Reagents for reversible coupling of proteins to the active centres of trypsin-like serine proteinases.

In order to extend the scope for the application of acyl-enzymes as fibrinolytic agents, p-amidinophenyl ester enzyme substrates were prepared that gave stabilized acyl-enzymes capable of being coupled to other proteins. Coupling was achieved by reaction of protein thiol functions with a 2-pyridyldithio moiety within the acyl group. Acyl-enzymes derived from such substrates were stable enough to permit isolation of reversible conjugates between proteins and the active centres of plasminogen activators. Hydrolytic release of active enzyme from a conjugate of human immunoglobulin G and urokinase could be demonstrated.     

Histidine at the active site of Neurospora tyrosinase

The involvement of histidyl residues as potential ligands to the binuclear active-site copper of Neurospora tyrosinase was explored by dye-sensitized photooxidation. The enzymatic activity of the holoenzyme was shown to be unaffected by exposure to light in the presence of methylene blue; however, irradiation of the apoenzyme under the same conditions led to a progressive loss of its ability to be reactivated with Cu2+. This photoinactivation was paralleled by a decrease in the histidine content whereas the number of histidyl residues in the holoenzyme remained constant. Copper measurements of photooxidized, reconstituted apoenzyme demonstrated the loss of binding of one copper atom per mole of enzyme as a consequence of photosensitized oxidation of three out of nine histidine residues. Their sequence positions were determined by a comparison of the relative yields of the histidine containing peptides of photooxidized holo- and apotyrosinases. The data obtained show the preferential modification of histidyl residues 188, 193, and 289 and suggest that they constitute metal ligands to one of the two active-site copper atoms. Substitution of copper by cobalt was found to afford complete protection of the histidyl residues from being modified by dye-sensitized photooxidation.     

Fluorescence studies on the active sites of proteinases

Summary Recent studies on the interaction of several proteinases (pepsin, papain, chymotrypsin, trypsin, thermolysin) with specific substrates or inhibitors bearing a fluorescent probe group have shown that the extended active sites of these enzymes differ in their conformational flexibility. In addition the use of such extrinsic probe groups, measurements of changes in the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence, and of the energy transfer from tryptophan to a probe group, have given further information about the flexibility of the active sites of proteinases.     

The active site of aspartic proteinases

The active site of the aspartic proteinase, endothiapepsin, has been defined by X-ray analysis and restrained least-squares refinement at 2.1 A resolution with a crystallographic agreement value of 0.16. The environments of the two catalytically important aspartyl groups are remarkably similar and the contributions of the NH2- and COOH-terminal domains to the catalytic centre are related by a local 2-fold axis. The carboxylates of the aspartyls share a hydrogen bond and have equivalent contacts to a bound water molecule or hydroxonium ion lying on the local diad. The main chains around 32 and 215 are connected by a novel interaction involving diad-related threonines. It is suggested that the two pKa values of the active site aspartyls arise from a structure not unlike that in maleic acid with a hydrogen-bonded intermediate species and a dicarboxylate characterised by electrostatic repulsions between the two negatively charged groups.     

The active centres in penicillin-sensitive enzymes

The interaction between beta-lactam antibiotics and the penicillin-sensitive enzymes is a multiple-step process. Binding of the beta-lactam ring of the penam (or 3-cepham) nucleus occurs at binding site no. 1. Interaction between the N-14 substituent of the bound molecule and binding site no. 2 induces changes in binding site no. 1. In turn, the catalytic site thus created increases the chemical reactivity of the beta-lactam amide bond. As the beta-lactam ring opens and acylates an enzyme serine residue, the interaction between the thiazolidine (or dihydrothiazine) ring and binding site no. 3 stabilizes the acyl-enzyme complex. Enzyme regeneration slowly proceeds either by direct elimination of the penicilloyl moiety or via C-5-C-6 splitting of the bound metabolite. The fragment arising from thiazolidine yields free N-formyl-D-penicillamine while the enzyme-linked N-acylglycyl fragment is immediately attacked by an exogenous nucleophile correctly positioned on the acceptor site. Similarly, the enzyme action on L-X-D-Ala-D-Ala terminated peptides is mediated via a binding site no. 1 that combines with D-Ala-D-Ala, a binding site no. 2 that interacts with the side chain of the preceding L-residue, an inducible catalytic site and an acceptor site. Enzymes are known that form a transitory L-X-D-Ala-enzyme complex where the acyl group is ester-linked to the same serine residue as that involved in the formation of the penicilloyl-enzyme complex (Waxman et al., this symposium). Other enzymes, however, may function as catalyst templates. Depending on the enzymes, the independence of the beta-lactam and L-X-D-Ala-D-Ala active centres is more or less pronounced.     

Solid-phase active site inhibitors of proteinases.

Phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone covalently attached to porous glass beads was synthesized to serve as a solid-phase active site directed inhibitor of chymotrypsin-like proteolytic enzymes. The solid-phase reagent inhibited 20 nmol of bovine chymotrypsin per gram of glass and covalently bound 30 nmol of protein per gram of glass. Sepharose-bound lysine chloromethyl ketones were synthesized to serve as inhibitors of trypsin-like enzymes. Sepharose-MethionylLysyl chloromethyl ketone inactivated and bound about 6.8 nmol of enzyme per ml of settled gel. In a preliminary experiment, a cyanogen bromide cleavage of the methionine residues showed that it should be possible to release all peptides but the peptide containing the active-site histidine. The immobilized trypsin was also reduced, carboxymethylated and digested with chymotrypsin. The potential of the solid-phase approach is in the isolation of a specific serine proteinase and in the sequence determination of residues surrounding the active-site histidine.     

Calcium-dependent proteinases of some invertebrates and fish

In comparative-evolutionary aspect, the experimental data are considered about activity, biochemical properties, and peculiarities of structural organization of proteins of the calpain family in some invertebrates and fish. Peculiarities of calpain-like proteins of invertebrates—the predecessors of calpains of higher animals are revealed. By the example of the studied taxa, there is traced complication of the structural organization and mechanisms of control of the calpain activities, which reflects stages of molecular evolution of the protein family.     

Calcium-dependent proteinases of some invertebrates and fishes

In comparative-evolutionary aspect, the experimental data are considered about activity, biochemical properties, and peculiarities of structural organization of proteins of the calpain family in some invertebrates and fishes. Peculiarities of calpain-like proteins of invertebrates--the predecessors of calpains of higher animals are revealed. By the example of the studied taxons, there is traced complication of the structural organization and mechanisms of control of the calpain activities, which reflects stages of molecular evolution of the protein family.     

Chimeric aspartic proteinases and active site binding

Two chimeric enzymes were constructed by exchanging domains between porcine pepsinogen and rhizopuspepsinogen in order to examine the contributions of the subsites present on different domains toward enzymatic specificity. Both chimeras exhibited the characteristic features of aspartic proteinases, such as auto-activation at low pH and abrogation of enzymatic activity by pepstatin. The activity of the chimera containing the N-terminal domain of rhizopuspepsinogen and the C-terminal domain of porcine pepsinogen (rhzNppC) could be observed by HPLC after prolonged incubation with the substrates. In contrast, the reciprocal chimera, ppNrhzC, containing the N-terminal domain of porcine pepsinogen and the C-terminal domain of rhizopuspepsinogen exhibited catalytic activity, measurable by a spectrophotometric assay. Kinetic data and inhibitor analyses strongly suggest that interdependency may exist between adjacent subsites contributed by different domains. Therefore, in order to develop an optimal substrate or inhibitor, the effect of adjacent residues of the ligand has to be examined along with the preferences for each subsite.     

Theoretical calculations on the acidity of the active site in aspartic proteinases

Semiempirical minimal neglect of differential overlap-self-consistent field calculations, corrected and modified for multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions, were applied to models of the active site of aspartic proteinases (AP). The propensities of the two active-site aspartates to ionize were compared under the influence of various neighboring residues and of water molecules. Asp-32 and Asp-215 in three aspartic proteinases (endothiapepsin, Rhizopus pepsin, and penicillopepsin) are found to be basically asymmetric, Asp-32 being preferentially (by 2-3 kcal) ionized with respect to Asp-215. In penicillopepsin, this asymmetry is compensated by effects of surrounding residues. In our largest model for the active site, which includes such other residues, near equality is found for the ionizing tendency of Asp-32 and Asp-215. The pK difference is rationalized in terms of first and second ionizations of the full active-site model. Its ionization enthalpies correlate well with those of other small organic diacids. This "gas-phase" approach to AP active-site interactions represents the main possible contributions to the acidity of the active site.     

A survey of proteinases active during meiotic development

Microsporogenesis in Lilium longiflorum Thunb. is a naturally synchronous process and affords a system in which to study stage-specific events of meiosis and anther development. Zymogram gel analyses were conducted with extracts from a variety of stages of anther development to identify proteinases which likely play roles in anther metabolism. These experiments revealed that several proteinases are present at different stages of anther development, and class-specific inhibitors were used to classify these enzymes. Proteolytic activities increased as anther development proceeded and these activities were temporally correlated with the apoptotic events which precede dehiscence, as well as with events crucial for the maturation of viable pollen. Received: 12 October 1999 / Accepted: 13 November 1999     

The functional identity of the active centres of transketolase.

Direct determination of the number of catalytically active molecules of the coenzyme in holotransketolase (sedoheptulose-7-phosphate:D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate glycoaldehydetransferase, EC 2.2.1.1) has corroborated our previous data indicating that in the native enzyme there are two active centres. They have been provided to be functionally identical. It has been shown that the decrease in the specific activity of transketolase during its storage is due to inactivation of one of the active centres, having a lower affinity for the coenzyme. The second active centre retains thereby its full catalytic activity.     

Histidine residues at the active site of maize δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase

Modification of maize δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) by diethylpyrocarbonate (DEP) caused rapid and complete inactivation of the enzyme. The inactivation showed saturation kinetics with a half inactivation time at saturating DEP equal to 0.3 min and K_DEP  0.3 mM. Substrate δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and competitive inhibitor levulinic acid protected against inactivation, thereby indicating that DEP modifies the active site. The modified enzyme showed an increase in absorbance at 240 nm which was lost upon treatment with 0.8 M hydroxylamine. Most of the activity lost by DEP treatment could be restored after treatment with 0.8 M hydroxylamine. The results suggest that DEP modifies 7.4 residues/mole of the enzyme. These histidine residues are essential for catalysis by ALAD.     

The preparation of fully active chymopapain free of contaminating proteinases

Chymopapain (EC 3.4.22.6) was purified from commercially available dried latex of papaya (Carica papaya) by extraction at acidic pH, cation-exchange chromatography and active site-directed affinity chromatography on immobilized alanyl-phenyl-alaninaldehyde semicarbazone, with elution by mercuric chloride. The product was found by immunoassay to be essentially free of the other cysteine proteinases from papaya, including papaya proteinase IV, and was fully active. The rate of alkylation of the active site cysteine of chymopapain by iodoacetate was found to be sufficiently rapid and selective for this reagent to be used as an active-site titrant.     

Histidine as an essential residue in the active site of the copper enzyme galactose oxidase.

The pH dependence of the oxidation of β-methyl-d-galactopyranoside by galactose oxidase at 1.33 mm O₂ has been determined. The k_cat exhibits a bell-shaped dependence on the ionization of at least two groups in the enzyme-substrate complex, pK_b' = 6.3 and pK_a' = 7.1, respectively. The pH-independent value for k_cat at 1.33 mm O₂ (nonsaturating) and saturating glycoside is 1435 s^?; the pH optimum is 6.7. Galactose oxidase is inactivated rapidly by iodoacetamide. Although the reaction is much slower, iodoacetate also inactivates the enzyme. The inactivation by iodoacetamide obeys saturation kinetics; at pH 7.0 k₃ = 2.19 min^?1 and K_i = 5.1 mM; k₃ but not K_i exhibits a bell-shaped pH dependence, with pK_a values of 6.3 and 7.6, respectively. Labeling with [¹⁴C]iodoacetamide establishes that one carboxamidomethyl group is incorporated per enzyme molecule. This incorporation parallels the loss of enzymatic activity. Only N-3-carboxymethylhistidine is detected in chromatograms following hydrolysis of the labeled protein. The protein-bound copper is not lost as a consequence of alkylation. Apogalactose oxidase does not react with iodoacetamide. The alkylation is inhibited by the oxidation of an active center tryptophan residue (s) by N-bromosuccinimide. The fraction of residual enzyme activity remaining after tryptophan oxidation corresponds to the extent of labeling by [¹⁴C]iodoacetamide. Although alkylation causes little change in the spin Hamiltonian parameters of the Cu(II) atom, it nearly abolishes both the optical activity and optical absorbance of the metal. The native tryptophan fluorescence of the enzyme, which is a sensitive probe of its active site, is also markedly affected. Since binding of a substrate, β-methyl-d-galactopyranoside, reduces fluorescence as it does in the active enzyme and binding of CN^? at the Cu(II) site as detected by electron spin resonance appears unaffected by the alkylation, the effect of alkylation is on catalysis, per se. Both a catalytic and a subtle conformational role for the active site histidine are inferred from the results.     

Specificity of alpha 2-macroglobulin covalent cross-linking for the active domain of proteinases

The reaction of alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M) with the two-chain enzyme plasma kallikrein results in covalent bond formation between the catalytic subunit and the inhibitor. We have recently published a model of alpha 2M which suggests that this phenomenon may be a general mechanism when multisubunit proteinases are inactivated by alpha 2M. In order to test this hypothesis, we studied the reactions of factor Xa, plasmin, streptokinase-plasmin and alpha-thrombin with alpha 2M. In the case of factor Xa the catalytic heavy chain demonstrated greater than 99% covalent incorporation while over 97% of the light chain failed to crosslink to the inhibitor. Preferential binding of the catalytic light chains of plasmin (70% covalent incorporation) and plasmin in complex with streptokinase (79% covalent incorporation) was also observed. Finally, 82% covalent incorporation of the catalytic heavy chain of alpha-thrombin was found. These studies demonstrate that in the case of multisubunit proteinases, the chain containing the active site demonstrates preferential binding as predicted by the model supporting placement of the site of covalent binding close to the "bait region" of alpha 2M.