The evidence for the existence of chymotrypsin-like esterase activity in the plasma membranes of rabbit neutrophils and the specific chemotactic peptide binding activity of the subcellular fractions

Abstract

1. Light- and heavy-plasma membrane fractions have been isolated from rabbit neutrophils and a chymotrypsin-like esterase has been shown to be present in these fractions. 2. The molecular weight of the chymotrypsin-like esterase of rabbit neutrophil plasma membrane was estimated to be about 200 000. 3. About 93% of the chymotrypsin-like esterase of the plasma membranes is esterase 1 and the susceptibility to potential inhibitors was similar in light- and heavy-plasma membrane. 4. Chemotactic peptide, [3H]formyl-norleucyl-leucyl-phenylalanine [3H]formyl-Nle-Leu-Phe) binding by subcellular fractions shows that the highest specific binding was observed in the light-plasma membrane was about 2-fold higher than the heavy-plasma membrane, about 37-fold higher than the nuclear fraction, about 3-fold higher than lysosomal fraction and about 10-fold higher than the microsomal fraction.