Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.24.27 (thermolysin)
 1,894 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Alpha-Lactalbumin isolated from human milk was reacted with tetranitromethane in molar excess of 8-32 mol/mol of tyrosine. After gel filtration on Sephadex G-75, followed by chromatographic fractionation using DEAE-Sephadex A-25, three main components were separated, which differed from one another in the extent of nitration. These protein fractions were found to contain, respectively, one and two nitrotyrosine residues, or two nitrotyrosine residues together with one nitrotryptophan. The lactose synthase specifier activity of each of these components was measured and compared with that of unsubstituted alpha-lactalbumin. Comparison of kinetic parameters showed the chemically modified proteins to be only slightly less active when tyrosines were the sole residues modified. In sharp contrast the additional nitration of a single tryptophan residue totally abolished the specifying activity of alpha-lactalbumin. Circular dichroism spectra of the tryptophan derivative revealed some structural alteration when compared with the other two and with the native protein. The conclusion could also be confirmed by using a double-immunodiffusion technique. After hydrolysis of the derivatives with thermolysin, it was possible to localize the substituted residues in the known sequence of human alpha-lactalbumin. Tyrosine-103 was found to be more easily nitrated than tyrosine-18. These two residues seem, therefore, to be on the outer surface of the molecule and more exposed than tyrosine-36 and tyrosine-50. Some precautions are indicated in the use of tetranitromethane as a nitrating agent on the basis of complex products observed in the nitration of the free amino acids tyrosine and tryptophan and their derivatives.
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PMID:Nitration of tyrosyl residues in human alpha-lactalbumin. Effect on lactose synthase specifier activity. 81

Circular dichroism spectra have been obtained for albumin, alpha-chymotrypsinogen, collagen, concanavalin A, elastase, hemoglobin, histone f2b, alpha-lactalbumin, lactate dehydrogenase, beta-lactoglobulin, lysozyme, myoglobin, papain, ribonuclease A, and thermolysin in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and dithiothreitol. While all spectra have the shape anticipated for a mixture of random coil and alpha helix, the intensities differ markedly ([theta]222 ranges from --1400 to --15 000 deg cm2/dmol). The variation in the circular dichroism can be quantitatively explained by a model which assumes that the arginyl, histidyl, and lysyl residues have an enhanced probability of propagating a helical segment in the presence of the detergent. The model also permits the computation of dimensional properties (unperturbed end-to-end distance and radius of gyration) for polypeptides of known amino acid sequence. Such computations have been performed for 67 proteins. The computed dimensions are compatible with experimental values and with the molecular weight dependence of the transport properties of the complexes. Furthermore, the model can account for the abnormal transport properties of the sodium dodecyl sulfate complexes formed by ribonuclease A, collagen fragments, and histones f2a1, f2a2, f2b, and f3. Even though some of the protein--sodium dodecyl sulfate complexes have helical contents as high as 50%, their overall conformation more closely approximates that of a random coil than a rod.
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PMID:Conformational properties of the complexes formed by proteins and sodium dodecyl sulfate. 96 36

Limited proteolysis has been used to probe the partially folded state of bovine alpha-lactalbumin (BLA) at acid pH (A-state) or dissolved in aqueous trifluoroethanol (TFE-state). The sites of proteolytic fission have been determined by isolation of the various BLA fragments and comparison of their N-terminal amino acid sequence and amino acid composition after acid hydrolysis, as well as their molecular mass determined by mass spectrometry, with the known sequence of BLA. Incubation of BLA with pepsin at 20-22 degrees C and pH 2.0 in the presence of 0.1 M NaCl results in very rapid cleavage of the 123-residue chain at peptide bond Ala40-Ile41 and subsequently at Leu52-Phe53, leading to a nicked species of BLA constituted by the two fragments 1-40 and 53-123 cross-linked by the four disulfide bridges of the protein. Much slower proteolytic cleavage occurs at Tyr103-Trp104. The highly helical conformational state acquired by BLA when dissolved in aqueous buffer (pH 7.0) containing 50% (v/v) TFE was probed by the TFE-resistant thermolysin. Proteolytic cleavage occurs at the peptide bond Ala40-Ile41 and much more slowly at Phe80-Leu81. Moreover, the peptide bond Gln2-Leu3 at the N-terminus of the chain is partially cleaved by thermolysin. Conversely, native BLA in a pH 7.0 buffer is rather resistant to proteolysis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Probing the molten globule state of alpha-lactalbumin by limited proteolysis. 754 9

Here we present a comparison between protein fragments produced by limited proteolysis and those identified by computational cutting based on the building block folding model. The principles upon which the two methods are based are different. Limited proteolysis of natively folded proteins occurs at flexible sites and never at the level of chain segments of regular secondary structure such as alpha-helices. Therefore, the targets for limited proteolysis are locally unfolded regions. In contrast, the computational cutting algorithm considers the compactness of the fragments, their nonpolar buried surface area, and their isolatedness, that is, the surface area which was buried prior to the cutting and becomes exposed subsequently. Despite the different criteria, there is an overall correspondence between sites or regions of limited proteolysis with those identified by computational cutting. The computational cutting method has been applied to several model proteins for which detailed limited proteolysis data are available, namely apomyoglobin, cytochrome c, ribonuclease A, alpha-lactalbumin, and thermolysin. As expected, more cuts are obtained computationally than experimentally and the agreement is better when a number of proteolytic enzymes are used. For example, cytochrome c is cleaved by thermolysin at 56-57, 45-46, and at 80-81, and by proteinase K at 48-49 and 50-51. Incubation of the noncovalent and native-like complex of cytochrome c fragments 1-56 and 57-104 with proteinase K yielded the gapped protein species 1-48/57-104 and finally 1-40/57-104. Computational cutting of cytochrome c reproduced the major experimental observations, with cuts at 47, 64-65 or 65-66 and 80-81 and an unstable 32-47 region not assigned to any building block. The next step, not addressed in this work, is to probe the ability of the generated fragments to fold independently. Since both the computational algorithm and limited proteolysis attempt to dissect the protein folding problem, the general agreement between the two procedures is gratifying. This consistency allows us to propose the use of limited proteolysis to produce protein fragments that can adopt an independent folding and, therefore, to study folding intermediates. The results of the present study appear to validate the building block folding model and are in line with the proposal that protein folding is a hierarchical process, where parts constituting local minima of energy fold first, with their subsequent association and mutual stabilization to finally yield the global fold.
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PMID:Comparison of protein fragments identified by limited proteolysis and by computational cutting of proteins. 1207 Mar 28

We have investigated the antioxidant activity of hydrolysates from whey proteins bovine alpha-lactalbumin (alpha-La) and beta-lactoglobulin A (beta-Lg A) by commercial proteases (pepsin, trypsin, chymotrypsin, thermolysin, and Corolase PP). Corolase PP was the most appropriate enzyme to obtain antioxidant hydrolysates from alpha-La and beta-Lg A (ORAC-FL values of 2.315 and 2.151 micromol of Trolox equivalent/mg of protein, respectively). A total of 42 peptide fragments were identified by HPLC-MS/MS in the beta-Lg A hydrolysate by Corolase PP. One of the sequences (Trp-Tyr-Ser-Leu-Ala-Met-Ala-Ala-Ser-Asp-Ile) possessed radical scavenging (ORAC-FL value of 2.621 micromol of Trolox equivalent/micromol of peptide) higher than that of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). Our results suggest that whey protein hydrolysates could be suitable as natural ingredients in enhancing antioxidant properties of functional foods and in preventing oxidation reaction in food processing.
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PMID:Preparation of antioxidant enzymatic hydrolysates from alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin. Identification of active peptides by HPLC-MS/MS. 1568 6

Prolonged heating of holo bovine alpha-lactalbumin (BLA) at 80 degrees C in pH 7 phosphate buffer in the absence of a thiol initiator improves the surface activity of the protein at the air:water interface, as determined by surface tension measurements. Samples after 30, 60, and 120 min of heating were analyzed on cooling to room temperature. Size-exclusion chromatography shows sample heterogeneity that increases with the length of heating. After 120 min of heating monomeric, dimeric, and oligomeric forms of BLA are present, with aggregates formed from disulfide bond linked hydrolyzed protein fragments. NMR characterization at pH 7 in the presence of Ca2+ of the monomer species isolated from the sample heated for 120 min showed that it consisted of a mixture of refolded native protein and partially folded protein and that the partially folded protein species had spectral characteristics similar to those of the pH 2 molten globule state of the protein. Circular dichroism spectroscopy showed that the non-native species had approximately 40% of the alpha-helical content of the native state, but lacked persistent tertiary interactions. Proteomic analysis using thermolysin digestion of three predominant non-native monomeric forms isolated by high-pressure liquid chromatography indicated the presence of disulfide shuffled isomers, containing the non-native 61-73 disulfide bond. These partially folded, disulfide shuffled species are largely responsible for the pronounced improvement in surface activity of the protein on heating.
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PMID:Heat treatment of bovine alpha-lactalbumin results in partially folded, disulfide bond shuffled states with enhanced surface activity. 1767 69