We describe a novel radioimmunoassay procedure for the direct estimation of aldosterone in unextracted plasma and serum samples, in which interfering binding proteins are digested by Proteinase K (Tritirachium alkaline proteinase, EC 3.4.21.14), a powerful proteolytic enzyme. Heating at 75 degrees C for 15 min inactivates the enzyme before radioimmunoassay. Alternatively, EDTA may be used to in...

Cathepsin K is a recently identified lysosomal cysteine proteinase. It is abundant in osteoclasts, where it is believed to play a vital role in the resorption and remodeling of bone. Pycnodysostosis is a rare inherited osteochondrodysplasia that is caused by mutations of the cathepsin-K gene, characterized by osteosclerosis, short stature, and acroosteolysis of the distal phalanges. With a view...

Two specific slow sedimenting nucleoprotein particles containing equimolar amounts of histones H2A and H2B and 38 or 49 base pair (bp) lengths of DNA have been isolated by centrifugation on sucrose gradients. The 3.4S particles containing 38 bp DNA and H2A+H2B thermally denature at 61 degrees, considerably higher than Proteinase K treated particles (44 degrees), but lower than 11S nucleosomes (...

Disease-related prion protein, PrP(Sc), is classically distinguished from its normal cellular precursor, PrP(C), by its detergent insolubility and partial resistance to proteolysis. Molecular diagnosis of prion disease typically relies upon detection of protease-resistant fragments of PrP(Sc) using proteinase K, however it is now apparent that the majority of disease-related PrP and indeed prio...

The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent has been transmitted to humans, leading to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Sheep and goats can be experimentally infected by BSE and have been potentially exposed to natural BSE; however, whether BSE can be transmitted to small ruminants is not known. Based on the particular biochemical properties of the abnormal prion protein (PrPsc) associat...

Objective: Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.) Kurz. is a medicinal herb commonly used to treat ulcers, cough, diabetes and cancer. In this study, phosphate extraction buffer (pH) was used to extract proteins from the leaves of Bryophyllum pinnatum. Method: On sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) separation, the results showed that most of the extracted proteins migrated...

An alkaline protease gene (Eap) was isolated for the first time from a marine fungus, Engyodontium album. Eap consists of an open reading frame of 1,161 bp encoding a prepropeptide consisting of 387 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 40.923 kDa. Homology comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of Eap with other known proteins indicated that Eap encode an extracellular proteas...

This article describes a procedure which permits for the first time the isolation of the prion protein PrPc from the Syrian golden hamster in heterologous systems. Using a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion approach, milligram amounts of stable, soluble, and homogeneous GST::PrPc protein were obtained in Escherichia coli and with baculovirus-infected insect cells. Authentic PrPc was release...

In genetic linkage studies using the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique, it is essential to process effectively large numbers of blood samples. One of the problems faced when extracting DNA by standard methods is the requirement of deproteinizing cell digests with hazardous organic solvents like phenol, chloroform and isoamyl alcohol (1-3). The method described in this re...