A Second Thioltransferase from Chinese Cabbage: Purification and Characterization

Thioltransferase, also known as glutaredoxin, was previously purified and characterized from Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris ssp. napus var. pekinensis). However, in the process of gel filtration on Sephadex G-75, there were two activity peaks. In this study, a second thioltransferase (TTase CC-2) in the minor peak of the Sephadex G-75 elution profile was further purified using affinity chromatography on an S-hexylglutathione-agarose column by eluting with buffer solution containing 2.5 mM S-hexylglutathione. It showed a single band on SDS-PAGE indicating that TTase CC-2 is electrophoretically homogeneous. The molecular weight of TTase CC-2 was estimated to be about 22,000 daltons, and its isoelectric point was determined to be 6.73. Its size appears to be atypical and much larger than that of the first thioltransferase (TTase CC-1) from Chinese cabbage, and it can utilize 2-hydroxyethyl disulfide, S-sulfocysteine, and insulin as substrates. S-sulfocysteine was found to be a superior substrate for TTase CC-2. TTase CC-2 also displayed the reducing activity for non-disulfides such as dehydroascorbic acid. Its optimum pH was 8.5, which was consistent with that of TTase CC-1. TTase CC-2 activity was greatly activated by L-cysteine and reduced glutathione, and was found to be less heat-stable compared with TTase CC-1. Molecular and physiological differences between TTase CC-1 and TTase CC-2 remain to be elucidated. Chinese cabbage is the first plant which is known to contain two kinds of thioltransferases.