Purification of a soluble phospholipase A2 from synovial fluid in rheumatoid arthritis.

A soluble phospholipase A2 (PLA2) was purified 4,500-fold from human rheumatoid synovial fluid. Preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis yielded two bands of PLA2 activity of molecular weights 15,000 and 17,000 and pl 4.2-5.0. Purified PLA2 had absolute 2-acyl specificity, and hydrolyzed phosphatidylcholine with optimal activity at pH 7.5-8.0 and phosphatidylethanolamine with optimal activity at pH 7.0. Human synovial fluid PLA2 did not cross-react with anti-human pancreatic PLA2, as tested by radioimmunoassay.