Purification of arginases from human-leukemic lymphocytes and granulocytes: study of their physicochemical and kinetic properties.

Arginase has been isolated from granulocytes of a patient with chronic myelocytic leukemia and from lymphocytes of a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and both enzymes have been purified to apparent homogeneity. The purification procedure employed acetone extraction, ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose and CM-Sephadex chromatography and gel filtration on Bio-Gel A 1.5m. Both enzymes appear to be metalloenzymes, and to have molecular weights of about 120 000. Studies with the dissociated enzymes suggest that the subunit molecular weight is about 37 000, in agreement with a tetrameric aggregate structure of the native enzymes. Human leukemic granulocyte and lymphocyte arginases are strongly basic proteins with pI values between 9.25 and 9.35. Their free -SH groups enabled them to be linked to organomercurial-agarose. The kinetic properties estimated for both enzymes showed an optimum pH of 8.5, and an optimal MnCl2 concentration of 0.01 M. The Km for L-arginine is 2.7-3.1 mM and L-ornithine exhibits a mixed type of inhibition, with a Ki of 15.5-15.7 mM.