Hydrophobic S1 Research Articles

Structure-activity relationships for inhibition of papain by peptide Michael acceptors.

Two series of peptidyl Michael acceptors, N-Ac-L-Phe-NHCH2CH = CH-E with different electron withdrawing groups (E = CO2CH3, 1a; SO2CH3, 1b; CO2H, 1c; CN, 1d; CONH2, 1e; and C6H4-p-NO2, 1f) and R-NHCH2CH = CHCOOCH3 with different recognition and binding groups (R = N-Ac-D-Phe, 2a; N-Ac-L-Leu, 3a; N-Ac-L-Met, 4a; PhCH2CH2CO, 5a; PhCO, 6a), were synthesized and evaluated as inactivators against papain. It was found that the inhibition of papain by peptidyl Michael acceptors is a general phenomenon and that the intrinsic chemical reactivity of the E group in the Michael acceptors has a direct effect on the kinetics of the inactivation process as reflected in k2/Ki. At pH 6.2, the reactivity of papain toward the Michael acceptors is about 283,000-fold higher than the reactivity of the model thiol 3-mercaptopropionate. This large increase in reactivity is attributable to at least 2 factors; one is the low apparent pKa of Cys-25 of papain, and the other is the recruitment of catalytic power by specific enzyme-substrate interactions. The unexpectedly high reactivity of 1c (E = COOH) was rationalized by proposing a direct interaction of the acid group with His-159 in the active site of papain. The unexpected inactivity of 1f (E = C6H4-p-NO2) as a Michael acceptor and its very powerful competitive inhibition of papain were rationalized by molecular graphics which showed the nitrophenyl moiety rotated out of conjugation with the olefin and interacting instead with the hydrophobic S1' region of papain. A plot of log (k2/Ki) for 1a-6a vs log (kcat/Km) for analogous R-Gly-p-NA substrates was linear (r = 0.98) with slope of 0.83, suggesting that binding energy from specific enzyme-ligand interactions can be used to drive the self-inactivation reaction to almost the same extent as it is used to drive catalysis.

Orally potent human renin inhibitors derived from angiotensinogen transition state: design, synthesis, and mode of interaction

A three-dimensional structure of the complex of human renin and the scissile site P4 Pro to P1' Val of angiotensinogen was deduced in order to design potent human renin inhibitors rationally. On the basis of this structure, an orally potent human renin inhibitor (1a) was designed from the angiotensinogen transition state and synthesized. The inhibitor 1a contains a (2R)-3-(morpholinocarbonyl)-2-(1-naphthylmethyl)propionyl residue (P4-P3) with a retro-inverso amide bond, L-histidine, and a novel amino acid, (2R,3S)-3-amino-4-cyclohexyl-2-hydroxybutyric acid, named cyclohexylnorstatine (2a). The optically pure cyclohexylnorstatine was efficiently prepared from Boc-L-cyclohexylalaninol (3), and the stereochemistry of 1a was established by X-ray crystal analysis. The analyses of interaction between 1a and human renin using modeling techniques indicated that (1) the cyclohexyl group of P1 and the naphthyl group of P3 were accommodated in large hydrophobic subsites S1 and S3, respectively; (2) the imidazole of P2 His was hydrogen bonded to the side chain OH of Ser-233 to contribute to the selectivity of renin inhibition; (3) cyclohexylnorstatine isopropyl ester residue was accommodated in S1-S1'. The importance of the stereochemistry in the potent and specific inhibitor was clearly shown. Oral administration to monkeys of this inhibitor resulted in a drop of 10-20 mmHg in mean blood pressure and a reduction of plasma renin activity for a 5-h period.

On the Mechanism of Detergent Modification of Myosin Structure and Function1

The concentration dependences of the activation of myosin subfragment-1 (S1) Mg-ATPase by the detergents CHAPS and C12E8 were determined at 23 degrees C in 25 mM Tris (pH 7.0), 250 microM EDTA, 5 mM MgCl2, and 100 microM ATP. At detergent concentrations expected to bind hydrophobic S1 surface areas equally, C12E8 caused an 8.5-fold greater increase in activity than CHAPS, which suggests that detergent binding to the surface of S1 is not the mechanism of activation. At detergent concentrations above their critical micelle concentrations, C12E8 was also much more effective than CHAPS, suggesting that micelles are not involved. A series of n-alcohols (which do not form micelles) with from 3 to 10 carbons all increased S1 Mg-ATPase activity as much or more than C12E8. The largest increase (5.7-fold) was caused by n-hexanol. The more hydrophobic alcohols activated S1 at lower concentrations. A linear plot of the alcohol concentration that caused 50% of maximum activity versus the number of carbons in the alcohol, indicated the apparent free energy of binding per CH2-group was -0.60 +/- 0.03 kcal/mol. There were two indications that alcohol binding caused an S1 conformational change. The intrinsic fluorescence increase of S1 during steady-state activity was reduced from 17.5 to 12.8%, and the apparent hydrodynamic rotational mobility of fluorescently labeled S1 was decreased 25% by the present of n-hexanol. The data suggest that S1 activation by C12E8 and by n-alcohols is due to hydrophobic binding to S1 at non-surface sites, which causes an S1 structural change.

The refined crystal structure of subtilisin Carlsberg at 2.5 A resolution.

We report here the X-ray crystal structure of native subtilisin Carlsberg, solved at 2.5 A resolution by molecular replacement and refined by restrained least squares to a crystallographic residual (Formula see text): of 0.206. we compare this structure to the crystal structure of subtilisin BPN'. We find that, despite 82 amino acid substitutions and one deletion in subtilisin Carlsberg relative to subtilisin BPN', the structures of these enzymes are remarkably similar. We calculate an r.m.s. difference between equivalent alpha-carbon positions in subtilisin Carlsberg and subtilisin BPN' of only 0.55 A. This confirms previous reports of extensive structural homology between these two subtilisins based on X-ray crystal structures of the complex of eglin-c with subtilisin Carlsberg [McPhalen, C.A., Schnebli, H.P. and James, M.N.G. (1985) FEBS Lett., 188, 55; Bode, W., Papamokos, E. and Musil, D. (1987) Eur. J. Biochem., 166, 673-692]. In addition, we find that the native active sites of subtilisins Carlsberg and BPN' are virtually identical. While conservative substitutions at residues 217 and 156 may have subtle effects on the environments of substrate-binding sites S1' and S1 respectively, we find no obvious structural correlate for reports that subtilisins Carlsberg and BPN' differ in their recognition of model substrates. In particular, we find no evidence that the hydrophobic binding pocket S1 in subtilisin Carlsberg is 'deeper', 'narrower' or 'less polar' than the corresponding binding site in subtilisin BPN'.

Specificity and reactivity of human leukocyte elastase, porcine pancreatic elastase, human granulocyte cathepsin G, and bovine pancreatic chymotrypsin with arylsulfonyl fluorides. Discovery of a new series of potent and specific irreversible elastase inhibitors.

The reactivity and specificity of a series of substituted benzenesulfonyl fluorides with human leukocyte (HL) elastase, cathepsin G, porcine pancreatic (PP) elastase, and bovine chymotrypsin A alpha are reported. Benzenesulfonyl fluorides with 2-fluoroacyl substituents were found to be potent and specific inhibitors of elastase. HL elastase was inhibited most rapidly by 2--(CF3CF2CONH)--C6H4SO4F (kobs/[I] = 1700 M-1 s-1) which is slightly better than our best peptide chloromethyl ketone inhibitor of this enzyme. PP elastase was most rapidly inhibited by 2--(CF3CONH)--C6H4-SO2F (kobs/[I] = 2300 M-1S-1). The 2--(CF3CF2CF2CONH) and 2--(CF3SNH) derivatives were quite selective for HL elastase and inhibited PP elastase, cathepsin G, and chymotrypsin A alpha quite slowly. A specific and potent chymotrypsin inhibitor (2--(Z--Gly--NH)--C6H4SO2F) was also discovered. A model for the elastase inhibition reaction is proposed which involves interaction of the fluroacyl group of the inhibitor with the primary substrate recognition site S1 of the enzyme. Hydrogen bonding also occurs between the inhibitor NH and a backbone peptide carbonyl group, probably from residue 214. The 2-fluoroacyl group plays the dual role of binding in the hydrophobic S1 pocket and through electronic effects, increasing the strength f the hydrogen bond. The results of this study demonstrate that it is possible to construct simple organic molecules which are specific inhibitors of HL elastase, PP elastase, or chymotrypsin.