The combined action of two enzymes in human serum can mimic the activity of cathepsin B

Cysteine cathepsins: from structure, function and regulation to new frontiers

It is more than 50 years since the lysosome was discovered. Since then its hydrolytic machinery, including proteases and other hydrolases, has been fairly well identified and characterized. Among these are the cysteine cathepsins, members of the family of papain-like cysteine proteases. They have unique reactive-site properties and an uneven tissue-specific expression pattern. In living organisms their activity is a delicate balance of expression, targeting, zymogen activation, inhibition by protein inhibitors and degradation. The specificity of their substrate binding sites, small-molecule inhibitor repertoire and crystal structures are providing new tools for research and development. Their unique reactive-site properties have made it possible to confine the targets simply by the use of appropriate reactive groups. The epoxysuccinyls still dominate the field, but now nitriles seem to be the most appropriate “warhead”. The view of cysteine cathepsins as lysosomal proteases is changing as there is now clear evidence of their localization in other cellular compartments. Besides being involved in protein turnover, they build an important part of the endosomal antigen presentation. Together with the growing number of non-endosomal roles of cysteine cathepsins is growing also the knowledge of their involvement in diseases such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, among others. Finally, cysteine cathepsins are important regulators and signaling molecules of an unimaginable number of biological processes. The current challenge is to identify their endogenous substrates, in order to gain an insight into the mechanisms of substrate degradation and processing. In this review, some of the remarkable advances that have taken place in the past decade are presented. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Proteolysis 50 years after the discovery of lysosome.

Aminopeptidase Activities in Breast Cancer Tissue

Background: Endopeptidases such as cathepsins help determine the prognosis of breast cancer (BC). However, little information is available about the role in BC of aminopeptidases (APs), which have been implicated in the metabolism of several local hormonal factors.

Methods: Using aminoacyl-β-naphthylamides as substrates, we measured fluorometrically alanyl-AP, arginyl-AP, cystinyl-AP, glutamyl-AP, aspartyl-AP, and pyroglutamyl-AP activities in their soluble and membrane-bound forms in surgically removed BC tissue from which we separated samples of neoplastic, adjacent tumoral, and unaffected surrounding tissue.

Results: Compared with unaffected tissue, neoplastic tissue had significantly higher activities of soluble alanyl-AP (553.9 ± 82.8 vs 1615.2 ± 183.0 pmol/mg protein; P <0.001), arginyl-AP (372.4 ± 56.6 vs 1027.2 ± 143.5 pmol/mg protein; P <0.001), and cystinyl-AP (74.8 ± 10.0 vs 282.9 ± 37.2 pmol/mg protein; P <0.001), and of membrane-bound arginyl-AP (457.7 ± 97.9 vs 886.6 ± 140.0 pmol/mg protein; P <0.01). However, membrane-bound aspartyl-AP activity was significantly lower in neoplastic tissue (17.3 ± 1.4 vs 9.2 ± 1.2 pmol/mg protein; P <0.05) and pyroglutamyl-AP activity was significantly lower in neoplastic and adjacent tissues (12.8 ± 0.9 vs 7.0 ± 1.2 and 8.0 ± 1.3 pmol/mg protein; P <0.001 for both comparisons).

Conclusions: The present results document changes in AP activities in BC tissue. These changes may reflect the functional status of the AP substrates, which can be selectively activated or inhibited locally in the affected tissue as a result of specific conditions brought about by the tumor.

The detection, quantification and partial characterisation of cathepsin B-like activity in human pathological synovial fluids

In this study, the levels of the cysteine proteinase--cathepsin B were measured in diseased synovial fluids using a steady state fluorometric assay. Cathepsin B-like activity was shown to be present in all the samples analysed, with the rheumatoid arthritic synovial fluids possessing significantly higher concentrations (mean value ca. 416 mg/l) than the osteoarthritic fluids (mean value ca. 142.4 mg/l). In addition, upon treatment with pepsin, all of the rheumatoid arthritis samples were shown to possess additional cathepsin B-like activity, suggesting the presence of a reservoir of latent precursor molecules. By utilising a recently developed biotinylated affinity label for cathepsin B-like proteinases and sheep anti-(human cathepsin B) antibodies, used in combination with SDS-PAGE and Western blotting, the rheumatoid arthritic synovial cathepsin B was shown to exist in two forms with apparent molecular masses of M(r) 29,000 and 42,000. We propose that the former is a functionally active proteinase, whereas the latter is a pepsin activatable proform which, when cleaved by this aspartyl proteinase, is converted into a catalytically competent species of M(r) 20,000.

The application of a novel biotinylated affinity label for the detection of a cathepsin B-like precursor produced by breast-tumour cells in culture

In this report we demonstrate how the recently developed biotinylated affinity label biotinyl-Phe-Ala-diazomethane (Bio-Phe-Ala-CHN2) [Cullen, McGinty, Walker, Nelson, Halliday, Bailie & Kay (1990) Biochem. Soc. Trans. 18, 315-316; Walker, Cullen, Kay, Halliday, McGinty & Nelson (1992) Biochem. J. 283, 449-453] can be used for the detection of a precursor form of a cathepsin B-like enzyme produced by breast-tumour cells in culture. Thus the cell lines MDA-MB-436, ZR-75-1 and T47-D produce a soluble protein that can be allowed to react with the biotinylated affinity label to yield an SDS-resistant complex; this can be revealed with a streptavidin/alkaline phosphatase label after PAGE and Western blotting. This protein (molecular mass 47 kDa) can also be detected by immunoblotting using sheep anti-(cathepsin B) antibodies in conjunction with a donkey anti-sheep IgG label. None of the cell lines studied produced any mature cathepsin B-like activity, as gauged by the lack of turnover of the fluorogenic substrate benzyloxycarbonyl-Arg-Arg-4-methylcoumarin-7-ylamide (Cbz-Arg-Arg-NH-Mec). However, treatment of medium samples with pepsin resulted in the generation of such activity. When the pepsin-catalysed activation step was analysed by SDS/PAGE, the protein of 47 kDa was completely converted into two species of very similar molecular masses of 30.5 kDa and 29 kDa. Both these proteins can incorporate the biotinylated probe and, in common with the 47 kD species, they can be detected with the streptavidin/alkaline phosphatase label and immunoblotting. We propose that the 47 kD form is the pepsin-activable proform of these lower-molecular-mass species. The release of the proform from the oestrogen-receptor (ER)-positive breast-tumour cell lines ZR-75-1 and T47-D is stimulated 5-10-fold when these cells are grown in medium containing epidermal growth factor (EGF) at a concentration of 10 ng/ml. In contrast, there is no modulation in the amount of proform released by the ER-negative cell line MDA-MB-436, over a range of EGF concentrations from 0 to 100 ng/ml.

Stefins and lysosomal cathepsins B, L and D in human breast carcinoma

In the study of 50 matched pairs of breast carcinoma and normal breast tissue, the activities of cysteine proteinases (CPs), cathepsin (Cat) B and Cat L in tumors were increased on average by 18.5-fold and 52.5-fold respectively. The differences in activity of cysteine proteinase inhibitors (CPIs) between tumor and control breast tissues was also observed: in approximately two thirds of carcinomas, lowered CPI activity was measured (group-I patients), while similar or higher tumor CPI activity was measured in the remaining samples (group-II patients). Relative increases in specific activity of Cat B and Cat L in group I were significantly higher than in group II. In group I more patients with histopathological tumor grade III and negative estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) levels were found, but the metastatic involvement of regional lymph nodes was similar in both groups. A 2-year follow-up study showed a significant inverse correlation between disease-free survival and increased Cat L activity, but the differences in group I and group II patients were not significant in this short time interval. In 20 matched pairs of breast carcinoma and normal breast tissue, the mean activity of Cat D was 5.8-fold higher in tumors compared with controls. The hypothesis that elevated Cat D activity increased CP activity and/or lowered tumor CPI activity due to post-translational proteolytic modification appeared less likely, since no correlations between corresponding activities were observed. We suggested that lowered CPI might rather reflect changes in transcription of intracellular CPIs, the stefins. Immunoassay and Northern blot analysis showed that the average value of stefin A protein and mRNA content respectively in the majority of investigated breast carcinoma samples were lowered, suggesting the possible value of stefin A in diagnosis and/or prognosis of the disease.

Preliminary studies on cysteine and serine proteinase activities in inflamed human gingiva using different 7-amino-4-trifluoromethyl coumarin substrates and protease inhibitors

The cysteine proteinases cathepsins B and L have collagenolytic potential and so have been implicated in connective-tissue breakdown in chronic periodontitis. Synthetic peptide substrates are often used to detect proteolytic enzymes. The action of homogenates of inflamed gingiva tissue against three such substrates of cathepsin B have been characterized here by protease inhibitors. Using the selective reagents ZPheAlaCHN2, BzValLysLysArgAFC, ZAlaArgArgAFC and ZPheArgAFC were susceptible to both cysteine and non-cysteine proteinase activity; the two types of enzymes had acidic and alkaline pH optima, respectively. The action of other inhibitors at acidic pH indicated the involvement of cathepsin B and, to a lesser extent, cathepsin L. The enzyme active at alkaline pH was a serine proteinase; it resembled glandular kallikrein in its inhibitor response and its ability to hydrolyse a fourth substrate, DValLeuArgAFC, but its greater reactivity with BzValLysLysArgAFC and ZAlaArgArgAFC was not consistent with kallikrein. ZPheArgAFC, though less sensitive than BzValLysLysArgAFC to cysteine proteinase action, was far less susceptible to hydrolysis by the serine proteinase and thus appears the best choice for selective assays of cathepsins B and L.

Cathepsin B: association with plasma membrane in metastatic tumors

The subcellular localization of cathepsin B activity (EC 3.4.22.1) in three murine melanomas of increasing metastatic potential (Cloudman less than B16-F1 less than B16 amelanotic) was determined. Cathepsin B activity was localized in the heavy mitochondrial fraction of normal murine liver but in the light mitochondrial fraction of the metastatic melanomas; the localization of three other lysosomal hydrolases did not shift. Further purification of the light mitochondrial fraction into L-1 (density = 1.045 g/ml) and L-2 (density = 1.07 g/ml) fractions was achieved on a 30% iso-osmotic Percoll gradient. The L-1 fraction of liver and melanomas contained Na+, K+-ATPase activity; the L-2 fraction of liver contained four lysosomal hydrolase (cathepsins B and H, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, and beta-glucuronidase) and glucose-6-phosphatase activities. Ultrastructural examination revealed that the L-1 fraction consisted of membrane vesicles and the L-2 fraction of secondary lysosomes. In the B16 melanomas cathepsin B and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase activities were found in both L-1 and L-2 fractions. Specific activities of the two enzymes in the plasma membrane (L-1) fractions increased in correspondence with metastatic potential. Cathepsin H and beta-glucuronidase activities were not localized in the plasma membrane fractions of the B16 melanomas. Localization of hydrolytic enzymes in the plasma membrane of metastatic tumor cells could result in focal dissolution of the extracellular matrix and thereby invasion and metastasis.