大鵟消化系统蛋白水解酶种类和活性分析

采用蛋白水解酶复性电泳(G-PAGE)技术对大(Buteo hemilasius)消化系统5种器官腺胃、胰脏、十二指肠、空肠、大肠蛋白水解酶的种类和性质进行了研究,以期为研究野生鸟类的分类地位、系统演化提供基础资料,结果表明,①受pH值的影响和制约,大消化系统蛋白水解酶的活性在碱性、中性与酸性条件下递减;②在酸性条件下,45 ku蛋白水解酶存在于除腺胃外的各受检器官;③pH 7.0时,腺胃、胰脏酶谱相似,均含有683、5、342、0 ku的蛋白水解酶;④pH 8.0时,空肠和十二指肠的蛋白水解酶种类最多、活性最强,分别检出8种和7种蛋白水解酶。总之,pH值对蛋白水解酶的活性有明显的制约作用,46、41ku蛋白水解酶随着pH值的增高而失去活性,为酸性蛋白水解酶,250、2064、5 ku蛋白水解酶随着pH值的增高活性逐渐增强,为碱性蛋白水解酶。十二指肠和空肠的蛋白水解酶种类多、活性强,可能为蛋白质消化的主要场所。     

Bombyx acid cysteine protease (BCP): hormonal regulation of biosynthesis and accumulation in the ovary

We previously reported purification of the cysteine protease from Bombyx eggs (BCP) and the occurrence of the enzyme in various tissues of this insect. In the present paper, we present a detailed analysis of stage-specific changes in activity of BCP between the fourth larval instar and pupal-adult development. A synthetic fluorescent peptide, carbobenzoxy-L-Phenylalanyl-L-Arginine4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide (Z-Phe-Arg-MCA), was used to assay proteolytic activity. When tissue extracts were treated with anti-BCP serum before assay of enzyme activity, most activity towards Z-Phe-Arg-MCA was removed from the extracts. Therefore proteolytic activity in the present experiments is due mainly to BCP. We used Western blot and Northern blot analyses to determine tissue and stage specific expression of the enzyme. In the 5th larval fat body and hemolymph, BCP activity dramatically increased at the time of spinning, returning to the basal level before ecdysis. Northern blot analysis showed that a 1.5 kilobase mRNA which hybridizes to BCPcDNA suddenly appears during this period. Similar results were obtained in 4th instar fat body. In pupal hemolymph and fat body, low basal activity of BCP was detected early (day 0 to day 3 after pupal ecdysis), followed by a pronounced increase to a maximum six days after ecdysis, before returning to the basal level. In ovariectomized female pupae, a significant amount of proteolytic activity accumulated in hemolymph, suggesting that the enzyme is synthesized in the fat body and transferred into the ovary along with vitellogenin. BCP activity increased three days after injection of 20-hydroxyecdysone into ligated pupae. Furthermore, putative BCPmRNA appeared in the fat body within 24 hours after injection. This increase was completely blocked by the administration of cycloheximide. The results suggest that, BCP is synthesized in extraovarian tissues such as fat body and ovarian follicle cells and accumulates in the ovary, thus representing a new class of yolk protein.     

Membrane proteinases from normal and neoplastic tissues in man and the rat

Plasma membranes were purified from rat liver, muscle and sarcoma tissues and from human liver and hepatoma tissues. The plasma membranes all contained DFP-sensitive, neutral proteolytic activity. Plasma membranes from all normal tissues contained a single DFP-binding protein of apparent molecular weight 68,000. Only the plasma membranes from tumour tissue contained a plasminogen activator; the DFP-binding proteins from these membranes were more diverse than those from the normal samples. The rat liver plasma membrane proteinase was purified. It was a labile enzyme sensitive to inhibition by DFP and by calcium ions, and with a broad substrate specificity. A similar protein was the sole DFP-binding protein in rat liver microsomes. This and the properties of the enzyme suggested a possible role in the processing and secretion of newly-synthesized protein.     

ATP-dependent protease in bovine adrenal cortex. Tissue specificity, subcellular localization, and partial characterization

Proteolytic activities in bovine adrenocortical mitochondria were investigated using [14C-methyl]casein as a substrate. Washed mitochondria showed a low proteolytic activity at pH 7.5 or 8.2. ATP (5 mM) plus MgCl2 (7.5 mM) stimulated the proteolysis 9 times at pH 8.2. It was further demonstrated unequivocally by various approaches that the ATP-dependent proteolytic activity localizes in mitochondrial matrix. The activity of the solubilized protease was sensitive to N-ethylmaleimide, mersalyl acid, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, o-vanadate, m-vanadate, vanadyl sulfate, and quercetin but not by oligomycin and ouabain. The ATP-dependent proteolytic activity was eluted at the position of 650,000 daltons on an Ultrogel AcA 22 column as a single symmetrical peak. The gel-filtered enzyme showed high specificity to ATP. GTP and UTP partially substituted ATP. ADP, AMP, tripolyphosphate, alpha, beta-methylene ATP, and beta, gamma-methylene ATP had little or no stimulating activity. ATP did not stimulate the activity in the absence of MgCl2. We measured ATP-dependent proteolytic activities in mitochondrial fractions from several tissues in rat and bovine. Adrenal cortex was one of the tissues of highest activity. In addition, we investigated the effect of adrenal atrophy on the ATP-dependent protease activity in rat adrenal. The ATP-dependent protease activity/adrenal decreased by dexamethasone treatment. The extent of the decrease was similar to that of cytochrome oxidase and succinate dehydrogenase, but smaller than that of cytochrome P-450.     

Distribution of prolyl endopeptidase activities in rat and human brain.

Prolyl endopeptidase is a proteolytic enzyme which could have a neuropeptide catabolising role in the central nervous system. Although prolyl endopeptidase has been described as a cytosolic enzyme, it has become clear that it can also be found in particulate form. The regional and subcellular distribution of this enzyme was evaluated in rat and human brain. The activity of the enzyme was higher in the human than in the rat brain. In the human brain, the activity levels of both soluble and particulate prolyl endopeptidase were the highest in frontal, parietal and occipital cortices and the lowest in the cerebellum. In the rat brain, the regional distribution of the enzyme was more homogeneous. The activity in all the areas of the central nervous system is higher than in peripheral tissues. Subcellular distribution of the enzyme in the brain indicates that prolyl endopeptidase was higher in the cytosolic fraction than in the particulate fractions. The particulate form was enriched in the synaptosomal and the myelinic membranes. The high activity of prolyl endopeptidase in the human cortex suggests that prolyl endopeptidase could play a role in the functions of this brain area.     

猕猴神经系统器官蛋白水解酶种类和性质研究

实验以太行山猕猴为材料,用活性电脉（Ｇ－ＰＡＧＥ）方法分析研究了神经系统中蛋白水解酶的种类、活性及ｐＨ依赖性,结果表明：（１）神经系统各部分均具有３１、３０、２９ｋｕ三种酸性蛋白水解酶;（２）９４ｋｕ的中性蛋不解酶普遍存在于神经系统各器官中;（３）在中性和碱性条件下,坐骨神经中蛋白水解酶活性较强,其余部分生微弱。     

Quantification and kinetics of the decline in grass grub endopeptidase activity during initiation of amber disease

Amber disease in the grass grub (Costelytra zealandica White) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), caused by strains of the bacteria Serratia entomophila or S. proteamaculans, is characterised by cessation of feeding and clearance of the midgut. Analysis of the midgut enzyme activity in diseased grass grub larvae showed that proteolytic activity was reduced to low levels. The endopeptidases, trypsin, elastase, and chymotrypsin, were all markedly reduced in activity whereas the exopeptidases (leucine-aminopeptidase and carboxypeptidase A and B) were much less affected. There was no effect on the non-proteolytic enzymes, esterase and alpha-amylase. Sequential analysis of enzyme levels in the gut during onset of disease showed that proteolytic activity dropped after cessation of feeding and preceded gut clearance. In starved, uninfected larvae enzyme activity levels remained high, indicating that decline in enzyme activity is not associated with absence of food and cessation of feeding, but with the onset of disease.     

Synthesis and decay of calmodulin-ubiquitin conjugates in cell-free extracts of various rabbit tissues

Calmodulin is the natural substrate for ubiquitin-ligation by the enzyme ubiquitin-calmodulin ligase (uCaM-synthetase; EC 6.3.2.21). The activity of this ligase is regulated by the binding of the second messenger Ca²⁺ to the substrate calmodulin, which increases the activity ca. 10-fold. Up till now, two components of the ligase could be identified: uCaM Syn-F1 and uCaM Syn-F2, the first of which binds to ubiquitin and the second which binds to calmodulin. Since the physiological role of this enzyme is still unclear, this study was designed to examine whether the activity of uCaM-Synthetase in 40 000×g tissue supernatants correlates with the calmodulin content in the various tissues. In reticulocytes, spleen, erythrocytes, testis and brain, which are rich in uCaM synthetase, the tissue contents calculated on the basis of activity measurements were between 4–80-fold higher than in red and white skeletal muscle. These activities did not correlate with the respective calmodulin contents of the tissues indicating that other factors were determining these enzyme levels. A second aim was to gain information on the role of the ATP-ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic pathway in those tissues displaying uCaM synthetase activity. In the reticulocyte system which contains the classical ATP-ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic pathway as measured with ¹²⁵I-BSA, no ubiquitin-dependent degradation of calmodulin could be detected. We therefore examined the other tissues of the rabbit with the substrate ¹²⁵I-BSA and succeeded in finding a ubiquitin-independent ATP-dependent proteolytic activity in every case but no ubiquitin-dependent activity. The ubiquitin-independent activity was highest in smooth muscle and red skeletal muscle being ca. 3–4-fold higher than in lung and testis. In 50% of the tissue crude extracts the time curve of calmodulin ubiquitylation progressed through a maximum indicating a dynamic steady state based on conjugate synthesis and decay. If a ubiquitylation pulse of 30 min was followed in liver crude extracts by the addition of EGTA, which specifically inhibits ubiquityl-calmodulin synthesis, a half-life of calmodulin-conjugate decay of 15–20 min is observed. A similar conjugate half-life of ca. 30 min was observed after addition of EDTA excluding that conjugate decay is due to an ATP-dependent proteolytic process. Studying the decay of purified ubiquitin-¹²⁵I-BH-calmodulin conjugates in cell-free reticulocyte extracts led to the discovery of an ATP-independent isopeptidase activity which splits ubiquitin-calmodulin conjugates without leading to detectable calmodulin fragments. The rapid decay of ubiquitin-calmodulin conjugates in tissue extracts can therefore be plausibly explained by a ubiquityl-calmodulin splitting isopeptidase activity.     

Isolation of a Tomato Protease that May Be Involved in Proteolysis of 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate Synthase

1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase is a principal enzyme that catalyses the committed step in phytohormone ethylene biosynthesis. Previous evidence indicates that the hypervariable C-terminus of ACC synthase is most likely to be processed proteolytically in vivo. However, the protease responsible has not been identified thus far. In the present study, we detected proteolytic activity against ACC synthase (LeACS2) in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruit extract based on a newly established in vitro assay system. Purification of the protease through DEAE, gel filtration and MonoQ chromatography resulted in considerable enrichment of a 64-kDa protein species. Subsequent biochemical analysis of the purified tomato protease revealed that the optimal conditions for its proteolytic activity were at pH 8.0 and at 37 ℃. In addition, the protease activity was blocked completely by the metalloprotease inhibitor 1,10-phenanthroline. The present study represents the first report on the isolation of an ACC synthaseprocessing protease from plant tissues.     

Proteolytic Enzyme Preparation from Pseudomonas fragi: Its Action on Pig Muscle

An extracellular preparation from Pseudomonas fragi with proteolytic enzyme activity was isolated, and its action on meat proteins and meat protein ultrastructure was studied. First, a suitable growth medium for proteolytic enzyme production was determined, and a method for partial purification of the proteolytically active fraction was developed. The enzyme preparation displayed optimal proteolytic activity at neutral pH and 35 C. Proteolytic activity was irreversibly lost by mild heat treatment. The enzyme preparation was tested for its ability to hydrolyze isolated pig muscle proteins. Myofibrillar protein was rapidly degraded, G-actin and myosin were broken down at a slower rate, and the sarcoplasmic proteins were least susceptible to hydrolysis. Electron micrographs of pork muscle showed that the proteolytic enzyme preparation caused a complete loss of dense material from the Z line. Similarities are discussed between the action of P. fragi extracellular proteolytic enzyme(s) on meat and normal bacterial spoilage of meat.     

A Protease that Participates in Yeast Cell Wall Lysis during Zymolyase Digestion

Zymolyase B decreased the turbidity of a yeast cell wall suspension by about 50% and caused release of peptide-mannan from the cell walls. However cell walls treated with the enzyme still maintained the cell shape. The effect of the enzyme on the cell walls was inhibited by yeast mannan and completely counteracted by treatment of the enzyme with DFP. The activity was not affected by pH, but was considerably reduced by incubation of the enzyme at 55°C for 15 min, a treatment that did not affect the proteolytic activity. Heat-treatment decreased the molecular weight of the enzyme from 29,000 to 22,500 and its sensitivity to yeast mannan. Yeast mannan caused noncompetitive inhibition of the proteolytic activity of the native enzyme and competitive inhibition of that of the heat-treated enzyme. Modification of tryptophan residues of Zymolyase B resulted in decreased sensitivity to yeast mannan and a decrease in the activity of the enzyme on yeast cell walls as well as heat-treatment. On the basis of these results, it is hypothesized that Zymolyase B binds to the cell wall mannans and changes their conformation, making the attached proteins susceptible to proteolysis, and then releases peptide-mannan from the cell walls.     

The Effect of Growth Regulators and Cu2+ on the Activation of Amylopectin-l,6-glucosidase Activity in Pea Seedlings

No evidence could be obtained for hormonal control of amylopectin-l,6-glucosidase activity in germinating peas for the first 72 hours of germination. The embryonic axis did not stimulate the appearance of enzyme activity. The autolytic system which releases amylopectin-l,6-glucosidase activity from the particulate fraction, in which it originates, was studied in greater detail. Using Cu²⁺ ions to inhibit a proteolytic enzyme in vivo, it was shown that enzyme activation can occur in the zymogen-like granules without liberation of the enzyme into the soluble cell fraction. Activity so formed is labile. Some of the data on proteolytic enzymes in peas is discussed and an attempt made to interpret the liberation of amylopectin-l,6-glucosidase in peas on the basis of the involvement of at least two distinct proteolytic enzymes.     

Cleavage of growth hormone by rabbit liver plasmalemma enhances binding

Several studies have shown that proteolytic cleavage can enhance the biological activity of the growth hormone (GH) molecule. It seemed possible, therefore, that proteolytic modification of GH might be a normal function of GH-target tissues. Plasmalemma-enriched fractions isolated from rabbit liver were found to contain a proteinase(s) which cleaves the large disulfide loop of human and rat GH. The proteolytic activity was specific to plasmalemma-enriched fractions in that much lower activities were observed in microsomal-enriched fractions prepared from the same livers. The plasmalemmal proteinase(s) may be a trypsin-like enzyme because proteolytic activity was decreased by two serine proteinase inhibitors. Inhibition by unlabeled human GH of 125I-GH binding to receptors did not prevent cleavage of the tracer; therefore, hormone-receptor interaction was not required for cleavage of the GH molecule. In binding studies, cleaved GH associated more readily than did intact hormone with rabbit liver receptors. These studies suggest that plasmalemma-enriched fractions prepared from rabbit liver contain a proteinase which cleaves the GH molecule in a highly specific manner. Moreover, it is unlikely that inactivation of GH is the function of this limited proteolysis because cleaved hormone is bound preferentially by at least a subset of receptors in rabbit liver.     

Marked and variable inhibition by chemical fixation of cytochrome oxidase and succinate dehydrogenase in single motoneurons

The effect of tissue fixation on succinate dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase activity in single motoneurons of the rat was demonstrated using a computer image processing system. Inhibition of enzyme activity by chemical fixation was variable, with some motoneurons being affected more than others. It was concluded that quantification of enzymatic activity in chemically fixed tissue provides an imprecise estimate of enzyme activities found in fresh-frozen tissues.     

木瓜蛋白酶PPAⅢ自水解作用

木瓜蛋白酶ＰＰＡⅢ自水解作用王秀艳,周慧,葛玉斌,李惟（吉林大学分子生物学系,长春１３００２３）ＰＰＡⅢ、ｐａｐａｉｎ、ｐｅｐｓｉｎｅ、ｓｔｅｍｂｒｏｍｅｌａｉｎ等都属于以Ｃｙｓ－ＳＨ为活性中心的酶,同种分子之间存在着一种相互切割的趋势,称为酶自水解...     

Isolation of a Tomato Protease that May Be Involved in Proteolysis of 1-Aminocyclopropane-l-Carboxylate Synthase

1-aminocyclopropane- 1-carboxylate （ACC） synthase is a principal enzyme that catalyses the committed step in phytohormone ethylene biosynthesis. Previous evidence indicates that the hypervariable C-terminus of ACC synthase is most likely to be processed proteolytically in vivo. However, the protease responsible has not been identified thus far. In the present study, we detected proteolytic activity against ACC synthase （LeACS2） in tomato （Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.） fruit extract based on a newly established in vitro assay system. Purification of the protease through DEAE, gel filtration and MonoQ chromatography resulted in considerable enrichment of a 64-kDa protein species. Subsequent biochemical analysis of the purified tomato protease revealed that the optimal conditions for its proteolytic activity were at pH 8.0 and at 37 ~C. In addition, the protease activity was blocked completely by the metalloprotease inhibitor 1,10-phenanthroline. The present study represents the first report on the isolation of an ACC synthase- processing protease from plant tissues.     

Purification from Synaptosomal Plasma Membranes of Calpain I, a Thiol Protease Activated by Micromolar Calcium Concentrations

Synaptosomal plasma membranes (SPMs) were prepared from whole rat brain and assayed for calcium-stimulated proteolytic activity. Addition of calcium to SPMs caused a dose-dependent increase in trichloroacetic acid-soluble protein. Two peaks of protease activity directed against a casein substrate were detectable when SPMs were incubated with low-ionic-strength buffer and the extract was fractionated on DEAE-cellulose. The enzyme in peak 1 required less than 1/10 the calcium concentration for activation as the peak 2 protease (Kact1 = 35 microM; Kact2 = 500 microM). The specific thiol-protease inhibitors leupeptin and antipain and the alkylator iodoacetate blocked enzyme activity. The low-sensitivity protease was converted to a high-sensitivity enzyme (Kact = 20 microM) by substrate affinity chromatography in the presence of calcium. This protease was purified 550-fold from SPMs. The high- and low-sensitivity membrane-associated calcium-dependent proteases are part of a family of enzymes, the calpains, previously reported in cytosolic fractions of several tissues.     

Schistosoma mansoni: partial characterization of enzyme(s) secreted from the preacetabular glands of cercariae.

Secretions from the preacetabular glands of cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni were collected over skin surface lipid on a warmed glass surface in a system providing a temperature gradient. Proteolytic activity of these secretions was linear with respect to the numbers of cercariae secreting. The enzyme was relatively storage stable in water or glycine-NaOH buffer. It was highly sensitive to the buffer system, glycine-NaOH buffer providing the highest proteolytic activity against Azocoll and gelatin substrates. In the glycine buffer, the pH optimum for the enzyme was 8.5–8.8; the temperature optimum was 51 C with the Q₁₀ for Azocoll hydrolysis in the range of 30–50 C approximately 2.2. Of the activity 0.4% was lost at 5 C, 1.7% at 35 C, and 100% at 60 C within 10–15 min. Two Sephadex column chromatography fractions showed proteolytic activity against Azocoll. The fraction with greatest activity was not associated with either of the two peaks of high absorbancy at 280 nm, but the lower proteolytic peak coincided with the lower absorbancy peak in the area of peptides below 10,000 MW. Calibration of the Sephadex column with proteins of known molecular weight showed the MW of the main proteolytic fraction of the secretion to be approximately 25,000–27,000.     

Impaired proteolytic processing of lysosomal N-acetyl-beta-hexosaminidase in cultured fibroblasts from patients with infantile generalized N-acetylneuraminic acid storage disease

Cultured skin fibroblasts from patients suffering with infantile generalized N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc) storage disease accumulate free NeuAc in a population of lysosomes less dense than those observed in normal fibroblasts (1.035 vs. greater than 1.07 mean density), as assessed by the distribution of lysosomal enzyme activities and NeuAc on Percoll gradients after subcellular fractionation. In the present study, normal and affected fibroblasts were labeled with [35S]methionine, and cell homogenates or subcellular fractions from Percoll gradients were immunoprecipitated with polyclonal antibodies to lysosomal N-acetyl-beta-hexosaminidase (Hex); immunoprecipitated polypeptides were analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The synthesis and initial processing of Hex polypeptides were comparable in normal and affected fibroblasts, but mature polypeptides were quantitatively localized in "buoyant" lysosomes of affected cells, along with Hex activity; moreover, mature alpha-chain of Hex was approximately 2 kDa larger than that observed in normal cells. The molecular weight difference was apparently due to impaired proteolytic processing of alpha-chain in affected fibroblasts, since treatment of immunoprecipitated alpha-chain from normal and affected cells with neuraminidase and endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H failed to resolve the molecular weight difference. The impaired processing was observed to be persistent (after a chase of up to 200 h), but had no apparent effect on the turnover or activity of Hex in affected fibroblasts. The observed proteolytic processing defect may be primary or secondary in infantile NeuAc storage disease.     

Acid proteolytic activities in mouse liver and muscle tissues after treatment with protease inhibitor leupeptin

The activities of acid proteolytic enzymes were assayed in the liver and muscular tissues of mice (Mus musculus) 1, 6 and 24 hr after the administration of a protease inhibitor leupeptin (i.p., 15.5 mg/kg body wt). Leupeptin administration induced a strong inhibition of cathepsin B and a moderate inhibition of cathepsin C and acid autolytic rate in mouse liver 1 hr after injection. Thereafter the inhibition reduced and disappeared during 24 hr. The activity of cathepsin D was increased in liver 6 and 24 hr after injection. The activity of beta-glucuronidase was not affected by the leupeptin treatment. The administration of leupeptin did not affect the rate of acid autolysis and the activities of cathepsin C and D in cardiac and skeletal muscles. A slight increase in cathepsin B activity was observed 1 hr after leupeptin treatment in calf muscles. The cause of both tissue and enzyme specific changes after leupeptin treatment is discussed.