Catalytic properties of the cysteine aminopeptidase PepC, a bacterial bleomycin hydrolase.

PepC is a cytoplasmic thiol aminopeptidase widely conserved among lactic acid bacteria. PepC from Lactococcus lactis shares 35-38% identity with aminopeptidases of eukaryotic origins: the yeast and mammalian bleomycin hydrolases (BLMase). In this work we investigated the hydrolytic activity of PepC towards various substrates: bleomycin A2, aminoacyl-p-nitroanilides (pNA) and peptides. First, we found the bleomycin hydrolase activity of lactococcal PepC and measured similar kinetics parameters to those reported for the mammalian BLMase. Second, the results obtained on aminoacyl-pNA confirmed the capacity of the enzyme to release a broad range of amino acids and the pH activity profile suggests the presence of an ionic interaction between the enzyme and the free alpha-amino group of the substrate. Third, the aminopeptidase activity measured on peptide substrates revealed that PepC possesses an extended binding site which interacts with the peptidic backbone of the substrate. The hydrolytic efficiency is highly dependent on the length of the peptide, optimal for tetrapeptides and further enhanced by the presence of hydrophobic residues in the P' positions of the substrate. These enzymatic properties are of importance for the design of specific inhibitors and the biological function of the bleomycin hydrolases.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of PepC, a thiol aminopeptidase from Lactoccocus lactis homologous to bleomycin hydrolase.

Crystals of the recombinant thiol aminopeptidase PepC, from Lactoccocus lactis, have been obtained using the hanging-drop method of vapor diffusion from ammonium sulfate solutions. Crystals are rhombohedral, the space group is R32, a = 175.2 A, c = 94.5 A (hexagonal setting). The asymmetric unit probably contains one monomer of a hexameric molecule-arrangement of 300 kDa which exhibits the crystallographic point group of symmetry 32. The crystals diffract to at least 3 A resolution.

Design of (omega-N-(O-acyl)hydroxy amid) aminodicarboxylic acid pyrrolidides as potent inhibitors of proline-specific peptidases.

A novel class of competitive, acylating inhibitors for the proline-specific peptidases: dipeptidyl peptidase IV, dipeptidyl peptidase II and prolyl endopeptidase, has been developed. The inhibitor molecules combine the efficacy of aminoacyl pyrrolidides and the potential transacylating capability of diacyl hydroxyl amines. The N-terminal deblocked inhibitors are potent reversible inhibitors of porcine kidney dipeptidyl peptidase IV, human placenta dipeptidyl peptidase II exhibiting Ki values in the microM range. Boc-protected (omega-N-hydroxy acyl amid) aminodiacarboxylic acid pyrrolidides inhibit substrate hydrolysis by prolyl endopeptidases from different sources competitively reaching Ki values of 30 nM to 60 microM. Additionally, alpha-N-BOC-(omega-N-hydroxy acetyl) glutaminyl pyrrolidide modifies human placenta prolyl endopeptidase in a time-dependent reaction.

Identification of the active site serine of the X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase from Lactococcus lactis.

The active site serine of the X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase from Lactococcus lactis (PepX) was identified. The enzyme was labeled by [3H]DFP, treated by CNBr and the resulting peptides were separated by reverse-phase-HPLC. The main radiolabeled peptide was sequenced. Ser-348, in the following sequence, Gly-Lys-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Gly, was identified as the active site serine. A sequence comparison between the active site of PepX and other serine proteases was made, showing only limited sequence homologies in this area. The consensus sequence surrounding the active site serine in the three known X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidases (mammalian DPPIV, yeast DPAB and PepX) is G-X-S-Y-X-G, where X is a non-conserved amino acid.

The proteolytic system of Penicillium roqueforti. V. -- Purification and properties of an alkaline aminopeptidase.

An alkaline aminopeptidase was isolated from the culture medium of Penicillium roqueforti. The enzyme was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, filtration on Bio-Gel P-100, chromatography on D.E.A.E.-cellulose and hydroxylapatite, filtration on Bio-Gel P-150 and electrofusing. The purified preparation was homogeneous on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 8.5. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be about 35,000 daltons. The isoelectric point is 4.5. The optimum pH for L-leucine-p-nitroanilide hydrolysis is 8.0. At 35 degrees C the enzyme is stable between pH 6.0 and 7.0. Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid and a sulfhydryl reagent (p-hydroxymercuribenzoate) inhibit the activity, but the enzyme is insensitive to diisopropylfluorophosphate. Hydrolysis of synthetic peptides shows that the enzyme releases apolar amino acids. Dipeptides are poorly hydrolyzed and Gly in penultimate or N-terminal position causes poor activity. The enzyme is able to cleave the N-terminal Arg-Pro bond of bradykinin.

Separation and identification of hydrophilic peptides in dairy products using FMOC derivatization.

Small hydrophilic di- and tripeptides from food products are not separated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). A simple method using precolumn derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl chloride (FMOC) of hydrophilic peptides followed by RP-HPLC separation is presented. Peptides can subsequently be identified by Edman degradation after deprotection of the peptide derivatives with piperidine. Fifteen peptides (ten dipeptides, four tripeptides and one tetrapeptide) were sequenced from the water-soluble fraction of an enzyme-modified cheese model. Some synthetic peptides (Ile-Asn, Val-Thr, Ala-Pro, Val-Gln, Thr-Gln and Gly-Gly) corresponding to purified peptides were sensory tested.

Characterization of Streptococcus thermophilus strains that undergo lysis under unfavourable environmental conditions.

The autolysis of starter lactic acid bacteria appears as a promising way to enhance the flavour of fermented dairy products. The present work was aimed at investigating the autolysis phenomenon in Streptococcus thermophilus, a thermophilic lactic acid bacteria involved in the starters used for the production of yoghurts, Italian and Swiss-type cheeses. Out of 146 strains screened for their aptitude to spontaneously lyse at the end of growth in M17 medium containing lactose in limited concentration, six strains, among which is the type strain CNRZ 1358, were found to be highly autolytic. These autolytic strains are characterized by a typical bell-shaped growth curve. Lysis of the type strain, which was studied as the model, was triggered under unfavourable environmental conditions, such as lactose depletion and NaCl or organic solvents addition. The lysogenic character of this strain was evidenced. Taken together, our results indicate that the autolytic phenotype in S. thermophilus is linked to the lysogenic character but does not result from the massive prophage induction under stressing conditions.

Inactivation of aspartyl proteinases by butane-2,3-dione. Modification of tryptophan and tyrosine residues and evidence against reaction of arginine residues.

Butane-2,3-dione inactivates the aspartyl proteinases from Penicillium roqueforti and Penicillium caseicolum, as well as pig pepsin, penicillopepsin and Rhizopus pepsin, at pH 6.0 in the presence of light but not in the dark. The inactivation is due to a photosensitized modification of tryptophan and tyrosine residues. In the dark none of the amino acid residues, not even arginine residues, is modified even after several days. In the light one arginine residue in pig pepsin is lost at a rate that is comparable with the rate of inactivation; however, the loss of the single arginine residue in the aspartyl proteinase of P. roqueforti and the second arginine residue of pig pepsin is slower than the loss of activity; penicillopepsin is devoid of arginine. Loss of most of the activity is accompanied by the following amino acid losses: P. roqueforti aspartyl proteinase, about two tryptophan and six tyrosine residues; penicillopepsin, about two tryptophan and three tyrosine residues; pig pepsin, about four tryptophan and most of the tyrosine residues. Modification of histidine residues was too slow to contribute to inactivation. None of the other residues, including half-cystine and methionine residues (when present), was modified even after prolonged incubation. The inactivation of P. roqueforti aspartyl proteinase and pig pepsin appears due to non-specific modification of several residues. With penicillopepsin, however, the reaction is more limited and initially affects only those tryptophan and tyrosine residues that lie in the active-site groove. In the presence of pepstatin the rate of inactivation is considerably diminished. After prolonged reaction a general structural breakdown occurs.

Purification and characterization of a general aminopeptidase (St-PepN) from Streptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus CNRZ 302.

A general aminopeptidase (St-PepN) was purified from an intracellular extract of Streptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus CNRZ 302 by ion-exchange chromatography and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme in denaturing or nondenaturating conditions showed a single protein band. The enzyme is a monomer with a molecular mass of 97 kDa. Its activity is maximal at pH 7 and 36 degrees C and is completely abolished by CuCl2 and ZnCl2. The enzyme is strongly inhibited by metal-chelating reagents, such as EDTA and o-phenanthroline, which suggests that St-PepN is a metalloenzyme. The enzyme showed activity toward p-nitroanilide derivatives or dipeptides and tripeptides and showed a preference for hydrophobic or basic amino acids at the N-terminal position. Longer peptide chains, such as the B-chain of insulin, glucagon, or peptides generated by the hydrolysis of caseins, were degraded, too. The sequence of the first 21 residues of the mature enzyme was determined and showed high homology with that of the aminopeptidase PepN isolated from Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Wg2. The properties of the enzyme are compared with those of corresponding enzymes of other species of lactic acid bacteria.

Preparation of bacterial X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase and its stabilization by organic cosolvents.

To obtain large amounts of the X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase from Lactococcus lactis subsp lactis (PepX, E.C. 3.4.14.5), PepX was purified from a commercial L. lactis cell extract. The enzyme was purified in only three steps and the last one was performed by HPLC on a C4 reverse-phase column using acetonitrile as an eluent. Despite its high molecular mass (175 kDa), the enzyme was recovered with a good activity yield (75%). Advantages and drawbacks of this technique compared to the classical ones are discussed. The stability of the enzyme in aqueous solutions and in the presence of 10 water-miscible solvents was also investigated. PepX was found to be stabilized by dimethyl sulfoxide, triglyme, and glycerol.

Purification and characterization of a cell wall proteinase from Streptococcus lactis NCDO 763.

A proteinase was purified from a cell wall extract of a culture of Streptococcus lactis NCDO 763 grown in skim milk. Being active at a low pH (at pH 4.8 on haemoglobin and pH 6.0-6.5 on casein) and completely inhibited by diisopropylfluorophosphate, it was considered to be a serine proteinase partly inhibited by EDTA; the mol. wt was approximately 80,000.

Expression of a heterologous glutamate dehydrogenase gene in Lactococcus lactis highly improves the conversion of amino acids to aroma compounds.

The first step of amino acid degradation in lactococci is a transamination, which requires an alpha-keto acid as the amino group acceptor. We have previously shown that the level of available alpha-keto acid in semihard cheese is the first limiting factor for conversion of amino acids to aroma compounds, since aroma formation is greatly enhanced by adding alpha-ketoglutarate to cheese curd. In this study we introduced a heterologous catabolic glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) gene into Lactococcus lactis so that this organism could produce alpha-ketoglutarate from glutamate, which is present at high levels in cheese. Then we evaluated the impact of GDH activity on amino acid conversion in in vitro tests and in a cheese model by using radiolabeled amino acids as tracers. The GDH-producing lactococcal strain degraded amino acids without added alpha-ketoglutarate to the same extent that the wild-type strain degraded amino acids with added alpha-ketoglutarate. Interestingly, the GDH-producing lactococcal strain produced a higher proportion of carboxylic acids, which are major aroma compounds. Our results demonstrated that a GDH-producing lactococcal strain could be used instead of adding alpha-ketoglutarate to improve aroma development in cheese.

Xaa-Pro-dipeptidyl-aminopeptidase from Lactococcus lactis catalyses kinetically controlled synthesis of peptide bonds involving proline.

Xaa-Pro-dipeptidyl-aminopeptidase (EC 3.4.14.5) from Lactococcus lactis (PepX) was used, for the first time, as a catalyst in kinetically controlled synthesis of peptide bonds involving proline. PepX had amidase and esterase activities in addition to peptidase activity. Thus amide and ester derivatives of X-Pro peptides could be employed as acyl donors. PepX showed a broad specificity for the residue in position P'1, accepting a large variety of amino acid amides, esters, peptides as well as free amino acids as nucleophiles. This also indicated that it was not necessary to protect the C-terminus of the nucleophile. The major factors controlling yield, e.g. pH, an excess of nucleophile, ionic strength and type of carboxyl protecting and activating groups, were evaluated. Under optimum reaction conditions (pH 8.5, high excess of nucleophile over acyl donor and moderate ionic strength) the selectivity of the reaction ranged from 5 to 99% depending on the structure of the nucleophile and the acyl donor. Our work contributes to the elucidatation of the mechanism of aminolysis reactions catalysed by an aminopeptidase.

Deletion of the four C-terminal residues of PepC converts an aminopeptidase into an oligopeptidase.

The aminopeptidase PepC is a cysteine peptidase isolated from lactic acid bacteria. Its structural and enzymatic properties closely resembles those of the bleomycin hydrolases, a group of cytoplasmic enzymes isolated from eukaryotes. Previous biochemical and structural data have shown that the C-terminal end of PepC partially occupies the active site cleft. In this work the substrate specificity of PepC was engineered by deletion of the four C-terminal residues. The mutant PepCDelta432-435 cleaved peptide substrates as an oligopeptidase while the aminopeptidase specificity was totally abolished. The substrate size dependency indicated that PepCDelta432-435 possesses an extended binding site able to accommodate four residues of the substrate on both sides of the cleaved bond. The activity of PepCDelta432-435 towards tryptic fragments of casein revealed a preference for peptides with hydrophobic amino acids at positions P2 and P3 and for Gly, Asn and Gln at position P1. PepCDelta432-435 was shown to be highly sensitive to the thiol peptidase inhibitors leupeptin or E64 which are inefficient towards the wild-type PepC. In conclusion, deletion of the four C-terminal residues in PepC produces a new enzyme with properties resembling those of an endopeptidase from the papain family.

N-terminal amino acid sequences of acid proteases: acid proteases from Penicillium roqueforti and Rhizopus chinensis and alignment with penicillopepsin and mammalian proteases.

The amino-terminal sequence (33 residues) of the acid protease from Penicillium roqueforti has been determined with an automated sequencer. The amino-terminal sequence of Rhizopus pepsin (published by Sepulveda, P., Jackson, K. W. & Tang, J. (1975) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 63, 1106-1112) has been extended from 27 residues to 39 residues. Also, it was found that two forms of Rhizopus pepsin differ in position 15, where Rhizopus pepsin I has an isoleucine and Rhizopus pepsin II a valine residue. The new sequences have been aligned with the amino-terminal sequences of penicillopepsin (EC 3.4.23.7), pig pepsin (EC 3.4.23.1), calf chymosin (EC 3.4.23.4), human pepsin (EC 3.4.23.2), human gastricsin (EC 3.4.23.3), and cow pepsin (EC 3.4.23.1). Residues 31-35 (numbering based on pig pepsin, Tang, J., Sepulveda, P., Marciniszyn, Jr., J., Chen, K.S.C., Huang, W.-Y. , Tao, N., Liu, D. & Lanier, P. (1973) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 70, 3437-3739) are identical in all enzymes. This section contains one of the two aspartic acids (Asp-32) implicated in the active site. The similarity of the sequences provides strong evidence for the homology of these acid proteases.

Biochemical and genetic characterization of PepF, an oligopeptidase from Lactococcus lactis.

Lactococcus lactis possesses a complex proteolytic system which is essential for its growth in milk. We characterized one of the peptidases of this system, oligopeptidase PepF, together with its structural gene. PepF hydrolyzed peptides containing between 7 and 17 amino acids with a rather wide specificity. It was purified to homogeneity. The N-terminal sequences of PepF and of peptides resulting from tryptic digestion of PepF were determined and used to design degenerate oligonucleotides which served to amplify a DNA fragment internal to pepF. This fragment was used as a probe to screen a lactococcal genomic library in Escherichia coli and to clone the entire gene pepF. The gene coded for a 70 kDa protein and was located on a 55-kilobase lactose-protease plasmid. A motif His-Glu-X-X-His, characteristic of metallopeptidases was evidenced. Two regions of PepF were found similar, first to a stretch of 43 amino acids around the zinc-binding site of several other peptidases, second to a stretch of 33 amino acids well conserved among creatine and arginine kinases. Preliminary results suggest the presence of a second copy of pepF.

Synthesis of amino-acid derivatives and dipeptides with an original peptidase enzyme.

A peptidase from the non pathogenic Staphylococcus sp. strain BEC 299 was purified to a final specific activity of 84,400 U/mg protein. Its molecular weight is 450 kDa and optimum pH 10.0. This enzyme catalyzes the synthesis of dipeptides (aspartame) and alpha-amino acid derivatives (N-L-malyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester). The influence of cosolvents and pH on dipeptides and alpha-amino acid derivative synthesis is described. Finally, we detail the use of the peptidase as a reagent in protease-catalyzed peptide synthesis.