Study of the heterogeneity of bovine pepsin A by pseudo isoelectric focusing

Magnetic IDA-modified hydrophilic methacrylate-based polymer microspheres for IMAC protein separation

Preparation of a new type of magnetic non-porous poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate) microspheres with hydrophilic properties containing coupled iminodiacetic acid (IDA) is described. The prepared microspheres were used for the immobilization of Ni(II) or Fe(III) ions to show their application in protein binding studies. Human IgG was bound to magnetic Ni(II)-IDA-modified microspheres and conditions of its adsorption and elution were optimized. Non-specific binding of the protein to magnetic microspheres in the absence of Ni(II) ions was low. Fe(III) ions immobilized on magnetic IDA-modified microspheres were used for the specific binding of porcine pepsin, as a model phosphoprotein. The ability of phosphate buffer to release the adsorbed enzyme from the microspheres and a low adsorption of the dephosphorylated protein indicate the participation of phosphate groups in the pepsin interaction. The elaborated method represents a rapid technique that can be used not only for the separation of proteins but also for analytical purposes.

Application of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis to the peptide mapping of pepsin isoenzymes

A combination of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPCL) and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) was used for the characterization of peptide maps of swine pepsin after its digestion with alpha-chymotrypsin. Peptide maps obtained by both methods were compared and five selected chromatographic peaks were identified on an electrophoreogram. The different order of peaks found in RP-HPLC compared to CZE confirmed the complementarity of these two methods. More peptide fragments were resolved by RP-HPLC, which was also found to be less sensitive to salt content in peptide mixtures, than by CZE, but only CZE was able to separate and identify phosphorylated and dephosphorylated peptide fragments of swine pepsin digest. CZE provides faster separation than RP-HPLC, however, the salts have to be removed by ultrafiltration or by RP-HPLC pre-separation prior to CZE analysis. Combined use of RP-HPLC and CZE for peptide mapping makes it possible to distinguish between the phosphorylated and dephosphorylated forms of swine pepsin. This is important from a diagnostic point of view, because pepsin phosphorylation may be associated with gastric cancer.

Fractionation of the multiple forms of bovine gastric aspartic proteases by chromatofocusing

By extending the chromatofocusing technique to a very acidic pH range (down to pH 2.0) a method which, in a single-step procedure, allows separation of the three main aspartic proteases secreted by the bovine abomasal mucosa i.e., chymosin (EC 3.4.23.4), gastricsin (EC 3.4.23.3), and pepsin A (EC 3.4.23.1), has been developed. Starting materials for separation were crude commercial milk-clotting extracts or abomasal juices. A multistep procedure, using narrower pH gradients, enabled the fractionation of these proteases into their multiple forms. Chymosins A and B, which are known to differ only by a single amino acid substitution (Asp/Gly), were completely resolved. Their elution pHs, 3.75 and 3.80, respectively, though far from their "normal" pIs (around 4.7 in isoelectric focusing), demonstrate the resolving power of such a technique. Multiple forms of bovine pepsin A, which differ in their organic phosphate content (0-3 phosphate group(s) per molecule of enzyme) and whose pIs are lower than 2.5, were also separated using 15-20 mM glycine buffer, pH 2.0, as eluent. Although many attempts to get a linear gradient remained unsuccessful within this pH range, resolution appeared quite satisfactory, as judged from analytical isoelectric focusing patterns. In particular, the two subcomponents of bpA1, which presumably have a different site of post-translational phosphorylation, were resolved in this way.

Hydrolysis of the synthetic chromophoric hexapeptide Leu-Ser-Phe(NO2)-Nle-Ala-Leu-OMe catalyzed by bovine pepsin A. Dependence on pH and effect of enzyme phosphorylation level

Steady-state kinetic parameters for the hydrolysis of the chromophoric hexapeptide Leu-Ser-Phe(NO2)-Nle-Ala-Leu-OMe catalyzed by bovine gastricsin and pepsin A were determined. It was shown that the phosphate content of bovine pepsin A is without any significant effect on that parameters. At pH 4.7, the specificity constant (kcat/Km) was 2455 and 2150 mM-1 X s-1 for the most phosphorylated bovine pepsin A (2.58 phosphate groups per molecule), before and after treatment by potato acid phosphatase, respectively. The kcat/Km ratio found for bovine gastricsin (1314 mM-1 X s-1) was closer to that of bovine pepsin A than that previously reported for chymosin (25 mM-1 X s-1). The spectral properties of the chromophoric tripeptide Leu-Ser-Phe(NO2) in the pH range 1-3.6 were investigated. We have shown that the hexapeptide hydrolysis could be followed by difference spectrophotometry at 295 nm (delta epsilon = -235 M-1 X cm-1 at pH 1.0) thus allowing to study the effect of pH on bovine pepsin A activity in a pH range which could not be explored earlier. The pH-dependence of kcat/Km ratio of unphosphorylated bovine pepsin A indicated that enzyme activity was dependent upon the ionization of two groups of the enzyme whose pK are 1.2 and 5.0. These pK values strongly suggest the involvement of two carboxyl groups probably corresponding to the two reactive aspartyl residues (Asp32 and Asp215) identified through active site-directed reagents for all the aspartic proteinases so far tested.

[Effect of the degree of phosphorylation of bovine pepsin A on its enzymatic activity]

Proteolytic and clotting activities of bovine pepsin A with respect to its degree of phosphorylation were studied on various substrates. The occurrence of phosphate group(s) on bovine pepsin A more or less strongly affects its enzymic properties according to the substrate and its environment. This is particularly obvious as far as kappa-casein is concerned. The specific flocculating activity of unphosphorylated (fA0) as well as dephosphorylated (treated with potato acid phosphatase) bovine pepsin A, determined on a 0.2% kappa-casein solution, is significantly higher than that observed with phosphorylated pepsins, especially after kappa-casein was treated with alpha-D.N-acetyl galactosaminyl oligosaccharidase, while specific milk clotting activity remains unchanged regardless to the level of phosphorylation of bovine pepsin A is. Using haemoglobin as substrate, unphosphorylated pepsin A exhibits the highest specific proteolytic activity and the less acidic pH optimum. Conversely, the amount of phosphate groups does not seem to have any effect on the peptidase activity assayed towards the synthetic chromophoric hexapeptide Leu-Ser-Phe(NO2)-Nle-Ala-Leu-OMe. By treating whole bovine pepsin A with potato acid phosphatase during 24 h at 37 degrees C and pH 5.6, using a 1/100 E/S ratio, almost complete dephosphorylation can be reached. The stability of different bovine pepsin A preparations, more or less phosphorylated, treated or not with phosphatase was also investigated. At pH 2.2, phosphorylated bovine pepsin A is twice more stable at 37 degrees C than the dephosphorylated enzymes while dephosphorylated pepsin does not exhibit any degradation at pH 5.6, judging by isoelectric focusing patterns, or loss of activity. Such a result suggests that post-translational phosphorylation might play an essential physiological function by improving the stability and integrity of pepsin in the bovine abomasum, the pH of which is very acidic (between 1.0 and 2.0).