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Biomedical subjects

B J McRae

Publications and source records attributed to B J McRae.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Prevalence of antibodies to the core protein P17, a serological marker during HIV-1 infection.

Studies on monitoring the immune response to viral structural proteins during human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection have established the significance of antibodies to the core protein p24 during the progression of the disease. We have studied the prevalence of antibodies to the core protein p17 in order to study their diagnostic and prognostic significance in the pathogenesis of HIV-1. Full-length HIV-1 p17, molecularly cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli was purified by immunoaffinity chromatography using an HIV-1 p17-specific monoclonal antibody. A highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunoassay was developed using the purified recombinant p17 as the serological target to detect antibodies to p17. The results indicated that antibodies to p17 decline during progression of disease, with the decline being more dramatic as patients moved from asymptomatic to AIDS-related complex (ARC). Patient specimens deficient in p24 antibody, but having detectable levels of antibody to p17 were almost always positive for p24 antigen. Under these conditions, p17 antibody is an important serological marker because it provides a more consistent marker for core antigens during HIV-1 infection.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Human complement proteins D, C2, and B. Active site mapping with peptide thioester substrates.

The specificity and reactivity of complement serine proteases D, B, Bb, C2, and C2a were determined using a series of peptide thioester substrates. The rates of thioester hydrolysis were measured using assay mixtures containing the thiol reagent 4,4'-dithiodipyridine at pH 7.5. Each substrate contained a P1 arginine residue, and the effect of various groups and amino acids in the P2, P3, P4, and P5 positions was determined using kcat/Km values to compare reactivities. Among peptide thioesters corresponding to the activation site sequence in B, dipeptide thioesters containing a P2 lysine residue were the best substrates for D. Extending the chain to include a P3 or P4 amino acid resulted in loss of activity, and neither the tripeptide nor the tetrapeptide containing the cleavage sequence of B was hydrolyzed. Overall, D cleaved fewer substrates and was 2-3 orders of magnitude less reactive than C1s against some thioester substrates. C2 and fragment C2a had comparable reactivities and hydrolyzed peptides containing Leu-Ala-Arg and Leu-Gly-Arg, which have the same sequence as the cleavage sites of C3 and C5, respectively. The best substrates for C2 and C2a were Z-Gly-Leu-Ala-Arg-SBzl and Z-Leu-Gly-Leu-Ala-Arg-SBzl, respectively, where Bzl is benzyl. B was the least reactive among these complement enzymes. The best substrate for B was Z-Lys-Arg-SBzl with a kcat/Km value of 1370 M-1 s-1. The catalytic fragment of B, Bb, had higher activity toward these peptide thioester substrates. The best substrate for Bb was Z-Gly-Leu-Ala-Arg-SBzl with a kcat/Km similar to C2a and 10 times higher than the value for B. Both C2a and Bb were considerably more reactive against C3-like than C5-like substrates. Bovine trypsin hydrolyzed thioester substrates with kcat/Km approximately 10(3) higher than the complement enzymes. These thioester substrates for D, B, and C2 should be quite useful in kinetic and active site studies of the purified enzymes.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Peptide thioesters and 4-nitroanilides as substrates for porcine pancreatic kallikrein.

A series of 14 4-nitroanilide substrates and 17 thioester substrates have been used to measure kinetic constants with porcine pancreatic kallikrein. All of the substrates have a P1 arginine residue. The 4-nitroanilide substrates consist of seven P2-glycine and seven P2-phenylalanine tripeptides. As expected from previous results, the phenylalanine series substrates were generally 100-fold 'better' than those in the glycine series. The S3 subsite was found to 'prefer' lysine or phenylalanine, whereas glutamic acid in this position was distinctly unfavourable. The thioester substrates consisted of various thioester derivatives of arginine as well as 12 dipeptides. These substrates exhibited kcat./Km values generally 1000 times higher than the P2-phenylalanine 4-nitroanilides. With the thioesters, a P2 phenylalanine or tryptophan residue yielded the best substrates, but some of the simple derivatives of arginine were nearly as good. A comparison of the kinetic constants of the thioester substrates between the porcine enzyme and human plasma kallikrein provides further evidence that these enzymes have a similar preference for bulky P2 residues, but otherwise are quite different enzymes. The thioester substrates are nearly as reactive as oxygen ester substrates such as acetylphenylalanylarginine methyl ester for the porcine enzyme [Levison & Tomalin (1982) Biochem. J. 203, 299-302; Fiedler (1983) Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 156A, 263-274], and owing to the greater ease in assaying with the thioesters, they should find use in routine assays for the glandular kallikreins.

Anilides↗
PubMed1984

Kinetics of hydrolysis of peptide thioester derivatives of arginine by human and bovine thrombins.

Several peptide thioester substrates have been synthesized and tested with human thrombins (alpha, gamma, and nitrated), bovine thrombin, trypsin, and Factor X alpha beta. The substrates include various thioalkyl esters, thiobenzyl esters with substitution in the 4-position, substrates containing additional residues on the amino-terminal side of the scissile bond (P extended substrates) and one substrate containing additional residues on the carboxyl-terminal side (P' extended substrate). Neither the P nor the P' extensions resulted in significantly increased specificity; however, with one P extended substrate, D-Phe-Pro-Arg-SBzl, the KM with bovine thrombin (0.72 microM) was the second lowest KM yet reported. The results of this study underscore the importance of P vs. P' extension for thrombin substrates. The kinetic constants of the thiobenzyl esters were found to be little affected by the 4-position substitutions. A comparison of gamma-thrombin and nitrothrombin shows them to be quite similar kinetically, while both are significantly less reactive than alpha-thrombin. With these substrates, trypsin, bovine thrombin, and Factor X alpha beta have kcat/KM values in the approximate ratio of 35:10:1, respectively. The results presented here should be of value in the future design of reactive yet specific substrates for thrombin. The comparisons between the various enzymes could be helpful in clarifying the nature of their active sites.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Mammalian tissue trypsin-like enzymes. Comparative reactivities of human skin tryptase, human lung tryptase, and bovine trypsin with peptide 4-nitroanilide and thioester substrates.

The subsite specificity of human lung and skin tryptase (trypsin-like enzyme) has been studied at pH 7.5 using 17 amino acid and dipeptide thioester substrates and 14 tripeptide 4-nitroanilide substrates. The reactivity and specificity of the human tryptases were compared with bovine trypsin and other trypsin-like enzymes. Neither tryptase was similar to either kallikrein or factor XIIa (Hageman factor). The skin enzyme was the most reactive as measured by the specificity constant kcat/KM. The best substrate was benzyloxycarbonyl(Z)-Lys-Arg-S-CH2CH(CH3)2 which had a kcat/KM value of 59,000,000 M-1 S-1. Only a single substrate, Z-Glu-Phe-Arg-4-nitroanilide, was slightly more reactive with the lung tryptase. Both enzymes have extended substrate-binding sites and proline residues at P3 substantially decrease kcat/KM. Both enzymes preferred the tripeptide 4-nitroanilides with a P2 Gly residue over Phe, and both favored the substrate Z-Lys-Gly-Arg-4-nitroanilide over similar substrates containing six other representative amino acid residues at P3. The lung enzyme was inhibited over three times faster by p-amidinophenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride than the skin enzyme. The preference of the skin tryptase for substrates with two terminal basic residues indicates that this enzyme could process prohormones and proproteins which contain this structural feature at the cleavage site. The substrates reported in this paper should be useful for the further characterization of the physiologic function of tryptases.

Anilides↗
PubMed1981

Mapping the active sites of bovine thrombin, factor IXa, factor Xa, factor XIa, factor XIIa, plasma kallikrein, and trypsin with amino acid and peptide thioesters: development of new sensitive substrates.

The subsite specificities of bovine factor IXa, factor Xa, factor XIa, factor XIIa, thrombin, plasma kallikrein, and trypsin were mapped with amino acid, dipeptide, and longer peptide thioester substrates. Each substrate contained a P1 Arg residue. The P1' residues included thiol residues which are analogues of valine, leucine, and isoleucine, respectively, and the P2 residue included 12 representative amino acid residues. Longer substrates with the sequence at the antithrombin III reactive site and at the zymogen activation site of various coagulation factors were also studied. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the thioesters was measured in the presence of 4,4'-dithiodipyridine which provides a very sensitive assay for the free thiol. The thioesters were excellent substrates for the coagulation factors studied, and the kcat/Km values for the best thioester substrates were higher than those previously reported for most of these enzymes. Thrombin and plasma kallikrein were the most active of the coagulation factors toward the thioester substrates. The best substrate for thrombin was Z-Gly-Arg-SCH2C6H5, although substrates containing proline in the P2 position were also quite effective. Some of the better substrates for plasma kallikrein had a P2 Phe or Trp residue. Factor IXa was the least reactive of the coagulation factors and hydrolyzed only four of the dipeptide thioesters. Substrates with bulky hydrophobic groups such as Phe or Trp in the P2 position were the most reactive with factor IXa. Factor Xa hydrolyzed all the thioester substrates tested, the most reactive being Z-Gly-Arg-SCH2C6H5. This is consistent with the fact that glycine and arginine are present in the P2 and P1 positions, respectively, of the factor Xa sensitive bonds in prothrombin which is the physiological substrate for factor Xa. Bovine factor XIa showed the least amount of specificity of the various coagulation factors and was quite reactive toward all of the thioester substrates. The most sensitive substrate for this enzyme was also Z-Gly-Arg-SCH2C6H5. Factor XIIa preferred the dipeptide with a P2 Phe, although the simpler thioester Z-Arg-SCH2CH(CH3)2 was more reactive. Trypsin hydrolyzed all of the thioester substrates at a high rate and showed little substrate specificity. With all enzymes studied, extension of the thioester substrate beyond P2 or the P1' thiol leaving group did not lead to an improvement in hydrolysis. Due to their high kcat/Km values and the ease of detecting the thiol leaving group, thioester substrates should be extremely useful for future studies of coagulation proteases.

Amino Acids, Sulfur↗