Peptide synthesis by chymotrypsin in frozen solutions. Free amino acids as nucleophiles

Amino acid derived biopolymers: Recent advances and biomedical applications

Over the past few years, amino acids (AA) have emerged as promising biomaterials for the synthesis of functional polymers. Owing to the diversity of functional groups in amino acids, various polymerization methods may be used to make a wide range of well-defined functional amino-acid/peptide-based optically active polymers with varying polymer lengths, compositions, and designs. When incorporated with chirality and self-assembly, they offer a wide range of applications and are particularly appealing in the field of drug delivery, tissue engineering, and biosensing. There are several classes of these polymers that include polyamides (PA), polyesters (PE), poly(ester-amide)s (PEA)s, polyurethanes (PU)s, poly(depsipeptide)s (PDP)s, etc. They offer the ability to control functionality, conjugation, crosslinking, stimuli responsiveness, and tuneable mechanical/thermal properties. In this review, we present the recent advancements in the synthesis strategies for obtaining these amino acid-derived bio-macromolecules, their self-assembly properties, and the wealth of prevalent applications.

Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Polypeptides for Use as Functional and Structural Materials

Polypeptides inspired by the natural functional and structural proteins present in living systems are promising materials for various fields in terms of their versatile functionality and physical properties. Designing and synthesizing mimetic sequences of specific peptide motifs in proteins are important for exploring the functionality of natural proteins. Chemoenzymatic polymerization, which utilizes aminolysis (i.e., the reverse reaction of hydrolysis catalyzed by proteases), is a useful technique for synthesizing artificial polypeptide materials and has several advantages, including facile synthesis protocols, environmental friendliness, scalability, and atom economy. In this review, recent progress in chemoenzymatic polypeptide synthesis for the production of functional and structural materials for various applications is summarized in conjunction with the current status of technical challenges in the field.

Effects of subzero temperatures on the kinetics of protease catalyzed dipeptide synthesis in organic media

A depeptide synthesis was drastically influenced by the reaction temperature, in the range from -30 degrees to 25 degrees C. This article shows the kinetic reasons of this effect. alpha-Chymotrypsin was immobilized on celite and used in four different water-miscible solvents containing small amounts of water-miscible solvents containing small amounts of water. The reaction studied was the aminolysis of N-acetyl-L-phenylalanine ethyl ester (Ac-PheOEt) with L-alaninamide (Ala-NH(2)) and water for the acylenzyme complex, the nucleophile was favoured by low reaction temperatures. This effect (quantified as p-values) was observed in all four solvents, and it was greatest in acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran. The esterase and amidase activities of the enzyme were studies using AcPheOEt and N-acetyl-L-phenylalanyl-L-ananinamide (AcPheAla-NH(2)) as substrates. The Michaelis-Menten parameters, K(m,app) and V(max), were determined for ester hydrolysis and dipeptide hydrolysis. Both K(m,app) and V(max) tended to increase with increasing temperature. Secondary hydrolysis was reduced at subzero temperatures because ester hydrolysis was favoured in relation to depeptide hydrolysis. Depeptide synthesis was thus favored by low temperatures in two ways: first, in the competition between the nucleophile and water for the acyl enzyme; and, second, in the competition between the ester substrate and the peptide substrate for the free enzyme. As a result, in acetonitrile containing 10% water, the maximal yield was 99% at -20%C compared with 84% at 25 degrees C. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A novel and efficient enzymatic method for the production of peptides from unprotected starting materials

We report herein the development of a novel and efficient enzymatic method for the production of oligopeptides. This newly discovered method is a simple, cost-effective process, using unprotected amino acids as substrates in an aqueous solution and producing peptides in high yield. The target of our initial screen was l-alanyl-L-glutamine, a dipeptide of significant industrial interest by virtue of its widespread use in infusion therapy. By means of the screening of microorganisms that can catalyze the peptide-forming reaction producing l-alanyl-L-glutamine from L-alanine methylester (acyl donor) and L-glutamine (nucleophile), we discovered that Empedobacter brevis ATCC 14234 produced l-alanyl-L-glutamine most efficiently. The newly found enzyme purified from E. brevis ATCC 14234 facilitates significantly high production yields of l-alanyl-L-glutamine from L-alanine methylester and L-glutamine in an aqueous solution--more than 80% yield based on L-alanine methylester. In addition, this enzyme has wide substrate specificity--both for acyl donors and nucleophiles--and can catalyze peptide-forming reactions not only to produce various dipeptides from the corresponding amino acid esters and amino acids but also to produce various oligopeptides from the corresponding amino acid esters and peptides.

Enzymatic formation of Glu-Xaa and Asp-Xaa bonds using Glu/Asp-specific endopeptidase from Bacillus licheniformis in frozen aqueous systems

The capability of Glu/Asp-specific endopeptidase from Bacillus licheniformis to form Glu/Asp-Xaa bonds in frozen aqueous systems was investigated. Under frozen state conditions, the enzyme was able to catalyse peptide bond formation more effectively than in liquid reaction mixtures. The acceptance of amino components which were completely inefficient nucleophiles at room temperature indicates a changed specificity of Glu/Asp-specific endopeptidase under frozen state conditions. Protease-catalysed coupling of two acidic amino acids was demonstrated for the first time. The utilization of Glu/Asp-specific endopeptidase from Bacillus licheniformis in frozen aqueous systems offers new possibilities in enzyme-catalysed peptide synthesis.

Investigation of the effect of freezing on protease-catalyzed peptide synthesis using cryoprotectants and frozen organic solvent

In order to investigate the effect of freezing on aqueous protease-catalyzed peptide synthesis systems, the influence of polyethylene glycols as cryoprotecting substances on alpha-chymotrypsin-catalyzed coupling of a N-protected acyl donor ester and various nucleophilic amino components was studied. Changes in S'-specificity of alpha-chymotrypsin in frozen aqueous systems were suppressed by polyethylene glycols even at concentrations below 1% (w/v). Furthermore, the influence of freeze-concentration in organic solvents on protease-catalyzed peptide synthesis was investigated for the first time. In frozen tert-butanol, alpha-chymotrypsin-catalyzed peptide synthesis took advantage from freeze-concentration, but in contrast to frozen aqueous systems, no changes in S'-specificity of the biocatalyst were observed. The results suggest that freeze-concentration is not the only cause of freezing-induced yield improvement in aqueous peptide synthesis systems, but interactions between enzyme and ice structures strongly contribute to the observed effects.

Phage-displayed mimotopes elicit monoclonal antibodies specific for a malaria vaccine candidate

The phage-displayed peptide CGRVCLRC (C15) has been isolated from a random library by affinity screening with the D14-3 monoclonal antibody, which was raised to the 42 kDa C-terminal fragment of the major merozoite surface protein 1 of Plasmodium vivax (Pv42). In order to investigate the use of such mimotopes as possible vaccine components, we studied the antibody response in Biozzi mice immunized with C15. High titers of antibodies cross-reacting with Pv42 were generated and the IC50 of all immune sera were in the 5 x 10(-9) M range. Two monoclonal antibodies that specifically bind the Pv42 fragment were isolated. Although these mAbs had a lower affinity for Pv42 when compared to D14-3, they reproduced the cross-reactivity of D14-3 with the equivalent protein in P. cynomolgi, a close relative of P. vivax. DNA sequence analysis showed similarities between the germline genes and the canonical CDR conformations of all three antibodies, but molecular modeling failed to reveal common structural features of their paratopes that could account for their cross-reacting patterns. These data demonstrate that mimotopes selected from random repertoires do not necessarily represent structural equivalents of the original antigen but provide functional images that could replace it for vaccine development.

Enzymatic peptide synthesis in frozen aqueous solution: use of N alpha-unprotected peptide esters as acyl donors

The ability of the endopeptidase alpha-chymotrypsin (EC 3.4.21.1) to catalyse the reaction of various N alpha-unprotected di- and tripeptide ester derivatives with H-Leu-NH2, and with a series of C-terminal free di- and tripeptides at -15 degrees C in frozen aqueous solution was investigated. The enzyme is able to synthesize N- and C-terminal unprotected penta- and hexapeptides in up to 92% yield, depending on the amino component used, in a single-step segment-condensation reaction. Freezing the reaction mixture resulted in significantly increased peptide yields compared with the reaction at room temperature. The enzyme shows a modified nucleophilic specificity in frozen solution compared with room temperature. Nucleophilic amino components with positively charged amino acids in P2'-position are accepted.

Nonconventional protease catalysis in frozen aqueous solutions

During the past decade proteases have been widely used as catalysts in peptide synthesis. Unfortunately, they are not ideal ligases. Enzymatic peptide synthesis in frozen aqueous systems has been developed as an approach towards the suppression of competitive reactions. This paper summarizes reports concerning the behaviour of non-enzymatic as well as of enzyme-catalysed reactions when the reaction mixture is frozen. The advantages of freezing the reaction mixture in serine and cysteine protease-catalysed peptide synthesis, the influence of modified reaction conditions and the possible reasons for the yield-increasing effect of freezing are discussed.

The application of papain, ficin and clostripain in kinetically controlled peptide synthesis in frozen aqueous solutions

The capability of the cysteine proteases ficin, papain and clostripain to form peptide bonds in frozen aqueous solutions was investigated. Freezing the reaction mixture resulted in increased peptide yields in kinetically controlled coupling of Bz-Arg-OEt with various amino acid amides and dipeptides. Under these conditions, peptide yields increased up to 70% depending on the enzyme and the amino component used. Enzyme-catalysed peptide syntheses were carried out under optimized reaction conditions (temperature, amino component concentration and pH before freezing) using the condensation of Bz-Arg-OEt and H-Leu-NH2 as a model reaction.

Aminolysis of acyl-chymotrypsins by amino acids. Kinetic appearance of concentration effect in peptide yield enhancement by freezing

The effects of reagent concentrations, various added substances, pH and temperature on the yield of peptide synthesis by chymotrypsin in frozen and liquid solutions at subzero temperatures have been studied. Increased nucleophile concentration in the liquid microinclusions of ice has been shown to be sufficient for explaining the peptide yield improvement found at freezing conditions.

Cocaine exposure induces changes in the ganglioside content of rat liver

During cocaine exposure, the liver undergoes significant morphological and biochemical changes. We report here changes in the ganglioside pattern of rat liver after repeated administration (over 5 hours, one injection per hour) of a moderate dose of cocaine (10 mg/kg body weight). Cocaine exposure results in an accumulation of more complex gangliosides (GM1, GD1a, GD1b, GT1b and GQ1b) and a reduction of precursors (GM3, GM2, GD3 and GD2). Our results suggest that ganglioside biosynthesis could be affected by an alteration of vesicular transport from cis- to trans-Golgi cisternae produced either by cocaine itself or by some product of cocaine metabolism.