A cysteine proteinase secreted from human breast tumours is immunologically related to cathepsin B.

The stable cathepsin B-like cysteine (thiol) proteinase secreted from human breast tumours in culture was shown to be destabilized by mercurial compounds. After such treatment the enzyme cross-reacts in a radioimmunoassay with a monospecific antiserum to human liver cathepsin B. It is suggested that the secreted enzyme may be a precursor form of lysosomal cathepsin B.     

Amino acid sequence of human liver cathepsin B

The complete amino acid sequence of cathepsin B (EC 3.4.22.1) from human liver was determined. The 252-residue sequence was obtained by automated solid-phase Edman degradation of the light and heavy chain resulting from limited proteolysis of the single-chain enzyme and of fragments produced by cyanogen bromide and enzymatic cleavage of the heavy chain. Human liver cathepsin B has 83.7% identical residues with the corresponding enzyme from rat liver. Comparison of both mammalian cathepsin B sequences with the sequence of papain provides further evidence that lysosomal and plant cysteine proteinases have evolved from a common ancestor and share a similar catalytic mechanism.     

Activation of human platelet adenylate cyclase by a bovine sperm component

The latent cysteine proteinase present in ascitic fluid of patients with neoplasia and released from ascites cells in culture has been partially purified and the enzyme after pepsin activation was shown to be immunologically related to the lysosomal proteinase, cathepsin B. The latent form was characterized as a single chain of Mr 40 000 as determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions followed by Western blotting and immune staining with an antiserum to human cathepsin B. Using the same techniques the enzyme after pepsin activation gave a single band of Mr 33 000. Analysis by isoelectric focusing showed that the latent enzyme before and after pepsin treatment is composed of several acidic isoenzymes. These findings suggest that this latent proteinase represents a precursor form of cathepsin B which is released extracellularly rather than being processed and directed to the lysosome.     

Localization of cathepsin B in two human lung cancer cell lines

We demonstrated the cysteine proteinase cathepsin B in two human lung tumor cell lines by cytochemical and immunocytochemical methods. The cell lines were derived from a squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (HS-24) and a metastasis to the adrenal gland from an adenocarcinoma of the lung (SB-3). For comparison and control, normal human lung fibroblasts cells (Wi-38) were also investigated. Intracellular cathepsin B activity was detected in all three cell lines. SB-3 and the normal fibroblast cells showed almost equal cathepsin B activity, which was considerably stronger than that in the HS-24 cells. Specific inhibitors for cathepsin B (E64, leupeptin, antipain) suppressed its activity completely. Stefin A, the physiological cathepsin B inhibitor, was less effective; this might depend on its limited penetrability into living cells. Localization of the cathepsin B was performed by conventional immunofluorescence microscopy and laser scanning microscopy. With specific anti-cathepsin B antibodies, the enzyme was localized in HS-24, SB-3, and Wi-38 fibroblast cells within perinuclear granules representing the lysosomal compartment. In the SB-3 cells, we additionally localized a minor fraction of the enzyme bound to the plasma membrane in a speckled distribution, accessible to the antibodies from the outside. This direct demonstration of cathepsin B distribution supports biochemical data about the dual localization of the enzyme in tumor cells. It also supports the possibility of a direct involvement of cathepsin B in the degradation of the extracellular matrix, and thus a contribution of the enzyme in invasion and metastasis.     

Characterization of a latent cysteine proteinase from ascitic fluid as a high molecular weight form of cathepsin B

The latent cysteine proteinase present in ascitic fluid of patients with neoplasia and released from ascites cells in culture has been partially purified and the enzyme after pepsin activation was shown to be immunologically related to the lysosomal proteinase, cathepsin B. The latent form was characterized as a single chain of M_r 40 000 as determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions followed by Western blotting and immune staining with an antiserum to human cathepsin B. Using the same techniques the enzyme after pepsin activation gave a single band of M_r 33 000. Analysis by isoelectric focusing showed that the latent enzyme before and after pepsin treatment is composed of several acidic isoenzymes. These findings suggest that this latent proteinase represents a precursor form of cathepsin B which is released extracellularly rather than being processed and directed to the lysosome.     

Biosynthesis of cathepsin B in cultured normal and I-cell fibroblasts

Biosynthesis and processing of cathepsin B in cultured human skin fibroblasts were investigated using immunological procedures. Upon metabolic labeling with [35S]methionine for 10 min, a precursor form with Mr 44,500 was identified. During an 80-min chase, about 50% of it was converted to an Mr 46,000 form. Further processing yielded mature forms with Mr 33,000 and 27,000, in a final quantitative ratio of about 3:1. Processing of cathepsin B was inhibited by leupeptin, which led to an accumulation of the Mr 33,000 polypeptide. The Mr 33,000 form appeared to be the most active form and showed a half-time of about 12 h. About 5% of newly synthesized enzyme was secreted as precursor, being detectable extracellularly already after 40 min. NH4Cl enhanced the secretion of the precursor about 20-fold. The precursor and the 33-kDa form contained phosphorylated N-linked oligosaccharides. Cleavage by peptide N-glycosidase F or biosynthesis in the presence of tunicamycin yielded a precursor with Mr 39,000. Evidence of a mannose 6-phosphate-dependent transport of cathepsin B in fibroblasts was obtained on the basis of the following results: (i) cathepsin B precursor from NH4Cl-stimulated secretions was internalized in a mannose 6-phosphate inhibitable manner, and (ii) I-cell fibroblasts secreted more than 95% of newly synthesized cathepsin B precursor. In conclusion, cathepsin B from human skin fibroblasts shows an analogous biosynthetic behavior as other lysosomal enzymes.     

Pro-cathepsin D can activate in vitro pro-cathepsin B secreted by ovarian cancers

A precursor form of cathepsin B (Mr 45-47 kd) was purified from ascitic fluids of patients with ovarian adenocarcinomas. Following pepsin activation, this precursor produced a 33 kd cathepsin B-like proteinase closely related to lysosomal cathepsin B. A similar activation was found using the 52 kd pro-cathepsin D secreted by the MCF7 human breast cancer cells. This activation was a time, dose and pH dependent process. These results suggest that the 52 kd pro-cathepsin D may be involved in the early steps of the "metastatic cascade", activating pro-cathepsin B in an acidic environment.     

Human cysteine cathepsins are not reliable markers of infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis

Cysteine cathepsins have emerged as new players in inflammatory lung disorders. Their activities are dramatically increased in the sputum of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, suggesting that they are involved in the pathophysiology of CF. We have characterized the cathepsins in CF expectorations and evaluated their use as markers of colonization by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The concentrations of active cathepsins B, H, K, L and S were the same in P. aeruginosa-positive (19 Ps+) and P. aeruginosa-negative (6 Ps-) samples, unlike those of human neutrophil elastase. Also the cathepsin inhibitory potential and the cathepsins/cathepsin inhibitors imbalance remained unchanged and similar (～2-fold) in the Ps+ and Ps- groups (p<0.001), which correlated with the breakdown of their circulating cystatin-like inhibitors (kininogens). Procathepsins, which may be activated autocatalytically, are a potential proteolytic reservoir. Immunoblotting and active-site labeling identified the double-chain cathepsin B, the major cathepsin in CF sputum, as the main molecular form in both Ps+ and Ps- samples, despite the possible release of the ～31 kDa single-chain form from procathepsin B by sputum elastase. Thus, the hydrolytic activity of cysteine cathepsins was not correlated with bacterial colonization, indicating that cathepsins, unlike human neutrophil elastase, are not suitable markers of P. aeruginosa infection.     

Human cathepsin H.

Cathepsin H was purified from human liver by a method involving autolysis and acetone fractionation, and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, Ultrogel AcA 54, hydroxyapatite and concanavalin A-Sepharose. The procedure allowed for the simultaneous isolation of cathepsin B and cathepsin D. Cathepsin H was shown to consist of a single polypeptide chain of 28 000 mol.wt., and affinity for concanavalin A-Sepharose indicated that it was a glycoprotein. The enzyme existed in multiple isoelectric forms, the two major forms having pI values of 6.0 and 6.4; it hydrolysed azocasein (pH optimum 5.5), benzoylarginine 2-naphthylamide (Ba-Arg-NNap), leucyl 2-naphthylamide (Arg-NNap), (pH optimum 6.8). Arg-NNap and Arg-NMec, unlike Bz-Arg-NNap-, were not hydrolysed by human cathepsin B. Cathepsin H was similar to cathepsin B in being irreversibly inactivated by exposure to alkaline pH. Sensitivity to chemical inhibitors by 1 microM-leupeptin, which gave essentially complete inhibition of the other lysosomal cysteine proteinases, cathepsins B and L.     

A cathepsin B-like enzyme from mackerel white muscle is a precursor of cathepsin B

A cathepsin B-like enzyme from the white muscle of common mackerel Scomber japonicus was a cysteine protease that hydrolyzed Z-Arg-Arg-MCA, the substrate for cathepsin B. In a partial purified cathepsin B-like enzyme preparation at 4 degrees C left over time, a converted enzyme that hydrolyzes Z-Arg-Arg-MCA and Z-Phe-Arg-MCA appeared in the preparation. The converted enzyme was purified from the cathepsin B-like enzyme, characterized and was identified as mackerel cathepsin B. These results suggested that the mackerel cathepsin B-like enzyme was a precursor of cathepsin B. Mackerel cathepsin B formed in the purified cathepsin B-like enzyme preparation by adding of a small amount of the purified cathepsin B to the preparation. Therefore, mackerel cathepsin B-like enzyme was converted to the mature form of cathepsin B by autoactivation. The conversion of the cathepsin B-like enzyme (molecular mass 60 kDa) to cathepsin B (molecular mass 23 kDa) was detected by immunoblotting by using human anti-(cathepsin B) antibody. The intermediate forms of 40 kDa and 38 kDa were also detected during the conversion.     

Latency of cathepsin B secreted by human colon carcinoma cells is not linked to secretion of cystacin C and is relieved by neutrophil elastase

The lysosomal cystein proteinase cathepsin B is shown to be secreted by ten human colon carcinoma cell lines and to accumulate in culture media as a latent enzyme. The cell lines also secrete a physiological inhibitor of cathepsin B, cystatin C. A significant correlation was found between secretion of the latent enzyme and the inhibitor (r = 0.755, P < 0.01). The aim of the present study was to modulate the respective secretion of the two antagonists to test whether or not latency of cathepsin B was due to the concomitant secretion of the inhibitor. SW480 colon carcinoma cells were treated with the acidotropic agent ammonium chloride, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, and the inflammatory cytokines TGF-β, TNF-α, and IL-1β. Ammonium chloride significantly increased latent cathepsin B levels without affecting the constitutive secretion of cystatin C. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate induced a 4- to 5-fold increase in secreted latent cathepsin B, but did not alter significantly the accumulation of cystatin C in media. The cytokines, TGF-β, TNF-α, and IL-1β, had no major effect on the expression of these two antagonists. Latent cathepsin B released from human carcinoma cells could be efficiently activated by neutrophil elastate at neutral pH. It is concluded that latent cathepsin B is a true proenzyme rather than an enzyme-inhibitor comples. In addition, our data from neutrophil elastate activation experiments indicate that a proteolytic system for activation of the tumor cell-secreted latent enzyme may exist in vivo.     

The active-site residue Cys-29 is responsible for the neutral-pH inactivation and the refolding barrier of human cathepsin B

Human cathepsin B, the most abundant lysosomal cysteine protease, has been implicated in a variety of important physiological and pathological processes. It has been known for a long time that like other lysosomal cysteine proteases, cathepsin B becomes inactivated and undergoes irreversible denaturation at neutral or alkaline pH. However, the mechanism of this denaturation process remains mostly unknown up to this day. In the present work, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to characterize the molecular origin of the neutral-pH inactivation and the refolding barrier of human cathepsin B. Two forms of human cathepsin B, the native form with Cys-29 at the active site and a mutant with Cys-29 replaced by Ala, were shown to have well-folded structures at the active and slightly acidic condition of pH 5. Surprisingly, while the native cathepsin B irreversibly unfolds at pH 7.5, the C29A mutant was found to maintain a stable three-dimensional structure at neutral pH conditions. In addition, replacement of Cys-29 by Ala renders the process of the urea denaturation of human cathepsin B completely reversible, in contrast to the opposite behavior of the wild-type cathepsin B. These results are very surprising in that replacement of one single residue, the active-site Cys-29, can eliminate the neutral-pH denaturation and the refolding barrier. We speculate that this finding may have important implications in understanding the process of pH-triggered inactivation commonly observed for most lysosomal cysteine proteases.     

Human kidney cathepsins B and L. Characterization and potential role in degradation of glomerular basement membrane.

Cathepsins B and L were purified from human kidney. SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis demonstrated that cathepsins B and L, Mr 27000-30000, consist of disulphide-linked dimers, subunit Mr values 22000-25000 and 5000-7000. The pH optimum for the hydrolysis of methylcoumarylamide (-NHMec) substrates (see below) is approx. 6.0 for each enzyme. Km and kcat. are 252 microM and 364s-1 and 2.2 microM and 25.8 s-1 for the hydrolysis of Z-Phe-Arg-NHMec (where Z- represents benzyloxycarbonyl-) by cathepsins B and L respectively, and 184 microM and 158 s-1 for the hydrolysis of Z-Arg-Arg-NHMec by cathepsin B. A 10 min preincubation of cathepsin B (40 degrees C) or cathepsin L (30 degrees C) with E-64 (2.5 microM) results in complete inhibition. Under identical conditions Z-Phe-Phe-CHN2 (0.56 microM) completely inhibits cathepsin L but has little effect on cathepsin B. Incubation of glomerular basement membrane (GBM) with purified human kidney cathepsin L resulted in dose-dependent (10-40 nM) GBM degradation. In contrast, little degradation of GBM (less than 4.0%) was observed with cathepsin B. The pH optimum for GBM degradation by cathepsin L was 3.5. Cathepsin L was significantly more active in degrading GBM than was pancreatic elastase, trypsin or bacterial collagenase. These data suggest that cathepsin L may participate in the lysosomal degradation of GBM associated with normal GBM turnover in vivo.     

Cathepsin B1. A lysosomal enzyme that degrades native collagen

1. Experiments were made to determine whether the purified lysosomal proteinases, cathepsins B1 and D, degrade acid-soluble collagen in solution, reconstituted collagen fibrils, insoluble collagen or gelatin. 2. At acid pH values cathepsin B1 released (14)C-labelled peptides from collagen fibrils reconstituted at neutral pH from soluble collagen. The purified enzyme required activation by cysteine and EDTA and was inhibited by 4-chloromercuribenzoate, by the chloromethyl ketones derived from tosyl-lysine and acetyltetra-alanine and by human alpha(2)-macroglobulin. 3. Cathepsin B1 degraded collagen in solution, the pH optimum being pH4.5-5.0. The initial action was cleavage of the non-helical region containing the cross-link; this was seen as a decrease in viscosity with no change in optical rotation. The enzyme also attacked the helical region of collagen by a mechanism different from that of mammalian neutral collagenase. No discrete intermediate products of a specific size were observed in segment-long-spacing crystalloids (measured as native collagen molecules aligned with N-termini together along the long axis) or as separate peaks on gel filtration chromatography. This suggests that once an alpha-chain was attacked it was rapidly degraded to low-molecular-weight peptides. 4. Cathepsin B1 degraded insoluble collagen with a pH optimum below 4; this value is lower than that found for the soluble substrate, and a possible explanation is given. 5. The lysosomal carboxyl proteinase, cathepsin D, had no action on collagen or gelatin at pH3.0. Neither cathepsin B1 nor D cleaved Pz-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-d-Arg. 6. Cathepsin B1 activity was shown to be essential for the degradation of collagen by lysosomal extracts. 7. Cathepsin B1 may provide an alternative route for collagen breakdown in physiological and pathological situations.     

Cathepsin B-labile dipeptide linkers for lysosomal release of doxorubicin from internalizing immunoconjugates: model studies of enzymatic drug release and antigen-specific in vitro anticancer activity

The anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) has been linked to chimeric BR96, an internalizing monoclonal antibody that binds to a Lewis(y)-related, tumor-associated antigen, through two lysosomally cleavable dipeptides, Phe-Lys and Val-Cit, giving immunoconjugates 72 and 73. A self-immolative p-aminobenzyloxycarbonyl (PABC) spacer between the dipeptides and the DOX was required for rapid and quantitative generation of free drug. DOX release from model substrate Z-Phe-Lys-PABC-DOX 49 was 30-fold faster than from Z-Val-Cit-PABC-DOX 42 with the cysteine protease cathepsin B alone, but rates were identical in a rat liver lysosomal preparation suggesting the participation of more than one enzyme. Conjugates 72 and 73 showed rapid and near quantitative drug release with cathepsin B and in a lysosomal preparation, while demonstrating excellent stability in human plasma. Against tumor cell lines with varying levels of BR96 expression, both conjugates showed potent, antigen-specific cytotoxic activity, suggesting that they will be effective in delivering DOX selectively to antigen-expressing carcinomas.     

Regulated secretion of mature cathepsin B from rat exocrine pancreatic cells.

By indirect immunofluorescence and immunogold electron microscopy with an antibody that recognizes specifically the two forms of native mature rat cathepsin B (31 kDa and 5:25 kDa) but not the proenzyme, we detected cathepsin B not only in lysosomes of adult rat exocrine pancreatic cells but also in the trans Golgi condensing vacuoles, the zymogen granules and the pancreatic juice in the intralobular ducts. In contrast, immunocytochemistry with an antibody specific for rat cathepsin D showed the latter to be present in the same cells only in lysosomal compartments as expected. The same pattern of labeling with these two antibodies was found in the first zymogen granules to form in 17-day-old fetal rat pancreas. Counts of the extent of immunogold labeling of cathepsin B in the adult exocrine cells showed that the concentration of the enzyme was only two-fold higher in the lysosomal compartments than in the zymogen granules. To confirm these observations, rat pancreatic postnuclear supernatant (PNS), a fraction enriched in zymogen granules and rat pancreatic juice obtained by catheterization of the pancreatic duct, were subjected to 2D gel electrophoresis followed by immunoblotting with the cathepsin B antibody. All three samples contained a 31 kDa protein recognized by the antibody with a pI of about 4.5, the single chain mature form of cathepsin B. We then radiolabeled pancreatic PNS and zymogen granule fractions with benzyloxycarbonyl-Tyr[125I]-Ala-CHN2, an affinity label that covalently binds to the active sites of mature forms of both cathepsin B and cathepsin L. In both PNS and zymogen granule fractions this reagent labeled cathepsin B. Immunoprecipitation experiments showed that the antibody to cathepsin B recognized specifically both the single chain and the double chain mature forms of cathepsin B in the native state. Finally, Northern blots with a cDNA of rat cathepsin B showed that the concentration of cathepsin B mRNA in total pancreatic RNA increased following in vivo stimulation of the exocrine pancreatic cells with optimal doses of cerulein, a cholecystokinin analogue. We conclude that significant amounts of mature cathepsin B are secreted from exocrine pancreatic cells via the apical regulated exocytotic pathway, and we discuss this in terms of models for sorting of proteins to the cores of dense cored secretory granules.     

Cathepsin B stability,but not activity,is affected in cysteine:cystine redox buffers

In order to test the hypothesis that the lysosomal cysteine protease cathepsin B may be redox regulated in vivo, cathepsin B activity and stability were measured in cysteine- and/or cystine-containing buffers. Cathepsin B activity in cysteine-containing buffers was similar at pH 6.0 and pH 7.0, over all thiol concentrations tested. In contrast, the stability of the enzyme was greater at pH 6.0 than at pH 7.0. This suggests that the enzyme's operational pH in vivo may be < pH 7.0. The activity of the enzyme was depressed in glutathione-containing buffers. When assessed in cysteine:cystine redox buffers (pH 6.0-7.0) cathepsin B was active over a broad redox potential range, suggesting that cathepsin B activity may not be redox regulated. However, at pH 7.0, the stability of cathepsin B decreased with increasing reduction potential and ambient cystine concentration. This suggests that the stability of the enzyme at neutral pH is dependent on redox potential, and on the presence of oxidising agents.     

Human and hamster procathepsin D, although equally tagged with mannose-6-phosphate, are differentially targeted to lysosomes in transfected BHK cells

BHK cells transfected with human cathepsin D (CD) cDNA normally segregate the autologous hamster cathepsin D while secreting a large proportion of the human proenzyme. In the present work, we have utilized these transfectants to examine to what extent the mannose-6-phosphate-dependent pathway for lysosomal enzyme segregation contributes to the differential sorting of human and hamster CD. We report that, in recipient control BHK cells, the rate of mannose-6-phosphate-dependent endocytosis of human procathepsin D secreted by transfected BHK cells is lower than that of hamster procathepsin D and much lower than that of human arylsulphatase A. The missorted human enzyme bears phosphorylated oligosaccharides and most of its phosphate residues are “uncovered”, like the autologous enzyme. Thus, despite both the Golgi-associated modifications of oligosaccharides, i.e. the phosphorylation of mannose and the uncovering of mannose-6-phosphate residues, which proceed on human and hamster procathepsin D with comparable efficiency, only the latter is accurately packaged into lysosomes. Ammonium chloride partially affects the lysosomal targeting of cathepsin D in control BHK cells, whereas in transfected cells, this drug strongly inhibits the maturation of human procathepsin D and slightly enhances its secretion. These data indicate that: (1) over-expression of a lysosomal protein does not saturate the Golgi-associated reactions leading to the synthesis of mannose-6-phosphate; (2) a portion of cathepsin D is targeted independently of mannose-6-phosphate receptors in the transfected BHK cells; and (3) whichever mechanism for lysosomal delivery of autologous procathepsin D is involved, this is not saturated by the high rate of expression of human cathepsin D.     

The effects of proteolytic enzymes on the mechanical properties of adult human articular cartilage.

The effects of the lysosomal proteinase cathepsin D on the mechanical properties of adult human articular cartilage were examined in detail in 7 joints within the age range 21 to 72 years. The results of a preliminary study on the effects of the lysosomal proteinase cathepsin B1 and clostridial collagenase on the mechanical properties of cartilage are also presented. Cartilage which had been incubated with either cathepsin D or cathepsin B1 showed increased deformation in uniaxial compression perpendicular to the articular surface. The enzyme-treated cartilage also showed decreased tensile stiffness at low values of stress. This effect was more pronounced in specimens from the deeper zone of cartilage than in specimens from the superficial zone. It was also more pronounced in specimens which were aligned perpendicular to the predominant alignment of the collagen fibres in the superficial zone than in specimens which were parallel to the collagen fibres. At higher stresses the tensile stiffness of the treated cartilage was not significantly different from that of the untreated tissue. The tensile fracture stress of the cartilage was also not significantly reduced by the action of cathepsin D. In contrast to the effects observed with the cathepsins, the preliminary results obtained by incubating cartilage for 24 h with clostridial collagenase showed that both the tensile stiffness and the fracture stress were considerably lower than the corresponding values for the untreated tissue. Biochemical analysis of the incubation media, and the specimens, revealed that a large proportion of the proteoglycans was released from the cartilage by each of the three enzymes. The proportion of the total collagen which was released from the cartilage was different for each enzyme: cathepsin D released between 0 and 1.5 per cent, cathepsin B1 released between 2.3 and 4.3 per cent and collagenase released between 5.3 and 27.8 per cent of the collagen after 24 h.