Enzymatic nanolithography of FRET peptide layer using V8 protease-immobilized AFM probe.

In our study, a method based on Enzymatic nanolithography was successfully performed in a buffered solution using Staphylococcal serine V8 protease and AFM. To estimate the lithographing activity of the protease immobilized on the AFM tip to peptides immobilized on a substrate, we designed fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) peptides as reporter peptides that showed enzymatic action specific to the V8 protease. When the protease digested the reporter peptide a quencher residue was released from the peptide and resulted in the appearance of fluorescence. In the designed 9-mer peptides, TAMRA functioned as a good quencher for FAM. When the fluorescence resonance energy transfer peptides immobilized on a glass substrate were hydrolyzed by V8 protease at the C-terminal of glutamic acid, fluorescence of a reporter dye was observed because of the release of a quencher from the substrate. After contacting and lateral scanning of the protease-immobilized AFM tip to the reporter peptide layer, a fluorescent area was observed by imaging using total internal refection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM). The increment of fluorescence intensity of the digested peptide indicates the performance of lithography. Lithographing rates increased in inverse relation to scanning rates of the probe. The maximum limit of the scanning rate, i.e., that was too fast to permit cutting of the peptide on the substrate, and the lithographing performance are discussed in this study.

Role of the ompT mutation in stimulated decrease in colony-forming ability due to intracellular protein aggregate formation in Escherichia coli strain BL21.

Recently we found that the cells of Escherichia coli strain BL21 producing a fusion protein, GST-Sup35NM, show a much more rapid decrease in colony-forming ability in the stationary phase than control cells. In this study, it was found that an extract of the cells producing GST-Sup35NM forms fibrous protein polymers containing GST-Sup35NM. In the course of the study, we realized that strain BL21 carried the ompT mutation. We suspected that the deficiency in OmpT protease was responsible for the observed phenotype. To test this, we introduced the wild-type ompT gene into strain BL21, and found that the transformed cells recovered the wild-type phenotype. We concluded that OmpT protease, though known to localize on the cell surface, is involved in protein quality control within the cell.

Semisynthesis of human ghrelin: condensation of a Boc-protected recombinant peptide with a synthetic O-acylated fragment.

The creation of peptide using a combination of recombinant expression and chemical synthesis can be a powerful tool for the production of a wide variety of polypeptides modified by phosphorylation, glycosylation, etc. We have developed a new method for the preparation of a recombinant peptide with a free N(alpha)-amino group and protected N(epsilon)-amino groups, and have used this method in the semisynthesis of human ghrelin. Ghrelin, a natural ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptor, is a 28-residue peptide with an essential n-octanoyl modification on Ser3. A 7-residue N-terminal fragment of ghrelin containing the octanoyl modification was prepared by Fmoc chemistry. In the preparation of it, all reactions were performed on the 2-chlorotrityl resin. Additionally, TBDMS and tBu turned out to be the most effective protection groups for the Ser3 and the Ser2, Ser6, respectively. For preparation of a 21-residue C-terminal fragment, we established a two-step protease processing method for the partially protected segment. A recombinant precursor peptide was Boc protected and subsequently cleaved using two distinct proteases, OmpT and Kex2. The peptides were then coupled to each other and, after deprotection, resulted in fully active human ghrelin.

Utilization of Escherichia coli outer-membrane endoprotease OmpT variants as processing enzymes for production of peptides from designer fusion proteins.

Escherichia coli outer-membrane endoprotease OmpT has suitable properties for processing fusion proteins to produce peptides and proteins. However, utilization of this protease for such production has been restricted due to its generally low cleavage efficiency at Arg (or Lys)-Xaa, where Xaa is a nonbasic N-terminal amino acid of a target polypeptide. The objective of this study was to generate a specific and efficient OmpT protease and to utilize it as a processing enzyme for producing various peptides and proteins by converting its substrate specificity. Since OmpT Asp(97) is proposed to interact with the P1' amino acid of its substrates, OmpT variants with variations at Asp(97) were constructed by replacing this amino acid with 19 natural amino acids to alter the cleavage specificity at Arg (P1)-Xaa (P1'). The variant OmpT that had a methionine at this position, but not the wild-type OmpT, efficiently cleaved a fusion protein containing the amino acid sequence -Arg-Arg-Arg-Ala-Arg downward arrow motilin, in which motilin is a model peptide with a phenylalanine at the N terminus. The OmpT variants with leucine and histidine at position 97 were useful in releasing human adrenocorticotropic hormone (1-24) (serine at the N terminus) and human calcitonin precursor (cysteine at the N terminus), respectively, from fusion proteins. Motilin was produced by this method and was purified up to 99.0% by two chromatographic steps; the yield was 160 mg/liter of culture. Our novel method in which the OmpT variants are used could be employed for production of various peptides and proteins.

Substrate specificity at the P1' site of Escherichia coli OmpT under denaturing conditions.

Though OmpT has been reported to mainly cleave the peptide bond between consecutive basic amino acids, we identified more precise substrate specificity by using a series of modified substrates, termed PRX fusion proteins, consisting of 184 residues. The cleavage site of the substrate PRR was Arg140-Arg141 and the modified substrates PRX substituted all 19 natural amino acids at the P1' site instead of Arg141. OmpT under denaturing conditions (in the presence of 4 M urea) cleaved not only between two consecutive basic amino acids but also at the carboxyl side of Arg140 except for the Arg140-Asp141, -Glu141, and -Pro141 pairs. In addition to Arg140 at the P1 site, similar results were obtained when Lys140 was substituted into the P1 site. In the absence of urea, an aspartic acid residue at the P1' site was unfavorable for OmpT cleavage of synthetic decapeptides, the enzyme showed a preference for a dibasic site.