The aryl acylamidases and their relationship to cholinesterases in human serum, erythrocyte and liver

Abstract

Human serum aryl acylamidase associated with serum cholinesterase was purified to homogeneity. Evidence for the identity of the two enzymes was based on co-elution profiles, co-purification in the different steps including affinity chromatography with constant ratios of specific activity and percentage recoveries, co-migration on gel electrophoresis, parallel inhibition by typical cholinesterase inhibitors and co-precipitation by antibody raised against the purified enzyme. Human liver aryl acylamidase was partially purified. Based on the elution profiles, purification data, inhibitory characteristics and gel electrophoresis it was concluded that aryl acrylamidase of liver was not associated with liver cholinesterase. More conclusive evidence for the non-association of the liver aryl acylamidase and cholinesterase came from their clear-cut separation on procainamide-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Both the serum and liver aryl acylamidase were compared with the purified erythrocyte aryl acylamidase associated with acetylcholinesterase. While the erythrocyte and serum aryl acylamidases showed some similarities in their sensitivities to amines like serotonin or tryptamine and choline derivatives, the liver enzyme was unaffected by any of these compounds. A notable observation was the activation by tyramine of the serum aryl acylamidase but not the erythrocyte and liver aryl acylamidases. The liver aryl acylamidase also differed from the other two in its relative insensitivity to inhibition by eserine, neostygmine and other cholinesterase inhibitors. Immunodiffusion and immunoprecipitation studies showed that the aryl acylamidases from the liver and erythrocytes were immunologically non-identical with the serum enzyme.