Abstract

The 20S proteasome was purified from oocytes of the starfish Asterina pectinifera and its enzymatic properties were investigated. The chymotrypsin-like activities were potently inhibited by PSI as well as MG115, whereas the trypsin-like and peptidyl-glutamyl peptide-hydrolyzing (PGPH) activities were not or only weakly inhibited by PSI and MG115. The inhibitory ability of MG115 toward germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) coincided with those toward the trypsin-like and PGPH activities, and PSI showed no inhibitory effect on GVBD. We have previously reported that the inhibition pattern toward GVBD of peptidyl-argininals, which potently inhibited the proteasomal trypsin-like activity rather than the chymotrypsin-like activity, correlated with the inhibition pattern toward the chymotrypsin-like activity of the proteasome. These results, together with the peptidyl-argininals scarcely inhibiting the PGPH activity at concentrations sufficient for the inhibition toward GVBD, indicate that both the chymotrypsin-like and trypsin-like activities, but not the PGPH activity, of the proteasome are responsible for degradation of the physiological substrate during starfish oocyte maturation. It was also suggested that the inhibition of a single catalytic site of the proteasome is not sufficient for prevention of the proteasomal function.

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