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I Theodor

Publications and source records attributed to I Theodor.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Isoforms of a highly specific B beta-chain fibrinogenase from the venom of Crotalus atrox: preliminary observations.

Three variants of a Crotalus atrox venom enzyme that cleaves primarily the Arg42 - Ala bond of the B beta-chain of human fibrinogen were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography and were shown by N-terminal sequence analysis to be amino acid isoforms. All are single-chain glycoproteins whose approximate molecular weights lie between 26,000 and 28,000. The isoenzymes also cleaved the A alpha-chain at Arg491 - His, though much more weakly, with strengths for both bonds that varied among the isoforms.

Amino Acid Sequence

Catroxobin, a weakly thrombin-like enzyme from the venom of Crotalus atrox. NH2-terminal and active site amino acid sequences.

Two thrombin-like isoenzymes, termed catroxobins, were purified by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography to electrophoretic homogeneity from the venom of the Western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox. By SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis their molecular weights were estimated to be 25,000 and 26,200. A 43-residue NH2-terminal sequence, containing the active histidine residue, was the same for the two isoenzymes. In addition, a 33-residue internal peptide from catroxobin I contained a normal active serine sequence. These sequences were highly homologous to other thrombin-like venom enzymes, and to pancreatic kallikrein and trypsin, but less so to the B chain of thrombin. Catroxobin, possessing 89 TAME esterase units/mg of protein, clotted human fibrinogen very slowly, releasing fibrinopeptide A and a small amount of fibrinopeptide B. No other evidence of cleavage of the fibrinogen molecule was revealed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or HPLC.

Amino Acid Sequence

On the location in the thrombin B chain of substrate recognition sites for fibrinopeptide release and factor XIII activation.

Thrombin, a serine proteinase comprised of two disulfide-linked subunits (A chain and B chain), induces clotting by releasing fibrinopeptide A from fibrinogen and then influences the character of the resulting fibrin by releasing fibrinopeptide B and by activating factor XIII. While the active center of thrombin is known to reside in its B chain, the subunit location of the structural determinants that govern the specific release of fibrinopeptides A and B and the activation of factor XIII have not been established. We have investigated the subunit location within the thrombin molecule of the determinants of substrate specificity for these actions using an isolated, immobilized B-chain preparation. Isolated B chain was prepared by covalently linking the intact thrombin molecule to Sepharose beads via the carbohydrate chain attached to asparagine 53 of its B chain, then reducing the single interchain disulfide bond to release the A chain, and finally reoxidizing the intrachain disulfide bonds of the immobilized B chain, allowing it to refold. The isolated, immobilized B chain of thrombin induced clotting of purified fibrinogen, releasing both fibrinopeptides A and B as demonstrated by HPLC and by electrophoresis of reduced fibrin chains. In addition, the B-chain preparation activated added factor XIII, yielding electrophoretically characteristic cross-linked fibrin chains.

Animals

Thrombin-like enzyme from the venom of Bitis gabonica. Purification, properties, and coagulant actions.

Gabonase, an enzyme which acts on fibrinogen and factor XIII in uniquely thrombin-like ways, was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from the venom of Bitis gabonica. On sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide electrophoresis, the reduced protein behaved as a single chain with Mr = 30,600. The enzyme contains 20.6% carbohydrate, no free sulfhydryl groups and hence, from amino acid analysis, five disulfide bonds. Its extinction coefficient (E1%1cm) at 280 nm is 9.6. Its pI is 5.3. Gabonase has an active serine residue, is inactivated by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, and has an active histidine which reacts with the chloromethyl ketone of tosyl-L-lysine. Its NH2-terminal amino acid sequence (Val-Val-Gly-Gly-Ala-Glu-Cys-Lys-Ile-Asp-Gly-His-Arg-Cys-Leu-Ala-Leu-Leu -Tyr-) is homologous to the B chain of thrombin. The activity of the enzyme is stabilized by calcium ion. It exhibits strong N alpha-p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl esterase activity, hydrolyzes tripeptide nitroanilide derivatives weakly or not at all, and cleaves no peptide bonds in insulin, glucagon, or the S peptide of ribonuclease. Gabonase clots fibrinogen with a specific activity of 45 NIH thrombin-equivalent units/mg, releasing both fibrinopeptides A and B and showing substrate inhibition at fibrinogen concentrations of 3 mg/ml or greater. The enzyme also activates factor XIII. It is not inactivated by either heparin or hirudin.

Amino Acid Sequence

Action of crotalase, an enzyme with thrombin-like and kallikrein-like specificities, on tripeptide nitroanilide derivatives.

Since crotalase has thrombin-like and kallikrein-like functional and structural properties, we compared the actions of crotalase, thrombin and plasma kallikrein on 13 tripeptide nitroanilide substrates. Initial rates of hydrolysis were determined at 27 degrees C, pH 8.3, and used to construct Lineweaver-Burk plots from which Km and Vmax were determined. The ratio of kcat/Km was taken as a measure of enzymatic specificity. Crotalase yielded kcat/Km values for the following nitroanilide substrates in descending order of magnitude: H-D-NLeu-CHA-Arg, H-D-Pro-HHT-Arg, Tos-Gly-Pro-Arg, H-D-PhGly-Phe-Arg, Cbo-Glu(BuO)-Gly-Arg, H-D-But-CHA-Lys, H-D-CHG-But-Arg, H-D-NLeu-HHT-Lys, H-D-HHT-Ala-Arg, Bz-Pro-Phe-Arg, Tos-Gly-Pro-Lys, MeS-Leu-Gly-Arg, MeO-CO-CHG-Gly-Arg. This pattern of specificity correlated only roughly with those of thrombin and kallikrein.

Chromogenic Compounds