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A radioimmunoassay for liver fructose-1,6-diphosphatase (D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrlase, EC 3.1.3.11) has been developed based on maintenance of its tetrameric structure and immunologic integrity after iodination by the Bolton-Hunter technique. The assay detected as little as 2 ng of standard enzyme. Nonspecific interference by tissue components did not occur. Enzyme concentration (mumol/1000 g tissue wet weight) was measured in tissue extracts of 49 rabbits subjected to a variety of conditions. In animals fed a 'balanced' diet containing 50--60% carbohydrate (by weight), the concentration in liver was 3.4 microM +/- 0.3. After fasts of 48, 72, or 96 h, the concentration in liver increased approximately 1.4-fold. A high-fat diet did not alter the concentration significantly but a high-protein diet caused an increase of 2.1-fold to 7.2 microM +/- 1.4. The greatest concentrations, 8.7 microM +/- 1.9, were observed in the livers of severely diabetic rabbits. The increase paralleled the increasing severity of diabetes and provides one explanation for the augmented gluconeogenesis which occurs in the diabetic state. Changes were less marked in kidney. The greatest apparent incrase, from 2.6 microM +/- 1.1 in the normal fed rabbit to 4.7 microM +/- 2.8, occurred in the severely diabetic animal. However, variation was sufficiently great in kidney to render apparent increases during fasting, protein feefing and diabetes statistically insignificant. For the most part changes in assayable activity followed changes in enzyme concentration except in the rabbits maintained on high-protein diets. In these, liver enzyme concentration increased by 2.4-fold whereas activity increased by only 1.3-fold, and the kidney enzyme concentration increased 1.3-fold whereas activity decreased by 20%.

A simple procedure has been devised to isolate beta-galactosidase from jack bean meal. The final preparation gives one major protein banc in disc gel electrophoresis. The substrate specificity of this enzyme toward some natural oligosaccharides, glycoproteins, and sphingoglycolipids has been examined in detail. Among three isomers of N-acetyllactosamine, Galbeta1leads to4GlcNAc; while Galbeta1leads to3GlcNAc was hydrolyzed very slowly. This property can be used to distinguish the galactose linkage in asialo-GM1 (Galbeta1leads to3GalNAcbeta1leads to4Galbeta1leads to4Glcleads toCer) and that in lacto-N-neotetraosylceramide (Galbeta1leads to4GlcNAcbeta1leads to 3Galbeta1leads to4Glcleads toCer). For hydrolyzing glycolipids, the effect of sodium taurodeoxycholate and sodium taurochenodeoxycholate on the rate of hydrolysis was carefully examined. This enzyme hydrolyzes lactosylceramide and asialo-GM1 faster than GM1. These results suggest that in addition to the type and linkage of the penultimate sugar unit, the sugar unit at the distal position of the saccharide chain also affects the hydrolysis rate. It also readily liberates 80% D-galactosyl units from asialo alpha1-acid glycoprotein. Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase on the other hand cannot hydrolyze asialo-alpha1-acid glycoprotein, lactosylceramide, GM1, asialo-GM1, and lacto-N-neotetraosylceramide. The molecular weight of this enzyme is about 75,000 and the isoelectric point is pH 8.0. With p-nitrophenyl beta-D-galactopyranoside as substrate, optimal activity occurs at pH 2.8 with glycine-HCl buffer and at pH 3.5 with citrate-phosphate buffer. With lactose as substrate, the pH optimum in these two buffers are 2.8 and 4.0, respectively. Km values for p-nitrophenyl beta-D-galactopyranoside, o-nitrophenyl beta-D-galactopyranoside and lactose are 0.51 mM, 0.63 mM, and 12.23 mM, respectively. Many inhibitors for this enzyme including inorganic ions, monosaccharides, and glycosides are investigated. In contrast to E. coli beta-galactosidase, jack bean beta-galactosidase is not inhibited by p-aminophenyl thio-beta-D-galactopyranoside.