ABSTRACT
A new substrate for subtilisins, anthraniloyl-Ala-Ala-Phe-4-nitroanilide, has been synthesized and characterized. The peptide is a fluorogenic substrate that is intramolecularly quenched without loss of its chromogenic properties and offers a possibility for double-assay kinetic analysis. The kinetic parameters determined for subtilisin Carlsberg are Km = 0.004 mM, kcat = 104 s-1, and those for subtilisin BPN' are Km = 0.020 mM, kcat = 49 s-1. The substrate is extremely sensitive for subtilisins; the specificity constants are 10-fold higher than the corresponding values for the widely used substrate, succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-4-nitroanilide, and 200- to 1000-fold higher than the values obtained with succinyl-Ala-Ala-Phe-4-nitroanilide. The favorable effect of the anthraniloyl group as a P4 residue in the substrate sequence Ala-Ala-Phe-4-nitroanilide was assumed to be due to an ability to stiffen S4-P4 interactions. The mechanism proposed is hydrogen bond formation between the phenol group of tyrosine-104 and the amino group of the anthraniloyl moiety. In the spectrophotometric assay with the new substrate, the lower detection limit for subtilisin Carlsberg was 1 nM.
Subject(s)
Oligopeptides/metabolism , Subtilisins/metabolism , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Cattle , Chymotrypsin/metabolism , Indicators and Reagents , Kinetics , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Molecular Sequence Data , Oligopeptides/chemistry , Substrate SpecificityABSTRACT
Five substrate series with the formulae Z-(Gly)n-Phe-OMe, Z-(Ala)n-Phe-OMe, Ac-(Ala)n-Phe-OMe, Z-(Gly)n-Phe-NA, and Suc-(Gly)n-Phe-NA (n = 0-2) (Z-benzyloxycarbonyl) were synthesized and used to study the active site of mesentericopeptidase (EC 3.4.21). The elongation of the peptide chain in all series leads to a 100- to 300-fold increase of kcat/Km. This indicates an extended substrate binding site, comprising at least three subsites (S1-S3). The sequence P1-P3 that fits these subsites is Phe-Ala-Ala. Mesentericopeptidase responds to the elongation of the peptide chain in the series Ac-(Ala)n-Phe-OMe in a way similar, but not identical, to subtilisin Carlsberg and subtilisin BPN'. The poor amidolytic activity of mesentericopeptidase and subtilisins toward 4-nitroanilides with peptide sequences matching the S1-S3 subsites is discussed in terms of unfavorable S'1-P'1 interaction.
Subject(s)
Anilides , Endopeptidases/metabolism , Peptides , Serine Endopeptidases , Bacillus/enzymology , Binding Sites , Kinetics , Nitro Compounds , Substrate SpecificityABSTRACT
It was found that the effect of heparin on the amidase activity of urokinase (E C 3.4.21.31), plasmin (E C 3.4.21.7) and trypsin (E C 3.4.21.4) depended on the substrate used. No effect of heparin on the amidase activity of urokinase and trypsin was observed when Pyro Glu-Gly-Arg-p-nitroanilide (S-2444) and alpha-N-acetyl-L-lysine-p-nitroanilide (ALNA) were used as substrates. Heparin acted as a uncompetitive inhibitor of trypsin (Ki = 1.2 X 10(-6) M), plasmin (Ki = 4.9 X 10(-6) M) and urokinase (Ki = 1.0 X 10(-7) M) when Bz-Phe-Val-Arg-p-nitroanilide (S-2160), H-D-Val-Leu-Lys-p-nitroanilide (S-2251) and plasminogen, respectively, were used as substrates. These results, as well as the data obtained by studying the effect of the simultaneous presence of heparin and competitive inhibitors suggest that although heparin is not bound at the active center of these enzymes, it may influence the effectivity of catalysis.
