Ontogeny of puromycin-sensitive and insensitive aminopeptidase activities in several subcellular fractions of the rat brain

Neuropeptidases

Neuropeptides are neurotransmitters and modulators distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system. Their abnormalities cause neurological and mental diseases. Neuropeptidases are enzymes crucial for the biosynthesis and biodegradation of neuropeptides. We here focus on the peptidases involved in the metabolism of the well-studied opioid peptides. Bioactive enkephalins are formed from propeptides by processing enzymes—prohormone thiol protease, prohormone convertase 1 and 2 (PC 1 and 2), carboxypeptidase H/E, and Arg/Lys aminopeptidase. After they exert their biological effects, enkephalins are likely to be inactivated by degrading enzymes—angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), aminopeptidase N (APN), puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase (PSA), and endopeptidase 24.11. Recently, a neuron-specific aminopeptidase (NAP), which was a putative enkephalin-inactivating enzyme at the synapses, was found. Neuropeptidases are useful drug targets and their inhibitors can be therapeutic. Synthetic anti-enkephalinases and anti-aminopeptidases are being developed. They are potent analgesics but have fewer side effects than the opiates.

Cloning and characterisation of a Heterodera glycines aminopeptidase cDNA

An aminopeptidase full-length cDNA (Hg-amp-1) was cloned from the adult female soybean cyst nematode Heterodera glycines by heterologous screening of a cDNA library with a Caenorhabditis elegans EST sequence. The predicted open reading frame encoded an 882-amino acid protein containing the conserved zinc-binding domain and GAMEN motif that are characteristic of M1 family aminopeptidases. The putative protein lacks any subcellular targeting signals and displays strong similarity to puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidases from C. elegans, Drosophila and mammals. Hg-amp-1 is expressed in juvenile nematodes and both male and female adults, with highest expression in gravid females. In situ mRNA hybridisation localised the Hg-amp-1 transcript to the genital primordium of pre-parasitic juvenile nematodes and the reproductive tract of adult females. Suppression of Hg-amp-1 transcript level by RNA-interference led to a 61% reduction in the number of female nematodes parasitising soybean roots 21 days post infection with infective juvenile nematodes that had been exposed to double-stranded RNA.

Specific nonpeptide inhibitors of puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase with a 2,4(1H,3H)-quinazolinedione skeleton

Potent, specific, chemically stable and non-peptide/small-molecular inhibitors of puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase, such as 3-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-2,4(1H,3H)-quinazolinedione (PAQ-22, 5), were prepared by the structural development of a potent PSA inhibitor, 2-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-1,3-dione (PIQ-22, 4). The design was carried out partly by applying electrostatic potential field information obtained from PIQ-22 (4) and its derivatives based on thalidomide (2). This information revealed that a positive electrostatic potential field around the benzylic methylene in the tetrahydroisoquinoline ring is necessary for potent activity. Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis showed that PAQ-22 (5) and its derivatives inhibit puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase (PSA) in a non-competitive manner. These potent and specific PSA inhibitors showed dose-dependent cell invasion-inhibitory activity in a Matrigel assay using mouse melanoma B16F10/L5 cells, in spite of their low cell toxicity.

Ontogenic and adult whole body distribution of aminopeptidase N in rat investigated by in vitro autoradiography

Aminopeptidase N (APN), which is widely distributed in mammalian tissues, is able to cleave numerous regulatory peptides. The selective inhibitor of APN, [(125)I] RB129, has been used to study the distribution of this exopeptidase during rat prenatal development and adult life by in vitro whole-body autoradiography. In the central nervous system, APN shows a weak labeling compared to the major part of the non-nervous tissues in the embryo and in the adult. APN is progressively expressed in kidney, intestine, heart, lung, sensory organs, eye, and thymus. In organs such as the liver, the cartilages and the bones, altered levels of APN expression are observed during the development, or in the embryo compared to the adult, suggesting a role of APN during the liver haematopoiesis and bone growth. At this time, all the physiological functions of APN are still incompletely known, however its developmental pattern of expression strongly suggests a function of modulation of this enzyme during the development, next in physiological and/or pathological situations in adult. In this way, APN could represent a new therapeutic target in pathological processes, such as tumoral proliferation and/or angiogenesis associated with cancer development, where an increase in the level of this enzyme has been observed.

The Caenorhabditis elegans orthologue of mammalian puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase has roles in embryogenesis and reproduction

Mammals possess membrane-associated and cytosolic forms of the puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase (PSA; EC 3.4.11.14). Increasing evidence suggests the membrane PSA is involved in neuromodulation within the central nervous system and in reproductive biology. The functional roles of the cytosolic PSA are less clear. The genome of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans encodes an aminopeptidase, F49E8.3 (PAM-1), that is orthologous to PSA, and sequence analysis predicts it to be cytosolic. We have determined the spatio/temporal gene expression pattern of pam-1 by using the promoter region of F49E8.3 to control expression in the nematode of a second exon translational fusion of the aminopeptidase to green fluorescent protein. Cytosolic fluorescence was observed throughout development in the intestine and nerve cells of the head. Neuronal expression was also observed in the tail of adult males. Recombinant PAM-1, expressed and purified from Escherichia coli, hydrolyzed the N-terminal amino acid from peptide substrates. Favored substrates had positively charged or small neutral amino acids in the N-terminal position. Peptide hydrolysis was inhibited by the metal-chelating agent 1,10-phenanthroline and by the aminopeptidase inhibitors actinonin, amastatin, and leuhistin. However, the enzyme was approximately 100-fold less sensitive toward puromycin (IC50, 135 mum) than other PSA homologues. Following inactivation of the enzyme, aminopeptidase activity was recovered with Zn2+, Co2+, and Ni2+. Silencing expression of pam-1 by RNA interference resulted in 30% embryonic lethality. Surviving adult hermaphrodites deposited large numbers of oocytes throughout the self-fertile period. The overall brood size was, however, unaffected. We conclude that pam-1 encodes an aminopeptidase that clusters phylogenetically with the PSAs, despite attenuated sensitivity toward puromycin, and that it functions in embryo development and reproduction of the nematode.