1. Peptide-splitting enzymes have been studied in buffered glycerine extracts of larval salivary glands of three stocks of Drosophila melanogaster. 2. The ultraviolet absorption spectrum of the glycerine extracts indicates the presence of a considerable amount of nucleic acid. 3. Alanylglycine (AG), leucylglycine (LG), leucylglycylglycine (LGG), glycylglycine (GG), and diglycylglycine (GGG) are...

Jejunal folylpoly-gamma-glutamate carboxypeptidase hydrolyzes dietary folates prior to their intestinal absorption. The complete folylpoly-gamma-glutamate carboxypeptidase cDNA was isolated from a pig jejunal cDNA library using an amplified homologous probe incorporating primer sequences from prostate-specific membrane antigen, a protein capable of folate hydrolysis. The cDNA encodes a 751-amin...

Human kidney prolinase, assayed with Pro-Ala, and non-specific dipeptidase, assayed with Gly-Leu, were purified by using DEAE-cellulose, gel-filtration, metal-ion-chelate, hydrophobic and adsorption chromatography and chromatofocusing. Both enzymes gave single peaks of activity that were congruent and the ratio of their activities was constant throughout the purification. Gel filtration indicat...

血清ア ンギオテ ンシン変換酵素(SACE)は,サ ルコイ ドーシスの診断に有用な検査法 として知 られるが,け い 肺や石綿肺などの じん肺症でも活性が上昇す ることが明 らか となってい る1~4).従来SACEの 測定には, Cush manら の方法5)を 基準 とした変法(Cushman変 法)が 用 いられているが,そ の手法は比較的煩雑であ り,こ れ が職域健診への応用を妨げる一要因でもある.最 近,測 定用キ ットな用 いた笠原 らの方法6)(笠 原 法)が 開発 さ れた.そ こで我々は,じ ん肺者を対象として,両 法の有 用性を比較検討 した 研究方法 健常成人男子(対 照群)79名 お よび窯業 じん肺有所見 者(じ ん肺群)157名(男 子: 138名,女 子: 19名, PR1: 25名, PR2: 61名, PR3: 24名, PR4: 47名) を対象...

Heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria are multicellular organisms in which growth requires the activity of two metabolically interdependent cell types, the vegetative cells that perform oxygenic photosynthesis and the dinitrogen-fixing heterocysts. Vegetative cells provide the heterocysts with reduced carbon, and heterocysts provide the vegetative cells with fixed nitrogen. Heterocysts conspicuously...

Purified peptidyl dipeptidase (angiotensin I converting enzyme or kininase II) from human lung or hog kidney is inhibited by commercially prepared plasma protein preparations, by human serum albumin and by the additive albumin stabilizer, acetyltryptophan. After the initial steps of purification, albumin was detected by immunodiffusion as a component in human lung peptidyl dipeptidase preparati...

It was previously hypothesised that the requirements for glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchoring in mammalian cells and parasitic protozoa are similar but not identical. We have investigated this by converting the GPI cleavage/attachment site in porcine membrane dipeptidase to that found in the trypanosomal variant surface glycoprotein 117 and expressing the resulting mutants in COS-1 cel...

We have cloned two mouse cDNAs encoding previously unidentified membrane-bound dipeptidases [membrane-bound dipeptidase-2 (MBD-2) and membrane-bound dipeptidase-3 (MBD-3)] from membrane-bound dipeptidase-1 (MBD-1) deficient mice (Habib, G.M., Shi, Z-Z., Cuevas, A.A., Guo, Q., Matzuk, M.M., and Lieberman, M.W. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 4859-4863). These enzymes are closely related to...

Carnosine (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) and homocarnosine (gamma-aminobutyric acid-L-histidine) are two naturally occurring dipeptides with potential neuroprotective and neurotransmitter functions in the brain. Peptidase activities degrading both carnosine and homocarnosine have been described previously, but the genes linked to these activities were unknown. Here we present the identification of t...