Preparative two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of rat liver ribosomal proteins and determination of their amino acid compositions

A maize root fraction which inactivates nitrate reductase has been shown to have protease activity which can be measured by the hydrolysis of azocasein. This inactivating enzyme was also found to inactivate yeast tryptophan synthase. Yeast proteases A and B, which inactivate this latter enzyme, also gave a specific inactivation of the maize nitrate reductase. The maize root inactivating enzyme, like yeast protease B, degraded casein, and was inhibited by phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride. A partially-purified yeast inhibitor prevented catalysis by the yeast proteases and maize root inactivating enzyme, but purified yeast inhibitors were without effect on the latter protein. The level of nitrate reductase-inactivating activity, and associated azocasein-degrading activity, increased with age of the maize root. Evidence was obtained for a heat stable inhibitor which maintained them in an inactive state, especially in the young root tip cells.     

Identification and monitoring of protease activity in recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae

An assay for the detection of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) protease activity, using partially purified yeast-derived recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen (rHBsAg) as substrate, was developed to monitor proteolysis of rHBsAg that may occur through fermentation and isolation. The method consists of incubating small amounts of yeast lysate (protease source) with the substrate at 35 degrees C for about 16 h. Substrate proteolysis is assessed by subjecting the incubation mixtures to SDS-PAGE followed by silver-staining. The type of protease responsible for particular cleavages can be identified by treating the yeast lysates with specific protease inhibitors prior to incubation with substrate. The treatment of lysates with PMSF indicated that while many lysates possessed only serine protease activity (Protease B), some possessed proteolytic activity that could not be quenched with high levels of PMSF or other serine protease inhibitors. The use of the aspartyl protease inhibitor Pepstatin A in conjunction with PMSF virtually eliminated all proteolytic activity in these lysates, indicating that an aspartyl protease (Protease A) is expressed under some fermentation conditions. The relative amount of each protease in a lysate can be determined semiquantitatively by scanning the SDS gels densitometrically and plotting the ratio of degradates to intact antigen in the presence and absence of protease inhibitors. This method was used successfully to monitor the time-dependent expression of these proteases throughout production-scale fermentations. The impact of fermentation and purification changes on those proteases specifically responsible for the rHBsAg degradation can be easily evaluated.     

Proteases in egg, miracidium and adult of Fasciola gigantica. Characterization of serine and cysteine proteases from adult

Proteolytic activity of 0-12 day old eggs, miracidium and adult worm of Fasciola gigantica was assessed and proteases were partially purified by DEAE-Sepharose and CM-cellulose columns. Four forms of protease were separated, PIa, PIb, PIc and PII. Purifications were completed for PIc and PII using Sephacryl S-200 chromatography. A number of natural and synthetic proteins were tested as substrates for F. gigantica PIc and PII. The two proteases had moderate activity levels toward azoalbumin and casein compared to azocasein, while gelatin, hemoglobin, albumin and fibrin had very low affinity toward the two enzymes. Amidolytic substrates are more specific to protease activity. PIc had higher affinity toward BAPNA-HCl (N-benzoyl-arginine-p-nitroanilide-HCl) and BTPNA-HCl (N-benzoyl-tyrosine-p-nitroanilide-HCl) at pH 8.0 indicating that the enzyme was a serine protease. However, PII had higher affinity toward BAPNA at pH 6.5 in the presence of sulfhydryl groups (beta-mercaptoethanol) indicating that the enzyme was a cysteine protease. The effect of specific protease inhibitors on these enzymes was studied. The results confirmed that proteases PIc and PII could be serine and cysteine proteases, respectively. The molecular weights of F. gigantica PIc and PII were 60,000 and 25,000, respectively. F. gigantica PIc and PII had pH optima at 7.5 and 5.5 and K(M) of 2 and 5 mg azocasein/mL, respectively. For amidolytic substrates, PIc had K(M) of 0.3 mM BAPNA/mL and 0.5 mM BTPNA/mL at pH 8.0 and PII had K(M) of 0.6 mM BAPNA/mL at pH 6.5 with reducing agent. F. gigantica PIc and PII had the same optimum temperature at 50 degrees C and were stable up to 40 degrees C. All examined metal cations tested had inhibitory effects toward the two enzymes. From substrate specificity and protease inhibitor studies, PIc and PII could be designated as serine PIc and cysteine PII, respectively.     

Existence of two kinds of thiol protease inhibitors in rat serum

In rat serum two kinds of thiol protease inhibitors were found. One had molecular weight about 103,000 and the other about 16,000. Though both inhibitors inhibited all thiol proteases examined, the high molecular weight inhibitor showed stronger inhibition on papain than cathepsin H. But the low molecular weight inhibitor equally inhibited papain and cathepsin H. The isoelectric point of low molecular weight inhibitor was pH 9.16 and that of high molecular one was pH 4.76.     

Partial purification and characterization of a cysteine protease inhibitor from the plerocercoid of Spirometra erinacei

Helminthic cysteine proteases are well known to play critical roles in tissue invasion, nutrient uptake, and immune evasion of the parasites. In the same manner, the sparganum, the plerocercoid of Spirometra mansoni, is also known to secrete a large amount of cysteine proteases. However, cysteine protease inhibitors regulating the proteolytic activities of the cysteine protease are poorly illustrated. In this regard, we partially purified an endogenous cysteine protease inhibitor from spargana and characterized its biochemical properties. The cysteine protease inhibitor was purified by sequential chromatographies using Resource Q anion exchanger and Superdex 200 HR gel filtration from crude extracts of spargana. The molecular weight of the purified protein was estimated to be about 11 kD on SDS-PAGE. It was able to inhibit papain and 27 kDa cysteine protease of spargana with the ratio of 25.7% and 49.1%, respectively, while did not inhibit chymotrypsin. This finding suggests that the cysteine protease inhibitor of spargana may be involved in regulation of endogenous cysteine proteases of the parasite, rather than interact with cysteine proteases from their hosts.     

Functional comparison of homologous members of three groups of Kunitz-type enzyme inhibitors from potato tubers ( Solanum tuberosum L.)

For functional studies, nine cDNAs encoding Kunitz-type enzyme inhibitors from potato tubers were expressed as GST (glutathione S transferase)-tagged fusion proteins in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The inhibitors represented the three major homology groups A, B and C found in tubers. Members of the same homology group were at least 90% identical in sequence. The purified GST fusion proteins were tested for their ability to inhibit the proteases trypsin, alpha-chymotrypsin, subtilisin, papain and aspergillopepsin I, and for inhibition of the growth of fungi. Fusion proteins belonging to the same and different homology groups were found to exhibit distinct protease inhibition profiles. Removal of the GST tag by cleavage with enterokinase did not change the inhibition profile but increased the inhibitory activity. Group A and B inhibitors affected the proteases to different extents, whereas group C inhibitors showed only weak or no protease inhibition. One fusion protein completely inhibited aspergillopepsin I. One fusion protein each of groups A and B strongly inhibited mycelial growth of the fungus Fusarium moniliforme. The results suggest functional polymorphism among closely related members of the Kunitz-type inhibitor family.     

An endogenous inhibitor of thiol protease from adult lung fluke Paragonimus miyazakii

An endogenous inhibitor of thiol protease from adult Paragonimus miyazakii was found to occur during the gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300. The partially purified inhibitor was specific for thiol proteases such as ficin and papain. The inhibitor also suppressed tosyl-L-lysine alpha-naphthylester hydrolytic activity of Paragonimus thiol protease. The molecular weight of the inhibitor was found to be 430,000 by the gel filtration. This inhibitor was thermostable and resistant to trypsin and glycosidase digestions.     

Detection and partial characterization of the chromatin-associated proteases of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The chromatin fraction was prepared from yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae free from cytoplasmic contamination except for a trace of mitochondria. When the yeast chromatin was incubated with histones as a substrate it showed three peaks of proteolytic activity as approximately pH 4, pH 7 and pH 11. These activities were separated from each other by differential extractions from chromatin and successive gel filtration through Sephadex G-100. Proteases were partially characterized by affinity labeling with [3H]diisopropylfluorophosphate (iPr2P-F) and by various protease inhibitors. The neutral and the alkaline proteases were serine proteases with a molecular mass of 35 kDa and 25 kDa respectively. The acidic protease showed a molecular size larger than 100 kDa on the gel filtration, and was probably an aspartyl protease because it was most strongly inhibited by pepstatin. A iPr2P-F-binding protein with a molecular mass of 66 kDa, found in chromatin, was likely to be converted to the alkaline protease of 25 kDa when chromatin was incubated at pH 10 or in 6 M urea/0.1 M phosphoric acid at the extraction. The distribution of proteolytic activities and iPr2P-F-binding proteins were compared among chromatins from different strains and from cells in different growth phases and it was found that these three proteases were present in all of them but with different proportions. Considering that rat liver chromatin contains equivalents to these proteases [Tsurugi, K. and Ogata, K. (1982) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 92, 1369-1381], the results suggested that they play some important roles in the function of eukaryotic chromatin.     

Purification and characterization of the protease enzymes of Streptomyces thermovulgaris grown in rapemeal-derived media

When grown in a particulate-free, protein-rich medium derived from rapemeal (termed medium B), Streptomyces thermovulgaris produced multiple protease enzymes. The main protease activity was attributed to two types of serine protease, denoted as SV1 and SV2. A metallo protease component (SV3) and an azocaseinase component (SV4) were also present. Protease SV1 had a molecular weight of 30 kDa and a pI of 5.8. Protease SV2 was characterized by a high thermostability in the presence of calcium ions and had a pI of 8.4. This enzyme had a molecular weight of 60 kDa, but we suggest that this is the dimeric form, with 30 kDa being the monomer unit. The method chosen for initial downstream processing influenced both the yield and type of protease purified. When cell-free supernatant fluid was concentrated using ultrafiltration, rather than acetone precipitation, a higher percentage and a greater range of proteases were recovered. The medium used for the growth of Strep. thermovulgaris also appeared to affect the type of protease produced. A more diverse range of proteases were produced on rapemeal-derived medium when compared to yeast extract medium.     

Purification and characterization of a neutral serine protease from non-sulfur purple photosynthetic bacterium

A neutral serine protease was purified as a homogeneous protein from the culture broth of photosynthetic bacterium T-20 by sequential chromatographies on columns of DEAE-cellulose, Toyopearl HW 55F, hydroxyapatite, and CM-cellulose. The molecular weight was estimated to be approximately 44,000 by SDS-PAGE, while the value of approximately 80,000 was obtained when the Hedrick-Smith method was used; this suggested that the enzyme consists of two identical subunits. The isoelectric point was determined to be 6.3 by isoelectric focusing. The enzyme had a pH optimum at 7.8. Maximal enzyme activity was detected at 50°C, and the activity was stable up to 50°C for 5 min at pH 7.0–7.2. The substrate specificity of the protease was investigated with a series of synthetic peptidyl-p-nitroanilide. The best substrate examined was Suc-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-pNA. The protease activity was inhibited by various inhibitors of serine protease such as chymostatin, PMSF, and DFP. EDTA, which is an inhibitor of metal protease, also inhibited the protease activity, whereas inhibitors of thiol and aspartic proteases had no significant effect.     

Isolation and characterization of a unique protease from sporulating cells of Bacillus subtilis

Two proteases, designated I and II, have been isolated from sporulating cells of Bacillus subtilis. They were partially purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation, Sephadex chromatography and affinity columns. Protease I was found to be similar to an already characterized B. subtilis protease. Protease II is trypsin-like in its substrate specificity and is distinct from protease I in its pH optimum, pH stability, molecular weight, substrate specificity, heat stability and sensitivity to various inhibitors. While both enzymes were produced primarily during sporulation, they attained maximum levels of activity at different times. Distinct functions for these proteases in post exponential B. subtilis are likely.     

Evidence for the presence of an acid protease and protease inhibitors in dormant embryos of Artemia salina.

Proteolytic activity has been implicated in several key processes in early development. In an attempt to correlate proteolytic activity with developmental events, a study of the protease(s) in undeveloped cysts of Artemia salina was initiated using 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid to determine the release of amino groups upon protein hydrolysis. The versatility and sensitivity of this reagent made it possible to detect and characterize the proteolytic activity in small quantities of cysts of the brine shrimp. A protease with a molecular weight of 84,000, a pH optimum of 3.6, and a temperature optimum of 45°C was partially purified from Artemia cysts using ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. In addition, two acid protease inhibitors, one dialyzable and one nondialyzable, were found in crude extracts of the cysts. The latter was partially purified and found to have a molecular weight of between 10,000 and 20,000. The activity of the acid protease is not dependent on CaCl₂ or EDTA, but CaCl₂ in the reaction mixture increases the rate of inactivation of the nondialyzable protease inhibitor. The inhibitors may complex with the acid protease in the embryo and control its activity during development.     

Endogenous thiol protease inhibitor from rat liver

A thiol protease inhibitor was purified from rat liver by a rapid procedure involving heat treatment of the post-lysosomal fraction, affinity chromatography on papain-Sepharose 4B and Sephadex G-75. The purified inhibitor appeared homogeneous on sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis. The inhibitor had a molecular weight of about 11,500 and consisted of three forms (pI 4.9, 5.2 and 5.6). The preparation inhibited thiol proteases, such as papain, cathepsin H, cathepsin B and cathepsin L, but not serine proteases (trypsin, chymotrypsin, mast cell protease and cathepsin A) or cathepsin D.     

Lyticase: Endoglucanase and Protease Activities That Act Together in Yeast Cell Lysis

Yeast lytic activity was purified from the culture supernatant of Oerskovia xanthineolytica grown on minimal medium with insoluble yeast glucan as the carbon source. The lytic activity was found to consist of two synergistic enzyme activities which copurified on carboxymethyl cellulose and Sephadex G-150, but were resolved on Bio-Gel P-150. The first component was a β-1,3-glucanase with a molecular weight of 55,000. The K_m for yeast glucan was 0.4 mg/ml; that for laminarin was 5.9 mg/ml. Hydrolysis of β-1,3-glucans was endolytic, yielding a mixture of products ranging from glucose to oligomers of 10 or more. The size distribution of products was pH dependent, smaller oligomers predominating at the lower pH. The glucanase was unable to lyse yeast cells without 2-mercaptoethanol or the second lytic component, an alkaline protease. Neither of these agents had any effect on the glucanase activity on polysaccharide substrates. The protease had a molecular weight of 30,000 and hydrolyzed Azocoll and a variety of denatured proteins. The enzyme was unusual in that it had an affinity for Sephadex. Although the activity was insensitive to most protease inhibitors, it was affected by polysaccharides; yeast mannan was a potent inhibitor. The enzyme did not have any mannanase activity, however. Neither pronase nor trypsin could substitute for this protease in promoting yeast cell lysis. A partially purified fraction of the enzymes, easily obtained with a single purification step, had a high lytic specific activity and was superior to commercial preparations in regard to nuclease, protease, and chitinase contamination. Lyticase has been applied in spheroplast, membrane, and nucleic acid isolation, and has proved useful in yeast transformation procedures.     

Characteristics of the inhibition and metabolic inactivation of the yeast TRNA nucleotidyl transferase.

1. Yeast tRNA nucleotidyl transferase is inhibited by low molecular weight compounds present in cell-free extracts. The inhibition produced by the main component(s) is competitive with respect to ATP and is not prevented by metal chelating agents. The major component(s) has been partially purified. It is resistant to heat (90 degrees C, 5 min) and insensitive to digestion by alkaline phosphatase, snake venom phosphodiesterase and inorganic pyrophosphatase, indicating that it is not a nucleotide. 2. Besides the masking of the transferase activity in the crude extracts by the inhibitors, the enzyme is inactivated in nitrogen starved cells. The inactivation also occurs in yeast mutants lacking several proteases and is not prevented by inhibitors of yeast proteases. These results rule out extracellular proteolysis as the cause of inactivation and strength our previous observations on the metabolic inactivation of the transferase in response to nitrogen starvation.     

Isolation and characterization of a novel large protease accumulated in mammalian cells in the presence of inhibitors

We have isolated and characterized a novel, large, multicatalytic protease from mammalian cells. This protease was designated PABI (protease accumulated by inhibitors). When baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells were grown in medium containing leupeptin, a potent serine-cysteine protease inhibitor, the trypsin-like protease activity (PABI) in the cells increased its level more than 100-fold over the control. This increase was also observed in other cultured cells such as COS, HepG2, and skin fibroblast cells. The activity was also elevated by treatment with other protease inhibitors including chymostatin or trans-epoxysuccinyl-L-leucylamide-(4-guanidino)butane. Immunoblot analysis, by employing antisera prepared against the purified PABI, also showed a concomitant increase of this protein in BHK, COS, and HepG2 cells on leupeptin treatment. PABI was purified to a homogeneous state from leupeptin-treated BHK cells. PABI is a glycoprotein of molecular weight 700,000. PABI was found to be a multimer of a major subunit of apparent Mr of 84,000, as shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and electron microscopic analysis. PABI dissociates into subunits only under reducing conditions in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. PABI has both trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like protease activities toward synthetic substrates. Both activities were inhibited by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, aprotinin, bovine pancreas trypsin inhibitor, and chymostatin. Leupeptin inhibited only the trypsin-like activity of PABI. p-Chloromercuribenzoate had no effect on either activity. Furthermore, PABI degraded collagen type I and fibronectin. These results indicate that PABI is a novel protease which differs from any known proteases including cytosolic high molecular weight proteases. The physiological function of PABI is yet to be determined.     

Extracellular and membrane-bound proteases from Bacillus subtilis.

Bacillus subtilis YY88 synthesizes increased amounts of extracellular and membrane-bound proteases. More than 99% of the extracellular protease activity is accounted for by an alkaline serine protease and a neutral metalloprotease. An esterase having low protease activity accounts for less than 1% of the secreted protease. These enzymes were purified to homogeneity. Molecular weights of approximately 28,500 and 39,500 were determined for the alkaline and neutral proteases, respectively. The esterase had a molecular weight of approximately 35,000. Amino-terminal amino acid sequences were determined, and the actions of a number of inhibitors were examined. Membrane vesicles contained bound forms of alkaline and neutral proteases and a group of previously undetected proteases (M proteases). Membrane-bound proteases were extracted with Triton X-100. Membrane-bound alkaline and neutral proteases were indistinguishable from the extracellular enzymes by the criteria of molecular weight, immunoprecipitation, and sensitivity to inhibitors. The M protease fraction accounted for approximately 7% of the total activity in Triton X-100 extracts of membrane vesicles. The M protease fraction was partially fractionated into four species (M1 through M4) by ion-exchange chromatography. Immunoprecipitation and sensitivity to inhibitors distinguished membrane-bound alkaline and neutral proteases from M proteases. In contrast to alkaline and neutral proteases, proteases M2 and M3 exhibited exopeptidase activity.     

Characterization of an extracellular protease inhibitor of Bacillus brevis HPD31 and nucleotide sequence of the corresponding gene.

A novel proteinaceous protease inhibitor was isolated from the culture supernatant of Bacillus brevis HPD31. The protease inhibitor of B. brevis (designated BbrPI) was produced extracellularly in multiple forms having at least three different molecular weights. One of them, BbrPI-a, was purified to near homogeneity and only showed inhibitory activity toward serine proteases, such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, and subtilisin. BbrPI was presumed to form a trypsin-inhibitor complex in a molar ratio of 1:1. The inhibitor was found to be heat resistant at neutral and acidic pHs. The gene coding for BbrPI was cloned into Escherichia coli, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The sequence suggested that BbrPI is produced with a signal peptide of 24 amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence of the protein deduced from the DNA sequence contained the amino acid sequences of amino termini of the inhibitors, a, b, and c, and their putative precursor determined chemically. The molecular weight of the precursor was about 33,000, and the molecular weights of inhibitors a, b, and c were about 22,000, 23,500, and 24,000, respectively. It is presumed that the secreted precursor protein, which is probably inactive, is cleaved by protease into several active protease inhibitor molecules. BbrPI shows no significant homology to the protease inhibitors described previously and is unique in not having any cysteine residues in its molecule.     

Characterization of an extracellular protease inhibitor of Bacillus brevis HPD31 and nucleotide sequence of the corresponding gene.

A novel proteinaceous protease inhibitor was isolated from the culture supernatant of Bacillus brevis HPD31. The protease inhibitor of B. brevis (designated BbrPI) was produced extracellularly in multiple forms having at least three different molecular weights. One of them, BbrPI-a, was purified to near homogeneity and only showed inhibitory activity toward serine proteases, such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, and subtilisin. BbrPI was presumed to form a trypsin-inhibitor complex in a molar ratio of 1:1. The inhibitor was found to be heat resistant at neutral and acidic pHs. The gene coding for BbrPI was cloned into Escherichia coli, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The sequence suggested that BbrPI is produced with a signal peptide of 24 amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence of the protein deduced from the DNA sequence contained the amino acid sequences of amino termini of the inhibitors, a, b, and c, and their putative precursor determined chemically. The molecular weight of the precursor was about 33,000, and the molecular weights of inhibitors a, b, and c were about 22,000, 23,500, and 24,000, respectively. It is presumed that the secreted precursor protein, which is probably inactive, is cleaved by protease into several active protease inhibitor molecules. BbrPI shows no significant homology to the protease inhibitors described previously and is unique in not having any cysteine residues in its molecule.     

A small trypsin inhibitor from the frog of Odorrana grahami

A novel peptide inhibitor (OGTI) of serine protease with a molecular weight of 1949.8, was purified from the skin secretion of the frog, Odorrana grahami. Of the tested serine proteases, OGTI only inhibited the hydrolysis activity of trypsin on synthetic chromogenic substrate. This precursor deduced from the cDNA sequence is composed of 70 amino acid residues. The mature OGTI contains 17 amino acid residues including a six-residue loop disulfided by two half-cysteines (AVNIPFKVHFRCKAAFC). In addition to its unique six-residue loop, the overall structure and precursor of OGTI are different from those of other serine protease inhibitors. It is also one of the smallest serine protease inhibitors ever found.