[Effect of hypothermia on subcellular distribution and various physico-chemical properties of cathepsin D in rat brain].

The total cooling ef rats down to the rectal temperature 30 degrees and 20 degrees C does not change significantly the ratio of the relative specific activity of cathepsin D in subcellular fractions of the rat brain. The gel chromatographic analysis of heterogeneity of cathepsin D molecular forms in subcellular fractions established the presence of a high-molecular (in the fractions of lysosome and microsome mitochondria) and a low-molecular (in the fractions of lysosome and cytosol mitochondria) enzyme forms. Under hypothermia (20 degrees C) in the brain cytosol fraction there arises a minor zone of the cathepsin D activity corresponding to the high-molecular enzyme form.