Two variants of the major serine protease inhibitor from the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus, expressed in Pichia pastoris.

The major protease inhibitor from the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus (ShPI-1) is a non-specific inhibitor that binds trypsin and other trypsin-like enzymes, as well as chymotrypsin, and human neutrophil elastase. We performed site-directed mutagenesis of ShPI-1 to produce two variants (rShPI-1/K13L and rShPI/Y15S) that were expressed in Pichia pastoris, purified, and characterized. After a single purification step, 65 mg and 15 mg of protein per liter of culture supernatant were obtained for rShPI-1/K13L and rShPI/Y15S, respectively. Functional studies demonstrated a 100-fold decreased trypsin inhibitory activity as result of the K13L substitution at the reactive (P1) site. This protein variant has a novel tight-binding inhibitor activity of pancreatic elastase and increased activity toward neutrophil elastase in comparison to rShPI-1A. In contrast, the substitution Y15S at P2' site did not affect the Ki value against trypsin, but did reduce activity 10-fold against chymotrypsin and neutrophil elastase. Our results provide two new ShPI-1 variants with modified inhibitory activities, one of them with increased biomedical potential. This study also offers new insight into the functional impact of the P1 and P2' sites on ShPI-1 specificity.

Three-dimensional Structure of a Kunitz-type Inhibitor in Complex with an Elastase-like Enzyme.

Elastase-like enzymes are involved in important diseases such as acute pancreatitis, chronic inflammatory lung diseases, and cancer. Structural insights into their interaction with specific inhibitors will contribute to the development of novel anti-elastase compounds that resist rapid oxidation and proteolysis. Proteinaceous Kunitz-type inhibitors homologous to the bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) provide a suitable scaffold, but the structural aspects of their interaction with elastase-like enzymes have not been elucidated. Here, we increased the selectivity of ShPI-1, a versatile serine protease inhibitor from the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus with high biomedical and biotechnological potential, toward elastase-like enzymes by substitution of the P1 residue (Lys(13)) with leucine. The variant (rShPI-1/K13L) exhibits a novel anti-porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) activity together with a significantly improved inhibition of human neuthrophil elastase and chymotrypsin. The crystal structure of the PPE·rShPI-1/K13L complex determined at 2.0 Å resolution provided the first details of the canonical interaction between a BPTI-Kunitz-type domain and elastase-like enzymes. In addition to the essential impact of the variant P1 residue for complex stability, the interface is improved by increased contributions of the primary and secondary binding loop as compared with similar trypsin and chymotrypsin complexes. A comparison of the interaction network with elastase complexes of canonical inhibitors from the chelonian in family supports a key role of the P3 site in ShPI-1 in directing its selectivity against pancreatic and neutrophil elastases. Our results provide the structural basis for site-specific mutagenesis to further improve the binding affinity and/or direct the selectivity of BPTI-Kunitz-type inhibitors toward elastase-like enzymes.

Effect of zinc and calcium ions on the rat kidney membrane-bound form of dipeptidyl peptidase IV.

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) is an ectopeptidase with many roles, and a target of therapies for different pathologies. Zinc and calcium produce mixed inhibition of porcine DPP-IV activity. To investigate whether these results may be generalized to mammalian DPP-IV orthologues, we purified the intact membrane-bound form from rat kidney. Rat DPP-IV hydrolysed Gly-Pro-p-nitroanilide with an average Vmax of 0.86 +/- 0.01 meu mol min-1mL-1 and KM of 76 +/- 6 meu M. The enzyme was inhibited by the DPP-IV family inhibitor L-threo-Ile-thiazolidide (Ki=64.0 +/- 0.53 nM), competitively inhibited by bacitracin (Ki=0.16 +/- 0.01 mM) and bestatin (Ki=0.23 +/- 0.02 mM), and irreversibly inhibited by TLCK (IC50 value of 1.20 +/- 0.11 mM). The enzyme was also inhibited by divalent ions like Zn2+ and Ca2+, for which a mixed inhibition mechanism was observed (Ki values of the competitive component: 0.15 +/- 0.01 mM and 50.0 +/- 1.05 mM, respectively). According to bioinformatic tools, Ca2+ ions preferentially bound to the beta-propeller domain of the rat and human enzymes, while Zn2+ ions to the alpha-beta hydrolase domain; the binding sites were essentially the same that were previously reported for the porcine DPP-IV. These data suggest that the cationic susceptibility of mammalian DPP-IV orthologues involves conserved mechanisms.

Antimalarial activity from three ascidians: an exploration of different marine invertebrate phyla.

Recent research suggests that marine organisms may produce compounds with activity against malaria parasites. Of a total of 27 aqueous extracts from different marine species, collected on the northwest Cuban coast, 20 were considered as showing no significant activity against Plasmodium falciparum F32, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) >500 microg/ml, while seven extracts (MIC < or =500 microg/ml) were selected for further investigation by determining their selectivity indices and in vivo antimalarial activity. Three species of tunicates were chosen, as more than 50% reduction of P. berghei parasitaemia was produced after administration of 250 or 500 mg/kg of their crude extracts into infected mice. The aqueous extracts of Microcosmus goanus, Ascidia sydneiensis and Phallusia nigra were partitioned between water and n-butanol; the organic phases inhibited P. falciparum growth by 50% at concentrations of 17.5 microg/ml, 20.9 microg/ml and 29.4 microg/ml respectively. In general, these results are similar to those of most ethnobotanical surveys. Further chemical studies are being undertaken in order to isolate new antimalarial compounds from these Caribbean tunicates.

[Utility of adequate values of an occasional fasting and postprandial glycemia in the chronic control of the type-2 diabetic patient]. / Control de la glucemia en diabeticos tipo 2. Utilidad de mediciones en ayuno y posprandiales.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the sensitivity and specificity of occasional fast and postprandial glycemias as for a chronic control of the type-2-diabetic patient. MATERIAL AND METHODS. DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional in 850 type-2-diabetic adults patients from the outpatient clinic of the Zone General Hospital and Family Medicine 9 in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, Mexico, without insulin therapy, with creatinine values lower than 132.6 micromol/L (1.5 mg/ dL), and glycemia over 4.4 mmol/L (80 mg/dL). PROCEDURE: Blood extraction was carried out to determine fasting glycemia, cholesterol, triglycerides and glycosilated haemoglobin (HbA1c). After that, they were given a breakfast of 320 Kcal, and new blood samples were taken for postprandial glycemia. The statistical programs used were Epi-Info 2000, Epi-Dat. RESULTS: Age, 59. +/- 11.2 years old; antiquity in diabetic diagnosis, 4.8 +/- 6.7 years; fasting glycemia average, 9.9 +/- 4.4 mmol/L (178.6 +/- 79.4 mg/ dL); postprandial glycemia, 14 +/- 6.1 mmol/L (251.6 +/- 109.6 mg/dL); HbA1c, 9.3 +/- 3.4 %. An acceptable fasting glycemia presents an adequate chronic control sensitivity of 44.8 %, with a specificity of 82.1 %. On the other hand, a postprandial glycemia presented a sensitivity of 46.5 % and specificity of 77.3 %; both acceptable parameters have a sentivity of 31.4 % and specificity of 83.3 % to identify a good control of HbA1c. CONCLUSIONS: Random parameters present very little sensitivity to the diagnosis of a good chronic control of the patient; however, as screening tests, they show an acceptable specificity for the HbA1c poor values.