Specificity of the sex-influenced esterase (ES-SI) isozyme in rat liver.

A carboxylesterase which shares common antigenicity with sex-influenced esterase (ES-SI) was found in both the male and the female liver of the rat but not in the following tissues: erythrocyte, heart, kidney, lung, spleen, small intestine, testis, thymus, and lymph node. Subcellular fractionation showed the esterase localizes in the microsome-rich fraction. The strain distribution of the presence or absence of the esterase in inbred rats was identical to that of ES-SI, although in adult males a considerable amount of the esterase exists, unlike ES-SI. The esterase had a higher isoelectric point than ES-SI but after neuraminidase treatment the difference disappeared, suggesting that the esterase has a sialic acid moiety. Because this esterase has different properties from those previously reported, it is proposed that it is designated liver-ES-SI. The common antigenicity and similar strain distribution between ES-SI and liver-ES-SI suggest that liver-ES-SI is a precursor molecule of ES-SI and therefore the two esterases are products of a single gene.