Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H Neurath

Publications and source records attributed to H Neurath.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Structure of potato carboxypeptidase inhibitor: disulfide pairing and exposure of aromatic residues.

The determination of the covalent structure of a carboxypeptidase inhibitor from potatoes containing 39 amino acid residues has been completed by analysis of the pairing of the six half-cystine residues. Since the native inhibitor is resistant to fragmentation by proteases, the protein was first subjected to cleavage at aspartic acid residues by exposure to 0.03 N HCl at 110 degrees C for 10h to yield a fragment containing two chains (residues 6-15 and residues 18-39)held together by three disulfide bonds. Digestion with subtilisin and Pronase, respectively, yielded sets of peptides from which, by diagonal electrophoresis and amino acid analysis, the paired cystinyl residues were identified as Cys-8 to Cys-24, Cys-12 to Cys-27, and Cys-18 to Cys-34. Charge-transfer titration of the native inhibitor with N-methylnicotinamide chloride suggests that one of the two tryptophan residues and the single tyrosine residue are exposed to the solvent.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Crayfish carboxypeptidase. Affinity chromatography, characterization and amino-terminal sequence.

In an effort to trace the evolutionary history of the pancreatic metalloexopeptidases, carboxypeptidase has been isolated from the cardia of the crayfish Astacus fluviatilis. The isolation procedure included affinity chromatography on a column of potato carboxypeptidase inhibitor covalently linked to Sepharose. Approximately 25 mg of pure enzyme can be obtained by the present procedure from 50 ml of cardia fluid. The pure enzyme resembles bovine carboxypeptidase B in specificity and is inhibited both by 3-phenyllactate and by 6-aminohexanoate. The pH optimum of activity is about pH 6.5, and the isoelectric point,pH 4.0. Inhibition by typical metal chelating agents (i.e. ethylenediamine tetraacetate and 1,10-phenanthroline) and neutron activation analysis indicate that, like the mammalian enzyme, crayfish carboxypepetidase is a zinc metalloenzyme. The purified enzyme migrates as a single band in cellulose acetate, disc gel and sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis. The amino acid composition is similar to that of pancreatic carboxypeptidases except for a higher content of acidic amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence of the first 19 amino-terminal residues reveals significant homology to that of pancreatic carboxypeptidases A and B.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Purification and partial characterization of an alpha-chymotrypsin-like protease of rat peritoneal mast cells.

An alpha-chymotrypsin-like enzyme was isolated from mast cells of the rat peritoneal cavity by extraction with 0.8 M potassium phosphate, 2 per cent protamine sulfate followed by affinity chromatography on hen ovoinhibitor-agarose and adsorption on barium sulfate. This procedure yielded over 9 mg of protease from the peritoneal lavage fluid of 100 rats, equivalent to 44 per cent of the initial activity. The purified protein was homogeneous as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, analytical isoelectric focusing, and amino-terminal sequence analysis. The protease contains no covalently bound carbohydrate and has a molecular weight of approximately 26,000. The enzyme molecule is a single polypeptide chain with an amino-terminal sequence homologous to that of the B chain of bovine alpha-chymotrypsin. The kinetic parameters, Km and kcat, for the hydrolysis of N-benzoyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester were determined at pH 8.0 and 25 degrees C as 1.1 X 10(-3) M and 84 sec-1, respectively. The value of the second-order rate constant for inactivation of mast cell protease by diisopropylphosphofluoridate was 300 times lower than for bovine alpha-chymotrypsin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Comparison of amino acid sequence of bovine coagulation Factor IX (Christmas Factor) with that of other vitamin K-dependent plasma proteins.

The amino acid sequence of bovine blood coagulation Factor IX (Christmas Factor) is presented and compared with the sequences of other vitamin K-dependent plasma proteins and pancreatic trypsinogen. The 416-residue sequence of Factor IX was determined largely by automated Edman degradation of two large segments, containing 181 and 235 residues, isolated after activating Factor IX with a protease from Russell's viper venom. Subfragments of the two segments were produced by enzymatic digestion and by chemical cleavage of methionyl, tryptophyl, and asparaginyl-glycyl bonds. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of Factor IX, Factor X, and Protein C demonstrates that they are homologous throughout. Their homology with prothrombin, however, is restricted to the amino-terminal region, which is rich in gamma-carboxyglutamic acid, and the carboxyl-terminal region, which represents the catalytic domain of these proteins and corresponds to that of pancreatic serine proteases.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Sequence of the amino-terminal 349 residues of rabbit muscle glycogen phosphorylase including the sites of covalent and allosteric control.

The sequence of the amino-terminal 349 residues of rabbit muscle glycogen phosphorylase (EC 2.4.1.1) has been determined. Limited proteolysis of native phosphorylase b (841 residues, subunit molecular weight 97 412) by subtilisin BPN', Streptomyces alkaline protease, or elastase yielded two large segments (light and heavy). The light segment isolated from the subtilisin digest was cleaved at methionyl bonds with cyanogen bromide to yield eight major fragments and two minor overlapping fragments. The alignment of the major fragments was obtained by analysis of the two minor fragments, of five tryptic peptides containing methionine and of one large fragment generated by cleavage of an aspartylproline bond. Analysis of two cyanogen bromide fragments (CB14 and CB17) isolated from the intact molecule identified the sites susceptible to limited proteolysis and the overlap between the light and the heavy segments. Serine-14 and tyrosine-155 were identified as the residues involved in the covalent and allosteric controls of the enzyme, respectively. Residues 108 and 142 were identified as the cysteine residues reported to be involved in the aggregation of subunits.

Allosteric Regulation↗

Amino acid sequence of two cyanogen bromide fragments of glycogen phosphorylase.

This communication presents the strategy and experimental details to prove the amino acid sequence of two large fragments of rabbit muscle glycogen phosphorylase generated by cleavage with cyanogen bromide. These fragments, CB18 and CB15, represent 241 of the 841 residues in the whole molecule. In addition to applying methods of automated liquid phase Edman degradation, techniques of selective immobilization and solid phase Edman degradation are used. One of the two cyanogen bromide fragments (CB15) contains two of the sites of cleavage with hydroxylamine which have proved to be important in the overall strategy of determining the complete sequence of this molecule. Together with the accompanying reports by Koide, A., et al., and Titani, K., et al. ((1978) Biochemistry 17 (first and third papers, respectively, in a series in this issue)), the present communication completes the proof of the amino acid sequence of phosphorylase and provides the basis for examining the relationship between its structure and function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Sequence of the carboxyl-terminal 492 residues of rabbit muscle glycogen phosphorylase including the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate binding site.

This communication presents the strategy and experimental details which establish the amino acid sequence of the carboxyl-terminal 492 residues (residues 350 through 841) of rabbit muscle glycogen phosphorylase (EC 2.4.1.1). The heavy segment (Hs), derived from the native enzyme by limited proteolysis with subtilisin, was cleaved with cyanogen bromide to yield 15 fragments. The amino acid sequences of 12 of these are described herein. The sequence of 3 other fragments (CB17C, CB18, and CB15) is described in accompanying reports by Koide, A., et al., and Hermann, j., et al. ((1978) Biochemistry 17 (first and second papers, respectively, in a series in this issue)). These 15 fragments were aligned by analysis of three others generated by cleavage of the heavy segment Hs at asparaginylglycine bonds with hydroxylamine and of four more generated by acid cleavage of aspartylproline bonds. Lysine-679 was identified as the binding site of the essential cofactor pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. These data, together with those reported in the accompanying papers (vide supra), establish the complete sequence of the 841 amino acid residues in glycogen phosphorylase. They provide a chemical basis on which the relationship between structure and function of the enzyme can be examined.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Probes of the mechanism of zymogen catalysis.

Trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen hydrolyze p-nitrophenyl esters of several peptides and tert-butyloxycarbonyl amino acids. The best substrate found for chymotrypsinogen was Boc-Ala-ONp and for trypsinogen Z-Gly-Hyp-Gly-ONp. Comparison of the kinetic parameters indicates that in the zymogens the catalytic site is distorted and reduced in effectiveness by about two orders of magnitude, in addition to a 10 000-fold decrease in catalysis due to a distortion of the primary substrate binding site (Kerr, M.A., Walsh, K.A., & Neurath, H. (1976) Biochemistry 15, 5566). Using Boc-Ala-ONp as substrate and certain aldehydes and borates as inhibitors, the zymogens were tested for the integrity of the "oxyanion hole", but these results were largely inconclusive. Probes for the secondary binding sites indicated their presence in trypsinogen and their absence in chymotrypsinogen.

Binding Sites↗

Activation of bovine factor X (Stuart factor)--analogy with pancreatic zymogen-enzyme systems.

The activation of bovine coagulation factor X has been studied by kinetic and spectrophotometric measurements. The pH dependence of the hydrolysis of specific ester substrates by activated factor Xa can be ascribed to two independently ionizing groups with pKa values of 6.9 and 8.8, respectively. The rates of reaction of factor X, before and after activation, with the active-site titrant methanesulfonyl fluoride, suggest that the reactivity of the active-site serine residue in factor X is similar to that in trypsinogen and in factor Xa similar to that in trypsin. Analogous comparisons using diisopropyl phosphofluoridate as the titrant suggest that a hydrophobic binding site is absent in both the enzyme and zymogen. This conclusion is consistent with the lack of change in circular dichroism when acyl derivatives of factor V are converted to their acyl enzyme counterparts.

Animals↗

Covalent structure of a group-specific protease from rat small intestine. Appendix: crystallographic data for a group specific protease from rat intestine.

"Group-specific" protease (GSP) is a serine protease, obtained from rat small intestine, which preferentially inactivates the apo forms of certain pyridoxal phosphate requiring enzymes. The enzyme contains 224 amino acid residues in a single polypeptide chain and three disulfide bonds. In the present work the covalent structure has been determined and its homologous relationship to those of chymotrypsin, trypsin, and elastase has been established (approximately 33% identity with each). The residues forming the "charge-relay" system of the active site of chymotrypsin (His-57, Asp-102, and Ser-195) are found in corresponding regions in GSP, whereas an alanyl residue at position 176 of GSP corresponds to a residue which participates in the primary substrate binding site in serine proteases (Asp-177 in trypsin; Ser-189 in chymotrypsin). Three disulfide bonds in GSP occur in similar positions in chymotrypsin, trypsin, and elastase. However, GSP lacks a disulfide bond which is present in all known serine proteases (linking Cys-191 to Cys-220 in chymotrypsin). In view of the close proximity of this bond to both the primary and the antiparallel binding sites of various serine proteases, it is likely that its absence in GSP is related to the substrate specificity of this enzyme. It is concluded that GSP diverged from a common ancestor preceding chymotrypsin but following trypsin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A major serine protease in rat skeletal muscle: evidence for its mast cell origin.

The physical, chemical, and immunologic properties of a protease from rat skeletal muscle, proposed to function in the degradation of certain intracellular enzymes, are identical to those of a chymotrypsin-like serine protease isolated from peritoneal mast cells. The results of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and 8 M urea indicate that the two rat proteases have identical mobilities corresponding to a molecular weight of 26,000. The relative amino acid compositions of the proteases are nearly identical. Immunodiffusion tests for crossreaction between the muscle protease and antisera directed toward mast cell protease indicate that the former is immunologically identical to mast cell protease. The first 35 amino-terminal residues of the two enzymes are identical and indicate homology of these proteins to other mammalian serine proteases. The sequence analysis of the protease from muscle was extended for an additional 16 positions, and comparison of this amino-terminal sequence with that of a similar enzyme from small intestine showed approximately 75% sequence identity. In contrast, only 40% of the residues in this region of bovine chymotrypsin A were found at corresponding loci in rat muscle protease. It is concluded that the protease from muscle or mast cells is closely related to the enzyme from small intestine which recently was localized in the "atypical" mast cells of gut mucosa [Woodbury, R. G., Gruzenski, G. M. & Lagunoff, D. (1978) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75, 2785-2789].

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Isolation and amino-terminal sequence analysis of a new pancreatic trypsinogen of the African lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus.

The purification and characterization of three pancreatic trypsinogens A1, A2, and A3, from the African lungfish, Protopterus aethiopicus, is reported. These zymogens are activated by trypsin, by enterokinase, by an acid protease from Aspergillus oryzae, and by autoactivation. The three trypsinogens contain the same amino-terminal amino acid sequence, beginning with the activation peptide Leu-Pro-Leu-Glu-Asp-Asp-Lys-. Like the activation peptide of the previously characterized trypsinogen B [Reeck, G. R., & Neurath, H. (1972) Biochemistry 11, 503] of the same organism, it lacks the tetraaspartyl sequence characteristic of other vertebrate trypsinogens. Two of the corresponding lungfish trypsins were found to have identical amino-terminal sequences for at least 27 residues. These data suggest that the three enzymes are allelic variants. In contrast, the amino acid sequences differ sufficiently from that of trypsinogen B of the same organism to indicate that trypsinogens A and B are the products of different gene loci.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Kinetic properties of carboxypeptidase B in solutions and crystals.

The correlation of the structure of crystalline enzymes with their activities in solution assumes that the catalytic properties are identical in the two physical states. The present data demonstrate that in bovine carboxypeptidase B they differ significantly. Normal Michaelis-Menten kinetics characterize the hydrolysis of several esters and peptide substrates in both physical states. Crystallization reduces kcat 16 to 320-fold, while it affects KM variably and less dramatically. Small molecules inhibit catalytic activity both in solution and in crystals, but the carboxypeptidase inhibitor from potatoes (molecular weight 4200) does no inhibit the crystals. The activities of bovine carboxypeptidases A and B toward identical substrates are more similar in their crystals than in their solutions. This suggests that, over and above the structural dissimilarity of their crystals, conformational differences may additionally determine the activities of the two enzymes in solution. The findings demonstrate that the catalytic properties of carboxypeptidase B depend critically on its physical state.

Animals↗

Bovine enterokinase. Purification, specificity, and some molecular properties.

Enterokinase has been isolated from the contents of bovine duodena and purified 1200-fold in 41% yield. The isolation procedure employed DEAE chromatography, affinity chromatography on immobilized p-aminobenzamidine, and gel filtration. The resultant pure enzyme exhibits a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis corresponding to a molecular weight of 145 000. Two chains in the molecule, connected by disulfide linkages, have molecular weights of 57 000 and 82 000, respectively. The purified enzyme exhibits a restricted specificity which is directed toward the polyanionic amino acid sequence in the activation peptide of the zymogen substrate. Of the zymogens of the serine proteases tested, including several of those involved in blood coagulation, only native and guanidinated trypsinogen are acitvated by enterokinase, whereas acetylated trypsinogen is not. Partial heat denaturation of bovine enterokinase causes a differential response toward the activation of trypsinogen and the hydrolysis of benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester (BZArgOEt), further suggesting that secondary sites are important in the binding of trypsinogen. A sensitive assay for enterokinase (nanomole range) was developed using tritiated BZArgOEt.

Amino Acids↗

Complete amino acid sequence of rabbit muscle glycogen phosphorylase.

The sequence of the 841 amino acid residues in each subunit (molecular weight 97,412) of rabbit muscle glycogen phosphorylase b (1,4-alpha-D-glucan:orthophosphate alpha-glucosyltransferase; EC 2.4.1.1) has been determined. The general strategy was based on limited proteolysis of native phosphorylase b by subtilisin BPN', yielding two large segments (light and heavy) which were fragmented by cleavage at methyonyl-, asparaginyl-glycine, and aspartyl-proline bonds. Analysis of two cyanogen bromide fragments (CB14 and CB17) isolated from the intact molecule yielded the overlap between the light and heavy fragments and the remainder of the sequence. The residues involved in the covalent and allosteric control of the enzyme, and in the binding of the cofactor pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, were identified as serine-14, tyrosine-155, and lysine-679, respectively.

Amino Acid Sequence↗