Improving the understanding of plasma kallikrein contribution to arterial thrombus formation using two plant protease inhibitors.

The purpose of antithrombotic therapy is the prevention of thrombus formation and/or its extension with a minimum risk of bleeding. The inhibition of a variety of proteolytic processes, particularly those of the coagulation cascade, has been reported as a property of plant protease inhibitors. The role of trypsin inhibitors (TIs) from Delonix regia (Dr) and Acacia schweinfurthii (As), members of the Kunitz family of protease inhibitors, was investigated on blood coagulation, platelet aggregation, and thrombus formation. Different from Acacia schweinfurthii trypsin inhibitor (AsTI), Delonix regia trypsin inhibitor (DrTI) is a potent inhibitor of FXIa with a Kiapp of 1.3 × 10-9 M. In vitro, both inhibitors at 100 µg corresponding to the concentrations of 21 µM and 15.4 µM of DrTI and AsTI, respectively, increased approximately 2.0 times the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) in human plasma compared to the control, likely due to the inhibition of human plasma kallikrein (huPK) or activated factor XI (FXIa), in the case of DrTI. Investigating in vivo models of arterial thrombus formation and bleeding time, DrTI and AsTI, 1.3 µM and 0.96 µM, respectively, prolonged approximately 50% the time for total carotid artery occlusion in mice compared to the control. In contrast to heparin, the bleeding time in mice treated with the two inhibitors did not differ from that of the control group. DrTI and AsTI inhibited 49.3% and 63.8%, respectively, ex vivo murine platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate (ADP), indicating that these protein inhibitors prevent arterial thrombus formation possibly by interfering with the plasma kallikrein (PK) proteolytic action on the intrinsic coagulation pathway and its ability to enhance the platelet aggregation activity on the intravascular compartment leading to the improvement of a thrombus.

Plasma kallikrein enhances platelet aggregation response by subthreshold doses of ADP.

Human plasma kallikrein (huPK) potentiates platelet responses to subthreshold doses of ADP, although huPK itself, does not induce platelet aggregation. In the present investigation, we observe that huPK pretreatment of platelets potentiates ADP-induced platelet activation by prior proteolysis of the G-protein-coupled receptor PAR-1. The potentiation of ADP-induced platelet activation by huPK is mediated by the integrin αIIbß3 through interactions with the KGD/KGE sequence motif in huPK. Integrin αIIbß3 is a cofactor for huPK binding to platelets to support PAR-1 hydrolysis that contributes to activation of the ADP signaling pathway. This activation pathway leads to phosphorylation of Src, AktS473, ERK1/2, and p38 MAPK, and to Ca2+ release. The effect of huPK is blocked by specific antagonists of PAR-1 (SCH 19197) and αIIbß3 (abciximab) and by synthetic peptides comprising the KGD and KGE sequence motifs of huPK. Further, recombinant plasma kallikrein inhibitor, rBbKI, also blocks this entire mechanism. These results suggest a new function for huPK. Formation of plasma kallikrein lowers the threshold for ADP-induced platelet activation. The present observations are consistent with the notion that plasma kallikrein promotes vascular disease and thrombosis in the intravascular compartment and its inhibition may ameliorate cardiovascular disease and thrombosis.

Bradykinin release avoids high molecular weight kininogen endocytosis.

Human H-kininogen (120 kDa) plays a role in many pathophysiological processes and interacts with the cell surface through protein receptors and proteoglycans, which mediate H-kininogen endocytosis. In the present work we demonstrate that H-kininogen containing bradykinin domain is internalized and different endogenous kininogenases are present in CHO-K1 cells. We used CHO-K1 (wild type) and CHO-745 (mutant deficient in proteoglycans biosynthesis) cell lines. H-kininogen endocytosis was studied using confocal microscopy, and its hydrolysis by cell lysate fraction was determined by immunoblotting. Bradykinin release was also measured by radioimmunoassay. H-kininogen interaction with the cell surface of CHO-745 cells resulted in bradykinin release by serine proteases. In CHO-K1 cells, which produce heparan and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, internalization of H-kininogen through its bradykinin domain can occur on lipid raft domains/caveolae. Nevertheless bradykinin-free H-kininogen was not internalized by CHO-K1 cells. The H-kininogen present in acidic endosomal vesicles in CHO-K1 was approximately 10-fold higher than the levels in CHO-745. CHO-K1 lysate fractions were assayed at pH 5.5 and intact H-kininogen was totally hydrolyzed into a 62 kDa fragment. By contrast, at an assay pH 7.4, the remained fragments were 115 kDa, 83 kDa, 62 kDa and 48 kDa in size. The antipain-Sepharose chromatography separated endogenous kininogenases from CHO-K1 lysate fraction. No difference was detected in the assays at pH 5.5 or 7.4, but the proteins in the fraction bound to the resin released bradykinin from H-kininogen. However, the proteins in the unbound fraction cleaved intact H-kininogen at other sites but did not release bradykinin. H-kininogen can interact with extravascular cells, and is internalized dependent on its bradykinin domain and cell surface proteoglycans. After internalization, H-kininogen is proteolytically processed by intracellular kininogenases. The present data also demonstrates that serine or cysteine proteases in lipid raft domains/caveolae on the CHO cell can hydrolyze H-kininogen, thus releasing kinins.

Bauhinia forficata lectin (BfL) induces cell death and inhibits integrin-mediated adhesion on MCF7 human breast cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: Plant lectins have attracted great interest in cancer studies due to their antitumor activities. These proteins or glycoproteins specifically and reversibly bind to different types of carbohydrates or glycoproteins. Breast cancer, which presents altered glycosylation of cell surface glycoproteins, is one of the most frequent malignant diseases in women. In this work, we describe the effect of the lectin Bauhinia forficata lectin (BfL), which was purified from B. forficata Link subsp. forficata seeds, on the MCF7 human breast cancer cellular line, investigating the mechanisms involved in its antiproliferative activity. METHODS: MCF7 cells were treated with BfL. Viability and adhesion alterations were evaluated using flow cytometry and western blotting. RESULTS: BfL inhibited the viability of the MCF7 cell line but was ineffective on MDA-MB-231 and MCF 10A cells. It inhibits MCF7 adhesion on laminin, collagen I and fibronectin, decreases α1, α6 and ß1 integrin subunit expression, and increases α5 subunit expression. BfL triggers necrosis and secondary necrosis, with caspase-9 inhibition. It also causes deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragmentation, which leads to cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase and a decrease in the expression of the regulatory proteins pRb and p21. CONCLUSION: BfL shows selective cytotoxic effect and adhesion inhibition on MCF7 breast cancer cells. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Cell death induction and inhibition of cell adhesion may contribute to understanding the action of lectins in breast cancer.

The Kallikrein Inhibitor from Bauhinia bauhinioides (BbKI) shows antithrombotic properties in venous and arterial thrombosis models.

The Bauhinia bauhinioides Kallikrein Inhibitor (BbKI) is a Kunitz-type serine peptidase inhibitor of plant origin that has been shown to impair the viability of some tumor cells and to feature a potent inhibitory activity against human and rat plasma kallikrein (Kiapp 2.4 nmol/L and 5.2 nmol/L, respectively). This inhibitory activity is possibly responsible for an effect on hemostasis by prolonging activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT). Because the association between cancer and thrombosis is well established, we evaluated the possible antithrombotic activity of this protein in venous and arterial thrombosis models. Vein thrombosis was studied in the vena cava ligature model in Wistar rats, and arterial thrombosis in the photochemical induced endothelium lesion model in the carotid artery of C57 black 6 mice. BbKI at a concentration of 2.0 mg/kg reduced the venous thrombus weight by 65% in treated rats in comparison to rats in the control group. The inhibitor prolonged the time for total artery occlusion in the carotid artery model mice indicating that this potent plasma kallikrein inhibitor prevented thrombosis.

Unfolding studies of the cysteine protease baupain, a papain-like enzyme from leaves of Bauhinia forficata: effect of pH, guanidine hydrochloride and temperature.

Baupain belongs to the α+ß class of proteins with a secondary structure-content of 44% α-helix, 16% ß-sheet and 12% ß-turn. The structural transition induced by pH was found to be noncooperative, with no important differences observed in the pH range from 3.0 to 10.5. At pH 2.0 the protein presented substantial non-native structure with strong ANS binding. Guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl)-induced unfolding did not change the protein structure significantly until 4.0 M, indicating the high rigidity of the molecule. The unfolding was cooperative, as seen by the sigmoidal transition curves with midpoints at 4.7±0.2 M and 5.0±0.2 M GdnHCl, as measured by CD and fluorescence spectroscopy. A red shift of 7 nm in intrinsic fluorescence was observed with 6.0 M GdnHCl. Temperature-induced unfolding of baupain was incomplete, and at least 35% of the native structure of the protein was retained, even at high temperature (90 °C). Baupain showed characteristics of a molten globule state, due to preferential ANS binding at pH 2.0 in comparison to the native form (pH 7.0) and completely unfolded (6.0 M GdnHCl) state. Combined with information about N-terminal sequence similarity, these results allow us to include baupain in the papain superfamily.

The component of Carica papaya seed toxic to A. aegypti and the identification of tegupain, the enzyme that generates it.

As Aedes aegypti transmits the etiologic agents of both yellow and dengue fever; vector control is considered essential to minimise their incidence. The aim of this work was to identify the component of Carica papaya seed toxic to A. aegypti, and the identification of tegupain, the enzyme that generates it. Aqueous extracts (1%, w/v) of the seed tegument and cotyledon of C. papaya are not larvicidal isolately. However, a mixture of 17µgmL(-1) tegument extract and 27µgmL(-1) cotyledon extract caused 100% larval mortality in a bioassay. The mixture was no longer larvicidal after the tegument extract was pre-treated at 100°C for 10min. The enzyme tegupain efficiently hydrolysed the substrate Z-Phe-Arg-pNan (Km 58.8µM, Kcat 28020s(-1), Kcat/Km 5×10(8)M(-1) s(-1)), and its activity increased with 2mM dithiothreitol (DTT), at 37°C, pH 5.0. The chelating agent EDTA did not modify the enzyme activity. Inhibition of tegupain by cystatin (Kiapp 2.43nM), E64 (3.64nM, 83% inhibition), and the propeptide N-terminal sequence indicate that the toxic activity is due to a novel cysteine proteinase-like enzyme, rendered active upon the hydrolysis of a cotyledon component of C. papaya seeds.

The effects of a plant proteinase inhibitor from Enterolobium contortisiliquum on human tumor cell lines.

Supplementary to the efficient inhibition of trypsin, chymotrypsin, plasma kallikrein, and plasmin already described by the EcTI inhibitor from Enterolobium contortisiliquum, it also blocks human neutrophil elastase (K(iapp)=4.3 nM) and prevents phorbol ester (PMA)-stimulated activation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 probably via interference with membrane-type 1 (MT1)-MMP. Moreover, plasminogen-induced activation of proMMP-9 and processing of active MMP-2 was also inhibited. Furthermore, the effect of EcTI on the human cancer cell lines HCT116 and HT29 (colorectal), SkBr-3 and MCF-7 (breast), K562 and THP-1 (leukemia), as well as on human primary fibroblasts and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) was studied. EcTI inhibited in a concentration range of 1.0-2.5 µM rather specifically tumor cell viability without targeting primary fibroblasts and hMSCs. Taken together, our data indicate that the polyspecific proteinase inhibitor EcTI prevents proMMP activation and is cytotoxic against tumor cells without affecting normal tissue remodeling fibroblasts or regenerative hMSCs being an important tool in the studies of tumor cell development and dissemination.

Heparin affects the interaction of kininogen on endothelial cells.

In the plasma kallikrein-kinin system, it has been shown that when plasma prekallikrein (PK) and high molecular weight kininogen (HK) assemble on endothelial cells, plasma kallikrein (huPK) becomes available to cleave HK, releasing bradykinin, a potent mediator of the inflammatory response. Because the formation of soluble glycosaminoglycans occurs concomitantly during the inflammatory processes, the effect of these polysaccharides on the interaction of HK on the cell surface or extracellular matrix (ECM) of two endothelial cell lines (ECV304 and RAEC) was investigated. In the presence of Zn(+2), HK binding to the surface or ECM of RAEC was abolished by heparin; reduced by heparan sulfate, keratan sulfate, chondroitin 4-sulfate or dermatan sulfate; and not affected by chondroitin 6-sulfate. By contrast, only heparin reduced HK binding to the ECV304 cell surface or ECM. Using heparin-correlated molecules such as low molecular weight dextran sulfate, low molecular weight heparin and N-desulfated heparin, we suggest that these effects were mainly dependent on the charge density and on the N-sulfated glucosamine present in heparin. Surprisingly, PK binding to cell- or ECM-bound-HK and PK activation was not modified by heparin. However, the hydrolysis of HK by huPK, releasing BK in the fluid phase, was augmented by this glycosaminoglycan in the presence of Zn(2+). Thus, a functional dichotomy exists in which soluble glycosaminoglycans may possibly either increase or decrease the formation of BK. In conclusion, glycosaminoglycans that accumulated in inflammatory fluids or used as a therapeutic drug (e.g., heparin) could act as pro- or anti-inflammatory mediators depending on different factors within the cell environment.

Interaction of proteinase inhibitors with phospholipid vesicles is modulated by pH.

rBbKI and rBbCI, plant recombinant inhibitors from Bauhinia bauhinioides, and BpuTI from Bauhinia purpurea seeds distinctly and specifically block proteolytic enzymes. The secondary structures of those inhibitors were compared and their interactions with phospholipid vesicles were evaluated by the release of calcein and by intrinsic fluorescence of tryptophan residues. The results show that rBbKI, rBbCI and BpuTI are able to interact with phospholipd vesicles and induce membrane permeabilization in a concentration- and pH-dependent manner. The leakage was rapid and extensive at pH 4.5, but at physiological pH, no calcein release was observed. These results may suggest that upon inflammation or microorganism invasion accompanied by lowering of pH, appropriate conditions may occur for the inhibitors to interact with cell membrane and act on specific proteolytic enzyme.

A novel subclassification for Kunitz proteinase inhibitors from leguminous seeds.

Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitors from legume seeds have been characterized structurally. The presence of Cys-Cys in single or double chains shows a new pattern of proteins structurally not so closely related to STI. Therefore, briefly, with regard to cysteine content, plant Kunitz proteinase inhibitors may be classified into four groups: no Cys-Cys at all, one, two and more than two Cys residues. Functional properties and diversity of these proteins are also briefly discussed.

Action of plant proteinase inhibitors on enzymes of physiopathological importance.

Obtained from leguminous seeds, various plant proteins inhibit animal proteinases, including human, and can be considered for the development of compounds with biological activity. Inhibitors from the Bowman-Birk and plant Kunitz-type family have been characterized by proteinase specificity, primary structure and reactive site. Our group mostly studies the genus Bauhinia, mainly the species bauhinioides, rufa, ungulata and variegata. In some species, more than one inhibitor was characterized, exhibiting different properties. Although proteins from this group share high structural similarity, they present differences in proteinase inhibition, explored in studies using diverse biological models.

Involvement of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in cellular uptake of high molecular weight kininogen.

In this study, we analyzed the influence of proteoglycans on the interaction between human high molecular weight kininogen (HK) and the cell surface. We found that D5- related peptide inhibits HK-biotin cellular uptake. Confocal microscopy showed that HK colocalizes with heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) at the cell surface. When biotin-HK is incubated with rabbit aorta endothelial cells (RAECs) and CHO-K1 cells, it is internalized into acidic intracellular vesicles, whereas when incubated with CHO-745 cells, which express reduced levels of glycosaminoglycans, HK is not internalized. To further verify the hypothesis that HSPG-dependent mechanisms are involved in HK uptake and proteolytic processing in lysosomes, we tested chloroquine, which blocks Alexa 488- HK colocalization with Lyso Tracker in acidic endosomal vesicles. The process of HK internalization was blocked by low temperatures, methyl-beta-cyclodextrin, FCCP and 2-deoxy-D-glucose, implying that HK uptake into acidic vesicles is energy-dependent and most likely involves binding to HSPG structures localized in cholesterol-rich domains present in the plasma membrane. Kinin generation at the cell surface was much higher in tumorigenic cells (CHO-K1) when compared to endothelial cells (RAECs). The present data indicate that the process of HK endocytosis involving HSPG is a novel additional mechanism which may control kinin generation at the cell surface.

Heparin modulation of human plasma kallikrein on different substrates and inhibitors.

The interplay of different proteases and glycosaminoglycans is able to modulate the activity of the enzymes and to affect their structures. Human plasma kallikrein (huPK) is a proteolytic enzyme involved in intrinsic blood clotting, the kallikrein-kinin system and fibrinolysis. We investigated the effect of heparin on the action, inhibition and secondary structure of huPK. The catalytic efficiency for the hydrolysis of substrates by huPK was determined by Michaelis-Menten kinetic plots: 5.12x10(4) M-1 s-1 for acetyl-Phe-Arg-p-nitroanilide, 1.40x10(5) M-1 s-1 for H-D-Pro-Phe-Arg-p-nitroanilide, 2.25x10(4) M-1 s-1 for Abz-Gly-Phe-Ser-Pro-Phe-Arg-Ser-Ser-Arg-Gln-EDDnp, 4.24x10(2)M-1 s-1 for factor XII and 5.58x10(2) M-1 s-1 for plasminogen. Heparin reduced the hydrolysis of synthetic substrates (by 2.0-fold), but enhanced factor XII and plasminogen hydrolysis (7.7- and 1.4-fold, respectively). The second-order rate constants for inhibition of huPK by antithrombin and C1-inhibitor were 2.40x10(2) M-1 s-1 and 1.70x10(4) M-1 s-1, respectively. Heparin improved the inhibition of huPK by these inhibitors (3.4- and 1.4-fold). Despite the fact that huPK was able to bind to a heparin-Sepharose matrix, its secondary structure was not modified by heparin, as monitored by circular dichroism. These actions may have a function in the control or maintenance of some pathophysiological processes in which huPK participates.

Structural and inhibitory properties of a plant proteinase inhibitor containing the RGD motif.

Purified from Bauhinia rufa seeds, BrTI is a Kunitz proteinase inhibitor that contains the RGD sequence. BrTI inhibits trypsin (K(iapp) 2.9 nM) and human plasma kallikrein (K(iapp) 14.0 nM) but not other related enzymes. The synthetic peptide YLEPVARGDGGLA-NH(2) (70 microM) inhibited the adhesion to fibronectin of B16F10 (high-metastatic B16 murine mouse melanoma cell line) and of Tm5 (murine melanoma cell lines derived from a non-tumorigenic lineage of pigmented murine melanocytes, melan-a). YLEPVARGEGGLA-NH(2) in which Asp(9) was changed into Glu does not affect the cell attachment. Moreover, this peptide was functional only when the sequence present in the native protein was preserved, since YLIPVARGDGGLA-NH(2) in which Glu(3) was changed into Ile does not interfere with B16F10 and was less effective on Tm5 cell line adhesion. Neither YLEPVARGDGGLA-NH(2), YLIPVARGDGGLA-NH(2) or YLEPVARGEGGLA-NH(2) inhibit the interaction of RAEC (endothelial cell line from rabbit aorta) with fibronectin.

Vitamin E prevents cell death induced by mild oxidative stress in chicken skeletal muscle cells.

Apoptosis and necrosis are two forms of cell death that can occur in response to various agents and oxidative damage. In addition to necrosis, apoptosis contributes to muscle fiber loss in various muscular dystrophies as well participates in the exudative diathesis in chicken, pathology caused by dietary deficiency of vitamin E and selenium, which affects muscle tissue. We have used chicken skeletal muscle cells and bovine fibroblasts to study molecular events involved in the cell death induced by oxidative stress and apoptotic agents. The effect of vitamin E on cell death induced by oxidants was also investigated. Treatment of cells with anti-Fas antibody (50 to 400 ng/mL), staurosporine (0.1 to 100 microM) and TNF-alpha (10 and 50 ng/mL) resulted in a little loss of Trypan blue exclusion ability. Those stimuli conducted cells to apoptosis detected by an enhancement in caspase activity upon fluorogenic substrates but this activity was not fully blocked by the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk. Oxidative stress induced by menadione (10, 100 and 250 muM) promoted a significant reduction in cell viability (10%, 20% and 35% for fibroblasts; 20%, 30% and 75% for muscle cells, respectively) and caused an increase in caspase activity and DNA fragmentation. H2O2 also promoted apoptosis verified by caspase activation and DNA fragmentation, but in higher doses induced necrosis. Vitamin E protected cells from death induced by low doses of oxidants. Although it was ineffective in reducing caspase activity in fibroblasts, this vitamin diminished the enzyme activity in muscle cells. These data suggested that oxidative stress could activate apoptotic mechanisms; however the mode of cell death will depend on the intensity and duration of the stimulus, and on the antioxidant status of the cells.

Kunitz-type Bauhinia bauhinioides inhibitors devoid of disulfide bridges: isolation of the cDNAs, heterologous expression and structural studies.

Bauhinia bauhinoides cruzipain inhibitor (BbCI) and Bauhinia bauhinioides kallikrein inhibitor (BbKI) are cysteine and serine proteinase inhibitors structurally homologous to plant Kunitz-type inhibitors, but are devoid of disulfide bridges. Based on cDNA sequences, we found that BbKI and BbCI are initially synthesized as a prepropeptide comprising an N-terminal signal peptide (19 residues), the mature protein (164 residues) and a C-terminal targeting peptide (10 residues). Partial cDNAs encoding the mature enzymes plus N-terminal His-tags and thrombin cleavage sites were expressed in E. coli and the soluble proteins were purified by one-step nickel affinity chromatography. After thrombin cleavage, both proteins exhibited potent inhibitory activities toward their cognate proteinases like the wild-type proteins. BbCI inhibits human neutrophil elastase ( K i(app) 5.3 nM), porcine pancreatic elastase ( K i(app) 40 nM), cathepsin G ( K i(app) 160 nM) and the cysteine proteinases cruzipain ( K i(app) 1.2 nM), cruzain ( K i(app) 0.3 nM) and cathepsin L ( K i(app) 2.2 nM), while BbKI strongly inhibits plasma kallikrein ( K i(app) 2.4 nM) and plasmin ( K i(app) 33 nM). Circular dichroism spectra of BbCI and BbKI were in agreement with the beta-trefoil fold described for Kunitz inhibitors. The inhibitory potency of both BbCI- and BbKI-type inhibitors suggests that other, non-covalent interactions may compensate for the lack of disulfide bridges.

Gene expression in the salivary complexes from Haementeria depressa leech through the generation of expressed sequence tags.

A survey of the transcriptional profile of Haementeria depressa Ringuelet, 1972 (Annelida, Hirudinea) salivary complexes was produced through expressed sequence tag (EST). Sequences from 898 independent clones were assembled in 555 clusters, representing the transcript profile of this tissue. The repertoire of possible proteins involved in feeding and host interaction processes of the leech corresponded to 10.6% of all identified transcripts (67 clusters), being the carbonic anhydrases (30%), several coagulation inhibitors (25%) and hemerythrin-like molecules (19%), the major components. Among the 387 clusters matching cellular proteins, the majority represents molecules involved in gene and protein expression, reflecting a high specialization of this tissue for protein synthesis. Our H. depressa dbEST was also compared to those from other blood-feeding organisms, providing evidences that among the secreted proteins, the coagulation inhibitors present a profile very characteristic of this animal class.

A proteinase inhibitor from Caesalpinia echinata (pau-brasil) seeds for plasma kallikrein, plasmin and factor XIIa.

Caesalpinia echinata is a tree belonging to the Leguminosae family. The red color of the trunk, looking like burning wood ('brasa' in Portuguese), is the origin of the name Brazil. Seeds of leguminous plants contain high amounts of serine proteinase inhibitors that can affect different biological processes. Here we show that a protein isolated from seeds of C. echinata is able to inhibit enzymes that participate in blood coagulation and fibrinolysis. This inhibitor (CeKI) was purified to homogeneity by ion exchange and reversed-phase chromatography. SDS-PAGE indicated a single polypeptide chain with a molecular mass of 20 kDa. CeKI inhibits human plasma kallikrein ( K i =3.1 nM), plasmin ( K i =0.18 nM), factor XIIa ( K i =0.18 nM), trypsin ( K i =21.5 nM) and factor Xa ( K i =0.49 mM). CeKI inhibited kinin release from highmolecular- mass kininogen by kallikrein in vitro . The N-terminal sequence, determined by automatic Edman degradation, identified the inhibitor as a member of the Kunitz family. The secondary structure, determined by circular dichroism, is mainly a random coil followed by beta-sheet structure. The action of CeKI on enzymes of the blood-clotting intrinsic pathway was confirmed by prolongation of the activated partial thromboplastin time.

Action of Bauhinia bauhinioides synthetic peptides on serine proteinases.

The kallikrein inhibitor found in Bauhinia bauhinioides seeds (BbKI) differs from classical Kunitz plant inhibitors in the lack of disulfide bridges in its structure [Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1477 (2000) 64-74]. In this study, we examined whether structural properties may be involved in inhibitory specificity and, if so, whether those properties might be useful tools in designing compounds that interfere with enzyme activity. Peptides structurally related to the BbKI (RPGLPVRFESPLRINIIKE-NH(2)) reactive site were synthesized by solid-phase method and assayed for serine proteinase activity. The peptides RPGLPVRFESPLRINIIKE-NH(2), RPGLPVRFESPL-NH(2), and GLPVRFES-NH(2) were efficient tissue kallikrein inhibitors, with I(50) values of 0.54 microM, 0.87 microM, and 0.5mM, respectively. The lasting inhibitory effect was observed in incubation periods of up to 120 min. None of the studied peptides interfere with the activity of thrombin, factor Xa or trypsin, although the native protein BbKI is a potent trypsin inhibitor.