Presence of Rhodanese in the Cytosolic Fraction of the Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum) Liver

Rhodanese was isolated and purified from the cytosolic fraction of liver tissue homogenate of the fruit bat, Eidolon helvum, by using ammonium sulphate precipitation and CM-Sephadex C-50 ion exchange chromatography. The specific activity was increased 130-fold with a 53% recovery. The $K_m$ values for KCN and $Na_2S_2O_3$ as substrates were $13.5{\pm}2.2\;mM$ and $19.5{\pm}0.7\;mM$, respectively. The apparent molecular weight was estimated by gel filtration on a Sephadex G-100 column to be 36,000 Da. The optimal activity was found at a high pH (pH 9.0) and the temperature optimum was $35^{\circ}C$. An Arrhenius plot of the heat stability data consisted of two linear segments with a break occurring at $35^{\circ}C$. The apparent activation energy values from these slopes were 11.5 kcal/mol and 76.6 kcal/mol. Inhibition studies on the enzyme with a number of cations showed that $Mg^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $Co^{2+}$ did not affect the activity of the enzyme, but $Hg^{2+}$ and $Ba^{2+}$ inhibited the enzyme.