Isolation, purification, and properties of boar sperm cytochrome oxidase

Cytochrome oxidase was isolated from the midpiece of boar sperm by extraction and fractionation with ammonium sulfate in the presence of cholate. The enzyme was further purified to apparent homogeneity by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography in the presence of minimal amounts of Triton X-100. The purified enzyme exhibited similar oxidized and reduced optical spectra to those of the bovine heart and rat liver cytochrome oxidases. However, the sperm oxidase was found to contain stoichiometrically more subunits I, II, and III than the other, smaller subunits. The sperm oxidase also required phospholipids for its activity, but it was less sensitive to inhibition by KCN. Interestingly, the sperm oxidase was much more acid-stable than the bovine heart and rat liver counterparts. The optimum pH for the sperm oxidase catalyzing the electron transfer between ferrocytochrome c and cytochrome a was around pH 4.8, and those for the bovine heart and rat liver were 6.2 and 6.8, respectively. At pH 4.5, the sperm oxidase still maintained about 70% enzyme activity, whereas less than 20% activity remained in the heart and liver oxidases. The peculiar properties of sperm cytochrome oxidase may be due to the fact that the well-packed chromosomes in the sperm headpiece do not function, such that the nuclear gene-coded subunits are deficient in the sperm cytochrome oxidase. The finding that the sperm oxidase was more acid-stable is an example of structure-function coordination, and is discussed from the viewpoint of chemiosmotic theory and the unique structure and functions of the sperm mitochondria.