Modelling and engineering of enzyme/substrate interactions in subtilisin-like enzymes of unknown 3-dimensional structure

Engineering a substrate-specific cold-adapted subtilisin

One region predicted to be highly flexible for a psychrophilic enzyme, TA39 subtilisin (S39), was transferred in silico to the mesophilic subtilisin, savinase (EC 3.4.21.62), from Bacillus lentus (clausii). The engineered hybrid and savinase were initially investigated by molecular dynamic simulations at 300 K to show binding region and global flexibility. The predicted S39 region consists of 12 residues, which due to homology between the subtilisins, results in a total change of eight residues. By site-directed modifications, the region was transferred to the binding region of savinase, thus a savinase-S39 hybrid, named H5, was constructed. The designed hybrid showed the same temperature optimum and pH profile as savinase, but H5 had higher specific activity on the synthetic substrate N-succinyl-L-Ala-L-Ala-L-Pro-L-Phe-p-nitroanilide (AAPF) at all temperatures measured and, at the same time, H5 showed a decrease in thermostability. The H5 hybrid showed broader substrate specificity, measured at room temperature, due to an increase in catalytic efficiency on AAPF, AAPA and FAAF compared with savinase (N-succinyl-XXXX-pNA; XXXX = AAPF, AAPA and FAAF). The H5 hybrid showed increased activity at low temperature, increased binding region and global flexibility, as investigated by molecular dynamic simulations, and global destabilization from differential scanning calorimetry measurements. These psychrophilic characteristics indicated an increase in binding site flexibility, probably due to the modifications P129S, S130G, P131E, and thus we show that it is possible to increase low temperature activity and global flexibility by engineered flexibility in the binding region.

Furin at the cutting edge: from protein traffic to embryogenesis and disease

Furin catalyses a simple biochemical reaction--the proteolytic maturation of proprotein substrates in the secretory pathway. But the simplicity of this reaction belies furin's broad and important roles in homeostasis, as well as in diseases ranging from Alzheimer's disease and cancer to anthrax and Ebola fever. This review summarizes various features of furin--its structural and enzymatic properties, intracellular localization, trafficking, substrates, and roles in vivo.

Furin: a mammalian subtilisin/Kex2p-like endoprotease involved in processing of a wide variety of precursor proteins

Limited endoproteolysis of inactive precursor proteins at sites marked by paired or multiple basic amino acids is a widespread process by which biologically active peptides and proteins are produced within the secretory pathway in eukaryotic cells. The identification of a novel family of endoproteases homologous with bacterial subtilisins and yeast Kex2p has accelerated progress in understanding the complex mechanisms underlying the production of the bioactive materials. Seven distinct proprotein convertases of this family (furin, PC2, PC1/PC3, PC4, PACE4, PC5/PC6, LPC/PC7/PC8/SPC7) have been identified in mammalian species, some having isoforms generated via alternative splicing. The family has been shown to be responsible for conversion of precursors of peptide hormones, neuropeptides, and many other proteins into their biologically active forms. Furin, the first proprotein convertase to be identified, has been most extensively studied. It has been shown to be expressed in all tissues and cell lines examined and to be mainly localized in the trans-Golgi network, although some proportion of the furin molecules cycle between this compartment and the cell surface. This endoprotease is capable of cleaving precursors of a wide variety of proteins, including growth factors, serum proteins, including proteases of the blood-clotting and complement systems, matrix metalloproteinases, receptors, viral-envelope glycoproteins and bacterial exotoxins, typically at sites marked by the consensus Arg-Xaa-(Lys/Arg)-Arg sequence. The present review covers the structure and function of mammalian subtilisin/Kex2p-like proprotein convertases, focusing on furin (EC 3.4.21.85).