MXPA97006725A - Enzymatic mixes defined, novedosas to obtain cells and for heri treatments - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to the use of mixtures of defined composition of purified enzymes of Clostridium histolyticum to obtain, in a reproducible and standardized form, cells or fragments of tissues from human or animal tissues, and to these enzymes and mixtures thereof; refers to the direct or indirect medical use of these enzymes, alone or as ingredients of mixtures, for example, in the treatment of wound

Description

ENZYMATIC MIXES DEFINED, NOVELTY TO OBTAIN CELLS AND FOR WOUND TREATMENTS 000 The present invention relates to the use of defined mixtures of purified enzymes of Clostridium um histolyticum to obtain, in a reproducible and standardized form, cells or fragments of human or animal tissue or for the use of these purified enzymes in the treatment of wounds. The methods for the isolation of tissue cells must be reproducible and guarantee minimal damage to the cells obtained. In general, preparations containing collagenase with an undefined composition of Clostridium umolyticum are used for this purpose, but these objectives are not reliably achieved with them. The use of other enzyme preparations or non-enzymatic methods is not customary, or they only provide poor results in isolation (1) (9). Collagenase-containing preparations (2) normally used and recommended for use, are obtained from culture filtrates of the bacterial strain Clostridium um histolyticum and, in addition, various collagenases and proteases (3a), (3b), also contain products of the splitting of these enzymes formed by proteolysis and other constituents, some of which have detrimental effects and are unknown.

According to the present state of knowledge, it is not possible to obtain viable cells in a good yield with a single Cl. Ostridium histolyticum enzyme. On the contrary, it is necessary that diverse enzymes of this bacterium act together to achieve the efficient disintegration of tissues. However, until now the ratio of the amounts of enzymes necessary for this has not been described. Nor have there been availabilities for the user of defined mixtures of enzymes of Clstridium histolyticum. Based on the problem described, the various groups of researchers have tried to use purified enzymes to isolate cells from tissues. However, this has never led to the use of pure enzymes or to the clearly defined mixtures. Suggs et al. (4) isolated human vein endothelial cells using a mixture composed of a fraction of purified collagenase and purified trypsin from the beef pancreas. The enriched collagenase fraction that was used, however, did not have a defined content of the various enzymes and still contained, for example, small amounts of clostripain. The result of the isolation was significantly different from that obtained with the use of preparations containing collagenase with an undefined composition. It was not possible to achieve satisfactory tissue disintegration using only components of the mixture. However, the use of trypsin for the isolation of cells is not without problems because this proteolytic enzyme attacks the proteins of the membrane. In such a way that, for example, there is an adverse effect on the binding of insulin to the liver membranes and adipocytes (5). Hefley (6), (7) used blends of purified collagenase fractions (6) to isolate bone cells from mouse skull. Earlier (7), the author reported that it is possible to use a mixture of a fraction of purified collagenase together with a neutral protease to successfully isolate these cells. However, eluates from column separations were used in both studies, whose content of the various collagenases that differed in their specificity with the substrate and other components was unknown. Wolters et al. (8) used mixtures of neutral protease and "type VII collagenase" (supplied by Sigma), although the type and amounts of the various collagenases that it contained are unknown, to isolate islet cells from the rat pancreas. In addition, they had a small content of clostripain and "non-specific protease". The neutral protease was used in a highly purified form. The mixtures of these two components gave good yields of viable islet cells.

The present invention relates to the individual enzymes HP collagenase, collagenase AZ and elastase in high purity, and mixtures thereof. HP collagenase has a specific activity of at least 20 U / mg, preferably at least 50 U / mg, in the Graßmann and Nordwing assay (11) with the synthetic hexapeptide z-Gly-Pro-Gly-Gly-Pro -Ala as a substrate. For pharmaceutical purposes it is preferable that it has a specific activity of 100 U / mg or more. Collagenase AZ has a specific activity of at least 10 U / mg, preferably at least 30 U / mg, in the Mandl et al. (12) using azocoll as a substrate. For pharmaceutical purposes it is preferable that it has a specific activity of 50 U / mg or more. Elastase has a specific activity of at least 2 U / mg, preferably at least 5 U / mg, in the elastin assay from bovine neck ligament as a substrate. For pharmaceutical purposes, it preferably has a specific activity of 12 U / mg or more. The invention further relates to the use of a mixture of HP collagenase and elastase, with or without the addition of collagenase AZ and / or clostripain, to isolate cells or tissue fragments from human or animal tissue. The other invention relates to the direct or indirect use of these enzymes, alone or as ingredients of the mixture, for medical applications, for example for the treatment of wounds. For use in tissue disintegration, the mixtures can, for example, be packaged in lyophilized form in small bottles, in amounts sufficient for the disintegration of a single rat liver (about 9.11 g of organ wet weight). Suitable mixtures are those containing at least 2 of the purified enzymes HP collagenase (50,300 U, preferably 70-170 U) and elastase (5-70 U, preferably 10-25 U) with or without the addition of collagenase AZ (1-20, preferably 2-8 U and / or clostripain (10-280U, preferably 20-50 U) The numbers stated indicate the amounts present in one unit of the mixture - for example in a vial vial. The criterion of purity for the enzymes used is the specific activity of these in each case and the demonstration of their homogeneity in the electrophoretic methods that are normally used for this purpose (SDS gel electrophoresis, electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing on agarose gel The specific activity of the purified enzymes reaches values that are up to one hundred times the values of the initial material.The enzymes purified with the following specific activities are used to prepare the mixtures: HP collagenase with activity d specifies at least 20 U / mg, elastase with at least 2U / mg, collagenase AZ with at least 10 U / mg and clostripain with at least 10 U / mg. The mixtures are, for reasons of their defined composition of collagenolytic and elastinolitic [sic] and proteolytic enzymes that act synergistically, particularly suitable for non-deteriorating and efficient isolation of cells or tissue fragments from animal and human tissues. A considerable advantage is that time consuming and expensive batches are no longer necessary because the preparation starts from the purified enzymes with known properties in each case. This avoids the necessary work for the functional characterization of the cells, or at least the work becomes less. For these reasons, the amount of animal experiments can be reduced in many areas. The use of less well-purified enzymes, or the use of enzymes with specific activity and lower, usually gives rise to more poor cell yields in their applications and is also associated with the common problems of lack of reproducibility of the isolation result , the lack of consistency in the lot and the presence of unknown constituents that may have adverse effects.

Many of the experimental results reported in the literature are difficult to interpret due to the disintegration of the enzymes that occurs due to the proteases during the preparation, purification or characterization. The determination of the contribution of the individual enzymes with the experimental result in the isolation of the cells has been difficult due to the fact that the fragments produced from the collagenases, the elastase and the proteases in some cases retain their enzymatic activity. However, it has not been clear to what extent the specificities of the substrate change. Moreover, many of the commercial preparations containing collagenase sometimes only contain degradation products of the original collagenases. Thus, in the prior art it was not possible for the manufacturer of preparations, or for the user of the cell isolation methods, to clearly standardize preparations containing collagenase. The mixture, according to the invention, of purified enzymes is suitable, due to its broad activity in tissue disintegration, for application to all human and animal tissues and cells, preferably tissue fragments and / or cell of: biliary tract, blood system, glands, vascular system, brain, skin, heart, intestine, islet of Langerhans, liver, lung, stomach, spleen, muscles, umbilical cord, nerves, kidney, pancreas, spinal cord, thyroid, terminal ileum, Tumor tissue, uterus, digestive tract and tongue. Cells or tissue fragments isolated using the described mixtures are very particularly suitable for use in cell and tissue transplants and in gene therapy (eg, islets of Langerhans, islet cells, hepatocytes, tumor cells, adipocytes), in immunotherapy or for wound healing. A particularly important use of the mixtures according to the invention is in the isolation of hepatocytes, islet cells, endothelial cells, epithelial cells, adipocytes, oocytes and tumor cells. The standardization and improvement of the methods in these areas of application is particularly advantageous. For example, a mixture with a defined composition of two collagenases that differ in substrate specificity and an elastase has been found to be surprisingly suitable for the isolation of hepatocytes from rat liver (Examples of use A, D, E) and liver. Human (Example of use F), of epithelial cells of the bile duct from rat livers (Example of use G), of endothelial cells of human umbilical cords, (Example of use "sic" H), and for the isolation of tumor cells of human tumors (Example of use I) and islet cells of pig pancreas (Example of use J). In comparison with the best enzymatic preparations containing collagenase of undefined composition, the result of the isolation achieved is better or at least equally good. The mixtures according to the invention can be used as substitutes for all the collagenase-containing preparations normally used, because they have the necessary components for the disintegration of the tissue. The disadvantages of the collagenase-containing preparations used to date are avoided, among other things due to the consistent composition of the mixtures. An area of important use of these mixtures is to obtain in a reproducible and standardized form, hepatocysts from the liver by the accepted method of Berry and Friend (9), (10), in which to date enzymatic preparations have been used containing collagenase of undefined composition and for better obtaining, using the prior art mixtures, the islet cells in intact form from the pancreatic tissue. Another important area of application is in wound healing. For this the enzymes are used in a purity as high as possible.

I. Preparation and characterization of Clostridium histolyticum enzymes. 1 . Collagenase HP a. Praparación Fractional preparation of proteins with ammonium sulfate. All the operations in the enzymatic purification were carried out at 4-8 ° C. 200 g of the impure collagenase was dissolved in 3 L of water, and initially 680 g of aluminum sulfate powder was introduced into the resulting solution. The protein precipitate Al was removed by centrifugation; Another 420 g of ammonium sulfate was added to the supernatant. This fraction A2 of precipitated proteins was separated by centrifugation, the precipitate was dissolved in 1 L of water and dialyzed against water. It was then concentrated to about 100 ml through an ultrafiltration membrane (exclusion limit 10,000 Da). The concentrate was then lyophilized. The powder resulting from the A2 protein fraction contained HP collagenase and AZ collagenase as major components.

Chromatographic separation of HP [sic] and collagenase AZ by affinity chromatography of the metal chelate. Collagenase HP and collagenase AZ were separated by chromatography on Sepharose 6B chelator loaded with Zn2 +. This was done by packing this material at a height of 70 cm in one column (5 x 100 cm) and balancing with initial buffer (500 mM sodium acetate + 20 mM calcium acetate pH 8.0). then, about 1.2 g of protein fraction A2, were dissolved in 15 ml of the initial buffer whose pH had been corrected to 8.4 with TRIS [tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane], were loaded into the column, and the various constituents of Protein fraction A2 were separated from the column with the initial buffer. During the subsequent elution with buffer solution A (500 mM sodium acetate + 20 mM calcium acetate corrected to pH 6.3 with acetic acid), initially collagenase AZ and then collagenase to HP were collected in separate fractions. In the two separate fractions of enzymes collagenase HP and collagenase AZ were concentrated to 50-100 ml using an ultrafiltration membrane (exclusion limit 10,000 Da), then dialyzed against water and again concentrated to about 10 ml through a membrane of ultrafiltration (exclusion limit 10,000 Da).

Final Purification of HP Collagenase The final purification of HP collagenase was carried out in an Mono Q anion exchanger (HR 10/10, Pharmacia) using a Pharmacia FPLC apparatus. This was carried out by loading the column, which had been balanced with buffer B (TRIS 20 mM / HCl pH 7.5), a mixture of 1 ml of buffer B and 2 ml of the fraction containing the HP collagenase of step of previous chromatography. After washing with buffer B, the HP collagenase was eluted from the column in purified form using buffer C (20 mM tris / HCl + 200 mM NaCl, pH 7.5). b. Properties HP collagenase was given the designation "HP" for its property of integrating the hexapeptide Z-Gly-Pro-Gly-Gly-Pro-Ala particularly well. Therefore, it is suitable for the specific detection of activity HP collagenase has the characteristic that it is capable of converting denatured collagens such as gelatin or azocoll only up to a point. However, it attacks the collagen of bovine tendon, and unfolds with a high conversion, the synthetic peptides that are mentioned in Example 2b between glycine and glycine or between any amino acid and glycine. A particular emphasis must be made that the HP collagenase together with the collagenase AZ (vice versa, that is, as well as any of the mixtures of at least HP and AZ collagenase) have a superadditive effect on the disintegration of the natural collagen. The synergistic effect in vi tro is also important in the use for tissue disintegration (for example, Example of use G). The maximum specific activity of HP collagenase in the assay with the synthetic substrate Z-Gly-Pro-Gly-Gly-Pro-Ala is 146 U / mg (11). This corresponds to an increase of about 100 times the specific activity compared to the initial material. The HP collagenase purified in this way only forms a single band in both the SDS gel electrophoresis and in the electrophoresis and isoelectric gel agarose method. Its molecular weight determined by eletrophoresis SDS is 106, 000 Da. Its isolelectric point is at pH 5.8-6.0. 2. Collagenase AZ a. Preparation All operations during enzymatic purification were carried out at 4-8 ° C. The first two purification steps for collagenase AZ (fractionated precipitation of the protein and affinity chromatography of the metal chelate) are described in 1.

Final purification of collagenase AZ The final purification of collagenase AZ was carried out in the Mono Q anion exchanger (HR 10/10, Pharmacia) using a Pharmacia FPLC apparatus. This was carried out by loading the mixture, 1 ml of buffer D (20 mM calcium acetate /, pH 7.1), and 1 ml of the fraction containing AZ collagenase (from affinity chromatography of the metal chelate described in the above) on the column which had been equilibrated with buffer D. After washing with buffer D, collagenase AZ was eluted from the column with buffer solution E (20 mM calcium acetate, pH 5.0). b. Properties AZ collagenase was named "AZ" because of its property to particularly disintegrate the azocoll substrate. It had the characteristic of efficiently converting denatured collagens such as gelatin or azocoll, but also bovine tendon collagen. However, it is not capable of attacking small synthetic peptides such as 2-furanacryloyl-Leu-Gly-Pro-Ala, 4-phenylacylbenzyloxycarbonyl-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-Ala and Z-Gly-Pro-Gly-Gly-Pro-Ala. The maximum specific activity of collagenase AZ in the assay developed by Mandl et al. (12) Using azocoll as a substrate is 82 U / mg. This corresponds to an increase in its specific activity by almost 80 times compared to the initial material. Collagenase AZ purified in this way only forms one band in both the SDS gel electrophoresis and in the isoelectric focus and electrophoresis on agarose gel. Its molecular weight determined by electrophoresis in SDS gel is 111,000 Da. Its isolelectric point is at pH 5.9-6.1. 3. Elastase a. Preparation All the operations in the enzymatic purification were carried out at 4-8 ° C. The first step in the purification of elastase was carried out by precipitation of proteins with ammonium sulfate as described in 1.a. The protein precipitate Al was dissolved in 1 liter of water, concentrated to about 170 ml through an ultrafiltration membrane (exclusion limit 10,000 Da) and dialyzed against a 0.1 mM calcium acetate solution. The enzymatic solution was subsequently concentrated about 50 ml through an ultrafiltration membrane (exclusion limit 10,000 Da) and then lyophilized. The final purification was carried out by means of gel chromatography on SEPHADEX GlOO or G200 (Pharmacia).

Properties Elastase has the characteristic of being able to disintegrate elastin with a high conversion. Its specific activity (see 3.c.) was 18 U / mg. This corresponds to an increase in its specific activity of about 80 times compared to the initial material. The elastase purified in this way only forms one band in both the SDS gel electrophoresis and in the electrophoresis and the isoelectric focus on agarose gel. Its molecular weight of the elastase determined by eletrophoresis SDS is 35,000 Da. c. Determination of the activity The enzymatic activity was determined using the elastin substrate. 20 mg of finely powdered elastin, obtained from a light bovine neck (Sigma) was preincubated in 0.4 ml of buffer solution (50 mM tris / HCl + 10 M calcium acetate, pH 7.2) with stirring in a 37 ° C water bath for 5 min. The reaction was then started with the addition of elastase, dissolved in 0.1 ml of buffer and stirring was continued at 37 ° C for 10 min (25 mM shift, 150 min-1 speed). Then 3.5 ml of ice cold water was added and the unreacted elastin was immediately removed on a filter. The E extinction of the filtrate was measured in a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 280 nm. The target was the EB extinction obtained in the experiment that was carried out in the same way, but in which the elastase solution was added to the mixture only after removing the elastin. The EB extinction of this filtrate was then determined in the same way at 280 nm. The activity of elastase is expressed in units [U]. A U is defined as the enzymatic activity that, under the given experimental conditions, dissolves 1 mg of elastin per minute. The amount of dissolved elastin was determined in the filtrate of the test mixture by measuring the extinction at 280 nm. The specific activity was calculated with the following formula: U / mg =? E x F per test volume x min x mg elastase dilution factor in the assay mixture? E = E - EB [sic] F = 1.376 Factor F is determined by completely dissolving 10 mg of elastin from a particular lot using elastase and measuring the corresponding extinction difference? E. The multiplication of this factor F by the difference of the extinction? E gives the amount of elastin dissolved in milligrams per ml of the assay mixture. 4. Clostripain a. Preparation Clostripain was isolated by the method described in Ullmann and Jakubke (14). Its specific enzymatic activity was determined using the synthetic substrate a-N-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester (= BAEE) after the previous activation of the clostripain solution with a solution of 2 mM 1,4-dithioerythritol for 3 hours (15). The result was about 83 U / mg. b. Properties Clostripain thiol protease has the characteristic that it unfolded specifically behind the amino acid L-arginine in polypetidic chains and in substrates prepared in a synthetic way. Its molecular weight derterminated by SDS electrophoresis is 55,000 Da.

II. Examples of use The following examples A-J show the particular suitability of some mixtures of purified enzymes to isolate cells and tissue fragments from animal and human tissue. Examples K and L show the suitability of the purified enzymes for use in wound healing. The invention is not limited to these examples of use.

Example A Isolation of hepatocytes from the liver using mixtures of three enzymes. The hepatocytes were isolated by the Berry and Friend standard method (9) and the Selgen modifications (16). Wistar rats (200-280 g) were anesthetized by i.p. injection. of Nembutal (35 mg Pentobarbital / kg body weight). After opening the abdominal cavity, the portal vein was cannulated and, under constant hydrostatic pressure (water column of 12 cm, variable flow rate), the following aerated solutions with carbogen, with a pH of 7.4 ± 0.05 were used as infusion at 36-36.8 ° C after opening the inferior vena cava: Perfusion: 1. 5 min close to 100 ml of cellular buffer without Ca2 + 2. 5 min close to 100 ml of cellular buffer without Ca2 +, with EGTA (0.42 mM) 3. 8 min close to 200 ml of cellular buffer without Ca2 + 4. 5-30 min about 100-600 ml of cellular buffer in which the lyophilized mixtures of the purified enzymes had been dissolved.

Cellular buffer: 120.0 mM NaCl l m 29 CaCl 2 5. 50 mM D (+) - glucose 1. 19 mM KH2PO, 4. 81 mM KCl 1.20 mM MgSO4 15.0 mM NaHC03l 10.0 mM HEPES carbogen: gas mixture consisting of 02 to 95% and C02 to 5% (v / v) The enzyme mixture was a lyophilized 130 U of collagenase HP, 5 U of collagenase AZ and 21 U of elastase, which was dissolved in 87.5 ml of cellular buffer. The perfusion was interrupted when the liver tissue became soft. After separation of the Glisson capsules, the hepatocytes of the cell tissue were shaken and filtered through a mesh cloth (100 μm mesh width) after filtration, the cells were shaken in a water bath at 37 ° C. ° C under a carbogen atmosphere for 20 min. The intact hepatocytes were collected by 3 steps of 2 minute centrifugation in cellular buffer at 50 times the acceleration of gravity. The supernatant, which mainly contained dead cells, was discarded after each centrifugation. The contents of the vital hepatocytes, the hepatocyte cell pairs or the multicellular aggregates of the hepatocytes were determined by microscopy in a Burker counting chamber after the resuspension of the resulting cell pack (trypan blue) 0.08% , 2 min).

Result A series of experiments (n = 4) using the described enzyme mixture resulted in cell suspensions containing on average 88.7% of vital cells, with a yield of 360 x 106 cells per liver.

Comparative experiments with a preparation containing collagenase of undefined composition, with particularly high specific collagenitic activity gave rise to severe cell damage, only 72.5% vital cells (n = 4).

EXAMPLE B Isolation of hepatocytes from liver using a mixture of two enzymes The procedure was similar to Example A but using the following enzyme mixture: 60 U of HP collagenase and 3 U of elastase. The resulting cell suspensions contained on average 90.5% of vital cells, with a yield of 263 x 106 cells (n = 2).

EXAMPLE C Isolation of hepatocytes from liver using a mixture of four enzymes The procedure was similar to Example A, but using the following enzyme mixture: 30 U of HP collagenase and 5 U of collagenase AZ, 3 U of elastase and 16 U of clostripain. The resulting cell suspensions contained on average 83% of vital cells, with a yield of 232 x 10b cells (n = 2).

EXAMPLE D Validation of wide range of hepatocyte isolation result from rat liver with a mixture of 3 enzymes in 4 different laboratories by comparison with preparations of undefined composition containing collagenase. It is known that there are small differences in the method of cell isolation from one laboratory to another, these differences may, however, be important for the result of the isolation of hepatocytes. To verify, regardless of the methodology used, the efficiency of the mixture mentioned in Example A for cell isolation, a large number of hepatocyte isolates were carried out in four different laboratories. The enzyme mixture used was a lyophilisate of 130 U of HP collagenase, 5 U of collagenase AZ and 21 U of elastase, which was [lacuna] in 87.5 ml of cellular buffer (as in Example A). The result of the isolation of the hepatocytes was measured by the following five parameters: 1. Microscopic determination of the content of the vital hepatocytes (as a percentage of the total amount of hepatocytes in the resulting cell suspension by the trypan blue exclusion test). ), 2. Determination of the total amount of isolated hepatocytes, 3. Determination of the total amount of isolated hepatocytes per gram of animal weight, 4. Determination of the content of individual cells (as percent based on all forms of aggregation in the resulting cell suspension, that is, compared with the double and multiple aggregates of the hepatocytes), and 5. The determination of the time of perfusion with the collagenase solution necessary for satisfactory tissue disintegration. In these tests, the enzyme mixtures according to the invention showed considerably more reproducible results than conventional preparations.

EXAMPLE E Isolation of hepatocytes from rat liver using a mixture of three enzymes: preservation of cell function To prove not only the suitability of the mixtures according to the invention in relation to the simple result of the isolation of the hepatocytes, but also with particular regard to cell function, comparative cell isolates were carried out using a preparation containing collagenase, which is particularly suitable for this purpose, and is of undefined composition, in rat liver. The hepatocytes were isolated by the standard method of Berry and Friend (9) and the modifications of Seglen (16). The enzymatic mixture used was a lyophilisate of 130 U of HP collagenase, 5 U of collagenase AZ and 21 U of elastase, which was dissolved in 87.5 ml of cellular buffer for the isolation of hepatocytes from rat liver (as in Example A). The simple result of isolation of rat hepatocytes was determined from the following parameters: vital cell content by trypan blue exclusion test, cellular yield per g of liver, individual cell content (in percent). In addition, the quality of the resulting cell suspension in relation to the function of the hepatocyte (21, 22) was characterized by the following parameters: HP content, energy load (EC), metabolism of lidocaine to monoethylglycine xylidene (MEGX), and colitaurin (3a, 7, 12a-trihydroxy-5β-colan-24-oil) -2-amino-ethanesulfonic acid) at a substrate concentration of 21uM. No significant difference between the two preparations containing collagenase was detected in any of the parameters investigated. In this way it was possible to show that the hepatocytes isolated using an enzymatic mixture according to the invention are completely intact not only according to the evaluation by the simple result of the isolation, but also according to the evaluation of the various cellular functions, by example, the particular functions of the differential transport of substances or the particular metabolic activities of the cytochrome P450-dependent enzymes of the hepatocytes.

EXAMPLE F Isolation of hepatocytes from rat liver using a mixture of three enzymes The hepatocytes were isolated by the Berry Y Friend method (9) and the modifications of Seglen (16) using a perfusion technique by biopsy (21). The enzymatic mixture used was a lyophilisate of 130 U of HP collagenase, 5 U of collagenase AZ and 21 U of elastase, which was dissolved in 50 ml of cellular buffer. The result of the isolation of human hepatocytes was determined for the following parameters: vital cell content by trypan blue exclusion test and cellular yield per g of liver. It was discovered that it is also possible, with the mixtures according to the invention, to successfully isolate hepatocytes from human liver with constant results (vital cell content 85-90%).

Example G Isolation of biliary epithelial cells from rat liver During a series of experiments (n = 4), biliary epithelial cells were isolated from rat liver by the method described in the reference (18) This gave rise, in a first step of tissue disintegration, initially hepatocytes that were eliminated by enzymatic route of tissue assembly and, in a second step, the biliary epithelial cells isolated from the residue of trypsin-binding tissue. The enzymatic mixture to separate the hepatocytes was a lyophilized 130 U of collagenase HP, 5 U of collagenase AZ and 21 U of elastase, which was dissolved in 87.5 ml of cellular buffer. The proportion of vital epithelial cells in all the preparations was more than 95%, and the cellular yield was 4-6 x 106 cells per liver (n = 4). The use of the described enzyme mixture remarkably facilitated the isolation of the biliary epithelial cells from the remnant vessel system by means of trypsin, because the residual tissue obtained after the first passage was almost free of hepatocytes. The problem with the methods hitherto used to obtain biliary epithelial cells was that the remaining hepatocytes in the cell suspension, and the Kupffer cells and other cell types were, as a rule, difficult to separate from the epithelial cells that were isolated . The use of the described mixture of pure enzymes allows a clear saving of time and costs because, compared to the method used until now, the disintegration of the liver tissue is clearly and almost completely improved. This means that the desired separation of contaminating hepatocytes, which are usually present in large quantities, is satisfactory.

EXAMPLE H Isolation of endothelial cells from human umbilical cord using a mixture of 3 enzymes Human endothelial cells of the umbilical vein were isolated by the Jaffe method (17). This was done by dividing the umbilical cords in two (20-30 cm long), filling them in pairs with the particular enzymatic solution and incubating in an incubator at 37 ° C with 5% C02 for 15 min. The separated cells were maintained in the primary culture for evaluation. The yield of liver cells capable of division was determined after the non-adherent cells had been separated after 4 days of culture. The enzymatic mixture was a lyophilisate of 130 U of HP collagenase, 5 U of collagenase AZ and 21 U of elastase, which was dissolved in 87.5 ml of buffer for cell isolation. The day after the inoculation of the cells, the non-adherent cells (erythrocytes, macrophages, etc.) were separated. The medium was changed on the fourth day. The confluence is usually reached no more than the eighth day after inoculation (> 105 cells / cm2). The growth of confluent cells consists of no more than 95% of endothelial cells as shown by FACS investigations with antibodies against the antigen related to factor VIII (von Willebrand factor) or 2 non-specific endothelial surface antigens (EN-4)., PAL-E) and with a fluorescent ligand of the receptor splitter (dil-Ac-LDL). The yield obtained with the aforementioned mixture of purified cells (n = 2) exceeded that obtained with enzymatic preparations containing collagenase of undefined composition. The cell density after 4 days was 1.8 x 104 per cm2. The use of the methods described so far results in a cell density that is very different, below this, the confluence of the monolayer was reached in a shorter time (only after 5-6 days) with the use of the mixture before mentioned. During the enzymatic isolation of the endothelial cells using the various enzyme preparations there was no rupture of the umbilical vein in any case. The separation of the cells was satisfactorily isolated. No cytotoxic manifestation was observed. Addition of endothelial cells was found after one hour. The prepared cells were subjected to the functional tests (endothelin production, LDH release) in the first passage. All values were within the normal range. The cells in this way were indistinguishable in their functionality compared to the results of the control experiments in which the cells had been isolated with preparations containing collagenase of undefined composition. The superiority of the mixture of purified ezimas used in this way evident in the cellular performance bigger than it is possible, faster development of the confluent monolayer and the optimal integrity of the isolated cells (structure and cellular function). Good comparable results were obtained with experiments in which the abovementioned enzyme mixture was replaced by other mixtures, for example, with HP collagenase and elastase and mixture of HP collagenase, AZ collagenase, elastase and clostripain.

EXAMPLE I Isolation of tumor cells from human tumors using a mixture of 3 enzymes. Tumor cells were isolated from human tumors by method (23). The enzymatic mixture that was used was a lyophilisate of 130 U of HP collagenase, 5U of collagenase AZ and 21 U of elastase, which was dissolved in 28.4 ml of buffer for cell isolation (lactated Ringer / PBS). The result of the isolation was determined by the content of the vital cells by the trypan blue exclusion test and the counting of the lymphocyte cell count. The directly comparative cell isolates were carried out using the enzyme mixture according to the invention and a preparation containing collagenase, which is very suitable for this purpose and is of undefined composition, in 4 different tumor tissues.

Result The enzyme mixture according to the invention can be used with very good results for the isolation of tumor cells from human tumors. The result of the isolation corresponds, within the range of the experimental variations, to the result of the isolation obtained with preparations containing selected collagenases, which are particularly suitable for the isolation of tumor cells and are of undefined composition. Given that, according to the results shown herein, satisfactory disintegration of a wide variety of collective tissue structures in human tumor tissue is possible with the enzyme mixture according to the invention, always achieving or improving the prior art (result of the isolation, quality of the isolated cells and the conservation of the methodological variables), the suitability of the enzymatic mixtures according to the invention for disintegration can also be assumed for other animal and human tissues.

EXAMPLE J Isolation of islet cells from pig pancreas using a mixture of three enzymes.

To isolate the islet cells of the pig pancreas, the well-known Ricordi preparative method was used, introducing some essential modifications (24), among others to improve the monitoring of the isolation result. In this case, the collagenase solution acts for a prolonged period, under particularly well standardized conditions, in the pancreatic tissue after infusion through the pancreatic duct. The islets that have been separated are continuously discharged in a reservoir at a lower temperature and, after the end of the disintegration, the islets that have already been partially released from their matrices in the pancreatic tissue are completely separated and isolated by applying mechanical treatment moderate The isolation of islet cells from the pancreas is extremely demanding in a preparation containing collagenase because the bases for the successful isolation of intact islets from the pancreas are largely unknown. The suitability of an enzyme mixture defined according to the invention is demonstrated by way of example in the following. This means that, with this type of tissue also, the suitability for the successful tissue disintegration in order to isolate the large aggregates of native cells (islets of Langerhans) is also applicable to the use of pancreas of other species (for example, of pancreas). human) . These perspectives are supported by experiences that generally consider the isolation of the islets of pig pancreas as more difficult than from the pancreas of other species. For example, it is known (25) that islets of pig pancreas disintegrate very easily to smaller, unwanted fragments, by conventionally used collagenase-containing preparations of undefined composition. This is explained by the particular properties of the cells in the aggregates of islets, which have multiple cell to cell contacts sensitive to the protease, both between endocrine and exocrine cells and between endocrine cells and islets. In this way, the objective of an improved isolation method can only be to obtain large amounts of intact islet cell aggregates, and aggregate fragmentations smaller than 100 microns should only occur to a lesser degree. The enzymatic mixture used in this example of use for the isolation of the islets from pig pancreas was a lyophilisate of 130 U of HP collagenase, 5 U of collagenase AZ and 21 U of elastase, which was dissolved in 10 ml. my buffer for isolation. Deoxyribonuclease (0.4 mg / 10 ml, 440 Kunitz units / mg, SIGMA) was routinely added to this solution.

The result of the isolation can be determined on the basis of the size distribution of the resulting intact cell aggregates and other normal parameters.

A particular advantage of the use of the enzyme mixture according to the invention can be established that it is the proportion of free islets, about 100 microns, that can be obtained is higher than with conventional preparations.

EXAMPLE K Experimental investigations in wound treatments in vivo. Collagenases are responsible for the healing of wounds to efficiently eliminate necrotic tissue, the recruitment of cells in the wound region and the transformation of the extracellular matrix. In an experimental in vivo model of wound cleansing described by Webster (19), the histolytic property of purified enzymes was examined in rats. An increase in the rate of disintegration was observed, depending on the amount of purified enzymes applied to the wound by third-degree burn, of the denatured tissue within the first 16 hours. The enzymes were applied individually or in combination with other enzymes. The best results were obtained in the application of a mixture of HP collagenase (3-48 U / cm2, preferably 16 U / cm2, collagenase AZ (0.2-3 U / cm2, preferably 1 U / cm2) and elastase ( 1-12 U / cm2, preferably 3 U / cm2.) In this case, the scab almost completely disintegrated in 8 out of 15 animals and partial disintegration was achieved in 6 out of 15. In the latter cases it was extremely easy to eliminate the necrotic tissue in mechanical form, in contrast to the control After a shorter application time of 4 hours using the same quantities, a softening of the necrotic material was found, and in all cases it was possible to eliminate the scab satisfactorily (in contrast to the control.) In addition to this mixture, it was possible to use other mixtures successfully as well, for example those of HP collagenase (3-48 U / cm2) and elastase (1-12 U / cm2).

EXAMPLE L Experimental investigations in in vitro wound treatments The results obtained in the necrotic tissue disintegration effect (Example K) were further characterized in an in vitro model. The release of 4-hydroxyproline (20) was determined after 2, 4, 6 and 24 h of HP collagenase, collagenase AZ and / or elastase acting on the wound scab by burn mentioned in Example K in a buffer solution, with agitation. The activities of the purified enzymes that were employed were identical to the relative activity in an effective comparative amount of a preparation containing collagenase. In this experimental simplification, the respective contribution to the release of hydroxyproline by the other components in the preparation containing collagenase is ignored. With the use of the purified enzymes, in all cases a release, with a clear dependence over time, of comparable amounts of hydroxyproline was found with the use of a corresponding amount of the preparation containing collagenase. According to these results, enzymes and purified enzyme mixtures according to the invention can also be used in areas of therapy such as in the treatment of wounds or to treat keloids or fibrosis. These can be applied externally or injected.

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Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS 1. An enzyme obtainable from Clostridium histolyticum, which is a) a collagenase having a specific activity of at least 20 U / mg, in the Nordwing and Strauch assay, with the synthetic hexapeptide Z-Gly-Pro-Gly - Gly-Pro-Ala as a substrate, which is capable of converting denatured collagens such as gelatin and azocoll, only to a small degree, but attacks the collagen of bovine tendon, whose molecular weight determined by SDS gel electrophoresis is 106,000 Da , and that has an isoelectric point at pH 5.8 to 6.0, or b) a collagenase has a specific activity of at least 10 U / mg, in the Mandl et al. test, using azocoll as a substrate, which can efficiently convert denatured collagens, such as gelatin or azocoll, but also bovine tendon collagen, but it is not able to attack small synthetic proteins such as 2-furanacryloyl-Leu-Gly-Pro-Ala, 4-phenylazobenzenexycarbonyl-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro- Arc [sic] and Z-Gly-Pro-G ly-Gly-Pro-Ala, whose molecular weight, determined by electrophoresis in SDS gel, is 111,000 Da and has an isoelectric point at pH 5.9 to 6.1 o. c) Elastase having a specific activity of at least 2 U / mg, in the elastin test from bovine neck ligament as substrate and whose molecular weight determined by SDS electrophoresis is 35,000 Da, or a mixture of these , wherein the enzyme a) has a specific activity of at least 20 U / mg, the enzyme b) has an activity of at least 10 U / mg and the enzyme d) [sic] has an activity of at least 2 U / mg. The enzymatic mixture, according to claim 1, which also contains the clostripain thiol protease. The use of a mixture, according to claim 1, of an enzyme a) and an enzyme c) to isolate cells or tissue fragments from human or animal tissue. The use of a mixture, according to claim 1, of enzymes a), b) and c) to isolate cells or fragments of tissue from human or animal tissue. The use of a mixture, according to claim 2, for isolating cells or fragments of tissue from human or animal tissue. The use of the enzymes, according to claim 1, alone or as a mixture, or, according to claim 2, for a treatment of wounds or for disorders associated with a change in collagen metabolism. HP collagenase in pure form. Collagenase AZ in pure form. Elastase in pure form.