Purification and properties of aminopeptidase C from chicken skeletal muscle.

Aminopeptidase C was purified from fresh chicken skeletal muscle by ammonium sulfate fractionation, and by successive chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, Ultrogel AcA 34, DEAE-cellulose again, and an alanine AH-Sepharose 4B affinity column twice. The purified enzyme migrated as a single band by SDS-PAGE. Aminopeptidase C was purified about 300-fold over the crude extract with a yield of 0.6%. The molecular weight of this enzyme was found to be 185,000 by gel filtration in a Sepharose 6B column and 92,000 by SDS-PAGE. The optimum pH for the hydrolysis of L-leucine beta-naphthylamide was 6.0-7.0, the enzyme being stable in the range of pH 6.5-8.0. The activity of this enzyme was strongly inhibited by EDTA and puromycin, and was high against the beta-naphthylamide derivatives of Lys, Leu, Ala and Met. The enzyme was more active towards tri- and tetrapeptides than towards dipeptides.