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A simple method for the assay of bradykinin (BK)-degrading enzymes was investigated. The procedure of the method includes enzymatic degradation of BK, separation of the residual BK on a small P-cellulose column (0.6 X 3 cm), and its fluorometrical determination based on the reaction with fluorescamine. BK was separated completely from its fragments produced during enzymatic reaction by the column chromatography. The recovery rate of BK was 96 +/- 3%. Quantitative determinations could be carried out on 0.2 nmol of BK, at least in the fluorometry. This method was available for the assay of the enzymes in tissue homogenates as well as in purified preparations, and its usefulness for the study of the enzymes is presented.

A kininase, capable of degrading bradykinin, was partially purified from the dental pulp of rats, and its properties were investigated. Chromatography on both Sephadex G-200 and DEAE Sephadex A-50 columns gave a single peak of kininase activity. The molecular weight of the enzyme, estimated by gel filtration, was about 67,000, and the optimum pH for the enzymatic reaction was about 7.5. The enzyme appears to contain a labile SH group(s) that is essential for its activity, because CdCl2, HgCl2 (0.1 mM each), and p-chloromercuric benzoate (0.05 mM) inhibited the enzyme completely, while dithiothreitol retarded the loss of activity during storage. Of various peptides tested, bradykinin was the substrate most sensitive for the enzyme. The enzyme released several amino acids located in the C-terminal regions of bradykinin--angiotensin I and neurotensin--but only one C-terminal amino acid from des-Arg9--bradykinin and angiotensin II. In contrast, the enzyme did not release any amino acids from substance P, of which only the two amino acids in the N-terminal region are the same as those of bradykinin, but its C-terminal is blocked by an amino group. Although the enzyme was not so highly purified as to rule out the contribution of other peptidases, these results suggest that the dental pulp of rats may contain a single enzyme that degrades bradykinin, and the enzyme may be a type of carboxypeptidase, differing from known kininases from other animal sources.