D-Leucine p-nitroanilide

The absorption spectrum of cobalt(II)-substituted Aeromonas aminopeptidase is markedly perturbed by the presence of equimolar concentrations of D-amino acid hydroxamates and acyl hydroxamates that have previously been shown to be powerful inhibitors of this enzyme (Wilkes, S. H., and Prescott, J. M. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 13517-13521). D-Valine hydroxamate produces the most distinctive perturbation, splitting the characteristic 527 nm absorption peak of the cobalt enzyme to form peaks at 564, 520, and 487 nm with molar extinction values of 126, 98, and 67 M-1 cm-1, respectively. A qualitatively similar perturbation, albeit with lower extinction values, results from the addition of D-leucine hydroxamate, whereas D-alanine hydroxamate perturbs the spectrum, but does not evoke the peak at 564 nm. In contrast, hydroxamates of L-valine and L-leucine in concentrations equi-molar to that of the enzyme produce only faint indications of change in the spectrum, but the hydroxamates of several other L-amino acids perturb the spectrum essentially independently of the identity of the side chain and in a qualitatively different manner from that of D-valine hydroxamate and D-leucine hydroxamate. At the high enzyme:substrate ratios used in the spectral experiments, L-leucine hydroxamate and L-valine hydroxamate proved to be rapidly hydrolyzed, hence their inability to perturb the spectrum of the cobalt-substituted enzyme during the time course of a spectral experiment. Values of kcat for L-amino acid hydroxamates, all of which are good reversible inhibitors of the hydrolysis of L-leucine-p-nitroanilide by Aeromonas aminopeptidase, were found to range from 0.01 min-1 to 5.6 min-1 for the native enzyme and from 0.27 min-1 to 108 min-1 for the cobalt-substituted enzyme; their km values toward the cobalt aminopeptidase range from 1.2 X 10(-7) M to 1.9 X 10(-5) M. The mutual exclusivity of binding for hydroxamate inhibitors and 1-butaneboronic acid, previously shown by kinetics (Baker, J. O., Wilkes, S. H., Bayliss, M. E., and Prescott, J. M. (1983) Biochemistry 22, 2098-2103), was reflected in the characteristic spectra produced by these two types of inhibitors.

We recently described the purification of two aminopeptidases from Streptomyces griseus (Vosbeck, K.D., Chow, K.-F., and Awad, W.M., Jr. (1973) J. Biol. Chem. 248, 6329-6034). An analysis of the amino acid composition reveals very little differences in the two proteins. Each protein has alanine as the NH2-terminal residue. The aminopeptidases were treated separately with acetic anhydride; as noted in the past, the presence of glycerol is required to achieve excellent yields of acetylated active derivatives (Siegel, S., and Awad, W.M., Jr. (1973 J. Biol. Chem. 248, 3233-3240). However, in the present case much higher concentrations of glycerol (50%) are needed during acetylation to obtain derivatives with completely reacted NH2-terminal residues. The epsilon-amino groups were not completely acetylated. In contrast to the native enzymes, the acetylated derivatives show an affinity for DEAE-cellulose, a property consonant with the changes in net charge. The kinetic constants for each enzyme against L-leucine-p-nitroanilide do not change significantly after acetylation. The specificities of the two aminopeptidases were examined extensively on a semiquantitative basis. The activities are not restricted by the length of substrate chains. Each enzyme shows a preference for hydrophobic residues at the ultimate and penultimate positions. Charge residues are released a slower rates. No prolidase activity is demonstrable even at high enzyme to substrate ratios; however, NH2-terminal proline residues are released readily. D-Amino acid residues at the ultimate or penultimate position substantially reduce the rate of hydrolysis; D-leucyl-D-leucine is not hydrolyzed...

As one of key bacterial proteins involved in vancomycin resistance, VanX is a D,D-dipeptidase that impedes bacterial cell wall biosynthesis by hydrolyzing the essential D-Ala-D-Ala dipeptide. Based on a report by Crowder and co-workers that L-alanine-p-nitroanilide (L-Ala-pNA) was a useful substrate for continuous assay of VanX, we constructed a library of 35 L- and D-amino acid p-nitroanilides to provide the needed diversity to discover new substrates that are more specific than L-Ala-pNA. We report here that, among all compounds tested, D-leucine-p-nitroanilide (D-Leu-pNA) was found to be the best substrate for VanX enzyme (KM=8.9+/-1.2 mM, kcat=0.0102+/-0.0016 s(-1), kcat/KM=0.0012 mM(-1)s(-1)). Although it is catalytically inefficient, this new VanX substrate needs essentially no sophisticated synthetic chemistry for preparation and therefore offers a convenient means for routine analysis of enzyme catalysis and the screening of potential inhibitors. Moreover, because it is the uncommon leucine in its D form in D-Leu-pNA, enzymatic activities due to other contaminated species in Escherichia coli used for VanX overproduction should be greatly reduced.