Conversion of rat liver synthetase from high-Mr form to low-Mr form by LiBr

Rat liver S-adenosyl-L-methionine synthetase exists in two forms which are, respectively, a dimer and a tetramer of an Mr 48,500 subunit. The high-molecular-mass form is converted into the low-molecular-mass form by incubation with 1.4 M LiBr. The kinetic properties of the low-molecular-mass form obtained by LiBr treatment are the same as those obtained with the low-molecular-mass S-adenosyl-L-methionine synthetase form purified from rat liver cytosol. These results demonstrate that the differences in specific activity and regulatory properties of the high-molecular-mass and the low-molecular-mass S-adenosyl-L-methionine synthetase forms are due to their different polymeric states.