Biosynthesis of fibrinolytic enzymes with different mechanisms of action by microorganisms of the genus Bacillus

The effect exerted by the composition of a growth medium on the biosynthesis of fibrinolytic enzymes was studied in Bacillus licheniformis 125, B. macerans P1 and Bacillus sp. Fibrinolytic enzymes with the plasmin and activator effects on fibrin were found to be formed predominantly depending on the specified conditions, e.g. in a chemically defined medium with potato broth.     

豆豉纤溶酶产生菌分离和鉴定

从全国各地收集豆豉样品,采用不同的培养基进行富集培养,并利用纤维蛋白平板法高效获得了13株形态差异较大的产纤溶酶菌株。通过传统方法、化学方法以及16S rRNA序列分析对这13株菌进行分类鉴定,它们分属于芽孢杆菌属、链霉菌属、假单胞菌属以及节杆菌属,包括9种细菌,丰富了豆豉纤溶酶产生菌菌种资源。     

产耐热β-葡萄糖苷酶细菌的筛选与鉴定

从中国高校工业微生物资源和信息中心(CICIM-CU)菌种库的1323株细菌保藏物中筛选出20株产β-葡萄糖苷酶能力较高的细菌.通过16S rDNA序列鉴定,初步确定其中有5株为嗜热溶胞土芽孢杆菌 (Geobacillus sp.),其余为地衣芽孢杆菌 (Bacillus licheniformis).对其中编号为F1...     

一株产纤溶酶菌株的分离鉴定及其纤溶组分分析

【目的】筛选性能良好的产纤溶酶菌株,对菌株进行多项分类鉴定,分析其纤溶酶系的组成特征及纤溶能力。【方法】通过酪蛋白培养基初筛,琼脂-纤维蛋白双层平板复筛,从海泥、土壤等环境中筛选纤维蛋白降解菌,以尿激酶为标准测定纤溶酶活性。通过形态学、生理生化特征研究,结合16S rDNA基因序列分析菌株种类及系统分类地位。通过SDS-PAGE和纤维蛋白酶谱法分析胞外纤溶酶系的组成特征。【结果】筛选到一株能降解纤维蛋白的细菌CNY16,鉴定其为沙福芽孢杆菌(Bacillus safensis)。该酶为胞外酶,SDS-PAGE和纤维蛋白酶谱结果表明该纤溶酶系有至少两种分子量大小不同的纤溶酶,分别约33 kD和23 kD。能有效溶解血块中纤维蛋白,并且对红细胞无降解作用。【结论】细菌CNY16是一株新的纤溶酶产生菌,纤溶酶活性及稳定性较好,具有潜在开发价值。为获取新型纤溶酶提供了一种新的菌源。     

Screening of Bacillus proteases with plasmin and activator types of action on fibrin]

Forty cultures of aerobic sporogenic bacteria were screened for the plasmin and activator action of bacillar proteases on fibrin. The microorganisms were grown in chemically defined and complex potato-peptone media. Some active cultures were found to produce enzymes with both plasmin and activator types of action. The following organisms exerted the highest activity of the plasmin type; Bacillus macerans PI, strain P3, B. licheniformis 125 and B. firmus. The most active enzymes with the activator type of action were produced by B. macerans PI, Bacillus sp. 21P-7-1, strain 21P-7-2 and B. licheniformis 125.     

Identification of two novel fibrinolytic enzymes from Bacillus subtilis QK02

Two fibrinolytic enzymes (QK-1 and QK-2) purified from the supernatant of Bacillus subtilis QK02 culture broth had molecular masses of 42,000 Da and 28,000 Da, respectively. The first 20 amino acids of the N-terminal sequence are AQSVPYGISQ IKAPALHSQG. The deduced protein sequence and its restriction enzyme map of the enzyme QK-2 are different from those of other proteases. The enzyme QK-2 digested not only fibrin but also a subtilisin substrate, and PMSF inhibited its fibrinolytic and amidolytic activities completely; while QK-1 hydrolyzed fibrin and a plasmin substrate, and PMSF as well as aprotinin inhibited its fibrinolytic activity. These results indicated QK-1 was a plasmin-like serine protease and QK-2 a subtilisin family serine protease. Therefore, these enzymes were designated subtilisin QK. The sequence of a DNA fragment encoding subtilisin QK contained an open reading frame of 1149 base pairs encoding 106 amino acids for signal peptide and 257 amino acids for subtilisin QK, which is highly similar with that of a fibrinolytic enzyme, subtilisin NAT (identities 96.8%). Asp32, His64 and Ser221 in the amino acid sequence deduced from the QK gene are identical to the active site of nattokinase (NK) produced by B. subtilis natto.     

Purification and characterization of a fibrinolytic enzyme of Bacillus subtilis DC33, isolated from Chinese traditional Douchi

Bacillus subtilis DC33 producing a novel fibrinolytic enzyme was isolated from Ba-bao Douchi, a traditional soybean-fermented food in China. The strong fibrin-specific enzyme subtilisin FS33 was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity using the combination of various chromatographic steps. The optimum temperature, pH value, and pI of subtilisin FS33 were 55°C, 8.0, and 8.7, respectively. The molecular weight was 30 kDa measured by SDS–PAGE under both reducing and non-reducing conditions. The enzyme showed a level of fibrinolytic activity that was about six times higher than that of subtilisin Carlsberg. The first 15 amino acid residues of N-terminal sequence of the enzyme were A-Q-S-V-P-Y-G-I-P-Q-I-K-A-P-A, which are different from that of other known fibrinolytic enzymes. The amidolytic activities of subtilisin FS33 were inhibited completely by 5 mM phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) and 1 mM soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI), but 1,4-dithiothreitol (DTT), β-mercaptoethanol, and p-hydroxymercuribenzoate (PHMB) did not affect the enzyme activity; serine and tryptophan are thus essential in the active site of the enzyme. The highest affinity of subtilisin FS33 was towards N-Succ-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-pNA. Therefore, the enzyme was considered to be a subtilisin-like serine protease. The fibrinolytic enzyme had a high degrading activity for the Bβ-chains and Aα-chain of fibrin(ogen), and also acted on thrombotic and fibrinolytic factors of blood, such as plasminogen, urokinase, thrombin, and kallikrein. So subtilisin FS33 was able to degrade fibrin clots in two ways, i.e., (a) by forming active plasmin from plasminogen and (b) by direct fibrinolysis.     

Highly potent fibrinolytic serine protease from Streptomyces

We introduce a highly potent fibrinolytic serine protease from Streptomyces omiyaensis (SOT), which belongs to the trypsin family. The fibrinolytic activity of SOT was examined using in vitro assays and was compared with those of known fibrinolytic enzymes such as plasmin, tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), urokinase, and nattokinase. Compared to other enzymes, SOT showed remarkably higher hydrolytic activity toward mimic peptides of fibrin and plasminogen. The fibrinolytic activity of SOT is about 18-fold higher than that of plasmin, and is comparable to that of t-PA by fibrin plate assays. Furthermore, SOT had some plasminogen activator-like activity. Results show that SOT and nattokinase have very different fibrinolytic and fibrinogenolytic modes, engendering significant synergetic effects of SOT and nattokinase on fibrinolysis. These results suggest that SOT presents important possibilities for application in the therapy of thrombosis.     

Effects of free fatty acids on fibrinolytic activity.

A novel method for the estimation of fibrinolytic activity is proposed. In this method, a fibrin clot suspension is used as a substrate (fibrin is known to be a physiological substrate of plasmin). The fibrin clot suspension was prepared by homogenization of human fibrin clots. With this method, we found that free fatty acids inhibited the plasmin activity, and long-chain, unsaturated free fatty acids had a particularly strong inhibitory action on plasmin. As regards the mechanism of the inhibitory action, free fatty acids may not inhibit complex formation between plasmin and fibirin, but may make it impossible for plasmin to act on fibrin due to deformation of the surface of the fibrin clot.     

Bafibrinase: A non-toxic, non-hemorrhagic, direct-acting fibrinolytic serine protease from Bacillus sp. strain AS-S20-I exhibits in vivo anticoagulant activity and thrombolytic potency

A non-toxic, direct-acting fibrinolytic serine protease (Bafibrinase) demonstrating thrombolytic and anticoagulant properties was purified from Bacillus sp. strain AS-S20-I. Bafibrinase was monomeric, with a molecular mass of 32.3 kDa. The peptide mass fingerprinting of Bafibrinase revealed only 8.3% sequence coverage, suggesting it was a novel fibrinolytic enzyme. However, two of the tryptic digested de novo peptide sequences of Bafibrinase demonstrated good similarity with endopeptidases possessing serine in their catalytic triad. Further, catalytic activity of Bafibrinase was inhibited by serine protease inhibitor reinforcing this is a subtilisin-like serine protease. The apparent K(m) and V(max) values of Bafibrinase towards fibrin were determined as 0.24 μM and 2.8 μmol/min, respectively. It showed a K(m) value of 0.139 mM towards a chromogenic substrate for plasmin (D-Val-Leu-Lys-p-Nitroanilide dihydrochloride) and optimum activity at physiological conditions (37 °C and pH 7.4). Based on the cleavage pattern of fibrin and fibrinogen, Bafibrinase may be classified as an α,β-fibrinogenase. Bafibrinase could not degrade collagen and was non-cytotoxic to HT29 cells or mammalian erythrocytes. Further, Bafibrinase at a dose of 2 mg/kg was devoid of toxicity as well as hemorrhagic activity on BALB/c mouse model, supporting its suitability for the development of a better and safer thrombolytic drug. Bafibrinase was also superior to human plasmin in degrading in vitro thrombus. The in vivo anticoagulant nature of Bafibrinase is being explored for the treatment and prevention of thrombosis and other cardiovascular diseases.     

The effect of heparin on the proteolytic and fibrinolytic activity on plasmin(ogen) and fibrin clot lysis

The effect of heparin on the proteolytic and fibrinolytic activities of plasmin and plasminogen was studied. Heparin at a concentration of 6.3.10(-6) M did not change the caseinolytic activity of plasmin and plasminogen stimulated by streptokinase but suppressed their fibrinolytic activity. At concentrations from 2.10(-8) to 0.5.10(-6) M heparin increased, whereas at 1.10(-6)-4.10(-6) M reduced the time of desAAfibrin clot half-lysis by plasmin. Within the concentration range of 2.10(-8) to 4.10(-6) M heparin did not change the time of the clot half-lysis by glu-plasminogen and slightly decreased the time of fibrin clot half-lysis by lys-plasminogen in the presence of the tissue activator. It was supposed that heparin inhibits the fibrinolytic effect of plasmin by way of formation of complexes with plasmin and reduction of plasmin specificity to the solid phase substrate, i. e., polymeric fibrin.     

枯草芽孢杆菌群β-甘露聚糖酶基因克隆及同源性分析

本文对33株枯草芽孢杆菌群菌株进行β-甘露聚糖酶活性筛选,其中的32株具有β-甘露聚糖酶活性,只有1株无β-甘露聚糖酶活性.通过基因克隆测序的方法获得33株枯草芽孢杆菌群菌株β-甘露聚糖酶基因编码区全序列,对酶基因进行同源性分析并构建系统发育树;在β-甘露聚糖酶基因系统发育树中,33株枯草芽孢杆菌群菌株聚为3个分支,分别是枯草芽孢杆菌分支、地衣芽孢杆菌分支和解淀粉芽孢杆菌分支;枯草芽孢杆菌、地衣芽孢杆菌和解淀粉芽孢杆菌β-甘露聚糖酶基因种内同源性大于91%,而种间同源性为60%69%.     

Partial Purification and Characterization of Fibrinolytic Enzymes from Yellow Mealworm

Two proteins with fibrinolytic activity were partially purified from yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) by ammonium sulfate precipitation between 30 and 70% saturation, gel filtration on Sephacryl-S200-HR, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose-FF and metal chelate on Cu–HiTrap–IMAC–FF, but the enzymes had not been completely separated from each other. The two partially purified fibrinolytic enzymes were designated as TMFE-I and TMFE-II (Tenebrio molitor fibrinolytic enzyme) with molecular weights of 27.5 and 24.9 kDa by SDS-PAGE individually. The partially purified solution of TMFE-I and TMFE-II was considerably stable in the range of pH 5–10 and characterized by pH optimum of the enzymatic activity at 8.0. Thermal stability of TMFE was excellent at 45°C and below. The K _M value was 0.26 mM for amidolysis of Bz–Arg–pNA. According to inhibitor analysis by fibrin plate method, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and tosyl-lysine chloromethyl ketone inactivated TMFE almost completely, but trans-(epoxysuccinyl)-l-leucylamino-4-guanidinobutane (E-64) and EDTA had little effect on their fibrinolytic activity. According to metal ion analysis by fibrin plate method, the effect of metal ions on activity of TMFE showed a great difference. Na⁺, K⁺ and Zn²⁺ had little effect on the activity of TMFE. Mg²⁺ and Cu²⁺ showed inhibition effect on the fibrinolytic activity of TMFE, but Ca²⁺ increased the fibrinolytic activity of TMFE at final concentration varying from 0 to 30 mM.     

SCM, a novel M-like protein from Streptococcus canis, binds (mini)-plasminogen with high affinity and facilitates bacterial transmigration

Streptococcus canis is an important zoonotic pathogen capable of causing serious invasive diseases in domestic animals and humans. In the present paper we report the binding of human plasminogen to S. canis and the recruitment of proteolytically active plasmin on its surface. The binding receptor for plasminogen was identified as a novel M-like protein designated SCM (S. canis M-like protein). SPR (surface plasmon resonance) analyses, radioactive dot-blot analyses and heterologous expression on the surface of Streptococcus gordonii confirmed the plasminogen-binding capability of SCM. The binding domain was located within the N-terminus of SCM, which specifically bound to the C-terminal part of plasminogen (mini-plasminogen) comprising kringle domain 5 and the catalytic domain. In the presence of urokinase, SCM mediated plasminogen activation on the bacterial surface that was inhibited by serine protease inhibitors and lysine amino acid analogues. Surface-bound plasmin effectively degraded purified fibrinogen as well as fibrin clots, resulting in the dissolution of fibrin thrombi. Electron microscopic illustration and time-lapse imaging demonstrated bacterial transmigration through fibrinous thrombi. The present study has led, for the first time, to the identification of SCM as a novel receptor for (mini)-plasminogen mediating the fibrinolytic activity of S. canis.     

Directed evolution improves the fibrinolytic activity of nattokinase from Bacillus natto

Nattokinase (subtilisin NAT, NK) is a relatively effective microbial fibrinolytic enzyme that has been identified and characterized from Bacillus natto. In the current report, DNA family shuffling was used to improve the fibrinolytic activity of nattokinase. Three homologous genes from B. natto AS 1.107, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens CICC 20164 and Bacillus licheniformis CICC 10092 were shuffled to generate a mutant library. A plate-based method was used to screen the mutant libraries for improved activity. After three rounds of DNA shuffling, one desirable mutant with 16 amino acid substitutions was obtained. The mutant enzyme was purified and characterized. The kinetic measurements showed that the catalytic efficiency of the mutant NK was approximately 2.3 times higher than that of the wild-type nattokinase. In addition, the molecular modeling analysis suggested that the mutations affect the enzymatic function by changing the surface conformation of the substrate-binding pocket. The current study shows that the evolution of nattokinase with improved fibrinolytic activity by DNA family shuffling is feasible and provides useful references to facilitate the application of nattokinase in thrombolytic therapy.     

High-affinity binding sites for human Glu-plasminogen unveiled by limited plasmic degradation of human fibrin

The binding of human 125I-Glu-plasminogen to human plasmin-degraded fibrin was studied. Treatment of preformed and polymerized fibrin with 0.01 IU plasmin/ml resulted in an increased binding of 125I-Glu-plasminogen depending upon the length of time of preincubation of fibrin with plasmin. Binding reached a plateau of 30% of total added radioactivity after 60 min. At this time, less than 10% of fibrin had been digested. Polyacrylamide/urea/acetic acid gel electrophoresis revealed that the radioiodinated plasminogen bound to plasmin-degraded fibrin was of the Glu form. Computerized non-linear regression analysis of the binding experiments revealed that limited plasmic degradation of fibrin progressively generates high-affinity binding sites (Kd approximately equal to 0.3 microM) for Glu-plasminogen. At the time of maximal Glu-plasminogen binding approximately 5 high-affinity binding sites per 100 molecules of fibrin had been generated. The low-affinity type of binding sites were also identified. These observations describe a new mechanism which exquisitely modulates the plasmic breakdown of fibrin by a continuous renewal of high-affinity binding sites for Glu-plasminogen on the surface of the fibrin gel during the fibrinolytic process.     

Vibrio vulnificus secretes a broad-specificity metalloprotease capable of interfering with blood homeostasis through prothrombin activation and fibrinolysis

Vibrio vulnificus is a causative agent of serious food-borne diseases in humans related to the consumption of raw seafood. It secretes a metalloprotease that is associated with skin lesions and serious hemorrhagic complications. In this study, we purified and characterized an extracellular metalloprotease (designated as vEP) having prothrombin activation and fibrinolytic activities from V. vulnificus ATCC 29307. vEP could cleave various blood clotting-associated proteins such as prothrombin, plasminogen, fibrinogen, and factor Xa, and the cleavage could be stimulated by addition of 1 mM Mn2+ in the reaction. The cleavage of prothrombin produced active thrombin capable of converting fibrinogen to fibrin. The formation of active thrombin appeared to be transient, with further cleavage resulting in a loss of activity. The cleavage of plasminogen, however, did not produce an active plasmin. vEP could cleave all three major chains of fibrinogen without forming a clot. It could cleave fibrin polymer formed by thrombin as well as the cross-linked fibrin formed by factor XIIIa. In addition, vEP could also cleave plasma proteins such as bovine serum albumin and gamma globulin, and its broad specificity is reflected in the cleavage sites, which include Asp207-Phe208 and Thr272-Ala273 bonds in prothrombin and a Tyr80-Leu81 bond in plasminogen. Taken together, the data suggest that vEP is a broad-specificity protease that could function as a prothrombin activator and a fibrinolytic enzyme to interfere with blood homeostasis as part of the mechanism associated with the pathogenicity of V. vulnificus in humans and thereby facilitate the development of systemic infection.     

Regulation of plasmin-dependent fibrin clot lysis by annexin II heterotetramer

In a previous report we showed that plasmin-dependent lysis of a fibrin polymer, produced from purified components, was totally blocked if annexin II heterotetramer (AIIt) was present during fibrin polymer formation. Here, we show that AIIt inhibits fibrin clot lysis by stimulation of plasmin autodegradation, which results in a loss of plasmin activity. Furthermore, the C-terminal lysine residues of its p11 subunit play an essential role in the inhibition of fibrin clot lysis by AIIt. We also found that AIIt binds to fibrin with a K(d) of 436 nm and a stoichiometry of about 0.28 mol of AIIt/mol of fibrin monomer. The binding of AIIt to fibrin was not dependent on the C-terminal lysines of the p11 subunit. Furthermore, in the presence of plasminogen, the binding of AIIt to fibrin was increased to about 1.3 mol of AIIt/mol of fibrin monomer, suggesting that AIIt and plasminogen do not compete for identical sites on fibrin. Immunohistochemical identification of p36 and p11 subunits of AIIt in a pathological clot provides important evidence for its role as a physiological fibrinolytic regulator. These results suggest that AIIt may play a key role in the regulation of plasmin activity on the fibrin clot surface.     

猪源产细菌素芽孢杆菌的筛选及抑菌特性

【背景】抗生素作为生长促进剂在畜牧业中的滥用,出现了严重的耐药基因富集和扩散问题,发掘新兴的生长促进剂作为饲料添加剂市场潜力巨大,目前益生菌制剂的开发最具潜力。【目的】通过对散养健康育肥猪粪便中芽孢杆菌的分离筛选,获得对典型肠道病原菌具有显著抑菌活性的芽孢杆菌,确定其产生的细菌素特性,以此对芽孢杆菌作为猪养殖业生长促进剂的潜力进行评价。【方法】采用梯度稀释涂平板法分离可培养细菌,利用牛津杯法检测菌株的抑菌活性。通过微生物形态及16S r RNA基因序列分析,确认6株产细菌素菌株的分类地位,并对其抗生素耐药性、细菌素稳定性及生理生化特征进行比较分析。【结果】从116株纯培养物中筛选得到6株对指示病原细菌具有显著抑菌效应的产细菌素芽孢杆菌,其中2株为贝莱斯芽孢杆菌(Bacillus velezensis),3株为枯草芽孢杆菌(Bacillus subtilis),1株为地衣芽孢杆菌(Bacillus licheniformis)。菌株B.licheniformis DY7和B.subtilis FX4对致泻、产肠毒素、出血性Escherichia coli均有显著的抑制效果,对头孢噻肟和红霉素高度敏感,其细菌素在p H 3.0-9.0、50-100°C水浴处理后仍具有明显的抑菌活性。【结论】猪源产细菌素芽孢杆菌DY7和FX4具有高效的病原细菌抑菌能力,所产细菌素稳定性较好,具有作为动物生长促进剂的应用潜力。     

一株产纤溶酶菌株的分离、鉴定及其酶活特征的初步研究

[目的]分离筛选并鉴定产纤溶酶的菌株.[方法]采用血粉培养基富集,琼脂糖-纤维蛋白平板筛选,从自然界中分离筛选出一株产纤溶活性物质的菌株.通过形态学特征、生理生化特征研究,并结合16S rRNA基因序列分析及分子系统发育树的构建结果,确定菌株的种类.[结果]从自然界分离筛到一株产纤溶酶的菌株EF608,经鉴定该菌株为粪肠球菌(Enterococcus faecalis). SDS-PAGE和纤维蛋白自显影表明该纤溶酶的分子量为37 kD,最适反应温度和pH分别为35℃和7.5,EDTA能完全抑制其纤溶活性,而PMSF对其活性无抑制作用.菌株EF608发酵液不仅可以直接水解纤维蛋白,而且具有体外溶栓的作用,对血红细胞没有溶解作用.[结论]筛选到一株具有纤溶活性的粪肠球菌——EF608,为获取新型纤溶酶提供了一种的新的菌源.