Unusual chromatographic behaviour and one-step purification of a novel membrane proteinase from Bacillus cereus

Cell envelopes of Bacillus cereus contain a casein-cleaving membrane proteinase (CCMP) and an insulin-cleaving membrane proteinase (ICMP), which differ in their substrate and inhibitor specificity from all Bacillus proteinases described previously. They remained localized in the cytoplasmic membrane after treatment with lysozyme and mutanolysin and they are strongly attached to the membrane compared with other known membrane proteinases. Only high a concentration of the Zwitterionic detergent sulfobetain SB-12 enabled an effective solubilization of both membrane proteinases. The usual conventional purification methods, such as chromatofocusing, ion-exchange chromatography and hydrophobic interaction chromatography in the presence of detergent concentrations beyond their critical micelle concentration, could not be applied to the purification, because the solubilized membrane proteinases bound strongly and irreversibly to the chromatographic matrix. In the search for other purification methods, we used a tentacle ion-exchanger (EMD trimethylaminoethyl-Fractogel) to reduce the hydrophobic interactions between the proteinases and the matrix. All contaminating proteins could be removed by a first gradient of sodium chloride without elution of CCMP; a second gradient with isopropanol and a decreasing salt concentration resulted in an efficiently purified CCMP. The ICMP was irreversibly denaturated. Purified CCMP is a member of the metalloproteinase family with a pH optimum in the neutral range and a temperature optimum of 40 degrees C, whose properties differ from the serine-type membrane proteinase of Bacillus subtilis described by Shimizu et al. [Agric. Biol. Chem., 47 (1983) 1775]. It consists of two subunits in sodiumdodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) under reducing conditions (Mr 53,000 and 65,000); however, the molecular mass of the purified enzyme could not be determined by size exclusion or SDS-PAGE, because the purified enzyme aggregated at the top of the gel matrix. CCMP solubilized before the purification process, could be eluted in the presence of 0.1% octylphenol-poly(ethyleneglycol ether)9-10 (Triton X-100) in two peaks of Mr 56,000 and 128,000, respectively. We discuss this special chromatographic behaviour of the CCMP from Bacillus cereus, with regard to the strong hydrophobic interactions of the enzyme with the chromatographic matrix and additional self-aggregation, which could only be dissolved by solvents such as isopropanol.