Further characterization and kinetic parameter determination of a milk-clotting protease fromMucor bacilliformis

Further characterization of an aspartyl protease fromMucor bacilliformis with milk-clotting activity was performed. An extinction coefficient, ε_{278 cm} = 1.61 mL/mg/cm, a molecular mass of 35,400 Da and a pI of 5.2 were determined. Proteolytic activity and kinetic parameters were evaluated by using the hexapeptide Leu-Ser-pNO₂-Phe-Nle-Ala-Leu-OMe as the substrate. The effect of pH and temperature on peptide cleavage, as well as protease heat stability, was determined. Such properties, taken as a whole, indicate that theM. bacilliformis protease can be considered a potential substitute for bovine chymosin in cheese manufacture.     

THERMAL ACTIVATION OF IMMOBILIZED PAPAIN

Papain (Papainase, EC 3.4.22.2) was immobilized on porous silica beadsby cross linking with glutaraldehyde. The thermal activation of this immobilized papainin aqueous system was found at a temperature range from 50 to 90℃. The higher thetemperature, the more active the immobilized papain will possess. At the same time,the durability of the immobilized papain on heating was greatly improved. The effect ofadditives and salts on the activity of the immobilized papain were also studied. The resultsshowed that the additives and some of the salts studied could markedly enhance the activityof the immobilized papain at elevated temperature.     

Immobilization of Modified Papain with Anhydride Groups on Activated Cotton Fabric

Papain (EC 3.4.22.2) has been chemically modified using two novel reagents including different anhydrides of 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylic and pyromellitic acids. Then, the modified papain was immobilized on the activated cotton fabric by a two-step method. The number of free amino groups in the modified protein was investigated through the 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid method. Energy dispersive spectrometer was used to characterize papain immobilization. Some parameters of both modified and native papain immobilized on cotton fabric, such as optimum temperature, optimum pH, and the stabilities for reservation in various detergents were studied and compared. The resultant papain had its optimum pH shifted from 6.0 to 9.0. Compared with immobilized native papain, the thermal stability and the resistance to alkali and washing detergent of immobilized modified enzyme were improved considerably. When the concentration of detergent was 20 mg/ml, the activity of the immobilized pyromellitic papain retained about 40% of its original activity, whereas the native papain was almost inhibited. This work demonstrated that the cotton fabric immobilized modified papain has potential applications in the functional textiles field.     

Exploring Applications of Procerain B,a Novel Protease from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Calotropis procera</Emphasis>, and Characterization by N-Terminal Sequencing as well as Peptide Mass Fingerprinting

Procerain B is a novel cysteine protease isolated from Calotropis procera by our group and published recently. We have further characterized the enzyme by N-terminal sequencing and peptide mass fingerprinting. Procerain B showed maximum sequence similarity (80%) with Asclepain. Moreover, the characteristic VDWR motif of cysteine proteases is present in procerain B. The N-terminal and peptide mass fingerprinting analysis showed a distinct nature of the enzyme. Various applications of the enzyme were also evaluated. Procerain B is very effective in milk-clotting and may be a potential candidate for this process in the cheese industry. Additionally, the enzyme has potential application as dietary supplement to aid digestion. Effects of various metal ions on milk-clotting activity were also studied. The milk-clotting activity was increased in case of few metals while others have a negative effect. It is worth mentioning that the easy availability of plant material and simple purification method makes industrial production of the enzyme feasible. A protease with easy purification and suitable properties for application is always desired.     

Irradiation effects on hydrases for biomedical applications

To apply an irradiation technique to sterilize “Hybrid” biomedical materials including enzymes, we selected papain, a well-characterized plant endopeptidase as a model to examine durability of enzyme activity under the practical irradiation condition in which limited data were available for irradiation inactivation of enzymes. Dry powder and frozen aqueous solution of papain showed significant durability against ⁶⁰Co-gamma irradiation suggesting that, the commercial irradiation sterilizing method is applicable without modification. Although irradiation of unfrozen aqueous papain solution showed an unusual change of the enzymatic activity with the increasing doses, and was totally inactivated at 15 kGy, we managed to keep the residual activity more than 50% of initial activity after 30-kGy irradiation, taking such optimum conditions as increasing enzyme concentration from 10 to 100 mg/ml and purging with N₂ gas to suppress the formation of free radicals.     

木瓜蛋白酶的化学修饰及对其酶活力的影响

用不同酸酐对木瓜蛋白酶进行化学修饰, 以三硝基苯磺酸法(TNBS)测定修饰酶的平均氨基修饰度, 对修饰前后的木瓜蛋白酶分别纯化并通过UV-vis和IR对其结构进行了表征. 考察了温度、pH值和表面活性剂SDS对化学修饰的木瓜蛋白酶活力的影响, 并与天然木瓜蛋白酶进行了比较, 对天然酶和修饰酶进行了动力学研究. 结果表明, 化学修饰木瓜蛋白酶的最适反应温度为80 ℃; 最适pH值为9.0; 在SDS浓度为5 mg•mL－1时修饰酶酶活仍能保持在50%左右; 在所有酶中, 均苯四甲酸酐修饰木瓜蛋白酶的催化效率最高, 为2.442×102. 与天然木瓜蛋白酶相比, 化学修饰木瓜蛋白酶的热稳定性、耐碱性和耐洗涤性得到了显著提高.     

STUDY ON THE IMMOBILIZATION OF PAPAIN WITH A MACROPOROUS BEAD CARRIER OF COPOLYMER CONTAINING MONOMER UNITS OF NAMINOETHYL ACRYLAMIDE AND VINYL ALCOHOL*

 A kind of macroporous bead carrier of copolymer containing monomer units of N-aminoethyl acrylamide and vinylalcohol was synthesized, i.e. the MR-AA carrier. Papain was immobilized on the carrier using glutaraldehyde as the couplingagent. The enzymatic activity of the immobilized papain was compared with free papain using casein as a substrate, and theeffects of glutaraldehyde concentration, pH, temperature, time and papain amount added on the activity recovery were alsoinvestigated. The results show that the MR-AA carrier contains reactive primary amine groups,hydrophilic amido links and hydroxyl groups,as well as macroporous structures based on its matrix (MR-AV matrix),furthermore,the activity recovery of papain in the immobilization could reach 48%～58%.In comparison with free papain,the resulting immobilized papain exhibits a remarkable thermostability and better reusability.     

Influence of gamma radiation onto polymeric matrix with papain

Papain is a proteolytic enzyme that has been widely used as debridement agent for scars and wound healing treatment. However, papain presents low stability, which limits its use to extemporaneous or short shelf-life formulations. The purpose of this study was to entrap papain into a polymeric matrix in order to obtain a drug delivery system that could be used as medical device. Since these systems must be sterile, gamma radiation is an interesting option and presents advantages in relation to conventional agents: no radioactive residues are formed; the product can be sterilized inside the final packaging and has an excellent reliability. The normative reference for the establishment of the sterilizing dose determines 25 kGy as the inactivation dose for viable microorganisms. A silicone dispersion was selected to prepare membranes containing 2% (w/w) papain. Irradiated and non-irradiated membranes were simultaneously assessed in order to verify whether gamma radiation interferes with the drug-releasing profile. Results showed that irradiation does not affect significantly papain release and its activity. Therefore papain shows radioresistance in the irradiation conditions applied. In conclusion, gamma radiation can be easily used as sterilizing agent without affecting the papain release profile and its activity onto the biocompatible device is studied.     

Mass spectrometry of peptides and proteins using digestion by a grape cysteine protease at pH 3

Cysteine protease from grapevine (Vitis vinifera) belongs to those resistant proteins, which survive the process of vinification and can therefore be detected as wine components. Its amino acid sequence shows a homology to other members of the papain family, but the enzyme has only partially been explored so far. In order to get more biochemical information with the help of mass spectrometry (MS), wine proteins were collected by ultrafiltration and separated by gel permeation chromatography. The purified enzyme surprisingly displayed a high molecular mass value of around 200 kDa, indicating a possible oligomeric status and aggregation, as it entered only negligibly the separating 10% gel during polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The isoelectric point (pI) value of 3.6 was determined by chromatofocusing. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)‐MS was employed to evaluate the cleavage specificity and usefulness of the isolated cysteine protease in protein and peptide research. A potential applicability could be anticipated from the efficient digestion performance in volatile ammonium formate buffers at pH 3. Common peptides were digested and the resulting products analyzed by MS/MS sequencing. Then, mixtures of protein standards and extracted barley nuclear proteins were processed in the same way. Grape cysteine protease is nonspecific but shows a certain preference for Arg, Lys, and also Leu residues. Compared with papain, it seems not to require fully the presence of a large hydrophobic residue adjacent to that at the cleavage site. The enzyme is suitable for protein research as it produces peptides of a reasonable length in acidic pH.     

Epicatechin-copper 9II) complexes: Damage of small intestinal epithelium

Four epicatechins [(−)-epicatechin (EC), (−)-epicatechin gallate (ECg), (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg)] and their corresponding copper complexes were compared with regard to their effect on the viability of Caco-2 colon cancer cells in vitro, measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthyazol-2-yl) 2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The viability of Caco-2 cells exposed to EC (1 mM), ECg (1 mM) or EGC (1mM) respectively, for 30 min, was comparable to that of the saline control group, while EGCg (1 mM) apparently enhanced cellular activity. in contrast, the cells treated with epicatechin-copper complexes were killed. Bivalent copper 91 mM), in similar conditions, did not affect the cells. No cell leakage or other histological differences were observed, implying a rapid cell death. The suggested mechanism of killing is by OH radical attack, produced in the presence of epicatechin-copper complexes, but not in the presence of either of the epicatechins or copper alone. The reaction sites are discussed.     

化学修饰木瓜蛋白酶的固定化及性质研究

在底物保护和无底物保护下,用丁二酸酐对木瓜蛋白酶进行化学修饰,以三硝基苯磺酸法测定修饰酶的平均氨基修饰度,以棉布为载体,戊二醛为交联剂,对修饰前后的木瓜蛋白酶分别进行固定化.考察了温度、pH和表面活性剂SDS对化学修饰的固定化木瓜蛋白酶活力的影响,并与固定化天然木瓜蛋白酶进行了比较.研究表明,化学修饰固定化木瓜蛋白酶的最适反应温度为80℃;最适pH为9.0;在SDS浓度为20mg/mL时酶活也仍能保持在40%左右;米氏常数为187g/L.与天然的固定化酶相比,化学修饰的固定化木瓜蛋白酶的热稳定性、耐碱性和耐洗涤性得到了显著提高.     

无机/金属纳米颗粒与木瓜蛋白酶组装的研究

运用氧化还原反应在二氧化硅表面沉积组装了银纳米粒子,并在该载体表面共价连接木瓜蛋白酶,试图组合超微载体与化学共价固定化酶的优点,进一步提高组装后的酶活性.初步研究了微球尺寸及银纳米粒子对组装酶活力影响.实验结果表明,在给酶量为33.3mg/g时,木瓜蛋白酶直接共价连接在二氧化硅表面时活力仅为402u/mg,而在组装有银的载体上时活力为536u/mg,催化活性提高30%左右.同时在高给酶量条件下,酶活力回收提高了60%左右,活力回收最大值达到了30.5%,明显优于戊二醛直接共价固定的文献报道值.     

Purification and Characterization of a Chymosin from Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis

Purification and characterization of a chymosin from Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis were investigated in the present study. A newly isolated R. microsporus var. rhizopodiformis F518 produced a high level of milk-clotting activity (1,001 SU/mL). A chymosin from the fungus was purified 3.66-fold with a recovery yield of 33.2 %. The enzyme appeared as a single protein band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) with a molecular mass of 37.0 kDa. It was optimally active at 60 °C and was stable up to 40 °C. The purified enzyme was an acid protease with an optimum pH of 5.2 and retained 80 % of residual activity within pH 2.0–8.0. The inhibition of 96 and 100 % by pepstatin A at 0.01 and 0.02 mM, respectively, revealed that the enzyme is an aspartic protease. Thus, high milk-clotting activity of the chymosin with good stability will strengthen the potential use of the chymosin as a substitute for calf rennet in cheese manufacturing.     

固定化木瓜蛋白酶的制备和性质研究

多孔硅球固定化木瓜蛋白酶具有热增活性 .本文在前文研究的基础上 ,用载体交联法制备了甲壳胺固定化木瓜蛋白酶和纤维素固定化木瓜蛋白酶 .考察了固定化pH值、戊二醛浓度和给酶量对固定化木瓜蛋白酶活力的影响 .研究了固定化木瓜蛋白酶的性质 ,特别是热稳定性和耐热性 ,并与溶液酶和多孔硅球固定化木瓜蛋白酶进行了比较 .所制得的甲壳胺固定化木瓜蛋白酶和纤维素固定化木瓜蛋白酶的最适反应温度均达到了 80℃ ;90℃温育 1h后固定化酶的活力保持在 95 %以上 ;70℃温育处理 5h和 6h后固定化酶的活力也仍能保持在 90 %以上 .固定化木瓜蛋白酶的热稳定性和耐热性得到了显著提高     

Lactose‐containing hydrogels for enzyme stabilization

A lactose‐containing monomer, N‐(2‐lactosylethyl)acrylamide, was synthesized and polymerized with N‐hydroxyethyl acrylamide and 1 wt % of N, N'‐methylenebis(acrylamide) and potassium persulfate as the initiator to produce hydrogels. The weight percent of N‐(2‐lactosylethyl)acrylamide were increased from 0 to 100% in increments of 10%. Hydrogels were successfully produced with up to 90 wt % of N‐(2‐lactosylethyl)acrylamide. Gelation was confirmed by inverted vial tests and rheology measurements. The as‐prepared hydrogels were used for papain stabilization against heat burden and papain that was loaded into hydrogels showed 45% more activity after heating as compared to papain that was heated without hydrogel stabilization. This hydrogel stabilization technique has potential applications in preserving enzyme activity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 2507–2514     

Rosmarinic Acid and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lavandula vera</Emphasis> MM Cell Suspension Culture: A Comparative Study

The growth and intracellular protein content of lavender (Lavandula vera MM) cell suspension culture was followed along with some antioxidant defense system members—non-enzymatic (rosmarinic acid) and enzymatic [superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1) and catalase (EC 1.11.1.6)]. It was found that the media content and the cultivation mode strongly influenced the production of plant defense compounds as well as the ratio between non-enzymatic and enzymatic ones. The bioreactor culture contains about two times more rosmarinic acid, superoxide dismutase, and catalase compared to the shake-flask cultivation. These findings are discussed with respect to the relative stress levels and plant antioxidant orchestra system. It was concluded that investigated defense system components (enzymatic and non-enzymatic) were closely associated in a complex balance. The three isoenzyme forms of SOD (Cu/ZnSOD, FeSOD, and MnSOD) in the cells of Lavandula vera were revealed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis, and the FeSOD isoform exhibited highest activity.     

吸附-纤维素覆膜联合固定化酶

以食品工业中常用的木瓜蛋白酶为模式酶, 建立了吸附-纤维素覆膜联合固定化酶方法. 通过对吸附载体类别、 纤维素种类及溶剂、 保护剂种类及其浓度、 干燥方式及时间等的优化, 得到最佳的吸附-纤维素覆膜联合固定化酶工艺. 以硅藻土或HPD-417(大孔树脂)作为吸附载体, 甲基纤维素(分子量40000~50000)丙酮溶液作为覆膜溶液, 加入6%(质量分数)的聚乙二醇或麦芽糖作为覆膜保护剂, 于4 ℃干燥9 h, 制得固定化木瓜蛋白酶, 硅藻土吸附-纤维素覆膜固定化酶酶活回收率达到96.50%, HPD-417吸附-纤维素覆膜固定化酶酶活回收率达到93.92%. 对吸附-纤维素覆膜固定化酶的性质进行了研究, 发现纤维素覆膜后固定化酶具有良好的热稳定性, 于80 ℃下保存12 h后, 固定化酶活残余率仍然能保持90%左右; 在pH=4.5~9.5的范围内, 固定化酶的稳定性较好; 连续使用9次后, 固定化酶活残余率仍能保持95%左右.     

Detection of major xylanase-containing cellulose-binding domain from Penicillium verruculosum by combination of chromatofocusing and limited proteolysis

Adsorption on microcrystalline cell ulose of enzyme components of cellulase complex from Penicillium verruculosum was studied by chromatofocusing on a Mono P column. The most strongly adsorbed and major component was identified as xylanase (XYN) with MW 65 k Da and pl 4.5. The high adsorption degree of XYN on cellulose indicated the possible presence of a cellulose-binding domain in the molecular sturcture. Limited proteolysis of XYN with papain was carried out. Kinetics of proteolysis was monitored by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis and measuring activities toward insoluble xylan and 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-d-lactoside (MUF-LAC). During the proteolysis, formation of two polypeptides with MW 51 and 14k Da was observed. No loss of activity toward thesolu blesubstrate was observed, wherease the activity toward xylan decreased rapidly. Adsorption distribution coefficient (K _d) of the core protein separated by gel-filtration was found to be 15 times lower than the K _d for the initial nondigested XYN (0.02 and 0.29 L/g, respectively). The activity of core protein toward insoluble xylan was close to zero, whereas the activity toward MUF-LAC was close to that exhibited by the original enzyme. The results presented indicate a bifunctional organization of XYN, where one domain acts as a binding anchor for insoluble substrates and the other, localized in the core protein, contains the active site.     

离子液体对木瓜蛋白酶催化特性的影响

研究了以1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑、四乙基铵及N-乙基吡啶为阳离子, 配以多种阴离子(H₂PO₄^-, ClO₄^-, HSO₄^-, CH₃COO^-, Cl^-, Br^-, NO₃^-, SCN^-, BF₄^-, PF₆^-)的离子液体对木瓜蛋白酶催化N-苯甲酰-L-精氨酸乙酯(BAEE)水解的活性及热稳定性的影响. 通过分析含离子液体体系中木瓜蛋白酶的水解活性和热力学失活参数, 发现该酶活性及稳定性与离子液体的Kosmotropicity性质无关. 因此, 离子的Hofmeister效应并不适合解释离子液体对木瓜蛋白酶催化特性的影响规律. 当以BF₄^-为阴离子, 改变阳离子结构时, 仅[BMIm][BF₄]可提高酶活性, 其它含官能团的咪唑类离子液体则降低酶活性, 但大部分离子液体明显提高木瓜蛋白酶的热稳定性. 在所研究的离子液体中, 基于PF₆^-或BF₄^-阴离子的离子液体可提高木瓜蛋白酶的活性及其热稳定性. 在含[BMIm][PF₆]介质中, 木瓜蛋白酶的水解活性最高; 在含[HOEtMIm][BF₄]介质中其热稳定性最好.     

Papain incorporated chitin dressings for wound debridement sterilized by gamma radiation

Wound debridement is essential for the removal of necrotic or nonviable tissue from the wound surface to create an environment conducive to healing. Nonsurgical enzymatic debridement is an attractive method due to its effectiveness and ease of use. Papain is a proteolytic enzyme derived from the fruit of Carica papaya and is capable of breaking down a variety of necrotic tissue substrates. The present study was focused on the use of gamma radiation for sterilization of papain dressing with wound debriding activity. Membranes with papain were prepared using 0.5% chitin in lithium chloride/dimethylacetamide solvent and sterilized by gamma radiation. Fluid absorption capacity of chitin–papain membranes without glycerol was 14.30±6.57% in 6 h. Incorporation of glycerol resulted in significant (p<0.001) increase in the absorption capacity. Moisture vapour transmission rate of the membranes was 4285.77±455.61 g/m²/24 h at 24 h. Gamma irradiation at 25 kGy was found suitable for sterilization of the dressings. Infrared (IR) spectral scanning has shown that papain was stable on gamma irradiation at 25–35 kGy. The irradiated chitin–papain membranes were impermeable to different bacterial strains and also exhibited strong bactericidal action against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The fluid handling characteristics and the antimicrobial properties of chitin–papain membranes sterilized by gamma radiation were found suitable for use as wound dressing with debriding activity.