Inactivation of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, a specific inactivator of serine enzymes.

Rat kidney γ-glutamyl transpeptidase was found to be inactivated by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, a specific inactivator of serine enzymes. The inactivation occurred only in the presence of maleate which was known to enhance the hydrolytic activity of this enzyme. The concentration of phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride giving a half maximum rate of inactivation was 1.1 mM. The presence of S-methyl glutathione, a substrate for this enzyme, prevented the inactivation in a competitive fashion. These findings indicate that phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride acts as an active site directed reagent for γ-glutamyl transpeptidase. A possible identity of the labeled site with that for 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine, another affinity label for this enzyme, was discussed.     

Porcine chymotrypsin A-pi, a more acidic chymotrypsin.

A kinetic study of procine chymotrypsin A-pi revealed two characteristic properties of this type of chymotrypsin: 1. Porcine chymotrypsin A-pi, like bovine chymotrypsin B-pi does not bind proflavin, which is a competitive inhibitor of bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin A-alpha. 2. The pH profiles of the steady-state parameters show the two usual important pK's. The basic one, pK2 = 9.6, affects both Km and kcat/Km and probably controls the binding conformation of chymotrypsin. The acidic one, pK1 = 5.7, affects kcat and kcat/Km and plays a role in the catalytic process. The value of pK1 is unusually low.     

Allosteric activation of the hydrolysis of specific substrates by chymotrypsin.

A variety of azobenzene compounds having bis-quaternary nitrogens have been shown to accelerate the hydrolysis by chymotrypsin of certain specific substrates by an allosteric mechanism. One of the most potent, 2,2'-bis[alpha-(benzyldimethylammonium)methyl]azobenzene dibromide (2,2'-QBzl) accelerated the hydrolysis of glutaryl-L-phenylalanine p-nitroanilide 40-fold at saturating concentration. Acceleration was by increasing kcat without altering Km. The hydrolysis of acetyl-L-tyrosine p-nitroanilide and acetyl-L-tyrosine anilide was also accelerated by Q-Bzl (25-fold and 1.8-fold respectively) while the hydrolysis of hemoglobin, azocoll and a number of esters was not affected. The inactivation of chymotrypsin by diphenylcarbamyl chloride and diphenylcarbamyl fluoride was accelerated by 2,2'-Q-Bzl. Reac;ivation in the presence of NH2OH was also accelerated, but in the absence of added nucleophile (i.e. of NH20H) no increase in rate was detectable. An allosteric effector was covalently attached to chymotrypsinogen A by reaction with 2,2'-bis[alpha-(o-bromomethylbenzyldimethylammonium)methyl]azobenezene dibromide. The product, when converted to active enzyme, was about 4 times more active than chymotrypsin as a result of an increase in kcat of hydrolysis; Km was unaffected. The mechanism of the allosteric acceleration process is not known but, because for all of the substrates affected acylation of the enzyme is rate-limitimg, it is tentatively suggested that the effectors facilitate proton transfer to the leaving group by an inductive effect on the 'charge relay system'. Spectral studies indicate that the allosteric site is a portion of the enzyme with a polarity near that of water, possibly on the outside surface of the enzyme molecule.     

Induction of a chloride conductance in gastric vesicles by limited trypsin or chymotrypsin digestion or ageing

Transport activity of the hog gastric (H⁺ + K⁺)-ATPase system was measured either as the formation of a proton gradient using the dye probe acridine orange or as the formation of a proton diffusion potential using the cyanine dye 3,3′-diethyloxdicarbocyanine iodide in the presence of the protonophore tetrachlorosalicylanilide. The development of these gradients has been compared in K⁺ media in the presence of either Cl^? or SO₄^2? as the anionic species. This comparison of proton diffusion potential formation to proton gradient formation has been used to demonstrate that a Cl^? conductance in this vesicular system results from limited enzymic digestion with either trypsin or α-chymotrypsin and from the ageing process itself. The possible significance of this finding is discussed.     

Induction of a chloride conductance in gastric vesicles by limited trypsin or chymotrypsin digestion or ageing.

Transport activity of the hog gastric (H+ + K+)-ATPase system was measured either as the formation of proton gradient using the dye probe acridine orange or as the formation of a proton diffusion potential using the cyanine dye 3,3'-diethyloxdicarbocyanine iodide in the presence of the protonophore tetrachlorosalicylanilide. The development of these gradients has been compared in K+ media in the presence of either Cl- or SO4-2 as the anionic species. This comparison of proton diffusion potential formation to proton gradient formation has been used to demonstrate that a Cl- conductance in this vesicular system results from limited enzymic digestion with either trypsin or alpha-chymotrypsin from the ageing process itself. The possible significance of this finding is discussed.     

Resveratrol, a red wine constituent, is a mechanism-based inactivator of cytochrome P450 3A4

Resveratrol, a phytoalexin found in red wine, has been shown to possess antioxidant and antimutagenic properties. Incubation of resveratrol with Sf9 insect microsomes containing baculovirus-derived human cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) and NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase showed that resveratrol inactivated CYP3A4 in a time- and NADPH-dependent manner. Resveratrol, erythromycin and troleandomycin inactivated CYP3A4 at a similar rate (as reflected by k(inact)) whereas the binding affinity to CYP3A4 (as reflected by K(I)) was in the order of: troleandomycin > erythromycin > resveratrol. (K(I) and k(inact) for CYP3A4 inactivation by resveratrol, erythromycin and troleandomycin are 20 microM and 0.20 min(-1), 5.3 microM and 0.12 min(-1) and 0.18 microM and 0.15 min(-1), respectively.) Fractionation studies of red wine showed that fractions that did not contain resveratrol inactivated CYP3A4 significantly. In addition, the resveratrol content in red wine used in the study was too low to account for the degree of CYP3A4 inactivation observed after red wine treatment. Inactivation studies using a variety of red wine types showed that the CYP3A4 inactivation did not correlate to their resveratrol content. In summary, data here showed that resveratrol is an effective mechanism-based inactivator of CYP3A4; however, it is not one of the main red wine constituents that are responsible for CYP3A4 inactivation by red wine. Nevertheless, inactivation of CYP3A4 by resveratrol may cause clinically relevant drug interactions with CYP3A4 substrates.     

Conduritol aziridine: a new mechanism-based glucosidase inactivator

A new mechanism-based glucosidase inactivator, conduritol aziridine (1,2-dideoxy-1,2-epimino-myo-inositol), has been synthesised from myo-inositol. This aziridine inactivates both the beta-glucosidase from Alcaligenes faecalis and the alpha-glucosidase from yeast according to the expected pseudo-first order kinetics. Inactivation constants measured are Ki = 3.0mM, ki = 0.077 min-1 for the beta-glucosidase, and Ki = 9.5mM, ki = 0.39 min-1 for the alpha-glucosidase. Evidence for irreversible inactivation is provided by the lack of reactivation upon dilution of inactivated enzyme into buffer containing substrate.     

Cyclophellitol: a naturally occurring mechanism-based inactivator of beta-glucosidases

The natural product cyclophellitol, isolated from the culture filtrate of a mushroom, Phellinus sp. is found to be a highly specific and effective irreversible inactivator of beta-glucosidases. It inactivates the beta-glucosidases from both almond emulsin and Agrobacter sp. according to pseudo-first order kinetics with inactivation constants of Ki = 0.34 mM, ki = 2.38 min-1, and Ki = 0.055 mM, ki = 1.26 min-1 respectively. No reactivation of the inactivated enzyme is seen upon dialysis, thus providing evidence for the irreversibility of the inactivation. The high specificity of this inactivator is evidenced by the fact that even at very high (12 mM) concentrations of cyclophellitol, no inactivation of yeast alpha-glucosidase was observed, and only extremely slow (t1/2 greater than 5 hours) inactivation of E. coli beta-galactosidase could be detected.     

Retrorsine,but not monocrotaline,is a mechanism-based inactivator of P450 3A4

Retrorsine (RTS) and monocrotaline (MCT) cause severe toxicities via P450-mediated metabolic activation. The screening of mechanism-based inhibitors showed RTS inactivated 3A4 in the presence of NADPH. Unlike RTS, MCT failed to inhibit P450 3A4 and other enzymes tested. Further studies showed the loss of P450 3A4 activity occurred in a time- and concentration-dependent way, which was not recovered after dialysis. Dextromethorphan, a P450 3A4 substrate, protected the enzyme from the inactivation. Exogenous nucleophile glutathione (GSH) and reactive oxygen species scavengers catalase and superoxide dismutase did not protect P450 3A4 from the inactivation. GSH trapping experiments showed both P450 3A4 and 2C19 converted RTS and MCT to the corresponding electrophilic metabolites which could be trapped by GSH to form 7-GSH-DHP conjugate. We conclude that RTS and MCT are metabolically activated by P450 3A4 and 2C19, and that RTS, but not MCT, is a mechanism-based inactivator of P450 3A4.     

Hexanal phenylhydrazone is a mechanism-based inactivator of soybean lipoxygenase 1

Hexanal phenylhydrazone (1; 70:30 E:Z mixture) at micromolar concentration irreversibly inactivates soybean lipoxygenase 1 (L-1) in the presence of dioxygen. L-1 catalyzes the oxidation of 1 into its alpha-azo hydroperoxide 2 [C5H11CH(OOH)N = NC6H5]. 2 is an efficient inactivator of L-1. The aerobic reaction between 1 and L-1 follows a branched pathway leading to the release of 2 into the medium or to L-1 inactivation. The respective parameters corresponding to this inactivation by the (E)-1 and (Z)-1 isomers are Ki = 0.25 and 0.40 microM and kinact = 0.8 and 2.1 min-1. Linoleic acid protection agrees with a mechanism-based inactivation process. The oxidation of a minimum of 13 +/- 3 molar equiv of 1 is required for complete L-1 inactivation, but up to 70 equiv is necessary in the presence of a very large excess of 1. The inactivation is actually the result of two pathways: one is due to a reaction of 2 as soon as it is formed at the active site (20%); the other is due to 2 released into the medium and coming back to the active site (80%). The inactivation is accompanied by the oxidation of 1.8 +/- 0.8 methionine residues of the protein into the corresponding sulfoxide. The inactivated L-1 is electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) silent with an effective magnetic moment of mu = 5.0 +/- 0.1 Bohr magnetons corresponding to an S = 2 spin state. An inactivation mechanism is proposed on the basis of EPR and magnetic susceptibility data obtained from the anaerobic and aerobic reactions of L-1 with 1 and 2.     

Heterologous expression, purification, and properties of a chymotrypsin inhibitor isolated from potatoes

The PKPIJ-B gene encoding a chymotrypsin inhibitor from a subfamily of potato Kunitz-type proteinase inhibitors (PKPI) in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Yubilei Zhukova) was cloned into a pET23a vector and then expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant PKPIJ-B protein obtained in the inclusion bodies was denatured, purified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on Mono Q under denaturing conditions, and renaturated. The renaturated protein was additionally purified using HPLC on DEAE-ToyoPearl. The PKPIJ-B protein efficiently suppressed chymotrypsin activity, had a weaker effect on trypsin, and inhibited the growth and development of phytopathogenic microorganisms affecting potato plants.     

Inhibition of ileal brush-border chloride conductance by specific antibody

Summary Antibody raised in mice was used in attempting to identify proteins responsible for the conductive chloride transport that can be measured in porcine ileal brush border membrane vesicles. Ileal brush-border membrane vesicle protein from pig was separated into five different molecular mass fractions by preparative SDS polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis. Separated protein fractions were used to immunize mice. Antibody was screened for reactivity with antigen by Western blotting, and for effects on conductive chloride transport in ileal brush border membrane vesicles. Immunization with brush-border protein from fraction I proteins (>110 kDa) produced polyclonal antisera which specifically inhibited the conductive component of chloride uptake by ileal brush border vesicle preparations. Western blotting of the antigen showed the presence of several protein species of molecular mass >100 kDa that were recognized by immune serum. Spleen cells from a mouse producing antiserum that inhibited conductive chloride transport were fused with a myeloma cell line. The resulting hybridoma colonies produced antibody that reacted with at least seven distinct protein bands by Western blot assay and inhibited chloride conductance in brush-border membrane vesicles.     

Immunogold localization of chymotrypsin inhibitor-2, a lysine-rich protein,in developing barley endosperm

Chymotrypsin inhibitor-2, a lysine-rich protein in the barley endosperm, has been localized at the ultrastructural level by immunocytochemistry in developing barley endosperm cells 14 days post anthesis. The protein is deposited in the protein bodies. Two morphologically distinct types of protein bodies, small spherical and large irregularly shaped, are present. Golgi-apparatus-derived vesicles whose content is labelled by chymotrypsin inhibitor-2 antibody-gold particles are observed at the Golgi complex and around the vacuoles. These observations indicate that the transport of the protein to the site of deposition is mediated by the Golgi apparatus.Abbreviations CI chymotrypsin inhibitor - DPA days post anthesis - ER endoplasmic reticulum The authors wish to thank Dr. V.R. Franceschi (Department of Botany, Washington State University, Pullman, USA) for many helpful discussions and advice during the work, and the staff at the Electron Microscope Center at Washington State University for technical assistance.