Cloning, heterologous expression, and enzymatic characterization of cathepsin L from starfish (Asterina pectinifera).

Bacterial expression and characterization of starfish phospholipase A(2).

Phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) from the pyloric ceca of the starfish Asterina pectinifera showed high specific activity and characteristic substrate specificity, compared with commercially available PLA(2) from porcine pancreas. To investigate enzymatic properties of the starfish PLA(2) in further detail, we constructed a bacterial expression system for the enzyme. The starfish PLA(2) cDNA isolate...

Characterization of a novel hatching enzyme purified from starfish Asterina pectinifera

Hatching enzyme is a protease which can degrade the membrane of egg. In this study, a hatching enzyme was purified from starfish (Asterina pectinifera) with 6.34 fold of purification rate, 5.04 % of yield, and 73.87 U/mg of specific activity. The molecular weight of starfish hatching enzyme was 86 kDa, which was reduced to 62 kDa after removal of N-linked oligosaccharides. The optimal pH and te...

Isolation and characteristics of trypsin from pyloric ceca of the starfish Asterina pectinifera.

Trypsin was purified from pyloric ceca of the starfish Asterina Pectinifera by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, and cation-exchange chromatography. Final enzyme preparation was nearly homogeneous in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and its molecular weight was estimated as approximately 28000. Optimum pH and temperature of A. pectinifera trypsin for hydro...

Starfish, Asterias amurensis and Asterina pectinifera, as potential sources of Th1 immunity-stimulating adjuvants.

Saponin is the generic name of steroid or triterpene glycosides, and the capacities of some saponins to stimulate both Th1 immune response and production of cytotoxic T cells are useful as vaccine components against intracellular pathogens. Because saponins have been found commonly in starfish, we assessed the potential of starfish, Asterias amurensis and Asterina pectinifera, as adjuvant sourc...

Isolation and characteristics of phospholipase A2 from the pyloric ceca of the starfish Asterina pectinifera