[Enzymatic synthesis of peptides].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to K Morihara.
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The peptide bond syntheses catalyzed by subtilisin BPN', papain [EC 3.4.22.2], and pepsin [EC 3.4.23.1] were studied comparatively at the optimum pH of the enzymes with the coupling system Cbz-(AA)n-OH + Leu-X leads to Cbz-(AA)n-Leu-X, in which AA = various amino acid residues, n = 1-3 and X = -NH2, -OEt, -OBut, -ODPM (diphenyl methyl ester) or -NH. The coupling with these enzymes differed depending upon the nature of (AA)n and X. For subtilisin-catalyzed coupling, the molecular size of the carboxyl component was most important. Thus, Cbz-Gly-Pro-Leu-OH was useful for synthesis in the presence of an equimolar concentration of Leu-NH. Either Ala-NH2 or Leu-NH2 was also useful as an amine component when present at a concentration several times that of the carboxyl component. Papain catalyzed the coupling between Cbz-AA-OH (AA = glycine, L-alanine, L-valine, L-glutamic acid, or L-phenylalanine) and Leu-X (X = -OBut and -ODPM). The coupling of Cbz-Gly-Phe-OH and Leu-X catalyzed by pepsin was markedly affected, depending upon the nature of X in the following order: -NH greater than -OBut greater than -NH2, -OEt. Leu-NH2, however, was quite efficient when its molar concentration was raised to twenty times that of the carboxyl component.
The effects of various proteases on the enzymatic or biological activity and structure of exotoxin A from Pseudomonas aeruginosa were systematically studied. The toxin was extremely resistant to treatment with various enzymes. The lethality of the toxin disappeared upon treatment with P. aeruginosa protease and elastase, thermolysin, and trypsin with a long incubation time (5h) in the presence of a high enzyme concentration (molar concentration of enzyme to toxin, 1:10 or 1:20), but was little altered by either alpha-chymotrypsin or subtilisin. The decrease of adenosine diphosphate ribosylation activity was moderate when the same treatment was used, regardless to the protease source, except in the case of papain, which was tested in the presence of reducing agents. The increase in activation of the treated toxin determined in the presence of a denaturant and a reducing agent was less than that of the intact toxin, except in the case of trypsin. The differences in disc and sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electropherograms of the toxins treated with these proteases, except for those treated with papain, suggested that the toxins had been nicked by the protease, which resulted in their degradation by sodium dodecyl sulfate treatment. Papain degraded the toxin into fragments and caused the disappearance of lethality or a marked decrease of adenosine diphosphate ribosylation activity.
Insulin analogues with different amino acids, including threonine, alanine, L-leucine, D-leucine, L-leucine amide, phenylalanine, tri-alanine, or desalanine, at the B-30 position were semisynthesized from pork insulin by the new enzymatic method. The order of ability of the insulin analogues to bind to anti-insulin sera was [AlaB-30] greater than desalanine greater than [ThrB-30] greater than [Ala-Ala-AlaB-30] greater than [D-LeuB-30], [Leu-NH2B-30],[PheB-30] greater than desoctapeptide greater than or equal to [LeuB-30]. The ability of insulin analogues with different amino acids at B-30 to bind to receptors, as well as their biologic potency tested with glucose uptake in isolated rat adipocytes, was comparable among the analogues. These results suggest that [LeuB-30]-insulin demonstrated the least immunoreactivity and has full activity in receptor binding and biologic effect, and that it may be useful for treatment of anti-insulin antibody-mediated insulin resistance.
Effectiveness of a multi-component vaccine consisting of the common antigen (OEP) derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain N 10 (serotype E) and toxoids of protease and elastase was compared with that of formalin-killed cells of strain N 10 on protection against enzootic of hemorrhagic pneumonia due to P. aeruginosa in mink. One administration of the multi-component vaccine (100 microgram each of OEP, protease toxoid and elastase toxoid) clearly prevented enzootic of hemorrhagic pneumonia due to P. aeruginosa (serotype G) in mink, while a vaccination of formalin-killed cells was much less effective in preventing an epidemic. The difference in mortality rates between two vaccines was remarkable.
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Trypsin [EC 3.4.21.4] and papain [EC 3.4.22.2] catalyzed the coupling between Cbz-Arg-OH and Leu-X (X=-NH2, -OEt, -OBut, or -NH) in solution. The optimum pH for synthesis by trypsin and by papain was 6.5-7.0 and 5.5, respectively. Papain possessed reactivity several times higher than that of trypsin. To shift the reaction toward synthesis, the concentration of amine components must be at least several times higher than that of the carboxyl component (Cbz-Arg-OH). The effect of the concentration of Leu-X depended upon the nature of X; higher concentrations were required in the following order: -NH2 > -OEt, -OBut > -NH. High concentrations of organic cosolvents were also significant for promoting the synthesis.
The coupling between Cbz-Phe-OH and Leu-NH2 catalyzed by thermolysin was examined under various experimental conditions. The highest yield (ca. 80%) was obtained in the reaction mixture containing 0.05 M each of the carboxyl and amine components and 10 muM enzyme at pH 7 and 37 degrees C for 5 h. The reactivity was ca. 100 times higher than that of alpha-chymotrypsin. Amino acid derivatives or peptides were useful as amine components, though a hydrophobic or bulky amino acid residue was required at the N-terminal position. Strict stereospecificity was observed at this position. A hydrophobic or bulky amino acid residue occupying the C-terminal position of carboxyl components was also favorable for synthesis. The specificity requirements for synthesis were the same as those for hydrolysis.
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The present study indicates that crystalline elastase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a very potent inactivator of human plasma alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor, the enzyme (E) inactivated the inhibitor (I) almost completely within 1 h at 25 degrees C at a molar ratio of E/I = 1:100. The crystalline P. aeruginosa protease also inactivated the inhibitor, but 100-fold less. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that the alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor inactivated by the elastase and protease showed decreases in molecular weight of approximately 5,000 and 10,000, respectively. Regeneration of trypsin was negligible even when bovine trypsin-alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor complex (E/I = 1.0) was treated with the elastase. The affinity of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor to trypsin was much higher than that to elastase. It was suggested that, assuming the pseudomonal proteases are produced and can inactivate alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor in vivo during pseudomonal diseases, the loss of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor activity may permit the endogenous serine proteases to cause tissue destruction.
An attempt to prevent epidemics of hemorrhagic pneumonia in mink due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa was made in the course of epidemics with injection of the multicomponent vaccine consisting of common protective antigen (OEP) of P. aeruginosa mixed with toxoids of protease and elastase of the bacillus. Enzootics of hemorrhagic pneumonia, due to P. aeruginosa serotype 8, broke out from August to October 1977 in a total of 13 sheds of 3 farms (A, B and C) which were located in the northeast area of Hokkaido. These farms were raising 7,452, 2,553 and 10,639 mink respectively. The mortality rate of the mink on farms A, B and C were 11.8%, 13.0% and 1.0% respectively. The vaccination was performed on the 3 farms 5, 8 and 21 days after the onset of the disease. Inoculation of each mink with 200 micrograms or 100 micrograms of each of the three components of the multicomponent vaccine was effective in most of the male and female groups of mink. The period required for revealing the effect of the vaccination was very short, in some cases only a few days. Administration of the vaccine 21 days after the onset of the enzootic was also effective.
A kinetic study was conducted on the acid proteases A-1 and A-2 from Scytalidium lignicolum using synthetic peptides as substrates. Almost maximum activity was attained with N-acylated tetrapeptides as the molecular size of substrates was increased. Suitable amino acid residues were required at the P1-P2 and P1'-P2' positions [notation of Schechter and Berger (14)]. Hydrophobic or bulky residues such as leucine were specifically required at the P1 and P1' positions, with the specificity at the latter position being considerably lower than that at the former. For catalysis, the presence of certain amino acid residues at the P2 and P2' positions was essential, mainly in relation to kcat. An inhibition study supported this view. Stringent stereospecificity was observed at the P2 and P2' positions, but the side chain specificity was low. Study of the B enzyme from the same organism was very difficult owing to its low activity against the peptides used. The Scytalidium acid proteases A-1, A-2, and B showed considerably different behavior against peptide substrates in comparison with usual acid proteases, which are senstive to pepstatin.
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alpha-Chymotrypsin [EC 3.4.21.1] catalyzed the syntheses of peptide bonds with various N-acylated amino acids or peptides having aromatic or hydrophobic amino acid residues at the C-terminal position as carboxyl components, and amino acid derivatives, peptides or their derivatives as amine components. A neutral pH was most efficient and quite high concentrations of alpha-chymotrypsin and starting materials were required for synthesis. Four amine components, hydrophobic or bulky amino acid residues were useful at the N-terminal position. Stereospecificity was also observed at the N-terminal position of amine components. Peptide synthesis was not usually seen when the products were soluble in the reaction mixture. This could be partly overcome by increasing the concentration of either the carboxyl or the amine component to more than ten times that of the other.
Toxoids of protease and elastase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were successfully prepared by treatment with 8% formalin plus 0.2 m lysine and by 4% formalin respectively. The two toxoids proved sufficiently potent to elicit high antibody titers as estimated by both the enzyme-neutralizing and passive hemagglutination tests. The effectiveness of immunizing minks with a single component-vaccine consisting of the common antigen (OEP) of P. aeruginosa or the protease toxoid (PT) or the elastase toxoid (ET) and with the two (PT and ET) or the three (OEP, PT and ET) component-mixed vaccines, on hemorrhagic pneumonia in minks due to the bacteria was investigated. Female Sapphire minks, 3.5 months old, were used in two experiments performed in 1975 and 1976. Minks were immunized three times in one month with a total of 1 mg of each of the three antigens in the case of a single component vaccine and with a total of 2 or 3 mg (equal amounts of each component) in the case of the two or three component vaccines. Two or three weeks after the last immunization, challenge exposure with strain No. 5 was carried out by intranasally inoculating an inoculum containing serial dilutions of 10(3) -10(10) of live bacteria. Summarizing the results of the two experiments, in the case of controls, nonimmunized minks and minks immunized with potassium aluminum sulfate (potash alum) alone, the LD50 values were approximately 10(3) -10(4) with no significant difference between the two. In the case of OEP-vaccinated minks, the LD50 value was about 10(6) and thus clearly differed from those of the controls. In minks immunized with the three-component-vaccine, however, the LD50 value was about 10(8) -10(9), which indicated that the three-component-mixed vaccine was remarkably more effective than the single OEP vaccine component. In minks immunized with either PT or ET or both, the LD50 values were about 10(8) -10(9). The effectiveness of the vaccine made with ET or PT alone is discussed in the text. The pathological findings of the minks which died or survived are described.
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