Steady-state kinetic characterization of substrates and metal-ion specificities of the full-length and N-terminally truncated recombinant human methionine aminopeptidases (type 2).

The steady-state kinetics of a full-length and truncated form of the type 2 human methionine aminopeptidase (hMetAP2) were analyzed by continuous monitoring of the amide bond cleavage of various peptide substrates and methionyl analogues of 7-amido-4-methylcoumarin (AMC) and p-nitroaniline (pNA), utilizing new fluorescence-based and absorbance-based assay substrates and a novel coupled-enzyme assay method. The most efficient substrates for hMetAP2 appeared to be peptides of three or more amino acids for which the values of k(cat)/K(m) were approximately 5 x 10(5) M(-1) min(-1). It was found that while the nature of the P1' residue of peptide substrates dictates the substrate specificity in the active site of hMetAP2, the P2' residue appears to play a key role in the kinetics of peptidolysis. The catalytic efficiency of dipeptide substrates was found to be at least 250-fold lower than those of the tripeptides. This substantially diminished catalytic efficiency of hMetAP2 observed with the alternative substrates MetAMC and MetpNA is almost entirely due to the reduction in the turnover rate (k(cat)), suggesting that cleavage of the amide bond is at least partially rate-limiting. The 107 N-terminal residues of hMetAP2 were not required for either the peptidolytic activity of the enzyme or its stability. Steady-state kinetic comparison and thermodynamic analyses of an N-terminally truncated form and full-length enzyme yielded essentially identical kinetic behavior and physical properties. Addition of exogenous Co(II) cation was found to significantly activate the full-length hMetAP2, while Zn(II) cation, on the other hand, was unable to activate hMetAP2 under any concentration that was tested.

ASP1 (BACE2) cleaves the amyloid precursor protein at the beta-secretase site.

Sequential proteolytic processing of the Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) by beta- and gamma-secretases generates the 4-kDa amyloid (A beta) peptide, a key component of the amyloid plaques seen in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We and others have recently reported the identification and characterisation of an aspartic proteinase, Asp2 (BACE), as beta-secretase. Here we describe the characterization of a second highly related aspartic proteinase, Asp1 as a second beta-secretase candidate. Asp1 is expressed in brain as detected at the mRNA level and at the protein level. Transient expression of Asp1 in APP-expressing cells results in an increase in the level of beta-secretase-derived soluble APP and the corresponding carboxy-terminal fragment. Paradoxically there is a decrease in the level of soluble A beta secreted from the cells. Asp1 colocalizes with APP in the Golgi/endoplasmic reticulum compartments of cultured cells. Asp1, when expressed as an Fc fusion protein (Asp1-Fc), has the N-terminal sequence ALEP..., indicating that it has lost the prodomain. Asp1-Fc exhibits beta-secretase activity by cleaving both wild-type and Swedish variant (KM/NL) APP peptides at the beta-secretase site.

Identification of a novel aspartic protease (Asp 2) as beta-secretase.

The Alzheimer's disease beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta) is produced by excision from the type 1 integral membrane glycoprotein amyloid precursor protein (APP) by the sequential actions of beta- and then gamma-secretases. Here we report that Asp 2, a novel transmembrane aspartic protease, has the key activities expected of beta-secretase. Transient expression of Asp 2 in cells expressing APP causes an increase in the secretion of the N-terminal fragment of APP and an increase in the cell-associated C-terminal beta-secretase APP fragment. Mutation of either of the putative catalytic aspartyl residues in Asp 2 abrogates the production of the fragments characteristic of cleavage at the beta-secretase site. The enzyme is present in normal and Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain and is also found in cell lines known to produce Abeta. Asp 2 localizes to the Golgi/endoplasmic reticulum in transfected cells and shows clear colocalization with APP in cells stably expressing the 751-amino-acid isoform of APP.

Mechanism of inhibition of cathepsin K by potent, selective 1, 5-diacylcarbohydrazides: a new class of mechanism-based inhibitors of thiol proteases.

The nature of the inhibition of thiol proteases by a new class of mechanism-based inhibitors, 1,5-diacylcarbohydrazides, is described. These potent, time-dependent, active-site spanning inhibitors include compounds that are selective for cathepsin K, a cysteine protease unique to osteoclasts. The 1,5-diacylcarbohydrazides are slow substrates for members of the papain superfamily with inhibition resulting from slow enzyme decarbamylation. Enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of 2,2'-N, N'-bis(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L- leucinylcarbohydrazide is accompanied by formation of a hydrazide-containing product and a carbamyl-enzyme intermediate that is sufficiently stable to be observed by mass spectrometry and NMR. Stopped-flow studies yield a saturation limited value of 43 s(-)(1) for the rate of cathepsin K acylation by 2,2'N, N'-bis(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-leucinylcarbohydrazide. Inhibition potency varies among proteases tested as reflected by 2-3 orders of magnitude differences in K(i) and K(obs)/I, but all eventually form the same stable covalent intermediate. Reactivation rates are equivalent for all enzymes tested (1 x 10(-)(4) s(-)(1)), indicating hydrolysis of a common carbamyl-enzyme form. NMR spectroscopic studies with cathepsin K and 2,2'-N,N'-bis(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-leucinylcarbohydrazide provide evidence of inhibitor cleavage to generate a covalent carbamyl-enzyme intermediate rather than a tetrahedral complex. The product Cbz-leu-hydrazide does not appear enzyme-bound after cleavage in the NMR spectra, suggesting that the stable inhibited form of the enzyme is the thioester complex. 1, 5-diacylcarbohydrazides represent a new class of unreactive cysteine protease inhibitors that share a common mechanism of action across members of the papain superfamily. Both S and S' subsite interactions are exploited in achieving high selectivity and potency.

Inhibitors of endothelin.

With the advent of the first generation of both selective and nonselective endothelin antagonists being a relatively recent event, the manifold therapeutic potentials of these compounds are only now being explored clinically. Undoubtedly, numerous clinical utilities for these compounds will soon be realized.

Rational design, synthesis, and crystallographic analysis of a hydroxyethylene-based HIV-1 protease inhibitor containing a heterocyclic P1'--P2' amide bond isostere.

The rational design and synthesis of a highly potent inhibitor of HIV-1 protease have been accomplished. The inhibitor, SB 206343, is based on a model derived from the structure of the MVT-101/HIV-1 protease complex and contains a 4(5)-acylimidazole ring as an isosteric replacement for the P1'--P2' amide bond. It is a competitive inhibitor with an apparent inhibition constant of 0.6 nM at pH 6.0. The three-dimensional structure of SB 206343 bound in the active site of HIV-1 protease has been determined at 2.3 A resolution by X-ray diffraction techniques and refined to a crystallographic discrepancy factor, R (= sigma parallel Fo magnitude of/Fc parallel/sigma magnitude of), of 0.194. The inhibitor is held in the enzyme by a set of hydrophobic and polar interactions. N-3 of the imidazole ring participates in a novel hydrogen-bonding interaction with the bound water molecule, demonstrating the effectiveness of the imidazole ring as an isosteric replacement for the P1'--P2' amide bond in hydroxyethylene-based HIV-1 protease inhibitors. Also present are hydrogen-bonding interactions between N-1 of the imidazole ring and the carbonyl of Gly-127 as well as between the imidazole acyl carbonyl oxygen and the amide nitrogen of Asp-129, exemplifying the peptidomimetic nature of the 4(5)-acylimidazole isostere. All of these interactions are in qualitative agreement with those predicted by the model.

Use of steady state kinetic methods to elucidate the kinetic and chemical mechanisms of retroviral proteases.

Despite the current plethora of structural data of HIV-1 protease and the availability of potent inhibitors, whose structures are based in part on the presumed mechanism of action of this enzyme, our actual understanding of its chemical mechanism has been until now based largely on the precedents of the mammalian and fungal aspartic proteases and static three-dimensional data. The available steady state kinetic data of the protease, as reviewed here, constitute a first step in a detailed description of the mechanism of the enzyme to complement the structural data.

Use of nitrogen-15 kinetic isotope effects to elucidate details of the chemical mechanism of human immunodeficiency virus 1 protease.

We have used 15N kinetic isotope effects of the HIV-1 protease-catalyzed peptidolysis of Ac-Ser-Gln-Asn-Tyr-Pro-Val-Val-NH2 to characterize the chemical mechanism of this enzyme. In addition, the multiple isotope effects have been determined by measuring the 15N kinetic isotope effects in both H2O and D2O. The isotope effects, measured on values of V/K, were determined by the incorporation of a radiolabel (tritium and 14C in peptides bearing the heavy and light isotopes, respectively) at a position remote from the isotopically labeled scissile peptide bond, such that the isotope effect was determined by measurement of the change in the 14C/3H ratio in recovered substrates at various fractions of reaction. At pH = 6.0 (37 degrees C), the nitrogen isotope effects were slightly, but significantly, inverse in both solvents: 15(V/K)H2O = 0.995 +/- 0.002, and 15(V/K)D2O = 0.992 +/- 0.003. The observation of an inverse nitrogen kinetic isotope effect implies that bonding to the nitrogen atom is becoming stiffened in a reaction transition state, and since this inverse isotope effect is enhanced in D2O, this isotope effect likely arises from protonation of the proline nitrogen atom.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Inhibitor binding to the Phe53Trp mutant of HIV-1 protease promotes conformational changes detectable by spectrofluorometry.

HIV-1 protease contains two identical, conformationally mobile loops, known as flaps, which form in part the binding pockets for substrates and inhibitors. We have constructed a site-specific mutant of the protease in which residues Phe-53 and Phe-153 at the end of the flaps have been mutated to Trp residues, in order to incorporate a specific fluorescent probe to monitor conformational changes upon the binding of an inhibitor. The Phe53Trp (F53W) mutant of HIV-1 protease was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified from bacterial lysates. Analysis of the purified mutant protease demonstrated that its kinetic properties were highly similar to those of the wild-type protease. While binding of a potent peptide-analogue inhibitor (Ki = 9 nM) to the wild-type enzyme led to no change in protein fluorescence, a 5-8% increase in fluorescence was observed with the F53W mutant, indicating an enhancement of the Trp fluorescence due to flap movement upon inhibitor binding. Investigation of the kinetics of the F53W protease-inhibitor binding by stopped-flow spectrofluorometry revealed a rapid increase in protein fluorescence upon formation of the enzyme-inhibitor complex. These data were consistent with a one-step mechanistic model of inhibitor binding in which flap movement was concomitant with inhibitor binding, from which respective rate constants of association and dissociation of 2.5 x 10(6) M-1 s-1 and 0.023 s-1 were obtained.

A symmetric inhibitor binds HIV-1 protease asymmetrically.

Potential advantages of C2-symmetric inhibitors designed for the symmetric HIV-1 protease include high selectivity, potency, stability, and bioavailability. Pseudo-C2-symmetric monools and C2-symmetric diols, containing central hydroxymethylene and (R,R)-dihydroxyethylene moieties flanked by a variety of hydrophobic P1/P1' side chains, were studied as HIV-1 protease inhibitors. The monools and diols were synthesized in 8-10 steps from D-(+)-arabitol and D-(+)-mannitol, respectively. Monools with ethyl or isobutyl P1/P1' side chains were weak inhibitors of recombinant HIV-1 protease (Ki > 10 microM), while benzyl P1/P1' side chains afforded a moderately potent inhibitor (apparent Ki = 230 nM). Diols were 100-10,000x more potent than analogous monools, and a wider range of P1/P1' side chains led to potent inhibition. Both classes of compounds exhibited lower apparent Ki values under high-salt conditions. Surprisingly, monool and diol HIV-1 protease inhibitors were potent inhibitors of porcine pepsin, a prototypical asymmetric monomeric aspartic protease. These results were evaluated in the context of the pseudosymmetric structure of monomeric aspartic proteases and their evolutionary kinship with the retroviral proteases. The X-ray crystal structure of HIV-1 protease complexed with a symmetric diol was determined at 2.6 A. Contrary to expectations, the diol binds the protease asymmetrically and exhibits 2-fold disorder in the electron density map. Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted beginning with asymmetric and symmetric HIV-1 protease/inhibitor model complexes. A more stable trajectory resulted from the asymmetric complex, in agreement with the observed asymmetric binding mode. A simple four-point model was used to argue more generally that van der Waals and electrostatic force fields can commonly lead to an asymmetric association between symmetric molecules.

Solvent isotope partitioning: a new kinetic tool for the determination of desorption rates of reactant water from enzyme-substrate complexes in proteases.

The rates of desorption of the substrate water from the binary enzyme-H2O and ternary enzyme-H2O-(peptide)substrate complexes for the two hydrolases, porcine pepsin and thermolysin, have been investigated using a novel technique, solvent isotope partitioning. The experimental design of this method was based on the protocol of Rose et al. [Rose, I. A., O'Connell, E. L., Litwin, S., & BarTana, J. (1974) J. Biol. Chem. 249, 5163-5168] wherein the binary enzyme-H2(18)O complex established in the "pulse" solution was diluted into a "chase" solution containing variable concentrations of peptide substrates in a large pool of H2(16)O. The extent of trapping of H2(18)O within the respective E-H2(18)O and E-H2(18)O-(peptide)substrate complexes was determined from mass spectrometric analysis of the hydrolytic products. Our data have shown that the substrate water molecule of pepsin is not exclusively retained in the catalytic cycle and it desorbs from the apo- and substrate-bound complexes at rates that are at least 10 and 4 times faster, respectively, than that of product formation. Similarly, the low trapping of H2(18)O in the carboxylic product of the thermolysin reaction is a consequence of the ready desorption of H2(18)O from the ternary E-H2(18)O-(peptide)substrate complex and the binary E-H2(18)O complex. We attribute these results to the loss of the reactant water molecule due to desolvation of the enzyme's active site upon substrate binding.

Use of protein unfolding studies to determine the conformational and dimeric stabilities of HIV-1 and SIV proteases.

The free energies of dimer dissociation of the retroviral proteases (PRs) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) were determined by measuring the effects of denaturants on the protein fluorescence upon the unfolding of the enzymes. HIV-1 PR was more stable to denaturation by chaotropes and extremes of pH and temperature than SIV PR, indicating that the former enzyme has greater conformational stability. The urea unfolding curves of both proteases were sigmoidal and single phase. The midpoints of the transition curves increased with increasing protein concentrations. These data were best described by and fitted to a two-state model in which folded dimers were in equilibrium with unfolded monomers. This denaturation model conforms to cases in which protein unfolding and dimer dissociation are concomitant processes in which folded monomers do not exist [Bowie, J. U., & Sauer, R. T. (1989) Biochemistry 28, 7140-7143]. Accordingly, the free energies of unfolding reflect the stabilities of the protease dimers, which for HIV-1 PR and SIV PR were, respectively, delta GuH2O = 14 +/- 1 kcal/mol (Ku = 39 pM) and 13 +/- 1 kcal/mol (Ku = 180 pM). The binding of a tight-binding, competitive inhibitor greatly stabilized HIV-1 PR toward urea-induced unfolding (delta GuH2O = 19.3 +/- 0.7 kcal/mol, Ku = 7.0 fM). There were also profound effects caused by adverse pH on the protein conformation for both HIV-1 PR and SIV PR, resulting in unfolding at pH values above and below the respective optimal ranges of 4.0-8.0 and 4.0-7.0

Hydroxyethylene isostere inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus-1 protease: structure-activity analysis using enzyme kinetics, X-ray crystallography, and infected T-cell assays.

Analogues of peptides ranging in size from three to six amino acids and containing the hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres Phe psi Gly, Phe psi Ala, Phe psi NorVal, Phe psi Leu, and Phe psi Phe, where psi denotes replacement of CONH by (S)-CH(OH)CH2, were synthesized and studied as HIV-1 protease inhibitors. Inhibition constants (Ki) with purified HIV-1 protease depend strongly on the isostere in the order Phe psi Gly greater than Phe psi Ala greater than Phe psi NorVal greater than Phe psi Leu greater than Phe psi Phe and decrease with increasing length of the peptide analogue, converging to a value of 0.4 nM. Ki values are progressively less dependent on inhibitor length as the size of the P1' side chain within the isostere increases. The structures of HIV-1 protease complexed with the inhibitors Ala-Ala-X-Val-Val-OMe, where X is Phe psi Gly, Phe psi Ala, Phe psi NorVal, and Phe psi Phe, have been determined by X-ray crystallography (resolution 2.3-3.2 A). The crystals exhibit symmetry consistent with space group P6(1) with strong noncrystallographic 2-fold symmetry, and the inhibitors all exhibit 2-fold disorder. The inhibitors bind in similar conformations, forming conserved hydrogen bonds with the enzyme. The Phe psi Gly inhibitor adopts an altered conformation that places its P3' valine side chain partially in the hydrophobic S1' pocket, thus suggesting an explanation for the greater dependence of the Ki value on inhibitor length in the Phe psi Gly series. From the kinetic and crystallographic data, a minimal inhibitor model for tight-binding inhibition is derived in which the enzyme subsites S2-S2' are optimally occupied. The Ki values for several compounds are compared with their potencies as inhibitors of proteolytic processing in T-cell cultures chronically infected with HIV-1 (MIC values) and as inhibitors of acute infectivity (IC50 values). There is a rank-order correspondence, but a 20-1000-fold difference, between the values of Ki and those of MIC or IC50. IC50 values can approach those of Ki but are highly dependent on the conditions of the acute infectivity assay and are influenced by physiochemical properties of the inhibitors such as solubility.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease inhibitors irreversibly block infectivity of purified virions from chronically infected cells.

Synthetic peptide analog inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease were used to study the effects of inhibition of polyprotein processing on the assembly, structure, and infectivity of virions released from a T-cell line chronically infected with HIV-1. Inhibition of proteolytic processing of both Pr55gag and Pr160gag-pol was observed in purified virions from infected T cells after treatment. Protease inhibition was evident by the accumulation of precursors and processing intermediates of Pr55gag and by corresponding decreases in mature protein products. Electron microscopy revealed that the majority of the virion particles released from inhibitor-treated cells after a 24-h treatment had an immature or aberrant capsid morphology. This morphological change correlated with the inhibition of polyprotein processing and a loss of infectivity. The infectivity of virion particles purified from these chronically infected cell cultures was assessed following treatment with the inhibitor for 1 to 3 days. Virions purified from cultures treated with inhibitor for 1 or 2 days demonstrated a 95- to 100-fold reduction in virus titers, and treatment for 3 days resulted in complete loss of detectable infectivity. The fact that virions from treated cultures were unable to establish infection over the 7- to 10-day incubation period in the titration experiments strongly suggests that particles produced by inhibitor-treated cells were unable to reactivate to an infectious form when they were purified away from exogenous protease inhibitor. Thus, a block of HIV-1 protease processing of viral polyproteins by specific inhibitors results in a potent antiviral effect characterized by the production of noninfectious virions with altered protein structures and immature morphologies.

Inhibitors of HIV-1 protease.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the etiological agent for the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), is a retrovirus which makes use of a virally-encoded aspartic protease to perform specific proteolytic processing of two of its gene products in order to form active enzymes and structural proteins within the mature virion. Accordingly, specific, exogenous inhibition of the HIV-1 protease is thought to be a viable approach for the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of AIDS. Indeed, this hypothesis has been validated in virally-infected cell culture with synthetic inhibitors of HIV-1 protease. This chapter reviews the current status of the development of inhibitors of this enzyme.

Purification and biochemical characterization of recombinant simian immunodeficiency virus protease and comparison to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease.

Simian immunodeficiency virus protease (SIV-PR) was produced in Escherichia coli with a recombinant expression system in which the mature enzyme autoprocessed from a precursor form. Recombinant SIV and HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus, type 1) proteases were purified from bacterial cell lysates by use of sequential steps of ammonium sulfate precipitation and size-exclusion and ion-exchange chromatography. The amino acid composition, amino-terminal sequence, and molecular weight (monomer) of the recombinant SIV-PR were in accord with that of the 99 amino acid polypeptide predicted from the SIVMac-PR nucleotide sequence. The active form of SIV-PR was shown to be dimeric by gel filtration chromatography. Inhibition by pepstatin A, time-dependent inactivation by 1,2-epoxy-3-(4-nitrophenoxy)propane, and pH rate profiles using oligopeptide substrates demonstrated that SIV-PR behaves as an aspartic protease. Recombinant HIV-1 Pr55gag precursor was processed in vitro by SIV-PR and HIV-1 PR with indistinguishable proteolytic patterns upon NaDodSO4-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Oligopeptide substrates for HIV-1 PR were found to be suitable substrates for recombinant SIV-PR with the exception of a peptide containing the site identified for p66/p51 cleavage (Phe*Tyr) within HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT). Several synthetic peptide analogue inhibitors of HIV-1 PR were also potent inhibitors of SIV-PR, indicating that SIV infection in macaques and rhesus monkeys should be useful models for the preclinical evaluation of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) therapeutics targeted towards the virally encoded HIV-1 protease.

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 protease. 2. Use of pH rate studies and solvent kinetic isotope effects to elucidate details of chemical mechanism.

The pH dependence of the peptidolytic reaction of recombinant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease has been examined over a pH range of 3-7 for four oligopeptide substrates and two competitive inhibitors. The pK values obtained from the pKis vs pH profiles for the unprotonated and protonated active-site aspartyl groups, Asp-25 and Asp-25', in the monoprotonated enzyme form were 3.1 and 5.2, respectively. Profiles of log V/K vs pH for all four substrates were "bell-shaped" in which the pK values for the unprotonated and protonated aspartyl residues were 3.4-3.7 and 5.5-6.5, respectively. Profiles of log V vs pH for these substrates were "wave-shaped" in which V was shifted to a constant lower value upon protonation of a residue of pK = 4.2-5.2. These results indicate that substrates bind only to a form of HIV-1 protease in which one of the two catalytic aspartyl residues is protonated. Solvent kinetic isotope effects were measured over a pH (D) range of 3-7 for two oligopeptide substrates, Ac-Arg-Ala-Ser-Gln-Asn-Tyr-Pro-Val-Val-NH2 and Ac-Ser-Gln-Asn-Tyr-Pro-Val-Val-NH2. The pH-independent value for DV/K was 1.0 for both substrates, and DV = 1.5-1.7 and 2.2-3.2 at low and high pH (D), respectively. The attentuation of both V and DV at low pH (D) is consistent with a change in rate-limiting step from a chemical one at high pH (D) to one in which a product release step or an enzyme isomerization step becomes partly rate-limiting at low pH (D). Proton inventory data is in accord with the concerted transfer of two protons in the transition state of a rate-limiting chemical step in which the enzyme-bound amide hydrate adduct collapses to form the carboxylic acid and amine products.

Adaptation of the plasma renin radioimmunoassay for use with HIV-1 protease.

We have demonstrated the use of a radioimmunoassay to quantitate the peptidolytic activity of human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1) protease using a tetradecapeptide substrate of porcine renin, Asp-Arg-Val-Tyr-Ile-His-Pro-Phe-His-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-Ser. HIV-1 protease catalyzes cleavage of this substrate at the same Leu-Leu bond as does porcine renin, resulting in the formation of authentic angiotensin-I. The angiotensin-I product is then detected by use of a commercially available renin plasma assay kit, which constitutes the basis of the RIA. The radioimmunoassay provides detection of the protease-catalyzed formation of angiotensin-I at picomolar concentrations in vitro. We demonstrate the use of this assay in determining IC50 values for two HIV-1 protease inhibitors present in cell culture media and in standard assay buffer. An example of the potential development of this assay for the quantitation of these inhibitors present in ex vivo plasma samples is also presented.

A radiometric assay for HIV-1 protease.

A rapid, high-throughput radiometric assay for HIV-1 protease has been developed using ion-exchange chromatography performed in 96-well filtration plates. The assay monitors the activity of the HIV-1 protease on the radiolabeled form of a heptapeptide substrate, [tyrosyl-3,5-3H]Ac-Ser-Gln-Asn-Tyr-Pro-Val-Val-NH2, which is based on the p17-p24 cleavage site found in the viral polyprotein substrate Pr55gag. Specific cleavage of this uncharged heptapeptide substrate by HIV-1 protease releases the anionic product [tyrosyl-3,5-3H]Ac-Ser-Gln-Asn-Tyr, which is retained upon minicolumns of the anion-exchange resin AG1-X8. Protease activity is determined from the recovery of this radiolabeled product following elution with formic acid. This facile and highly sensitive assay may be utilized for steady-state kinetic analysis of the protease, for measurements of enzyme activity during its purification, and as a routine assay for the evaluation of protease inhibitors from natural product or synthetic sources.