The complete amino acid sequence of an abortifacient protein, karasurin

The complete amino acid sequence of a new abortifacient protein, karasurin, was determined. Karasurin, which was isolated from fresh root tubers of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maximowicz var, japonicum Kitamura (Cucurbitaceae), was a highly basic protein with pI 10.1 and molecular weight of 28,000. Intact karasurin was cleaved with cyanogen bromide, lysyl endopeptidase, formic acid and 2-(2'-nitrophenyl-sulfenyl)-3-methyl-3-bromoindolenine (BNPS-skatole), respectively. Cleavages with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS), trypsin and pepsin were performed for the fragments. The resultant peptide fragments were separated by gel filtration chromatography, reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or gel filtration HPLC following sequence analyses by automated Edman methods. Karasurin consists of 246 or 247 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular weight of 27,144 or 27,215 differing only at the C-terminus with the addition of alanyl residue. Two C-terminal sequences were identified as Asn-Asn-Met-OH and Asn-Asn-Met-Ala-OH by sequence analyses and hydrazinolysis, but there was no micro-heterogeneity in other peptides analysed. The sequence of karasurin revealed a considerable similarity to that of trichosanthin and alpha-trichosanthin, which are known as abortifacient, ribosome-inactivating and anti human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (the virus causing acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) proteins, with 93% and 98% identity, respectively.