ABSTRACT
Progesterone 5 beta-reductase, which catalyzes the reduction of progesterone to 5 beta-pregnane-3,20-dione, was purified 770-fold to homogeneity from the cytosolic fraction of shoot cultures of Digitalis purpurea. This purification involved DEAE-Sephacel, affinity chromatography (Blue-Sepharose CL-6B and adenosine 2',5'-bisphosphate-Sepharose 4B) and elution from a gel matrix after non-dissociating PAGE. The molecular mass determined by SDS/PAGE was 43 kDa and the molecular mass determined by gel-filtration chromatography on calibrated Sephadex G-200 was 280 kDa, thus indicating that the native protein is a polymer consisting of several subunits. The purified enzyme had a Km value of 6 microM for NADPH and 34 microM for progesterone. The enzyme had a strong substrate specificity for progesterone. The relative rates for other steroids such as testosterone, cortisone and cortisol were much lower. The trypsin digestion of the purified progesterone 5 beta-reductase resulted in 100 peptide fragments. The largest fragment after trypsin digestion and sequence analysis consisted of 13 amino acids.
Subject(s)
Digitalis/enzymology , Oxidoreductases/isolation & purification , Plants, Medicinal , Plants, Toxic , Amino Acid Sequence , Cardenolides/metabolism , Kinetics , Molecular Sequence Data , Molecular Weight , NADP/metabolism , Oxidoreductases/genetics , Oxidoreductases/metabolism , Peptide Fragments/genetics , Peptide Fragments/isolation & purification , Steroids , Substrate SpecificityABSTRACT
Leaves of Digitalis purpurea contain an enzyme activity which catalyzes the conversion of progesterone to 5 beta-pregnane-3,20-dione. Since cardenolides without exception possess a 5 beta-configuration, 5 beta-pregnane-3,20-dione can serve as a precursor for this class of secondary metabolites. It is assumed that the enzyme is part of the putative biosynthetic pathway of cardenolides. This enzyme activity was spotted in the soluble fraction of a crude homogenate. Product formation was detected by gas chromatography and by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (g.c./m.s.). The enzyme had a pH optimum at 8.0 and an apparent Km value of 6 microM for progesterone. It required NADPH as a co-substrate with an apparent Km value of 22 microM. The optimum temperature in vitro was 30 degrees C. The activity was not dependent on monovalent and bivalent cations.
