ABSTRACT
Proteases constitute a major class of drug targets. Endosomal compartments harbor several protease families whose attenuation may be beneficial to a number of biological processes, including inflammation, cancer metastasis, antigen presentation, and parasite clearance. As a step toward the goal of generalized but targeted protease inhibition in the endocytic pathway, we describe here the synthesis, characterization, and cellular application of a novel multifunctional protease inhibitor. We show that pepstatin A, a potent but virtually insoluble inhibitor of cathepsins D and E, can be conjugated to a single site on cystatin C, a potent inhibitor of the papain-like cysteine proteases (PLCP) and of asparagine endopeptidease (AEP), to create a highly soluble compound capable of suppressing the activity of all 3 principal protease families found in endosomes and lysosomes. We demonstrate that this cystatin-pepstatin inhibitor (CPI) can be taken up by cells to modulate protease activity and affect biological responses.
Subject(s)
Lysosomes/drug effects , Pepstatins/pharmacology , Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , Cystatins/chemistry , Cysteine Proteases/metabolism , Endopeptidases/metabolism , Lysosomes/enzymology , Lysosomes/physiology , Pepstatins/chemical synthesis , Pepstatins/chemistry , Protease Inhibitors/chemical synthesis , Protease Inhibitors/chemistry , Structure-Activity RelationshipABSTRACT
The adaptive immune response depends on the creation of suitable peptides from foreign antigens for display on MHC molecules to T lymphocytes. Similarly, MHC-restricted display of peptides derived from self proteins results in the elimination of many potentially autoreactive T cells. Different proteolytic systems are used to generate the peptides that are displayed as T cell epitopes on class I compared with class II MHC molecules. In the case of class II MHC molecules, the proteases that reside within the endosome/lysosome system of antigen-presenting cells are responsible; surprisingly, however, there are relatively few data on which enzymes are involved. Recently we have asked whether proteolysis is required simply in a generic sense, or whether the action of particular enzymes is needed to generate specific class II MHC-associated T cell epitopes. Using the recently identified mammalian asparagine endopeptidase as an example, we review recent evidence that individual enzymes can make clear and non-redundant contributions to MHC-restricted peptide display.
