Isolation of an electrogenic K+/Ca2+ ionophore from an ionophoroprotein of beef heart mitochondria.

Abstract
A K+/Ca2+ electrogenic ionophore was isolated from an ionophoroprotein of beef heart mitochondria and identified as a neutral peptide of MW 1600. The amino acid composition and cationic specificity of the ionophore were determined. The free ionophore was released from the ionophoroprotein as a consequence of tryptic digestion. The ionophoroprotein can be converted to an ionophoropeptide (MW 5100) by proteolysis without release of the free ionophore. The isolation of a K+/Ca2+ ionophore thus provides an introduction to the general technology of extracting ionophoroproteins and of releasing ionophores from these proteins by proteolytic digestion.

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