Lecithin-dependent haemolysin (LDH) of Vibrio puruhuemolyticus was purified from Escherichia coli C600 transformed with a plasmid (pHL591) ligated with a 1.5 kb DNA fragment of V. puruhuemolyticus. The final preparation comprised two LDH proteins with different molecular masses which were immunologically crossreactive and had the same enzymic activity. The LDH was a phospholipase hydrolysing both fatty acid esters of phospholipid, i.e. it hydrolysed phosphatidylcholine (PC) to lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) and then LPC to glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC). From this point of view, LDH should be classified as a phospholipase B.Phospholipase B, however, does not usually show haemolytic activity, because the intermediate (LPC), which is the actual haemolytic agent, is immediately hydrolysed to the final product (GPC). On the other hand, LPC formed by LDH action was comparatively stable, because the rates of the two reactions catalysed by LDH, PC to LPC and LPC to GPC, are almost the same. This is the reason that LDH shows haemolytic activity. Therefore, LDH of V. parahuemolyticus is an atypical phospholipase to be designated as phospholipase A2/lysophospholipase.

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