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RIVIèRE G, Michaud A, Deloffre L, Vandenbulcke F, Levoye A, Breton C, Corvol P, Salzet M, Vieau D. Characterization of the first non-insect invertebrate functional angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE): leech TtACE resembles the N-domain of mammalian ACE. Biochem J 2005; 382:565-73. [PMID: 15175004 PMCID: PMC1133813 DOI: 10.1042/bj20040522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2004] [Revised: 05/27/2004] [Accepted: 06/03/2004] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is a zinc metallopeptidase that plays a major role in blood homoeostasis and reproduction in mammals. In vertebrates, both transmembrane and soluble ACE, containing one or two homologous active sites, have been characterized. So far, several ACEs from invertebrates have been cloned, but only in insects. They are soluble and display a single active site. Using biochemical procedures, an ACE-like activity was detected in our model, the leech, Theromyzon tessulatum. Annelida is the most distant phylum in which an ACE activity has been observed. To gain more insight into the leech enzyme, we have developed a PCR approach to characterize its mRNA. The approx. 2 kb cDNA has been predicted to encode a 616-amino-acid soluble enzyme containing a single active site, named TtACE (T. tessulatum ACE). Surprisingly, its primary sequence shows greater similarity to vertebrates than to invertebrates. Stable in vitro expression of TtACE in transfected Chinese-hamster ovary cells revealed that the leech enzyme is a functional metalloprotease. As in mammals, this 79 kDa glycosylated enzyme functions as a dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase capable of hydrolysing angiotensin I to angiotensin II. However, a weak chloride inhibitory effect and acetylated N-acetyl-SDKP (Ac SDAcKP) hydrolysis reveal that TtACE activity resembles that of the N-domain of mammalian ACE. In situ hybridization shows that its cellular distribution is restricted to epithelial midgut cells. Although the precise roles and endogenous substrates of TtACE remain to be identified, characterization of this ancestral peptidase will help to clarify its physiological roles in non-insect invertebrate species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume RIVIèRE
- *Laboratoire de Neuroendocrinologie du Développement, UPRES-EA 2701, Bat SN4 2 étage, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cédex, France
| | - Annie Michaud
- †INSERM U 36, Pathologie Vasculaire et Endocrinologie Rénale, Collège de France, 11, place Marcellin Berthelot, 75231, Paris cedex 05, France
| | - Laurence Deloffre
- ‡Centro de Ciencias do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Franck Vandenbulcke
- §CNRS UMR 8017, Laboratoire de Neuroimmunologie des Annélides, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France
| | - Angélique Levoye
- ∥Institut Cochin, CNRS UMR 8104–INSERM U567, IFR Alfred Jost, 22 rue Méchain, 75014 Paris, France
| | - Christophe Breton
- *Laboratoire de Neuroendocrinologie du Développement, UPRES-EA 2701, Bat SN4 2 étage, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cédex, France
| | - Pierre Corvol
- †INSERM U 36, Pathologie Vasculaire et Endocrinologie Rénale, Collège de France, 11, place Marcellin Berthelot, 75231, Paris cedex 05, France
| | - Michel Salzet
- §CNRS UMR 8017, Laboratoire de Neuroimmunologie des Annélides, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France
| | - Didier Vieau
- *Laboratoire de Neuroendocrinologie du Développement, UPRES-EA 2701, Bat SN4 2 étage, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cédex, France
- To whom correspondence should be addressed (email )
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