Properties of catalase protein in immature and mature red cells of acatalasemic and hypocatalasemic mouse mutants.

The concentration of catalase protein in anemic blood with enhanced population of reticulocytes and in non-anemic blood was determined immunologically by double diffusion test with anti-mome-liver catalase rabbit serum. The change in catalase protein concentration in anemic blood during incubation at 37◦C for 24 hours was also studied. It was indicated that the diminished catalase activity in acatalasemic blood was due to the depletion of the protein and that catalase protein in acatalasemic reticulocytes decreased markedly by in vitro maturation. Furthermore, the possible presence of inactive catalase protein in acatalasemic blood was also suggested. Catalase protein concentration of acatalasemic anemic blood decreased by the incubation at 37◦C for 24 hours in parallel with the decrease in reticulocyte count and catalase activity, and the decrease in catalase protein concentration of hemolysate by the same incubation parallel with the decrease in catalase activity. It is hypothesized that the unstable catalase protein with genetical change in structure easily decomposes during acatalasemic reticulocyte maturation is presented. ∗PMID: 4258080 [PubMed indexed for MEDLINE] Copyright c ©OKAYAMA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL Acta Med. Okayama 25, 101-110 (1971) PROPERTIES OF CATALASE PROTEIN IN IMMATURE AND MATURE RED CELLS OF ACATALASEMIC AND HVPOCATALASEMIC MOUSE MUTANTS Masana OGATA, Toyoko FUJII and Shigeo T AKAHARA* Department of Public Health, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, Japan (Director: Prof. M. Ogata) Received for publication, January 12, 1971 Acatalasemia, apparent absence of catalase activity in blood, was first found in Japan by T AKAHARA in 1948, and considered as a molecular disease due to absence of catalase in blood (l). Subsequently, TAKAHARA demonstrated, however, residual catalase activity in acatalasemic blood (2). AEBI reported in 1960 a case of acatalasemia in Switzerland (3-5) and found that the residual catalase activity in blood was located mainly in reticulocytes (6). FEINSTEIN succeeded in isolating acatalasemic mouse mutant with 2.5% of normal catalase activity by irradiation in 1964 (710). The previous observations in our laboratory indicated that the blood catalase activity of the anemic acatalasemic mouse decreased as the reticulocyte became matured (11-13). In the present study with the mouse mutant, the catalase protein concentration of acatalasemic anemic blood with enhanced population of reticulocytes and of acatalasemic non-anemic blood with normal population of erythrocytes was determined immunologically by the double diffusion method with catalase antibody. The catalase protein concentration of the anemic acatalasemic blood was also determined similarly before and after the incubation at 37°C for 24 hours, during which concomitant maturation of the population of reticulocytes to red cells was observed. MATERIALS AND METHODS Preparation of antibody: Purification of catalase from livers of 30 CSd strain mice was carried out by the method of NISHIMURA et al. (14) with additional step of gel filtration on Sephadex G.lOO column. Mice were killed with ether and * Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, Japan.