The purification of human enterokinase by affinity chromatography and immunoadsorption. Some observations on its molecular characteristics and comparisons with the pig enzyme.

A method is described for the purification of human enterokinase from accumulated duodenal fluid by affinity chromatography using p-aminobenzamidine as the ligand. Resolution was greatest when glycylglycine was substituted as the spacer arm. Purification was not a one-step procedure, and some contamination, principally by the alpha-glucosidases, remained. Their removal was completed by immunoadsorption using antisera raised to enterokinase-free material containing these enzymes, prepared as a by-product of the purification procedure. The final preparation had an activity of 4260 nmol of trypsin/min per mg and was free of other enzymic activity tested. Amino acid and sugar analyses of the highly purified enzyme indicated an acidic glycoprotein containing 57% sugar (neutral sugars 47%, amino sugars 10%). The apparent mol.wts. and Stokes radii of human and pig enterokinase were 296 000 and 316 000, and 5.65 and 5.78 nm respectively. Two isoenzymes were identified for human enterokinase and three for the pig enzyme. Human enterokinase demonstrated a resistance to reduction of disulphide linkages and to sodium dodecyl sulphate binding, which may be related to the need for it to retain its integrity in the digestive environment of the upper small intestine. Antisera to highly purified pig and human enterokinases specifically inhibited enterokinase activity. Immuno-inhibition of intestinal aminopeptidase, maltase and glucoamylase by homologous antisera was not observed.     

重组牛肠激酶轻链基因在毕赤酵母中的表达与纯化

目的:构建重组牛肠激酶轻链的基因工程菌,并进行表达和纯化,以获得高纯度和高活性的重组牛肠激酶轻链蛋白。方法:以GenBank公共数据库中的牛肠激酶轻链基因序列(AccessionNo.NM174439)设计引物,利用RT-PCR合成牛肠激酶轻链基因片段,并克隆进pPIC9K载体,同时在基因N端插进6个组氨酸标签,转化毕赤酵母GS115,进行筛选和诱导表达。产物经镍离子螯和层析和Q-SepharoseFF柱纯化,并酶切融合蛋白检测其活性。结果:培养液中重组牛肠激酶轻链蛋白表达量为3.0mg/L。对含有肠激酶酶切位点的IL-11/MBP融合蛋白进行酶切,结果表明,酶解率可达到90%以上。结论:表达并获得了高纯度的重组肠激酶轻链蛋白,为大规模生产打下了基础。     

The biliary excretion of enterokinase in rats. Studies in normal, chronic ethanol-maintained and cirrhotic rats.

The excretion of catalytically active human or pig enterokinase in hepatic bile after intravenous administration to normal rats or rats that had been maintained on 20% (v/v) ethanol for 1 year showed similar kinetics to that described for other serum-derived bile proteins. The half-life in serum was 2.5 min or less, and most of the enzyme was excreted within 45 min of administration. This was maintained when up to six successive doses were given at 90 min intervals. The mean amount excreted per dose was independent of the dose number and varied from 0.8% to 2.1% in the normal animals and 1.2% to 2.0% in the chronic ethanol-maintained animals. When three doses of enzyme were given at 30 min intervals, the total amount of active enterokinase recovered in bile was dose-dependent and was consistently higher in the rats drinking 20% (v/v) ethanol. The serum half-life of enterokinase in rats made cirrhotic by inhalation of carbon tetrachloride vapour was extended to 6 min or more. The amount of active enzyme recovered in bile was at least 50% less than in weight-matched normal rats, and excretion was not complete 2h after intravenous administration. The possible significance of these findings in liver and pancreatic disease is discussed.     

Incorporation of bovine enterokinase in reconstituted soybean phospholipid vesicles

Bovine enterokinase was incorporated into vesicles reconstituted from a soybean phospholipid mixture. A thin film hydration procedure (MacDonald, R. I., and MacDonald, R. C. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 9206-9214) produced vesicles with 40% of the enterokinase activity bound in the membrane. The highest incorporation was observed when cholesterol or dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine was added to the soybean phospholipids. Crude and highly purified enterokinase preparations were incorporated to the same extent suggesting that other membrane components were not required for a successful reconstitution. The properties of enterokinase in phospholipid vesicles were compared with those of alkaline phosphatase, which was also added to the reconstitution system, and with the enzyme activities present in vesicles prepared from brush-border membranes. The enzyme activities were not released by solutions of high ionic strength and remained associated with the phospholipid vesicles on gel filtration, ultracentrifugation, and sucrose density centrifugation. Enterokinase and alkaline phosphatase had their active sites exposed to substrate in the brush-border membrane vesicles. In soybean phospholipid vesicles half of the active sites of both enzymes were on the outside, since release of the enzyme with Triton X-100 almost doubled the units of enzyme present. Incubation of the soybean phospholipid and brush-border membrane vesicles with papain released the exposed molecules of enterokinase. The released enzyme molecules were fully active but could not be reincorporated into phospholipid vesicles. This suggests that the structure imbedded in the lipid bilayer was essential for a successful reconstitution. We conclude that the reconstituted soybean phospholipid vesicles are a suitable membrane system for the further study of membrane-bound enterokinase.     

Purification of bovine and porcine enterokinase by affinity chromatography with immobilized kidney bean enterokinase inhibitor

A specific enterokinase inhibitor isolated from kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) was immobilized on Affigel-10. Solubilized preparation of bovine and porcine enterokinases were bound to this matrix at pH 7.5 and the complex was dissociated by elution with l0 mM HCl, resulting in the isolation of the enzymes in homogeneous form as judged by gel chromatography on Sephadex G-200, and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. However, human enterokinase could not be purified by this method in sufficient yield since it did not bind strongly to the insolubilized inhibitor.     

重组牛肠激酶轻链基因在大肠杆菌中的表达与纯化

肠激酶（Enteroloinase,EK,EC3.4.21.9）是一种以异源二聚体形式存在于哺乳动物十二指肠内的丝氨酸蛋白酶,通过在位点（Asp）4-Lys的羧基端进行高效特异酶切,将胰蛋白酶原激活为胰蛋白酶。以GenBank公共数据库中牛肠激酶轻链基因序列（Accession No.NM174439）设计引物,利用RT-PCR方法合成牛肠激酶轻链基因片段,并克隆进pET39b载体中DsbA片段的C’端,转化大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）,获得DsbA/牛肠激酶轻链融合蛋白,经镍离子螯合层析纯化,每升培养液中可得到2.7-3.0mg重组牛肠激酶,对含有肠激酶酶切位点的IL-11/MBP融合蛋白进行酶切,结果表明,酶解率可达到95%以上,为重组牛肠激酶的大规模生产打下了基础。     

Expression, purification and characterization of human urodilatin in E. coli

Urodilatin is a 32-amino acid peptide hormone synthesized in kidney to regulate natriuresis and diuresis. It has been shown clinically useful for the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure. A synthetic deoxyoligonucleotide encoding urodilatin was cloned into a pET32a vector immediately after the thioredoxin encoding sequence with a hexa-hisditine tag and an enterokinase recognition site incorporated in between. The fusion protein was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, which constituted 28% of the total cell proteins. More than 85% of Trx-urodilatin was soluble and purified nearly homogenous by Ni-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Urodilatin was then released from the fusion protein by the enterokinase treatment and separated from the fusion partner by the subtractive chromatography using Ni-Sepharose once again. The urodilatin sample was further purified with reverse phase HPLC. Via a biological activity assayed in vitro, it was found that urodilatin had a potent vasodilatory effect on rabbit aortic strips with an EC50 of (2.02+/-0.36)x10(-6)mg/ml, which was similar to that of the synthetic urodilatin standard. The method described here promises to produce about 4.5mg fully active recombinant urodilatin with homogeneity over 97% from one liter shaking flask culture of E. coli.     

Optimisation of conditions for the affinity chromatography of human enterokinase on immobilised p-aminobenzamidine. Improvement of the preparative procedure by inclusion of negative affinity chromatography with glycylglycyl-aniline.

The affinity chromatography of human enterokinase using p-aminobenzamidine as the ligand [Grant, D.A.W. & Hermon-Taylor, J. (1976) Biochem. J. 155, 243-254] has been reassessed and the optimal conditions for the synthesis and operation of the derivatised gel defined. Satisfactory adsorbants were only produced using high concentrations of both CNBr and spacer-arm in the initial coupling slurry. Under these conditions it seemed likely that the majority of the ligand in a sterically favourable position to bind enterokinase was on the external surface of the bead. Trypsin binding to the adsorbant was not so critically dependent on the synthetic conditions and correlated closely with the degree of substitution. Dilution of the adsorbant with unlabelled Sepharose 4B indicated that there was more than one binding site per enterokinase molecule. The highest affinity was presumably for the active site, with adsorption supported by secondary interactions with spacer-arm or gel matrix not necessarily on the same bead. Maximal resolution was obtained by prolonged washing of the gel after loading; two populations of intestinal aminopeptidase were identified. Substitution of aniline for p-aminobenzamidine abolished specific enterokinase adsorption and improved the purification procedure by further removal of onon-specifically adsorbed contaminants.     

Mechanism for activation of mouse mast cell tryptase: dependence on heparin and acidic pH for formation of active tetramers of mouse mast cell protease 6

Tryptase, a serine protease with trypsin-like substrate cleavage properties, is one of the key effector molecules during allergic inflammation. It is stored in large quantities in the mast cell secretory granules in complex with heparin proteoglycan, and these complexes are released during mast cell degranulation. In the present paper, we have studied the mechanism for tryptase activation. Recombinant mouse tryptase, mouse mast cell protease 6 (mMCP-6), was produced in a mammalian expression system. The mMCP-6 fusion protein contained an N-terminal 6 x His tag followed by an enterokinase (EK) site replacing the native activation peptide (6xHis-EK-mMCP-6). In the absence of heparin, barely detectable enzyme activity was obtained after enterokinase cleavage of 6xHis-EK-mMCP-6 over a pH range of 5.5-7.5. However, when heparin was present, 6xHis-EK-mMCP-6 yielded active enzyme when enterokinase cleavage was performed at pH 5.5-6.0 but not at neutral pH. Affinity chromatography analysis showed that mMCP-6 bound strongly to heparin-Sepharose at pH 6.0 but not at neutral pH. After enterokinase cleavage of the sample at pH 6.0, mMCP-6 occurred in inactive monomeric form as shown by FPLC analysis on a Superdex 200 column. When heparin was added at pH 6.0, enzymatically active higher molecular weight complexes were formed, e.g., a dominant approximately 200 kDa complex that may correspond to tryptase tetramers. No formation of active tetramers was observed at neutral pH. When injected intraperitoneally, mMCP-6 together with heparin caused neutrophil influx, but no signs of inflammation were seen in the absence of heparin. The present paper thus indicates a crucial role for heparin in the formation of active mast cell tryptase.     

Do-it-yourself histidine-tagged bovine enterokinase: A handy member of the protein engineer's toolbox

Enterokinase, a two-chain duodenal serine protease, activates trypsinogen by removing its N-terminal propeptide. Due to a clean cut after the non-primed site recognition sequence, the enterokinase light chain is frequently employed in biotechnology to separate N-terminal affinity tags from target proteins with authentic N-termini. In order to obtain large quantities of this protease, we adapted an in vitro folding protocol for a pentahistidine-tagged triple mutant of the bovine enterokinase light chain. The purified, highly active enzyme successfully processed recombinant target proteins, while the pentahistidine-tag facilitated post-cleavage removal. Hence, we conclude that producing enterokinase in one's own laboratory is an efficient alternative to the commercial enzyme.     

Hydrolysis of artificial substrates by enterokinase and trypsin and the development of a sensitive specific assay for enterokinase in serum.

The activities of highly purified human enterokinase (enteropeptidase, EC 3.4.21.9) and bovine trypsin were tested against three synthetic substrates alpha-N-Benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester HCl, alpha-N-Benzoyl-DL-arginine-p-nitroanilide HCl and alpha-N-Benzoyl-DL-arginine-2-naphthylamide HCl. There was no detectable hydrolysis of these substrates by enterokinase whereas the kinetic parameters obtained for trypsin were in close agreement with those previously described by other workers. The values for Km and kcat were dependent on the Ca2+ concentration. Hydrolysis of glycine-tetra-L-aspartyl-L-lysyl-2-naphthylamide (Gly(Asp)4-Lys-Nap) by these protease was also studied. Enterokinase-catalysed hydrolysis obeyed simple steady-state kinetics and values for Km of 0.525 mM and 0.28 mM and for kcat of 21.5 s-1 and 28.3 s-1 were obtained in 0.1 mM and 10 mM Ca2+, respectively. Trypsin-catalysed hydrolysis was complex and the response to Ca2+ was sigmoidal partly due to the lability of trypsin at low Ca2+ concentrations. A sensitive specific assay for enterokinase was developed and applied to the measurement of the enzyme in serum; interference by nonspecific arylamidases was eliminated by the addition of Zn2+.     

Expression,purification, and characterization of a biologically active bovine enterokinase catalytic subunit in Escherichia coli

Enterokinase (EC 3.4.21.9) is a serine proteinase in the duodenum that exhibits specificity for the sequence (Asp)(4)-Lys. It converts trypsinogen to trypsin. Its high specificity for the recognition site makes enterokinase (EK) a useful tool for in vitro cleavage of fusion proteins. cDNA encoding the catalytic chain of Chinese bovine enterokinase was cloned and its encoding amino acid sequence is identical to the previously reported sequence although there are two one-base mutations which do not change the encoded amino acid. The EK catalytic subunit cDNA was cloned into plasmid pET32a, and fused downstream to the fusion partner thioredoxin (Trx) and the following DDDDK enterokinase recognition sequence. The recombinant bovine enterokinase catalytic subunit was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3), and most products existed in soluble form. After an in vivo autocatalytic cleavage of the recombinant Trx-EK catalytic domain fusion protein, intact, biologically active EK catalytic subunit was released from the fusion protein. The recombinant intact EK catalytic subunit was purified to homogeneity with a specific activity of 720 AUs/mg protein through ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE chromatography, and gel filtration. The purified intact EK catalytic subunit has a K(m) of 0.17 mM, and K(cat) is 20.8s(-1). From 100 ml flask culture, 4.3 mg pure active EK catalytic subunits were obtained.     

High level expression of human enteropeptidase light chain in Pichia pastoris

Human enterokinase (enteropeptidase, rhEP), a serine protease expressed in the proximal part of the small intestine, converts the inactive form of trypsinogen to active trypsin by endoproteolytic cleavage. The high specificity of the target site makes enterokinase an ideal tool for cleaving fusion proteins at defined cleavage sites. The mature active enzyme is comprised of two disulfide-linked polypeptide chains. The heavy chain anchors the enzyme in the intestinal brush border membrane, whereas the light chain represents the catalytic enzyme subunit. The synthetic gene encoding human enteropeptidase light chain with His-tag added at the C-terminus to facilitate protein purification was cloned into Pichia pastoris expression plasmids under the control of an inducible AOX1 or constitutive promoters GAP and AAC. Cultivation media and conditions were optimized as well as isolation and purification of the target protein. Up to 4 mg/L of rhEP was obtained in shake-flask experiments and the expression level of about 60-70 mg/L was achieved when cultivating in lab-scale fermentors. The constitutively expressing strains proved more efficient and less labor-demanding than the inducible ones. The rhEP was immobilized on AV 100 sorbent (Iontosorb) to allow repeated use of enterokinase, showing specific activity of 4 U/mL of wet matrix.     

Identification of a defence mechanism in vivo against the leakage of enterokinase into the blood.

1. The serum proteinase inhibitors alpha 1-antitrypsin, alpha 2-macroglobulin, inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor and C1-esterase inhibitor were found not to affect the catalytic activity of human enterokinase, whereas bovine trypsin activity was modified essentially as expected. Enterokinase was also not inhibited by Trasylol (trypsin inhibitor from bovine lung) or bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor. No other component in human or mouse serum complexing with enterokinase was identified. 2. Human enterokinase administered intravenously into mice was rapidly cleared from the circulation with a half-life of 2.5 min. This removal was not the result of the difference in species, since partially purified mouse enterokinase was cleared at the same rate as the human enzyme. Clearance was mediated by recognition of the carbohydrate portion of enterokinase and not through specific recognition of its catalytic site. Immunofluorescent staining showed that the enzyme accumulated in the liver. Attempts to block the clearance by the simultaneous infusion of competing glycoproteins suggested that enterokinase was taken up by hepatocytes. Of the glycoproteins tested only two, human lactoferrin (terminal fucosyl alpha 1 leads to 3 N-acetylglucosamine) and bovine asialo-fetuin (terminal galactosyl beta 1 leads to 4 N-acetylglucosamine) were weakly competitive. Two inhibitors of endocytosis, Intralipid and Triton WR1339, failed to delay the removal of enterokinase. It is proposed that enterokinase is cleared from the circulation by an as yet uncharacterized hepatocyte receptor.     

Expression and purification of a recombinant antibacterial peptide, cecropin, from Escherichia coli

Insect cecropins are small basic polypeptides synthesized in fat body and hemocytes in response to bacterial infections or hypodermic injuries. To explore a new approach for high expression of soluble cecropin in Escherichia coli cells, we fused the sequence encoding Musca domestica mature cecropin (named Mdmcec) in-frame to thioredoxin (TRX) gene to construct an expression vector pTRX-6His-Mdmcec. An enterokinase cleavage site was introduced between the 6xHis-tag and Mdmcec to facilitate final release of the recombinant Mdmcec. The fusion protein TRX-6His-Mdmcec was purified successfully by HisTrap HP affinity column and a high yield of 48.0mg purified fusion protein was obtained from 1L culture. Recombinant Mdmcec was readily obtained by enterokinase cleavage of the fusion protein followed by HPLC chromatography, and 11.2mg pure active recombinant Mdmcec was obtained from 1L E. coli culture. The molecular mass of recombinant Mdmcec determined by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is identical to that of native cecropin. Analysis of recombinant Mdmcec by circular dichroism (CD) indicated that recombinant Mdmcec contained predominantly alpha-helix with some random coil. Antimicrobial activity assays demonstrated that recombinant Mdmcec had a broad spectrum of activity against fungi, Gram-positive and negative bacteria. The procedure described in this study will provide a reliable and simple method for production of different cationic peptides for biological studies.     

人Hepassocin的原核可溶性表达与纯化

目的：构建人Hepassocin的原核表达载体,可溶性表达并纯化得到高纯度的重组人Hepassocino方法：将人Hepassocin基因克隆到原核表达载体pET40b（＋）,转化大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）,于28℃经0．1mmol／LIPTG诱导6h,表达Ds-bC-Hepassocin融合蛋白,经镍柱纯化可溶性融合蛋白,用肠激酶切除融合蛋白的DsbC-His标签,再用镍柱纯化分离酶切后的Hepassocin,通过超滤进一步纯化并浓缩,用Western blot验证纯化后的Hepassocin。结果：构建了pET40b-Hepassocin原核表达载体,经诱导表达、亲和层析和肠激酶切除融合标签,获得了相对分子质量约32000的可溶性高纯度蛋白,Western blot鉴定证实该蛋白为不含融合标签的重组人Hepassocin。结论：实现了人Hepassocin的原核可溶性表达,通过纯化获得了较高纯度的重组人Hepassocin,为制备其单克隆抗体,进一步研究其生物学功能奠定了基础。     

重组hepcidin的分离纯化及鉴定

建立了重组hepcidin的分离纯化方法,并鉴定其抗菌活性。经金属螯合初步纯化的重组蛋白在cysteine/cystine氧化还原体系中氧化形成二硫键,用变性条件下的凝胶过滤除去多聚体,稀释复性后用于肠激酶酶切反应,得到重组hepcidin。融合蛋白His-hepcidin经氧化、复性后的总收率为50%,纯度大于95%。酶切后所得重组hepcidin经抑菌圈试验检验,对枯草芽孢杆菌具有抗菌活性。LC-ESI-MS与园二色光谱检测显示重组hepcidin与天然hepcidin相对分子质量相同、二级结构相似。     

Recombinant expression and partial characterization of an active soluble histo-aspartic protease from Plasmodium falciparum

Malaria aspartic proteases are attractive drug targets for the treatment of malaria, however, recombinant expression of active histo-aspartic proteinase (HAP) to facilitate its characterization has proven elusive. The present study reports on the first recombinant expression of soluble, active histo-aspartic proteinase from Plasmodium falciparum as a thioredoxin fusion protein. A truncated form of HAP (77p-451) was fused to thioredoxin in the pET32b(+) vector and the fusion protein (Trx-tHAP) was expressed in Escherichia coli Rosetta-gami B (DE3)pLysS. The fusion protein was partially purified from the culture medium using a combination of anion exchange and Ni(2+) affinity chromatography. Soluble tHAP was subsequently purified by enterokinase treatment and removal, followed by gel filtration chromatography. Although truncated HAP was incapable of autocatalytic activation, enterokinase digestion of partially purified fusion protein released the truncated prosegment yielding a mature form of tHAP (mtHAP). N-terminal sequencing of mtHAP indicated that enterokinase cleavage took place at Lys119-Ser120, four residues upstream of the native cleavage site (Gly123-Ser124). Initial activity tests showed that mtHAP was capable of hydrolyzing acid-denatured globin as well as cleavage of the synthetic substrate EDANS-CO-CH(2)-CH(2)-CO-ALERMFLSFP-Dap(DABCYL)-OH. Inhibition studies showed that the activity of mtHAP was completely inhibited by pepstatin A and to a lesser degree, PMSF. Using the synthetic substrate, mtHAP showed a pH optimum of 5.2, and Km=3.4 microM and kcat=1.6 x 10(-3)s(-1). The successful expression of active recombinant HAP from E. coli will accelerate the investigation of the structure-function relationships of HAP and facilitate the development of specific inhibitors with antimalarial activities.     

Subcellular localization of enterokinase in human small intestine

Enterokinase (enteropeptidase, EC 3.4.4.8) was found to be purified to the same extent as sucrase and alkaline phophatase when human intestinal brush border membrane was isolated. It is concluded that, in man as in other mammals, enterokinase activity occurs in close association with the brush border membrane.However, a second localization was also found. A fraction of the mucosal homogenate containing only small amounts of brush border but large amounts of endoplasmic reticulum, basolateral membranes and mitochondria (Fraction P₁) contained a disproportionately high amount of enterokinase. The enzyme in this particulate fraction occurred in a not fully active form.     

Efficient preparation of an acyclic permutant of kalata B1 from a recombinant fusion protein with thioredoxin

A new approach to prepare an acyclic permutant of kalata B1, a cysteine-rich plant cyclopeptide with uterotonic activity, is described. The synthetic codon-optimized cDNA sequence encoding this 29-residue peptide was cloned and fused in-frame to the His₆-tagged thioredoxin gene in the bacterial expression vector pET-32a. The fusion protein was overexpressed in the bacterial host, Escherichia coli strain BL21 (DE3), and isolated by affinity chromatography on a metal-chelating Sepharose column. An enterokinase recognition sequence incorporated immediately upstream of the target peptide allowed the 29-residue peptide to be released without any unwanted residues upon treatment with enterokinase. This peptide was subsequently separated from the larger thioredoxin moiety by ultracentrifugation through a semipermeable membrane. Further purification was achieved using reversed-phase HPLC. Hydrogen peroxide was found to enhance the rate of enterokinase cleavage in a concentration-dependent manner. Thermal stability studies demonstrated that the recombinant acyclic kalata B1 (ac kalata) was exceptionally stable against thermal denaturation. Mass spectrometric analysis revealed that the recombinant ac kalata was obtained in a fully oxidized form, indicating a high reducing potential and a strong tendency of the 29-residue peptide to form a tightly folded structure.