Isolation of rabbit muscle glucosephosphate isomerase by a single-step substrate elution

A simple method has been developed for the rapid isolation of crystalline glucosephosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.9) from rabbit muscle. The enzyme is first bound to cellulose phosphate by adding the ion exchanger to a solution of the crude tissue extract. After filtering and washing the cellulose with buffer, the isomerase is specifically eluted in a batch process by its substrate, glucose 6-phosphate. The entire procedure is very rapid and results in a good recovery (at least 50%) of the enzyme with specific activity of approximately 900 units per mg. The enzyme is homogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and by analytical ultracentrifugation.