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. 1967 Apr;103(1):238–245. doi: 10.1042/bj1030238

Enzymes in cancer

Asparaginase from chicken liver

T Ohnuma 1,*, F Bergel 1, R C Bray 1
PMCID: PMC1270391  PMID: 6033763

Abstract

1. A procedure for partial purification of asparaginase from chicken liver is presented. 2. The bulk of the enzyme is located in the soluble fraction of chicken liver. 3. Molecular weights of chicken-liver asparaginase and of the guinea-pig serum enzyme, estimated by gel filtration, were 306000 and 210000 respectively. The Michaelis constants (Km) at 37° and pH8·5 were 6·0×10−5m and 7·2×10−5m respectively. 4. At 50° the chicken-liver enzyme was moderately stable, some activity being lost by aggregation; in dilute electrolyte solutions the activity rapidly diminished. 5. The anti-lymphoma effect of guinea-pig serum in mice carrying the 6C3HED tumour was confirmed. Chicken-liver asparaginase also showed an effect but in this case the enzyme preparation had to be administered repeatedly. 6. Guinea-pig serum asparaginase was stable for several days in mouse blood, after intraperitoneal injection, whereas chicken-liver asparaginase rapidly disappeared. 7. Aspartic acid β-hydrazide was shown to be a competitive inhibitor of chicken-liver asparaginase with Ki approx. 5·6×10−4m. In mice it produced an anti-lymphoma effect, as reported previously.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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