Purification and some characteristics of the human epidermal SH-protease inhibitor.

An inhibitor of papain and other SH-proteases was purified 520-fold from human epidermis extracts by acetone fractionation, heat treatment, papain-Sepharose affinity chromatography, and Sephadex G-50 chromatography. The purified inhibitor had a molecular weight of 12,600 and contained no hexose, as tested by the anthrone reaction. The inhibitor survived in a boiling water bath, in 5% trichloroacetic acid, 20 mM Na3PO4 (pH 12.1) and 4 M NH4OH (pH 11.9). By isoelectric focusing 2 major activity peaks with pI's of 4.6 and 4.8, and a minor peak with a pI of 4.9 was fractioned, and 3 corresponding protein bands were seen after analytical isoelectric focusing. Immunization of rabbits with the purified inhibitor yielded a highly specific anti-inhibitor serum. The purified inhibitor inhibited papain, ficin, human cathepsins B and C, and slightly inhibited bromelain. No inhibition of serine proteases (bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin A, porcine elastase) or an acid protease (human cathepsin D) was observed. Evidence was obtained that the inhibitor formed a complex with both dithiothreitol-activated papain and enzymatically inactive mercuripapain.