Cathepsin B Stability, But Not Activity, Is Affected in Cysteine:Cystine Redox Buffers

2002 ◽  
Vol 383 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1199-1204 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Pillay ◽  
C. Dennison

Abstract In order to test the hypothesis that the lysosomal cysteine protease cathepsin B may be redox regulated in vivo, cathepsin B activity and stability were measured in cysteine and/or cystinecontaining buffers. Cathepsin B activity in cysteinecontaining buffers was similar at pH 6.0 and pH 7.0, over all thiol concentrations tested. In contrast, the stability of the enzyme was greater at pH 6.0 than at pH 7.0. This suggests that the enzymes operational pH in vivo may be < pH 7.0. The activity of the enzyme was depressed in glutathionecontaining buffers. When assessed in cysteine:cystine redox buffers (pH 6.0 7.0) cathepsin B was active over a broad redox potential range, suggesting that cathepsin B activity may not be redox regulated. However, at pH 7.0, the stability of cathepsin B decreased with increasing reduction potential and ambient cystine concentration. This suggests that the stability of the enzyme at neutral pH is dependent on redox potential, and on the presence of oxidising agents.

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 857
Author(s):  
Débora do Carmo Linhares ◽  
Fernanda Faria ◽  
Roberto Tadashi Kodama ◽  
Adriane Michele Xavier Prado Amorim ◽  
Fernanda Calheta Vieira Portaro ◽  
...  

Cathepsin L (CatL) is a lysosomal cysteine protease primarily involved in the terminal degradation of intracellular and endocytosed proteins. More specifically, in humans, CatL has been implicated in cancer progression and metastasis, as well as coronary artery diseases and others. Given this, the search for potent CatL inhibitors is of great importance. In the search for new molecules to perform proteolytic activity regulation, salivary secretions from hematophagous animals have been an important source, as they present protease inhibitors that evolved to disable host proteases. Based on the transcriptome of the Haementeria vizzotoi leech, the cDNA of Cystatin-Hv was selected for this study. Cystatin-Hv was expressed in Pichia pastoris and purified by two chromatographic steps. The kinetic results using human CatL indicated that Cystatin-Hv, in its recombinant form, is a potent inhibitor of this protease, with a Ki value of 7.9 nM. Consequently, the present study describes, for the first time, the attainment and the biochemical characterization of a recombinant cystatin from leeches as a potent CatL inhibitor. While searching out for new molecules of therapeutic interest, this leech cystatin opens up possibilities for the future use of this molecule in studies involving cellular and in vivo models.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 267-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek T. Jane ◽  
Michael J. Dufresne

The expression of three lysosomal cysteine protease activities, cathepsins B, H, and L, was examined during differentiation of L6 rat myoblasts. Analyses of intracellular levels of these proteases in unfractionated homogenates prepared from cells at different stages of growth and in parallel HPLC-fractionated samples demonstrated a fusion-related increase in all three cathepsins. Analyses of total levels of endogenous inhibitor activity against purified cathepsin B demonstrated a threefold increase in the ratio of protease to inhibitor during myoblast-myotube formation; however, levels of inhibitor activity remained constant. Extracellular levels of cathepsin B, H, and L activities were also examined in the serum-free defined media of differentiating L6 cells. These studies demonstrated a fusion-related increase in extracellular levels of acid/pepsin-activated (i.e., latent) cathepsin L. While increases in intracellular and extracellular levels of cathepsin activities were temporally related to the fusion process, fusion may not be a prerequisite for increased expression, since the nonfusing L6 variant L6-D3 demonstrated high levels of intracellular cathepsins B and L and extracellular latent cathepsin L activities throughout growth. Taken together, these results support the hypotheses that fusion or fusion-related processes play an important role in the controlled expression of cathepsins in L6 myoblasts and that cathepsins, in turn, play an important role in myoblast-myotube differentiation.Key words: L6 myoblasts, differentiation, lysosomal cysteine proteases.


Author(s):  
Robert J. Carroll ◽  
Marvin P. Thompson ◽  
Harold M. Farrell

Milk is an unusually stable colloidal system; the stability of this system is due primarily to the formation of micelles by the major milk proteins, the caseins. Numerous models for the structure of casein micelles have been proposed; these models have been formulated on the basis of in vitro studies. Synthetic casein micelles (i.e., those formed by mixing the purified αsl- and k-caseins with Ca2+ in appropriate ratios) are dissimilar to those from freshly-drawn milks in (i) size distribution, (ii) ratio of Ca/P, and (iii) solvation (g. water/g. protein). Evidently, in vivo organization of the caseins into the micellar form occurs in-a manner which is not identical to the in vitro mode of formation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-310
Author(s):  
Yukihiko Kohda ◽  
Katsuhiro Tsuchiya ◽  
Junkoh Yamashita ◽  
Masaki Yoshida ◽  
Takashi Ueno ◽  
...  

1977 ◽  
Vol 16 (04) ◽  
pp. 157-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Schümichen ◽  
B. Mackenbrock ◽  
G. Hoffmann

SummaryThe bone-seeking 99mTc-Sn-pyrophosphate compound (compound A) was diluted both in vitro and in vivo and proved to be unstable both in vitro and in vivo. However, stability was much better in vivo than in vitro and thus the in vitro stability of compound A after dilution in various mediums could be followed up by a consecutive evaluation of the in vivo distribution in the rat. After dilution in neutral normal saline compound A is metastable and after a short half-life it is transformed into the other 99mTc-Sn-pyrophosphate compound A is metastable and after a short half-life in bone but in the kidneys. After dilution in normal saline of low pH and in buffering solutions the stability of compound A is increased. In human plasma compound A is relatively stable but not in plasma water. When compound B is formed in a buffering solution, uptake in the kidneys and excretion in urine is lowered and blood concentration increased.It is assumed that the association of protons to compound A will increase its stability at low concentrations while that to compound B will lead to a strong protein bond in plasma. It is concluded that compound A will not be stable in vivo because of a lack of stability in the extravascular space, and that the protein bond in plasma will be a measure of its in vivo stability.


1964 ◽  
Vol 11 (01) ◽  
pp. 075-084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L Kline ◽  
Jacob B Fishman ◽  

Summary1. Lysine increased the solubility, decreased the SK requirement and increased the stability of plasmin prepared from purified plasminogen by SK activation.2. A procedure is presented for the rapid and quantitative conversion of plasminogen to plasmin and storage of the plasmin in stable form at neutral pH as a lyophilized powder.3. Approximately 10% for the plasminogen molecule was split off during its activation. No carbohydrate was lost.4. The plasmin isolated was homogeneous in the ultracentrifuge at pH 2.5 and was quantitatively convertible to plasminogen activator by the addition of SK.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 339-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilani G. Gamage ◽  
Ajith Gunaratne ◽  
Gopal R. Periyannan ◽  
Timothy G. Russell

Background: The dipeptide composition-based Instability Index (II) is one of the protein primary structure-dependent methods available for in vivo protein stability predictions. As per this method, proteins with II value below 40 are stable proteins. Intracellular protein stability principles guided the original development of the II method. However, the use of the II method for in vitro protein stability predictions raises questions about the validity of applying the II method under experimental conditions that are different from the in vivo setting. Objective: The aim of this study is to experimentally test the validity of the use of II as an in vitro protein stability predictor. Methods: A representative protein CCM (CCM - Caulobacter crescentus metalloprotein) that rapidly degrades under in vitro conditions was used to probe the dipeptide sequence-dependent degradation properties of CCM by generating CCM mutants to represent stable and unstable II values. A comparative degradation analysis was carried out under in vitro conditions using wildtype CCM, CCM mutants and two other candidate proteins: metallo-β-lactamase L1 and α -S1- casein representing stable, borderline stable/unstable, and unstable proteins as per the II predictions. The effect of temperature and a protein stabilizing agent on CCM degradation was also tested. Results: Data support the dipeptide composition-dependent protein stability/instability in wt-CCM and mutants as predicted by the II method under in vitro conditions. However, the II failed to accurately represent the stability of other tested proteins. Data indicate the influence of protein environmental factors on the autoproteolysis of proteins. Conclusion: Broader application of the II method for the prediction of protein stability under in vitro conditions is questionable as the stability of the protein may be dependent not only on the intrinsic nature of the protein but also on the conditions of the protein milieu.


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