A turbidimetric assay was used to determine the extent of thermally-induced aggregation in low molecular weight urokinase (LMW-UK). Previous work has shown that, under 60°C heat treatment, LMW-UK denatures and the unfolded protein proceeds to form soluble aggregates. The effects of excipients on the extent of aggregation were examined. Both salts (ammonium sulfate and magnesium chloride) and sugars (sucrose, glucose, trehalose, raffinose) were found to be effective, concentration-dependent inhibitors of aggregation, although excessive salt concentrations did lead to salting out of the protein. Addition of Tween 80, a nonionic detergent, was ineffective. Overall, the effect of these additives on the stability of thermally-stressed LMW-UK can be understood in terms of preferential exclusion of the solute from the surface of the protein. These interactions affect the extent of denaturation, or unfolding, of LMW-UK at 60°C, thereby controlling the degree of aggregation. Purification and incubation experiments indicate that a thermally-unstable subpopulation of LMW-UK exists and is responsible for the majority of the aggregation observed.

Turbidimetric or light scattering assays can be used to determine the extent of aggregation in protein formulations. Using low molecular weight urokinase (LMW-UK) as a model protein, the effect of polymeric additives on heat-induced aggregation was evaluated. Previous work has shown that under 60°C heat treatment, LMW-UK initially denatures and the unfolded protein associates to form soluble aggregates. Eventually, these aggregates associate to form a precipitate. The effects of polymers on the initial aggregation phase was examined. Hydroxyethyl (heta) starch, polyethylene glycol 4000, and gelatin were found to be effective, concentration-dependent inhibitors of aggregation, whereas polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyethylene glycol 300 were ineffective. Overall, the effect of polymeric additives on the stability of thermally-stressed LMW-UK can be accounted for by preferential exclusion of the solute from the surface of the protein.

Exposure of low molecular weight urokinase (LMW-UK) to prolonged heating (60 degrees C, 10 hours) is used to inactivate possible viral contaminants. This process leads to a significant loss of active enzyme. Amidolytic activity was monitored following heat treatment in order to establish the conditions for maintaining the optimal stability of LMW-UK. The effects of pH, ionic strength, protein concentration, and various ionic additives were examined. While LMW-UK is stable across a wide pH range (pH 2-11), heating LMW-UK in aqueous solution leads to complete loss of activity except between pH 4 and 7.5. The mechanism of inactivation was delineated using activity assays as well as turbimetric and spectroscopic methods. Thermal inactivation occurs via aggregation of unfolded LMW-UK, followed by subsequent precipitation. Threshold effects upon the thermally-induced aggregation of LMW-UK were observed.

Antibodies to pig heart 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase inhibited almost completely and in a parallel fashion thiolase and the acetyl-CoA-dependent fatty acid elongation system present in an acetone powder extract of pig heart mitochondria. This finding leads to the conclusion that mitochondrial fatty acid elongation occurs by reversal of fatty acid oxidation. Several lines of evidence point to the thiolase-catalyzed condensation reaction as the rate-limiting step in the formation of elongated products. However, the accumulation of hydroxy acids suggests the enoyl-CoA reductase activity is limiting in the synthesis of saturated fatty acids.

A thiolase (acetyl CoA acyltransferase, EC 2.3-1.16) which acts on substrates of various chain lengths (thiolase I) has been purified from pig heart muscle 366-fold to near homogeneity as judged by gel electrophoresis. Its molecular weight was estimated to be 200,000 in the absence and 46,000 in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Kinetic measurements with acetoacetyl coenzyme A, 3-ketohexanoyl-CoA, 3-ketooctanoyl-CoA, and 3-ketodecanoyl-CoA yielded apparent Km values of 16, 8.3, 2.4, and 1.8 micron, respectively, whereas apparent Vmax values of 65 to 69 mumol/min/mg were obtained with all substrates except for acetoacetyl-CoA, with which a value of 26.5 mumol/min/mg was observed. Antibodies prepared against this thiolase were used to demonstrate that thiolase I and acetoacetyl-CoA thilase (thiolase II) from pig heart mitochondria are immunologically unrelated. The antibodies cross-reacted, however, with thiolase I from beef heart. Kinetic constants (Km, Vmax) were also determined for thiolases I and II from Escherichia coli, as were the native and subunit molecular weights of E. coli thiolase II. Although the E. coli thiolases were found to be immunologically distinct from the pig heart enzymes, their physical and kinetic properties are strikingly similar to those of the heart thiolases. In view of this finding and in view of the known physiological functions of the E. coli thiolases, it is proposed that thiolase I from pig heart is only involved in fatty acid metabolism, whereas thiolase II functions solely in ketone body degradation.