PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOVEL ACROSIN-LIKE ENZYME FROMBOAR CAUDA EPIDIDYMAL SPERM

A trypsin-like protease was extracted with 1% cetyltrimethylammonium b romide (CTAB) at pH 7.0 from boar cauda epididymal sperm nuclei whose acrosin had previously been removed by acid extraction. The CTAB-extra cted sperm protease (CSP) was purified by ion-exchange chromatography on CM-23, gel filtration on Sephadex G-100, affinity chromatography on benzamidine-CH-Sepharose 4B, and HPLC on CM-5PW. CSP is a two chain p rotein composed of M(r) 2.6K and M(r) 37K chains, which are covalently cross-linked by disulfide bonds. CSP exhibited a pH optimum between p H 8.0 and 9.0, and was inhibited by diisopropyl phosphorofluoridate, a ntipain, leupeptin, and 1-chloro-3-tosylamide-7-amino-L-2-heptanone. T he activity of CSP was enhanced about 1.2-fold with 50 mM CaCl2 with w hich acrosin is enhanced 2.0-fold. The catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K- m) of CSP toward Bz-L-Arg-OEt, Tos-L-Arg-OMe, and Tos-L-Lys-OMe in the presence of 50 mM CaCl2 differed from that of acrosin by factors of 0 .53, 1.2, and 0.80, respectively. Amino acid sequencing of V8-digested peptides of CSP, and its L- and H-chains showed that the amino acid s equence of CSP was closely related to, but different from, that of acr osin. These results suggest that CSP is a novel acrosin-like enzyme th at differs from acrosin in its location in the sperm head, the effect of calcium ions on its activity, and its substrate specificity.