Carboxypeptidase-catalyzed hydrolysis of C-terminal lysine: mechanism for in vivo production of multiple forms of creatine kinase in plasma.

Human myocardial creatine kinase isoenzyme MM is present as a single form in tissue, but upon its release into plasma two additional forms, with faster anodal migration, are apparent on polyacrylamide electrophoresis. We designate the three forms as MM3, MM2, and MM1 in increasing order of anodal mobility. When tissue creatine kinase isoenzyme MM (MM3) is incubated with either carboxypeptidase N or carboxypeptidase B it is converted into the two additional forms, MM2 and MM1. The carboxy terminal amino acid of human, canine, and rabbit tissue MM3 was determined to be lysine, a specific substrate for carboxypeptidases N and B. Evidently the mechanism for the production of multiple forms of creatine MM in human plasma is the hydrolysis of a positively charged C-terminal lysine residue from one M subunit (MM2), followed by hydrolysis of the C-terminal lysine from the other subunit (MM1).