Abstract
Pig sucrase/isomaltase (EC 3.2.1.48/10) was purified from intestinal microvillar vesicles prepared from animals with and without pancreatic-duct ligation to obtain the single-chain pro form and the proteolytically cleaved final form respectively. The purified enzymes were re-incorporated into phosphatidylcholine vesicles and analysed by electron microscopy after negative staining. The two forms of the enzyme were observed as identical series of characteristic projected views that could be unified in a single dimeric model, containing two sucrase and two isomaltase units. This shows a homodimeric functional organization similar to that of other microvillar hydrolases. The bulk of the dimer was separated from the membrane by a maximal gap of 3.5 nm, representing a junctional segment connecting the intramembrane section of the anchor to the catalytically active domain of sucrase/isomaltase. The enzyme complex protrudes from the membrane for a distance of up to 17 nm. From charge-shift immunoelectrophoresic studies of hydrophilic prosucrase/isomaltase and from electron microscopy of reconstituted pro-sucrase/isomaltase, there was no evidence to suggest the presence of anchoring sequences between the sucrase and isomaltase subunits.