Purification and characterization of enkephalinase B from rat brain membrane.

Enkephalinase B from rat brain membrane which hydrolyzes enkephalin at the Gly-Gly bond was purified about 9400-fold to apparent electrophoretic homogeneity. The enzyme, which has a molecular weight of 82,000, consists of a single polypeptide chain. The enzyme has a pH optimum of 6.0-6.5 and is stable in the neutral pH region. The Km values of Met-enkephalin and Leu-enkephalin for this enzyme were 5.3 X 10(-5) M and 5.0 X 10(-5) M, respectively. The enzyme was inactivated by metal chelators, EDTA and o-phenanthroline and restored by the addition of divalent metal ions, Zn2+, Mn2+ or Fe2+, but was not inhibited by bestatin, amastatin, phosphoramidon or captopril. The enzyme hydrolyzed Met-enkephalin and Leu-enkephalin effectively. Although the enzyme belongs to the dipeptidyl aminopeptidase class, enkephalin-related peptides such as Leu-enkephalin-Arg, dynorphin (1-13) or alpha-endorphin and other biologically active peptides examined were hardly, or not at all, hydrolyzed. It was assumed that enkephalinase B functions mainly in enkephalin degradation in vivo.

Onset of neurophysin self-association upon neurophysin/neuropeptide hormone precursor biosynthesis.

The potential of the common biosynthetic precursor of neurophysin and neuropeptide hormones to self-associate has been assessed by quantitative affinity chromatographic analysis. The precursor form, with the hormone sequence in the amino terminal region and assumed able to interact intramolecularly with the hormone binding site of the neurophysin domain of the folded precursor, exhibits an affinity for neurophysin-agarose which is intermediate between those of unliganded neurophysin and non-covalently hormone-liganded neurophysin. The results lead to a prediction that neurophysin self-association is established upon precursor synthesis and prior to limited proteolysis of the precursor to release mature neurophysin and hormone components. Such self-association could play a role in packaging of the precursor into secretory granules and in regulating subsequent precursor processing events within the granules.

Preparation and properties of trypsin-digested ribonuclease T1 split at the single arginyl peptide bond.

Ribonuclease T1 [EC 3.1.4.8] was selectively hydrolyzed by digestion with trypsin at the peptide bond of the single arginine residue at position 77. Selective hydrolysis was achieved by blocking the xi-amino group of Lys-41 with 2-methoxy-5-nitrotropone and subsequent digestion with trypsin in the presence of 2M urea. The trypsin-digested ribonuclease T1 was composed of two polypeptide chains containing 77 and 27 residues, though the two chains were covalently linked by a disulfide bond between Cys-6 and Cys-103. The modified enzyme lost enzymatic activity toward RNA and the ability to bind to 3'-GMP. The circular dichroic spectrum of the modified protein suggested that its conformation was extensively destroyed. It is concluded from the present results that the continuity of the peptide chain at the arginine residue is extremely important for maintaining the active conformation of the enzyme protein and for the enzymatic function of ribonuclease T1.

Chemical modification of ribonuclease T1 with ozone.

The single tryptophan residue in ribonuclease T1 [EC 3.1.4.8] was selectively oxidized by ozone to N'-formylkynurenine, which was then converted to kynurenine by acid-catalyzed deformylation in the frozen state. The two enzyme derivatives thus formed, NFK- and Kyn-RNase T1, lost enzymatic activity at pH 7.5, at which native RNase T1 most efficiently catalyzes the hydrolysis of RNA. At pH 4.75, the modified enzymes retained a decreased but distinct enzymatic activity toward RNA without alteration of substrate specificity, and Kyn-RNase T1 was four times more active than NFK-RNase T1. The binding of 3'-GMP to these modified enzymes decreased remarkably at pH 5.5, the optimum pH for binding to the intact enzyme. The gamma-carboxyl group of glutamic acid 58 was still reactive to iodoacetic acid after modification of tryptophan 59. The amounts of the carboxymethyl group introduced into NFK- and Kyn-RNase T1 were 0.36 and 0.59 mol, respectively, under conditions such that quantitative esterification of native RNase T1 takes place. CD spectroscopy indicated that the tertiary structure of the molecule was disordered in NFK-RNase T1, but not significantly in Kyn-RNase T1. It is concluded that tryptophan 59 functions in maintaining the active conformation of the protein structure, particularly in constructing the active environment for a functionally important set of groups involved in the binding of the substrate at the active site, although direct participation of in tryptophan the catalytic function of ribonuclease T1 is unlikely.

Mechanism for the recognition and activation of substrate in medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase.

The mechanism underlying the recognition and activation of the substrate for medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) was spectroscopically investigated using 3-thiaacyl-CoAs as substrate analogs. The complex of MCAD with 3-thiaoctanoyl-CoA (3-thia-C8-CoA) exhibited a charge-transfer (CT) band with a molar extinction coefficient of epsilon808 = 9.1 mM-1.cm-1. With increasing 3-thiaacyl-chain length, the CT-band intensity of the complex decreased concomitantly with changes in the FAD absorption at 416 and 482 nm, and no CT band was detected in complexes with chain-lengths longer than C15. Detailed analysis of the absorption spectra suggested that the complexed states represent a two-state equilibrium between the CT-inducing form and the CT-non-inducing form. 13C-NMR measurements with 13C-labeled ligand clarified that 3-thia-C8-CoA is complexed to MCAD in an anionic form with signals detected at 163.7 and 101.2 ppm for 13C(1) and 13C(2), respectively. In the MCAD complex with 13C(1)-labeled 3-thia-C12-CoA, two signals for the bound ligand were observed at 163.7 and 198.3 ppm, and assigned to the anionic and neutral forms, respectively. Only the neutral form signal was measured at 200.6 ppm in the complex with 13C(1)-labeled 3-thia-C17-CoA. These results indicate that the CT band can be explained in terms of an internal equilibrium between anionic (CT-inducing) and neutral (CT-non-inducing) forms of the bound ligand. Resonance Raman spectra of the MCAD.3-thia-C8-CoA complex, with excitation at the CT band, showed enhanced bands, among which the 854- and 1,368-cm-1 bands were assigned to the S-C(2) stretching mode of the ligand and to flavin band VII, respectively. Since the enhanced bands were observed at the same wave numbers in complexes with C8, C12, and C14-ligands, it appears that the CT-inducing form shares a common alignment relative to oxidized flavin irrespective of differences in the acyl-chain length. However, with longer ligands, the degree of resonance enhancement of the Raman bands decreased in parallel with the CT-band intensity; this is compatible with the increase in the CT-non-inducing form in complexes with longer ligands. Furthermore, the pH dependence of the CT band gave an apparent pKa = 5.6-5.7 for ligands with chain-lengths of C8-C12. The NMR measurements revealed that, like chain-length dependence, the pH dependence can be explained by a two-state equilibrium derived from the protonation/deprotonation of the CT-inducing form of the bound ligand. On the basis of these results we have established a novel model to explain the mechanism of recognition and activation of the substrates/ligands by MCAD.

The role of the single tryptophan residue in the structure and function of ribonuclease T1.

The previously reported method for the preparation of Kyn 59-RNase T1 and NFK 59-RNase T1 has been improved, and these two proteins have been obtained in high purity. Kyn 59-RNase T1, fully active for the hydrolysis of GpA and GpC, emitted a 35-fold-enhanced fluorescence of kynurenine relative to acetylnurenine amide with an emission maximum at 455 nm upon excitation at 380 nm. The polarity of the environment of Kyn 59 estimated from the emission maximum corresponded to a dielectric constant of 6. Upon excitation at 325 nm, NFK 59-RNase T1, less active than Kyn 59-RNase T1, exhibited a quenched N'-formylkynurenine fluorescence with an emission maximum at 423 nm, from which the value of 12 was obtained as the dielectric constant of the surroundings of residue 59. In both modified proteins, distinct tyrosine fluorescence appeared on excitation at 280 nm. The detection of an energy transfer from tyrosine to residue 59 suggests that the tertiary structure is very similar in Kyn 59-RNase T1 and native RNase T1. With guanidine hydrochloride, Kyn 59-RNase T1 was less stable than the native protein. Carboxymethylation at Glu 58 was shown to stabilize the active site of the modified enzyme. Based on the information collected for Kyn 59-RNase T1, the local environment and possible roles of the sole tryptophan residue in RNase T1 are discussed.

Spectroscopic studies of rat liver acyl-CoA oxidase with reference to recognition and activation of substrate.

Two forms of rat peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase (ACO-I and -II) interact with the substrate analogs, 3-ketoacyl-CoAs, forming a complex characterized by the so-called charge-transfer (CT) band around 575 nm in the absorption spectra. The CT band of ACO-I exhibited a broad dependency on the acyl chain-length from C4 to C16, whereas that of ACO-II showed increased intensity with a longer acyl chain to reach a maximum with a chain-length of C12. These chain-length dependencies of the CT bands were compared with those of the enzymatic activities reported previously [Setoyama et al. (1995) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 217, 482-487]. The differences in spectroscopic and enzymatic properties between ACO-I and -II suggest that the amino acid stretch corresponding to the third exon in the ACO sequence affects the binding of the ligand and substrate, since the difference in the primary structure between ACO-I and -II lies in the short amino acid stretch corresponding to the third of the total of 14 exons. On the other hand, resonance Raman spectra of the complexes of ACO-I and -II with 3-ketoacyl-CoAs excited in the CT band showed similar features. The two prominent FAD bands II and III, associated with the C(4a)=N(5) moiety of FAD, were observed at 1,577 and 1,545 cm(-1), respectively. In contrast, the bands at 1,615 and 1,493 cm(-1) in the ACO-I x 3-keto-C8-CoA complex were assigned to the stretching modes of C=O at positions 3 and 1 of the ligand, respectively, by using the isotopically labeled ligands. Both C=O stretching bands were shifted to lower wave numbers upon complex formation with ACO-I, implying that the C=O bond involves the single bond (C-O-) character in the active site cavity. The downshift of the C(1)=O stretching band was larger than that of the C(3)=O stretching band. Therefore, the ligand lies in the active site as the anionic form with a major contribution from C(1)-O-. These observations demonstrate that the CT band around 575 nm arises from the charge-transfer interaction between the oxidized FAD and the enolate transformed after the elimination of the a-proton. The band II of FAD in the complexes reveals a significant decrease in the frequency in comparison with the complexes of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) with 3-ketoacyl-CoA. This observation suggests a difference between ACO and MCAD in the hydrogen-bonding network associated with enzyme-bound FAD.

A new ?-helical motif in membrane active peptides.

A comparative analysis of the primary and secondary structures of the neurotoxins mast cell degranulating peptide apamin and charybdotoxin, and of the hormone endothelin revealed a strikingly homologous structural element consisting of an ?-helical stretch spanning the sequence portion Cys X-X-X Cys and stabilized by disulfide bridging to a second consensus sequence Cys X Cys, itself folded in a ?-type structure. This structural motif generates a certain degree of amphiphilicity for the folded molecules which may be correlated with the bioactivities of the neurotoxins at the membrane level. The presence of the identical structural motif in endothelin raises the question of whether it may represent, even for this hormone, the clue for its biological activity.

Application of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide analogs for clinical enzymology: a spectrophotometric method for clinical analysis of lactate dehydrogenase patterns with the use of a nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide analog.

The activities of porcine lactate dehydrogenase (LHD) isoenzymes were analyzed using nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide (NAD) or its analogs as a cofactor, with varying concentrations of L-lactate from 13 to 530 mM. The greatest differences between H4-type and M4-type isoenzymes in reaction rates were observed when their activities were compared in a reaction mixture containing 530 mM lactate and NAD, and also in a system of 13 mM lactate with thionicotinamide-hypoxanthine dinucleotide as a cofactor. The ratio of the LDH activity exerted in the former reaction mixture to that exerted in the latter was termed the N/T value. The N/T values of porcine H4 and M4 isoenzymes were 0.49 and 9.33, respectively. The N/T values of other three isoenzymes (H3M1, H2M2 and H1M3) were calculated by assuming that the single subunits H1 and M1 contribute one-fourth of the values of 0.49 and 9.33, respectively, and a given isoenzyme which is a combination of four subunits of H and M comprises the sum of their values. The calculated values agreed fairly well with the experimental results. The N/T value method was found to be applicable to human LDH isoenzymes, and sera from various patients were analyzed in comparison with hormonal sera. The method is particularly suitable for the numerical expression of LDH isoenzyme profiles.

A clinical method for the determination of serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase.

A simple, highly sensitive and reproducible method for the assay of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (EC 2.3.2-) activity is introduced, using gamma-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide as a substrate and glycylglycine as an acceptor in 50 g/l of polyoxyethylene nonylphenol. Serum transpeptidase activity was assayed in 1080 healthy adults, the normal mean value being 14.8 mU/ml. The diagnostic evaluation of the enzyme in various hepatobiliary diseases is also discussed.

Application of nicotin amide-adenine dinucleotide analogs for clinical enzymology: alcohol dehydrogenase activity in liver injury.

The activities of alcohol dehydrogease(ADH) in serum and in the subcellular fractions of rat liver were determined with n-amyl alcohol or ethanol as substrate and thionicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide as coenzyme. It was found that the enzyme's activity ratio on the amyl alcohol and ethanol(A/E value) of serum and on the particulate fractions of the liver were different, but the A/E value of the soluble fraction was similar to that of serum. The A/E value of the particulate fractions were higher than that of the soluble fraction. From the results of experimental liver damage in the rat, it seems that estimation of the A/E value of ADH activity in serum is a useful parameter for the diagnosis of active liver injury. Since the A/E values of patients' sera differed from those of the normal subjects, the estimation of the A/E value of serum may give diagnostic information on liver injury, especially in chronic liver injury.

Propioxatins A and B, new enkephalinase B inhibitors. I. Taxonomy, fermentation, isolation and biological properties.

A soil isolate of actinomycete, strain SANK 60684, was found to produce new enkephalinase B inhibitors, propioxatins A and B. The presence of both LL- and meso-2,6-diaminopimelic acid, glycine and galactose in the cell wall assigned this strain to genus Kitasatosporia. From the morphological, cultural and physiological characteristics, this strain was determined to be Kitasatosporia setae. The Ki values of propioxatins A and B were 1.3 X 10(-8)M and 1.1 X 10(-7)M, respectively, for enkephalinase B. All other proteases examined except aminopeptidases, which were slightly inhibited, were not inhibited by these two compounds.

Mycoplanecins, novel antimycobacterial antibiotics from Actinoplanes awajinensis subsp. mycoplanecinus subsp. nov. III. Structural determination of mycoplanecin A.

The structure of mycoplanecin A was determined by the analysis of chemical degradation products and by mass and 1H and 13C NMR spectrometries. Mycoplanecin A is a new cyclic peptide antibiotic composed of mol each of alpha-ketobutyric acid, glycine, L-leucine, L-proline, L-2-amino-5-methylhexanoic acid, N-methyl-D-leucine, N-methyl-L-threonine, methyl-L-proline and ethyl-L-proline and two mol of N-methyl-L-valine. Among these components, ethyl-L-proline is reported for the first time as a component of natural products. A newly developed mass analysis has been introduced for the differentiation of alpha-amino acid and its N-methyl derivative.

Large-scale preparation of recombinant human calcitonin from a multimeric fusion protein produced in Escherichia coli.

In order to develop a large-scale, high-yield production process for human calcitonin (hCT) in Escherichia coli, a stable expression plasmid was constructed and the expressed protein was modified for efficient cleavage by protease. Multiple copies of a synthetic gene encoding hCT-Leu-Arg, a substrate for C-terminal amidation by carboxypeptidase Y (CPY), were inserted into the stable expression plasmid. Using this plasmid, the expression of a multimeric fusion protein was induced by shifting the temperature from 34 to 38 degrees C. The multimeric fusion protein was accumulated as inclusion bodies. After the fermentation, the cells were harvested and disrupted by a homogenizer. The insoluble multimeric fusion protein was suspended in 6.6 M urea solution. At this time, however, the protein could not be solubilized and thus the efficiency of cleavage by protease was low. To solubilize the protein and protect Lys residues against digestion by trypsin, the protein was citraconilated with citraconic anhydride. Following S-sulfonation with Na2SO3-CuSO4, almost all the protein was solubilized. The solubilized, citraconilated, and S-sulfonated protein was digested with trypsin efficiently. By treatment with trypsin, the multimeric fusion protein was cleaved into monomers of citraconilated and S-sulfonated hCT-Leu-Arg (S-hCT-Leu-Arg). The subsequent decitraconilation was performed at low pH. S-hCT-Leu-Arg, isolated by preparative HPLC, was directly converted into S-hCT-HN2 by CPY without removal of the Arg residue. Finally, S-hCT-NH2 was desulfonated and converted into mature hCT. In this way, a large amount of recombinant mature hCT was obtained in a tank fermentation. To our knowledge, this is the first report of industrial-scale, human calcitonin production using a multimeric fusion protein expression system.

Pharmacological investigation of ritodrine hydrochloride, a beta 2-adrenoceptor stimulant.

Ritodrine hydrochloride (ritodrine) has been effectively prescribed for the prevention of premature labor. The present study was carried out to investigate the mode of action of ritodrine on the uterus and heart in comparison with those of isoxsuprine and isoproterenol. 1) Ritodrine (10(-8)-10(-6) M) suppressed the spontaneous motility of pregnant rat uterus and showed positive chronotropic action at the doses of 10(-6)-10(-4) M in guinea-pig atria. 2) In the Ca2+-free, K+-rich Tyrode solution, ritodrine suppressed the Ca2+ induced contracture of pregnant rat uterus, while it potentiated the carbachol induced contraction. 3) Ritodrine increased the amount of cyclic AMP in the uterus but not in heart. This action of ritodrine was suppressed by pretreatment with propranolol (10(-6) M). 4) These results suggest that ritodrine causes actions through activation of cyclic AMP production, as in the case of isoproterenol, and it acts more selectively on beta 2-adrenoceptors than on beta 1-adrenoceptors.