Observation of high and low molecular weight inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme in rat lung.

Abstract

Fractionation of the rat lung yielded a 54,000 g supernate, and DOC-solubilized 775 g, 3100 g and 54,000 g sediments, each of these preparations displaying an increasing angiotensin-converting enzyme activity with increasing dilution, suggesting the presence of freely reversible angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The solubilized 775 g sediment was applied to an immobilized captopril column, eluted successively with 20 mM Pi(K+), pH 7.8 buffer, buffer/0.5 M NaCl, and buffer/0.01M cysteine to obtain four major protein bands, two of which appeared with the cysteine eluant. The first two protein peaks were each pooled and subjected to ultrafiltration with 10,000 molecular weight cutoff filters. The pooled peaks, retentates and ultrafiltrates each inhibited the angiotensin-converting enzyme activity, suggesting the presence of large and small molecular weight reversible angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in association with the solubilized (membranous) particulate angiotensin-converting enzyme fraction. These results expand upon earlier observations on the existence of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in mammalian serum by observing an increasing angiotensin-converting enzyme activity with increasing dilution. This activity was eluted in multiple peaks, including elution with the cysteine eluate, suggesting that the angiotensin-converting enzyme, as well as other proteins, may react covalently with the sulfhydryl functional group of the immobilized captopril in a transsulfhydration reaction cleaving the disulfide bonds in proteins. Subsequent elution with cysteine affects an additional transsulfhydration reaction, releasing the proteins from the column. It is further postulated that air oxidation of the proteins permits reformation of disulfide bonds, yielding some active angiotensin-converting enzyme. Having in mind the possibility of lipophilic angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors crossing the blood-brain barrier as a means of treatment of alcohol abuse, the intriguing presence of a naturally occurring angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in the particulate, lipid-rich fraction of the lung cell raises the theory that inhibitors such as these might cross the blood-brain barrier to serve as downregulators of alcohol consumption.