Human fibroblast lysosomes, purified on Percoll density gradients, contain an adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity that accounts for approximately 10% of the total ADA activity in GM0010A human fibroblasts. In assays of lysosomal ADA, the conversion of [3H]adenosine into [3H]inosine was proportional to incubation time and the amount of lysosomal material added to reaction mixtures. Maximal activity was observed between pH 7 and 8, and lysosomal ADA displayed a Km of 37 microM for adenosine at 25 degrees C and pH 5.5. Lysosomal ADA was completely inhibited by 2.5 mM Cu2+ or Hg2+ salts, but not by other bivalent cations (Ba2+, Cd2+, Ca2+, Fe2+, Mg2+, Mn2+ and Zn2+). Coformycin (2.5 mM), deoxycoformycin (0.02 mM), 2'-deoxyadenosine (2.5 mM), 6-methylaminopurine riboside (2.5 mM), 2'-3'-isopropylidene-adenosine (2.5 mM) and erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (0.2 mM) inhibited lysosomal ADA by > 97%. In contrast, 2.5 mM S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine and cytosine were poor inhibitors. Nearly all lysosomal ADA activity is eluted as a high-molecular-mass protein (> 200 kDa) just after the void volume on a Sephacryl S-200 column, and is very heat-stable, retaining 70% of its activity after incubation at 65 degrees C for 80 min. We speculate that compartmentalization of ADA within lysosomes would allow deamination of adenosine to occur without competition by adenosine kinase, which could assist in maintaining cellular energy requirements under conditions of nutritional deprivation.

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