Limited proteolysis of porcine pancreatic lipase. Lability of the Phe 335-Ala 336 bond towards chymotrypsin

N-terminal domain of turkey pancreatic lipase is active on long chain triacylglycerols and stabilized by colipase

The gene encoding the TPL N-terminal domain (N-TPL), fused with a His6-tag, was cloned and expressed in Pichia pastoris, under the control of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAP) constitutive promoter. The recombinant protein was successfully expressed and secreted with an expression level of 5 mg/l of culture medium after 2 days of culture. The N-TPL was purified through a one-step Ni-NTA affinity column with a purification factor of approximately 23-fold. The purified N-TPL, with a molecular mass of 35 kDa, had a specific activity of 70 U/mg on tributyrin. Surprisingly, this domain was able to hydrolyse long chain TG with a specific activity of 11 U/mg using olive oil as substrate. This result was confirmed by TLC analysis showing that the N-TPL was able to hydrolyse insoluble substrates as olive oil. N-TPL was unstable at temperatures over 37°C and lost 70% of its activity at acid pH, after 5 min of incubation. The N-TPL exhibited non linear kinetics, indicating its rapid denaturation at the tributyrin–water interface. Colipase increased the N-TPL stability at the lipid-water interface, so the TPL N-terminal domain probably formed functional interactions with colipase despite the absence of the C-terminal domain.

Purification and characterization of the first recombinant bird pancreatic lipase expressed in Pichia pastoris: the turkey

BACKGROUND

The turkey pancreatic lipase (TPL) was purified from delipidated pancreases. Some biochemical properties and kinetic studies were determined using emulsified system and monomolecular film techniques. Those studies have shown that despite the accumulation of free fatty acids at the olive oil/water interface, TPL continues to hydrolyse efficiently the olive oil and the TC4 in the absence of colipase and bile salts, contrary to most classical digestive lipases which denaturate rapidly under the same conditions. The aim of the present study was to express TPL in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris in order to get a large amount of this enzyme exhibiting interesting biochemical properties, to purify and characterize the recombinant enzyme.

RESULTS

The recombinant TPL was secreted into the culture medium and the expression level reached about 15 mg/l after 4 days of culture. Using Q-PCR, the number of expression cassette integrated on Pichia genomic DNA was estimated to 5. The purified rTPL, with molecular mass of 50 kDa, has a specific activity of 5300 U/mg on emulsified olive oil and 9500 U/mg on tributyrin. The optimal temperature and pH of rTPL were 37°C and pH 8.5. The stability, reaction kinetics and effects of calcium ions and bile salts were also determined.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that the expressed TPL have the same properties as the native TPL previously purified. This result allows us the use of the recombinant enzyme to investigate the TPL structure-function relationships.

Proteolytic cleavage of ostrich and turkey pancreatic lipases: production of an active N-terminal domain

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to check some biochemical and structural properties of ostrich and turkey pancreatic lipases (OPL and TPL, respectively).

METHODS

Limited proteolysis of OPL and TPL was performed in conditions similar to those reported for porcine pancreatic lipase.

RESULTS

In the absence of bile salts and colipase, OPL failed to catalyze the hydrolysis of pure tributyrin or efficiently hydrolyze olive oil emulsion. When bile salts and colipase were preincubated with the substrate, the OPL kinetic behavior remained linear for more than 30 minutes. The enzyme presented a penetration power value into an egg phosphatidylcholine monomolecular film that was comparable to that of HPL and lower than that of TPL. Chymotrypsin, trypsin, and thermolysin were able to hydrolyze OPL and TPL in different ways. In both cases, only N-terminal fragments accumulated during the hydrolysis, whereas no C-terminal fragment was obtained in either case. Tryptic cleavage of OPL and TPL completely degraded the enzymes. Nevertheless, chymotryptic attack generated 35-kd and 43-kd forms for TPL and OPL, respectively. Interestingly, the OPL 43-kd form was inactive, whereas the TPL 35-kd protein conserved its lipolytic activity.

CONCLUSIONS

OPL, TPL, and mammal pancreatic lipases share a high amino acid sequence homology. Further investigations are, however, needed to identify key residues involved in substrate recognition responsible for biochemical differences between the 2 classes of lipases.

Scorpion digestive lipase: A member of a new invertebrate's lipase group presenting novel characteristics

Unlike classical digestive lipases, the scorpion digestive lipase (SDL) has a strong basic character. The SDL activity's optimal pH, when using tributyrin or olive oil as substrate, was 9.0. Added to that, the estimated isoelectric point of the native SDL using the electrofocusing technique, was found to be higher than 9.6. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an animal digestive lipase having such a basic character. When olive oil was used as substrate, SDL was shown to be insensitive to the presence of amphiphilic proteins such as bovine serum albumin (BSA). Furthermore, the hydrolysis was found to be specifically dependent on the presence of Ca(2+) ions, since no significant SDL activity was detected in the presence of ions chelator such as EDTA. Nevertheless, the SDL does not require Ca(2+) to trigger the hydrolysis of tributyrin emulsion. Interestingly Zn(2+) and Cu(2+) ions act as strong inhibitors of SDL activity when using tributyrin as substrate. An internal chymotryptic cleavage of SDL generated two fragments of 28 and 25 kDa having the same N-terminal sequence. This sequence of 19 residues does not share any homology with known animal and microbial lipases. Polyclonal antibodies directed against SDL (pAbs anti-SDL) failed to recognise ostrich pancreatic and dog gastric lipases (OPL and rDGL). Moreover, both pAbs anti-OPL and anti-rDGL failed to immunoreact with SDL. These immunological as well as distinct biochemical properties strengthen the idea that SDL appears to belong to a new invertebrate's lipase group.

Purification and partial characterization of feline classical pancreatic lipase

Classical pancreatic lipase has been purified and partially characterized in many species. The objective of this project was to purify feline classical pancreatic lipase (fPL) from pancreatic tissue and partially characterize this protein. Pancreata were collected from cats (Felis catus) euthanized for unrelated research projects. Fat was removed by trimming away grossly visible fat and by extraction in organic solvents. The delipidated pancreatic extract was further purified by extracting the enzymes in a Tris-buffer containing two different protease inhibitors, benzamidine and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, followed by anion-exchange, size-exclusion, and cation-exchange chromatography. Feline pancreatic lipase was successfully purified from feline pancreatic tissue. The purified product showed a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a molecular mass of approximately 52.5 kDa. Exact molecular mass was determined by mass spectrometry as 52.4 kDa. Approximate specific absorbance at 280 nm of fPL was 1.18 for a 1 mg/ml solution. N-terminal amino acid sequence of the first 25 amino acid residues showed the sequence Lys-Glu-Ile-?-Phe-Pro-Arg-Leu-Gly-?-Phe-Ser-Asp-Asp-Ala-Pro-Trp-Ala-Gly-Ile-Ala-Gln-Arg-Pro-Leu. This sequence showed close homology with the amino acid sequence of classical pancreatic lipase in other species.

Human pancreatic lipase: an exposed hydrophobic loop from the C-terminal domain may contribute to interfacial binding

Epitope mapping was performed using four anti-HPL monoclonal antibodies (mAb's 81-23, 146-40, 315-25, and 320-24) directed against human pancreatic lipase (HPL). Three HPL mutants produced in insect cells were tested for this purpose: (i) N-HPL, which consists of only the N-terminal domain of HPL, (ii) HPL(-lid), in which a short loop consisting of 5 amino acid residues replaces the full-length 23-residue lid domain present in HPL, and (iii) N-GPLRP2/C-HPL chimera, a chimeric mutant consisting of the N-terminal domain of the guinea pig pancreatic lipase related protein 2 (GPLRP2) fused to the C-terminal domain of HPL. The C-terminal domain of HPL (C-HPL) was prepared in a pure form after performing chymotryptic digestion of HPL. The mAb 146-40 recognizes HPL, HPL(-lid), and N-HPL but not GPLRP2, N-GPLRP2/C-HPL chimera, or the C-HPL. The antibody mAb 146-40 therefore specifically recognizes the N-terminal domain of HPL, and the epitope recognized does not include the amphiphilic lid. On the other hand, mAb's 81-23, 315-25, and 320-24 react specifically to the C-terminal domain of HPL, since they recognize HPL, HPL(-lid), the N-GPLRP2/C-HPL chimera, and the C-HPL but not N-HPL or GPLRP2. It was further established that these three mAb's recognize the same conformational epitope, the structure of which is stabilized by the N-terminal domain in the presence of SDS at concentrations greater than its critical micellar concentration. This conformational epitope was found to be located in the vicinity of Met 397 and Arg 414. These two residues delineate a highly exposed peptide stretch extending from the HPL C-terminal domain, which includes a hydrophobic surface loop (beta5'). Kinetic studies on the HPL/mAb's complexes showed that the lipase activity was much lower in these complexes than in HPL. The results of the present study suggest for the first time that the beta5' loop from the C-terminal domain may be involved in the interaction of HPL with a lipid/water interface.

Lipolysis and heterogeneous catalysis. A new concept for expressing the substrate concentration

A new concept is proposed for quantifying the substrate concentration during heterogeneous catalysis of the kind which occurs during lipolysis. The number of molecules of protein (enzyme) adsorbable to the lipid substrate interface per unit of volume was evaluated and defined as a volumetric concentration of protein (enzyme) binding site (PEBS). Using porcine pancreatic lipase (EC 3.1.1.3) as a model enzyme, the maximal PEBS concentration was measured under various assay conditions by determining the saturation of the lipid substrate with the enzyme. Abacuses correlating the lipid substrate concentration (M) with the PEBS concentration (M) under each experimental conditions were used to express the kinetic data in terms of a volumetric concentration of PEBS. Comparisons could thus be made between data obtained with various enzymes and lipid interfaces because they were expressed with the same unit. In the case of pancreatic lipase, using triolein and tributyrylglycerol as substrates, Km values of 2.7 and 7.5 nM PEBS were obtained, respectively, and KD values ranging around 9 nM PEBS were also obtained from Scatchard plots. In addition, the average superficial density of PEBS was found to be 10 x 10(11) molecules.cm-2, which is a value commonly obtained with structural proteins and enzymes adsorbed to an acylglyceride-water interface, this finding supports the idea that the PEBS concept represents the room in which the protein molecule adsorbs at the lipidic interface.

Human pancreatic lipase. Importance of the hinge region between the two domains, as revealed by monoclonal antibodies

Several monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were prepared against human pancreatic lipase (HPL). Two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) procedures were set up for screening hybridomas producing specific antibodies. Four mAbs (81-23, 146-40, 315-25, and 320-24) of the IgG1 isotype were found to react with HPL in both simple sandwich and double sandwich ELISAs, while mAb 248-31, of the IgG2b isotype, reacted only with HPL in a double sandwich ELISA. The results of Western blot analysis carried out with native and SDS-denatured HPLs indicated that mAb 248-31 recognized only native HPL, while all the other mAbs recognized both forms of HPL. Since mAb 248-31 did not recognize SDS-denatured HPL, it was not possible to localize its epitope. To carry out epitope mapping along the primary sequence of HPL, four fragments (14, 26, 30, and 36 kDa) resulting from a limited chymotryptic cleavage of HPL were characterized by Western blotting as well as N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis. Of the above five anti-HPL mAbs, four (81-23, 248-31, 315-25, and 320-24) were found to inhibit the lipolytic activity of HPL (in both the presence and absence of bile salts and colipase), while mAb 146-40 had no inhibitory effects. The epitope recognized by mAb 146-40 was found to be located in the N-terminal domain (Lys1-Phe335). Combined immunoinactivation and epitope mapping studies showed that three inhibitory mAbs (81-23, 315-25, and 320-24) recognize overlapping epitopes from the hinge region between the N- and C-terminal domains of HPL, belonging to the 26-kDa fragment. In the presence of lipids, a significant decrease has been observed in the bending angle between the N- and C-terminal domains of the HPL tertiary structure (van Tilbeurgh, H., Egloff, M. P., Martinez, C., Rugani, N., Verger, R. and Cambillau, C. (1993) Nature 362, 814-820). From the present immunochemical data, we further propose that locking the hinge movement with mAbs may induce lipase immunoinactivation.

Lipase structures at the interface between chemistry and biochemistry

In this chapter we review recent molecular knowledge on two structurally related mammalian triglyceride lipases which have evolved from a common ancestral gene. The common property of the lipase family members is that they interact with non-polar substances. Pancreatic lipase hydrolyzes triglycerides in the small intestine in the presence of many dietary components, other digestive enzymes and high concentrations of detergents (bile salts). Lipoprotein lipase acts at the vascular side of the blood vessels where it hydrolyses triglycerides and some phospholipids of the circulating plasma lipoproteins. A third member of the gene family, hepatic lipase, is found in the liver of mammals. Also, this lipase is involved in lipoprotein metabolism. The three lipases are distantly related to some non-catalytic yolk proteins from Drosophila (Persson et al., 1989; Kirchgessner et al., 1989; Hide et al., 1992) and to a phospholipase A1 from hornet venom (Soldatova et al., 1993).

One-step purification and characterization of human pancreatic lipase expressed in insect cells

A cDNA clone encoding the sequence of human pancreatic lipase (HPL) was subcloned into the baculovirus transfer vector pVL1392 and used in co-transfection of Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cells with wild-type Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) DNA. A single recombinant protein (50 kDa) secreted by Sf9 cells was detectable in the culture medium 24 h post-infection using both anti-HPL polyclonal antibodies and potentiometric measurements of lipolytic activity. The expression level reached 40 mg/l of enzyme at 6 days. A single cation-exchange chromatography was sufficient to obtain a highly pure recombinant HPL as demonstrated by N-terminal sequencing, amino acid composition and carbohydrate analysis, as well as by mass spectrometry. These analyses revealed the production of mature protein with the correct processing of signal peptide and an homogenous glycosylation pattern. The kinetic properties of recombinant and native HPL were compared. Both enzymes showed similar profiles of interfacial activation, inhibition by bile salts and re-activation by colipase.

Chymotryptic cleavage of lipoprotein lipase. Identification of cleavage sites and functional studies of the truncated molecule

Treatment of bovine lipoprotein lipase (LPL) with chymotrypsin results in cleavage between residues Phe390-Ser391 and between Trp392-Ser393, indicating that this region is exposed in the native conformation of LPL. Two main fragments are generated, one large including the amino-terminus (chymotrypsin-truncated LPL = c-LPL) and one small, carboxy-terminal fragment. The small fragment is not stable, but is further degraded by the protease. Isolated c-LPL has full catalytic activity against tributyryl glycerol (tributyrin) and p-nitrophenyl butyrate, while the activity against emulsions of long-chain triacylglycerols and against liposomes is reduced and the activity against milk fat globules and chylomicrons is lost. Several properties of c-LPL were investigated. It was found that c-LPL interacts with apolipoprotein CII (apo CII) as efficiently as intact LPL. The truncated enzyme bound to liposomes and to emulsions of long-chain triacylglycerols as well as the intact enzyme did. In contrast, c-LPL did not bind to milk fat globules or to chylomicrons. The activity of c-LPL was more sensitive to inhibition by other lipid-binding proteins, e.g. apolipoprotein CIII (apo CIII), than was the intact enzyme. The affinity for heparin was as high with c-LPL as with intact LPL. Like intact LPL, c-LPL is dimeric in its active form, as evidenced by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. It is concluded that the reduced catalytic and lipid-binding properties of c-LPL compared with intact LPL are related to the properties of the substrate interface. It is speculated that the carboxy-terminal part of LPL contains a secondary lipid-binding site, which is important for activity against chylomicrons and related substrates.

Sequence of horse pancreatic lipase as determined by protein and cDNA sequencing. Implications for p-nitrophenyl acetate hydrolysis by pancreatic lipases

The complete sequence of the horse pancreatic lipase was elucidated by combining polypeptide chain and cDNA sequencing. Among the structural features of horse lipase, it is worth mentioning that Lys373 is not conserved. This residue, which is present in human, porcine and canine lipases, has been assumed to be involved in p-nitrophenyl acetate hydrolysis by pancreatic lipases. Kinetic investigation of the p-nitrophenyl acetate hydrolysis by the various pancreatic lipases and by the C-terminal domain (336-449) of human lipase reveals that this hydrolysis is the result of the superimposition of independent events; a specific linear hydrolysis occurring at the active site of lipase, a fast acylation depending on the presence of Lys373 and a non-specific hydrolysis most likely occurring in the C-terminal domain of the enzyme. This finding definitely proves that pancreatic lipase bears only one active site and raises the question of a covalent catalysis by pancreatic lipases. Moreover, based on sequence comparison with the above-mentioned pancreatic lipases, three residues located in the C-terminal domain, Lys349, Lys398 and Lys419, are proposed as possible candidates for lipase/colipase binding.

Direct involvement of the C-terminal extremity of pancreatic lipase (403-449) in colipase binding

After a selective cleavage of a lipase/colipase cross-linked complex, the colipase has been shown to be bound to a 5 kDa lipase fragment identified as the C-terminal extremity of the chain extending from residue 403 to the C-terminus (Cys 449). The colipase binding site on lipase is therefore localized in a restricted contact area. Moreover, from sequence comparison of lipase from various species, an acidic residue, Glu 440, is likely to be involved in ion pairing with colipase.

How to protect human pancreatic enzyme activities in frozen duodenal juice

We determined whether activity of pancreatic enzymes could be maintained in frozen duodenal juice by diluting the specimens or by adding nutrients or a chymotrypsin inhibitor. Human duodenal juice was obtained during cholecystokinin octapeptide IV administration. Trypsin, chymotrypsin, lipolytic, lipase, and colipase activities were measured in fresh undiluted or diluted (1:4 and 1:16 with saline and T-tube bile) duodenal juice as well as after adding CaCl2, casein, triolein, or a chymotrypsin inhibitor. Subsequently, the samples were frozen at -20 degrees C, and enzyme activities were measured at 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 days. Activities of chymotrypsin and colipase did not change during freezer storage. Trypsin survival was variable in juice from different subjects. By contrast, in duodenal juice to which no nutrient or only CaCl2 had been added, 90%, 65%, and 40% (P = 0.05 vs. undiluted) of lipolytic activity was lost by 56 days in undiluted and 1:4 or 1:16 diluted duodenal juice samples, respectively. The loss of lipolytic activity was prevented (P less than 0.05) by adding casein or casein and triolein to undiluted and 1:4 diluted samples and turkey egg white to undiluted samples. The loss of lipolytic activity was strongly associated with loss of lipase activity (r = 0.97) but only weakly associated with loss of colipase activity (r = 0.49). In summary, chymotrypsin and colipase are well preserved in frozen duodenal juice and can be used to accurately assess concentrations of pancreatic enzymes after thawing frozen duodenal samples. If it is necessary to measure lipolytic activity after freezing samples, lipase can be maintained by adding casein or a chymotrypsin inhibitor to juice before freezing.

The histidines reacting with ethoxyformic anhydride in porcine pancreatic lipase: their relationships with enzyme activity

The activities of porcine pancreatic lipase (449 amino acid residues) toward two different substrates, p-nitrophenylacetate and tributyrylglycerol, and their dependence on histidine ethoxyformylation were studied. In parallel, the ethoxyformylation of the lipase fragment constituting the C-terminal sequence of lipase (residues 336 to 449) was also investigated. This fragment was found to have retained the ability of lipase to catalyse p-nitrophenylacetate hydrolysis. The first histidine to react either in lipase or in the lipase fragment was His-354. The activities of the two compounds toward p-nitrophenyl-acetate were lost but that of the enzyme toward tributyrylglycerol was almost entirely retained. When a larger excess of ethoxyformic anhydride was used for the lipase reaction, 2.8 histidine residues were ethoxyformylated and characterised as His-354, His-156 and His-75, which resulted in an 85% inhibition of the tributyrylglycerol hydrolysis by the enzyme. Hydroxylamine treatment reactivated most of the lipase and lipase fragment. This is the first demonstration that the two lipase activities are not associated with the same active site. The loss of activity toward triacylglycerol hydrolysis suggests that His-156 and/or His-75 belong(s) to the active site or that a conformational change resulting from the ethoxyformylation renders the lipase inactive.

Acetylation of Lys-373 in porcine pancreatic lipase after reaction of the enzyme or its C-terminal fragment [corrected] with p-nitrophenyl acetate

The reactions of lipase (449 amino acid residues) and lipase fragment (336-449) with p-nitrophenyl acetate have been studied from 2 different angles. In previous papers it has been shown that lipase and lipase fragment enzymatically hydrolyze p-nitrophenyl acetate. The amino acid residue of the catalytic site that is temporarily acetylated has not yet been characterized in lipase or lipase fragment. Besides this very fast enzymatic hydrolysis, acetylation reactions may take place on nucleophilic amino acid side-chain groups. In the present report, acetylated amino acid residues whose acetyl linkages were not cleaved after pH 7.5-8.5 incubations have been investigated. Several residues were acetylated in very low proportion, whereas lysine 373 was stoichiometrically acetylated in lipase and in lipase fragment. This specific acetylation may have been favored by the presence of a hydrophobic reversible binding site for p-nitrophenyl acetate near Lys-373. This acetylation did not greatly change the specific activity of lipase towards an emulsion of tributyrylglycerol in the presence of colipase, but under certain conditions it had an effect on the enzymatic hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate by the lipase fragment.

Immobilized colipase affinities for lipases B, A, C and their terminal peptide (336-449): the lipase recognition site lysine residues are located in the C-terminal region

Zonal high-performance affinity chromatography has been used in order to study the interactions between pig isolipases A, B and C and the terminal peptide chain fragment 336-449 of the pig lipase on the one hand, and the homolog colipase bound to the inert LiChrosorb diol support on the other. A mathematical treatment led the to assessment of the dissociation constant of the lipase-colipase complex using isolipases or the terminal peptide as eluted acceptors and colipase as silica-bound ligand (Mahé, N., Léger, C.L., Linard, A. and Alessandri, J.-M. (1987) J. Chromatogr. 395, 511-521). A higher affinity of isolipase B as compared to isolipases A and C towards colipase was observed (KD, respectively, of 0.68, 11 and 12 microM) at pH 6.5. Under the same chromatographic conditions, the terminal peptide chain interacted with the bound colipase (KD 0.70 microM, close to that of isolipase B). The chromatographic behaviors of both native and chemically modified lipase and terminal peptide were very similar. In particular, guanidination of lysine residues of both peptide and isolipase B led to the loss of interactions with colipase. The same result was observed with the peptide preincubated in the presence of increasing amounts of free colipase. Accordingly, it is suggested that, firstly, a preferential association of isolipase B to colipase could take place and, secondly, the colipase recognition site of lipase could be located in the C-terminal region, the conformational structure of the terminal peptide not being affected by the enzymic cleavage and, therefore, being largely independent of the rest of the polypeptide molecule. On the other hand, a lower colipase affinity for isolipases A or C than for isolipase B or the C-terminal peptide could tentatively be attributed to a non-local (distant) disturbing effect of the negatively charged glycan chain, as sialic acid is present in both isoforms A and C. Finally, the present paper confirms and extends earlier studies on lipase-colipase interactions.

Effect of limited tryptic modification of a bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase on its catalytic activity

The extracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase of Alcaligenes faecalis T1, which hydrolyzes both hydrophobic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and water-soluble oligomers of D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate, lost its hydrolyzing activity toward the hydrophobic substrate on mile trypsin treatment, but retained its activity toward water-soluble oligomers. The molecular mass of the trypsin-treated enzyme was 44 kDa, as estimated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, which was 6 kDa smaller than that of the native enzyme (50 kDa). The trypsin-treated enzyme seemed to be less hydrophobic than the native one, because it was rather weakly adsorbed to a hydrophobic butyl-Toyopearl column compared with the native enzyme, and showed no ability to bind to poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), to which the native enzyme tightly bound. These results suggest that, in addition to a catalytic site, the enzyme has a hydrophobic site, which is not essential for the hydrolysis of water-soluble oligomers, but is necessary for the hydrolysis of hydrophobic substrates, and this hydrophobic site is removed from the enzyme by the action of trypsin.

Lipoprotein lipases from cow, guinea-pig and man. Structural characterization and identification of protease-sensitive internal regions

Lipoprotein lipases from human, bovine or guinea-pig milk were purified, judged for domain relationships by characterization of sites sensitive to proteases, and structurally compared. The subunit of human lipoprotein lipase migrated slightly slower than those of bovine or guinea-pig lipoprotein lipases on sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Bovine lipoprotein lipase is known to be a dimer of two non-covalently linked subunits of equal size, and the lipases from all three sources now yielded homogeneous N-terminal amino acid sequences (followed for 15-27 residues). The results indicate that the two subunits are identical. Bovine lipoprotein lipase had two additional N-terminal residues, Asp-Arg, compared to the human and guinea-pig enzymes, and the next two positions revealed residue differences, but further on homologies were extensive between all three enzymes as far as presently traced. Exposure of bovine lipoprotein lipase to trypsin led to production of three fragments (T1, T2a, and T2b), suggesting cleavage at exposed segments delineating domain borders. Time studies gave no evidence for precursor-product relationships between the fragments, and prolonged digestion did not lead to further cleavage. Fragments T2a and T2b had the same N-terminal sequence as intact lipase. Fragment T1 revealed a new sequence, and represents the C-terminal half of the molecule. Plasmin caused a similar cleavage as trypsin, whereas thrombin, factor Xa, and tissue plasminogen activator did not cleave the enzyme. Chymotrypsin cleaved off a relatively small fragment from the C-terminal of the molecule, after which exposure to trypsin still resulted in cleavage at the same sites as in intact lipase. Tryptic cleavage of guinea-pig lipoprotein lipase yielded two fragments. One had a similar size as bovine fragment T2b; the other had a similar size as bovine fragment T1 and an N-terminal sequence homologous with that of T1. Thus, trypsin recognizes the same unique site in guinea-pig lipoprotein lipase as in the bovine enzyme. This confirms the conclusion that this segment is the border between two domains in the subunit. The binding site for heparin was retained after both tryptic and chymotryptic cleavages and was identified as localized in the C-terminal part of the molecule.

Hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate by the peptide chain fragment (336-449) of porcine pancreatic lipase

The incubation of porcine pancreatic lipase (449 amino acids) with chymotrypsin led to the preferential cleavage of the Phe-335-Ala-336 bond [Bousset-Risso et al. (1985) FEBS Lett. 182, 323-326]. Up to now it has not been possible to isolate the fragment (1-335) whereas fragment (336-449) was purified. This fragment does not display any activity towards the specific substrates of lipase, triacylglycerols, either in the aggregate form or monomeric solution, but like lipase it hydrolyzes p-nitrophenyl acetate. The biphasic kinetics of the release of p-nitrophenol by the fragment with different concentrations of p-nitrophenyl acetate ([S] greater than [E]) are very similar to those of lipase and other esterases. The initial burst is equal to 1 mol p-nitrophenol/mol fragment (when [S] = infinity). Ethoxyformic anhydride only reacts with 1 mol histidine out of the 2 mol that the fragment contained. The activity of the fragment towards p-nitrophenyl acetate hydrolysis is inhibited after ethoxyformic anhydride reaction as in the case of lipase. The results presented led to the hypothesis that in the area (336-449) a part of the active-site structure of the lipase molecule is included. It would seem that fragment (336-449) is a functional domain of lipase.