Effect of intermittent normobaric hypoxia on kinetic properties of mitochondrial enzymes

We studied the effect of intermittent normobaric hypoxia on the formation of adaptive signs and state of mitochondrial enzymes in the cerebral cortex of rats with different resistance to hypoxia. Kinetic parameters for mitochondrial enzymes in the substrate region of the respiratory chain of the cerebral cortex underwent various changes in low resistant and highly resistant rats over the first 2 h after 1-h intermittent normobaric hypoxia. Low resistant animals were characterized by more effective functioning of rotenone-sensitive NADH-cytochrome C reductase and succinate-cytochrome C reductase under conditions of increased reduction status of the cell. These features correlated with the increase in the general resistance of animals. Significant changes in kinetic properties of mitochondrial enzymes and signs of the development of resistance were not found in highly resistant rats. Reciprocal relations between mitochondrial enzyme complexes in the substrate region of the respiratory chain probably play a role of the signal regulatory mechanism, which mediates tissue-specific and general resistance of rats under conditions of intermittent normobaric hypoxia. These effects did not depend on oxygenation of the inhaled gas mixture during the inter-hypoxic period.

[The regulatory role of mitochondrial dysfunction in hypoxia and its interaction with transcription activity]

The mitochondrial respiratory chain participates in the performance of the signal system, which activates the realization of metabolic compensatory processes and coupled functional response to both single and repeated, long-term exposure to acute hypoxia. Under the conditions of reduced oxygen delivery to cells the mitochondrial respiratory chain is involved in the process of oxygen homeostasis regulation and modulates oxygen consumption, the rate of oxygen delivery from the extracellular milieu to mitochondria, and energy synthesis, activating hypoxia-specific transcription factors as well.

[Proteinase inhibitors as antistress proteins in higher plants]

Physicochemical and functional characteristics of plant protein proteinase inhibitors as antistress biopolymers were studied to determine the mechanisms for plant resistance to phytopathogens and to obtain disease-resistant cereal and leguminous cultures. The activity of trypsin, chymotrypsin, and subtilisin inhibitors varied in monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous cultures. Study varieties of leguminous and cereal cultures were shown to contain endogenous inhibitors specific to proteinases of phytopathogenic fungi Fusarium, Colletotrichum, Helminthosporium, and Botrytis. These inhibitors were characterized by species specificity and variety specificity. Protease inhibitors from buckwheat seeds inhibited proteases of fungal pathogens and suppressed germination of spores and growth of the fungal mycelium. Our results suggest that proteinaceous inhibitors of proteinases are involved in the protective reaction of plants under stress conditions.

A chymotrypsin-like proteinase from the midgut of Tenebrio molitor larvae

A chymotrypsin-like proteinase was isolated from the posterior midgut of larvae of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor, by ion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography. The enzyme, TmC1, was purified to homogeneity as determined by SDS-PAGE and postelectrophoretic activity detection. TmC1 had a molecular mass of 23.0 kDa, pI of 8.4, a pH optimum of 9.5, and the optimal temperature for activity was 51 degrees C. The proteinase displayed high stability at temperatures below 43 degrees C and in the pH range 6.5-11.2, which is inclusive of the pH of the posterior and middle midgut. The enzyme hydrolyzed long chymotrypsin peptide substrates SucAAPFpNA, SucAAPLpNA and GlpAALpNA and did not hydrolyze short chymotrypsin substrates. Kinetic parameters of the enzymatic reaction demonstrated that the best substrate was SucAAPFpNA, with k(cat app) 36.5 s(-1) and K(m) 1.59 mM. However, the enzyme had a lower K(m) for SucAAPLpNA, 0.5 mM. Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) was an effective inhibitor of TmC1, and the proteinase was not inhibited by either tosyl-l-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone (TPCK) or N(alpha)-tosyl-l-lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK). However, the activity of TmC1 was reduced with sulfhydryl reagents. Several plant and insect proteinaceous proteinase inhibitors were active against the purified enzyme, the most effective being Kunitz soybean trypsin inhibitor (STI). The N-terminal sequence of the enzyme was IISGSAASKGQFPWQ, which was up to 67% similar to other insect chymotrypsin-like proteinases and 47% similar to mammalian chymotrypsin A. The amino acid composition of TmC1 differed significantly from previously isolated T. molitor enzymes.

Digestive proteinases of yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae: Purification and characterization of a trypsin-like proteinase

A new trypsin-like proteinase was purified to homogeneity from the posterior midgut of Tenebrio molitor larvae by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and gel filtration on Superdex-75. The isolated enzyme had molecular mass of 25.5 kD and pI 7.4. The enzyme was also characterized by temperature optimum at 55 degrees C, pH optimum at 8.5, and K(m) value of 0.04 mM (for hydrolysis of Bz-Arg-pNA). According to inhibitor analysis the enzyme is a trypsin-like serine proteinase stable within the pH range of 5.0-9.5. The enzyme hydrolyzes peptide bonds formed by Arg or Lys residues in the P1 position with a preference for relatively long peptide substrates. The N-terminal amino acid sequence, IVGGSSISISSVPXQIXLQY, shares 50-72% identity with other insect trypsin-like proteinases, and 44-50% identity to mammalian trypsins. The isolated enzyme is sensitive to inhibition by plant proteinase inhibitors and it can serve as a suitable target for control of digestion in this stored product pest.

Cationic Inhibitors of Serine Proteinases from Buckwheat Seeds: Study of Their Interaction with Exogenous Proteinases

The inhibition of exogenous serine proteinases of different origin by cationic protease inhibitors BWI-1c, -2c, -3c, and -4c from buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) seeds has been studied. High efficiency of the inhibitors in binding bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin as well as their broad antiprotease effect, including inhibition of proteinases secreted by fungi and bacteria, has been demonstrated. According to the data obtained, it is proposed that cationic inhibitors from buckwheat seeds may participate in the defense of plants against fungal and bacterial infection.

Cationic inhibitors of serine proteinases from buckwheat seeds

Preparations of low molecular weight protein inhibitors of serine proteinases have been obtained from buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) seeds by chromatography of seed extract on trypsin-Sepharose 4B, Mono-Q, and Mono-S ion exchangers (FPLC regime). Their molecular masses, determined by mass spectrometry, were 5203 (BWI-1c), 5347 (BWI-2c), 7760 (BWI-3c), and 6031 daltons (BWI-4c). All of the inhibitors possess high pH- and thermal stability in the pH range 2-12. In addition to trypsin, BWI-3c and BWI-4c inhibited chymotrypsin and subtilisin-like bacterial proteases. The N-terminal sequences of all of the inhibitors were determined: BWI-1c (23 residues), BWI-2c (33 residues), BWI-3c (18 residues), and BWI-4c (20 residues). In their physicochemical properties and N-terminal amino acid sequences, the buckwheat seed trypsin inhibitors BWI-3c and BWI-4c appear to belong to potato proteinase inhibitor I family.