Separation of rat liver lysosome membrane adenosine triphosphatase activities by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

A rat liver lysosomal membrane flavin-adenine dinucleotide phosphohydrolase: purification and characterization

An enzyme hydrolyzing flavin-adenine dinucleotide (FAD) to flavin mononucleotide and AMP was identified and purified from rat liver lysosomal (Tritosomal) membranes. The purified enzyme showed a single band on silver-stained denaturing gels with an apparent Mr 70,000. Periodate-Schiff staining after denaturing gel electrophoresis of whole membrane preparations revealed that this enzyme is one of the major glycoproteins in lysosomal membranes. FAD appeared to be the preferred substrate for the purified enzyme; equivalent concentrations of NAD or CoA were hydrolyzed at about one-half of the FAD rate. Negligible activity (less than or equal to 16%) was noted with ATP, TTP, ADP, AMP, FMN, pyrophosphate, or p-nitrophenylphosphate. The enzyme was inhibited by EDTA or dithiothreitol. It was stimulated by Zn, and was not affected by Ca or Mg ions, nor by p-chloromercuribenzoate. The pH optimum for FAD hydrolysis was 8.5-9 with an apparent Km of 0.125 mM. Antibodies prepared against the purified enzyme partially (50%) inhibited FAD phosphohydrolase activity in lysosomal membrane preparations but had no effect on the soluble lysosomal acid pyrophosphatase known to hydrolyze FAD. This enzyme could not be detected immunochemically in preparations of microsomes, Golgi, plasma membranes, mitochondrial membranes, or the soluble lysosomal fraction, suggesting that the enzyme is different from either soluble lysosomal acid pyrophosphatase or other FAD hydrolyzing activities in the liver cell.

Purification of Plasmodium falciparum digestive vacuoles and partial characterization of the vacuolar membrane ATPase

Plasmodium falciparum digestive vacuoles containing ferric oxide granules were purified from parasite homogenates by centrifugation on discontinuous sucrose gradients. Digestive vacuole membranes prepared by osmotic lysis and washed with KCl showed no detectable contamination by erythrocyte membrane proteins and only minimal contamination by non-vacuolar parasite proteins. Purified vacuolar membranes were 2.6-fold enriched in total parasite membrane ATPase activity. This ATPase was optimally active at pH 7 in the presence of at least 2 mM Mg2+. Ca2+ and Mn2+ were approximately 80-90% as effective as Mg2+, and Zn2+, Co2+ and Fe2+ also exerted some stimulatory effect. The vacuolar membrane also hydrolyzed GTP, UTP, CTP and ADP, but AMP and 3',5'-cyclic AMP were hydrolyzed only one-tenth as effectively as ATP. The ATPase was unaffected by vanadate, ouabain or oligomycin but was significantly inhibited by the proton pump inhibitors NEM and NBD-Cl. Of 6 antimalarial drugs tested, quinine and quinacrine were the most effective inhibitors and mefloquine was the least effective.