Chymotrypsin inhibitor from potatoes: interaction with target enzymes

The interactions of chymotrypsin, subtilisin and trypsin with a low MW proteinase inhibitor from potatoes were investigated. The K_i value calculated for the binding of inhibitor to chymotrypsin was 1.6 ± 0.9 × 10^?10M, while the second-order rate constant for association was 6 × 10⁵ M^?1/sec. Although binding was not observed to chymotrypsin which had been treated with diisopropyl fluorophosphate or with l-tosylamide-2-phenylethyl chloromethyl ketone, the 3-methylhistidine-57 derivative bound inhibitor with a K_i value of 9.6 × 10^?9 M. The inhibitor also exhibited a tight association with subtilisin (K_i < 4 × 10^?9 M). In contrast, little inhibition of trypsin was observed, and this was believed to be due to low levels of a contaminant in our preparations. No evidence for reactive site cleavage was observed after incubation of the inhibitor with catalytic amounts of chymotrypsin or subtilisin at acid pH.     

The three-dimensional structures of tick carboxypeptidase inhibitor in complex with A/B carboxypeptidases reveal a novel double-headed binding mode

The tick carboxypeptidase inhibitor (TCI) is a proteinaceous inhibitor of metallo-carboxypeptidases present in the blood-sucking tick Rhipicephalus bursa. The three-dimensional crystal structures of recombinant TCI bound to bovine carboxypeptidase A and to human carboxypeptidase B have been determined and refined at 1.7 A and at 2.0 A resolution, respectively. TCI consists of two domains that are structurally similar despite the low degree of sequence homology. The domains, each consisting of a short alpha-helix followed by a small twisted antiparallel beta-sheet, show a high level of structural homology to proteins of the beta-defensin-fold family. TCI anchors to the surface of mammalian carboxypeptidases in a double-headed manner not previously seen for carboxypeptidase inhibitors: the last three carboxy-terminal amino acid residues interact with the active site of the enzyme in a way that mimics substrate binding, and the N-terminal domain binds to an exosite distinct from the active-site groove. The structures of these complexes should prove valuable in the applications of TCI as a thrombolytic drug and as a basis for the design of novel bivalent carboxypeptidase inhibitors.     

Carboxypeptidase inhibitor from ripened tomatoes; Purification and properties

A polypeptide which inhibits pancreatic carboxypeptidases has been purified from extracts of tomato fruit (Lycopersicum esculentum). The purification procedure involves chromatography on immobilized carboxypeptidase A and gel filtration, and yields homogeneous inhibitor as judged by disc gel electrophoresis and amino acid analysis. The inhibitor from tomatoes contains 38 amino acid residues and is related to one from potato tubers as determined by a comparison of their amino acid compositions and by cross-reactivity against anti-potato inhibitor antibodies. Inhibition studies indicate that bovine carboxypeptidase A, porcine carboxypeptidase B, and a carboxypeptidase from Streptomyces griseus bind to the inhibitors from tomato and potato with approximately the same free energy of association.     

A potato carboxypeptidase inhibitor gene provides pathogen resistance in transgenic rice

A defensive role against insect attack has been traditionally attributed to plant protease inhibitors. Here, evidence is described of the potential of a plant protease inhibitor, the potato carboxypeptidase inhibitor (PCI), to provide resistance to fungal pathogens when expressed in rice as a heterologous protein. It is shown that rice plants constitutively expressing the pci gene exhibit resistance against the economically important pathogens Magnaporthe oryzae and Fusarium verticillioides . A M. oryzae carboxypeptidase was purified by affinity chromatography and further characterized by mass spectrometry. This fungal carboxypeptidase was found to be a novel carboxypeptidase B which was fully inhibited by PCI. Overall, the results indicate that PCI exerts its antifungal activity through the inhibition of this particular fungal carboxypeptidase B. Although pci confers protection against fungal pathogens in transgenic rice, a significant cost in insect resistance is observed. Thus, the weight gain of larvae of the specialist insect Chilo suppressalis (striped stem borer) and the polyphagous insect Spodoptera littoralis (Egyptian cotton worm) fed on pci rice is significantly larger than that of insects fed on wild-type plants. Homology-based modelling revealed structural similarities between the predicted structure of the M. oryzae carboxypeptidase B and the crystal structure of insect carboxypeptidases, indicating that PCI may function not only as an inhibitor of fungal carboxypeptidases, but also as an inhibitor of insect carboxypeptidases. The potential impact of the pci gene in terms of protection against fungal and insect diseases is discussed.     

Identification of the reactive (inhibitory) sites of chymotryptic inhibitor I from potatoes

Chymotryptic Inhibitor I from potato tubers was subjected to limited hydrolysis with catalytic amounts of chymotrypsin and trypsin at pH 3. The fragmen     

Purification and properties of hydroxycinnamoyl CoA quinate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase from potatoes

A rapid method for the purification of hydroxycinnamoyl CoA quinate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (CQT) from potato tubers which had been stored at low temperatures is described. The method involves affinity chromatography on Blue Sepharose with biospecific desorption of CQT with its substrate, CoA. Elution of the Blue Sepharose column with a gradient of CoA leads to the resolution of CQT, a protein with MW of ca 41500, into 3 peaks of activity; the largest peak elutes first. This fraction is purified × 1440 and gives a single band of protein after PAGE which suggests a high degree of purity. The properties of the 3 fractions of CQT, with respect to substrates and to a number of inhibitors, are described. The first and last eluting CQT fractions are specific for quinate and show no activity towards shikimate. The second peak, however, shows a small activity towards shikimate but this is thought to be due to an underlying peak of a shikimate specific enzyme. The major peak of CQT activity found in potatoes stored at 0° is absent from those stored at 10° throughout the period after harvest.     

A tandem Kunitz protease inhibitor (KPI106)–serine carboxypeptidase (SCP1) controls mycorrhiza establishment and arbuscule development in Medicago truncatula

Plant proteases and protease inhibitors are involved in plant developmental processes including those involving interactions with microbes. Here we show that a tandem between a Kunitz protease inhibitor (KPI106) and a serine carboxypeptidase (SCP1) controls arbuscular mycorrhiza development in the root cortex of Medicago truncatula. Both proteins are only induced during mycorrhiza formation and belong to large families whose members are also mycorrhiza‐specific. Furthermore, the interaction between KPI106 and SCP1 analysed using the yeast two‐hybrid system is specific, indicating that each family member might have a defined counterpart. In silico docking analysis predicted a putative P1 residue in KPI106 (Lys173) that fits into the catalytic pocket of SCP1, suggesting that KPI106 might inhibit the enzyme activity by mimicking the protease substrate. In vitro mutagenesis of the Lys173 showed that this residue is important in determining the strength and specificity of the interaction. The RNA interference (RNAi) inactivation of the serine carboxypeptidase SCP1 produces aberrant mycorrhizal development with an increased number of septated hyphae and degenerate arbuscules, a phenotype also observed when overexpressing KPI106. Protease and inhibitor are both secreted as observed when expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana epidermal cells. Taken together we envisage a model in which the protease SCP1 is secreted in the apoplast where it produces a peptide signal critical for proper fungal development within the root. KPI106 also at the apoplast would modulate the spatial and/or temporal activity of SCP1 by competing with the protease substrate.     

Isolation and characterization of wound-inducible carboxypeptidase inhibitor from tomato leaves

In a previous report [Mol. Gen. Genet. 228 (1991) 281], carboxypeptidase inhibitor protein (CPI) mRNA was found to accumulate in leaves of wounded tomato plants, but CPI protein could not be detected. In contrast, we found that CPI protein does accumulate in tomato leaves in response to wounding, and also in response to treatment with either systemin, methyl jasmonate (MeJ), oligogalacturonic acid, or chitosan. Identification of CPI protein was confirmed by its inhibition of metallo-carboxypeptidase A (CPAase), which was used as an assay during purification of the inhibitor from leaves of MeJ-treated tomato plants. Amino acid sequence analysis and mass spectroscopic analyses of the pure protein confirmed its identity as CPI. The pure protein inhibited CPAase in a 1:1 stoichimetric interaction. Time course analyses of the induction of CPI mRNA in tomato leaves in response to wounding indicated that the gene is a member of the group of "late genes" that code for defensive proteins synthesized in leaves in response to herbivore attack.     

Amino acid sequencing by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using trifluoro-dideuteroalkylated peptide derivatives: C. The primary structure of the carboxypeptidase inhibitor from potatoes

The carboxypeptidase inhibitor from potatoes has been used to demonstrate the utility of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of the primary structure of such large polypeptides. Two mixtures of oligopeptide fragments, obtained by limited acid hydrolysis and enzymatic digestion of this polypeptide, were transformed into the corresponding mixtures of O-trimethyl-silylated trifluoro-dideuteroethyl polyamino alcohols which were then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The resulting mass spectral and retention index data allowed the identification of 61 oligopeptide fragments which were assembled by the computer by positioning all 39 amino acid residues in a unique sequence (with the exception of the assignment of the primary amide groups of Asn and Gln).     

Changes in the activity of hydroxycinnamyl CoA:quinate hydroxycinnamyl transferase and in the levels of chlorogenic acid in potatoes and sweet potatoes stored at various temperatures

A large increase in the activity of hydroxycinnamyl CoA:quinate hydroxycinnamyl transferase (CQT) occurred in potatoes stored at 0 and 2° and such an increase was prevented by storage at either 5 or 10°. The increase was most rapid in potatoes stored at 0° where it reached a maximum after 28 days and then declined slowly during storage for up to 6 months. Accompanying these changes in CQT were transitory increases in p-coumarate CoA ligase and PAL which occured during the first few weeks of storage at 0° and during this period there was nearly a two fold increase in the chlorogenic acid content of the tissue. The increase in chlorogenic acid did not occur at 10° when the increases in PAL, ligase and CQT were also prevented. The increase in CQT was reversed when tubers stored at 0° for 14 days were returned to 10° and this warming up period prevented further increase in CQT on return to 0°. The increase in CQT at 0° was prevented if the air in the storageatmosphere was replaced by N₂, 1 % O₂ or 10–15% CO₂. Similar increases in CQT, ligase and chlorogenic acid occurred in sweet potatoes stored at 7.5° but were prevented by storage at 15°. The role of PAL, ligase and CQT in the control of chlorogenic acid accumulation in these commodities and the significance of changes in their activities in relation to physiological changes at low temperatures are discussed.     

The composition of the expressed sap from cold stored potatoes

Analysis of the chemical composition of expressed sap from potatoes stored at low temperatures (2°) indicates that an increased amount of inorganic phosphate is present in the juice from the cytoplasm and vacuole.     

Study of a major intermediate in the oxidative folding of leech carboxypeptidase inhibitor: contribution of the fourth disulfide bond

The oxidative folding pathway of leech carboxypeptidase inhibitor (LCI; four disulfide bonds) proceeds through the formation of two major intermediates (III-A and III-B) that contain three native disulfide bonds and act as strong kinetic traps in the folding process. The III-B intermediate lacks the Cys19-Cys43 disulfide bond that links the beta-sheet core with the alpha-helix in wild-type LCI. Here, an analog of this intermediate was constructed by replacing Cys19 and Cys43 with alanine residues. Its oxidative folding follows a rapid sequential flow through one, two, and three disulfide species to reach the native form; the low accumulation of two disulfide intermediates and three disulfide (scrambled) isomers accounts for a highly efficient reaction. The three-dimensional structure of this analog, alone and in complex with carboxypeptidase A (CPA), was determined by X-ray crystallography at 2.2A resolution. Its overall structure is very similar to that of wild-type LCI, although the residues in the region adjacent to the mutation sites show an increased flexibility, which is strongly reduced upon binding to CPA. The structure of the complex also demonstrates that the analog and the wild-type LCI bind to the enzyme in the same manner, as expected by their inhibitory capabilities, which were similar for all enzymes tested. Equilibrium unfolding experiments showed that this mutant is destabilized by approximately 1.5 kcal mol(-1) (40%) relative to the wild-type protein. Together, the data indicate that the fourth disulfide bond provides LCI with both high stability and structural specificity.     

Molecular dynamics characterization of the active cavity of carboxypeptidase A and some of its inhibitor adducts.

Molecular dynamics (MD) calculations have been performed on carboxypeptidase A and on its adducts with inhibitors, such as d-phenylalanine (dPhe) and acetate. The catalytically essential zinc ion present in the protein was explicitly included in all the simulations. The simulation was carried out over a sphere of 15 A centered on the zinc ion. The crystallographic water molecules were explicitly taken into account; then the protein was solvated with a 18 A sphere of water molecules. MD calculations were carried out for 45-60 ps. There is no large deviation from the available X-ray structures of native and the dPhe adduct for the MD structures. Average MD structures were calculated starting from the X-ray structure of the dPhe adduct, and, from a structure obtained by docking the inhibitor in the native structure. Comparison between these two structures and with that of the native protein shows that some of the key variations produced by inhibitor binding are reproduced by MD calculations. Addition of acetate induces structural changes relevant for the understanding of the interaction network in the active cavity. The structural variations induced by different inhibitors are examined. The effects of these interactions on the catalytic mechanism and on the binding of substrate are discussed.     

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.     

Identification of the catalytic histidine residue participating in the charge-relay system of carboxypeptidase Y.

The essential histidine residue of carboxypeptidase Y (CPY) was modified by a site-specific reagent, a chloromethylketone derivative of benzyloxycarbonyl-L-phenylalanine. The single modified histidine residue was converted to N tau-carboxy-methyl histidine (cmHis) upon performic acid oxidation. A peptide containing cmHis was isolated from the tryptic-thermolytic digest. Based on the amino acid composition and sequence analysis, the peptide is shown to be Val-Phe-Asp-Gly-Gly-cmHis-MetO2-Val-Pro, which was derived from CPY cleaved by trypsin at Arg 391 and thermolysin at Phe 401, and thus His 397 was modified. This histidine residue has been implicated previously by X-ray analysis to participate in the charge-relay system of CPY.     

Isolation and characterization of a protease inhibitor from spinach leaves

An acid-stable and heat-labile proteinous protease inhibitor which was found in spinach leaves but not in seeds was isolated by sequential chromatography and preparative isoelectric focusing. The isoelectric point of this inhibitor was 4.5. The inhibitor had a M_r of ca 18 000 and was rich in aspartic acid and glycine; it had 4 half-cystine, 2 tryptophan and no methionine residues. Its extinction coefficient (E|_cm^%) was 13.7 at 280 nm. The inhibition was competitive and the dissociation constant was 3.32 × 10^?13 M. The inhibitor was specific to serine proteases and strongly inhibited trypsin and weakly inhibited α-chymotrypsin and kallikrein.     

Product stabilization of the two forms of carboxypeptidase A from buffalo pancreas

The two forms of buffalo carboxypeptidase A lose a part of their activity when incubated at their optimal temperature. Both the forms are protected from heat denaturation by L-phenylalanine, one of the reaction products while the other reaction product hippuric acid provides only limited protection. It has also been shown that L-phenylalanine and hippuric acid bind at the same site of the enzyme and that the release of L-phenylalanine follows that of hippuric acid. On this basis, a new mechanism for the hydrolysis of acyldipeptides by carboxypeptidase A has been proposed     

Partial purification of potato tuber invertase and its proteinaceous inhibitor

Improved purification of potato tuber invertase was achieved by utilizing a form of affinity chromatography between the enzyme and Concanavalin A (Con A) bound to Sepharose. Twenty-fold increases in specific activity were routinely obtained with this step and the enzyme was purified 190-fold over that found in the crude homogenate. The Con A-Sepharose chromatography step gave a greater purification than any other step in the invertase isolation procedure. There was up to 170% recovery of the activity loaded onto the column. α-Methyl-d-mannoside, sucrose, d-glucose and d-fructose eluted the enzyme from the Con A-Sepharose column with similar recoveries, although the volume of eluent required varied with the sugar. This unusually high recovery of invertase activity was obtained with some batches of tubers but not with others. There was evidence to suggest that the high recovery, or activation, may be due to the release of an inhibitor from the enzyme in the presence of Con A-Sepharose. Adsorption of invertase to Con A-Sepharose could be eliminated by incubation of the enzyme with α-mannosidase and β-glucosidase, indicating that potato tuber invertase is a glycoprotein. Proteinaceous inhibitor purification was improved by treatment of the tuber extract at low pH.