Vitamin K-dependent carboxylase: affinity purification from bovine liver by using a synthetic propeptide containing the gamma-carboxylation recognition site.

The vitamin K-dependent carboxylase catalyzes the posttranslational modification of specific glutamic acid residues to form gamma-carboxyglutamic acid residues within the vitamin K-dependent proteins. This enzyme recognizes the gamma-carboxylation recognition site on the propeptide of the precursor forms of the vitamin K-dependent blood coagulation proteins. To purify this enzyme to homogeneity, the carboxylase from bovine liver microsomes was solubilized with 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS), the protein was fractionated with ammonium sulfate, and then the enzyme was isolated by affinity chromatography using a synthetic peptide based upon the structure of the prothrombin propeptide. Elution with 10 mM propeptide yielded a single major band on SDS gel electrophoresis with a molecular weight of 77,000. In the presence of high concentrations of propeptide, only minimal carboxylase activity was measurable. Antibodies to the protein inhibited the carboxylase activity in crude preparations. In an alternative affinity purification strategy the propeptide was coupled through an NH2-terminal cysteine to an activated thiol-Sepharose column. The carboxylase-propeptide complex was eluted at 25 degrees C by reductive cleavage of the enzyme-propeptide complex in the presence of detergent and phospholipids. The eluted protein (Mr, 77,000) contained both stable vitamin K-dependent carboxylase and vitamin K epoxidase activity. The protein, purified by either method, was detected as a single band (Mr, 77,000) in a Western blot using anti-carboxylase antibodies. A 10,000-fold purification of carboxylase activity from crude microsomes was estimated. Purified bovine liver vitamin K-dependent carboxylase should facilitate the study of its structure and of the mechanism of action of vitamin K as a cofactor in the reaction catalyzed by this enzyme.