coefficient (S20,W) was 2.2S, partial specific volume (v) 0.72, frictional coefficient (f/fo)s m 1.68 and the molecular weight was estimated at 28000. The amino acid composition was obtained.


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.


1984 ◽  
Vol 222 (3) ◽  
pp. 701-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
R L Olsen ◽  
C Little

The subunit composition of human myeloperoxidase was studied with the use of sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and gel filtration. The subunit pattern observed depended on the manner in which the enzyme was treated before analysis. Reduction before heat treatment in detergent led to two main protein species (Mr 57 000 and 10 500), whereas reduction during or after heat treatment yielded an additional species of Mr 39 000. Heating without any reductive pretreatment yielded the 39 000-Mr form as the major electrophoretic species. Carbohydrate staining showed large amounts of sugar on the 57 000-Mr species and little on the 10 500-Mr form. Significant amounts of haem were associated with this latter subunit. Haem also seemed to be associated with the 57 000-Mr form but not with the 39 000-Mr one. These three subunit forms were isolated and their amino acid composition analysed. The 57 000-Mr and 39 000-Mr forms had very similar amino acid composition and yielded an apparently identical collection of fragments on incubation with CNBr. Once separated, the subunits could not be interconverted. Generally, minor amounts of other molecular-mass forms were observed. The nature of the various molecular-mass forms originating from myeloperoxidase is discussed.


1987 ◽  
Vol 244 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
J L DiFabio ◽  
R H Pearce ◽  
B Caterson ◽  
H Hughes

Non-aggregating proteoglycans of differing average hydrodynamic volumes were prepared from nuclei pulposi and anuli fibrosi of three human lumbar spines and characterized by biochemical and immunochemical analyses. The hexose-to-hexuronate and protein-to-hexuronate ratios increased with decreasing hydrodynamic volume. Analysis by composite agarose/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis has demonstrated two aggregating subpopulations [McDevitt, Jahnke & Green (1982) Trans. Annu. Meet. Orthop. Res. Soc. 7, 50]. In the present study, electrophoresis of the non-aggregating pools has shown three additional subpopulations, here named bands III, IV and V. The two smallest proteoglycan pools from each tissue contained two and three components respectively. These components were isolated by preparative electrophoresis and analysed. Band III was a proteoglycan richer in keratan sulphate than in chondroitin sulphate; band IV was a proteoglycan richer in chondroitin sulphate than in keratan sulphate; band V contained only chondroitin sulphate. Unsaturated disaccharides prepared from the chondroitin sulphate of all bands were predominantly 6-sulphated, with only 5-15% 4-sulphated. The molecular masses of the chondroitin sulphate and keratan sulphate did not differ between the bands. The amino acid composition of band III differed from that of band IV. Thus three distinct subpopulations of non-aggregating proteoglycan were demonstrated in the human intervertebral disc.


1979 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter French

A method for the extraction of basic proteins from human ejaculated spermatozoa has been developed It relies on the previously unreported observation that such basic protein is soluble in a solution containing 60% (v/v) ethanol. This unconventional method yields a high percentage of arginine-rich basic protein which is then able to be characterized on the basis of its amino acid composition. This method also allows comparisons to be made between single ejaculates by the banding pattern each displays when subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.


1981 ◽  
Vol 193 (1) ◽  
pp. 235-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
A C Storer ◽  
G D Sprott ◽  
W G Martin

The L-malate-NAD+ oxidoreductase of Methanospirillum hungatii was purified to homogeneity by using Blue Sepharose and ADP-Sepharose affinity chromatography. The molecular weight was estimated as 61 700 +/- 1900 by gel filtration and 64 200 +/- 1200 by ultracentrifugation. Sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis indicated that the protein is composed of two polypeptide chains, each corresponding to 31 350 +/- 2150 daltons. Inhibition patterns obtained for malate, alpha-oxoglutarate and ADP established that the sequential reaction mechanism was ordered, with NADH serving as the first substrate. Intracellular concentrations of oxaloacetate approximated the Km value of 27 microM, but NADH was present at less than Km values. Comparison of the amino-acid composition of the L-malate-NAD+ oxidoreductase of M. hungatii and 22 others from prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells revealed a significant direct relationship between average hydrophobicity and the frequency of non-polar side chains, as well as a significant indirect relationship between average hydrophobicity and the polarity ratio. Calculations based on amino-acid-composition data indicated significant composition similarity between pairs of mammalian-cytoplasmic or pairs of mitochondrial L-malate-NAD+ oxidoreductases from various sources, but no significant composition similarity between any of the pairs of bacterial species examined.


1981 ◽  
Vol 197 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
J L McKenzie ◽  
A K Allen ◽  
J W Fabre

Human and canine brain Thy-1 antigens were solubilized in deoxycholate and antigen activity was followed both by conventional absorbed anti-brain xenosera of proven specificity and by mouse monoclonal antibodies to canine and human Thy-1. It is shown that greater than 80% of Thy-1 activity in the dog and man binds to lentil lectin, that the mobility on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of canine and human Thy-1 is identical with that of rat Thy-1 and that the Stokes radius in deoxycholate of canine and human brain Thy-1 is 3.0 nm and 3.25 nm respectively. Both lentil lectin affinity chromatography followed by gel-filtration chromatography on the one hand and monoclonal antibody affinity chromatography on the other gave high degrees of purification of the brain Thy-1 molecule in the dog and man, resulting in single bands staining for both protein and carbohydrate on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (except for a slight contaminant of higher molecular weight staining for protein but not carbohydrate with human Thy-1 purified by lentil lectin and gel-filtration chromatography). Analysis of canine and human brain Thy-1 purified by monoclonal antibody affinity chromatography with additional gel filtration through Sephadex G-200 showed that these molecules had respectively 38% and 36% carbohydrate. The amino acid and carbohydrate compositions were similar to those previously reported for Thy-1 of the rat and mouse, the main point of interest being the presence in canine and human brain Thy-1 of N-acetylgalactosamine, which has been reported in rat and mouse brain Thy-1 but not in Thy-1 from other tissues.


1983 ◽  
Vol 213 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Lambert ◽  
R B Freedman

Protein disulphide-isomerase from bovine liver was purified to homogeneity as judged by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, two-dimensional electrophoresis and N-terminal amino acid analysis. The preparative procedure, a modification of that of Carmichael, Morin & Dixon [(1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 7163-7167], is much faster and higher-yielding than previous procedures, and the final purified material is of higher specific activity. The enzyme has Mr 57 000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, both in the presence and in the absence of thiol compounds. Gel-filtration studies on Sephadex G-200 indicate an Mr of 107 000, suggesting that the native enzyme is a homodimer with no interchain disulphide bonds. Ultracentrifugation studies give a sedimentation coefficient of 3.5S, implying that the enzyme sediments as the monomer. The isoelectric point, in the presence of 8 M-urea, is 4.2, and some microheterogeneity is detectable. The amino acid composition is comparable with previous analyses of this enzyme from bovine liver and of other preparations of thiol:protein disulphide oxidoreductases whose relation to protein disulphide-isomerase has been controversial. The enzyme contains a very high proportion of Glx + Asx residues (27%). The N-terminal residue is His. The pure enzyme has a very small carbohydrate content, determined as 0.5-1.0% by the phenol/H2SO4 assay. Unless specific steps are taken to remove it, the purified enzyme contains a small amount (5 mol/mol of enzyme) of Triton X-100 carried through the purification.


1975 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
E D Adamson ◽  
S E Ayers ◽  
Z A Deussen ◽  
C F Graham

The solubilization of 80% of the acetylcholinesterase activity of mouse brain was performed by repeated 2h incubations of homogenates at 37 degrees C in an aqueous medium. Analysis of the soluble extract by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 showed that up to 80% of the enzyme activity was eluted in a peak which was estimated to consist of molecules of about 74000mol.wt. This peak was called the monomer form of the enzyme. After 3 days at 4 degrees C, the soluble extract was re-analysed and was eluted from the column in four peaks of about 74000, 155000, 360000 and 720000 mol.wt. Since the total activity of the enzyme in these peaks was the same as that in the predominantly monomer elution profile of fresh enzyme, we concluded that the monomer had aggregated, possibly into dimers, tetramers and octomers. Extracts of the enzyme were analysed by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and the resulting multiple bands of enzyme activity on gels were shown to separate according to their molecular sizes, that is by molecular sieving. All these forms had similar susceptibilities to the inhibitors eserine, tetra-isopropyl pyrophosphoramide and compound BW 284c51 [1,5-bis-(4-allyldimethylammoniumphenyl)pentan-3-one dibromide]. Thus the forms of the enzyme in mouse brain which can be detected by gel filtration and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis may all be related to a single low-molecular-weight form which aggregates during storage. This supports similar suggestions made for the enzyme in other locations.


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