Purification of the Ca2+-dependent proteinase inhibitor from bovine cardiac muscle and its interaction with the millimolar Ca2+-dependent proteinase

A protein inhibitor of the Ca2+-dependent proteinase has been purified from bovine cardiac muscle by using the following steps in succession: salting out 17,600 X gmax supernatants from muscle homogenates in 50 mM Tris acetate, pH 7.5, 4 mM EDTA between 25 and 65% ammonium sulfate saturation; eluting between 25 and 120 mM KCl from a DEAE-cellulose column at pH 7.5; salting out between 30 and 60% ammonium sulfate saturation; Ultrogel-22 gel permeation chromatography at pH 7.5; heating to 80 degrees C followed by immediate cooling to 0 degree C; 6% agarose gel permeation chromatography in 4 M urea, pH 7.5; and elution from a phenyl-Sepharose hydrophobic column between 0.7 and 0.5 M ammonium sulfate. Approximately 1.16-1.69 mg of purified Ca2+-dependent proteinase inhibitor are obtained from 1 kg of bovine cardiac muscle, fresh weight. Bovine cardiac Ca2+-dependent proteinase inhibitor has an Mr of 115,000 as measured by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, a pI of 4.85-4.95, very little alpha-helical structure, a very low specific absorbance of 1.647 (A1% 280), and very low contents of histidine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine. Bovine cardiac Ca2+-dependent proteinase inhibitor probably contains a single polypeptide chain in nondenaturing solvents. One 115-kDa inhibitor polypeptide inactivates 10 110-kDa millimolar Ca2+-requiring proteinase (millimolar Ca2+-dependent proteinase) molecules in assays of purified proteins. Inhibition of millimolar proteinase by the proteinase inhibitor did not change in the pH range 6.2-8.6. The inhibitor requires Ca2+ to bind to millimolar Ca2+-dependent proteinase. The Ca2+ concentration required for one-half-maximum binding of millimolar Ca2+-dependent proteinase to the inhibitor was 0.53 mM, compared with a Ca2+ concentration of 0.92 mM required for one-half maximum activity of millimolar Ca2+-dependent proteinase in the absence of the proteinase inhibitor. Unless millimolar Ca2+-dependent proteinase is located subcellularly in a different place than the proteinase inhibitor or unless the proteinase/inhibitor interaction is regulated, millimolar proteinase could never be active in situ.     

The inactivation of native enzymes by a neutral proteinase from rat intestinal muscle.

1. The solubilization and partial purification of a proteinase from the intestinal smooth muscle of rats fed on protein-free diets are described. 2. It has a mol.wt. of about 33000 and it is stable over a narrow pH range. 3. From its susceptibility to known modifers of proteolytic enzymes, it appears to be a serine proteinase of a trypsin-like nature. Active-site titration with soya-bean trypsin inhibitor shows that the concentration of proteinase was about 3 microgram/g wet wt. of intestinal smooth muscle. However, the muscle proteinase demonstrates a marked ability for inactivating enzymes in their native conformation at neutral pH. It is about 100 times more efficient than pancreatic trypsin when the inactivating activities are compared on an approximately equimolar basis. 4. Inactivation of the substrate enzymes is accompanied by limited proteolysis, as demonstrated by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 5. An endogenous inhibitor was separated from the proteinase by fractionation with (NH4)2SO4. 6. Contamination of the muscle tissue by lumen, mucosal or blood proteinases and inhibitors is shown to be unlikely. 7. A role for the neutral trypsin-like proteinase in initiating the degradation of intracellular enzymes is considered.     

Inhibitors of endogenous proteinases in the seeds of Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris

Extracts of resting pine seeds inhibited the proteinase activities present in extracts of endosperms of germinating seeds (hydrolysis of haemoglobin at pH 3.7 and hydrolysis of casein at pH 5.4 and 7.0). Heating the extracts of resting seeds at 60°C destroyed their own proteinase activity but their proteinase inhibitor activity decreased by only 25 to 30%. Some properties of the inhibitor(s) were studied using extracts treated at 60°C. The inhibitor activities were non-dialysable. the inhibition increased linearly with increasing inhibitor concentration up to 80% of total proteinase activity, and the maximal inhibition was 80% at pH 3.7. 90% at pH 5.4. and 97% at pH 7.0. The extracts of resting seeds did not inhibit the pepsin-like acid pine proteinase that accounts for a minor part of the proteolytic activity of endosperm extracts at pH 3.7. Neither did they have any effect on the acid pine carboxypeptidase or trypsin and chymotrypsin. Fresh extracts of endosperms of germinating seeds contained relatively high proteinase activity (assayed directly) and moderate inhibitor activity (assayed after treatment at 60°C). When fresh extracts were dialysed at 50°C for 48 h their proteinase activities increased considerably while the corresponding inhibitor activities disappeared. It is concluded that the decrease of inhibitors during dialysis is due to enzymatic inactivation and that the corresponding increase of proteinase activities is at least partly due to the destruction of the inhibitors.     

Inhibitors of endogenous proteinases in Scots pine seeds: Fractionation and activity changes during germination

Resting seeds of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) contain inhibitors which inhibit the proteinase activity present in germinating seeds but have no effect on trypsin or chymotrypsin. When a crude inhibitor preparation was chromatographed on Sephadex G-75, the inhibitor activity separated into four peaks with elution volumes corresponding to the molecular weights 24,000, 14,600, 14,000, and 9000. Each of the inhibitors affected both the hydrolysis of haemoglobin at pH 3.7 and the hydrolysis of casein at pH 5.4 and 7.0 by proteinase extracts prepared from “germinating” endosperms. These results suggest that one major proteinase was possibly acting in all the assays. In resting seeds inhibitor activity was present in both the embryo and the endosperm, the activity (per mg dry weight) in the embryo being about 2-fold that in the endosperm. In the endosperms of germinating seeds the inhibitor activity per seed decreased at about the same rate as total N and dry weight. In the seedlings the activity per seedling remained approximately constant. The patterns of the activity changes suggest that the inhibitors do not control the breakdown of storage proteins; a more probable function is the protection of other cellular components from the high proteinase activities required for the rapid proteolysis during germination.     

Purification of a calcium-activated neutral proteinase from human placenta

A calcium-activated neutral proteinase has been purified to homogeneity from human placenta. The purified enzyme is a dimer composed of Mr 73 000 and 30 000 subunits. Half-maximal activity is observed at 250 microM Ca2+. It requires reduced sulfhydryl groups and neutral pH for optimal activity. Leupeptin, antipain, E-64, sulfhydryl-blocking agents and endogenous proteinase inhibitor inhibit the purified enzyme. This paper is the first to describe the purification and characterization of a calcium-activated neutral proteinase from a human non-muscular parenchymatous organ.     

Isolation, characterization and localization of the proteinase B inhibitor IB3 from Saccharomyces carlsbergensis.

A heat-stable polypeptide has been detected in Saccharomyces carlsbergensis which inhibits specifically proteinase B from yeast. This proteinase B inhibitor IB3 differs substantially in chemical, physical and antigenic properties from the earlier described proteinase B inhibitors IB1 and IB2 from yeast. The inhibitor IB3 has been purified from S. carlsbergensis and appears to be homogeneous by disc gel electrophoresis and sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight has been estimated at 11 500, with no evidence for the existence of subunits. The amino acid analysis shows the absence of tryptophan. No compounds other than amino acids could be detected. The isoelectric point is 4.6. The inhibitor is not affected by incubation with proteinase B but is inactivated by proteinase A and carboxypeptidase Y from yeast and by trypsin from bovine pancreas. The proteinase B inhibitor association constant was calculated to be 3.3 x 10(9) M-1 and the enzyme inhibitor complex is stable at 25 degrees C in the pH range 5--10. The inhibitor does not exhibit immunological cross-reactivity with IB1 and IB2. After centrifugal fractionation at 40 000 x g of a metabolic lysate from spheroplasts the inhibitor was found to be localized in the supernatant, i.e. the extravacuolar soluble fraction.     

Spectroscopic analysis of thermal denaturation of Cajanus cajan proteinase inhibitor at neutral and acidic pH by circular dichroism

The conformational changes accompanying thermal denaturation under neutral, acidic and reducing conditions of Cajanus cajan proteinase inhibitor were investigated using near- and far-ultraviolet circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The protein inhibitor shows a reversible N<-->D transition at neutral pH with a Tm approximately equal to 63 degrees C. The negative CD band intensities at 200 nm (far-UV) and near about 280 nm (near-UV) decrease as a result of thermal stress. The effect is more pronounced at low pH and in the presence of dithiothreitol. Only partial reversibility is observed under acidic conditions. Significant changes in the near- as well as far-ultraviolet CD spectrum are observed in the presence of dithiothreitol suggestive of the importance of disulfide linkages in maintaining the structure of C. cajan proteinase inhibitor.     

The role of a cathepsin D-like activity in the release of Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc alpha 2-6-sialyltransferase from rat liver Golgi membranes during the acute-phase response.

Golgi-membrane-bound Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc alpha 2-6-sialyltransferase (CMP-N-acetylneuraminate:beta-galactoside alpha 2-6-sialyltransferase, EC 2.4.99.1) behaves as an acute-phase reactant increasing about 5-fold in serum in rats suffering from inflammation. The mechanism of release from the Golgi membrane is not understood. In the present study it was found that sialyltransferase could be released from the membrane by treatment with ultrasonic vibration (sonication) followed by incubation at reduced pH. Maximum release occurred at pH 5.6, and membranes from inflamed rats released more enzyme than did membranes from controls. Galactosyltransferase (UDP-galactose:N-acetylglucosamine galactosyltransferase; EC 2.4.1.38), another Golgi-located enzyme, which does not behave as an acute-phase reactant, remained bound to the membranes under the same conditions. Release of the alpha 2-6-sialyltransferase from Golgi membranes was substantially inhibited by pepstatin A, a potent inhibitor of cathepsin D-like proteinases. Inhibition of release of the sialyltransferase also occurred after preincubation of sonicated Golgi membranes with antiserum raised against rat liver lysosomal cathepsin D. Addition of bovine spleen cathepsin D to incubation mixtures of sonicated Golgi membranes caused enhanced release of the sialyltransferase. Intact Golgi membranes were incubated at lowered pH in presence of pepstatin A to inhibit any proteinase activity at the cytosolic face; subsequent sonication showed that the sialyltransferase had been released, suggesting that the proteinase was active at the luminal face of the Golgi. Golgi membranes contained a low level of cathepsin D activity (EC 3.4.23.5); the enzyme was mainly membrane-bound, since it could only be released by extraction with Triton X-100 or incubation of sonicated Golgi membranes with 5 mM-mannose 6-phosphate. Immunoblot analysis showed that the transferase released from sonicated Golgi membranes at lowered pH had an apparent Mr of about 42,000 compared with one of about 49,000 for the membrane-bound enzyme. Values of Km for the bound and released enzyme activities were comparable and were similar to values reported previously for liver and serum enzymes. The work suggests that a major portion of sialyltransferase containing the catalytic site is released from a membrane anchor by a cathepsin D-like proteinase located at the luminal face of the Golgi and that this explains the acute-phase behaviour of this enzyme.     

Characterization of the acidic and basic limbs of a bell-shaped pH profile in the inhibitory activity of bromelain inhibitor VI

Bromelain inhibitor VI (BI-VI) is a cysteine proteinase inhibitor from pineapple stem and a unique two-chain inhibitor composed of two distinct domains. BI-VI's inhibitory activity toward the target enzyme bromelain is maximal at pH 4 and shows a bell-shaped pH profile with pKa values of about 2.5 and 5.3. This pH profile is quite different from that of bromelain, which is optimally active around pH 7. In the present article, to characterize the acidic limb, we first expressed the recombinant inhibitors designed to lose two putative hydrogen bonds of Ser7(NH)-Asp28(beta-CO2H) and Lys38(NH)-Asp51(beta-CO2H) and confirmed the existence of the hydrogen bonds by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Moreover, it was revealed that these hydrogen bonds are not the essential electrostatic factor and some ionizable groups would be responsible for the acidic limb in the pH-inhibition profile. On the other hand, to characterize the basic limb, we examined the pH-dependent inhibition using the cysteine proteinase papain, some of whose properties differ from those of bromelain, and compared the data with the corresponding data for bromelain. The result suggests that the basic limb would be affected by some electrostatic factors, probably some carboxyl groups in the target proteinase.     

Fractionation of the proteinases present in the endosperm of germinating seed of Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris

When fresh extracts of endosperms separated from germinating seeds of Scots pine were dialysed at 5°C, proteinase activity on haemoglobin at pH 3.7 showed only a small initial increase, proteinase activities on casein at pH 5.4 and at pH 7.0 increased several-fold, and all the corresponding inhibitor activities disappeared (Salmia and Mikola 1980, Physiol. Plant. 48: 126–130). To find out what happens during dialysis, both fresh and dialysed extracts were fractionated by gel chromatography on Sephacryl S-200. – The fresh extracts had a major proteinase peak (mol. wt. 42,000) with high activity at pH 3.7 and moderate activities at pH 5.4 and 7.0 (pine proteinase I) and a smaller peak (mol. wt. 30,000) with high activity at pH 5.4 and 7.0 and smaller activity at pH 3.7 (pine proteinase II). In dialysed extracts the situation was reversed: the peak of proteinase I was very small while the peak of proteinase II was very high. Apparently, proteinase I is largely inactivated during dialysis while the activity of proteinase II increases, at least partly due to destruction of inhibitors. – The two enzymes were -SH proteinases, as they were completely inhibited by p -hydroxymercuribenzoate; both of them were also inhibited by the endogenous proteinase inhibitors of resting pine seeds. Besides these enzymes, the endosperm extracts contained pepsin-like acid proteinase activity, which is not affected by the endogenous inhibitors. This enzyme activity was largely inactivated during dialysis.     

Purification and characterization of serine proteinase from a halophilic bacterium, Filobacillus sp. RF2-5

In order to find a unique proteinase, proteinase-producing bacteria were screened from fish sauce in Thailand. An isolated moderately halophilic bacterium was classified and named Filobacillus sp. RF2-5. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 49 kDa. The enzyme showed the highest activity at 60 degrees C and pH 10-11 under 10% NaCl, and was highly stable in the presence of about 25% NaCl. The activity was strongly inhibited by phenylmethane sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), chymostatin, and alpha-microbial alkaline proteinase inhibitor (MAPI). Proteinase activity was activated about 2-fold and 2.5-fold by the addition of 5% and 15-25% NaCl respectively using Suc-Ala-Ala-Phe-pNA as a substrate. The N-terminal 15 amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme showed about 67% identity to that of serine proteinase from Bacillus subtilis 168 and Bacillus subtilis (natto). The proteinase was found to prefer Phe, Met, and Thr at the P1 position, and Ile at the P2 position of peptide substrates, respectively. This is the first serine proteinase with a moderately thermophilic, NaCl-stable, and NaCl-activatable, and that has a unique substrate specificity at the P2 position of substrates from moderately halophilic bacteria, Filobacillus sp.     

Purification and characterization of a high-Mr proteinase inhibitor of pro-phenol oxidase activation from crayfish plasma.

Crayfish plasma was found to contain a proteinase inhibitor, which was purified to apparent homogeneity by acid precipitation, affinity chromatography on concanavalin A-Sepharose and hydrophobic-interaction chromatography. The inhibitor is a monomeric protein with an Mr of about 155,000 and a pI in the range 4.6-4.8. It is heat-stable and tolerant to low pH. It inhibits the serine proteinases trypsin and chymotrypsin, but not thrombin or subtilisin. Furthermore, it is efficient in decreasing the activity of a proteinase from crayfish haemolymph that is involved in the activation cascade of pro-phenol oxidase and can also block pro-phenol oxidase activation by this serine proteinase. This cascade is believed to play a central role in the recognition mechanism of non-self material in crustaceans and insects. The data presented give some evidence that the new proteinase inhibitor is involved in the regulation of this system.     

Inhibition of cysteine and aspartyl proteinases in the alfalfa weevil midgut with biochemical and plant-derived proteinase inhibitors

Proteolytic activities in alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica) larval midguts have been characterized. Effects of pH, thiol activators, low-molecular weight inhibitors, and proteinase inhibitors (PIs) on general substrate hydrolysis by midgut extracts were determined. Hemoglobinolytic activity was highest in the acidic to mildly acidic pH range, but was maximal at pH 3.5. Addition of thiol-activators dithiothreitol (DTT), 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME), or L-cysteine had little effect on hemoglobin hydrolysis at pH 3.5, but enhanced azocaseinolytic activity two to three-fold at pH 5.0. The broad cysteine PI E-64 reduced azocaseinolytic activity by 64% or 42% at pH 5 in the presence or absence of 5 mM L-cysteine, respectively. Inhibition by diazomethyl ketones, Z-Phe-Phe-CHN(2) and Z-Phe-Ala-CHN(2), suggest that cathepsins L and B are present and comprise approximately 70% and 30% of the cysteine proteolytic activity, respectively. An aspartyl proteinase component was identified using pepstatin A, which inhibited 32% (pH 3.5, hemoglobin) and 50% (pH 5, azocasein) of total proteolytic activity. This activity was completely inhibited by an aspartyl proteinase inhibitor from potato (API), and is consistent with the action of a cathepsin D-like enzyme. Hence, genes encoding PIs with specificity toward cathepsins L, B and D could potentially be effective for control of alfalfa weevil using transgenic plants.     

Intracellular distribution of neutral proteinases and inhibitors in pig leucocytes. Isolation of two inhibitors of neutral proteinases.

Granule and post-granular-supernatant fractions were obtained from pig leucocyte cells by differential centrifugation in 0.34 M sucrose. Granule extract possesses proteinase activity at acid and at neutral pH. Three groups of neutral and a group of acid proteinases were isolated from granule extracts by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. In the first group are present elastase-like and plasminogen-activator proteinases, that are inhibited by diisopropylphosphorofluoridate, alpha1-antitrypsin, intracellular leucocyte inhibitor and partly with p-aminomethylbenzoic acid and Trasylol. The second group of neutral proteinases is unstable under the conditions of isolation used the third group of neutral proteinases comprises collagenases that are inhibited by ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid disodium salt, alpha1-antitrypsin and leucocyte inhibitor. The acid proteinases are inhibited only with pepstatin, up to 90%. In the post-granular supernatant was found the acid proteinase activity towards hemoglobin and casein, and non-stable neutral proteolytic activity towards bovine serum albumin and serum gamma globulin. In the post-granular supernatant also the inhibitors of neutral proteinases were found. By gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and ion-exchange chromatography on CM-cellulose two inhibitors of neutral proteinases were isolated. The majority of the inhibitor capacity (about 80%) of post-granular supernatant was eluted together with ovalbumin (Mr 43000) and the remainder with cytochrome c (12300). These inhibitors inhibit the granule neutral proteinases, acting on all substrates used, but do not inhibit granule acid proteinase. Inhibition effects of post-granular-supernatant inhibitors on trypsin and chymotrypsin were obtained only when bovine serum albumin was used as substrate. Inhibitors of post-granular supernatant are stable at pH 6-8, but unstable in the pH rnage 2-5 and are thermolabile.     

Involvement of cysteine proteinases in excystment of Paragonimus ohirai metacercariae induced by sodium cholate and A23187

The involvement of intrinsic proteinases in the excystment of Paragonimus ohirai metacercariae was studied in in vitro excystment induced by sodium (Na) cholate, a bile salt and A23187, a Ca2+ ionophore. The effects of various proteinase inhibitors on the in vitro excystment were examined and similar inhibitory profiles were obtained. Benzyloxycarbonyl-L-leucyl-L-leucinal (Z-Leu-Leu-H), a cysteine proteinase inhibitor and 4-(2-aminoethyl)-benzenesulfonyl fluoride (Pefabloc SC), a serine proteinase inhibitor completely inhibited excystment, while L-3-carboxy-2,3-trans-epoxypropionyl-leucylamido (4-guanidino)-butane (E-64), a cysteine proteinase inhibitor and leupeptin, a cysteine/serine proteinase inhibitor permitted partial excystment at a lower rate, but inhibited it from proceeding from the partial excystment stage. In secretions released from metacercariae during excystment, proteinase activities detected towards various fluorogenic peptidyl substrates were almost completely inhibited by Z-Leu-Leu-H and E-64, but not by Pefabloc SC. Sodium cholate induced a higher secretion of cysteine proteinases and a higher rate of excystment than A23187. Profiles of cysteine proteinase activities towards five peptidyl substrates detected were markedly different among the two secretions and the lysate of newly excysted juveniles. Newly excysted juveniles released cysteine proteinases with similar activity profiles and levels to metacercariae induced by Na cholate-incubation, whereas the release of cysteine proteinases was reduced compared with metacercariae induced by A23187-incubation. These results provide valuable information about the involvement of intrinsic proteinases in metacercarial excystment.     

Characterization of the Proteinase that Initiates the Degradation of the Trypsin Inhibitor in Germinating Mung Beans (Vigna radiata)

The proteinase (proteinase F) responsible for the initial proteolysis of the mung bean (Vigna radiata) trypsin inhibitor (MBTI) during germination has been purified 1400-fold from dry beans. The enzyme acts as an endopeptidase, cleaving the native inhibitor, MBTI-F, to produce the first modified inhibitor form, MBTI-E. The cleavage of the Asp76-Lys77 peptide bond of MBTI-F occurs at a pH optimum of 4.5, with the tetrapeptide Lys-Asp-Asp-Asp being released. Proteinase F exhibited no activity against the modified inhibitor forms MBTI-E and MBTI-C. Vicilin, the major storage protein of the mung bean, does not serve as a substrate for proteinase F between pH 4 and 7. Proteinase F is inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, chymostatin, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, and p-chlorophenylsulfonate, but not by iodoacetate and CuCl₂. It is not activated by dithiothreitol, and is stable for extended periods of time (10 months, 4°C, pH 4.0) in the absence of reducing agents. An apparent molecular weight of 65,000 was found for proteinase F by gel filtration. Subcellular fractionation in glycerol suggests that greater than 85% of the proteinase F activity is found in the protein bodies of the ungerminated mung bean. The same studies indicate that at least 56% of the MBTI of the seed is also localized in the protein bodies.     

Streptomyces Pepsin Inhibitor-Insensitive Carboxyl Proteinase from Lentinus edodes

A Streptomyces-pepsin inhibitor (S-PI or Pepstatin Ac), and DAN-insensitive carboxyl proteinase was found in a still culture filtrate of Lentinus edodes. The new carboxyl proteinase was purified, and about 9 mg purified enzyme was obtained from 19 liters of culture filtrate, with 11% recovery. The enzyme showed a single band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight and isoelectric point were 40,000 and pH 4.2, respectively. The enzyme did not contain histidine and was composed of 387 amino acid residues. The enzyme was most active between pH 2.7 ~ 2.9, and stable over a pH of 3.2 ~ 5.2 for 3 hr at 37°C. The enzyme was not inhibited by S-PI or synthetic pepsin inhibitors such as DAN and EPNP. The physicochemical and enzymological properties were very similar to those of Scytalidium lignicolum carboxyl proteinase A, which was reported to be an S-PI-, and DAN-insensitive carboxyl proteinase.     

Purification, assay and kinetic features of HIV-1 proteinase

1) The aspartic proteinase of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) was purified from cultures of recombinant E. coli. The enzyme preparation is homogeneous as judged by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. 2) A rapid assay procedure for the proteinase was established which makes use of the cleavage of a radiolabeled decapeptide and the separation of substrate and labeled product by ion-exchange resin. 3) Activity of the enzyme is optimal at an ionic strength of 2.5-3.5M; also, the inhibitor pepstatin is a more potent inhibitor at higher ionic strength. This can be attributed to a tighter binding of both substrate and inhibitor in high-salt buffer. 4) The Km value of the decapeptide substrate is independent of the pH in the range of 3.5-7.5, while kcat shows a bell-shaped curve with a maximum at pH 5.2. The shape of the curve can be attributed to pKa values of 4.2 and 6.2 of groups on the enzyme. Pepstatin inhibition is optimal below pH 5.5, but becomes weak above pH 6.     

An alkaline thiol proteinase in the liver mitochondria of bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana

The mitoplasts were prepared from bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) liver mitochondria by treatment with digitonin and were then separated into the matrix and inner membrane fractions. The matrix fraction thus obtained was free of lysosomal contaminations and exhibited a distinct proteinase activity. pH dependency of the matrix proteinase activity measured in the presence and absence of iodoacetamide revealed that the matrix contained at least two kinds of proteinase, a major alkaline thiol proteinase having an optimal pH at 8.5 and a minor neutral proteinase having an optimal pH at 7.5. The major matrix proteinase activity was strongly inhibited by leupeptin, chymostatin, antipain and E64-C, an inhibitor of Ca2+-dependent thiol proteinase, while it was scarcely affected by diethylpyrocarbonate. The activity was also inhibited by DTNB and p-chloromercuribenzoate. Addition of hydrocarbon compounds such as ethylene glycol, glycerol, Triton X-100 and poly (ethylene glycol) to the reaction mixture was found to decrease the matrix proteinase activity. Neither cytochrome c nor glutamate dehydrogenase was hydrolyzed when subjected to the matrix proteinase activity in vitro. On the other hand, cytochrome c oxidase was effectively hydrolyzed, and the enzyme associated with the mitochondrial innermembrane fragments was partially hydrolyzed by the major matrix proteinase activity.