Comparison of the subsite specificity of the mammalian neutral endopeptidase 24.11 (enkephalinase) to the bacterial neutral endopeptidase thermolysin

A comparison has been made of the specificity of the mammalian neutral metalloendopeptidase, endopeptidase 24.11, with that of the bacterial neutral metalloendopeptidase thermolysin. A series of synthetic oligopeptides which have previously been studied as substrates for thermolysin and used in computer modeling were examined as substrates for the mammalian enzyme. It was found that P1, P2, and P'3 subsite interactions in the mammalian enzyme, although similar to those found in thermolysin, are less restrictive spatially and are considerably less dependent on hydrophobic interactions. This difference was maximally expressed with the synthetic substrate dansyl-D-alanylglycylnitrophenylalanylglycine which is a substrate for the mammalian enzyme, but not for the bacterial enzyme. A comparison of substrates in the free acid form with their corresponding amides showed that binding to the mammalian enzyme is dependent in part on an ionic interaction between the substrate carboxylate group and the enzyme. Such an ionic interaction was not observed with the bacterial enzyme.     

Affinity chromatography of thermolysin and of neutral proteases from B. subtilis

Affinity chromatographic systems are described for the purification of neutral metalloendopeptidases on columns of acetyl-$\text{D}$-phenylalanine or succinyl-$\text{D}$-leucine covalently linked to Sepharose by spacers of various lengths. The neutral proteases of $\text{B. subtilis}$ are separated in a single chromatographic procedure from all other proteins of the culture filtrates and subfractionated into two active species. An analogous chromatographic system is effective in the purification of thermolysin of $\text{B. thermoproteolyticus}$.     

Substrate and inhibitor studies on proteinase 3.

Various amino acid and peptide thioesters were tested as substrates for human proteinase 3 and the best substrate is Boc-Ala-Ala-Nva-SBzl with a kcat/Km value of 1.0 x 10(6) M-1.s-1. Boc-Ala-Ala-AA-SBzl (AA = Val, Ala, or Met) are also good substrates with kcat/Km values of (1-4) x 10(5) M-1.s-1. Substituted isocoumarins are potent inhibitors of proteinase 3 and the best inhibitors are 7-amino-4-chloro-3-(2-bromoethoxy)isocoumarin and 3,4-dichloroisocoumarin (DCI) with kobs/[I] values of 4700 and 2600 M-1.s-1, respectively. Substituted isocoumarins, peptide phosphonates and chloromethyl ketones inhibited proteinase 3 less potently than human neutrophil elastase (HNE) by 1-2 orders of magnitude.     

Characterization of meprin, a membrane-bound metalloendopeptidase from mouse kidney.

Meprin is an intrinsic protein of the brush border, a specialized plasma membrane, of the mouse kidney. It is a metalloendopeptidase that contains 1 mol of zinc and 3 mol of calcium per mol of the 85,000-Mr subunit. The enzyme is isolated, and active, as a tetramer. The behaviour of the enzyme on SDS/polyacrylamide gels in the presence and absence of beta-mercaptoethanol indicates that the subunits are of the same Mr (approx. 85,000) and held together by intersubunit S--S bridges. Eight S-carboxymethyl-L-cysteine residues were detected after reduction of the enzyme with beta-mercaptoethanol and carboxymethylation with iodoacetate. The enzyme is a glycoprotein and contains approx. 18% carbohydrate. Most of the carbohydrate is removed by endoglycosidase F, indicating that the sugar residues are N-linked. The isoelectric point of the enzyme is between pH 4 and 5, and the purified protein yields a pattern of evenly spaced bands in this range on isoelectric focusing. The peptide-bond specificity of the enzyme has been determined by using the oxidized B-chain of insulin as substrate. In all, 15 peptide degradation products were separated by h.p.l.c. and analysed for their amino acid content and N-terminal amino acid residue. The prevalent peptide-bond cleavages were between Gly20 and Glu21, Phe24 and Phe25 and between Phe25 and Tyr26. Other sites of cleavage were Leu6-Cysteic acid7, Ala14-Leu15, His10-Leu11, Leu17-Val18, Gly8-Ser9, Leu15-Tyr16, His5-Leu6. These results indicate that meprin has a preference for peptide bonds that are flanked by hydrophobic or neutral amino acid residues, but hydrolysis is not limited to these bonds. The ability of meprin to hydrolyse peptide bonds between small neutral and negatively charged amino acid residues distinguishes it from several other metalloendopeptidases.     

Substrate recognition and selectivity of peptide deformylase. Similarities and differences with metzincins and thermolysin.

The substrate specificity of Escherichia coli peptide deformylase was investigated by measuring the efficiency of the enzyme to cleave formyl- peptides of the general formula Fo-Xaa-Yaa-NH2, where Xaa represents a set of 27 natural and unusual amino acids and Yaa corresponds to a set of 19 natural amino acids. Substrates with bulky hydrophobic side-chains at the P1' position were the most efficiently cleaved, with catalytic efficiencies greater by two to five orders of magnitude than those associated with polar or charged amino acid side-chains. Among hydrophobic side-chains, linear alkyl groups were preferred at the P1' position, as compared to aryl-alkyl side-chains. Interestingly, in the linear alkyl substituent series, with the exception of norleucine, deformylase exhibits a preference for the substrate containing Met in the P1' position. Next, the influence in catalysis of the second side-chain was studied after synthesis of 20 compounds of the formula Fo-Nle-Yaa-NH2. Their deformylation rates varied within a range of only one order of magnitude. A 3D model of the interaction of PDF with an inhibitor was then constructed and revealed indeed the occurrence of a deep and hydrophobic S1' pocket as well as the absence of a true S2' pocket. These analyses pointed out a set of possible interactions between deformylase and its substrates, which could be the ground driving substrate specificity. The validity of this enzyme:substrate docking was further probed with the help of a set of site-directed variants of the enzyme. From this, the importance of residues at the bottom of the S1' pocket (Ile128 and Leu125) as well as the hydrogen bond network that the main chain of the substrate makes with the enzyme were revealed. Based on the numerous homologies that deformylase displays with thermolysin and metzincins, a mechanism of enzyme:substrate recognition and hydrolysis could finally be proposed. Specific features of PDF with respect to other members of the enzymes with motif HEXXH are discussed.     

Purification and characterization of Pz-peptidase B, a neutral metalloendopeptidase from bovine spermatozoa

We have demonstrated previously that the Pz-peptide synthetic substrate is cleaved by two distinct spermatozoal peptidases, Pz-peptidases A and B. To facilitate further investigations, Pz-peptidase B was purified from bovine spermatozoa. The soluble extract from 81 grams of washed epididymal spermatozoa was fractionated by a five-step procedure consisting of anion-exchange, lectin affinity, hydrophobic interaction, chromatofocusing, and gel filtration chromatography. This method yielded 1 mg of 170-fold purified Pz-peptidase B with a 26% recovery. The purified Pz-peptidase B was electrophoretically homogeneous and possessed a monomeric molecular weight of 90,700. Isoelectric focusing revealed microheterogeneity with pIs ranging from 5.02 to 5.09. Pz-peptidase B was irreversibly inactivated at pH 3.5 or below, and activity was reduced at moderate ionic strengths. Hydrolysis of the Pz-peptide was maximal at pH 7.5. Pz-peptidase B was strongly inhibited by a metal chelator and phosphoramidon. Reactivation of metal-depleted enzyme by various metal ions suggested that Pz-peptidase B was a zinc metallopeptidase. Pz-peptidase B hydrolyzed a wide variety of synthetic substrates and physiologically activity peptides at the amino side of hydrophobic amino acids. These results established that Pz-peptidase B should be classified as a neutral metalloendopeptidase. Overall, the properties of Pz-peptidase B were very similar to those of previously described neutral metalloendopeptidases implicated in degradation of regulatory peptides.     

Comparative kinetic studies on the neutral protease and thermolysin catalyzed hydrolysis of simple dipeptide substrates

A comparative study of the Bacillus subtilis neutral protease and Bacillus thermoproteolyticus thermolysin calalyzed hydrolysis of a few dipeptide sustrates including furylacryloylglycyl-L -leucine amide is reported. While differences in the k_cat/K_m were observed between the two enzymes toward substrates in which phenylalanine or leucine donated the amino group of the peptide bond, secondary effects of substituents on the carbonyl donating amino acid and pH profiles were quite similar. Differences were also observed toward protein substrates as compared to dipeptides.     

The purification and properties of a fibrinolytic neutral metalloendopeptidase from Streptococcus faecalis

A protease has been isolated by affinity chromatography from culture filtrates of a strain of Streptococcus faecalis previously shown to produce a flbrinolytic enzyme. The pH optimum, molecular weight, metal ion chelator sensitivity, and peptidase specificity place this enzyme in the class of bacterial neutral metalloendopeptidase typified by thermolysin and the Bacillus subtilis neutral proteases. Differences with respect to chemical modification and thermal stability exist between the S. faecalis enzyme and the latter proteases. The S. faecalis enzyme (designated EM 19000) renders fibrinogen incoagulable by degradation of the B (β) chains.     

The primary structure of Bacillus cereus neutral proteinase and comparison with thermolysin and Bacillus subtilis neutral proteinase

The complete amino-acid sequence of a neutral proteinase, produced by Bacillus cereus, was determined by protein sequencing. The neutral proteinase consists of 317 amino-acid residues. The primary structure is 70% homologous to thermolysin, a thermostable neutral proteinase and 45% homologous to Bacillus subtilis neutral proteinase. The zinc-binding site and the hydrophobic pocket of the active site are highly similar in all three proteinases. B. cereus neutral proteinase which is 20 degrees C less thermostable (60 degrees C) than thermolysin (80 degrees C) shows only minor differences in calcium binding sites and salt bridges compared to thermolysin (known from its X-ray diffraction analysis), whereas B. subtilis neutral proteinase (50 degrees C) differs considerably. Therefore it was assumed that the difference in thermostability between B. cereus neutral proteinase and thermolysin is not caused by different metal binding properties, or differences in the active site, but by changes within the rest of the molecule. Calculation of secondary structure potentials according to Chou & Fasman, hydrophobicity and bulkiness of the different structural elements and preferred cold----hot amino-acid residue exchanges indicated, that the thermostability of thermolysin compared to B. cereus neutral proteinase is caused by small effects contributed by numerous amino-acid exchanges distributed over the whole molecule, resulting in increased hydrophobicity of beta-pleated sheet and higher bulkiness of alpha-helical regions.     

The role of the pro-sequence in the processing and secretion of the thermolysin-like neutral protease from Bacillus cereus

The Bacillus cereus cnp gene coding for the thermolysin-like neutral protease (TNP) has been cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Bacillus subtilis. The protease is first produced as a pre-pro-protein (M(r) = 61,000); the pro-peptide is approximately two-thirds of the size of the mature protein. The pro-sequence has been compared with those of six other TNPs, and significant homologies have been found. Additionally, the TNP pro-sequences are shown to be homologous to the pro-sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa elastase. A mutant has been constructed from cnp, in which 23 amino acids upstream from the pro-protein processing site have been deleted. This region has no homologous analogue in any of the other TNP pro-sequences. The deletion results in a delay of six to eight hours in detection of active protease in the growth medium, as well as a 75% decrease in maximum protease production. N-terminal analysis of the mutant mature protein demonstrates that the processing site is unaltered by the pro-sequence deletion. The deletion must, therefore, modulate the kinetics of processing and/or secretion of the pro-protein.     

Comparative studies of two membrane fractions isolated from chemotrophically and phototrophically grown cells of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata.

Light and heavy membrane fractions have been isolated by equilibrium sucrose density centrifugation from Rhodopseudomonas capsulata 938 GCM grown aerobically in the dark (chemotrophically) and anaerobically in the light (phototrophically). The densities of the light and heavy fractions from phototrophic cells were 1.1004 to 1.1006 and 1.1478, respectively, and the densities of the light and heavy fractions from chemotrophic cells were 1.0957 to 1.0958 and 1.1315, respectively. Both fractions were active in photochemical and respiratory functions and in electron transport-coupled phosphorylation. The light membrane fraction isolated from chemotrophic cells contained the reaction center and the light-harvesting pigment-protein complex B 870, but not the variable light-harvesting complex B 800-850. A small amount of the complex B 800-850 was present in the light fraction isolated from phototrophically grown cells, but it was not energetically coupled to the photosynthetic apparatus. From inhibitor studies, difference spectroscopy, and measurement of enzyme activities it was tentatively concluded that the light membrane fraction contains only the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-oxidizing electron transport chain having a KCN-insensitive, low-potential cytochrome c oxidase, whereas the heavy fraction contains additionally the succinate dehydrogenase and a high-potential cytochrome b terminal oxidase sensitive to KCN. The light membrane fraction was more labile than the heavy fraction in terms of phosphorylating activity.     

Ovostatin: a novel proteinase inhibitor from chicken egg white. II. Mechanism of inhibition studied with collagenase and thermolysin

The inhibition mechanism of ovostatin was studied using rabbit synovial collagenase and thermolysin. When enzymes were complexed with ovostatin, only the proteolytic activity towards high molecular weight substrates was inhibited. Activity towards low molecular weight substrates was partially modified: the catalytic activity of collagenase bound to ovostatin was inhibited by only 40% towards 2,4-dinitrophenyl-Pro-Gln-Gly-Ile-Ala-Gly-Gln-D-Arg and that of thermolysin bound to ovostatin was activated about 2.6-fold towards benzyloxycarbonyl-Gly-Leu-NH2 and benzyloxycarbonyl-Gly-Phe-NH2. Collagenase-ovostatin complexes failed to react with anti-(collagenase) antibody. Saturation of ovostatin with thermolysin prevented the subsequent binding of collagenase. Ovostatin-proteinase complexes ran faster than free ovostatin on 5% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Complexing ovostatin with either collagenase or thermolysin resulted in the cleavage of the quarter-subunit of ovostatin (Mr = 165,000) into two fragments with Mr = 88,000 and 78,000. On the other hand, when the inhibitory capacity of ovostatin was tested with trypsin, chymotrypsin, and papain, only partial inhibition of their proteolytic activities was observed towards azocasein. Stronger inhibition was noted when Azocoll was a substrate, however. Analyses of ovostatin-enzyme complexes by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the quarter-subunit of ovostatin was cleaved into several fragments by those enzymes. These results led us to propose that ovostatin inhibits metalloproteinases in preference to proteinases of other classes in a manner similar to alpha 2-macroglobulin; hydrolysis of a peptide bond by a proteinase in the susceptible region of the ovostatin polypeptide chain triggers a conformational change in the ovostatin molecule and the enzyme becomes bound to ovostatin in such a way that the proteinase is sterically hindered from access to large protein substrates and yet is accessible to small synthetic substrates. A kinetic study of collagenase binding to ovostatin gave the value of k2/Ki = 6.3 X 10(5) M-1 min-1. The results indicate that ovostatin is equally as good a substrate for collagenase as type I collagens.     

Substrate specificity and inhibitor studies of a membrane-bound ganglioside sialidase isolated from human brain tissue

A ganglioside-specific sialidase that controls cellular functions such as growth, differentiation, and adhesion has been observed in a variety of cells, but its characterization proved difficult due to firm membrane attachment and lability of the purified enzyme. Here we report on the specificity toward gangliosides and susceptibility to certain inhibitors of a ganglioside sialidase solubilized and purified 5100-fold from human brain. The sialidase removed terminal sialic acids from gangliosides GM3, GM4, GD3, GD2, GD1 a, GD1 b, GT1 b and GQ1 b, but was inactive toward gangliosides with sialic acid in a branching position (as in GM1 and GM2). Lyso-GM3 and -GD1a were good substrates, too, whereas O-acetylation of the sialic acid as in 9-O-acetyl-GD3 caused strongly reduced cleavage. The new influenza virus drug 4-guanidino-2-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Zanamivir) exhibited an IC50 value of about 7 x 10(-5) M that was in the range of the 'classical' sialidase inhibitor 2-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid; the bacterial sialidase inhibitor 4-nitrophenyloxamic acid, however, was ineffective. The glycosaminoglycans heparan sulfate, heparin, chondroitin sulfates A and B, as well as dextran sulfate and suramin, were all strongly inhibitory, suggesting that glycosaminoglycans present on the cell surface or in the extracellular matrix may influence the ability of the sialidase to alter the ganglioside composition of the membrane.     

Substrate specificity of neutral phospholipase D from rat brain studied by selective labeling of endogenous synaptic membrane phospholipids in vitro.

We have designed a novel approach for studying the specificity of neutral phospholipase D from rat brain synaptic plasma membranes for endogenous phospholipid substrates in native membranes. A procedure was established that provides synaptic membranes labeled in selected phospholipids. This labeling procedure exploits the presence of endogenous acyl-coenzyme A synthetase and acyl-coenzyme A:lysophospholipid acyltransferase in synaptosomes for acylating various lysophospholipid acceptors with radioactive fatty acid. With [3H]arachidonate for acylation and optimal concentrations of the respective lysophospholipids, membranes were labeled in either of the following phospholipids: phosphatidylcholine (93% of total label in phospholipids), 1-O-alkyl-phosphatidylcholine (87%), phosphatidylinositol (90%), phosphatidylethanolamine (85%), phosphatidylethanolamine-plasmalogen (81%) or phosphatidylserine (59%). These membranes were employed to study the substrate specificity of the neutral, oleate-activated rat brain phospholipase D. This phospholipase exhibited almost absolute specificity for the choline-phospholipids phosphatidylcholine and 1-O-alkyl-phosphatidylcholine: 0.34% of the former labeled substrate were transphosphatidylated to phosphatidylpropanol during the assay and 0.28% of the latter. Activity toward other phospholipids was barely detectable and could largely be accounted for by utilization of residual labeled phosphatidylcholine present in those preparations. The phospholipase D exhibited some preference for fatty acids in the C-2 position of phosphatidylcholine in the following order: 2-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (0.67% of this labeled phosphatidylcholine were converted to phosphatidylpropanol), 2-myristoyl-phosphatidylcholine (0.60%), 2-palmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (0.46%) and 2-arachidonoyl-phosphatidylcholine (0.34%). The present approach of labeling membrane phospholipids in vitro could be useful in studies of phospholipase specificity as an alternative to the use of sonicated vesicles or mixed detergent-phospholipid micellar systems.     

Immunological studies with nitrogenase from Azotobacter and bacterial nitrate reductases.

Antibodies raised to purified Component I of nitrogenase (Mo-Fe-S) protein from Azotobacter vinelandii cross-reacted not only with this protein but also with nitrate reductases from a number of bacteria. Antibodies raised for a purified nitrate reductase from Escherichia coli also formed precipitin bands with this Component I of nitrogenase. Antibodies to Component I, however, did not react with nitrate reductases from either a blue-green alga Anabaena cylindrica or with higher plants, or with aldehyde dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase from animal sources.