Changes in conformation and enzymic activity of stem bromelain in alkaline media

Biochemistry ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1935-1938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Murachi ◽  
Mitsue Yamazaki

The cysteine proteinases form a group of enzymes which depend for their enzymic activity on the thiol group of a cysteine residue. Several which occur in plants have been investigated extensively and include papain, ficin and stem bromelain (Smith & Kimmel i960). Although the term papain, introduced last century to describe the proteolytic principle in papaya latex (Wurtz & Bouchut 1879) is still used to describe crude dried latex, the crystalline enzyme is readily obtained (Kimmel & Smith 1954). Ficin is known to consist of several closely related enzymes which have been resolved (Sgarbieri, Gupte, Kramer & Whitaker 1964), but for most structural and mechanistic studies the unresolved mixture of enzymes has been used. Stem bromelain also appears to be a mixture of at least two proteolytic enzymes which have not yet been resolved (Ota, Moore & Stein 1962; Murachi 1964). In spite of the recognized heterogeneity of ficin and stem bromelain, it does seem that both structurally and mechanistically they are similar to papain. Only one bacterial cysteine proteinase has received a detailed study, namely, streptococcal proteinase, and it appears to have little or no relation in its amino acid sequence with the plant enzymes (Liu, Stein, Moore & Elliott 1965). The functional groups involved in the catalytic mechanism are apparently the same as in the plant proteinases (Gerwin, Stein & Moore 1966; Liu 1967; Husain & Lowe 1968 a , c ), but the mechanism of action has not been extensively studied. It may well be however that the plant and bacterial cysteine proteinases have converged onto a similar mechanism of action by two independent evolutionary pathways, as now seems apparent for the animal and bacterial serine proteinases (Alden, Wright & Kraut, this volume, p. 119). Because the tertiary crystal structure of papain (Drenth, Jansonius, Koekoek, Swen & Wolthers 1968; see also the preceding paper, p. 231) is now known, a critical survey of this enzyme is apposite.


Biochemistry ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 2624-2630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Murachi ◽  
Yoko Yasuda ◽  
Noriko Takahashi

1986 ◽  
Vol 238 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Willenbrock ◽  
K Brocklehurst

Benzofuroxan reacts with the catalytic-site thiol group of cathepsin B (EC 3.4.22.1) to produce stoichiometric amount of the chromophoric reduction product, o-benzoquinone dioxime. In a study of the pH-dependence of the kinetics of this reaction, most data were collected for the bovine spleen enzyme, but the more limited data collected for the rat liver enzyme were closely similar both in the magnitude of the values of the second-order rate constants (k) and in the shape of the pH-k profile. In acidic and weakly alkaline media, the reaction is faster than the reactions of benzofuroxan with some other cysteine proteinases. For example, in the pH region around 5-6, the reaction of cathepsin B is about 10 times faster than that of papain, 15 times faster than that of stem bromelain and 6 times faster than that of ficin. The pH-dependence of k for the reaction of cathepsin B with benzofuroxan was determined in the pH range 2.7-8.3. In marked contrast with the analogous reactions of papain, ficin and stem bromelain [reported by Shipton & Brocklehurst (1977) Biochem. J. 167, 799-810], the pH-k profile for the cathepsin B reaction contains a sigmoidal component with pKa 5.2 in which k increases with decrease in pH. This modulation of the reactivity of the catalytic-site -S-/-ImH+ ion-pair state of cathepsin B (produced by protonic dissociation from -SH/-ImH+ with pKa approx. 3) towards a small, rigid, electrophilic reagent, in a reaction that appears to involve both components of the ion-pair for efficient reaction, suggests that the state of ionization of a group associated with a molecular pKa of approx. 5 may control ion-pair geometry. This might account for the remarkable finding [reported by Willenbrock & Brocklehurst (1984) Biochem. J. 222, 805-814] that, although the ion-pair appears to be generated in cathepsin B as the pH is increased across pKa 3.4, catalytic competence is not generated until the pH is increased across pKa 5-6.


1989 ◽  
Vol 61 (01) ◽  
pp. 131-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A Harvey ◽  
Hugh C Kim ◽  
Jonathan Pincus ◽  
Stanley Z Trooskin ◽  
Josiah N Wilcox ◽  
...  

SummaryTissue plasminogen activator labeled with radioactive iodine (125I-tPA) was immobilized on vascular prostheses chemically modified with a thin coating of water-insoluble surfactant, tridodecylmethylammonium chloride (TDM AC). Surfactant- treated Dacron, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), silastic, polyethylene and polyurethane bound appreciable amounts of 125I- tPA (5-30 μg 125I-tPA/cm2). Upon exposure to human plasma, the amount of 125I-tPA bound to the surface shows an initial drop during the first hour of incubation, followed by a slower, roughly exponential release with a t½ of appoximately 75 hours. Prostheses containing bound tPA show fibrinolytic activity as measured both by lysis of clots formed in vitro, and by hydrolysis of a synthetic polypeptide substrate. Prior to incubation in plasma, tPA bound to a polymer surface has an enzymic activity similar, if not identical to that of the native enzyme in buffered solution. However, exposure to plasma causes a decrease in the fibrinolytic activity of both bound tPA and enzyme released from the surface of the polymer. These data demonstrate that surfactant-treated prostheses can bind tPA, and that these chemically modified devices can act as a slow-release drug delivery system with the potential for reducing prosthesis-induced thromboembolism.


TAPPI Journal ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 689-694
Author(s):  
QINGZHI MA ◽  
QI WANG ◽  
CHU WANG ◽  
NIANJIE FENG ◽  
HUAMIN ZHAI

The effect of oxygen (O2)-delignified pine kraft pulp pretreatment by high-purity, thermostable, and alkaline-tolerant xylanases on elemental chlorine free (ECF) bleaching of O2-delignification kraft pulp was studied. The study found that xylanase pretreatment preserved the intrinsic viscosity and yield of O2-delignified pulp while causing about 7% of delignification with high delignification selectivity. The xylanases with high purity, higher thermostability (75°C~80°C) in highly alkaline media (pH 8.0~9.5) could be applied on an industrial scale. Pulp pretreatment by the high-purity, thermostable, and alkaline tolerant xylanases could improve pulp brightness or reduce the chlorine dioxide (ClO2) consumption. In a D0ED1D2 bleaching sequence using the same amount of ClO2, the xylanase-pretreated pulp obtained a higher brightness (88.2% vs. 89.7% ISO) at the enzyme dose of 2 U/g pulp; or for the same brightness as control (88.2% ISO), the ClO2 dosage in the D0 stage was reduced by 27%, which represents a 16% savings in total ClO2 used for bleaching.


MRS Advances ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (57-58) ◽  
pp. 2961-2972
Author(s):  
P.C. Meléndez-González ◽  
E. Garza-Duran ◽  
J.C. Martínez-Loyola ◽  
P. Quintana-Owen ◽  
I.L. Alonso-Lemus ◽  
...  

In this work, low-Pt content nanocatalysts (≈ 5 wt. %) supported on Hollow Carbon Spheres (HCS) were synthesized by two routes: i) colloidal conventional polyol, and ii) surfactant-free Bromide Anion Exchange (BAE). The nanocatalysts were labelled as Pt/HCS-P and Pt/HCS-B for polyol and BAE, respectively. The physicochemical characterization of the nanocatalysts showed that by following both methods, a good control of chemical composition was achieved, obtaining in addition well dispersed nanoparticles of less than 3 nm TEM average particle size (d) on the HCS. Pt/HCS-B contained more Pt0 species than Pt/HCS-P, an effect of the synthesis method. In addition, the structure of the HCS remains more ordered after BAE synthesis, compared to polyol. Regarding the catalytic activity for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) in 0.5 M KOH, Pt/HCS-P and Pt/HCS-B showed a similar performance in terms of current density (j) at 0.9 V vs. RHE than the benchmark commercial 20 wt. % Pt/C. However, Pt/HCS-P and Pt/HCS-B demonstrated a 6 and 5-fold increase in mass catalytic activity compared to Pt/C, respectively. A positive effect of the high specific surface area of the HCS and its interactions with metal nanoparticles and electrolyte, which promoted the mass transfer, increased the performance of Pt/HCS-P and Pt/HCS-B. The high catalytic activity showed by Pt/HCS-B and Pt/HCS-P for the ORR, even with a low-Pt content, make them promising cathode nanocatalysts for Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (AEMFC).


Alloy Digest ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  

Abstract VDM LC-Nickel 99.2 is unalloyed nickel which offers excellent corrosion resistance in many alkaline media. The metal also has good mechanical, magnetic, and magnetostrictive properties. It has a reduced carbon content to avoid graphitization at temperatures above 570 deg F (300 deg C). This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, elasticity, and tensile properties. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, joining, and surface treatment. Filing Code: Ni-502. Producer or source: VDM Technologies Corporation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 1159-1170
Author(s):  
Mohamed Azarkan ◽  
Mariana Marta González ◽  
Rafaèle Calvo Esposito ◽  
María Eugenia Errasti

Background: Antiplatelet, anticoagulant and fibrinolytic activities of stem bromelain (EC 3.4.22.4) are well described, but more studies are still required to clearly define its usefulness as an antithrombotic agent. Besides, although some effects of bromelain are linked to its proteolytic activity, few studies were performed taking into account this relationship. Objective: We aimed at comparing the effects of stem bromelain total extract (ET) and of its major proteolytic compounds on fibrinogen, fibrin, and blood coagulation considering the proteolytic activity. Methods: Proteolytic fractions chromatographically separated from ET (acidic bromelains, basic bromelains, and ananains) and their irreversibly inhibited counterparts were assayed. Effects on fibrinogen were electrophoretically and spectrophotometrically evaluated. Fibrinolytic activity was measured by the fibrin plate assay. The effect on blood coagulation was evaluated by the prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) tests. Effects were compared with those of thrombin and plasmin. Results: Acidic bromelains and ananains showed thrombin-type activity and low fibrinolytic activity, with acidic bromelains being the least effective as anticoagulants and fibrinolytics; while basic bromelains, without thrombin-like activity, were the best anticoagulant and fibrinolytic proteases present in ET. Procoagulant action was detected for ET and its proteolytic compounds by the APTT test at low concentrations. The measured effects were dependent on proteolytic activity. Conclusion: Two sub-populations of cysteine proteases exhibiting different effects on fibrin (ogen) and blood coagulation are present in ET. Using well characterized stem bromelain regarding its proteolytic system is a prerequisite for a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the bromelain action.


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