title: Further studies on rat cathepsin E: subcellular localization and existence of the active subunit form.
abstract: The subcellular localization of rat neutrophil cathepsin E was examined by a modification of the method of N. Borregaard et al. [(1983) J. Cell Biol. 97, 52-61]. When the postnuclear cavitate of rat neutrophils was subjected to density centrifugation on discontinuous Percoll gradients, three particulate bands, P1 (lowest; azurophil granule rich), P2 (middle; specific granule rich), and P3 (highest; plasma membrane rich), were segregated. A combined application of immunochemical and electrophoretic methods revealed a striking difference in subcellular localization between cathepsin E and cathepsin D: Cathepsin E was associated with P3 and soluble fractions, and cathepsin D was chiefly associated with P1 and P2 fractions. The results thus indicate that cathepsin E is a nonlysosomal acid proteinase in rat neutrophils. It was found that cathepsin E existed in two enzymatically active molecular forms, referred to as CE-I and CE-II, in rat neutrophil extracts. To examine the relationships between the two forms, cathepsin E was purified to homogeneity from rat gastric mucosae. The purified enzyme exhibited a single protein band of 43 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, but electrophoresis without SDS, followed by visualization of activity in the gel, revealed two activity bands corresponding to CE-II and CE-I in neutrophil extracts. Pretreatment of the enzyme with beta-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol resulted in an increase in CE-I activity with a concomitant decrease in CE-II activity on gels. Upon gel filtration, the molecular weights of CE-II and CE-I were estimated to be 98,000 and 51,000, respectively, strongly suggesting that they are the dimeric and monomeric forms of the cathepsin E subunit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yonezawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maejima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Muto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; D020059:Cathepsin E; D002403:Cathepsins / Q000502:physiology*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000502:physiology; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000201:enzymology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D002403:Cathepsins; D010450:Endopeptidases; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; D020059:Cathepsin E