Haruo Sekizaki

Crystal structure and nucleotide sequence of an anionic trypsin from chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) in comparison with Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)and bovine trypsin

The nucleotide sequence and crystal structure of chum salmon trypsin (CST) are now reported. The cDNA isolated from the pyloric caeca of chum salmon encodes 222 amino acid residues, the same number of residues as the anionic Atlantic salmon trypsin (AST), but one residue less than bovine beta-trypsin (BT). The net charge on CST determined from the sum of all charged amino acid side-chains is -3. There are 79 sequence differences between CST and BT, but only seven sequence differences between CST and AST. Anionic CST isolated from pyloric caeca has also been purified and crystallized; the structure of the CST-benzamidine complex has been determined to 1.8A resolution. The overall tertiary structure of CST is similar to that of AST and BT, but some differences are observed among the three trypsins. The most striking difference is at the C terminus of CST, where the expected last two residues are absent. The absence of these residues likely increases the flexibility of CST by the loss of important interactions between the N and C-terminal domains. Similarly, the lack of Tyr151 in CST (when compared with BT) allows more space for Gln192 in the active site thereby increasing substrate accessibility to the binding pocket. Lys152 in CST also adopts the important role of stabilizing the loop from residue 142 to 153. These observations on CST provide a complementary view of a second cold-adapted trypsin, which in comparison with the structures of AST and BT, suggest a structural basis for differences in enzymatic activity between enzymes from cold-adapted species and mammals.

Anionic trypsin from chum salmon: activity with p -amidinophenyl ester and comparison with bovine and Streptomyces griseus trypsins

An anionic trypsin from pyloric caeca of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) was purified by ammonium sulfate and acetone fractionation followed by affinity chromatography, gel-filtration, and DEAE-anion exchange chromatography. The apparent molecular mass was about 24 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. The anionic chum salmon trypsin was moderately active toward esterase substrates such as tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester and tosyl-L-lysine methyl ester. Its amidase activity for benzoyl-L-arginine p-nitroanilide was comparative to those of bovine and Streptomyces griseus trypsins. Kinetic characteristics of anionic chum salmon, bovine, and Streptomyces griseus trypsins toward inverse substrate (p-amidinophenyl ester) were compared. Inverse substrate behaved as a specific substrate for anionic chum salmon trypsin with specific binding, efficient acylation, and relatively slow deacylation.

Phenolics in the seed coat of wild soybean (Glycine soja) and their significance for seed hardness and seed germination.

Hardseededness in annual wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. Et Zucc.) is a valuable trait that affects the germination, viability, and quality of stored seeds. Two G. soja ecotypes native to Shandong Province of China have been used to identify the phenolics in the seed coat that correlate with the seed hardness and seed germination. Three major phenolics from the seed coat were isolated and identified as epicatechin, cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, and delphinidin 3-O-glucoside. Of the three phenolics, only the change of epicatechin exhibited a significant positive correlation with the change of hard seed percentages both under different water conditions during seed development and under different gas conditions during seed storage. Epicatechin also reveals a hormesis-like effect on the seed germination of G. soja. Epicatechin is suggested to be functionally related to coat-imposed hardseededness in G. soja.

Enzymatic coupling of α,α-dialkyl amino acids using inverse substrates as acyl donors

Abstract Two series of inverse substrates, Nα-Boc-α,α-dialkyl amino acid p-guanidino- and p-(guanidinomethyl)phenyl esters, were prepared as acyl donor components for enzymatic peptide synthesis. They were found to be readily coupled with amino acid p-nitroanilide to produce peptide. Streptomyces griseus trypsin was a more efficient catalyst than bovine trypsin.

Trypsin-catalyzed peptide synthesis withm-guanidinophenyl andm-(guanidinomethyl)phenyl esters as acyl donor component

SummaryTwo series of inverse substrates,m-guanidinophenyl andm-(guanidinomethyl)phenyl esters derived fromN-(tert-butyloxycarbonyl)amino acid, were prepared as an acyl donor component for trypsin-catalyzed peptide synthesis. The kinetic behavior of these esters toward tryptic hydrolysis was analyzed. They were found to couple with an acyl acceptor such asl-alaninep-nitroanilide to produce dipeptide in the presence of trypsin.Streptomyces griseus trypsin was a more efficient catalyst than the bovine trypsin. Within the enzymatic peptide coupling methods, this approach was shown to be advantageous, since the resulting peptides are resistant to the enzymatic hydrolysis.

Application of several types of substrates to ficin-catalyzed peptide synthesis

Summary.The capability of ficin, a cystine protease, to form peptide bonds was investigated using several types of N-Boc-amino acid phenyl and naphthyl esters as acyl donor components. Enzyme-catalyzed peptide synthesis was carried out under optimized reaction conditions of pH, acyl acceptor concentration and selection of the best yield organic solvent. It used a condensation of N-Boc-Ala-OpGu and Ala-pNA as a model reaction. The products were obtained in 72–96% yield using 10 different substrates, within a few minutes of reaction time.

Chum salmon trypsin-catalyzed peptide synthesis with inverse substrates as acyl donor components at low temperature

Abstract Chum salmon trypsin-catalyzed peptide synthesis has been studied by using p -amidinophenyl esters of N α -( tert -butyloxycarbonyl)amino acid as the acyl donor components at 0°C. The reaction conditions were optimized for an organic solvent, pH, and concentration of the acyl acceptor. The method was shown to be successful as a general method for the synthesis of the peptide, and also useful for the preparation of peptides containing d -amino acids. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the resulting products was negligible.

Simple Preparation of Pacific Cod Trypsin for Enzymatic Peptide Synthesis

Trypsin from the pyloric caeca of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) was easily prepared by affinity chromatography on Benzamidine Sepharose 6B and gel filtration on Superdex 75. Pacific cod trypsin was composed of three isozymes, and their molecular masses were estimated 23,756.34 Da, 23,939.62 Da, and 24,114.81 Da by desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI/TOF-MS) and their isoelectric points (pIs) were approximately 5.1, 6.0, and 6.2, respectively. The isolated Pacific cod trypsin showed high similarity to other frigid-zone fish trypsins. The kinetic behavior of tryptic hydrolysis toward N-p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (TAME), N-benzoyl-L-arginine p-nitroanilide hydrochloride (BAPA), and p-amidinophenyl ester were also analyzed. In addition, the cod trypsin-catalyzed dipeptide synthesis was investigated using twelve series of “inverse subdtrates” that is p- and m-isomer of amidinophenyl, guanidinophenyl, (amidinomethyl)phenyl, (guanidinomethyl)phenyl, and four position isomers of guanidinonaphtyl esters derived from N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)amino acid as acyl donor components. They were found to couple with an acyl acceptor such as L-alanine p-nitroanilide to produce dipeptide in the presence of the trypsin. All inverse substrates tested in this study undergo less enantioselective coupling reaction. The p-guanidinophenyl ester was most practical substrate in twelve series tested. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the resulting products was negligible.

A structural comparison of three isoforms of anionic trypsin from chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta).

Three anionic salmon trypsin isoforms (CST-1, CST-2 and CST-3) were isolated from the pyloric caeca of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta). The order of catalytic efficiency (K(m)/k(cat)) of the isoforms during BAPA hydrolysis was CST-2 > CST-1 > CST-3. In order to find a structural rationalization for the observed difference in catalytic efficiency, the X-ray crystallographic structures of the three isoforms were compared in detail. Some structural differences were observed in the C-terminal alpha-helix, interdomain loop and active-site region. From the results of the detailed comparison, it appears that the structural flexibility of the C-terminal alpha-helix, which interacts with the N-terminal domain, and the substrate-binding pocket in CST-3 are lower than those in CST-1 and CST-2. In addition, the conformation of the catalytic triad (His57, Asp102 and Ser195) differs among the three isoforms. The imidazole N atom of His57 in CST-1 and CST-2 forms a hydrogen bond to the hydroxyl O atom of Ser195, but the distance between the imidazole N atom of His57 and the hydroxyl O atom of Ser195 in CST-3 is too great (3.8 A) for the formation of a hydrogen bond. Thus, the nucleophilicity of the hydroxyl group of Ser195 in CST-3 is weaker than that in CST-1 or CST-2. Furthermore, the electrostatic potential of the substrate-binding pocket in CST-2 is markedly lower than those in CST-1 and CST-3 owing to the negative charges of Asp150, Asp153 and Glu221B that arise from the long-range effect. These results may explain the higher catalytic efficiency of CST-2 compared with CST-1 and CST-3.