Rabbit DNase I: purification from urine, immunological and proteochemical characterization, nucleotide sequence, expression in tissues, relationships with other mammalian DNases I and phylogenetic analysis.

DNase I from rabbit urine was purified approx. 3600-fold to apparent homogeneity with a 41% yield by affinity chromatography utilizing DNA-cellulose; the purity of the final preparation was assessed by SDS/PAGE, lack of contamination by other nucleases and production of a monospecific antibody against the enzyme. Although the proteochemical and enzymological properties of the purified enzyme resembled those of other mammalian DNases I, the enzymic activity of rabbit DNase I was less efficiently inhibited by monomeric actin than was that of human DNase I, probably due to substitution of an amino acid residue involved in actin binding (Tyr-65 to Phe). The effects of specific antibodies to human, rabbit and rat DNases I on the activities of the corresponding purified enzymes revealed that human DNase I lies between the rat and rabbit enzymes with regard to its immunological properties. An 1158 bp full-length cDNA encoding rabbit DNase I was constructed from the total RNA of rabbit pancreas using a combination of reverse transcriptase-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends, followed by sequencing. This identified a 17- or 21-amino-acid signal sequence, with the mature enzyme containing 260 amino acids and a single N-glycosylation site at Asn-18. The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA sequence exactly matched that determined proteochemically from the purified enzyme up to residue 20. A systematic survey of DNase I distribution as measured by both enzymic activity and DNase I gene transcripts in 12 rabbit tissues showed the pancreas and parotid gland to produce equivalent levels, higher than those in other tissues. Enzymic activity and DNase I gene expression levels in each tissue correlated well. The results of phylogenetic and sequence identity analysis, immunological properties and tissue-distribution patterns of DNase I indicated a closer relationship between the rabbit and human enzymes than for other mammalian DNases I. Furthermore, differences between the enzymic activities expressed in mammalian parotid gland and pancreas suggest that the distribution of DNase I in mammalian tissue is species-specific.