• BMB Reports
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• 제34권6호
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• pp.559-565
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• 2001

Protein carboxyl O-methyltransferase (E.C.2.1.1.24) may play a role in the repair of aged protein that is spontaneously incorporated with isoaspartyl residues. The porcine brain carboxyl O-methyltransferase was cloned in the pET32 vector, and overexpressed in E.coh (BL21) that harbors pETPCMT, which encodes 227 amino acids, including tagging proteins at the N-terminus. The protein sequence of the cloned porcine brain PCMT (r-pbPCMT) shares a 98% identity with that of human erythrocyte PCMT and rat brain PCMT. It is 100% identical with that of bovine brain. The r-pbPCMT was purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and digested by enterokinase in order to remove the protein tags. Then Superdex 75HR gel filtration chromatography was performed. The r-pbPCMT exhibited similar in vitro substrate specificities with the PCMT that was purified from porcine brain. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be 24.5 kDa on the SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The $K_m$ value was $1.1{\times}10^{-7}\;M$ for S-adenosyl-L-methionine. S-adnosyl-L-homocysteine was a competitive type of inhibitor with the $K_i$ value of $1.38{\times}10^{-4}\;M$. The enzyme has optimal activity at pH 6.0 and $37^{\circ}C$. These results indicate that the expressed enzyme is functionally similar to the natural protein. It also suggests that it may be a suitable model to further understand the function of the mammalian enzyme.

• BMB Reports
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.299-305
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• 1999

Protein carboxyl O-methyltransferase (PCMT) catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group from Sadenosyl-L-methionine to free carboxyl groups of methyl-accepting substrate proteins. Two isozymes were separated by DEAE-Sephacel chromatography from porcine brain cytosol and designated PCMT I and II. Isozymes I and II were further purified by adenosyl homocysteine-Sepharose 4B and Superose HR 12 chromatography. The molecular weights of the purified PCMT I and II were determined by mass spectrometry to be 20,138 Da and 25,574 Da, respectively. The two enzymes displayed different isoelectric points; 7.9 for PCMT I and 5.3 for PCMT II. Isozymes I and II exhibited similar substrate specificities when tested with various methyl-accepting proteins. Myelin basic protein, a component of myelinated neurons, was found to be an excellent methyl-accepting substrate for both PCMT isozymes with different $K_m$ values, $21.1\;{\mu}M$ for PCMT I and $10.6\;{\mu}M$ for PCMT II. The PCMT activity and methyl-accepting capacity displayed similar distribution in the various brain regions with an exception of the lower values in the cerebellum. The overall distribution may relate to a general function of protein repair by PCMT in the brain.