Search

Two cytolytic toxins (cytolysins Or-A and Or-G) were isolated from the Sea of Japan anemone Oulactis orientalis and characterized. Their purification scheme involved a hydrophobic chromatography on Polychrom 1, a gel filtration on Akrilex P-4, a cation-exchange chromatography on CM-32 cellulose, and a reversed-phase HPLC on a Nucleosil C18 column. The molecular masses of Or-A and Or-G were determined by SDS-PAGE in 14% PAG to be ca. 18 kDa. The absence of Cys residues and a high content of basic amino acid residues are characteristic of their amino acid compositions. The hemolytic activities of Or-A and Or-G were found to be 295.86 and 322.58 HU/mg, respectively; these are by three orders of magnitude lower than those of sphingomyelin-inhibitable cytolysins from the tropic sea anemones. The amino acid sequences of the N-terminal fragments of Or-A and Or-G were determined to be ATFRVLAK and GAIIAGAA, respectively. Action of the cytolysins on the erythrocyte membrane is inhibited by exogenous sphingomyelin. They form ion channels in bilayer lipid membranes with the conductivity of 16, 32, and 40 pSm in 0.1 M NaCl and 168, 240, and 320 pSm in 1 M NaCl at pH 7.2. Therefore, they were attributed to the group of actinoporins.