Stability and unfolding studies on papain.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P W Goodenough.
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For the first time the pro-form of a recombinant cysteine proteinase has been expressed at a high level in Escherichia coli. This inactive precursor can subsequently be processed to yield active enzyme. Sufficient protein can be produced using this system for X-ray crystallographic structure studies of engineered proteinases. A cDNA clone encoding propapain, a precursor of the papaya proteinase, papain, was expressed in E. coli using a T7 polymerase expression system. Insoluble recombinant protein was solubilized in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride and 10 mM dithiothreitol, at pH 8.6. A protein-glutathione mixed disulphide was formed by dilution into oxidized glutathione and 6 M GuHCl, also at pH 8.6. Final refolding and disulphide bond formation was induced by dilution into 3 mM cysteine at pH 8.6. Renatured propapain was processed to active papain at pH 4.0 in the presence of excess cysteine. Final processing could be inhibited by the specific cysteine proteinase inhibitors E64 and leupeptin, but not by pepstatin, PMSF or EDTA. This indicates that final processing was due to a cysteine proteinase and suggests that an autocatalytic event is required for papain maturation.
Three enzymes which degrade different polysaccharide components of plant cell walls have been characterized by circular dichroism (CD). A bacterial endoglucanase, which in the native state forms part of a multiprotein cellulase complex, showed a tendency to form aggregates as measured by CD. Depending on its degree of aggregation, this enzyme displayed between 50% and 100% helical structure, whereas a bacterial xylanase and a fungal polygalacturonase exhibited more beta-sheet structure. The polygalacturonase was apparently devoid of helical structure.
Porcine phospholipaseA2 expressed in E. coli as a fusion protein was isolated, renatured and specifically cleaved by trypsin as described in (1). Active phospholipaseA2, was purified to homogeneity on a column of PBE-94 over a pH region 7.4-4.5. Using this method, several phospholipase A2 mutant enzymes have now been purified in a single step and all behaved identically during chromatofocusing. The method will therefore be extremely useful not only for those interested in understanding the structure-function relationships of phospholipaseA2 but also for preparing the enzyme in large quantities for industrial and pharmaceutical purposes.
Electrostatic interactions play an important role in stabilizing the folded conformation of globular proteins. Here we predict the change in stability of charge engineered mutants, construct these mutants and compare the predicted change in stability with that observed. The change in stability was correctly predicted for two of the three mutants and the factors responsible for the discrepancy between observation and prediction for the third mutant are discussed.
In this review we have briefly indicated how the present state of knowledge allows proteins to be mutated to increase or decrease stability. We have discussed experiments on both model proteins and those of relevance to the food industry, and show how hydrophobic forces are a major driving force for folding as well as having a major role in thermostability. We have also indicated the large contribution that hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions and, in a less well predicted way, disulphide bridges make to thermostability.
We have modified the stability of porcine phospholipase A2 by charge engineering. The mutations are situated at the N-terminal of a major helix and are N89D and N89D/E92Q. This engineering has significantly altered the activity of the enzyme to aggregated and monomeric substrates. A N89D/E92K mutant is more stable but considerably less active than wild type. An N89D mutant is more stable and of similar activity to wild type. The substantial change in activity may be due to direct interaction of residue 92 with aggregated substrate or may be via second calcium binding. Second calcium binding may be more probable as activity against monomers is also affected. Additional calcium binding may therefore be an important way of manipulating the activity of phospholipase A2.
Protease omega from Carica papaya L. has been purified and crystallized. The crystals are trigonal, space group P3(1)12 (or P3(2)12), with a = 7.42 +/- 0.02 nm, c = 7.79 +/- 0.02 nm with one molecule in the asymmetric unit. The crystals diffract to 0.19-nm resolution using synchrotron radiation.
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The active sites of actinidin (EC 3.4.22.14) and papain (EC 3.4.22.2) display different reactivity characteristics to probes targeted at the active-site cysteine residue despite the close structural similarity of their active sites. The calculated electrostatic fields in the active-site clefts of actinidin and papain differ significantly and may explain the reactivity characteristics of these enzymes. Calculation of electrostatic potential also focuses attention on the electrostatic properties that govern formation of the active-site thiolate-imidazolium ion-pair. These calculations will guide the modification of the pH-activity profile of the cysteine proteinases by site-directed mutagenesis.
The proteinases from Carica papaya include papain, isoenzymes of chymopapain and two proteinases A and B distinguished by their unusually high pI. The identity of one of the most basic proteinases has been questioned. The present report describes the preparation and characterisation of two monoclonal antibodies that react specifically with papaya proteinases A and B respectively and a third that identifies a common structural feature found in papain and proteinase A.
1. An esterase (EC 3.1.1.1) from Malus pumila fruit was purified to homogeneity using ammonium sulphate precipitation, absorption on hydroxyapatite, dye Matrex affinity chromatography, S.300 Sephacryl chromatography and wide-range isoelectric focusing. 2. Kinetic constants of these preparations were established for a series of natural ester substrates. Greatest apparent affinity was for acetate esters containing seven or eight-carbon skeletons and least for four-carbon skeletons. 3. The purified protein gave a relative molecular mass of 195000. The enzyme appears to be a tetramer of similar sub-units each with a relative molecular mass of 50000 4. Isoelectric focusing gave a single peak of activity with pI 9.33-9.66. 5. Specific activity increased considerably from small immature fruits to large fruit at the climacteric.
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