Automated screen of a preliminary lead-drug for chitosanase drug design

Chitosan is a naturally occurring component of certain bacterial and fungal cell walls. If some groups of medically and agriculturally significant fungi contain chitosan, chitosan metabolism represents attractive drug targets specific to those fungal systems. Recently, structure-based drug design emerges as a powerful technique in drug screening. The process initially requires three dimensional structure of a target molecule. Because the bacterialStreptomyces lividans N174 chitosanase is only one chitosanase whose X-ray structure has been solved, we begin the process of structure-based drug design with the bacterial enzyme but it should be extended to a fungal one. In order to initiate the process, a preliminary lead-drug was screened by automated computer search from chemical databases. The 5-nitro-isatin showed an inhibitory effect by 50% at 1.5 mM on theStreptomyces lividans N174 chitosanase.     

Preparation, properties and antileukemic activity of arabinosylcytosine polysaccharide conjugates

1. Conjugates of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (araC) with polysaccharides containing carboxyl groups, such as polygalacturonic acid (PGA) and carboxymethylated yeast beta-D-glucan (CMG) were prepared. 2. Activation of the polysaccharidic carboxyl group by isobutylchloroformiate and formation of a peptide bond via 4-NH2 group of araC was used for a coupling reaction. 3. Elementary analysis, u.v. and i.r. spectra confirmed the structures of the conjugates. 4. The conjugates were most stable against the hydrolysis under the mild acid conditions. 5. It was also shown that under the physiological conditions trypsin catalyze the conjugate hydrolysis and the catalytic effect is higher than that of chymotrypsine. 6. It is suggested that trypsin or trypsin-like proteases could participate in the hydrolysis of the conjugates in vivo. PGA-araC and CMG-araC showed 1.5- or 2.5-times higher antileukemic activity than both free araC or polysaccharides.     

Effective production of chitinase and chitosanase byStreptomyces griseus HUT 6037 using colloidal chitin and various degrees of deacetylation of chitosan

The advantages of the organismStreptomyces griseus HUT 6037 is that the chitinase and chitosanase using chitinaceouse substrate are capable of hydrolyzing both amorphous and crystalline chitin and chitosan. We attempted to investigate the optimization of induction protocol for high-level production and secretion of chitosanase and the influence of chitin and partially deacetylated chitosan sources (75–99% deactylation). The maximum specific activity of chitinase has been found at 5 days cultivation with the 48 hours induction time using colloidal chitin as a carbon source. To investigate characteristic of chitosan activity according to substrate, we used chitosan with various degree of deacetylation as a carbon source and found that this strain accumulates chitosanase in the culture medium using chitosanaceous substrates rather than chitinaceous substrates. The highest chitosanase activity was also presented on 4 days with 99% deacetylated chitosan. The partially 53% deacetylated chitosan can secrete both chitinase and chitosanase which was defined as a soluble chitosan. The specific activities of chitinase and chitosanase were 0.89 at 3 days and 1.33 U/mg protein at 5 days, respectively. It indicate that chitosanase obtained fromS. griseus HUT 6037 can hydrolyze GlcNAc-GlcN and GlcN-GlcN linkages by exo-splitting manner. This activity increased with increasing degree of deacetylation of chitosan. It is the first attempt to investigate the effects of chitosanase on various degrees of deacetylations of chitosan byS. griseus HUT 6037. The highest specific activity of chitosanase was obtained with 99% deacetylated chitosan.     

Characterization of a Chitosanase from Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC13073

Chitosanase II was purified from the culture filtrate of Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC13073. The purified enzyme had a molecular mass of 23.5 kDa. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of chitosanase II was identical to those of other Aspergillus chitosanases belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 75. The optimum pH and temperature were pH 6.0 and 40 °C. Chitosanase II hydrolyzed 70% deacetylated chitosan faster than fully deacetylated chitosan. Analysis of the degradation products generated from partially N-acetylated chitosan showed that chitosanase II split GlcN-GlcN and GlcNAc-GlcN bonds but not GlcNAc-GlcNAc or GlcN-GlcNAc, suggesting that it is a subclass I chitosanase. It degraded (GlcN)(6) to produce (GlcN)(3) as main product and small amounts of (GlcN)(2) and (GlcN)(4). Reaction rate analyses of mono-N-acetylated chitohexaose suggested that the (+3) site of chitosanase II recognizes the GlcNAc residue rather than the GlcN residue of its substrate.     

壳聚糖固定化酶一步纯化抑肽酶研究

采用化学改性与修饰微珠壳聚糖为载体,共价法偶联牛胰蛋白酶,制成抑肽酶亲和吸附剂,单位活力５１９０ＫＩＵ／ｇ（湿）,蛋白偶联率６０．５％,酶活性回收率５５％;将其直接亲和层析牛肺提取液,分离纯化高比活抑肽酶。方法过程简单,样品比活力５７００ＫＩＵ／ｍｇ,质量稳定,成本较低;该吸附剂机械强度高,抗污染能力较强,非特异性吸附较小,可以反复使用,价格低廉,适合工业化生产。     

Recombinant expression of a chitosanase and its application in chitosan oligosaccharide production

Recently, considerable attention has been focused on chitosan oligosaccharides (COSs) due to their various biological activities. COSs can be prepared by enzymatic degradation of chitosan, which is the deacetylation product of chitin, one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature. In the current study, we recombinantly expressed a chitosanase and used it for COS preparation. A bacillus-derived GH8 family chitosanase with a 6×His tag fused at its N-terminal was expressed in the Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3) as a soluble and active form. Its expression level could be as high as 500 mg/L. Enzymatic activity could reach approximately 140,000 U/L under our assay conditions. The recombinant chitosanase could be purified essentially to homogeneity by immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography. The enzyme could efficiently convert chitosan into monomer-free COS: 1 g of enzyme could hydrolyze about 100 kg of chitosan. Our present work has provided a cheap chitosanase for large-scale COS production in industry.     

Effect of bipolar membrane electrobasification on chitosanase activity during chitosan hydrolysis

Chitosanase is an enzyme that hydrolyzes chitosan, a beta-(1-4) glucosamine polymer, into size-specific oligomers that have pharmaceutical and biological properties. The aim of the present work was to use the bipolar membrane technology, in particular the OH(-) stream produced by water splitting, for inactivation of chitosanase at alkaline pH in order to terminate the enzymatic reaction producing chitosan oligomers. The objectives consisted of studying the effect of pH: (a) on the stability of chitosanase, and (b) on the catalytic activity of chitosanase during chitosan hydrolysis. The enzyme was found to be stable in the pH range of 3-8 during at least 7h, and partially lost its activity after 1h at pH 8. The catalytic activity of chitosanase during chitosan hydrolysis decreased after pH adjustment by electrobasification. The reaction rate decreased by 50% from pH 5.5 to 6, whereas the reaction was completely inhibited at pH>7. The decrease of reaction rate was due to chitosan substrate insolubilization and chitosanase denaturation at alkaline pH values.     

Preparation,characterization, and in vitro efficacy of O-carboxymethyl chitosan conjugate of melphalan

A series of melphalan-O-carboxymethyl chitosan (Mel-OCM-chitosan) conjugates with different spacers were prepared and structurally characterized. All conjugates showed satisfactory water-solubility (160-217 times of Mel solubility). In vitro drug release behaviors by both chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis were investigated. The prodrugs released Mel rapidly within papain and lysosomal enzymes of about 40–75%, while released only about 4–5% in buffer and plasma, which suggested that the conjugates have good plasma stability and the hydrolysis in both papain and lysosomes occurs mostly via enzymolysis. It was found that the spacers have important effect on the drug content, water solubility, drug release properties and cytotoxicity of Mel-OCM-chitosan conjugates. Cytotoxicity studies by MTT assay demonstrated that these conjugates had 52–70% of cytotoxicity against RPMI8226 cells in vitro as compared with free Mel, indicating the conjugates did not lose anti-cancer activity of Mel. Overall these studies indicated Mel-OCM-chitosan conjugates as potential prodrugs for cancer treatment.     

Antifungal activity and tautomeric cyclization equilibria of formylphenylboronic acids

2-Formylphenylboronic acid and four isomeric fluoro-2-formylphenylboronic acids have been found active against a series of fungal strains: Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium and Candida. The level of antifungal activity was evaluated by agar diffusion tests as well as the determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) by serial dilution method. Among the tested compounds, 4-fluoro-2-formylphenylboronic acid – an analogue of the known antifungal drug Tavaborole (AN2690) – proved to be the most potent antifungal agent. The tautomeric equilibrium leading to the formation of 3-hydroxybenzoxaboroles as well as the position of the fluorine substituent were revealed to play a crucial role in the observed activity.     

改性与修饰壳聚糖固定化酶纯化抑肽酶研究

采用化学改性与修饰微珠壳聚糖为载体,共价法偶联牛胰蛋白酶,制成抑肽酶亲和吸附剂,单位活力5 190 KIU/g（湿）,蛋白质偶联率60.5％,酶活性回收率55％;将其直接亲和层析牛肺提取液,分离纯化高比活抑肽酶.方法过程简单,样品比活力5 700 KIU/mg,质量稳定,成本较低;该吸附剂机械强度高,抗污染能力较强,非特异性吸附较小,可以反复使用,价格低廉,适合工业化生产.     

Calcitonin inhibits the phosphorylation of various proteins in rat brain synaptic membranes

The present report examines the effect of different calcitonins and analogs on the in vitro phosphorylation of brain synaptic membrane proteins. The findings demonstrate that calcitonin is a potent inhibitor of several brain synaptic proteins and that salmon and eel calcitonins are considerably more potent than thyrocalcitonin in eliciting this effect. Deletion of leucine from position 16 in salmon calcitonin sequence resulted in a drastic loss of inhibitory activity, indicating the importance for a hydrophobic residue at position 16 in the intact calcitonin molecule. The mechanism of calcitonin inhibition of protein phosphorylation was likely due to the blockade of stimulation of protein kinases by calmodulin.     

Purification, Characterization, and Gene Analysis of a Chitosanase (ChoA) from Matsuebacter chitosanotabidus 3001

The extracellular chitosanase (34,000 M(r)) produced by a novel gram-negative bacterium Matsuebacter chitosanotabidus 3001 was purified. The optimal pH of this chitosanase was 4.0, and the optimal temperature was between 30 and 40 degrees C. The purified chitosanase was most active on 90% deacetylated colloidal chitosan and glycol chitosan, both of which were hydrolyzed in an endosplitting manner, but this did not hydrolyze chitin, cellulose, or their derivatives. Among potential inhibitors, the purified chitosanase was only inhibited by Ag(+). Internal amino acid sequences of the purified chitosanase were obtained. A PCR fragment corresponding to one of these amino acid sequences was then used to screen a genomic library for the entire choA gene encoding chitosanase. Sequencing of the choA gene revealed an open reading frame encoding a 391-amino-acid protein. The N-terminal amino acid sequence had an excretion signal, but the sequence did not show any significant homology to other proteins, including known chitosanases. The 80-amino-acid excretion signal of ChoA fused to green fluorescent protein was functional in Escherichia coli. Taken together, these results suggest that we have identified a novel, previously unreported chitosanase.     

Purification and characterization of chitosanase from Bacillus sp. strain KCTC 0377BP and its application for the production of chitosan oligosaccharides

For the enzymatic production of chitosan oligosaccharides from chitosan, a chitosanase-producing bacterium, Bacillus sp. strain KCTC 0377BP, was isolated from soil. The bacterium constitutively produced chitosanase in a culture medium without chitosan as an inducer. The production of chitosanase was increased from 1.2 U/ml in a minimal chitosan medium to 100 U/ml by optimizing the culture conditions. The chitosanase was purified from a culture supernatant by using CM-Toyopearl column chromatography and a Superose 12HR column for fast-performance liquid chromatography and was characterized according to its enzyme properties. The molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated to be 45 kDa by means of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme demonstrated bifunctional chitosanase-glucanase activities, although it showed very low glucanase activity, with less than 3% of the chitosanase activity. Activity of the enzyme increased with an increase of the degrees of deacetylation (DDA) of the chitosan substrate. However, the enzyme still retained 72% of its relative activity toward the 39% DDA of chitosan, compared with the activity of the 94% DDA of chitosan. The enzyme produced chitosan oligosaccharides from chitosan, ranging mainly from chitotriose to chitooctaose. By controlling the reaction time and by monitoring the reaction products with gel filtration high-performance liquid chromatography, chitosan oligosaccharides with a desired oligosaccharide content and composition were obtained. In addition, the enzyme was efficiently used for the production of low-molecular-weight chitosan and highly acetylated chitosan oligosaccharides. A gene (csn45) encoding chitosanase was cloned, sequenced, and compared with other functionally related genes. The deduced amino acid sequence of csn45 was dissimilar to those of the classical chitosanase belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 46 but was similar to glucanases classified with glycoside hydrolase family 8.     

Effect of chitin sources on production of chitinase and chitosanase byStreptomyces griseus HUT 6037

The advantage of usingStreptomyces griseus HUT 6037 in the production of chitinase or chitosanase is that the organism is capable of hydrolyzing amorphous or crystal-line chitin and chitosan according to the type of the substrate used. We investigated the effects of the enzyme induction time and chitin sources, CM-chitosan and deacetylated chitosan (degree of deacetylation 75–99%), on production of chitosanase. We found that this strain accumulated chitosanase when cells were grown in the culture medium containing chitosanaceous substrates instead of chitinaceous substrates. The highest chitosanase activity was obtained at 4 days of cultivation with 99% deacetylated chitosan. Soluble chitosan (53% deacetylated chitosan) was found to induce chitinase as well as chitosanase. The specific activities of chitinase and chitosanase were 0.91 and 1.33 U/mg protein at 3 and 5 days, respectively. From the study of the enzymatic digestibility of various degrees of deacetylated chitosan, it was found that (GlcN)₃, (GlcN)₄ and (GlcN)₅ were produced during the enzymatic hydrolysis reaction. The results of this study suggested that the sugar composition of (GlcN)₃ was homogeneous and those of (GlcN)₄ and (GlcN)₅ were heterogeneous.     

Characterization of antifungal activity of the GH-46 subclass III chitosanase from Bacillus circulans MH-K1

We characterized the antifungal activity of the Bacillus circulans subclass III MH-K1 chitosanase (MH-K1 chitosanase), which is one of the most intensively studied glycoside hydrolases (GHs) that belong to GH family 46. MH-K1 chitosanase inhibited the growth of zygomycetes fungi, Rhizopus and Mucor, even at 10 pmol (0.3 μg)/ml culture probably via its fungistatic effect. The amino acid substitution E37Q abolished the antifungal activity of MH-K1 chitosanase, but retained binding to chitotriose. The E37Q mutant was fused with green fluorescent protein (GFP) at its N-terminus and proved to act as a chitosan probe in combination with wheat-germ agglutinin (WGA), which is a chitin-specific binding lectin. The GFP-fused MH-K1 chitosanase mutant E37Q (GFP-E37Q) bound clearly to the hyphae of the Rhizopus and Mucor strains, indicating the presence of chitosan. In contrast, Cy5-labelled WGA (Cy5-WGA), but not GFP-E37Q, stained the hyphae of non-zygomycetes species, i.e. Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium expansum, and Aspergillus awamori. When the mycelia of Rhizopus oryzae were treated with wild type MH-K1 chitosanase, they could not bind to GFP-E37Q but were stained instead by Cy5-WGA. We conclude that chitin is covered by chitosan in the cell walls of R. oryzae.     

Quantitative fluorometric analysis of plant and microbial chitosanases.

A quantitative fluorometric assay for chitosanase activity in bacterial and plant tissues was developed. The assay can be conducted with either finely milled preparations of chitosan in suspension or dissolved chitosan; activity is based on measurements of glucosamine (GlcN) or oligomers of GlcN. GlcN is detected fluorometrically after reaction with fluorescamine with detection in the nanomole range. Fluorescence measurements of chitosanase activity and radioassay of chitinase in commercial preparations of chitinase from Streptomyces griseus revealed that both activities were present. Specific activities for the S. griseus chitosanase using suspended and soluble chitosans were respectively 1.24 and 6.4 mumol GlcN.min-1.mg protein-1. Specific activity of the S. griseus chitinase was 0.98 mumol GlcN.min-1.mg protein-1. Sweet orange callus tissue was tested for chitosanase and chitinase activity. It was necessary to remove small amine-containing molecules from the callus preparations before chitosanase activity could be assayed. The specific activity for chitinase and chitosanase in desalted extracts of nonembryogenic Valencia sweet orange callus tissue was determined to be 18.6 and 89.4 nmol GlcN.min-1.mg protein-1, respectively.     

Rat enterocyte Na+ transport in vitro. Action of parathyroid hormone and calcitonin

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcitonin exert well known effects on the renal tubule which are thought to involve specific hormone receptors and adenyl cyclase. In the intestine, it is not clear whether the action of PTH and calcitonin is only indirect or also direct, and their mechanisms of action are much less well established. In the present study, possible direct effects of PTH and calcitonin on Na+ transport in isolated intestinal epithelial cells of rats were investigated. In the presence of bovine PTH (1.2 I.U/ml) in the incubation medium, the Na+ efflux rate constant (oKNa) of isolated enterocytes was significantly reduced when compared to that in control experiments with the hormone vehicle only. The mean depression of oKNa induced by bovine PTH was 26% as compared to the control (100%) and to that induced by ouabain (4.0 mM) which was 44%. No depressant effect of bovine PTH on oKNa was observed when the isolated enterocytes were incubated with ouabain (4.0 mM). Thus, bovine PTH appeared to inhibit the ouabain-sensitive Na+ pump. When incubating the isolated epithelial cells in an EGTA-containing CA2+-free medium, bovine PTH lost its capacity to inhibit oKNa. Thus, the presence of extracellular Ca2+ appeared necessary for the inhibitory effect of bovine PTH. In contrast to its effect on oKNa, bovine PTH induced no change in net Na+ uptake by isolated enterocytes. Moreover, no significant effect on enterocyte Na+ transport could be demonstrated for salmon or porcine calcitonin at two different concentrations in the incubation medium, Neither bovine PTH nor salmon calcitonin induced significant changes in enterocyte cyclic AMP or cycle GMP concentrations. It was concluded that bovine PTH, but not calcitonin, exerted a directed inhibitory effect on the ouabain-sensitive oKNa of isolated rat enterocytes. The effect of bovine PTH occurred without measurable activation of the cyclic nucleotide system but needed the presence of Ca2+ in the incubation medium to be operative.     

Substrate induction and statistical optimization for the production of chitosanase from Microbacterium sp. OU01

The chitosanase production was markedly enhanced by substrate induction, statistical optimization of medium composition and culture conditions by Microbacterium sp. OU01 in shake-flask. A significant influence of (NH(4))(2)SO(4), MgSO(4).7H(2)O and initial pH on chitosanase production was noted with Plackett-Burman design. It was then revealed with the method of steepest ascent and response surface methodology (RSM) that 19.0g/L (NH(4))(2)SO(4), 1.3g/L MgSO(4) and an initial pH of 2.0 were optimum for the production of chitosanase; colloidal chitosan appeared to be the best inducer for chitosanase production by Microbacterium sp. OU01. This optimization strategy led to the enhancement of chitosanase from 3.6U/mL to 118U/mL.     

Long-term stimulation of cAMP production in LLC-PK1 pig kidney epithelial cells by salmon calcitonin or a photoactivatable analogue of vasopressin

A photoreactive analogue of vasopressin, [1-(3-mercapto)propionic acid, 8-(N6-4-azidophenylamidino)lysine]-vasopressin, was compared to salmon calcitonin and [8-arginine]-vasopressin with respect to stimulation of cAMP synthesis in the LLC-PK1 pig kidney epithelial cell line. Without photoactivation, the vasopressin analogue-elicited responses were identical to those induced by vasopressin, in that cAMP synthesis returned to the basal, unstimulated level about 4 h after hormonal treatment. In contrast, the levels of activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase induced by salmon calcitonin returned to basal approx. 12 h after hormone addition. When activated by ultraviolet irradiation, the vasopressin analogue induced 'permanent' stimulation of adenylate cyclase, whereby cAMP production could be detected even 12.5 h after treatment. Both salmon calcitonin and the photoactivated vasopressin analogue inhibited growth of LLC-PK1 cells, in contrast to vasopressin or the nonactivated analogue. Growth inhibition appeared to be a consequence of the prolonged stimulation of adenylate cyclase. This conclusion was supported by the fact that a LLC-PK1 cell mutant in cAMP-dependent protein kinase was resistant to growth inhibition by salmon calcitonin and activated vasopressin analogue. The results imply that the cAMP-dependent protein kinase is the mediator of the hormone-stimulated growth inhibition.     

Chitosanase activity in<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus thuringiensis</Emphasis>

The ability to produce extracellular chitosanase (EC 3.2.1.132) was found by plate assays in 18 (23%) out of 77 crystalliferous strains of Bacillus thuringiensis. The best chitosanase producer was selected after the growth chosen in a liquid medium with colloidal chitosan as carbon source. Enzyme production was optimized (a 4-d incubation at 32 degrees C with shaking in a medium of pH 6.5 with 4% colloidal chitosan) and the enzyme was partially characterized. This is the first report on the chitosanase of B. thuringiensis.