3-Oxoecdysteroid reductases in Manduca sexta midgut

The 80,000g supernatant o larval midgut homogenates of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, was fractionated by affinity chromatography on Blue Sepharose CL-6B and by anion exchange chromatography on Q Sepharose. Both methods resolved one major 3-oxoecdysteroid 3α-reductase and three major 3-oxoecdysteroid 3β-reductases. The 3β-reducates reacted only with BADPH as cosubstrate. The 3α-reductase was active with both NADPH and NADH, and the NADPH/NADH activity ratio increased with the NaCl concentration (0–0.5 M) in the incubation mixtures. The 3-α-reductase and one of the 3-β-reductases showed very similar chromatographic properties, and their isoelectric points were 5.2 and 5.8, respectively. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.