Analysis of linkage between genes controlling enzymes in sunflower

The polymorphism of leucine aminopeptidase in 23 inbred lines of sunflower of mutant origin was studied. The isozyme spectrum of leucine aminopeptidase is presented as a single zone of enzyme activity controlled by one gene. This gene was shown to be inherited independently from genes of esterase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase.     

Molecular cloning of adipocyte-derived leucine aminopeptidase highly related to placental leucine aminopeptidase/oxytocinase

In the current study, we report the cloning and initial characterization of a novel human cytosolic aminopeptidase named adipocyte-derived leucine aminopeptidase (A-LAP). The sequence encodes a 941-amino acid protein with significant homology (43%) to placental leucine aminopeptidase (P-LAP)/oxytocinase. The predicted A-LAP contains the HEXXH(X)18E consensus sequence, which is characteristic of the M1 family of zinc-metallopeptidases. Although the deduced sequence contains a hydrophobic region near the N-terminus, the enzyme localized mainly in cytoplasm when expressed in COS-7 cells. Northern blot analysis revealed that A-LAP was expressed in all the tissues tested, some of which expressed at least three forms of mRNA, suggesting that the regulation of the gene expression is complex. When aminopeptidase activity of A-LAP was measured with various synthetic substrates, the enzyme revealed a preference for leucine, establishing that A-LAP is a novel leucine aminopeptidase with restricted substrate specificity. The identification of A-LAP, which reveals strong homology to P-LAP, might lead to the definition of a new subfamily of zinc-containing aminopeptidases belonging to the M1 family of metallopeptidases.     

Leucine aminopeptidase during meiotic development.

We found a leucine aminopeptidase (LAP; EC 3.4.11.1) to be abundant in meiotic prophase tissue of a basidiomycete, Coprinus cinereus. After direct purification of the aminopeptidase component from meiocytes, we cloned the gene by degenerate PCR using partial amino-acid sequences of the purified enzyme and 5' and 3' RACE. It was homologous to the eukaryotic leucine aminopeptidase gene. The recombinant protein possesses the characteristic activities of a Coprinus leucine aminopeptidase (CoLAP) with a molecular mass of 52.4 kDa, and forms a homohexamer. Northern blot and spatial distribution analysis by immunohistochemical staining indicated CoLAP to be abundant in meiotic prophase cells and the supporting cells around meiocytes, but scarce in mycelium cells. Interestingly, from zygotene to pachytene, CoLAP was mostly present in supporting cells around meiocytes, but from diplotene onwards, it was plentiful in meiocytes themselves, suggesting that its expression is required to control some of the biochemical events at meiotic prophase. Moreover, the strong expression of CoLAP mRNA immediately after treatment with methyl methanesulfonate in mycelium implies that CoLAP has a role in somatic DNA repair.     

Cloning and sequence analysis of the aminopeptidase My gene from Mycoplasma salivarium

Abstract The complete nucleotide sequence of a major component of aminopeptidase My purified from Mycoplasma salivarium was determined. The protein gene encoded a protein consisting of 520 amino acids with a molecular mass of 58079 Da. The protein contained two tryptophan residues, one of which was encoded by UGA. A computer-aided homology search suggested that aminopeptidase My had properties similar to those of leucine aminopeptidase (EC 3.4.11.1).     

Development of leucine aminopeptidase activity during daylily flower growth and senescence

The possibility that exopeptidases, i.e. aminopeptidases and carboxypeptidases, in addition to the previously studied endopeptidase might also be developmentally regulated in daylily petals was examined. The level of leucine aminopeptidase and endopeptidase activities changed after the flower was fully open while that of carboxypeptidase activity remained relatively unchanged throughout senescence. Leucine aminopeptidase activity seemed to increase after the flower was fully open and peaked several hours earlier than endopeptidase did. Taken together, it is postulated that leucine aminopeptidase might play a role in protein turnover during flower opening and in the initiation of protein hydrolysis associated with petal senescence while the endopeptidase could be responsible for the breakdown of the bulk of proteins at the later stages. The drop in leucine aminopeptidase activity associated with the onset of daylily petal senescence was effectively halted by a cycloheximide treatment of cut daylily flowers for 24 h which was previously shown to prolong the vase life of the flowers and prevent protein loss from the petals. Apart from both being developmentally regulated in daylily petals, the leucine aminopeptidase activity and the previously studied endopeptidase are different in several aspects. They appear to have different pH optima, 8 for leucine aminopeptidase and 6.2 for endopeptidase. Unlike the endopeptidase activity, no new leucine aminopeptidase isozymes appeared during petal senescence, and the leucine aminopeptidase did not appear to belong to the cysteine class of proteolytic enzymes.     

Possible exposure of leucine aminopeptidase on the cell surface of rabbit blood neutrophils by digitonin treatment

The sensitivity of leucine aminopeptidase to diazotized sulfanilic acid (DSA) was compared between neutrophils from blood and peritoneal exudates of rabbit. The leucine aminopeptidase activity of peritoneal neutrophils was inhibited about 40% by DSA, whereas that of blood neutrophils was not inhibited at all by the reagent. However, pretreatment of blood neutrophils with digitonin in the presence and in the absence of divalent cations rendered leucine aminopeptidase sensitive to DSA to the same extent as peritoneal neutrophils, without affecting the cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase activity. These findings seem to indicate that the leucine aminopeptidase of blood neutrophils, which is normally inaccessible to DSA, was exposed on the cell surface by digitonin treatment.     

Aminopeptidase yscII of yeast. Isolation of mutants and their biochemical and genetic analysis

Mutant strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae defective in aminopeptidase yscII were isolated by screening for reduced external activity against the chromogenic substrate lysine beta-naphthylamide. One of the selected mutant strains analyzed in detail showed wild-type staining activity when tested at 23 degrees C but mutant activity after exposure to 37 degrees C, suggesting a temperature-sensitive mutation. Electrophoretic separation of mutant crude extracts on non-denaturing polyacrylamide gels and subsequent activity staining using lysine and leucine beta-naphthylamides as substrates revealed that in all strains isolated the same distinct activity band was affected, which corresponded to the aminopeptidase activity identified previously as aminopeptidase yscII [Achstetter, T., Ehmann, C. & Wolf, D. H. (1983) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 226, 292-305]. All mutants strains isolated fell into the same complementation group. Tetrad dissection of sporulated diploids heterozygous for the wild-type and mutant allele resulted in a 2:2 segregation of mutant and wild-type phenotype indicating a single gene mutation. The characteristics of the mutations analyzed point to the gene which we called APE2 as the structural gene of aminopeptidase yscII. No vital consequences of aminopeptidase yscII deficiency on cell life and differentiation could be detected. However, the enzyme seems to be involved in the cellular supply of leucine from externally offered leucine-containing dipeptide substrates.     

Purification and Identification of a Novel Leucine Aminopeptidase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis</Emphasis>

A novel leucine aminopeptidase was purified from a Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) culture. The purification stages included heating the concentrated supernatant to 65°C for 90 min, anion-exchange chromatography by DEAE cellulose, and hydrophobic chromatography by phenyl Sepharose. The specific activity of leucine aminopeptidase after the hydrophobic chromatography increased by 215.5-fold and the yield was 16%. The molecular weight of the active enzyme was 59 kDa. Mass spectrometry analysis of the 59-kDa leucine aminopeptidase revealed that this protein has at least 41% homology with the cytosol leucine aminopeptidase produced by Bacillus cereus. Maximal leucine aminopeptidase activity occurred at 65°C, pH 10 toward leucine as the amino acid terminus. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by bestatin, dithiothreitol, and 1,10-phenanthroline, indicating that the enzyme might be considered as a metallo-aminopeptidase that has disulfide bonds at the catalytic site or at a region that influences its configuration. Examination of the purified leucine aminopeptidase’s effect on the activation of the protoxin Cyt1Aa from Bti revealed that when it acts synergistically with Bti endogenous proteases, it has only a minor role in the processing of Cyt1Aa into an active toxin.     

Leucine aminopeptidase from Arabidopsis thaliana. Molecular evidence for a phylogenetically conserved enzyme of protein turnover in higher plants.

Leucine aminopeptidases are exopeptidases which are presumably involved in the processing and regular turnover of intracellular proteins; however, their precise function in cellular metabolism remains to be established. Towards this goal, a full-length complementary DNA encoding a plant leucine aminopeptidase was isolated from a cDNA library of Arabidopsis thaliana and sequenced. The nucleotide sequence showed 49.5% identity to the Escherichia coli xerB-encoded leucine aminopeptidase. Sequence analysis revealed that the cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 520 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 54,506 Da. The C-terminal part (amino acids 200-520) of the deduced amino acid sequence showed 43.8% sequence identity to the xerB-encoded leucine aminopeptidase and 42.6% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of bovine lens leucine aminopeptidase (EC 3.4.11.1). No sequence similarity (not even over short sequence elements) was observed with any other known peptidase or proteinase sequence. The cDNA was expressed as a fusion protein from the lacZ promoter in E. coli. Enzymatic analysis proved that the cloned cDNA encoded an active leucine aminopeptidase. The properties of this enzyme, including metal requirements, inhibitor sensitivity, pH optimum and the remarkable temperature stability, are very similar to those reported for leucine aminopeptidases from other tissues. Amino acids involved in metal and substrate binding in bovine lens aminopeptidase are completely conserved in the plant enzyme as well as in the XerB protein. Our results show that leucine aminopeptidases form a superfamily of highly conserved enzymes, spanning the evolutionary period from the bacteria to animals and higher plants. This is the first aminopeptidase cloned from a plant.     

Characterization of the Rickettsia prowazekii pepA gene encoding leucine aminopeptidase.

The pepA gene, encoding a protein with leucine aminopeptidase activity, was isolated from Rickettsia prowazekii, an obligate intracellular parasitic bacterium. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame of 1,502 bp that would encode a protein of 499 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 53,892, a size comparable to that of the protein produced in Escherichia coli minicells containing the rickettsial gene. Also, heat-stable leucine aminopeptidase activity was demonstrable in an E. coli peptidase-deficient strain containing R. prowazekii pepA. Comparison of the amino acid sequence of the R. prowazekii PepA with the characterized leucine aminopeptidases from E. coli, Arabidopsis thaliana, and bovine eye lens revealed that 39.8, 34.9, and 34.0% of the residues were identical, respectively. Residues proposed to be part of the active site or involved in the binding of metal ions in the bovine metalloenzyme were all conserved in R. prowazekii PepA. However, despite the structural and enzymatic similarity to E. coli PepA, the R. prowazekii protein was unable to complement the cer site-specific, PepA-dependent recombination system found in E. coli that resolves ColE1-type plasmid multimers into their monomeric forms.     

Isolation of the leucine aminopeptidase gene from Aeromonas proteolytica. Evidence for an enzyme precursor.

The leucine aminopeptidase of Aeromonas proteolytica (EC 3.4.11.10) is a monomeric metalloenzyme having the capacity to bind two Zn2+ atoms in the active site. Structural information of this relatively small aminopeptidase that could illuminate the catalytic mechanism of the metal ions is lacking; hence, we have obtained sequences from the purified enzyme, cloned the corresponding gene, and expressed the recombinant protein in Escherichia coli. The deduced primary amino acid sequence of this secreted protease suggests a potential signal peptide at the NH2 terminus. Expression of the recombinant and native proteins in E. coli and in extracts of culture media of A. proteolytica indicates that the aminopeptidase is secreted as an active and thermosensitive 43-kDa protein that is rapidly transformed to thermostable forms of 30 and 32 kDa. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of the A. proteolytica leucine aminopeptidase with other Zn(2+)-binding metalloenzymes failed to show homologies to the consensus binding sequence His-Glu-X-X-His for the metal ion.     

Accumulation of cell-bound alpha-amylase in Bacillus subtilis cells in the presence of tunicamycin

The amino acid sequence of the N-terminal cyanogen bromide fragment of bovine lens leucine aminopeptidase has been determined. This fragment contains a total of 171 amino acid residues and has a calculated molecular weight of 18,637. The sequence data presented here represent the first report of primary structure determination of a member of the class of aminopeptidases.The single cleavage site produced by limited tryptic digestion of native leucine aminopeptidase was determined to be between arginine-137 and lysine-138 of the total amino acid sequence. The possible existence of distinct structural domains in leucine aminopeptidase is discussed.     

Serum Lactic Dehydrogenase,Leucine Aminopeptidase and 5-Nucleotidase Activity: Observations in Patients with Carcinoma of the Pancreas and Hepatobiliary Disease

Serum lactic dehydrogenase, leucine aminopeptidase, 5-nucleotidase and alkaline phosphatase activities were investigated in a number of diseases involving the hepatobiliary system.Leucine aminopeptidase was found to be a sensitive indicator of biliary obstruction, serum 5-nucleotidase slightly less sensitive, and alkaline phosphatase appreciably less sensitive. Leucine aminopeptidase and 5-nucleotidase activities were often increased by malignant infiltration of the liver and primary hepatic disease even in the absence of jaundice.Serum lactic dehydrogenase was frequently increased in primary hepatic disease and malignant disorders but was not apparently affected by bile duct obstruction per se. Thirty-five of 45 patients with proved malignancy had increased lactic dehydrogenase levels.The highest leucine aminopeptidase levels were encountered in carcinoma of the head of the pancreas. The frequent increase in both serum lactic dehydrogenase and leucine aminopeptidase activities in patients with carcinoma of the head of the pancreas suggests that these combined estimations are useful laboratory procedures in the diagnosis of malignant extrahepatic obstruction.     

Characterisation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus niger</Emphasis> prolyl aminopeptidase

We have cloned a gene (papA) that encodes a prolyl aminopeptidase from Aspergillus niger. Homologous genes are present in the genomes of the Eurotiales A. nidulans, A. fumigatus and Talaromyces emersonii, but the gene is not present in the genome of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Cell extracts of strains overexpressing the gene under the control of its own promoter showed a fourfold to sixfold increase in prolyl aminopeptidase activity, but no change in phenylalanine or leucine aminopeptidase activity. The overexpressed enzyme was subsequently purified and characterised. The enzyme specifically removes N-terminal proline and hydroxyproline residues from peptides. It is the first enzyme of its kind from a eukaryotic organism that has been characterised.     

Human leukocyte-derived arginine aminopeptidase. The third member of the oxytocinase subfamily of aminopeptidases

In this study we report the cloning and characterization of a novel human aminopeptidase, which we designate leukocyte-derived arginine aminopeptidase (L-RAP). The sequence encodes a 960-amino acid protein with significant homology to placental leucine aminopeptidase and adipocyte-derived leucine aminopeptidase. The predicted L-RAP contains the HEXXH(X)18E zinc-binding motif, which is characteristic of the M1 family of zinc metallopeptidases. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that L-RAP forms a distinct subfamily with placental leucine aminopeptidase and adipocyte-derived leucine aminopeptidase in the M1 family. Immunocytochemical analysis indicates that L-RAP is located in the lumenal side of the endoplasmic reticulum. Among various synthetic substrates tested, L-RAP revealed a preference for arginine, establishing that the enzyme is a novel arginine aminopeptidase with restricted substrate specificity. In addition to natural hormones such as angiotensin III and kallidin, L-RAP cleaved various N-terminal extended precursors to major histocompatibility complex class I-presented antigenic peptides. Like other proteins involved in antigen presentation, L-RAP is induced by interferon-gamma. These results indicate that L-RAP is a novel aminopeptidase that can trim the N-terminal extended precursors to antigenic peptides in the endoplasmic reticulum.     

Purification and properties of an extracellular leucine aminopeptidase from the Bacillus sp. N2

A halophilic bacterium was isolated from fermented anchovy sauce and identified as Bacillus species. An extracellular leucine aminopeptidase from Bacillus sp. N2 was purified to homogeneity using four successive purification steps. The enzyme has a native molecular mass of about 57 000 Da using FPLC gel filtration analysis and a molecular mass of 58 000 Da using SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This monomeric leucine aminopeptidase showed maximum enzyme activity at pH 9·5. The optimum temperature was 50 °C when L -Leu- p -nitroanilide was the substrate. The leucine aminopeptidase was inactivated by 1,10-phenanthroline, dithiothreitol and sodium dodecyl sulphate. Enzyme activity was increased by addition of Co²⁺. It is likely that Co²⁺ plays an important role in the catalysis or stability of the Bacillus sp. N2 leucine aminopeptidase. Sodium chloride (0–4·5 mol l⁻¹) increased the hydrolytic activity towards L -Leu- p -nitroanilide. The N-terminal amino acid sequence was Glu-Arg-Glu-Leu-Pro-Phe-Lys-Ala-Lys-His-Ala-Tyr-Ser-Thr-Ile. The purified enzyme had a high specificity for L -Leu- p -nitroanilide.     

Leucine aminopeptidase as an echo-enzyme of polymorphonuclear neutrophils

Intact polymorphonuclear neutrophils were modified chemically by a poorly permeable reagent, diazotized sulfanilic acid, and the changes in the activity of 5'-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphodiesterase, and leucine aminopeptidase were examined. Among three plasma membrane enzymes, 5'-nucleotidase activity was hardly detected in the human neutrophils. The activity of alkaline phosphodiesterase was observed in all the neutrophils examined, but was not inhibited by diazotized sulfanilic acid in the guinea-pig neutrophils. On the other hand, the activity of leucine aminopeptidase was not only found but also inhibited by diazotized sulfanilic acid without the inhibition of lactate dehydrogenase, a cytosol enzyme, in all the neutrophils, suggesting that leucine aminopeptidase is located generally on the plasma membrane as an ecto-enzyme in the neutrophils.