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1. The subcellular distribution has been investigated of a protease from rabbit polymorphonuclear leucocytes, obtained from peritoneal exudates. The enzyme, optimally active between pH7.0 and 7.5, hydrolyses histone but not haemoglobin, sediments almost exclusively with a granule fraction rich in other lysosomal enzymes, and is latent until the granules are disrupted by various means. 2. Enzymic analysis of specific and azurophilic granules separated by zonal centrifugation showed that neutral protease activity was confined to fractions rich in enzymes characteristic of azurophile granules. 3. Recovery of neutral protease activity from subcellular fractions was several times greater than that found in whole cells. This finding was explained by the presence of a potent inhibitor of the enzyme activity in the cytoplasm. 4. The effect of the inhibitor was reversed by increasing ionic strength (up to 2.5m-potassium chloride) and by polyanions such as heparin and dextran sulphate, but not by an uncharged polymer, dextran. 5. The enzyme was also inhibited, to a lesser extent, by 1-chloro-4-phenyl-3-l-toluene-p-sulphonamidobutan-2-one, soya-bean trypsin inhibitor and in-aminohexanoate (in-aminocaproate). 6. The granule fractions failed to hydrolyse artificial substrates for trypsin and chymotrypsin. 7. Partial separation of the enzyme was achieved by Sephadex gel filtration at high ionic strength and by isoelectric focusing. The partially separated, activated enzyme showed an approximately 300-fold increase in specific activity over that in whole cells.

1. Lysosome-rich fractions from rat liver were subjected to several disruptive procedures: osmotic lysis or freezing and thawing in different media, shearing forces in a high-speed blender, treatment with Triton X-100. 2. The soluble and particulate phases were then separated by high-speed centrifugation and assayed for their content of acid phosphatase, fl-galactosidase, f-N-acetylglucosaminidase, acid proteinase, acid ribonuclease, acid deoxyribonuclease and protein. 3. The degree of elution of these hydrolases appeared to depend on both the enzyme species and the treatment. The resulting patterns of solubilization were rather complex, so that a clear-cut discrimination between soluble and structure-bound enzymes could not always be traced. 4. Although only ,-galactosidase was readily solubilizable after all treatments, acid proteinase could also be extensively eluted from the sedimentable material in the presence of EDTA and acid phosphatase was fully extracted by Triton X-100. On the other hand, considerable proportions of the other activities could not be solubilized by any of the procedures used. 5. In other experiments, the adsorbability of hydrolases on subcellular structures was investigated by measuring the partition between sedimentable particles and soluble fraction of solubilized enzymes added to 'intact' liver homogenates. 6. Large proportions of acid proteinase, ribonuclease and deoxyribonuclease, and almost all of f-N-acetylglucosaminidase, were found to be adsorbed on the particulate material.

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