Purification and properties of human serum cholinesterase

Optical imaging probes for selective detection of butyrylcholinesterase

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a member of the human serine hydrolase family, is an essential enzyme for cholinergic neurotransmission as it catalyzes the hydrolysis of acetylcholine. It also plays central roles in apoptosis, lipid metabolism, and xenobiotic detoxification. On the other side, abnormal levels of BChE are directly associated with the formation of pathogenic states such as neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric and cardiovascular disorders, liver damage, diabetes, and cancer. Thus, selective and sensitive detection of BChE level in living organisms is highly crucial and is of great importance to further understand the roles of BChE in both physiological and pathological processes. However, it is a very complicated task due to the potential interference of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the other human cholinesterase, as these two enzymes share a very similar substrate scope. To this end, optical imaging probes have attracted immense attention in recent years as they have modular structures, which can be tuned precisely to satisfy high selectivity toward BChE, and at the same time they offer real time and nondestructive imaging opportunities with a high spatial and temporal resolution. Here, we summarize BChE selective imaging probes by discussing the critical milestones achieved during the development process of these molecular sensors over the years. We put a special emphasis on design principles and biological applications of highly promising new generation activity-based probes. We also give a comprehensive outlook for the future of BChE-responsive probes and highlight the ongoing challenges. This collection marks the first review article on BChE-responsive imaging agents.

Tuning Butyrylcholinesterase Inactivation and Reactivation by Polymer-Based Protein Engineering

Organophosphate nerve agents rapidly inhibit cholinesterases thereby destroying the ability to sustain life. Strong nucleophiles, such as oximes, have been used as therapeutic reactivators of cholinesterase-organophosphate complexes, but suffer from short half-lives and limited efficacy across the broad spectrum of organophosphate nerve agents. Cholinesterases have been used as long-lived therapeutic bioscavengers for unreacted organophosphates with limited success because they react with organophosphate nerve agents with one-to-one stoichiometries. The chemical power of nucleophilic reactivators is coupled to long-lived bioscavengers by designing and synthesizing cholinesterase-polymer-oxime conjugates using atom transfer radical polymerization and azide-alkyne "click" chemistry. Detailed kinetic studies show that butyrylcholinesterase-polymer-oxime activity is dependent on the electrostatic properties of the polymers and the amount of oxime within the conjugate. The covalent coupling of oxime-containing polymers to the surface of butyrylcholinesterase slows the rate of inactivation of paraoxon, a model nerve agent. Furthermore, when the enzyme is covalently inhibited by paraoxon, the covalently attached oxime induced inter- and intramolecular reactivation. Intramolecular reactivation will open the door to the generation of a new class of nerve agent scavengers that couple the speed and selectivity of biology to the ruggedness and simplicity of synthetic chemicals.

Purification of human butyrylcholinesterase from frozen Cohn fraction IV-4 by ion exchange and Hupresin affinity chromatography

Human butyrylcholinesterase (HuBChE) is being developed as a therapeutic for protection from the toxicity of nerve agents. An enriched source of HuBChE is Cohn fraction IV-4 from pooled human plasma. For the past 40 years, purification of HuBChE has included affinity chromatography on procainamide-Sepharose. The present report supports a new affinity sorbent, Hupresin, for purification of HuBChE from Cohn fraction IV-4. Nine batches of 70–80 kg frozen Cohn fraction were extracted with water, filtered, and chromatographed on 30 L of Q-Ceramic ion exchange sorbent at pH 4.5. The 4% pure Q-eluent was pumped onto 4.2 L Hupresin, where contaminants were washed off with 0.3 M NaCl in 20 mM sodium phosphate pH 8.0, before 99% pure HuBChE was eluted with 0.1 M tetramethylammonium bromide. The average yield was 1.5 g of HuBChE from 80 kg Cohn paste. Recovery of HuBChE was reduced by 90% when the paste was stored at -20°C for 1 year, and reduced 100% when stored at 4°C for 24h. No reduction in HuBChE recovery occurred when paste was stored at -80°C for 3 months or 3 years. Hupresin and procainamide-Sepharose were equally effective at purifying HuBChE from Cohn fraction. HuBChE in Cohn fraction required 1000-fold purification to attain 99% purity, but 15,000-fold purification when the starting material was plasma. HuBChE (P06276) purified from Cohn fraction was a 340 kDa tetramer of 4 identical N-glycated subunits, stable for years in solution or as a lyophilized product.

Sodium Ion Effect on Separation Of Butyrylcholinesterase from Plasma by Ion-Exchange Chromatography

Purpose of the paper was the optimization of mobile phase in natrium chloride gradient in the chromatographic separation of butyrylcholinesterase from human plasma.

MATERIALS/METHODS

Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) was isolated from human plasma using a diethylamminoethyl-cellulose column, by elution with 0.02M acetate buffer pH=4.0, gradually increasing NaCl percentage from 10% to 80%. The procedure lasted approximately 28 days.

RESULTS

Absorbance of the successive collected fractions at 280 nm presented a maximum at 60 % NaCl concentration. Activity of obtained BuChE was maximum at the same concentration. Another observed effect of NaCl was the decrease of resistance of the column to flow of the elution fluid. In the absence of NaCl the flow rate was 7 mL/h. Increasing of NaCl concentration induced a continuous increase of the flow to a value of 21 mL/h at 60% NaCl solution. After this concentration the flow remained practically constant. The effect on the ionic exchange is essentially an effect on chromatographic partition coefficient, leading, as a rule, to a peak having a Gaussian form. Fitting separately of ascending and descending parts of the apparent peak, led to practically the same exponential coefficient.

CONCLUSIONS

Separation of proteins and particularly of BuChE on a chromatographic DEAE Cellulose column can be considered as a method for separation and purification of BuChE from human plasma. Optimum concentration of NaCl is 60 %. Exponential fittings in the neighbourhood of maximum indicated a prevalence of effects of NaCl on the chromatographic partition face to effects on gel-sol equilibrium of stationary phase.

Review of human butyrylcholinesterase structure, function, genetic variants, history of use in the clinic, and potential therapeutic uses

Phase I clinical trials have shown that pure human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is safe when administered to humans. A potential therapeutic use of BChE is for prevention of nerve agent toxicity. A recombinant mutant of BChE that rapidly inactivates cocaine is being developed as a treatment to help recovering cocaine addicts avoid relapse into drug taking. These clinical applications rely on knowledge of the structure, stability, and properties of BChE, information that is reviewed here. Gene therapy with a vector that sustains expression for a year from a single injection is a promising method for delivering therapeutic quantities of BChE.

Cocaine detoxification by human plasma butyrylcholinesterase

The ability of human plasma butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) to detoxify cocaine in vivo was evaluated. Intravenous administration of BChE, at doses sufficient to increase the plasma levels of the enzyme as much as 800-fold, produced no adverse effects on the cardiovascular, autonomic, or central nervous systems of rats. Most of the enzyme could be recovered in the plasma immediately after administration and remained active with a beta-t(1/2) of 21.6 +/- 2.4 hr. Pretreatment of chloralose-urethane anesthetized rats with BChE, 0.1-7.8 mg/kg, decreased the hypertensive and arrhythmogenic effects produced by cocaine and increased the lethal dose of cocaine by three- to fourfold. Treatment of conscious rats with 1 and 10 mg/kg BChE decreased the incidence of seizures and deaths produced by a prior dose of cocaine (80 mg/kg, i.p.). These results suggest that BChE would provide a safe and highly efficacious treatment for cocaine intoxication.

Endogenous butyrylcholinesterase in SV40 transformed cell lines: COS-1, COS-7, MRC-5 SV40, and WI-38 VA13

Comparison of proteins expressed by SV40 transformed cell lines and untransformed cell lines is of interest because SV40 transformed cells are immortal, whereas untransformed cells senesce after about 50 doublings. In MRC-5 SV40 cells, only seven proteins have previously been reported to shift from undetectable to detectable after transformation by SV40 virus. We report that butyrylcholinesterase is an 8th protein in this category. Butyrylcholinesterase activity in transformed MRC-5 SV40 cells increased at least 150-fold over its undetectable level in MRC-5 parental cells. Other SV40 transformed cell lines, including COS-1, COS-7, and WI-38 VA13, also expressed endogenous butyrylcholinesterase, whereas the parental, untransformed cell lines, CV-1 and WI-38, had no detectable butyrylcholinesterase activity or mRNA. Infection of CV-1 cells by SV40 virus did not result in expression of butyrylcholinesterase, showing that the butyrylcholinesterase promoter was not activated by the large T antigen of SV40. We conclude that butyrylcholinesterase expression resulted from events related to cell immortalization and did not result from activation by the large T antigen.

Purification and immunological characterization of pigeon serum butyrylcholinesterase. Implications on environmental monitoring and toxicological testing of birds

Butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8) (BChE) was purified from pigeon serum to electrophoretic homogeneity by a four-step procedure involving blue sepharose CL-6B chromatography, ion exchange chromatography, procainamide affinity chromatography and gel filtration. An overall 2789-fold purification was achieved, with a final specific activity of 61.35 mumol/min/mg. The purified enzyme separated into two peaks when filtered through a column of Sephacryl S-300, a smaller peak containing the tetrameric form of BChE (C4) and a larger peak containing the monomeric form of BChE (C1). Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of both peaks revealed single protein bands which coincided with esterase activity, with approximate M(r) values of 84,000 and 340,000, respectively. The C1 monomer represented 85-90% of the activity found in the pigeon serum. It is not clear whether this polymorphism of BChE in vertebrates contributes to the wider inter-individual variations observed in xenobiotics elimination kinetics and in the response to the pharmacological and toxic effects of pesticides. PAGE of the monomeric form of the enzyme in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate showed only one protein band with a M(r) of 84,000, while that of the tetrameric form revealed two bands, a major protein band (84,000) and a minor band (170,000), representing the monomer and the dimer of the dissociated tetrameric BChE enzyme under reducing conditions. Highly specific polyclonal antibodies were raised in rabbits against the purified enzyme. These antibodies cross-reacted with other avian BChEs, a criterion which make them useful for the immunopurification of other BChEs from different species as well as for biomonitoring and toxicological studies on the role of esterases as an indicator of avian exposure to organophosphorous pesticides.

Butyrylcholinesterase from chicken brain is smaller than that from serum: its purification, glycosylation, and membrane association

Applying a new four-step isolation procedure, we have purified butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) from chicken serum to homogeneity with more than 250 U/mg specific activity. The serum enzyme was used for producing monoclonal antibodies. These BChE-specific also recognize BChE from brain, and thus enabled us to isolate the enzymes from embryonic and adult brain that occur only in minute amounts. More than 50% of the brain BChE is membrane-bound. The catalytic and inhibition properties of brain BChE are similar to those of serum BChE. However on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the serum enzyme is represented by a double-band of 79/82 kDa, whereas the brain enzyme has a size of 74 kDa. Limited digestion of the serum and brain preparations by V8-protease leads to similar peptide patterns. Enzymatic deglycosylation shows that their core proteins consist of 59-kDa subunits and that the different molecular weights are due to different glycosylation patterns. The differently sized glycosylation parts of brain and serum BChE may indicate that they subserve different functions. Furthermore, the membrane-bound brain BChE can be solubilized by Pronase or protease K, but not by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C.

An improved method for the preparation of rat cerebellar glomeruli

Cerebellar glomeruli consist of large portions of the mossy fiber giant terminal, granule cell dendrites and Golgi neuron terminals. By modifying previously reported procedures we have developed a new method for bulk preparation of this polysynaptic complex from rat cerebellum. We obtained well preserved isolated glomeruli of satisfactory purity and homogeneity as indicated by electron microscopy and by determination of appropriate biochemical markers. The method is fast and simple, and it provides a glomerular fraction suitable for investigation of neurotransmitter receptors.

Relationship between serum pseudocholinesterase and triglycerides in experimentally induced diabetes mellitus in rats

This study was designed to understand the reasons for the increase in serum pseudocholinesterase activity in diabetes mellitus. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were used for the study. Serum pseudocholinesterase activity increased with the induction of diabetes (381.5 units/l +/- 11.8) compared to the non-diabetic rats (243.1 units/l +/- 7.2). Serum triglycerides, total low density lipoprotein and glycerol also increased concurrently with the development of diabetes. Insulin treatment of the diabetic rats normalized serum glucose concomitant with the reduction of pseudocholinesterase activity, triglycerides, total low density lipoprotein and glycerol. Heparin injection appeared to activate lipoprotein lipase in the diabetic rats by showing a marked fall in serum triglyceride and total low density lipoprotein levels but not in pseudocholinesterase activity. Administration of tetraisopropylpyrophosphoramide a specific pseudocholinesterase inhibitor, inhibited serum and adipose tissue pseudocholinesterase activity by greater than 80% and liver greater than 50%. Concurrent with the inhibition of pseudocholinesterase activity serum triglyceride, low density lipoprotein and glycerol decreased significantly. In normal rats treatment with tetraisopropylpyrophosphoramide also reduced serum lipoproteins markedly, while glycerol only showed a marginal decrease. Glycerol was used as a marker of adipose tissue lipolysis and total low density lipoprotein which is defined as lipoproteins of density less than 1.063 (LDL + VLDL).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Interactions of bambuterol with human serum cholinesterase of the genotypes EuEu (normal), EaEa (atypical) and EuEa

Bambuterol, a carbamate ester prodrug of the bronchodilator terbutaline, was tested as inhibitor and substrate of human serum cholinesterases of the genotypes EuEu (the normal enzyme), EaEa (the atypical enzyme) and EuEa. The IC50 for the normal enzyme was 11 +/- 2.2 nM (mean, SD, N = 10) and for the atypical enzyme 140 +/- 6 nM (N = 13), indicating a much higher affinity of bambuterol to the normal enzyme. The heterozygotes showed a mixed behaviour; the major activity was inhibited like the normal enzyme (IC50 = 9.3 +/- 1.9 nM, N = 9), while a residual activity (10-15%) was inhibited by bambuterol like the atypical enzyme. At a bambuterol concentration of 100 nM each of the three cholinesterase genotypes responded uniquely to bambuterol; the normal enzyme was inhibited to 2.2 +/- 0.9%, the atypical enzyme to 58 +/- 4.6%, and the heterozygote to 10 +/- 1.2% of the basal activity. Bambuterol may therefore be added to the list of inhibitors useful in the genotyping of cholinesterases. Bambuterol was much less efficiently hydrolysed in serum containing the atypical cholinesterase than in serum containing the normal enzyme. The results of the hydrolysis experiments once again illustrate the difference in affinity of bambuterol to the genetic forms of cholinesterase, and also strengthen the evidence that cholinesterase is the major serum enzyme catalysing the hydrolysis of bambuterol.

Genetic variants of human serum cholinesterase influence metabolism of the muscle relaxant succinylcholine

People with genetic variants of cholinesterase respond abnormally to succinylcholine, experiencing substantial prolongation of muscle paralysis with apnea rather than the usual 2-6 min. The structure of usual cholinesterase has been determined including the complete amino acid and nucleotide sequence. This has allowed identification of altered amino acids and nucleotides. The variant most frequently found in patients who respond abnormally to succinylcholine is atypical cholinesterase, which occurs in homozygous form in 1 out of 3500 Caucasians. Atypical cholinesterase has a single substitution at nucleotide 209 which changes aspartic acid 70 to glycine. This suggests that Asp 70 is part of the anionic site, and that the absence of this negatively charged amino acid explains the reduced affinity of atypical cholinesterase for positively charged substrates and inhibitors. The clinical consequence of reduced affinity for succinylcholine is that none of the succinylcholine is hydrolyzed in blood and a large overdose reaches the nerve-muscle junction where it causes prolonged muscle paralysis. Silent cholinesterase has a frame shift mutation at glycine 117 which prematurely terminates protein synthesis and yields no active enzyme. The K variant, named in honor of W. Kalow, has threonine in place of alanine 539. The K variant is associated with 33% lower activity. All variants arise from a single locus as there is only one gene for human cholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8). Comparison of amino acid sequences of esterases and proteases shows that cholinesterase belongs to a new family of serine esterases which is different from the serine proteases.

Cholinesterases from flounder muscle. Purification and characterization of glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-anchored and collagen-tailed forms differing in substrate specificity

Flounder (Platichthys flesus) muscle contains two types of cholinesterases, that differ in molecular form and in substrate specificity. Both enzymes were purified by affinity chromatography. About 8% of cholinesterase activity could be attributed to collagen-tailed asymmetric acetylcholinesterase sedimenting at 17S, 13S and 9S, which showed catalytic properties of a true acetylcholinesterase. 92% of cholinesterase activity corresponded to an amphiphilic dimeric enzyme sedimenting at 6S in the presence of Triton X-100. Treatment with phospholipase C yielded a hydrophilic form and uncovered an epitope called the cross-reacting determinant, which is found in the hydrophilic form of a number of glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins. This enzyme showed catalytic properties intermediate to those of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. It hydrolyzed acetylthiocholine, propionylthiocholine, butyrylthiocholine and benzoylthiocholine. The Km and the maximal velocity decreased with the length and hydrophobicity of the acyl chain. At high substrate concentrations the enzyme was inhibited. The p(IC50) values for BW284C51 and ethopropazine were between those found for acetylcholinesterase and butylcholinesterase. For purified detergent-soluble cholinesterase a specific activity of 8000 IU/mg protein, a turnover number of 2.8 x 10(7) h-1, and 1 active site/subunit were determined.

Quantitative monitoring by high-performance liquid chromatography of the dissociation of human serum cholinesterase by limited proteolysis

Proteolytic action on human serum cholinesterase, a tetrameric enzyme, results in a partial disintegration which can be recorded only qualitatively by time-consuming electrophoretic techniques. In this study, a rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method was used for the separation and determination of the active dissociation products. Separation of the cholinesterase subunits was accomplished by high-performance gel permeation chromatography on a combination of DIOL columns (Zorbax GF 450/GF 250) in 0.2 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0). Detection and quantification of enzyme activity in the fractionated eluate were carried out using a Flexigem analyser (substrate, butyrylthiocholine). On limited tryptic digestion of partially purified human ChE, up to three peaks of enzyme activity could be identified. Their elution volumes corresponded to apparent molecular masses of 480,000, 270,000 and 120,000, indicating, in addition to the tetrameric holoenzyme, a dimeric and a monomeric form. Quantification of the relative amounts of individual enzyme activity peaks revealed that in the course of degradation, the dimer appeared first, followed by the monomer. This suggests that the first step in the sequence of dissociation is cleavage of the tetramer into a pair of dimers, then further into the monomeric subunit. During the incubation with trypsin, a significant change in the pattern of the different peaks had already occurred when the total enzyme activity was only slightly reduced.

Use of procainamide gels in the purification of human and horse serum cholinesterases

Two large-scale methods based primarily on the use of procainamide-Sepharose gels were developed for the purification of horse and human serum non-specific cholinesterases. With method I, the procainamide-Sepharose 4B gel was used in the first step to handle large volumes of serum. With method II, the procainamide-Sepharose 4B gel was used in the final step to obtain pure enzyme. Although both methods gave electrophoretically pure cholinesterase preparations in good yields, they were significantly more efficient at purifying the horse enzyme than the human enzyme. To study this problem, the relative binding of human and horse cholinesterases to procainamide-, methylacridinium (MAC)-, m-trimethylammoniophenyl (m-PTA)- and p-trimethylammoniophenyl (p-PTA)-Sepharose 4B gels were measured, by using two approaches. In one, binding was measured by a procedure involving equilibration of pure cholinesterase in a small volume of diluted gel slurry (4%, v/v). A partially purified preparation of Electrophorus acetylcholinesterase was included. Pure human cholinesterase bound consistently more tightly to each of the gels than did horse cholinesterase, and the acetylcholinesterase appeared to bind the gels 10-100 times more tightly than did the non-specific cholinesterases. The order of binding for the cholinesterases, beginning with the tightest, was: procainamide-Sepharose 4B, MAC-Sepharose 4B, p-PTA-Sepharose 4B and m-PTA-Sepharose 4B. For the acetylcholinesterase the order was: MAC-Sepharose 4B, procainamide-Sepharose 4B, p-PTA-Sepharose 4B and m-PTA-Sepharose 4B. The second approach involved passing native sera or partially purified sera fractions through 1 ml test columns of each of the four affinity gels to determine their retention capacity for the cholinesterases. With these impure samples, the MAC-Sepharose 4B gels proved superior to the procainamide-Sepharose 4B gels at retaining human cholinesterase, but the opposite was true for the horse cholinesterase.

Kinetic and structural relationships of transition monomeric and oligomeric carboxyl- and choline-esterases

The kinetic and structural relationships of eight electrophoretically pure mammalian serum and liver serine carboxylesterases (CE) and cholinesterases (ChE) have been studied. Eight CE's and ChE's, which were fully resolved but only partially purified, provided additional information. Five of the electrophoretically pure esterases were monomeric, and of these, four belonged to a new and widely distributed class. These four monomeric esterases hydrolyzed choline esters, but at widely differing rates. Thus two were termed monomeric butyrylcholinesterases, mBuChE I and II, and two were monomeric CE's (mCE). The rabbit liver mCE was not a subunit of the oligomeric CE (oCE), although the oCE also hydrolyzed choline esters at a very low rate. The complex kinetics of the mCE's, mBuChE's, oCE's, and of the oligomeric BuChE's of horse and human serum could be interpreted according to a single reaction scheme involving an allosteric site and the equation derived from it. Thus activation and inhibition at high substrate concentrations, together with sigmoidal activity versus substrate concentration plots, all of which characterize the reactions of these esterases, could be interpreted by a single scheme and equation. Structural and kinetic comparisons showed a progressive transition of properties from the oCE's through the mCE's to the oBuChE's. One of the purified mCE's was from horse serum, and it exhibited physical and kinetic properties unlike those of the liver mCE's or oCE's.

Substance P hydrolysis by human serum cholinesterase

Highly purified human serum cholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8, also known as pseudocholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase) had peptidase activity toward substance P. Digestion of substance P was monitored by high performance liquid chromatography, which separated three product peptides. The cleavages occurred sequentially. The first peptide to appear as Arg1-Pro2. The Km for this hydrolysis was 0.3 mM; maximum activity was 7.9 nmol min-1 mg-1 of protein, which corresponded to a turnover number of 0.6 min-1. A second cleavage yielded Lys3-Pro4. A third cleavage occurred at the C-terminal, where the amide was removed from Met11 to yield a peptide containing residues 5-11. Both the peptidase and esterase activities of the enzyme were completely inhibited by the anticholinesterase agent, diisopropylfluorophosphate. Substance P inhibited the hydrolysis of benzoylcholine (a good ester substrate) with a KI of 0.17 mM, indicating that substance P interacted with cholinesterase rather than with a trace contaminant. Peptidase and amidase activities for serum cholinesterase are novel activities for this enzyme. It was demonstrated previously that the related enzyme acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7) catalyzed the hydrolysis of substance P, but at entirely different cleavage sites from those reported in the present work. Since butyrylcholinesterase is present in brain and muscle, as well as in serum, it may be involved in the physiological regulation of substance P.

o-Toluoylcholine as substrate for measurement of serum pseudo-cholinesterase activity

New synthetic substrates for serum pseudo-cholinesterase activity were compared with the common substrates for the routine assays, with regard to reactivity, specificity and stability; o- and m-toluoylcholine as well as o- and m-toluoyldimethylaminoethanol esters had selective specificities for pseudo-cholinesterase. The last three substrates, however, were unstable in solution at 4 degrees C. On the other hand, o-toluoylcholine could be stored in solution for several days with no appreciable degradation, and it was extremely stable with regard to pH and temperature. No or little hydrolysis of o-toluoylcholine was observed by various enzymes other than pseudo-cholinesterase. The enzymatic method using o-toluoylcholine as substrate was reproducible, and the results correlated well with those obtained using butylthiocholine as substrate and 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) as color reagent. In conclusion, o-toluoylcholine is a favorable substrate for the determination of serum pseudo-cholinesterase activity.

[Multiple molecular forms of human plasma butyrylcholinesterase. I. Apparent molecular parameters and broad pattern of the quaternary structure (author's transl)]

Apparent molecular parameters (molecular weights, sedimentation constants, partial specific volumes, free electrophoretic mobilities and isoelectric points) of the four molecular forms C-1, C-2, C-3 and C-4 of human plasma butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8) have been demonstrated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis methods and centrifugation in sucrose gradient. The C-1 component is the monomeric form of the enzyme )Mr = 84 800 +/- 5800). All the forms are partially interconvertible and C-1, C-3, C-4 are size isomers corresponding to the monomer, dimer and tetramer of the enzyme. An estimation of the general shape of these forms attempted from electrophoretic and hydrodynamic parameters suggests that they are prolate ellipsoids. The C-4 component in which the axial ratio is at least equal to 8 appears to be arranged as a dimer of dimers (C-3)2 in which the two units are associated in a quasi-linear fashion. The C-2 component is composed of C-1 associated with an inactive smaller subunit, which is responsible for its specific electrical properties (mobility and isoelectric point).

Solubilization of frog brain and retina cholinesterase and studies of different molecular forms

1. The cholinesterase (ChE) of frog brain and retina could be easily solubilized. About 10% of the brain and 20% of the retina ChE were found to be soluble in 0.05 M phosphate buffer. After treatment with 0.5% (v/v) Triton X-100, about 30% of the total ChE activity of the brain and only 10% for retina was left particle bound. NaCl by itself did not solubilize ChE. Use of higher NaCl concentrations in combination with Triton X-100 as well as higher detergent concentrations alone seemed to cause an inhibiting effect of the solubilized ChE from retina. 2. The solubilized ChE from brain as well as retina were electrofocused as one main activity peak, corresponding to isoelectric points of pH 6.1 and 6.0, respectively. A second molecular form at pH 5.9 was distinguishable for the brain, but not for retina ChE. 3. Sucrose gradient centrifugation indicated that the ChE solubilized from the brain and retina consists of two molecular forms exhibiting S values of 5.1 +/- 0.24, 10.9 +/- 0.33 and 6.1 +/- 0.30, 10.9 +/- 0.43, respectively. After solubilization by higher Triton X-100 concentrations the soluble extracts from brain and retina seemed to contain the activity of these forms in different proportions. 4. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis separated three molecular forms of the brain ChE. One of these forms was found to have a molecular weight of 394,000 +/- 20,000. The others were found to have an identical molecular weight of 550,000 +/- 10,000. Two molecular forms exhibiting molecular weights of 292,000 +/- 10,000 and 470,000 +/- 10,000, could be separated for retina.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A subunit-sized butyrylcholinesterase present in high concentrations in pooled rabbit serum

A butyrylcholinesterase of mol.wt. approx. 83000 was observed in pooled rabbit serum. The enzyme was named monomeric butyrylcholinesterase to distinguish it from the larger oligomeric butyrylcholinesterase of horse and human serum whose subunits are the same size as the monomeric enzyme. The active-site concentration of monomeric butyrylcholinesterase in the pooled serum was 0.18mum, which is five times the concentration of butyrylcholinesterase in pooled horse serum. This was surprising, since the horse serum is regarded as a rich source of butyrylcholinesterase, whereas rabbit serum is not generally thought to contain significant amounts of any butyrylcholinesterase. The explanation, in large part, was the relatively low k(cat.) of the monomeric enzyme, which was approx. 57s(-1) with butyrylthiocholine as substrate and is one-thirtieth of the comparable k(cat.) of horse butyrylcholinesterase. The substrate specificity of monomeric butyrylcholinesterase also differed significantly from that of horse and human butyrylcholinesterase. For example, with the monomeric enzyme, the hydrolysis of 1mm-acetylthiocholine was only 4% the rate for 1mm-butyrylthiocholine, whereas human and horse butyrylcholinesterases hydrolysed 1mm-acetylthiocholine at 50% of the rate for 1mm-butyrylthiocholine. Moreover, monomeric butyrylcholinesterase generally hydrolysed aromatic esters more rapidly than choline esters, whereas the reverse is true of the butyrylcholinesterases. To facilitate the study of monomeric butyrylcholinesterase, it was separated from the larger butyrylcholinesterase and acetylcholinesterase, also present in rabbit serum, and purified 89-fold by fractionation with (NH(4))(2)SO(4) and ion-exchange chromatography.

Human-serum cholinesterase subunits and number of active sites of the major component

The major C4 component of human serum cholinesterase was highly purified by a two-step procedure involving chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and preparative disc electrophoresis. The final product was about 8 000-fold purified with a yield of 64%. The subunit structure was determined by 8M urea polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis and by the sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation method in 5M guanidine hydrochloride. It was found that the C4 enzyme has a tetrameric structure. The subunits are equal in size and charge and a molecular weight comparable to that of the C1 enzyme from native serum. The major C4 enzyme and the minor C1 enzyme were subjected to an 'active enzyme centrifugation'. It was found that the C4 enzyme was a tetramer and the C1 enzyme was a monomer in the presence of substrate. The number of diisopropylphosphofluoridate-binding sites was measured from the molar ratio of bound diisopropylphosphate to protein. A value close to two binding sites was found for the C4 enzyme.

Cholinesterases from plant tissues: I. Purification and characterization of a cholinesterase from mung bean roots

A cholinesterase was purified 36-fold from mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) roots by a combination of differential extraction media and gel filtration. The enzyme could be effectively extracted only by high salt concentration, indicating that it is probably membrane-bound. Methods used for assaying animal cholinesterases were tested, two of which were adapted for use with the bean cholinesterase. The bean enzyme hydrolyzed choline and noncholine esters but showed its highest affinity for acetylcholine and acetylthiocholine. The pH optimum was 8.5 for acetylthiocholine and 8.7 for acetylcholine. The Michaelis constants were 72 and 84 mum for acetylcholine and acetylthiocholine, respectively. The cholinesterase was relatively insensitive to eserine (half-maximum inhibition at 0.42 mm) but showed high sensitivity to neostigmine (half-maximum inhibition at 0.6 mum). Other animal cholinesterase inhibitors were also found to inhibit the bean enzyme but most of them at higher concentrations than are generally encountered. Choline stimulated enzymatic activity. The molecular weight of the cholinesterase was estimated to be greater than 200,000, but at least one smaller form was observed. It is suggested that the large form of cholinesterase is converted to the smaller form by proteolysis.