A trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor from seeds of Bauhenia purpurea

A trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor was partially purified from Bauhenia purpurea seeds and separated from a second inhibitor by Ecteola cellulose chromatography. The factor inhibited bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin as well as pronase trypsin and elastase. It formed a complex with trypsin and with chymotrypsin, but a ternary complex could not be detected. Differences were detected in the effect on trypsin and on chymotrypsin, although one enzyme interfered with the inhibition of the other. The results obtained point to two active centers on the inhibitor for the trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibition such that the one cannot complex with the inhibitor after this inhibitor had complexed with the other.     

Characterization of the interaction between chymotrypsin and heparin.

Heparin forms a complex with chymotrypsin which is active towards glutaryl-L-phenylalanine-p-nitroanilide (GPANA) and glutaryl-L-phenylalanine-beta-naphthylamide (GPNA) at pH 7.6. The activity of chymotrypsin towards GPANA at pH 7.6 is enhanced in the presence of heparin. Heparin does not bind at the active site of the enzyme since proflavin is not displaced from the active site of chymotrypsin upon complex formation. The heparin-chymotrypsin complex migrates under basic polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis conditions to a position intermediate between heparin and free chymotrypsin. The complex is dissociable under acidic polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis conditions. It is estimated that one to three molecules of heparin can bind to each chymotrypsin molecule on the basis of electrophoretic and enzymic activity data.     

NMR and ESR studies on human pregnancy zone protein. Comparison with human alpha 2-macroglobulin.

NMR and ESR spectroscopies have been used to examine the plasma protease inhibitor pregnancy zone protein (PZP) and its complex with chymotrypsin. The 1H NMR spectrum of PZP shows relatively few sharp resonances, which, by analogy with human alpha 2-macroglobulin, probably arise from the proteolytically sensitive bait region. Upon reaction with chymotrypsin to form a 1:1 protease.PZP tetramer complex, there is a large increase in the intensity of sharp resonances due to an increase in mobility of these residues. 35Cl NMR has been used to follow binding of zinc and manganese to apo-PZP. Zinc binding causes a linear broadening of the bulk Cl-, consistent with access of Cl- to PZP-bound zinc. Since zinc in the two highest affinity sites in human alpha 2-macroglobulin causes no broadening of Cl-, it is concluded that these zinc sites are absent from PZP. The mobility of chymotrypsin in the PZP.chymotrypsin complex was examined by covalently attaching a nitroxide spin label at the serine residue in the active site of the enzyme and examining the appearance of the ESR spectrum. The chymotrypsin is rigidly held by the PZP to which it is covalently bound. In an analogous experiment performed previously on alpha 2-macroglobulin, chymotrypsin, bound in the presence of methylamine and therefore largely noncovalently bound, was found to be free to rotate inside the cage formed by the protease inhibitor.     

Double-headed protease inhibitors from black-eyed peas. IV. Half-site reactivity in the formation of complexes with trypsin and chymotrypsin.

Complex formation between two new double-headed protease inhibitors from black-eyed peas, trypsin-chymotrypsin inhibitor (BEPCI) and a trypsin inhibitor (BEPTI), and trypsin and chymotrypsin was investigated in the concentration range from 10-8 to 10-4 M by titration experiments and gel filtration chromatography. Dissociation equilibrium constants measured for complexes detected in the titration experiments range from as large as 10-8 M for trypsin bound nonspecifically to the chymotrypsin site of BEPCI to as small as 10-18 M2 for the interaction of BEPCI with chymotrypsin. The identity and stoichiometry of complexes detected during titration experiments were confirmed by gel filtration of mixtures of native and fluorescently labeled proteases and inhibitors. Half-site reactivity is observed in the formation of complexes between BEPCI or BEPTI and trypsin and chymotrypsin at all experimentally practical concentrations. The double-headed complex contains 1 molecule each of trypsin, chymotrypsin, and BEPCI dimer. The bimolecular rate constants of complex formation between trypsin or chymotrypsin and isolated BEPCI oligomers range from 1.8 X 10(5) M-1 S-1 for chymotrypsin and BEPCI monomer to 4.4 X 10(7) M-1 S-1 for trypsin and the rapidly equilibrating BEPCI dimer. The estimated rate constants for the dissociation of half-site-liganded dimer complexes and liganded monomer complexes range from 7.5 X 10-3 S-1 for the trypsin-liganded BEPCI monomer complex to 1.6 X 10-6 S-1 for the chymotrypsin-liganded BEPCI dimer complex.     

Studies with chymotrypsin and RNAase showing a heterooligomeric structure of the glucocorticoid receptor complex from rat liver which is stabilized by a low molecular weight factor

The glucocorticoid receptor from rat liver displays a differential sensitivity toward digestion by chymotrypsin and RNAase A that is dependent on its activation state. Unactivated (9-10 S) receptor is not digested by these enzymes, while activated 7-8 S receptor is. Chymotrypsin treatment yields an approx. 3 S form, while RNAase treatment yields a 4.9 S form that is distinct from the high-salt 4 S form. To firmly establish that the results are due to specific hydrolytic activities of the particular enzymes, we show that the chymotrypsin effect is inhibited by diisopropylfluorophosphate and not RNAasin, while the reverse is true for RNAase A. We further show that the differential sensitivity toward chymotrypsin is due to the association of a proteinase-resistant, heat-stable low molecular weight factor with the unactivated glucocorticoid receptor. When this factor is removed by warming, dialysis or molecular sieving of the receptor complex, the complex becomes sensitive to chymotrypsin. We also show that moderate chymotrypsin treatment yields a 6-7 S form of the receptor which is composed of, at least, RNA and the 4 S receptor. On the basis of these results, we propose that the 9-10 S receptor is composed of a low molecular weight stabilizing factor whose presence apparently alters the conformation of the complex such that the RNA and the RNA-binding site of the receptor are protected, a chymotrypsin-sensitive factor, RNA and the 4 S receptor itself.     

Interaction of trypsin-like protease from Streptomyces griseus with an immobilized inhibitor from kidney bean.

An immobilized double-headed inhibitor from Phaseolus vulgaris L. selectively binds the trypsin-like enzyme produced by Streptomyces griseus. Binding takes place at pH 8.0, and at pH 2.0 the protease can be quantitatively released from the complex. Purified by affinity chromatography, the trypsin-like enzyme is homogeneous according to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation data. Physico-chemical and enzymic properties of the enzyme are identical to those exhibited by the enzyme purified by ion-exchange chromatography. Chymoelastases from Str. griseus as well as the subtilisin-like enzyme do not interact with an immobilized inhibitor. In solution, the inhibitor from P. vulgaris gives a stable ternary complex with bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin, whereas with an immobilized inhibitor the trypsin, if present, tends to displace chymotrypsin in an chymotrypsin inhibitor complex. This evidence suggests that immobilization results in considerable changes in inhibitor properties.     

Phospholipid protection against proteolysis of D-beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, a lecithin-requiring enzyme

D-beta-Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase is a lipid-requiring enzyme which is localized on the inner face of the mitochondrial inner membrane. The apodehydrogenase, i.e. the purified enzyme devoid of lipid, has been purified from beef heart mitochondria and as such is inactive. It can be reactivated by insertion into phospholipid vesicles containing lecithin. Proteolytic digestion with different proteases has been carried out to obtain insight into the orientation of the enzyme in the membrane and to assess the extent of immersion of the protein into the phospholipid bilayer. Digestion of the apodehydrogenase with either trypsin, chymotrypsin, Staphylococcus aureus protease, thermolysin, carboxypeptidases A and Y, or Pronase (from Streptomyces griseus) leads to loss of activity, as assayed with phospholipid. Limited digestion with carboxypeptidase results in complete inactivation. Of the proteases tested, only Pronase and chymotrypsin cleave and inactivate the enzyme inserted into phospholipid vesicles (enzyme-phospholipid complex). For the enzyme-phospholipid complex, the loss of activity with Pronase digestion follows a single exponential decay to less than 10% of the initial activity. With chymotrypsin digestion, the staining intensity of the original approximately 31,500-dalton polypeptide decreases more rapidly than the loss of enzymic activity. The enzyme-phospholipid complex, after limited cleavage with chymotrypsin, retains enzymic activity and resonance energy transfer from protein to bound NADH and an approximately 26,000-dalton polypeptide is observed. Phospholipid alters the cleavage pattern with both chymotrypsin and Pronase, and the rate of inactivation of the enzyme-phospholipid complex is slowed in the presence of NAD(H). Moreover, the rate of inactivation of the apodehydrogenase with chymotrypsin is diminished approximately 3-fold in the presence of NAD+. Digestion of submitochondrial vesicles with either trypsin, chymotrypsin, or Pronase rapidly inactivates D-beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase; the addition of NAD+ or NADH, together with dithiothreitol and increased salt (to 50 mM), decreases the rate of inactivation, and with trypsin, virtually eliminates inactivation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Purification of chymotrypsin from bovine pancreas using precipitation with a strong anionic polyelectrolyte

The separation of chymotrypsin from a crude filtrate of bovine pancreas homogenate was carried out using precipitation with a commercially available negatively charged strong polyelectrolyte: polyvinyl sulfonate. The zymogen form of chymotrypsin was activated by addition of trypsin (0.01 mg/g homogenate), then, the enzyme was precipitated by polyelectrolyte addition at pH 2.5 in the pancreas homogenate. A stoichiometric ratio of 670 bound molecules of chymotrypsin per polyelectrolyte molecule was found in the non-soluble form of the enzyme–polyelectrolyte complex. The non-soluble complex was separated by simple centrifugation and re-dissolved by a pH change to 8.0. The recovery of chymotrypsin biological activity was 61% of the initial activity in the homogenate with 4.7-fold increase in its specific activity.     

Double-headed protease inhibitors from black-eyed peas. VI. Singlet-singlet energy transfer and other optical studies on the structure of trypsin and chymotrypsin complexes.

The geometry of the binary and ternary complexes of two black-eyed pea inhibitors with trypsin and chymotrypsin has been established by distance measurements using the technique of singlet-singlet energy transfer. Triangulation of measured distances in the ternary double-headed complex of the trypsin-chymotrypsin inhibitor (BEPCI) with trypsin and chymotrypsin limits the possible structural models for this complex to those in which the center to center distance between trypsin and chymotrypsin is about 64 A, the distance from the center of trypsin to the single fluorescently labeled tyrosyl residue of the BEPCI dimer is about 33 A, and the distance between the chymotrypsin center and the labeled tyrosine of the inhibitor is about 43 A. Energy transfer results for the trypsin inhibitor (BEPTI) complexes show conclusively that the weak trypsin site is structurally analogous to the strong chymotrypsin binding site of BEPCI. The weak chymotrypsin binding site of BEPTI is structurally analogous to the strong trypsin sites of BEPCI and BEPTI. Corresponding distances in binary and ternary complexes are the same, indicating that little or no structural rearrangement occurs when the ternary complexes are formed. Complex formation was shown to involve tryptophan and tryosine residues of both trypsin and chymotrypsin as judged by absorption and circular dichroism difference spectroscopy. In addition, circular dichroism difference spectra revealed some disulfide contributions.     

In support of the trap hypothesis. Chymotrypsin is not rigidly held in its complex with human alpha 2-macroglobulin

Complexes (2:1) of chymotrypsin with human alpha 2-macroglobulin have been prepared in the presence of 200 mM methylamine such that 90% of the chymotrypsin remains noncovalently bound to the alpha 2-macroglobulin. Reaction of this complex with the active-site-directed spin-labeling reagent 4-[(ethoxyfluorophosphinyl)oxy]-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl+ ++-1-oxy results in nitroxide labeling of the active-site serine residue of the complexed chymotrypsin. Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra of this complex were recorded at 275 K in buffer and at 263 K in 50% glycerol. At 263 K in 50% glycerol the spectrum is that expected for a rigid glass, whereas at room temperature the ESR spectrum shows that the chymotrypsin is only slightly immobilized compared with free spin-labeled chymotrypsin. These findings are discussed in relation to possible models of inhibition of protease activity by alpha 2-macroglobulin. It is concluded that the trap mechanism of Barrett and Starkey [Barrett, A. J., & Starkey, P. M. (1973) Biochem. J. 133, 709-724] is the only model currently considered that can account for the present findings.     

Interactions of alpha1-antitrypsin with trypsin and chymotrypsin.

The interaction of alpha1-antitrypsin with trypsin and chymotrypsin has been investigated by protease activity assays, by electrophoretic analysis, by CD and absorption difference spectra, and by gel filtration of reaction mixtures containing excess inhibitor or excess protease. When alpha1-antitrypsin is present in excess, only one stable inhibitor - protease complex is formed. In the presence of excess protease, however, this primary complex is degraded relatively rapidly to one or more secondary complexes. These latter conversions are more pronounced in the case of the antititrypsin-chymotrypsin system. The greater lability of the antitrypsin-chymotrypsin system is evidenced by the relatively rapid release of inactive chymotrypsin from the secondary antitrypsin - chymotrypsin complex. Only minimal amounts of active protease were released from the complexes on the addition of excess protease and one protease could not displace the other from the complex, although competition experiments showed that chymotrypsin reacted more rapidly with the inhibitor than trypsin.     

The isoinhibitors of chymotrypsin/elastase from Ascaris lumbricoides: the reactive site

Five isoinhibitors of chymotrypsin/elastase present in aqueous extracts of Ascaris were isolated. The reactive site in each isoinhibitor, the peptide bond that during encounter is positioned over the catalytic site in chymotrypsin, is Leu-Met. This bond was hydrolyzed by incubating intact isoinhibitors with 5-25 mol% chymotrypsin at pH 3.2 for 4-6 days (isoinhibitor 1) or 2.5-5 weeks (isoinhibitors 2-5). The reaction under these conditions did not proceed beyond 60% modified isoinhibitor (peptide bond hydrolyzed) and 40% intact inhibitor. The Leu-Met bond, hydrolyzed in modified isoinhibitor, can be resynthesized at pH 7.6 by incubating modified inhibitor with a stoichiometric amount of chymotrypsin bound to Sepharose CL-4B and then dissociating the complex in a kinetically controlled fashion with 5% trichloroacetic acid. The product, intact inhibitor, was obtained in greater than 80% yield. The site in the isoinhibitor that is positioned over the catalytic site in elastase during encounter is the same as for encounter with chymotrypsin. The Leu-Met bond hydrolyzed during encounter with elastase can be resynthesized by chymotrypsin. Chymotrypsin and elastase bind to the inhibitor at the same site.     

Inhibition mechanism of a peanut trypsin-chymotrypsin inhibitor, B-III: determination of the reactive sites for trypsin and chymotrypsin

Peanut inhibitor B-III was found to form two types of complexes with trypsin, T2I and TI, by gel filtration HPLC. Two cleaved peptide bonds, Arg(10)-Arg(11) and Arg(38)-Ser(39), in the trypsin modified inhibitor (TM-B-III*R*S) (J. Biochem. 93, 479-485 (1983] were resynthesized by the complex formation with 2 mol of trypsin. These results suggest that the two peptide bonds may be the reactive sites for trypsin. TM-B-III*R*S inhibited bovine trypsin as well as native B-III but had little chymotrypsin inhibitory activity. The two peptide bonds, Arg(10)-Arg(11) and Arg(38)-Ser(39), in B-III were cleaved partly by prolonged incubation with a catalytic amount of chymotrypsin. But gel filtration HPLC of the chymotrypsin-inhibitor complex showed the formation of only CI complex. Incubation of TM-B-III*R*S with an equimolar amount of chymotrypsin resulted in the resynthesis of only the Arg(10)-Arg(11) bond. These findings suggest that Arg(10)-Arg(11) may be a true reactive site for chymotrypsin. An inhibition mechanism of B-III against trypsin and chymotrypsin was proposed from the results obtained by the present studies.     

Specificity and stability of the chymotrypsin inhibitor from winged bean seed (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L) Dc)

The specificity of the winged bean chymotrypsin inhibitor is restricted to the chymotrypsins (EC 3.4.21.1 and EC 3.4.21.2). Trypsins (EC 3.4.21.4), elastase (EC 3.4.21.11), subtilisins (EC 3.4.21.14), proteinase K (EC 3.4.21.14) and Pronase (EC 3.4.24.4) are not inhibited. The inhibitor reacts with two molecules of chymotrypsin to form a stable complex (Mr approx. 70 0000) which was isolated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100. When mixed with substrate, the interaction of the inhibitor with alpha-chymotrypsin is characterized by substrate-induced dissociation of the complex. In contrast, the interaction with chymotrypsin B is quantitative with no substrate-induced dissociation. The inhibitor reacts with alpha-chymotrypsin to form a 1 : 2 molar complex at all ratios of [I]/[E]; however, the interaction with chymotrypsin B is characterized by the formation of initially of a 1 : 1 molar complex at [I] greater than [E] followed by the formation of the 1 : 2 molar complex at [I] less than 2[E]; an intermediate species of Mr approx. 48 000 was demonstrated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100. The inhibitor is stable over the pH range 2.0-11.5 and to heating up to 70 degrees C at pH 4.1 and 8.0, and up to 90 degrees C at pH 3.0. The inhibitor resists denaturation in 8.0 M urea at pH 8.0 and 4.0, is stable in 0.12 M beta-mercaptoethanol at pH 8.0; however, reduction in 8.0 M urea results in a loss of inhibitory activity. The inhibitor resists digestion with pepsin at pH 2.0, being only slowly degraded over a period of 7 days with an equimolar amount of pepsin.     

Ascaris suum: localization by immunochemical and fluorescent probes of host proteases and parasite proteinase inhibitors in cross-sections

Cross-sections of muscle, intestine, and genital tract fluoresced in defined locations when live Ascaris suum adults were incubated in medium containing chymotrypsin liganded with fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate. This suggests that the protease, or portions of it, are assimilated by A. suum. A. suum chymotrypsin/elastase isoinhibitors were found in muscle sarcolemma, eggs, sperm, and intestine, and host chymotrypsin was localized in the same regions of these tissues by immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase techniques. These experiments demonstrate that host chymotrypsin enters the parasite, that it is present in specific regions of Ascaris, and that it probably exists as an enzyme-inhibitor complex.     

Crystal structure of gamma-chymotrypsin in complex with 7-hydroxycoumarin

The 1.8 A crystal structure of 7-hydroxycoumarin (7-HC) bound to chymotrypsin reveals that this inhibitor forms a planar cinnamate acyl-enzyme complex. The phenyl ring of the bound inhibitor forms numerous van der Waals contacts in the S1 pocket of the enzyme, with the p-hydroxyl group donating a hydrogen bond to the main-chain oxygen atom of Ser217, and the o-hydroxyl group forming a water-mediated hydrogen bond with the carbonyl oxygen of Val227. The structure of the acyl-enzyme complex suggests that the mechanism of inhibition of 7-HC involves nucleophilic attack by the Ser195 O(gamma) atom on the carbonyl carbon atom of the inhibitor, accompanied by the breaking of the 2-pyrone ring of the inhibitor, and leading to the formation of a cinnamate acyl-enzyme derivative via a tetrahedral transition state. Comparisons with structures of photoreversible cinnamates bound to chymotrypsin reveal that although 7-HC interacts with the enzyme in a similar fashion, the binding of 7-HC to chymotrypsin takes place in a productive conformation in contrast to the photoreversible cinnamates. In summary, the 7-HC-chymotrypsin complex provides basic insight into the inhibition of chymotrypsin by natural coumarins and provides a structural basis for the design of more potent mechanism-based inhibitors against a wide range of biologically important chymotrypsin-like enzymes.     

The reactive sites of Kunitz bovine-trypsin inhibitor. Role of lysine-15 in the interaction with chymotrypsin.

Kunitz bovine trypsin inhibitor gave with alpha-chymotrypsin a stoichiometric complex stable at neutral pH. The complex has been characteristized by amino acid composition, molecular sieving and zone electrophoresis. Complete dissociation occurred at pH 4.0 as shown by gel filtration, alpha-Chymotrypsin was displaced from the complex by trypsin either in solution or by affinity chromatography on trypsin-Sepharos: alpha-chymotrypsin was recovered in the filtrate (yield about 100%) and the inhibitor was eluted from trypsin-Sepharose with 0.1 M HCl (yield: 83%). Lysine-15 of the inhibitor was shown to be involved in the interaction between alpha-chymotrypsin and the inhibitor. When the complex was maleylated, the maleylated chymotrypsin-bound inhibitor was displaced by affinity chromatography on trypsin-Sepharose. Teh recovered derivative was oxidized, subjected to tryptic hydrolysis and the products separated by peptide mapping and analyzed. The peptides were compared with those obtained with non-maleylated inhibitor and fully maleylated free inhibitor. In the fully maleylated inhibitor, the four lysyl residues of the molecule were blocked but in the maleylated chymotrypsin-bound inhibitor, Lys-15 was unmodified in contrast to Lys-26, Lys-41 and Lys-46; therefore Lys-15 is shielded by chymotrypsin in the complex. On the other hand, when inhibitor with a selectively reduced carboxamidomethylated Cys-14-Cys-38 dislufide bridge was allowed to react with chymotrypsin, cleavage occurred not only at Tyr-21, Tyr-35 and Phe-45 but also at Lys-15, cleavage not observed in the case of the fully oxidized inhibitor. This result shows that under particular conditions the bond Lys-15-Ala-16 can be the substrate for chymotrypsin and the side chain of Lys-15 can be inserted in the chymotrypsin specificity pocket. Apparently the contact area of inhibitor with chymotrypsin seems to be similar to that with trypsin [J. Chauvet and R. Acher (1967) J. Biol. Chem. 242, 4274-4275].     

Protection of actin against proteolysis by complex formation with deoxyribonuclease I

G-actin bound to deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) is resistant to digestion by trypsin and chymotrypsin. In the absence of DNase I, G-actin is cleaved by these proteases to yield a 33 500 molecular weight core protein which is not degraded further. The major sites of proteolytic action in the amino acid sequence of actin have been identified as being adjacent to residues arginine-62 and lysine-68 for trypsin and leucine-57 for chymotrypsin. These residues are rendered inaccessible to proteases in the buffer by complex formation with DNase I. Digestion of G-actin with pronase from Streptomyces griseus yields fragmentation patterns that are similar to those observed with trypsin and chymotrypsin. This is likely to be because the specificities of the major constituents of pronase resemble those of trypsin and chymotrypsin. Again, complex formation with DNase I protects the otherwise vulnerable bonds in actin against proteolysis. Incubation with subtilisin Carlsberg leads to complete digestion of G-actin. No subtilisin-resistant core protein accumulates during the incubation. Protection of G-actin when complexed to DNase I is less than complete in this case but still is significant. This is interpreted in terms of the broad specificity of subtilisin and the observed fragmentation pattern of free G-actin when treated with subtilisin.     

Three-dimensional structure of the complexes between bovine chymotrypsinogen A and two recombinant variants of human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (Kazal-type)

Variants of the human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) have been created during a protein design project to generate a high-affinity inhibitor with respect to some serine proteases other than trypsin. Two modified versions of human PSTI with high affinity for chymotrypsin were crystallized as a complex with chymotrypsinogen. Both crystallize isomorphously in space group P4(1)2(1)2 with lattice constants a = 84.4 A, c = 86.7 A and diffract to 2.3 A resolution. The structure was solved by molecular replacement. The final R-value after refinement with 8.0 to 2.3 A resolution data was 19.5% for both complexes after inclusion of about 50 bound water molecules. The overall three-dimensional structure of PSTI is similar to the structure of porcine PSTI in the trypsinogen complex (1TGS). Small differences in the relative orientation of the binding loop and the core of the inhibitors indicate flexible adaptation to the proteases. The chymotrypsinogen part of the complex is similar to chymotrypsin. After refolding induced by binding of the inhibitor the root-mean-square difference of the active site residues A186 to A195 and A217 to A222 compared to chymotrypsin was 0.26 A.     

Slow-binding inhibition of chymotrypsin and cathepsin G by the peptide aldehyde chymostatin

The microbial, peptide-derived aldehyde chymostatin is a potent, competitive inhibitor of chymotrypsin and cathepsin G: Ki = 4 X 10(-10) and 1.5 X 10(-7) M, respectively. Et is "slow-binding inhibitor" of both proteases and, as such, allows determination of rate constants for its association with and dissociation from these proteases. Inhibition kinetics indicate second-order rate constants for the association of chymostatin with chymotrypsin and cathepsin G of 360,000 and 2000 M-1 S-1, respectively and a first-order rate constant for the dissociation of both protease-chymostatin complexes of approximately 0.0002 s-1. Thus, the extreme difference in potency of chymostatin as an inhibitor of chymotrypsin and cathepsin G originates entirely in Kon. Solvent deuterium isotope effects (SIE) were determined to probe the reaction step that rate limits Kon. For the reaction of chymotrypsin with chymostatin, the SIE for Kon is 1.6 +/- 0.1, while for the reaction of chymotrypsin with the peptide substrates Ala-Ala-Phe-pNA and Suc-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-pNA, the SIE's for Kc/Km are 2.8 +/- 0.2 and 1.9 +/- 0.1, respectively. These results suggest that Kon for the association of chymotrypsin with chymostatin is at least partially rate limited by a reaction step involving proton transfer. Combined with results for the inhibition of chymotrypsin by Bz-Phe-H [Kennedy, W.P., & Schultz, R. M. (1979) Biochemistry 18, 349-356], these data suggest a mechanism for inhibition by chymostatin involving the general-base-catalyzed formation of an enzyme-bound hemiacetal, followed by a conformational change of this intermediate that produces the final, stable complex of enzyme and inhibitor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)