Leucine aminopeptidase from swine kidney: purification, molecular weight, subunit and amino acid composition

A homogeneous leucine aminopeptidase was obtained from mixed breed swine kidneys by means of chromatography on a special column. After coupling an inhibitor, N-sulfanilyl N'-butylcarbamide, to Sepharose 6B, the derivative did not absorb the enzyme, but absorbed a non-enzymatically active protein. The enzyme showed a single band on disc-gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the enzyme has 320,000 daltons. In 6 M guanidine solution containing 0.5% 2-mercaptoethanol at pH 8, the enzyme exhibited a molecular weight of 53,000 on equilibrium centrifugation. A similar value, 54,000, for the subunit of the enzyme was found on SDS-gel electrophoresis. The amino acid composition of the enzyme is also reported.

Free acid, anion, alkali, and alkaline earth complexes of lasalocid a (X537A) in methanol: structural and kinetic studies at the monomer level

We report below on nuclear magnetic resonance investigations of the structure and exchange kinetics for the free acid, anion, sodium complex, and barium complex of the ionophore lasalocid A (X537A) in methanol solution. A comparison between the proton and carbon longitudinal relaxation times of lasalocid in nonpolar and polar solvents demonstrates that the free acid (HX) is a monomer in methanol solution. Parallel proton and carbon relaxation measurements demonstrate that the anion (X-), sodium complex (NaX), and barium complex (BaX+) are also monomeric in methanol solution. These results are in contrast to the Na2X2 dimer and the BaX2-H20 dimer observed in crystals and in nonpolar (cyclohexane and methylene chloride) solutions. Large downfield shifts on complex formation (X- to NaX and BaX+) are detected for protons located on the polar face of the ionophore with their C-H bonds directed towards and proximal to the metal ion. The exchange of lasalocid anion between free (X-) and complexed (BaX+) states in methanol can be monitored from the temperature-dependent line shapes of the proton resonances at superconducting fields. The exchange rates are independent of the reactant concentrations and are characteristic of a rate-determining dissociation of BaX+ in methanol solution with activation parameters delta H++ = 6.5 kcal mol-1 (25 degrees) and delta S++ = -20.0 cal mol-1 degree -1 (1 cal = 4.184 J). The rate constants for dissociation and formation of BaX+ complex in methanol, 25 degrees, are 5.2 X 10(3) sec-1 and 1.5 X 10(10) M-1 sec-1, respectively. These studies were extended to derive the activation parameters for the exchange of lasalocid anion between BaX+ and NaX and between BaX+ and HX in methanol, while the exchange among HX, X-, and NaX is too rapid to be monitored on the time scale of nuclear magnetic resonance.

Structural and kinetic studies of lasalocid A (X537A) and its silver, sodium, and barium salts in nonpolar solvents

The ionophore lasalocid A (X537A) and its metal salts have been investigated by high resolution (270 MHz and 360 MHz) proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to obtain structural and kinetic information in nonpolar solution. The proton resonances were assigned from double resonance studies on lasalocid A and on its salts, homologs, isomers, and chemically modified derivatives. Studies of proton and carbon longitudinal relaxation time suggest that lasalocid A exists as a monomer, whereas the sodium and barium salts exist as dimers in nonpolar solvents. A study of the magnitude of the vicinal proton coupling constants and the chemical shifts and linewidths of the hydroxyl resonances suggest that the backbone conformation and intramolecular hydrogen bonds are similar for lasalocid A and its sodium and barium salts in nonpolar solvents. Nuclear magnetic resonance studies on the role of bound solvent molecules suggest a tightly bound water molecule in the barium complex dimer (crystallized from water-ethanol) and a weakly bound ethanol molecule in the lasalocid A monomer (crystallized from ethanol) in cyclohexane. The selective changes in proton chemical shift on complexation [where the polar faces of two lasalocid anions coordinate the metal cation(s) in nonpolar solvents have been analyzed in terms of the proximity of the resonances to the cation, their linkage to the coordinating oxygen atoms, and the magnetic anisotropy effects of the polar groups of one ligand on the resonances of its partner in the dimer. The nuclear magnetic resonance studies in solution are compared with earlier observations on lasalocid A and its salts in the crystalline state. Thus, the short Ag-C5 distance in the crystal structure of silver complex dimer is also observed in the solution structure. The kinetic parameters associated with the exchange between lasalocid A and its barium complex in chloroform have been measured from an analysis of the resonance line shapes as a function of temperature.