Labile oligomeric structure of human placental 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase

NAD-dependent 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase has been isolated from human term placenta. About 9,000-fold enrichment was achieved with a yield of 7.6%. Electrophoretic analyses suggested that glycerol stabilized an active structure of the enzyme, and sodium dodecyl sulfate might dissociate it. The instability of the enzyme activity may relate to its labile oligomeric structure which is easily dissociated into subunits.