Aminoacylproline hydrolase (EC 3.4.11.9) of guinea pig serum has been obtained as two apparently homogeneous isoforms. Dialyzed serum was chromatographed successively on Affi-gel blue, hydroxyapatite, DE-cellulose, phenyl-Sepharose, an affinity matrix for angiotensin converting enzyme and concanavalin-Sepharose. On the latter matrix, 68% of the enzyme activity was eluted with alpha-methyl mannoside at 10 and 100 mM, and 29% was eluted with alpha-methyl glucoside, 500 mM, at 56 degrees C. The two fractions ('biantennary' and 'high mannose' fractions, respectively) were concentrated and then chromatographed separately on Sephacryl S-200HR. Both fractions were eluted as expected for a globular protein of Mr 217,000. On SDS-PAGE, under reducing and non-reducing conditions, each of the concanavalin-Sepharose fractions was separated into two protein bands, Mr 89,000 and Mr 81,500. Each of the bands was found to be N-blocked when N-terminal amino acid sequencing was attempted. The reaction of the 'biantennary' fraction with the synthetic substrate Arg-Pro-Pro-[3H]benzylamide was characterized in part: Km 0.7 microM, kcat 124.6 min-1, kcat/Km 1.78.10(8) M-1 min-1. Hydrolysis of the substrate was strongly inhibited by bradykinin and those of its lower homologs that contain two adjacent proline residues. Cu2+ was strongly inhibitory. Co2+ at 30 microM activated the enzyme, as did Mn2+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ at higher concentrations. Sulfhydryl compounds, including captopril, inhibited the enzyme as did 1,10-phenanthroline. Iodoacetamide and N-ethylmaleimide had no effects, but 4-hydroxymercuribenzoate conferred a partial inhibition over a remarkably wide concentration range: 0.34-1400 microM. Amastatin and bestatin did not inhibit the enzyme. Aminoacylproline hydrolase of guinea pig serum appears to be a heterogeneous, glycosylated metallo-enzyme with a high affinity for bradykinin and related peptides in which the sequence Pro-Pro, Xaa-Pro-Pro or Xaa-Pro-Hyp is N-terminal.