A radioactive assay for the degradation of neuropeptide Y

Proteolysis-mediated protection of gold nanoparticles for sensitive activity assay of peptidases

Rapid, sensitive and quantitative assays for peptide hydrolysis enzymes are of paramount importance for drug development and in the diagnosis of disease. Here, we proposed a novel biosensor for sensitive and selective active screening of peptidases. This strategy relies on the proteolysis-mediated protection of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that were decorated with biotin-labeled substrate peptides and can be aggregated by streptavidin. Enzyme-mediated protection of AuNPs offers this strategy high specificity, and the use of AuNPs additionally allows a visual and homogeneous assay format, thus permitting improved simplicity and throughput of the assays. As a model case, desirable selectivity and sensitivity in peptidase assay were achieved in the active assays of pancreatic elastase with a wide linear response range from 0.005 to 0.10 U/mL and a detection limit of 0.003 U/mL. The results indicated that this strategy can offer a simple, robust and convenient platform for visualized peptidase activity analysis and related biochemical studies with high sensitivity and selectivity.

Development of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry-based protease assays

Rapid, sensitive, and quantitative assays for proteases are important for drug development and in the diagnosis of disease. Here an assay for protease activity that uses inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection is described. Peptidic alpha-chymotrypsin substrates were synthesized containing a lanthanide ion chelate at the N terminus to provide a distinct elemental tag. A biotin label was appended to the C terminus of the peptide, allowing separation of uncleaved peptide from the enzymatic digestion. The enzyme activity was determined by quantifying the lanthanide ion signal of the peptide cleavage products by ICP-MS. Biotinylated substrates synthesized include Lu-DTPA-Asp-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr approximately Asp-Lys(biotin) and Lu-DTPA-betaAla-betaAla-betaAla-betaAla-Gly-Ser-Ala-Tyr approximately Gly-Lys-Arg-Lys(biotin)-amide. Parallel assays with a commercially available fluorogenic substrate (Suc-AAPF-AMC) for alpha-chymotrypsin were performed for comparison. Using the ICP-MS assay, enzyme concentrations as low as 2pM could be readily detected, superior to the detection limit of an assay using the alpha-chymotrypsin fluorogenic substrate (Suc-AAPF-AMC). Furthermore, we demonstrated the use of this approach to detect chymotrypsin activity in HeLa cell lysates.

Stress, NPY and vascular remodeling: Implications for stress-related diseases

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has long been known to be involved in stress, centrally as an anxiolytic neuromodulator, and peripherally as a sympathetic nerve- and in some species, platelet-derived vasoconstrictor. The peptide is also a vascular mitogen, via Y1/Y5, and is angiogenic via Y2/Y5 receptors. Arterial injury activates platelet NPY and vascular Y1 receptors, inducing medial hypertrophy and neointima formation. Exogenous NPY, dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV, forming an Y2/Y5-selective agonist) and chronic stress augment these effects and occlude vessels with atherosclerotic-like lesions, containing thrombus and lipid-laden macrophages. Y1 antagonist blocks stress-induced vasoconstriction and post-angioplasty occlusions, and hence may be therapeutic in angina and atherosclerosis/restenosis. Conversely, tissue ischemia activates neuronal and platelet-derived NPY, Y2/Y5 and DPPIV, which stimulate angiogenesis/arteriogenesis. NPY-Y2-DPPIV agonists may be beneficial for ischemic revascularization and wound healing, whereas antagonists may be therapeutic in retinopathy, tumors, and obesity. Since stress is an underestimated risk factor in many of these conditions, NPY-based drugs may offer new treatment possibilities.

The release of immunoreactive neuropeptide Y in the spinal cord of the anaesthetized rat and cat

The release of immunoreactive (ir-) neuropeptide Y (NYP) was studied in the anaesthetized rat and cat by means of microprobes bearing immobilized antibodies to the C terminus of NPY. An extensive basal release of ir-NYP was detected throughout the dorsal and upper ventral horn of the rat. This spontaneous release was not significantly altered by sectioning the spinal cord at the thoraco-lumbar junction nor by electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves. Since NPY is virtually absent in primary afferents it is probable that spontaneous release within the spinal cord comes from active NPY-containing intrinsic spinal neurones. In the spinal cat spontaneous release of ir-NPY was detected in the mid-dorsal horn and this was unaltered by peripheral noxious thermal or noxious mechanical stimuli. As in the rat, release from intrinsic spinal neurones is most probable. The extensive spontaneous release of ir-NPY in both species suggests a widespread role in spinal cord function.

Characterization of endogenous neuropeptide Y in rat hippocampus and its metabolism by nanospray mass spectrometry

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a 36-residue-long neuropeptide which has been implicated in the regulation of feeding behavior and modulation of the circadian rhythm. We identified the primary structure of the endogenous NPY-immunoreactive material in the rat hippocampus using a combination of chromatographic techniques and nanospray mass spectrometry. The major component in the brain tissue corresponded to the authentic amidated form of NPY(1-36). The fate of NPY in the central nervous system was studied by subjecting pure peptide to the protease(s) present in hippocampal synaptosomes to reveal potential cleavage site(s). NPY was efficiently metabolized with a single cleavage between Leu30-Ile31. Thus, processing of NPY resulted in formation of the C-terminally truncated fragment NPY(1-30) and its counterpart NPY(31-36). The enzyme revealed properties of aspartic protease, being blocked by pepstatin and having a pH optimum between 4 and 5. The data clarify the structure of NPY and its inactivation pathway in the brain, which is different from that found in the periphery, and may have important consequences in vivo.

Metabolism of neuropeptide Y and calcitonin gene-related peptide by cultivated neurons and glial cells

Neuropeptide Y and calcitonin gene-related peptide are abundant neuropeptides in the mammalian central and peripheral nervous systems. Their enzymatic degradation by cultivated neurons, astrocytes, and microglia, as well as by purified urokinase-type plasminogen activator, plasmin, thrombin, and trypsin, was investigated in an in vitro approach to elucidate the role of matrix-degrading serine proteinases for inactivation of neuropeptides, especially those of higher amino acid chain length, in the brain. Astrocytes were almost unable to catabolize the peptides. Cultivated neurons and microglia digested neuropeptide Y through cleavage after Arg19, Arg25, Arg33, and Arg35, calcitonin gene-related peptide was cleaved after Arg11 and Arg18. The same cleavage pattern was observed, when neuropeptide Y and calcitonin gene-related peptide were degraded by purified urokinase-type plasminogen activator, plasmin, thrombin, and trypsin. For further characterization of the neuropeptide-degrading serine proteinase activities from cell cultures, urokinase-type plasminogen activator was identified on microglia by immunostaining, whereas tissue-type plasminogen activator mRNA occurred in neurons and astrocytes, but not in microglia. The data are consistent with the possibility that the neuropeptide-degrading serine proteinase activity on neurons and microglia is due to a mixture of plasmin and plasminogen activator activities.