title: Solubilization and characterization of pellet-associated human brain alpha-L-fucosidase activity.
abstract: The pellet-associated portion of human brain alpha-L-fucosidase (which represents approx. 20% of the homogenate activity) was solubilized with 0.5% (w/v) Triton X-100, characterized with regard to several properties and compared with the corresponding properties of the soluble supernatant-fluid enzyme in an attempt to find a second alpha-L-fucosidase in human brain. The solubilized and soluble alpha-L-fucosidase activities exhibited complete stability after storage at 2-4 degrees C for up to 29 days, comparable thermostability after preincubation at 50 degrees C, comparable apparent Km values (0.07-0.08 mM) for 4-methylumbelliferyl alpha-L-fucopyranoside, comparable hydrophobicity, comparable isoelectric-focusing profiles (six major forms, with pI values between 4.5 and 5.8) and comparable immunoprecipitation curves (with the IgG fraction of antisera prepared against human liver alpha-L-fucosidase). Differences in three properties were found between solubilized and soluble alpha-L-fucosidase activities: the solubilized activity was less stable to storage at -20 degrees C, had a 0.5-pH-unit neutral shift in its pH optimum (6.0) and had smaller Mr forms after gel filtration on Sephadex G-200. The overall results indicate that the pellet-associated and soluble portions of human brain alpha-L-fucosidase are quite similar in most of their properties. Thus there is still no compelling evidence for the existence of a second mammalian alpha-L-fucosidase.
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology*; D011232:Chemical Precipitation; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D007700:Kinetics; D017830:Octoxynol; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012995:Solubility; D005644:alpha-L-Fucosidase / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D017830:Octoxynol; D005644:alpha-L-Fucosidase