Purification of a kininogenase (kininogenase-2) from the venom of Agkistrodon caliginosus (Kankoku-Mamushi)

From the partially purified capillary permeability-increasing enzyme obtained from A. caliginosus venom, another kininogenase (kininogenase-2) was purified by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and ion-exchange chromatography on CM-Sephadex C-50, DEAE-Sephadex A-50, S-Sepharose Fast Flow and Q-Sepharose Fast Flow. The purified enzyme was homogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 8.3 and SDS-gel electrophoresis. The kininogenase-2 had arginine ester hydrolytic and capillary permeability-increasing activities, and did not show any caseinolytic or clotting activity in a similar manner to a previously purified kininogenase (kininogenase-1). The purified kininogenase-2 liberated bradykinin on incubation with purified bovine high mol. wt kininogen. The rate of bradykinin release from the kininogen by kininogenase-2 was slower than that by the kininogenase-1, although both enzymes rapidly cleaved the peptide bonds in the kininogen molecule.