Ordered methylation of the methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins of Escherichia coli.

The methylation of glutamic acid residues on 3 membrane proteins, MCPI, MCPII, and MCPIII, plays an essential role in the chemotactic response of Escherichia coli. In the absence of a chemotactic stimulus the methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs) are methylated to a basal level. This level rises to a new plateau when an attractant is added and then falls to its original basal value when the attractant is removed. We have now been able to show that the properties of the glutamic acid residues which become methylated after stimulation with an attractant differ from the properties of the residues methylated on the basal level. Our data imply that there is a preferred order in which those residues are methylated and demethylated.

Purification of a membrane-bound metalloendopeptidase from porcine kidney that degrades peptide hormones.

A porcine kidney microsomal metalloendopeptidase has been enriched 3900-fold. Gel filtration on a calibrated Toyo-Soda G-3000 SW column indicated an appropriate molecular weight for the endopeptidase of 88,000 +/- 2000. The purified enzyme is inhibited by a number of synthetic inhibitors of thermolysin. The endopeptidase hydrolyzes the succinyl (Suc)-containing fluorogenic peptide substrate Suc-Ala-Ala-Phe-(7-amino-4-methylcoumarin) at the Ala-Phe position with a Km of 2.9 X 10(-4) M. The endopeptidase also hydrolyzes a variety of peptides including corticotropin, substance P, angiotensin I and II, neurotensin, somatostatin, bradykinin, and the renin tetradecapeptide substrate. The endopeptidase hydrolyzes both [Leu]- and [Met]enkephalin at the Gly-Phe bond.

A zinc metalloendopeptidase associated with dog pancreatic membranes.

Assay of solubilized dog pancreas microsomes revealed the presence of an endopeptidase which hydrolyzed the fluorogenic peptide substrate Suc-Ala-Ala-Phe-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (AMC) between the alanine and phenylalanine positions. This activity was inhibited by phosphoramidon, 1,10-phenanthroline, and a number of synthetic inhibitors of thermolysin indicating that the enzyme is a zinc metallopeptidase. Endopeptidase activity was not inhibited by the serine protease inhibitors elastatinal, antipain, leupeptin, N-carbobenzyloxy-L-phenylethyl chloromethyl ketone, L-tosylamido-2-lysyethyl chloromethyl ketone, L-tosylamido-2-phenylethyl chloromethyl ketone, phenyl-methanesulfonyl fluoride, or low levels of chymostatin. The endopeptidase had a pH optimum between 7.0 and 7.5. The enzyme also hydrolyzed Suc-Ala-Ala-Ala-AMC and Suc-Ala-Gly-Ala-AMC in an analogous way to yield Ala-AMC. Thermolysis hydrolyzed Suc-Ala-Ala-Phe-AMC in an analogous way to the endopeptidase. However, thermolysin did not hydrolyze Suc-Ala-Ala-Ala-AMC or Suc-Ala-Gly-Ala-AMC, demonstrating that its substrate specificity differs from the endopeptidase.

A new fluorogenic substrate for plasmin.

A new fluorogenic peptide substrate for plasmin, 7-(N-succinoylalanylphenylalanyl-lysylamido)-4-methylcoumarin trifluoroacetate salt, was prepared that can be used in a simple and direct assay. The results obtained by the assay method are linear over a wide range of enzyme concentrations and sensitive enough to detect as little as 10(-5) CTA units of plasmin. By making use of the inhibitor Trasylol and the differences in kinetic constants, plasmin can be specifically assayed even in the presence of the plasminogen activator thrombin, as well as in culture fluids from HeLa cells.