Thiol Endopeptidase Research Articles

In vitro proteolytic processing of pea and jack bean storage proteins by an endopeptidase from lupin seeds

The highly specific proteolytic breakdown observed upon prolonged treatment of pea legumin and pea and jack bean vicilin with a thiol endopeptidase purified from mature lupin seeds has been studied in detail. Proteolytic cleavage occurred in the acidic subunits of pea legumin, whereas the basic subunits were unaffected. Jack bean vicilin ( M, 47 K) was cleaved near the middle of the polypeptide chain, whereas pea vicilin ( M, 50 K) was cleaved into two fragments of M, 30 K and 20 K, respectively. The 30 K M, polypeptide chain contained covalently linked carbohydrate and had an N-terminal sequence suggesting that cleavage had taken place between the α and β region of the vicilin 50 K M, polypeptide as previously described in vivo. These results suggested that the cleavage specificity of lupin endopeptidase was in the proximity of paired arginine amino acid residues. The changes in the vicilin polypeptides due to proteolytic cleavage by lupin enzyme and those occurring during germination of pea seeds are also reported and discussed.

Purine nucleotides stimulate while carbamoyl phosphate protects inactivation of ornithine transcarbamoylase by disrupted lysosomes.

Ornithine transcarbamoylase (OTC) is inactivated by liver lysosomes. Carbamoyl phosphate prevents the inactivation of OTC by lysosomes, while ATP, ADP, GTP, GDP 1,N6-ethenoadenosine 5'-triphosphate and particularly epsilon-ATP stimulate it. Both stimulation and protection occur at concentrations within the physiological range of ATP and carbamoyl phosphate. Inactivation of OTC is followed by extensive proteolysis. Since the inactivation is prevented by leupeptin, antipain and L-(tosylamido-2-phenyl)ethylchloromethyl ketone, the proteolytic susceptibility of OTC to lysosomes could be due to thiol endopeptidase(s). 1,N6-Ethenoadenosine 5'-triphosphate also markedly increases OTC susceptibility to trypsin and elastase. ATP analogs had no stimulatory effect on OTC inactivation by lysosomes; none of the inhibitors of ATPases tested inhibited the ATP effect. The ATP stimulation does not require Mg2+. These findings indicate a new role for ATP, GTP and related nucleotides in protein breakdown. The ATP, ADP, GTP, GDP stimulation, together with the carbamoyl protection of OTC, agree well with the molecular plasticity hypothesis model.

A weakly acidic protease has a powerful proteolytic activity in Entamoeba histolytica

A thiol dependent protease from homogenates of the parasite Entamoeba histolytica has been identified and partially purified by means of ammonium sulphate fractionation, gel filtration and isoelectric focusing. The protease, having a molecular mass of 21 ± 2 kDa as judged by gel chromatography, represents a highly potent proteolytic capacity. The protease shows maximal activity against azocasein around the slightly acidic pH of 4.4 at 37°C, but is also active at pH 3.4 and 8.5. At optimal pH, the turnover increases with increasing temperature up to 85°C. The enzyme possesses a thiol group essential for activity, which is inhibited by the thiol blocking reagent p-chloromercuribenzoate. Solutions containing low concentrations of free Hg 2+ cause conservation of protease activity. The native protein exhibits an isoelectric point of 4.9. This protease resembles the thiol endopeptidases of mammalian lysosomes, and appears to be a major proteolytic enzyme in Entamoeba histolytica.

Stimulation of thyroidal thiol endopeptidases by thyrotropin.

Rabbit thyroids contain cathepsin D (CD) and several thiol endopeptidases including cathepsin B and three newly described enzymes (cathepsins 180K, 110K, and 45K). The present paper assesses the relative physiological importance of these enzymes in thyroglobulin degradation in rabbits. Thyroidal thiol endopeptidase [thiol thyroglobulin hydrolase (thiol TgH)] activity increased in the absence of changes in CD activity in animals treated with 10 U bovine TSH. Peak enzyme activity occurred 24 h after injection of hormone. After 20 U bovine TSH, thiol endopeptidase activity increased by approximately 100%, whereas CD increased by 50%. The increase in thiol enzyme activity was attributed both to cathepsin B and to the other thiol endopeptidases. The lysosomal acid hydrolases acid phosphatase and dipeptidyl peptidase II were unaffected by TSH at either dose level. Thiol TgH activity, but not CD activity, was decreased in thyroids of rabbits treated with T4 [5 micrograms/(100 g BW X day)] for 1 week. All thyroidal acid hydrolases examined were suppressed in animals receiving T4 for 3 weeks. Thiol TgH activity was localized primarily to a lysosome-enriched fraction of thyroid homogenates. Our results suggest that the thiol proteases probably are the most important endopeptidases in thyroglobulin hydrolysis in vivo and that their activities are influenced by TSH.

Proteases and posttranslational processing of prohormones: a review.

Pioneering work on insulin and on lipotropin, published in 1967, led to the formulation of the hypothesis that biologically active peptides such as peptide hormones are derived from larger precursor molecules by enzymatic cleavage at basic amino acid pairs. Since then, an ever-increasing number of hormones and active peptides including neuropeptides have been found to be contained within the sequence of a larger precursor protein and are released by limited proteolytic cleavage. The hypothesis concerning the posttranslational maturation of precursor molecules into smaller active entities is now firmly established in many tissues (e.g., pituitary gland, pancreas) and for all kinds of organisms (e.g. mammals, fish), though the nature of the enzyme(s) responsible for this maturation process still remains unknown. This article presents current knowledge of the intracellular processing of precursor molecules, especially the conversion of prohormone to hormone. The discussion deals principally with the evidences concerning the localization of the maturation process mainly in the secretory granules, the role of basic amino acid pairs at the cleavage site, and the possible involvement of serine and (or) thiol endopeptidases in that process.

Thyroglobulin degradation by thyroidal proteases: action of thiol endopeptidases in vitro.

We have obtained evidence of thiol endopeptidases in the thyroid which are active in thyroglobulin degradation in vitro. Four pepstatin-insensitive endopeptidase fractions were distinguished in extracts of rabbit thyroids by gel filtration on Bio-Gel A-0.5m. An enzyme from one fraction was obtained in highly purified form and was found to be identical to cathepsin B described in other tissues. Endopeptidases in the three remaining fractions were designated as cathepsins 180K, 110K, and 45K, respectively, on the basis of their estimated molecular size. These were partially purified by either organomercurial affinity chromatography or DEAE-cellulose chromatography. They are identified as thiol endopeptidases on the basis of their sensitivity to inhibition by both leupeptin and the thiol-blocking agent iodoacetic acid and by their activation with the reducing agent glutathione. Each is distinguished from cathepsin B on the basis of molecular size and limited ability to hydrolyze benzoylarginine-2-naphthylamide. The action of the thiol endopeptidases on [125I]thyroglobulin was analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate or in sodium dodecyl sulfate and urea. In each instance, the initial peptide fragments were approximately 40-45K and 30K, with iodothyronine contents similar to or less than that of intact thyroglobulin. Later products of digestion than that of intact thyroglobulin. Later products of digestion included first, 20K peptides, which showed a low iodothyronine content, and finally, peptides of approximately 10K, which showed a 1.5-fold enrichment of T4 and T3 over that of intact thyroglobulin. Each of the thiol endopeptidases had a synergistic effect when incubated with cathepsin D and [125I]thyroglobulin. Among the products of such incubations were small iodopeptides, which were iodothyronine-enriched, and free T4, itself. The results show that thiol endopeptidases are present in the thyroid gland and are collectively as important as cathepsin D in the hydrolysis of thyroglobulin in vitro. The action of these enzymes must be considered along with that of cathepsin D in understanding thyroglobulin hydrolysis in vivo.

Peptidyl diazomethyl ketones are specific inactivators of thiol proteinases.

Peptidyl diazomethyl ketones are specific inactivators of thiol proteinases being unreactive toward other classes of proteinases. Variation of the peptide portion of the reagents has provided affinity labels for the selective inactivation of the thiol endopeptidase cathepsin B, streptococcal proteinase, and clostripain and for the aminodipeptidase cathepsin C. Comparison of rates of inactivation of cathepsin B and streptococcal proteinase revealed a similarity in specificity, both enzymes showing a preference for a phenylalanine residue in the penultimate position of the peptide portion of the reagent. Reagents not satisfying the specificity of a particular thiol proteinase either did not inactivate or did so only very slowly. In some cases, the reagents bound to the enzyme in a manner unproductive for alkylation but productive for substrate behavior leading to destruction of the inhibitor by cleavage of the peptide portion. Thus, benzyloxycarbonyl-Phe-Gly-Phe diazomethyl ketone was rapidly cleaved by cathepsin B into benzyloxycarbonyl-Phe-Gly and phenylalanine diazomethyl ketone. Clostripain, an enzyme of trypsin-like specificity, was selectively inactivated by benzyloxycarbpnyl-Lys diazomethyl ketone at micromolar concentrations, but was inactivated extremely slowly by 2.5 x 10/sup -4/ M benzyloxycarbonyl-Phe-Ala diazomethyl ketone, a very effective inactivated by Gly-Phe diazomethyl ketone in the range of 10/sup -7/ to 10/sup -8/ M.more » By comparison, peptidyl diazomethyl ketones with blocked NH/sub 2/ terminals were considerably less effective. Peptidyl diazomethyl ketones are unreactive with such thiols as mercaptoethanol and glutathione.« less