Beta-glucuronidase of rat preputial gland. Crystallization, properties, carbohydrate composition, and subunits

Rat preputial gland beta-glucuronidase [ED 3.2.1.31] was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, ethanol fractionation, gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 and crystallization. The purified enzyme appeared homogeneous on electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel, and on analytical ultracentrifugation and had a molecular weight of approximately 320,000, and a sedimentation coefficient of 12S. SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that the enzyme consisted of subunits with molecular weight of 79,000, so the native enzyme appeared to be a tetramer. The Km with p-nitrophenyl beta-D-glucosiduronic acid as substrate was about 0.53 mM. The enzyme had a single pH optimum at 4.5. The enzyme had a very low content of sulphur-containing amino acid and contained 5.7 per cent carbohydrate, consisting of mannose, glucose, fucose, galactose, and glucosamine in a ratio of 44;9;6;2;41. Sialic acid was not detected in the crystallized enzyme.

Separation and structure of components of nuclear polyhedrosis virus of the silkworm

Morphology of structural components of nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) particles of the silkworm (Bombyx mori Linné) was studied by electron microscope using negative staining. NPV particles isolated from polyhedra could be separated into five structural components by centrifugation in sucrose density gradients. The lowest band (band I) was found to consist of thick rod-shaped particles (330 by 80 nm) with knobby surfaces and with occasional protrusion at one end. The second band from the bottom (band II) was shown to consist mainly of slender rod-shaped particles (360 by 60 nm), in which internal structures were visible as a dense mass. Regular striations were also seen on the surface of these particles. By treatment with mercaptoethanol, these particles were drastically damaged, and in some cases the internal substances were partially released, producing empty inner membranes of various degrees of disintegration. In bands III and IV, both empty spherical and empty rod-shaped membranes were present. Band III was rich in empty spherical membranes which were shown to be the outer membranes of thick rod-shaped particles. The empty rod-shaped membranes, the inner membranes, were mainly located in band IV and have cross striations on the surface. It is remarkable that the uppermost band (band V) consisted purely of small spherical particles, somewhat heterogeneous in size and shape (around 20 to 25 nm in diameter), indicating the particles to be the degradation product of the virus particles. Similar particles could also be observed within the empty inner membranes.