Purification and properties of a beta-galactosidase with potential application as a digestive supplement

Functional-based screening of crude beta-galactosidase activities from 42 yeast strains resulted in the selection of a single enzyme of potential interest as a digestive supplement. beta-Galactosidase produced by Kluyveromyces marxianus DSM5418 was purified to homogeneity by a combination of gel filtration, ion-exchange, and hydroxylapatite chromatographies. The denatured (123 kDa) and native molecular masses (251 kDa) suggest that the enzyme is a homodimer. The optimum pH and temperature of the purified enzyme were 6.8 and 37 degrees C, respectively. The unpurified beta-galactosidase in particular displayed a high level of stability when exposed to simulated intestinal conditions in vitro for 4 h. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass sectrometry analysis revealed that the enzyme's trypsin-generated peptide mass fingerprint shares several peptide fragment hits with beta-galactosidases from Kluyveromyces lactis. This confirms the enzyme's identity and indicates that significant sequence homology exists between these enzymes.     

Transketolase from human erythrocytes. Purification and properties

Human erythrocyte transketolase (sedoheptulose-7-phosphate: D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate glycolaldehyde-transferase) was purified 8200-fold by adsorption onto hydroxylapatite, DEAE-cellulose treatment, acetone fractionation, and chromatography on Sephadex G-100. The purified transketolase could not be separated from glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, whereas the latter enzyme could be isolated in a pure state. Its homogeneity is suggested by sedimentation velocity, sedimentation equilibrium, and acrylamide electrophoresis. A molecular weight of 136000 was found. The physicochemical properties of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and transketolase are very similar. A molecular weight of 136000 is suggested for transketolase, although gel filtration with Sephadex G-100 gave only 104000 ± 10%. This discrepancy is a reflection of an interaction of transketolase with the gel filtration medium. The isoelectric point for transketolase as well as for glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, as determined by isoelectric focussing, was found to be around 8.5. The activity of the enzyme is close to the maximum for pH 7.5 to pH 8.6. Additions of thiamine pyrophosphate or other cofactors do not influence the activity. Several divalent cations were tested. Sulfate and phosphate inhibit transketolase approximately to 50% between 50 and 100 mM concentration. Thiamine was present in transketolase, as shown by a microbiological assay and by the thiochrome reaction. The activation energy for the formation of sedoheptulose-7-phosphate from xylulose-5-phosphate was estimated from rate measurements to be 11.2 kcal/mole in the temperature range from 5° to 55°.     

The function of the 5-hydroxymethyl group of lactose in enzymatic hydrolysis with beta-galactosidase from E. coli.

A series of 6-substituted methyl lactoside derivatives together with methyl allolactoside and (6S)-methyl [6-2H]lactoside have been synthesized and characterized by NMR spectroscopy. All compounds were tested as substrates for the enzyme beta-galactosidase from E. coli using progress curve kinetic methology both in single-substrate and competition experiments. The results show that the hydrolysis of methyl lactoside to a large extent takes place through an intramolecular transglycosidation reaction via allolactoside. Furthermore, methyl 6-amino-6-deoxy-D-glucopyranoside proved to be an ihibitor for the enzymatic hydrolysis.     

Electrochemical and enzymatic oxidation of 5-hydroxytryptophol: Part II. Studies at physiological pH

The key event in the electrochemical oxidation of 5-hydroxytryptophol (5-HTOL) at physiological pH is formation of a carbocation intermediate (15b). This intermediate undergoes a series of ion-substrate coupling reactions. The major product of these reactions is 5,5-dihydroxy-4,4'-bitryptophol (A). Further attack of carbocation 15b on A yields several trimers including one containing an ether bridge between two 5-HTOL residues (I). This key trimer is the precursor of a number of dioxepin derivatives. Carbocation 15b can also be attacked by water yielding, ultimately, tryptophol-4,5-dione (B). Overall, electro-oxidation of 5-HTOL generates a very complex mixture of products. Peroxidase/H₂O₂, ceruloplasmin/O₂, and tyrosinase/O₂ also oxidize 5-HTOL. The product profiles generated in these enzymemediated reactions are very similar to the electrochemically driven process. The possibility is discussed that oxidation chemistry or biochemistry of 5-HTOL or other biogenic indoles in the central nervous system might play a role in the etiology of neurodegenerative illnesses.     

Polyurethane cationomers. II. Phase inversion and its effect on physical properties

The three series of polyether polyurethane cationomers based on MDI, HDI, and TDI that are the subject of Part I, undergo emulsification (or phase inversion) on addition of water to solutions in MEK. The phase inversion mechanism depends on the structure of hard segment, ionic content, and dispersion temperature. The dispersion process can be divided into three stages involving a separation of hard segment aggregates due to adsorption of water on their surface, water entering into disordered and then ordered hard domains, and finally a rearrangement of agglomerates to form microspheres. The extent of penetration of water into the disordered hard domains decreases with increasing glass transition temperature; while in ordered hard domains, penetration depends on the dissociation temperature of urethane–urethane hydrogen bonds. Thus the penetration of water into the hard domains is strongly dependent on the dispersion temperature. Films cast from the emulsions have both ordered and disordered hard segment regions, this is also true of films cast directly from solution. The dispersion can disrupt the order in hard domains, leading to an increased phase separation for the MDI system and to a slightly increased phase mixing for the HDI and TDI systems. Films cast from solutions have a morphology with soft domains as a continuous phase and hard domains as a fibrillar network dispersed in the continuous phase. After dispersion, the hard segments originally distributed in the dispersed phase can be inverted to become a hard domain network or a continuous phase.     

Purification and some properties of phospholipase C from Achromobacter xylosoxidans.

A non-haemolytic phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3) was purified from the culture medium of Achromobacter xylosoxidans with a 5% yield and a purification factor of 330. A combination of ultrafiltration, acetone precipitation and two subsequent affinity chromatographic steps was used. The affinity chromatography is a new application of 2-(4-aminophenylsulphonyl)ethyl-cellulose, a sorbent that has previously been used for the purification of phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus. The purified enzyme gave four distinct bands on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and each band was catalytically active. Under our experimental conditions, the phospholipids examined were hydrolysed in the following order: phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingomyelin. Neither the synthetic substrate p-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine nor phosphatidylinositol was hydrolysed under different experimental conditions. For maximal hydrolytic activity toward phosphatidylcholine, the enzyme required Triton X-100 and Ca2+ ions. EDTA was inhibitory, but the enzyme activity was almost completely restored by Zn2+. The molecular mass of the phospholipase C, estimated by gel permeation, was 34,000 daltons.     

Studies on terpenes. II

Summary Fifty esters of monoterpene alcohols — mainly acetates — are investigated by gas chromatography on Apiezon-L and Carbowax 20 M and also by argentation thin-layer chromatography. The relationship between the retention indices, -Ivalues, R_f-values and structure of the esters is discussed.

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Zusammenfassung Fünfzig Ester von Monoterpenalkoholen — hauptsächlich Acetate — wurden mit Hilfe der Gas-Chromatographie auf Apiezon L und Carbowax 20 M sowie der Dünnschicht-Chromatographie auf AgNO₃-haltigen Silicagel-Schichten untersucht. Die Zusammenhänge zwischen den Retentionsindices, I-Werten, R_f-Werten und der Struktur der Ester werden diskutiert.

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Part. I: J. Chromatog. 7, 297 (1962).