Phosphodiesterases in human tissues. I. Identification and separation of enzymes active on bis(p-nitrophenyl)phosphate

An unusual phosphodiesterase activity towards p-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine present in rat brain membranes

A phosphodiesterase activity present in rat brain membranes has been examined utilizing p-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine as the substrate. This enzyme activity has a pH optimum of 8.5, is stimulated by a variety of free fatty acids, requires either Zn+2 or Ca+2 and is relatively stable to heating at 75 degrees C for 7.5 minutes. These properties appear to distinguish this particular activity from those previously reported for alkaline phosphatase, nonspecific phosphodiesterase, phosphodiesterases I and II, lecithinase, and sphingomyelinase.

Characterization of phosphohydrolase activity in bovine spleen extracts: identification of a bis(p-nitrophenyl)phosphate-hydrolyzing activity (phosphodiesterase IV) which also acts on adenosine triphosphate

Several bovine spleen enzymes with acid pH optima, some of which hydrolyze bis(p-nitrophenyl)phosphate and therefore fit the definition of "phosphodiesterase IV," were partially separated by isoelectric focusing and ion-exchange techniques. The activities were characterized by zymogram analysis with the aid of p-nitrophenyl and 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate and phosphonate substrates. A number of these enzymes meet the criteria for phosphodiesterase I or other phosphodiesterases. However, the predominant phosphodiesterase I hydrolyzes the bis(p-nitrophenyl)-and 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphates, p-nitrophenyl and 4-methylumbelliferyl phenylphosphonate, and ATP at the beta-gamma bond, but not p-nitrophenyl or 4-methylumbelliferyl 5'-thymidylate (the usual PDE I substrates). These properties, as well as the pH optimum, distinguish the activity from the previously described, alkaline pH optimum PDE I. A second phosphodiesterase hydrolyzes only the phenylphosphonates. Several other activities, less well described, are apparent on zymograms. None of the phosphodiesterases IV was also a phosphodiesterase II (no hydrolysis of 4-methylumbelliferyl 3'-thymidylate).

The synthesis of 4-methylumbelliferyl phenylphosphonate and its used in an improved method for the zymogram analysis of phosphodiesterase I

The 4-methylumbelliferyl analog of p-nitrophenyl phenylphosphonate was prepared and its cleavage by different phosphohydrolases was studied. The new compound, 4-methylumbelliferyl phenylphosphonate, is hydrolyzed by purified phosphodiesterase I (EC 3.1.4.1) from snake venom or bovine intestinal mucosa. This fact has been exploited to develop a zymogram method which allows the detection of these phosphohydrolases on gels, even when the enzymes are present in small amounts in crude extracts. This method is superior to chromogenic methods evolving p-nitrophenol in that it is far more sensitive and is superior to the 4-methylumbelliferyl thymidine 5'-phosphate method in that the substrate is easier to prepare and can be isolated in large quantity.

Acid sphingomyelinase of human brain: purification to homogeneity

Acid sphingomyelinase (sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase, EC 3.1.4.12) was purified from human brain by extraction with 0.1% Triton X-100, followed by sequential chromatography on Concanavalin A-Sepharose, octyl-Sepharose, hydroxylapatite, DEAE-cellulose, red A-agarose, Sephadex G-200, and DEAE-cellulose with ampholyte elution. Sphingomyelinase activity was purified more than 20,000-fold from the starting homogenate with a 1% yield. Specific activity of up to 800 mumol/h/mg protein could be achieved. Gel electrophoresis with 6% polyacrylamide containing sodium dodecyl sulfate gave a single protein band with a molecular weight of 70,000, in good agreement with the molecular weight previously estimated from sucrose density gradient centrifugation in 0.1% Triton X-100. Triton X-100 could be readily removed from the enzyme by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The Triton-free enzyme showed the same Km and pH optimum. Heat stability of the enzyme was reversibly affected by Triton X-100, in that removal of the detergent made the enzyme more heat labile. The Km of purified enzyme for sphingomyelin was 36 microM. It was unaffected by sulfhydryl reagents, but was inhibited by dithiothreitol at high concentrations. The preparation was free of all lysosomal hydrolase activities tested, including galactosylceramidase and alpha-mannosidase, which tended to copurify in our previous procedure. The enzyme was inactive toward sphingosylphosphorylcholine. It was active with bis[p-nitrophenyl]- and bis[4-methylumbelliferyl]phosphate and the chromogenic and fluorogenic sphingomyelin analogues.

Purification of sphingomyelinase to apparent homogeneity by using hydrophobic chromatography

Placental sphingomyelinase has been purified to apparent homogeneity by a procedure that makes extensive use of hydrophobic interaction chromatography on sphingosylphosphocholine-CH-, octyl-, hexyl- and Blue-Sepharoses. Enzyme purification is about 10000- 14000-fold over starting extract with excellent yield (usually greater than 28%). Purification of bis-4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate phosphodiesterase activity generally paralleled that of sphingomyelinase during the final stages of the procedure. The enzyme also hydrolysed bis-p-nitrophenyl phosphate, but at a lower rate compared with bis-4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate. A single major protein was observed under non-denaturing conditions. Sphingomyelinase, denatured by reduction and alkylation, is composed of a major polypeptide chain with an apparent molecular weight of 89 100 on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Two minor lower-molecular-weight components were consistently obtained at 47 500 and 30 700. These results were also obtained after maleoylation of the reduced and alkylated sample. The enzyme contains a blocked-N-terminal amino acid. An extensive search for contaminating enzymes revealed the presence of minor amounts of acid phosphatase, which were removed from the final enzyme sample. The highly purified enzyme is stable for several weeks when stored with Triton X-100 at 4 degrees C. The pure enzyme aggregates under denaturing and electrophoretic conditions and special care must be taken to ensure that hydrophobic bonding of the protein is decreased as much as possible. The reproducibility and large scale of this procedure should facilitate further study on the structure and kinetic properties of the enzyme.

Purification and properties of bovine liver lysosomal adenosine 5'-phosphosulphate sulphohydrolase. A non-specific enzyme with pyrophosphatase and phosphodiesterase activities

Bovine liver lysosomal adenosine 5'-phosphosulphate sulphohydrolase (EC 3.6.2.1) was purified to apparent homogeneity. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 53 000 by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 56 000 by BioGel P-150 gel filtration. The substrate specificity of the enzyme was studied. The several substrates towards which the enzyme preparation showed high activity were used to establish that a single enzyme was responsible for the different activities. This multiple specificity provides a possible explanation of the physiological role of lysosomal adenosine 5'-phosphosulphate sulphohydrolase.