Partial purification of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by aqueous two-phase poly(ethyleneglycol)/phosphate systems

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) is an important enzyme used in biochemical and medical studies and in several analytical methods that have industrial and commercial application. This work evaluated the extraction of G6PDH in aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) of poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG)/phosphate buffer, using as enzyme source a medium prepared through commercial baker's yeast disruption. Firstly, the effects of PEG molar mass on the enzyme partition and of homogenization and rest on the system equilibrium were investigated. Afterwards, several ATPS were prepared using statistical analysis (2² factorial design). The results, including kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for the G6PDH activity, showed partial purification of this enzyme in ATPS composed of 17.5 percent (w/w) PEG400 and 15.0 percent (w/w) phosphate. A high enzymatic recovery value (97.7 percent), a high partition coefficient (351), and an acceptable purification factor (2.28 times higher than in cell homogenate) were attained from the top phase. So, it was possible to attain an effective enzyme pre-purification by separating some contaminants with a simple method such as liquid-liquid extraction in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS).

Glicose-6-fosfato desidrogenase (G6PDH) é uma importante enzima usada em estudos bioquímicos e médicos, bem como em diversos métodos analíticos com aplicação comercial e industrial. Neste trabalho foi avaliado a extração da G6PDH em sistemas de duas fases aquosas (ATPS) constituídos por poli(etilenoglicol) (PEG)/tampão fosfato, usando como fonte de enzima um meio preparado por rompimento de leveduras de panificação comercial. Inicialmente foram investigados os efeitos da massa molar do PEG na partição da enzima e da homogeneização e repouso no equilíbrio do sistema. Na sequência, diversos ATPS foram preparados usando análise estatística (planejamento fatorial 2²). Os resultados, incluindo parâmetros cinéticos e termodinâmicos para a atividade da G6PDH, indicaram parcial purificação desta enzima em ATPS constituídos por 17,5 por cento (p/p) PEG400 e 15,0 por cento (p/p) fosfato. Um alto valor de recuperação enzimática (97,7 por cento), um alto coeficiente de partição (351), e um fator de purificação aceitável (2,28 vezes maior que em homogenato celular) foram obtidos na fase superior do sistema. Assim, foi possível alcançar uma pré-purificação eficaz da enzima separando alguns contaminadores aplicando um método simples tal como a extração líquido-líquido em sistemas bifásicos (ATPS).

Effect of pH on the stability of hexokinase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Hexokinase (HK) and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) are important enzymes used in biochemical studies and in analytical methods. The stability of the enzymes can be affected by several variables, pH being one of them. The effect of pH on the stability of HK and G6PDH was evaluated in this work. Baker's yeast cells were suspended in 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.5) containing 5.0 mM MgCl2, and submitted to disruption by agitation with glass beads and in the presence of protease inhibitors. The cell-free extract was obtained by centrifugation (2880g; 10 min), followed by dilution into the buffers: 0.1 M acetate-acetic acid (pH: 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, or 5.5), 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH: 6.0, 6.5, or 7.0), and 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer (pH: 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0 or 9.5). The residual activity of HK and G6PDH, expressed as micromol of NADPH formed per min, were measured through a period of buffer-enzyme contact from 0 to 51 h at 4 degrees C. It was observed that up to 4 h both enzymes were stable in all buffers used. However, after 51 h HK was stable at pH 6.0 and 7.5, whereas G6PDH was stable at pH 7.0, 9.5, and between 4.5 and 5.5.