A hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase from rat liver

Fluorometric assay for alcohol sulfotransferase

A sensitive fluorometric assay was developed for alcohol sulfotransferase (AST). This was the first continuous fluorometric assay reported for AST. It used 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate regenerated from 3-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphate by a recombinant phenol sulfotransferase (PST) using 4-methylumbelliferyl sulfate as the sulfuryl group donor. The recombinant PST did not use the alcohol substrate under the designed condition, and the sensitivity for AST activity was found to be comparable to that of radioactive assay as reported in the literature. The change of fluorescence intensity of 4-methylumbelliferone corresponded directly to the amount of active AST and was sensitive enough to measure nanogram or picomole amounts of the enzyme activity. This fluorometric assay was used to determine the activities of AST as purified form and in crude extracts of pig liver, rat liver, and Escherichia coli. Some properties of human dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase were determined by this method and were found to be comparable to published data. Under similar assay conditions, the contaminated activities of arylsulfatase in crude extracts were also determined. This method not only is useful for the routine and detailed kinetic study of this important class of enzymes but also has the potential for the development of a high-throughput procedure using microplate reader.

Study of enzyme kinetics of phenol sulfotransferase by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis

Electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) was applied for the study of the kinetic parameters of the enzymatic reaction of phenol sulfotransferase SULT1A1 isoenzyme with 4-nitrophenol as a substrate. The SULT1A1 activity was determined by the quantitation of the product, 4-nitrophenyl sulfate, at 274 nm by using different injection and separation steps. This new approach solved the problem of the presence of the very strong inhibitor, adenosine 3',5'-bisphosphate (PAP), in the co-substrate solution (adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulfate, PAPS) which is unstable at room temperature. The inhibitor PAP was electrophoretically separated from the co-substrate PAPS before the injection of enzyme and substrate inside the capillary (and thus before their in-capillary encountering). With the developed in-capillary SULT1A1 activity assay an average Michaelis constant (Km) for 4-nitrophenol was calculated to be 0.84 microM, a value which is consistent with a previously reported value. Strong substrate inhibition (above a 4-nitrophenol concentration of 2.5 microM) was observed, and this is also in accordance with literature values.

Identifying Androsterone (ADT) as a Cognate Substrate for Human Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfotransferase (DHEA-ST) Important for Steroid Homeostasis

In steroid biosynthesis, human dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase (DHEA-ST) in the adrenals has been reported to catalyze the transfer of the sulfonate group from 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate to dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). DHEA and its sulfate play roles as steroid precursors; however, the role of the enzyme in the catabolism of androgens is poorly understood. Androsterone sulfate is clinically recognized as one of the major androgen metabolites found in urine. Here it is demonstrated that this enzyme recognizes androsterone (ADT) as a cognate substrate with similar kinetics but a 2-fold specificity and stronger substrate inhibition than DHEA. The structure of human DHEA-ST in complex with ADT has been solved at 2.7 A resolution, confirming ADT recognition. Structural analysis has revealed the binding mode of ADT differs from that of DHEA, despite the similarity of the overall structure between the ADT and the DHEA binary complexes. Our results identify that this human enzyme is an ADT sulfotransferase as well as a DHEA sulfotransferase, implying an important role in steroid homeostasis for the adrenals and liver.

Human dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase: purification and characterization of a recombinant protein

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate is the most abundant sulfated steroid transformed in human tissues and serves as a precursor for steroid hormones. Recombinant human dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase (DHEA-ST) expressed in glutathione sulfotransferase fusion form in E. coli was purified using glutathione sepharose 4B affinity adsorption chromatography, a Factor Xa cleavage step, and Q-sepharose fast flow column chromatography. The homogeneous preparation had an activity toward dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) of 150+/-40 nmol/min per mg of protein under the assay conditions at an overall yield of 38.4%. The recombinant human DHEA-ST was shown to have a subunit mass of 34 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, while having a molecular mass of 67.2 kDa by Superose-12 gel filtration. Our results indicate that the active recombinant enzyme expressed in E. coli is a homodimer.Biochemical properties for purified DHEA-ST were studied using DHEA as a substrate. The optimum pH ranged from pH 7 to 8, and the optimum temperature 40-45 degrees C. Ninety percent of basal DHEA-ST activity remained even after the enzyme was treated at 45 degrees C for 15 min. The 50% inactivation concentration of NaCl for DHEA-ST activity was determined to be around 500 mM. The K(m) value for DHEA was 1.9+/-0.3 microM and V(max)=190+/-18 nmol/min per mg of protein at 37 degrees C, pH 7.5.

Regeneration of PAPS for the enzymatic synthesis of sulfated oligosaccharides

This paper describes the study of 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) regeneration from 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphate (PAP) for use in practical syntheses of carbohydrate sulfates which are catalyzed by sulfotransferases. Among the regeneration systems, the one with recombinant aryl sulfotransferase proved to be the most practical. This regeneration system was coupled with a sulfotransferase-catalyzed reaction, using a recombinant Nod factor sulfotransferase, for the synthesis of various oligosaccharide sulfates that were further glycosylated using glycosyltransferases.

A continuous assay for the spectrophotometric analysis of sulfotransferases using aryl sulfotransferase IV

We have developed a continuous spectrophotometric coupled-enzyme assay for sulfotransferase activity. This assay is based on the regeneration of 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) from the desulfated 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphate (PAP) by a recombinant aryl sulfotransferase using p-nitrophenyl sulfate as the sulfate donor and visible spectrophotometric indicator of enzyme turnover. Here recombinant rat aryl sulfotransferase IV (AST-IV) is expressed, resolved to the pure beta-form during purification, and utilized for the regeneration. The activity of betaAST-IV to catalyze the synthesis of PAPS from PAP and p-nitrophenyl sulfate is demonstrated via capillary zone electrophoresis, and the kinetics of this reverse-physiological reaction are calculated. betaAST-IV is then applied to the coupled enzyme system, where the steady-state activity of the commercially available Nod factor sulfotransferase is verified with an enzyme concentration study and substrate-specificity assays of N-chitoses. The potential applications of this assay include rapid kinetic determinations for carbohydrate and protein sulfotransferases, high-throughput screening of potential sulfotransferase substrates and inhibitors, and biomedical screening of blood samples and other tissues for specific sulfotransferase enzyme activity and substrate concentration.

Testosterone sulfotransferase: evidence in the guinea pig that this reaction is carried out by 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase

During the course of isolating, characterizing, and cloning estrogen and 3-hydroxysteroid sulfotransferases from the guinea pig adrenal gland, it was noted that cytosolic preparations from this tissue would also sulfonate testosterone. Therefore, we set out to isolate and clone the enzyme that performs this reaction. Testosterone sulfotransferase (TST) was isolated from the guinea pig adrenal by using the standard procedures of ion exchange, affinity, and high-performance liquid chromatography. When purified, TST was examined by liquid-phase nondenaturing isoelectric focusing, it was found that the TST activity profile completely overlapped with the activity profile of the 3alpha-hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase (3alphaHST) isoform, but not the 3beta-hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase (3betaHST) isoform. This finding was further investigated by overexpressing the cDNAs for 3alphaHST and 3betaHST in Escherichia coli and examining the expressed proteins for TST activity. This experiment confirmed that 3alphaHST does indeed function as a TST. In addition, 3alphaHST was also found to sulfonate estradiol but not estrone, a finding that further suggested that 3alphaHST may function as a general 17beta-hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase.

Hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase activity in the rat brain and liver as a function of age and sex

The high concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and pregnenolone sulfate in the mammalian brain, despite the blood-brain barrier's impermeability to these compounds, and the apparent independence of these concentrations from those in plasma prompted us to investigate whether enzymatic sulfation of dehydroepiandrosterone was detectable in the rat brain. Low hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase activities were detectable in in vitro incubations of homogenates from all rat brain regions except the cerebellum, being highest in the hypothalamus and pons. This activity was not ascribable to enzyme in brain capillary blood. The activity was mainly cytosolic, although there was also significant activity in the partially purified nuclear fraction. The enzyme had different properties from those of hepatic isozymes, with a pH optimum of 6.5 and a high Km of approximately 2 mM for dehydroepiandrosterone. The enzyme was also active with pregnenolone as substrate. Activities in the brain were approximately 300-fold lower than in the liver but, as in the liver, these were higher in females than in males. The variations in brain activity as a function of age did not parallel those in the liver. Relatively high activities were found in the fetal brain and declined at birth, while activities were insignificant in the fetal liver and rose following birth. There was a major peak in activity in pubertal female brains, but this peak was less important, and later, in males. No evidence was found to indicate that the low brain enzyme activities and high Km were attributable either to the presence of an inhibitor or to the steroid sulfation actually being a secondary activity of another brain sulfotransferase. We discuss whether the sulfotransferase activities found are adequate to synthesize the dehydroepiandrosterone and pregnenolone sulfate found in brain.

Stable heterologous expression of hydroxysteroid sulphotransferase in Chinese hamster V79 cells and their use for toxicological investigations

Various benzylic alcohols are metabolically activated to electrophilic, potentially mutagenic and carcinogenic sulphuric acid esters. The involved sulphotransferases are not expressed in the cell lines in culture which are commonly used for mutagenicity testing. The liver of adult female rats is very efficient in the bioactivation of 1-hydroxymethylpyrene. The major enzyme involved was purified and identified as hydroxysteroid sulphotransferase a. Its cDNA was stably expressed in Chinese hamster V79 cells, which are particularly suited for the quantitative detection of various types of mutations and other genotoxic and cytotoxic effects. The mRNA, protein and enzyme activity levels in the constructed cell lines (V79rSTa-1 and V79rSTa-2) were measured, and the cells were also used in mutagenicity and cytotoxicity investigations with benzylic alcohols. 1-Hydroxymethylpyrene, 9-hydroxymethylanthracene and 6-hydroxymethylbenzo[a]pyrene showed enhanced cytotoxicity in V79rSTa-1 and V79rSTa-2 cells, as compared with sulphotransferase-deficient control cells. In addition, 1-hydroxymethylpyrene induced sister chromatid exchanges, and 6-hydroxymethylbenzo[a]pyrene induced gene mutations in V79rSTa-1 cells. We intend carrying out more investigations with other chemicals on these cell lines. Their advantages, as compared with systems with external metabolising systems, include the formation of the active metabolites within the target cell, as in ST-proficient cells in vivo, eliminating the problems which may result from restricted intercellular transport of reactive and ionized sulphuric acid conjugates. Furthermore, cells expressing other sulphotransferases, including human enzymes, may be constructed and used for comparative investigations.

Changes in substrate specificity of the recombinant form of phenol sulfotransferase IV (tyrosine-ester sulfotransferase)

The over-expression of mammalian enzymes in bacterial systems by means of recombinant DNA technology has provided the enzymologist with a supply of catalyst sufficiently abundant to identify suboptimal substrates. Such large quantities are particularly useful when working with the enzymes of detoxication, a family of proteins that are distinguished by their broad substrate specificity for generally lipophilic compounds, i.e., by their very low specificity for features other than the functional group [1]. We have achieved bountiful expression of a sulfotransferase active with phenols [2], an enzyme originally purified and characterized from rat liver [3], and classified as tyrosine-ester sulfotransferase, EC 2.8.2.9 [4,5], but usually referred to as rat liver phenol or aryl sulfotransferase IV. Having improved the sensitivity and versatility of some of the assays for sulfotransferases, we examined the substrate spectrum of this enzyme. As presented here, the results of this examination point to the limitations of enzyme nomenclature and to the danger of equating enzymes isolated from their normal habitat with those formed by recombinant technology in a foreign cell. Our experiments also establish a greater catalytic scope for the natural rat liver enzyme than that previously described.

Molecular cloning and functions of rat liver hydroxysteroid sulfotransferases catalysing covalent binding of carcinogenic polycyclic arylmethanols to DNA

Three sulfotransferases (STs) catalysing the metabolic activation of potent carcinogenic polycyclic arylmethanols were purified from female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat liver cytosol without loss of their enzyme activities in the presence of Tween 20 used for preventing the enzymes from aggregation during purification and identified as hydroxysteroid sulfotransferases (HSTs). All the purified HSTs, STa, STb, and STc, with different electric charges had an apparently equal size of subunit (30.5 kDa) and cross-reacted with polyclonal antibody raised against STa. Our study on molecular cloning of cDNA libraries from two female SD rat livers indicated that both contained cDNA inserts coding for 5 different HST subunits, consisting of 284-285 amino acid residues (M(r), 33,084-33,535) and sharing strong amino acid sequence identity (> 83%). Of the 5 HST subunits, two had an identical amino acid sequence except for only one amino acid residue, and the other two contained only 6 amino acid substitutions in their sequences.

Inhibition of rat liver hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase activity by alkylamines

Triethylamine, which was used as an elution solvent for column chromatography to purify chemically synthesized 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS), was a potent inhibitor of rat liver sulfotransferase (ST) activities toward androsterone and dehydroepiandrosterone, but not ST activities toward cortisol and 2-naphthol. Examination of fourteen primary, secondary and tertiary amines revealed that a secondary amine, di-n-butylamine, and three tertiary amines, triethylamine, tri-n-propylamine and tri-n-butylamine, specifically inhibited ST activities toward androgen.

Comparison of pulmonary and hepatic glucuronidation and sulphation of ethanol in rat and rabbit in vitro

1. Pulmonary and hepatic UDP-glucuronyltransferase and sulphotransferase activities in subcellular fractions from rats and rabbits were determined, comparing ethanol with known substrates for these enzymes. 2. No ethyl glucuronide formation was detected with either hepatic or pulmonary microsomal incubations. 3. Chromatographic, autoradiographic and scintillation counting analysis indicated that ethanol is sulphated by rat and rabbit pulmonary cytosol, although this activity was approx. 2-6% of that in liver. 4. Rat hepatic and pulmonary sulphotransferase activities with beta-naphthol were approx. 13 and 60 times higher than with ethanol, respectively. 5. Rabbit hepatic and pulmonary sulphotransferase activities with both substrates were higher than those in rat.

Age and gender-related gene expression of hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase-a in rat liver

Hepatic hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase-a (HST-a) gene expression was examined in young male (age 22-26 days) and female rats (age 22-30 days), and in older male (age 42-45 days) and female (age 49-55 days) rats. Northern and slot blot analyses of poly(A)+RNA revealed that HST-a was differentially expressed with respect to both age and gender with female rats expressing higher levels of HST-a in both age groups. Hepatic HST-a mRNA levels were approximately 4 to 6-fold higher in females compared to males in both age groups examined. HST-a expression increased with age in both male and female rats. HST-a expression was approximately 8 to 10-fold higher in 42-45 day old males relative to 22-26 day old males. HST-a mRNA levels were approximately 3 to 7-fold higher in 49-55 day old females relative to females in the 22-30 day age group. These data suggest that HST-a gene expression is transcriptionally controlled and that HST-a regulation is subject to hormonal and developmental modulation.

Purification of a rat liver cytosolic sulfotransferase responsible for the conjugation of digitoxigenin

Previous investigations on the digitoxin metabolism hardly considered the role of the sulfate ester conjugation. Therefore, this study examined whether digitoxin (dt-3) or one of its cleavage products might be sulfated in vitro. It was proven that digitoxigenin (dt-0) is by far the best substrate for the cytosolic sulfotransferases (ST). Digitoxigenin-monodigitoxoside (dt-1) and digitoxigenin-bisdigitoxoside (dt-2) are sulfated in trace amounts whereas dt-3 is not sulfated at all. The purification of the responsible enzyme was performed by liquid chromatography on Q-Sepharose and hydroxyapatite. During the purification procedure this enzymatic activity corresponded exactly to that towards dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). The 134-fold purified and gel electrophoretically homogeneous enzyme protein (Mr 33,000) showed a Vmax of 12.5 nmoles dt-0 sulfate/min mg protein and a KM of 37 mumol/L. The purified enzyme conjugated dt-1 and dt-2 in trace amounts only and was inhibited competitively by DHEA. It can be concluded that in the rat a 3 beta-hydroxy-steroid sulfotransferase is responsible for the sulfation of dt-0. The purified enzyme reacts with dt-1, dt-2 and digoxigenin (dg-0) in traces only, a sulfation of dt-3 is not detectable.

Cloning and sequence analysis of a rat liver cDNA encoding hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase

Nothing has been known of the cDNAs encoding sulfotransferases (STs) that catalyze sulfation of steroids and xenobiotics. In the present study, a female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat liver cDNA library was screened with rabbit anti-serum raised against hydroxysteroid ST a (STa) purified from female SD rat liver cytosol. The cDNA isolated from the library consisted of 1,028 base pairs which had an open reading frame of 852 base pairs encoding the entire rat ST subunit of 284 amino acids. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of STa and the rat liver hydroxysteroid ST, bile acid ST I, both elucidated previously by the chemical method, had a strong homology with that deduced from the cDNA. Northern blot analysis of total RNAs from female and male rat livers showed a marked sex difference (female much greater than male) in the expressed level of the mRNA for the predicted ST subunit protein. A remarkable sex difference (female much greater than male) was also observed by immuno-blot analysis in the level of the hydroxysteroid ST protein(s) cross-reacting with the anti-serum in the rat liver cytosols.

Sulphotransferase-mediated activation of the carcinogen 5-hydroxymethyl-chrysene. Species and sex differences in tissue distribution of the enzyme activity and a possible participation of hydroxysteroid sulphotransferases

Sulphation of the carcinogen 5-hydroxymethyl-chrysene (5-HCR) to the active metabolite 5-HCR sulphate occurred at significant rates in all of hepatic cytosols prepared from the male and female experimental animals, rats, mice, guinea-pigs and hamsters. The 5-HCR-sulphating activity was also found in kidney cytosols of all the experimental animals used, while their activities were much less than those of hepatic cytosols. In the male mice, the enzyme activity of testis was higher than any other examined tissue. Small intestine and adrenal of male and female guinea-pigs had relatively high enzyme activities. Small enzyme activities were also found in a variety of extrahepatic tissues of some of these animals. Marked species and sex differences (female much greater than male in the rat and mouse) were observed in the hepatic enzyme activity. In the female rat liver which showed the highest 5-HCR-sulphating activity among the examined tissues of all the animals, a typical hydroxysteroid sulphotransferase inhibitor, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) sulphate (1 mM), potently and competitively inhibited the sulphation of 5-HCR as well as that of DHA, a typical substrate for hydroxysteroid sulphotransferases. On the contrary, the phenol sulphotransferase inhibitors, pentachlorophenol and 2,6-dichloro-4-nitrophenol, had only a little effect on these enzyme activities even at a concentration of 50 microM that showed a potent inhibition of the phenol sulphotransferase activity. These results suggest that 5-HCR be sulphated in the female rat liver by hydroxysteroid sulphotransferases, but not by phenol sulphotransferases.

Purification and characterization of human liver dehydroepiandrosterone sulphotransferase

A form of sulphotransferase capable of sulphating dehydroepiandrosterone and other steroids was purified from cytosol prepared from human liver. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphotransferase was purified 621-fold when compared with the activity in cytosol using DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B and adenosine 3',5'-bisphosphate-agarose affinity chromatography. During affinity chromatography, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphation activity could be resolved from p-nitrophenol sulphation activity catalysed by phenol sulphotransferase by using a gradient of adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulphate. The purified enzyme was most active towards dehydroepiandrosterone but was capable of conjugating a number of other steroids, including pregnenolone, androsterone and beta-oestradiol. No activity towards p-nitrophenol or dopamine, substrates for the phenol sulphotransferase, was observed with the pure enzyme. A single band with a subunit molecular mass of 35 kDa was observed by Coomassie Blue staining following SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme. A molecular mass of 68-70 kDa was calculated for the active form of the enzyme by chromatography on Sephacryl S-200, suggesting that the active form of the enzyme is a dimer.

Hepatic DNA and RNA adduct formation from the carcinogen 7-hydroxymethyl-12-methylbenz[a]anthracene and its electrophilic sulfuric acid ester metabolite in preweanling rats and mice

DNA and RNA adducts that were chromatographically identical to those formed in vitro on reaction of 7-sulfooxymethyl-12-methyl-benz[a]anthracene with guanine and adenine nucleosides were formed in the livers of rats and mice given i.p. injections of 7-hydroxymethyl- or 7-sulfooxymethyl-12-methyl-benz[a]anthracene. Considerably higher levels of these hepatic adducts were obtained from the latter short-lived electrophilic ester than from the hydroxymethyl compound. These observations are consistent with the finding of rat liver cytosolic sulfotransferase activity for 7-hydroxymethyl-12-methylbenz[a]anthracene (Watabe et al., Science 215, 403, 1982). Formation of these hepatic adducts from 7-hydroxymethyl-12-methylbenz[a]anthracene was inhibited by prior administration to rats of dehydroepiandrosterone, an inhibitor of the sulfotransferase activity for this hydroxymethyl hydrocarbon.

Enzyme-catalyzed detoxication reactions: mechanisms and stereochemistry

Enzyme catalyzed detoxication reactions are one of the primary defenses organisms have against chemical insult. This article reviews current chemical approaches to understanding the cooperative role of enzymes in the metabolism of foreign compounds. Emphasis is placed on chemical and stereochemical studies which help elucidate the mechanism of action and active-site topologies of the detoxication enzymes. The stereoselectivity of the cytochromes P-450 and flavin containing monooxygenases as well as the role of hemoglobin and lipid peroxidation in the primary metabolism of xenobiotics is discussed. Current knowledge of the mechanism and stereoselectivity of epoxide hydrolase is also presented. Three enzymes involved in secondary metabolism of xenobiotics, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, sulfotransferase and glutathione S-transferase are discussed with particular emphasis on active site topology and cooperative participation with the enzymes of primary metabolism.

Rat hepatic bile acid sulfotransferase: identification of the catalytic polypeptide and evidence for polymeric forms in female rats

A monoclonal antibody, PK1B, directed against rat liver bile acid sulfotransferase was used for the purification and characterization of the enzyme. Incubation of rat liver supernatant with the antibody followed by immunoprecipitation with Staphylococcus aureus cells demonstrated that PK1B reacted with 90% of the enzymatic activity present in the liver supernatant from female rats and 40 to 50% of the activity in male liver preparations. Immunoadsorption chromatography with PK1B bound to Sepharose isolated active enzyme which was purified greater than 75-fold. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis of this preparation in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol demonstrated three polypeptides: Mr 29,500; 32,500, and 34,000. Western blot analysis indicated that PK1B recognized an epitope which was found only on the Mr 29,500 polypeptide. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis associated the enzymatic activity with this Mr 29,500 band. High-pressure liquid chromatographic analysis of immunopurified enzyme defined three distinct, enzymatically active protein populations: I (Mr 400,000 to 170,000); II (Mr 130,000), and III (Mr 43,000). An Mr 29,500 polypeptide was the sole constituent of Peaks I and III and a major constituent of Peak II. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence and absence of 2-mercaptoethanol indicated that in Peak II, catalytically active Mr 29,500 protein is associated with the other two polypeptides by disulfide bonds. In contrast, Peak I consists of a polymer of Mr 29,500 polypeptide which is independent of disulfide interaction.

Purification and characterization of bile salt sulfotransferase from human liver

Bile salt sulfotransferase, the enzyme responsible for the formation of bile salt sulfate esters, was purified extensively from normal human liver. The purification procedure included DEAE-Sephadex chromatography, taurocholate-agarose affinity chromatography, and preparative isoelectrofocusing. The final preparation had a specific activity of 18 nmol min-1 mg protein-1, representing a 760-fold purification from the cytosol fraction with a overall yield of 15%. The human enzyme has a Mr of 67,000 and a pI of 5.2. DEAE-Sephadex chromatography of the cytosol fraction revealed only a single species of activity. The limiting Km for the sulfuryl donor, 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS), is 0.7 microM. The limiting Km for the sulfuryl acceptor, glycolithocholate (GLC), is 2 microM. Reciprocal plots were intersecting. Product inhibition studies established that adenosine 3',5'-diphosphate (PAP) was competitive with PAPS (Ki = 0.2 microM) and noncompetitive with respect to GLC. GLC sulfate was competitive with GLC (Ki = 2.2 microM) and noncompetitive with respect to PAPS. Also, 3-ketolithocholate, a dead-end inhibitor, was competitive with GLC (Ki = 0.6 microM) and noncompetitive with respect to PAPS. Iso-PAP (the 2' isomer of PAP) was competitive with PAPS (Ki = 0.3 microM) and noncompetitive with GLC. The cumulative results of the steady-state kinetics experiments point to a random mechanism for the binding of substrates and release of products. The purified enzyme displays no activity toward estrone, testosterone, or phenol. Among the reactive substrates tested, the Vmax/Km values are in the order GLC greater than 3-beta OH-5-cholenic acid greater than glycochenodeoxycholate greater than glycocholate. p-Chloromercuribenzoate inactivated the enzyme. Either PAPS or GLC protected against inactivation, suggesting the presence of a sulfhydryl group at the active site.

The purification of 3 beta-hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase of the hamster epididymis

The purification of a hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase from the cytosolic fraction of the hamster epididymis is described using ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration and PAP agarose affinity chromatography. A purification of 360-fold was achieved and resulted in the isolation of one major protein as evidenced by HPLC and SDS gel-electrophoresis. The "native" enzyme is a dimer of mol. wt 106,000 and is composed of subunits having the same molecular weight.

Behavior of mouse placental and uterine estrogen sulfotransferase during chromatography and other procedures

The estrogen sulfotransferase activity of high-speed supernatants of mouse placenta and uterus behaves on conventional and high-performance liquid chromatographic gel filtration as an enzyme species with a molecular weight of the order of 30 000. This is so whether the cytosols are freshly prepared or have been stored at -20 degrees C before chromatography. The presence of thiol groups or EDTA has no effect on the elution pattern. The partially purified enzyme is extremely unstable and is poorly recovered by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation. Some stabilization can be achieved in the presence of 0.1 microM estradiol. Chromatofocusing of cytosols results in the elution of one or two sulfotransferase peaks, depending upon experimental conditions such as the presence or absence of thiol groups. These peaks act upon both estrone and estradiol as substrates. Chromatofocusing by fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) in the absence of thiol groups results in the elution of one sulfotransferase peak whose activity can be detected only when thiol groups are present during enzyme assay.

Identification and partial purification of a unique phenolic steroid sulphotransferase in rat liver cytosol

Phenolic steroid sulphotransferase activity for both oestradiol and oestrone was identified in male rat liver cytosol in the 30 000-40 000 Mr fractions on gel filtration when activity was assayed at pH 5.5 (pH optimum 5.5-6.0). Activity for oestradiol but not oestrone was found in the 60 000-70 000-Mr range when assayed at pH 8.0 (pH optimum biphasic, 5.5-6.0 and 7.0-8.0). Km for oestradiol (1.3 microM) was lower than published values for hydroxysteroid sulphotransferases (15-35 microM) and previously reported oestradiol sulphotransferases (71-85 microM). At above 2 microM-oestradiol phenolic sulphotransferase activity exhibited substrate inhibition. The phenolic steroid sulphotransferase activity was found to be distinct in chromatofocusing from organic-anion-binding and bile acid-binding proteins previously identified in this Mr range. Further purification on hydroxyapatite yielded a 44-fold enriched fraction that contained two monomeric bands, Mr 32 500 and 29 500.

Evidence for heterogeneity of hepatic bile salt sulfotransferases in female hamsters and rats

Gel filtration and anion-exchange chromatography have been used to investigate whether 3'-phosphoadenylylsulfate:bile salt sulfotransferase activity from female rat and hamster liver is heterogeneous. Using these techniques at least three different enzyme activities were demonstrated with two different bile salt substrates. In both animals, but particularly the rat, there was a marked difference in the substrate specificity between each of the peaks of enzyme activity. The reducing agent, 2-mercaptoethanol, enhanced the proportion of the highest molecular weight (130 000) form of the enzyme from rat liver detected with glycochenodeoxycholate as substrate. This effect was duplicated by alkylation of sulfhydryl groups with iodoacetamide and is interpreted as being due to intermolecular association caused by disruption of intramolecular disulfide bonds.

Steroid sulfotransferase in hamster epididymis

Steroid sulfotransferase activity is present in the cytosol fraction of hamster epididymis. The activity of this enzyme is increased by magnesium ion. Cysteine is essential to assure optimal activity. Adenosine-3'-phosphate-5'-phosphosulfate is required as sulfate donor and an apparent Km of 62 microM was calculated. Inhibition studies suggest that this enzyme preferentially catalyzes the sulfurylation of the 3 beta-hydroxyl group of delta 5-steroids. An unusual feature of the enzyme is a pH optimum at pH 10.