| Abstract: | Pyrophosphate, p-nitrophenyl phosphate and a variety of pyrimidine and purine nucleotides are hydrolyzed by the solubilized membrane-bound enzymes of the brush border plasma membrane of Hymenolepis diminuta. The pH optima (or ranges) for hydrolysis of substrates are 8.0 (pyrophosphate), 8.8 (p-nitrophenyl phosphate), 8.4-8.9 (nucleoside monophosphates), and 7.1-8.1 (nucleoside triphosphates); all substrates, with the exception of nucleoside triphosphates, have a higher affinity for the solubilized enzyme at pH 7.4 than at their optimal pH for hydrolysis. ATP is degraded completely by the enzyme preparation to adenosine and inorganic phosphate, but since neither ADP nor ATP accumulate in the incubation medium it is not known whether ATP hydrolysis involves the sequential hydrolysis of terminal phosphate groups. Isoelectric focusing and various chromatographic procedures (gel permeation, ion-exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography) fail to separate the alkaline phosphatase, phosphodiesterase, 5'-nucleotidase, adenosine triphosphatase and ribonuclease activities associated with the solubilized membrane preparation. Additionally, inhibitor studies indicate that only a single enzyme with low substrate specificity is involved in the hydrolysis of nucleotides, p-nitrophenyl phosphate, pyrophosphate and hexose phosphate esters. Purines and pyrimidines and their nucleosides interact with the active site, and in some instances activity of the enzyme is stimulated by an unknown mechanism. |
