New fluorogenic substrates for renin

HIV-1 Aspartic Proteinase: High-Level Production and Automated Fluorometric Screening Assay of Inhibitors

The 99-amino-acid HIV-1 aspartic proteinase was expressed to high levels in Escherichia coli using a T7 expression system. About 50% of the insoluble material after sonication of the bacteria was composed of aggregated proteinase. Subsequent renaturation and purification yielded large quantities of a homogeneous enzyme able to cleave various heptapeptidic substrates in vitro with a Km around 2.5 mM. A fluorometric assay has been devised to allow automated screening of HIV proteinase inhibitors based on an analogous renin assay. We used the synthetic intramolecularly quenched fluorogenic substrate Suc-TLNFPIS-4MCA based on the heptapeptide TLNFPIS, which encompasses the proteinase/reverse transcriptase junction, coupled to the fluorophore 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin and blocked at the amino-terminus by a succinyl group. The enzyme cleaves the substrate between phenylalanine and proline, and conditions were optimized for liberation of 7AMC from the generated PIS-4MCA with aminopeptidase M as secondary enzyme. 7AMC was monitored with a microplate fluorescence scanner. The known aspartic proteinase inhibitor pepstatin A consistently gave Ki = 2 × 10−6M. Other synthetic and natural compounds are currently being tested.

Chitosan nanoparticles for the linear release of model cationic Peptide

PURPOSE

The present study is focused on the development of a model drug delivery system (DDS) based on Chitosan (CS) nanoparticles using Renin substrate I (RSI) as model agent. RSI shares the main chemical-physical features of several biologically active antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). AMPs have a great therapeutic potential that is hampered by their lability in the biological fluids and as such they are perfect candidates for DDS. The development studies of quality DDS loaded with AMPs would require highly sensitive and specific quantification assays. The use of RSI allowed for the fine-tuning and optimization of the formulation parameters to promote the hydrophobic interactions between CS and the cationic peptide, favour the loading of the active ingredient and enhance the release properties of the carrier.

METHODS

RSI was encapsulated in chitosan NPs by mean of ionic gelation and a chromogenic enzymatic essay was carried out for the release kinetics evaluation.

RESULTS

The developed formulations displayed almost 100% of encapsulation efficacy, low burst percentages, and a linear release of the model peptide. A release model was created showing a direct dependence on both the amount of RSI and NPs radius.

CONCLUSIONS

Although CS has always been formulated with negatively charged active agents (e.g. oligonucleotides or anionic proteins), the use of ionotropic gelation in presence of a small cationic active agent promoted the formation of "core-shell" NPs. The described model, with tuneable linear release rates, appears eligible for further exploitation such as the loading of therapeutically active AMPs.

Measurement of plasma renin concentration in cats by use of a fluorescence resonance energy transfer peptide substrate of renin

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the use of a commercially available 5-carboxyfluorescein-based, intramolecularly quenched, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) peptide substrate of renin for measurement of plasma renin concentration in cats.

SAMPLE POPULATION

Plasma samples obtained during a previous study of renal autograft ischemia-reperfusion injury in 10 cats and samples of fetal bovine serum containing recombinant human renin (rh-renin).

PROCEDURES

Experiments involving samples of fetal bovine serum containing rh-renin were conducted to identify a suitable control vehicle, optimal substrate concentration, and appropriate duration of incubation. With the use of the identified assay conditions, a standard curve was constructed to allow conversion of relative fluorescent units into values of renin concentration (ng/mL). Subsequently, plasma samples obtained from cats before and after renal autograft ischemia-reperfusion injury were assayed to determine endogenous renin concentration.

RESULTS

Under conditions of a 1:50 substrate dilution and 4-hour incubation period, the assay detected small amounts of rh-renin in fetal bovine serum. A linear relationship (R(2) = 0.996) between the relative fluorescent units generated and exogenous rh-renin concentration was evident. The assay detected renin in plasma samples obtained from cats after renal autograft ischemia-reperfusion, and renin concentrations on days 1 and 2 after transplant differed significantly.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The study data indicated that the assay involving the FRET peptide substrate of renin is potentially a rapid and specific method for measurement of plasma renin concentration in cats.

Highly sensitive intramolecularly quenched fluorogenic substrates for renin based on the combination of L-2-amino-3-(7-methoxy-4-coumaryl)propionic acid with 2,4-dinitrophenyl groups at various positions

The development of renin inhibitors for the treatment of hypertension requires highly sensitive substrates to evaluate potency and to characterize the mechanism of tight-binding inhibitors. A series of intramolecularly quenched fluorogenic renin substrates, based on the N-terminal tetradecapeptide sequence of human angiotensinogen (hTDP), was synthesized using a solid-phase technique. Incorporation of the fluorescent amino acid L-Amp [L-2-amino-3-(7-methoxy-4-coumaryl)propionic acid] and the DNP (2,4-dinitrophenyl) group at various positions resulted in >90% quenching efficiency and strong product fluorescence. Shortening the hTDP sequence to an octapeptide from histidine in P5 to histidine in P3' (substrate 3) resulted in an acceptable k(cat)/K(m) (41000 M(-1).s(-1)) and further systematic variation gave substrate 9, DNP-Lys-His-Pro-Phe-His-Leu-Val-Ile-His-L-Amp, with a k(cat)/K(m) value of 350000 M(-1).s(-1) and 94% quenching efficiency. The free side chain of lysine, replacing the isoleucine residue at P6 position in the angiotensinogen sequence, contributed to the increased value for k(cat). The pH dependence of k(cat)/K(m) for renin and substrate 9 showed that the optimal pH is at pH 6-7. It also showed two titrating groups on the acidic side of the pH optimum, and one titrating group with a pK(a) of 7.8 on the alkaline side. The combination of good kinetic and spectroscopic properties resulted in a >20-fold improvement in the sensitivity of renin assay, compared with the commercial substrate Arg-Glu(EDANS)-Ile-His-Pro-Phe-His-Leu-Val-Ile-His-Thr-Lys(DABCYL)-Arg [where EDANS is 5-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]naphthalene-1-sulphonic acid and DABCYL is 4-(4-dimethylaminophenylazo)benzoic acid] (k(cat)/K(m)=268000 M(-1) x s(-1), quenching efficiency <80%). The detection limit in a microplate renin assay was 60 pM, making substrate 9 well suited for the evaluation of inhibitors at picomolar concentrations.

MX1013, a dipeptide caspase inhibitor with potent in vivo antiapoptotic activity

1. Caspases play a critical role in apoptosis, and are considered to be key targets for the design of cytoprotective drugs. As part of our antiapoptotic drug-discovery effort, we have synthesized and characterized Z-VD-fmk, MX1013, as a potent, irreversible dipeptide caspase inhibitor. 2. MX1013 inhibits caspases 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9, with IC50 values ranging from 5 to 20 nm. MX1013 is selective for caspases, and is a poor inhibitor of noncaspase proteases, such as cathepsin B, calpain I, or Factor Xa (IC50 values >10 microm). 3. In several cell culture models of apoptosis, including caspase 3 processing, PARP cleavage, and DNA fragmentation, MX1013 is more active than tetrapeptide- and tripeptide-based caspase inhibitors, and blocked apoptosis at concentrations as low as 0.5 microm. 4. MX1013 is more aqueous soluble than tripeptide-based caspase inhibitors such as Z-VAD-fmk. 5. At a dose of 1 mg kg-1 i.v., MX1013 prevented liver damage and the lethality caused by Fas death receptor activation in the anti-Fas mouse-liver apoptosis model, a widely used model of liver failure. 6. At a dose of 20 mg kg-1 (i.v. bolus) followed by i.v. infusion for 6 or 12 h, MX1013 reduced cortical damage by approximately 50% in a model of brain ischemia/reperfusion injury. 7. At a dose of 20 mg kg-1 (i.v. bolus) followed by i.v. infusion for 12 h, MX1013 reduced heart damage by approximately 50% in a model of acute myocardial infarction. 8. Based on these studies, we conclude that MX1013, a dipeptide pan-caspase inhibitor, has a good combination of in vitro and in vivo properties. It has the ability to protect cells from a variety of apoptotic insults, and is systemically active in three animal models of apoptosis, including brain ischemia.

Collagenolytic serine-carboxyl proteinase from Alicyclobacillus sendaiensis strain NTAP-1: purification, characterization, gene cloning, and heterologous expression

Enzymatic degradation of collagen produces peptides, the collagen peptides, which show a variety of bioactivities of industrial interest. Alicyclobacillus sendaiensis strain NTAP-1, a slightly thermophilic, acidophilic bacterium, extracellularly produces a novel thermostable collagenolytic activity, which exhibits its optimum at the acidic region (pH 3.9) and is potentially applicable to the efficient production of such peptides. Here, we describe the purification to homogeneity, characterization, gene cloning, and heterologous expression of this enzyme, which we call ScpA. Purified ScpA is a monomeric, pepstatin-insensitive carboxyl proteinase with a molecular mass of 37 kDa which exhibited the highest reactivity toward collagen (type I, from a bovine Achilles tendon) among the macromolecular substrates examined. On the basis of the sequences of the peptides obtained by digestion of collagen with ScpA, the following synthetic peptides were designed as substrates for ScpA and kinetically analyzed: Phe-Gly-Pro-Ala*Gly-Pro-Ile-Gly (k(cat), 5.41 s(-1); K(m), 32 micro M) and Met-Gly-Pro-Arg*Gly-Phe-Pro-Gly-Ser (k(cat), 351 s(-1); K(m), 214 micro M), where the asterisks denote the scissile bonds. The cloned scpA gene encoded a protein of 553 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 57,167 Da. Heterologous expression of the scpA gene in the Escherichia coli cells yielded a mature 37-kDa species after a two-step proteolytic cleavage of the precursor protein. Sequencing of the scpA gene revealed that ScpA was a collagenolytic member of the serine-carboxyl proteinase family (the S53 family according to the MEROPS database), which is a recently identified proteinase family on the basis of crystallography results. Unexpectedly, ScpA was highly similar to a member of this family, kumamolysin, whose specificity toward macromolecular substrates has not been defined.

HIV-1 protease inhibition and anti-HIV effect of natural and synthetic water-soluble lignin-like substances

Water-soluble lignin extracted from natural sources and dehydrogenated polymers of p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid inhibited HIV-1 protease activity. The dehydrogenated polymers, which are thought to be model compounds for lignin, were synthesized and fractionated into four ranges of molecular mass by ultra-filtration: i.e., over 30 kDa, 30-10 kDa, 10-1 kDa and 1 kDa-500 Da. All of these fractions had HIV-1 protease inhibitory activity. The anti-HIV-1 effect of the smallest mass fractions of the dehydrogenated polymers (1 kDa-500 Da) was also tested, and it was found that these fractions inhibited the replication of HIV-1 in MT-4 cells.

Isolation of HIV-1 protease-inhibiting peptides from thermolysin hydrolysate of oyster proteins

The peptides inhibiting HIV-1 protease were isolated from the hydrolysate of oyster (Crassostrea gigas) proteins prepared with thermolysin. The amino acid sequences of the peptides were determined as Leu-Leu-Glu-Tyr-Ser-Ile and Leu-Leu-Glu-Tyr-Ser-Leu. These sequences exist in some proteins of variola major virus or human cytomegalovirus. Chemically synthesized Leu-Leu-Glu-Tyr-Ser-Ile and Leu-Leu-Glu-Tyr-Ser-Leu showed IC50 values of 20 and 15 nM, respectively, and behaved as competitive inhibitors for HIV-1 protease with Ki values of 13 and 10 nM, respectively. These peptides were more potent as an HIV-1 protease inhibitor than pepstatin A.

Renin assay using a fluorogenic substrate and high performance liquid chromatography

Measurement of renin activity in human fluids using a fluorogenic substrate and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. A nine amino acid peptide containing the fluorogenic residue, N-(2-pyridyl) glycine (Pg) is used as a substrate. The peptide sequence is homologous with the cleavage site of human angiotensinogen. This substrate is hydrolyzed by renin to generate fluorogenic and non-fluorogenic products. The amount of fluorogenic product is directly measured by reversed phase HPLC. Optimization of assay conditions and measurement of human serum renin levels are described. Assay results correlated well with those from radioimmunoassay. The method is simple, convenient, highly sensitive and can be used for routine clinical renin assays.

Intramolecularly quenched fluorogenic peptide substrates for human renin

Six intramolecularly quenched fluorogenic peptides related to the sequences Phe8 to His13, His6 to His13, and Tyr4 to His13 of the human angiotensinogen, containing o-aminobenzoyl (Abz) and ethylenediamine dinitrophenyl (EDDnp) groups at amino- and carboxyl-terminal amino acids residues, were synthesized by classical solution methods. The Leu-Val is the only bond of all obtained peptides that was hydrolyzed by human renin with different degrees of purity and was resistant to hydrolysis by pig renin and cathepsin D. The hydrolysis of Abz-His-Pro-Phe-His-Leu-Val-Ile-His-EDDnp by human renin was inhibited by a highly specific transition-state analog of angiotensinogen (IC50 = 7.8 x 10(-9) M), described by K. Iizuka et al. (1990, J. Med. Chem. 33, 2707-2714). Therefore, specific and sensitive substrates for the continuous assay of human renin in which as little as 70 microGU of human renin could be detected by Abz-Phe-His-Leu-Val-Ile-His-EDDnp were described. The optimal pHs of hydrolysis of the substrates were in the range 4 to 6.

Determination of renin activity in human plasma by column-switching high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A column-switching high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with fluorescence detection is described for the determination of the renin activity in human plasma. The method is based on the quantification of the enzymatically produced angiotensin I. Angiotensin I liberated from a synthetic substrate (tridecapeptide of human angiotensinogen) and [Val5]-angiotensin I as an internal standard are converted into fluorescent derivatives by reaction with benzoin. The derivatives are separated from various interfering substances by column-switching HPLC using three reversed-phase columns. The limit of detection (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) of the renin activity is 2.7 pmol of angiotensin I formed per h per ml of plasma, which corresponds to approximately 820 fmol of angiotensin I injected. The column-switching method in combination with pre-column derivatization for the fluorimetric detection permits the sensitive and selective determination of the enzymatically formed angiotensin I. Hence low activities of renin in normal human plasma are readily measured.

Highly sensitive peptide-4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide substrates for blood-clotting proteases and trypsin

Seventy-four peptide amides of 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (Mec) of the type Boc-Xaa-Yaa-Arg-NH-Mec were newly synthesized and tested to find specific substrates for blood-clotting proteases and trypsin. The Xaa and Yaa residues of these substrates have been replaced by 12 and 15 different amino acids, respectively. Among these peptides, the followings were found to be most sensitive substrates for individual enzymes: Boc-Asp(OBzl)-Pro-Arg-NH-Mec (kcat = 160 s-1, Km = 11 microM, kcat/Km = 15,000,000 M-1 s-1) for human alpha-thrombin, Z-less than Glu-Gly-Arg-NH-Mec (kcat = 19 s-1, Km = 59 microM, kcat/Km = 320,000 M-1 s-1) for bovine factor Xa, Boc-Gln-Gly-Arg-NH-Mec (kcat = 5.8 s-1, Km = 140 microM, kcat/Km = 42,000) for bovine factor XIIa, Boc-Asp(OBzl)-Ala-Arg-NH-Mec (kcat = 9.2 s-1, Km = 120 microM, kcat/Km = 77,000 M-1 s-1) for bovine activated protein C, and Boc-Gly-Phe-Arg-NH-Mec (kcat = 29 s-1, Km = 230 microM, kcat/Km = 130,000 M-1 s-1) for bovine plasma kallikrein. Moreover, Boc-Glu(OBzl)-Ala-Arg-NH-Mec (kcat = 46 s-1, Km = 370 microM, kcat/Km = 120,000 M-1 s-1) was newly found as a good substrate for human factor XIa. Bovine trypsin effectively hydrolyzed peptide-NH-Mec substrates containing Ala and Pro at the P2 site. The most reactive substrate was Boc-Gln-Ala-Arg-NH-Mec (kcat = 120 s-1, Km = 6.0 microM, kcat/Km = 20,000,000 M-1 s-1).

Characterization of a highly purified membrane proteinase from bovine lens

A highly purified bovine lens membrane proteinase has been obtained. The purification was accomplished by solubilization of the proteinase from the membrane with 2% sodium deoxycholate followed by gel-filtration chromatography. The purified proteinase showed a major protein band having molecular weight of 17,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and an active band on a non-denaturing acrylamide gel. The proteinase existed as a tetramer having a molecular weight of 68,000 as determined by gel-filtration chromatography. The proteinase had a pH optimum of 7.8 and was unstable above 40 degrees C. It lacked any requirement for metal ions for activity and was inhibited by all serine proteinase inhibitors tested. The proteinase hydrolysed mostly arginine amide and ester bonds. Based on its properties, the newly isolated membrane proteinase seems to be distinct from any mammalian lens proteinase isolated so far.

Fluorogenic substrates for chymotrypsin with new fluorescent markers

Several substrates for chymotrypsin Glt-Phe-NHRx have been synthesized, where RxNH2 are the compounds 3-aminocoumarin (2), 6-aminocoumarin (3), 3-acetamido-6-aminocoumarin (4), 3-acetamido-8-aminocoumarin (5), 7-amino-4-methyl-2-quinolinone (AMQ), (6). The fluorescence properties of the new substrates and those of the corresponding free amines were examined. The compound 7-glutarylphenylalaninamido-4-methyl-2-quinolinone (Glt-Phe-AMQ), (15), provided a new suitable substrate for chymotrypsin determination. The enzymatic release of the fluorophore AMQ was measured at lambda ex = 360 nm and lambda em = 435 nm. The Km of 15 was 0.5 mM and its kcat/Km ratio was 47 M-1 s-1. By using this substrate, the detection limit of chymotrypsin was 10 ng/ml.

"Defective" receptors in steroid-resistant conditions may be proteolytic artifacts

The specific question addressed in this report is whether the resistance to steroid treatment of certain tissues or tumors which appear to contain a normal quantity of steroid-binding sites may be due to structural defects in the receptors. This question may be seen as part of the more general question of whether there are intrinsic variations in the structures of receptors for a given class of steroids in different healthy tissues, in healthy vs. malignant tissues or in different types of tumors. Our experimental approach to these questions has involved the stabilization and precise physicochemical characterization of the receptors. To date, we have studied the estrogen and progestin receptors from human breast cancers and benign and malignant gynecologic specimens and the glucocorticoid receptors from several healthy and malignant rodent tissues and from normal human lymphocytes and various types of leukemic cells. Chromatographic and ultracentrifugal analyses in buffers of low ionic strength, containing 20 mM Na2MoO4 as the stabilizer, have revealed each of these receptors to be a large, oligomeric complex, characterized by remarkably similar values of the Stokes radius, sedimentation coefficient, molecular weight and axial ratio. In the absence of adequate stabilization, however, we found that the receptors for three classes of steroids in extracts of some healthy, steroid-responsive tissues, such as rat kidney and human uterine endometrium, are invariably degraded by endogenous proteinases. The extent of such cleavage is increased considerably by freezing the tissues prior to homogenization. Studies designed to distinguish the intact receptors from the products of proteolysis have included the characterization of receptors in cytosols prepared from mixtures of rat liver and kidney. The results strongly support the interpretation that the smaller size of the receptors detected in kidney cytosol reflects their cleavage by the more active proteinases in that tissue. The sizes and shapes of the receptors in cytosols from various tissues were found to be correlated with the activities of specific endopeptidases, assayed fluorometrically with peptidyl derivatives of 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (AMC). These studies suggested that the receptors are vulnerable to cleavage by "lysine-specific" endopeptidases, detected with t-butyloxycarbonyl-L-valyl-L-leucyl-L-lysyl-AMC. An enzyme of this specificity was partially purified from rat kidney cytosol and tested for its ability to digest the glucocorticoid receptors from rat liver cytosol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Purification and fluorometric assay of proteinase A from yeast

Proteinase A was purified from commercial baker's yeast to homogeneity by using affinity chromatography. Simple and sensitive fluorometric assay procedures were developed for this enzyme, where Suc-Arg-Pro-Phe-His-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide and dimethylcasein were used as synthetic substrate and protein substrate, respectively. Proteinase A cleaved the former substrate at the Leu-Val bond. The extent of the cleavage was monitored by measuring the amount of fluorescent 7-amino-4-methylcoumarine produced by the successive cleavage with an auxiliary enzyme, aminopeptidase M, or by measuring the fluorescence generated by the reaction of newly formed amino groups with fluorescamine. In the assay with the latter substrate, the amounts of newly formed amino groups were measured by the reaction with fluorescamine. The optimal pH of the reaction was 5.0 to 5.5. The methods were applied to the study of the effects of denaturing agents on the activity of proteinase A.