Cryoenzymology of trypsin. 13C-n.m.r. detection of an acyl-trypsin intermediate in the trypsin-catalysed hydrolysis of a highly specific substrate at subzero temperature

The kinetics of the trypsin-catalysed hydrolysis of the highly specific substrate N alpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine p-nitrophenyl ester were studied under cryoenzymological conditions by 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopy at pH approx. 3.0. The kinetics of this reaction are shown to be in agreement with similar studies made with the use of u.v.-visible-absorption-spectrophotometric techniques. A combination of 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopy and cryoenzymology has for the first time detected an acyl-trypsin intermediate in the hydrolysis of this highly specific substrate. The advantages and difficulties of using 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopy coupled with cryoenzymology in the detection and characterization of enzyme-substrate intermediates are discussed.     

A kinetic study of the hydrolysis of N-acetyl dehydroalanine methyl ester.

Hydrolysis rates of N-acetyl dehydroalanine methyl ester (methyl 2-acetamidoacrylate) and related model compounds were measured in aqueous, organic and mixed aqueous media. Adding dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) to water, retarded hydrolysis of the ester by a factor of 2 to 500, depending on the pH of the medium and concentration of DMSO. Ethanol also slowed hydrolysis, but the effect was not so pronounced. Related studies show that the acetamido group C-N bond of sodium 2-acetamido-acrylate is hydrolyzed only about 1/130 as fast as the ester group C-O bond. Aqueous dimethyl sulfoxide should by a useful medium for synthesis of peptide, amino acid and protein derivatives of N-acetyl dehydroalanine methyl ester.     

Cryoenzymology: the use of sub-zero temperatures and fluid solutions in the study of enzyme mechanisms.

Behind the firm discrimination maintained between active and passive transport lies a definition of energetic coupling as a fusion between an exergonic chemical reaction and an uphill transport. In contrast, energetic coupling between paired chemical reactions tends. to be defined much more loosely, as if the term were merely equivalent to sequential linkage, even though the actual usage may parallel that in transport. This article argues for a sharpening of this definition through integrated consideration of chemi-chemical and chemi-osmotic coupling.Furthermore; it calls attention to the applicability of energetic coupling to both the backward and forward fluxes of the energized transport. When two parallel but distinct active transport systems act on the same solute, one is likely to operate more steeply uphill than the other. The situation then easily arises, and is probably widespread, whereby entry occurs largely by the first process and exodus by the reversal of the second, still energetically linked. In this way cases of chemi-osmoti-chemical coupling probably arise, beyond the one proposed by Mitchell. Presumably the term retention process has in the past unknowingly (and illogically) referred to the second transport process. The “uncoupling” of an active transport does not tend simply to convert it to a facilitated diffusion, and both fluxes are likely to be modified. Accordingly, measure of only one flux will not describe a change in energy transfer.     

Different kinetic patterns in the alpha-chymotrypsin-catalysed hydrolysis of synthetic ester substrates

The reaction of alpha-chymotrypsin with AcTyr-OEt and with AcTrp-OEt at pH 7.0 and 7.8 was studied over a wide range of substrate concentrations. The reaction with AcTyr-OEt at pH 7.8 was shown to be non-hyperbolic using a variety of criteria whereas those at pH 7.0 with the same substrate and at both pH values with AcTrp-OEt were hyperbolic. The non-hyperbolicity of the reaction with AcTyr-OEt at pH 7.8 followed a pattern of negative cooperativity with a Hill coefficient for the high substrate concentration range of 0.48. Although other explanations are possible, the pH dependence of the reaction with AcTyr-OEt could be related to the slow transition of the two known forms of the enzyme.     

The assay of the bromelains using N alpha-CBZ-L-lysine p-nitrophenyl ester and N-CBZ-glycine p-nitrophenyl ester as substrates

Two new esterolytic assays of the pineapple stem bromelains are described. They use as substrates the p-nitrophenyl esters of N^α-CBZ-l-lysine (CLN) and N-CBZ-glycine (CGN). The activity is monitored by the direct spectrophotometric measurement of the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of these esters at 340 nm. The bromelains are rapidly activated with 1 mm l-cysteine at pH 4.6 for the CLN assay and pH 6.1 for the CGN assay. EDTA has no measurable effect. The sensitivities of the assays approach 10 μg/ml in a reaction time of 3 min.     

The pH dependence of pre-steady-state and steady-state kinetics for the papain-catalyzed hydrolysis of N-alpha-carbobenzoxyglycine p-nitrophenyl ester

Pre-steady-state and steady-state kinetics of the papain (EC 3.4.22.2)-catalyzed hydrolysis of N-alpha-carbobenzoxyglycine p-nitrophenyl ester (ZGlyONp) have been determined between pH 3.0 and 9.5 (I = 0.1 M) at 21 +/- 0.5 degrees C. The results are consistent with the minimum three-step mechanism involving the acyl X enzyme intermediate E X P: (Formula: see text). The formation of the E X S complex may be regarded as a rapid pseudoequilibrium process; the minimum values for k+1 are 8.0 microM-1 s-1 (pH less than or equal to 3.5) and 0.40 microM-1 s-1 (pH greater than 6.0), and that for k-1 is 600 s-1 (pH independent). The pH profile of k+2/Ks (= kcat/Km; Ks = k-1/k+1) reflects the ionization of two groups with pK' values of 4.5 +/- 0.1 and 8.80 +/- 0.15 in the free enzyme. The pH dependence of k+2 and k+3 (measured only at pH values below neutrality) implicates one ionizing group in the acylation and deacylation step with pK' values of 5.80 +/- 0.15 and 3.10 +/- 0.15, respectively. As expected from the pH dependences of k+2/Ks (= kcat/Km) and k+2, the value of Ks changes with pH from 7.5 X 10(1) microM (pH less than or equal to 3.5) to 1.5 X 10(3) microM (pH greater than 6.0). Values of k-2 and k-3 are close to zero over the whole pH range explored (3.0 to 9.5). The pH dependence of kinetic parameters indicates that at acid pH values (less than or equal to 3.5), the k+2 step is rate limiting in catalysis, whereas for pH values higher than 3.5, k+3 becomes rate limiting. The observed ionizations probably reflect the acid-base equilibria of residues involved in the catalytic diad of papain, His159-Cys25. Comparison with catalytic properties of ficins and bromelains suggests that the results reported here may be of general significance for cysteine proteinase catalyzed reactions.     

Microbial lipolysis at low temperatures.

It was found that lipase production during the growth of Pseudomonas fluorescens was not a function of the total number of bacteria. The optimal temperatures for bacterial growth and lipase production were determined as 20 and 8 degrees C, respectively. The lipolytic activity was studied in emulsions of olive oil at temperatures ranging from +8 to -30 degrees C. After an initially rapid lipolysis, the reactions retarded at different levels depending on storage temperature. Transference to a higher temperature resulted in a resumed lipolysis. Also, at low temperatures, lipolysis was studied as a function of water activity and was found to occur in dehydrated substrates.     

Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic materials: A kinetic study

A kinetic study of the enzymatic hydrolysis of two celluloses with different structural features was performed at various temperatures (26-50 degrees C). The enzymatic system consisted of three types of enzymes: E(1)-beta-1,4-glucan glucanohydrolase; E(2)-beta-1,4-glucan cellobiohydrolase; and E(3)-beta-glucosidase. A mathematical model for the mechanism of the hydrolysis of cellulosic materials catalyzed by a multienzymatic system was checked and a good rationalization of the experimental results was achieved. Uncompetitive and competitive glucose inhibition on E(1) and E(2), respectively, appeared to occur for both substrates. Inhibition by cellobiose was checked at 34 degrees C on one substrate. The V(max), K(m), and glucose inhibition constants were optimized and their dependence on temperature determined.     

Use of bacteria for rapid,pH-neutral,hydrolysis of the model hydrophobic carboxylic acid ester p-nitrophenyl picolinate

Abstract

Caulobacter crescentus, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis cultures promote the hydrolysis of the model ester p-nitrophenyl picolinate (PNPP) at neutral pH with high efficiency. Hydrolysis is related to cell concentration, while the interaction of PNPP with both bacterial cells and their extracellular molecules is required for a maximum rate of PNPP hydrolysis in C. crescentus cultures. Furthermore, C. crescentus cultures hydrolyse PNPP at concentrations useful in synthetic chemistry.