Evidence for structural similarities in the multiple forms of aortic and cartilage lysyl oxidase and a catalytically quiescent aortic protein.

Lysyl oxidase purified from urea extracts of various connective tissues resolves into multiple catalytically functional species upon chromatography on DEAE-cellulose in 6 M urea. The four enzyme species of bovine aorta retain their original chromatographic behavior on DEAE with time of storage and after purification to homogeneity by gel exclusion chromatography. The peptide maps of each aortic enzyme partially digested by STaphylococcus aureus V8 protease are very similar to each other, as are the peptide maps of complete tryptic digests of each enzyme. Such similarity also exists between the peptide maps of the aortic enzyme and the urea-extractable lysyl oxidase of bovine cartilage, as well as with the peptide maps of a catalytically quiescent protein resolved from the aortic enzyme by gel exclusion chromatography. The substrate activity profiles of the multiple aortic enzyme species are also extremely similar. Although the origin of the enzyme multiplicity remains to be established, there is evident structural and catalytic similarities between the enzyme forms.