Purification and characterization of three Pi class glutathione transferase from monkey (Macaca fascicularis) placenta.

Three forms of glutathione transferase (GST) with an apparent isoelectric point of pH 4.65 (GST I), 4.75 (GST II) and 4.9 (GST III) were resolved from the monkey (Macaca fascicularis) placenta after GSH-affinity chromatography followed by chromatofocusing. Substrate specificity, immunological reactivity, as well as N-terminal aminoacid sequences indicate that the three enzymes belongs to the pi class of GST. Reverse phase HPLC analysis indicates that the three GST arise from the combination of two different subunits eluting respectively at 29.60 +/- 0.10 min and 32.43 +/- 0.13 min. GST I is an homodimer of the 29.60 +/- 0.10 min subunit, GST III is an homodimer of the 32.43 +/- 0.13 min subunit, whereas the GST II is an heterodimer of the 29.60 +/- 0.10 min and 32.43 +/- 0.13 min subunits. Our results strongly suggest that unlike human, multiple forms of pi class GST exist in monkey placenta.