C-Terminal extension of a plant cysteine protease modulates proteolytic activity through a partial inhibitory mechanism

Highly Conserved Arg Residue of ERFNIN Motif of Pro-Domain is Important for pH-Induced Zymogen Activation Process in Cysteine Cathepsins K and L

Pro-domain of a cysteine cathepsin contains a highly conserved Ex₂Rx₂Fx₂Nx₃Ix₃N (ERFNIN) motif. The zymogen structure of cathepsins revealed that the Arg(R) residue of the motif is a central residue of a salt-bridge/H-bond network, stabilizing the scaffold of the pro-domain. Importance of the arginine is also demonstrated in studies where a single mutation (Arg → Trp) in human lysosomal cathepsin K (hCTSK) is linked to a bone-related genetic disorder "Pycnodysostosis". In the present study, we have characterized in vitro Arg → Trp mutant of hCTSK and the same mutant of hCTSL. The R → W mutant of hCTSK revealed that this mutation leads to an unstable zymogen that is spontaneously activated and auto-proteolytically degraded rapidly. In contrast, the same mutant of hCTSL is sufficiently stable and has proteolytic activity almost like its wild-type counterpart; however it shows an altered zymogen activation condition in terms of pH, temperature and time. Far and near UV circular dichroism and intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence experiments have revealed that the mutation has minimal effect on structure of the protease hCTSL. Molecular modeling studies shows that the mutated Trp31 in hCTSL forms an aromatic cluster with Tyr23 and Trp30 leading to a local stabilization of pro-domain and supplements the loss of salt-bridge interaction mediated by Arg31 in wild-type. In hCTSK-R31W mutant, due to presence of a non-aromatic Ser30 residue such interaction is not possible and may be responsible for local instability. These differences may cause detrimental effects of R31W mutation on the regulation of hCTSK auto-activation process compared to altered activation process in hCTSL.

Structural and Functional Characterization of the Major Allergen Amb a 11 from Short Ragweed Pollen

Allergy to the short ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) pollen is a major health problem. The ragweed allergen repertoire has been recently expanded with the identification of Amb a 11, a new major allergen belonging to the cysteine protease family. To better characterize Amb a 11, a recombinant proform of the molecule with a preserved active site was produced in Escherichia coli, refolded, and processed in vitro into a mature enzyme. The enzymatic activity is revealed by maturation following an autocatalytic processing resulting in the cleavage of both N- and C-terminal propeptides. The 2.05-Å resolution crystal structure of pro-Amb a 11 shows an overall typical C1A cysteine protease fold with a network of molecular interactions between the N-terminal propeptide and the catalytic triad of the enzyme. The allergenicity of Amb a 11 was confirmed in a murine sensitization model, resulting in airway inflammation, production of serum IgEs, and induction of Th2 immune responses. Of note, inflammatory responses were higher with the mature form, demonstrating that the cysteine protease activity critically contributes to the allergenicity of the molecule. Collectively, our results clearly demonstrate that Amb a 11 is a bona fide cysteine protease exhibiting a strong allergenicity. As such, it should be considered as an important molecule for diagnosis and immunotherapy of ragweed pollen allergy.

Enhancement of proteolytic activity of a thermostable papain-like protease by structure-based rational design

Ervatamins (A, B and C) are papain-like cysteine proteases from the plant Ervatamia coronaria. Among Ervatamins, Ervatamin-C is a thermostable protease, but it shows lower catalytic efficiency. In contrast, Ervatamin-A which has a high amino acid sequence identity (∼90%) and structural homology (Cα rmsd 0.4 Å) with Ervatamin-C, has much higher catalytic efficiency (∼57 times). From the structural comparison of Ervatamin-A and -C, two residues Thr32 and Tyr67 in the catalytic cleft of Ervatamin-A have been identified whose contributions for higher activity of Ervatamin-A are established in our earlier studies. In this study, these two residues have been introduced in Ervatamin-C by site directed mutagenesis to enhance the catalytic efficiency of the thermostable protease. Two single mutants (S32T and A67Y) and one double mutant (S32T/A67Y) of Ervatamin-C have been generated and characterized. All the three mutants show ∼ 8 times higher catalytic efficiency (k cat/K m) than the wild-type. The thermostability of all the three mutant enzymes remained unchanged. The double mutant does not achieve the catalytic efficiency of the template enzyme Ervatamin-A. By modeling the structure of the double mutant and probing the role of active site residues by docking a substrate, the mechanistic insights of higher activity of the mutant protease have been addressed. The in-silico study demonstrates that the residues beyond the catalytic cleft also influence the substrate binding and positioning of the substrate at the catalytic centre, thus controlling the catalytic efficiency of an enzyme.

The structure of a thermostable mutant of pro-papain reveals its activation mechanism

Papain is the archetype of a broad class of cysteine proteases (clan C1A) that contain a pro-peptide in the zymogen form which is required for correct folding and spatio-temporal regulation of proteolytic activity in the initial stages after expression. This study reports the X-ray structure of the zymogen of a thermostable mutant of papain at 2.6 Å resolution. The overall structure, in particular that of the mature part of the protease, is similar to those of other members of the family. The structure provides an explanation for the molecular basis of the maintenance of latency of the proteolytic activity of the zymogen by its pro-segment at neutral pH. The structural analysis, together with biochemical and biophysical studies, demonstrated that the pro-segment of the zymogen undergoes a rearrangement in the form of a structural loosening at acidic pH which triggers the proteolytic activation cascade. This study further explains the bimolecular stepwise autocatalytic activation mechanism by limited proteolysis of the zymogen of papain at the molecular level. The possible factors responsible for the higher thermal stability of the papain mutant have also been analyzed.