Presence of endo-oligopeptidase (EC 3.4.22.19), a putative neuropeptide-metabolizing endopeptidase in cells of the immune system (original) (raw)

Molecular and Immunochemical Evidences Demonstrate That Endooligopeptidase A Is the Predominant Cytosolic Oligopeptidase of Rabbit Brain

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2000

Oligopeptidases are tissue endopeptidases that do not attack proteins and are likely to be involved in the maturation and degradation of peptide hormones and neuropeptides. The rabbit brain endooligopeptidase A and the rat testes soluble metallopeptidase (EC 3.4.24.15) are thiol-activated oligopeptidases which are able to generate enkephalin from a number of opiod peptides and to inactivate bradykinin and neurotensin by hydrolyzing the same peptide bonds. A monospecific antibody raised against the purified rabbit brain endooligopeptidase A allowed the identification of a 2.3 kb cDNA coding for a truncated enzyme of 512 amino acids, displaying the same enzymatic features as endooligopeptidase A. In spite of all efforts, employing several strategies, the full-length cDNA could not be cloned until now. The analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence showed no similarity to the rat testes metalloendopeptidase sequence, except for the presence of the typical metalloprotease consensus sequence [HEXXH]. The antibody raised against recombinant endooligopeptidase A specifically inhibited its own activity and reduced the thiol-activated oligopeptidase activity of rabbit brain cytosol to less than 30%. Analysis of the endooligopeptidase A tissue distribution indicated that this enzyme is mainly expressed in the CNS, whereas the soluble metallo EC 3.4.24.15 is mainly expressed in peripheral tissues.

Brain Endo-Oligopeptidase A, a Putative Enkephalin Converting Enzyme

Journal of Neurochemistry, 1987

Endo-oligopeptidase A, highly purified from the cytosol fraction of bovine brain by immunoaffinity chromatography, has been Characterized as a thiol endopeptidase. This enzyme, known to hydrolyze the Phe5-Ser6 bond of bradykinin and the Arg8-Arg9 bond of neurotensin, has been shown to produce, by a single cleavage, Leu'-enkephalin or Met5-enkephalin from small enkephalin-containing peptides. Enkephalin formation could be inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by the alternative substrate bradykinin. The optimal substrate size was found to be eight to 13 amino acids, with enkephalin the only product released from precursors in which this sequence is immediately followed by a pair of basic residues. However, the specificity constants (kJK,,,) obtained for endo-oligopeptidase A hydrolysis of bradykinin, neurotensin, and dynorphin B are of the same order, a result indicating that the substrate amino acid sequence is not the only factor determining the cleavage site of this enzyme.

Autoimmunoregulation: differential modulation of CD10/neutral endopeptidase 24.11 by tumor necrosis factor and neuropeptides

Journal of Neuroimmunology, 1992

Neutral endopeptidase (NEP) 24.11 appears to be an important enzyme in both vertebrate and invertebrate autoimmunoregulation. Activation of human or invertebrate immunocytes that express NEP with substrates such as monokines and neuropeptides results in its increased expression, in other words, upregulation. However, since certain neuropeptides are also substrates for NEP, these activated immunocytes will respond to neuropeptides only at higher concentrations, thus downregulating the response. Specifically, in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-treated immunocytes, we demonstrate the effects of increased NEP expression on altering the stimulatory activities of the neuropeptides met-enkephalin, melanocyte-stimulating hormone and substance P. We demonstrate the significance of NEP in modulating these responses through the use of specific enzyme inhibitors such as phosphoramidon, thiorphan and captopril. Furthermore, we present evidence suggesting that the individual variations seen in immunocytes from both different and the same donors to activating substances may reflect fluctuating levels of NEP expressed in response to endogenous stimuli. These results indicate that NEP is a highly significant factor in controlling the response(s) of certain immunocytes in man and higher invertebrates to the influence of biologically active substances such as monokines and neuropeptides.

Neuropeptide Specificity and Inhibition of Recombinant Isoforms of the Endopeptidase 3.4.24.16 Family: Comparison with the Related Recombinant Endopeptidase 3.4.24.15

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 1998

Endopeptidase 3.4.24.16 (also referred to as neuro-Endopeptidase EC 3.4.24.16 (EP24.16c, neurolysin) and lysin) was first detected (1) and later purified from rat thimet oligopeptidase EC 3.4.24.15 are close related membrain synaptic membranes on the basis of its ability to bers of a large family of metalloproteases. Besides their inactivate the gut-brain tridecapeptide neurotensin (2). cytosolic and membrane bound form, endopeptidase EC This activity appeared to display a dual cytosolic and 3.4.24.16 appears to be present in the inner membrane membrane-associated subcellular localization (1), a of the mitochondria (EP24.16m). We have overexpressed feature that appeared clearly to be cell specific as the two porcine EP24.16 isoforms in E. coli and purified the membrane-bound counterpart was evidenced at the recombinant proteins to homogeneity. We show here that electron microscopic level in primary cultured neurons these peptidases hydrolyse a series of neuropeptides but not in astrocytes (3). The molecular cloning of the with similar rates and at sites reminiscent of those rat brain enzyme did not elucidate the structural feaelicited by classically purified human brain EP24.16c.

A selective assay for endooligopeptidase a based on the cleavage of fluorogenic substrate structurally related to enkephalin

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 1990

A antibodies and by inhibitor and alternative substrates of the enzyme. Evidences based on the action of inhibitors and on the analysis of QF-ERP7 fragments demonstrated that endooligopeptidase A contributes with 100% of the QF-ERP7 cleaving activity found in the cytosol of rabbit brain homogenates and with 85% of that recovered in the membrane fraction. Homologous substrates, Abz-G-G-F-L-R-R-EDDn and Abz-G-G-F-L-R-EDDn, were resistant to hydrolysis. The convenience and .~;ensitivity of the fluorimetric assay based on the QF-ERP7 moiety offers several advantages compared with previously described painstaking procedures for endooligopeptidase A activity measurements, what will certainly contribute to further our understanding of the role of this enzyme on the peptide hormone metabolism.

Distribution and properties of endo-oligopeptidases A and B in the human neuroendocrine system

Journal of Endocrinology, 1992

The thiol activated endo-oligopeptidases A and B were studied in the soluble fraction of human hypothalamus and various endocrine glands. For the identification, characterization and purification of the enzymes, Z-Gly-Pro-NH-Np and bradykinin were used as substrates. Endo-oligopeptidase B showed a molecular mass ranging from 55·5 to 65·5 kDa and isoelectric point from 4·7 to 4·95. Its activity in tissues was highest in the testis, with intermediate levels in the thyroid, neurohypophysis, adenohypophysis and hypothalamus and the lowest activity in the pineal gland. Endo-oligopeptidase A, 467-fold purified by immunoaffinity chromatography, exhibited a molecular mass of 65·5 kDa in the adenohypophysis but 58·5 kDa in other tissues. The isoelectric point ranged from 5·22 to 5·50. High endo-oligopeptidase A activity was observed in the adenohypophysis, testis and hypothalamus with lesser activity in the neurohypophysis and thyroid and the lowest in the pineal gland. Endo-oligopeptidase A...

Expression of endo-oligopeptidase A in the rat central nervous system: a non-radioactive in situ hybridization study

2001

Endo-oligopeptidase A (EOPA, formerly EC 3.4.22.19), a thiol-activated oligopeptidase, is able to degrade both bradykinin and neurotensin, and also to convert enkephalin-containing peptides into enkephalins. The expression of this enzyme was studied in the rat brain by in situ hybridization using non-radiotopic probes. The distribution of EOPA transcripts included many regions of the rat central nervous system, with higher expression in some regions, such as the hippocampus, cerebellum, and basal nucleus of Meynert. The marked EOPA expression in these areas could be anticipated, since they are rich in neuropeptides that are known to be EOPA substrates in vitro. The data characterize a widespread occurrence of EOPA in the rat brain and reinforce the suggestion of a critical role for EOPA in peptide processing.

Stably Transfected Human Cells Overexpressing Rat Brain Endopeptidase 3.4.24.16: Biochemical Characterization of the Activity and Expression of Soluble and Membrane-Associated Counterparts

Journal of Neurochemistry, 2002

Abstract: We recently cloned endopeptidase-24.16 (neurolysin; EC 3.4.24.16), a neurotensin-degrading peptidase likely involved in the physiological termination of the neurotensinergic signal in the central nervous system and in the gastrointestinal tract. We stably transfected human kidney cells with the pcDNA3-λ7aB1 construction bearing the whole open reading frame encoding the rat brain peptidase. Transfectants displayed endopeptidase-24.16 immunoreactivity and exhibited QFS- and neurotensin-hydrolyzing activities, the biochemical and specificity properties of which fully matched those observed with the purified murine enzyme. Cryoprotection experiments and substrate degradation by intact plated cells indicated that transfectants exhibited a membrane-associated form of endopeptidase-24.16, the catalytic site of which clearly faced the extracellular domain. Transfected cells were unable to secrete the enzyme. Overall, our experiments indicate that we have obtained stably transfectant cells that overexpress an enzymatic activity displaying biochemical properties identical to those of purified endopeptidase-24.16. The membrane-associated counterpart and lack of secretion of the enzyme were clearly reminiscent of what was observed with pure cultured neurons, but not with astrocytes. Therefore, the transfected cell model described here could prove useful for establishing, by a mutagenesis approach, the structural elements responsible for the “neuronal” phenotype exhibited by the enzyme in transfected cells.

Endopeptidase-24.11, a Cell-Surface Peptidace of Central Nervous System Neurons, Is Expressed by Schwann Cells in the Pig Peripheral Nervous System

Journal of Neurochemistry, 1991

Endopeptidase-24.11 is a 90-kDa surface glycoprotein with the ability to hydrolyze a variety of biologically active peptides. Interest in this enzyme is based on the consensus that it may play a role in the termination of peptide signals in the central nervous system. In the present study, we have investigated the distribution of endopeptidase-24.11 in two nerves of the peripheral nervous system of newborn pigs: the sciatic, composed of a mixture of myelinated and nonmyelinated axons, and the cervical sympathetic trunk in which >99% of the axons are nonmyelinated. The endopeptidase was monitored enzymatically, as well as by immunoblotting and immunocytochemistry using mono-and polyclonal anti-endopeptidase antibodies. Endopeptidase-24.1 1 was detected in both the sciatic nerve and the cervical sympathetic trunk. Membrane preparations from sciatic nerve hydrolyzed '2SI-insulin B-chain, and more than 50% of the activity was inhibited by phosphoramidon with an ICso concentration of 3.2 nM. Moreover, a 90-kDa polypep-tide was detected by immunoblotting of sciatic nerve membranes. The type of cells expressing the endopeptidase was determined by immunohistochernistry. In teased nerve preparations, these cells were identified morphologically as myelinand non-myelin-forming Schwann cells. Endopeptidase-24.11 was also expressed by cultured Schwann cells from sciatic nerve and cervical sympathetic trunk maintained for 3 h in vitro. The presence of endopeptidase-24.11 on the Schwann cell surface raises the possibility of a potential role for the enzyme in nerve development and/or regeneration.