• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.273-281
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• 2013

The purpose of this research was to investigate the production and characterization of alkaline protease from Micrococcus sp. PS-1 newly isolated from seawater. Micrococcus sp. PS-1 was grown in Luria-Bertani (LB) medium. Its optimal temperature and pH for growth were $30^{\circ}C$ and 7.0, respectively. The effect of nitrogen sources was investigated on optimal enzyme production. A high level of alkaline protease production occurred in LB broth containing 2% skimmed milk. The protease was purified in a 3-step procedure involving ultrafiltration, acetone precipitation, and dialysis. The procedure yielded a 16.43-purification fold, with a yield of 54.25%. SDS-PAGE showed that the enzyme had molecular weights of 35.0 and 37.5 kDa. Its maximum protease activity was exhibited at pH 9.0 and $37^{\circ}C$, and its activity was stable at pH 8.0-11.0 and $25-37^{\circ}C$. The protease activity was strongly inhibited by PMSF, EDTA, and EGTA. Taken together, the results demonstrate that the protease enzyme from Micrococcus sp. PS-1 probably belongs to a subclass of alkaline metallo-serine proteases.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.160-168
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• 2000

A-factor I a microbial hormone that can positively control cell differentiation leading to spore formation and secondary metabolite formation in Streptomyces griseus. to identify a protease that is deeply involved in the morphological and physiological differentiation of Streptomyces, the proteases produced by Streptomyces griseus IFO 13350 and its A-factor deficient mutant strain, Streptomyces griseus HH1, as well as Streptomyces griseus HH1 transformed with the afsA gene were sturdied. In general Streptomyces griseus showed a higher degree of cell growth and protease activity in proportion to its ability to produce a higher amount of A-factor. In particular, the specific activity of the trypsin of Streptomyces griseus IFO 13350 was greatly enhanced more than twice compared with that of Streptomyces griseus HH1 in the later stage of growth. The specific activity of the metalloprotease of Streptomyces griseus HH1 was greatly enhanced more than twice compared with that of Streptomyces griseus IFO 13350, and this observation was reversed in the presence of thiostreptione, However, Streptomyces griseus HH1 transformed with the afsA gene showed a significantly decreased level of trypsin and metalloprotease activity compared with that of the HH1 strain. There was no significant difference between Streptomyces griseus IFO 13350 and HH1 strain in their chymotrypsin and thiol protease activity, yet the level of leu-amionpeptidase activity was 2 times higher in Streptomyces griseus HH1 than in strain IFO 13350 . Streptomyces griseus HH1 harboring afsA showed a similar level of enzyme activity , however, all the three protease activities sharply increased and the thiol protease activity was critically increased at the end of the fermentation. When a serine protease inhibitor, pefabloc SC, and metalloprotease inhibitor, EDTA, were applied to strain IFO 13350 to examine the in vivo effects of the protease inhibitors on the morpholofical differentiation, the formation of aerial meycelium and spores was delayed by two or three days.

• BMB Reports
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 1997

Alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. S-1 secretes a large amount (approximately 80% of total pullulanase activity) of an extracellular pullulanase (PUL-E). The pullulanase exists in two forms: a precursor form (PUL-I: $M_r$ 180,000), and a processed form (PUL-E: $M_r$ 140,000). Two forms were purified to homogeneity and their properties were compared. PUL-I was different in molecular weight, isoelectric point, $NH_2$-terminal amino acid sequence, and stabilities over pH and temperature ranges. The catalytic activities of PUL-I were also distinguishable in the $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values for various substrates, and in the specific activity for pullulan hydrolysis. PUL-E showed 10-fold higher specific activities than PUL-I. However. PUL-I is immunologically identical to PUL-E, suggesting that PUL-I is initially synthesized and proteolytically processed to the mature form of PUL-E. Processing was inhibited by PMSF, but not by pepstatin, suggesting that some intracellular serine proteases could be responsible for processing of the PUL-I. PUL-I has a different conformational structure for antibody recognition from that of PUL-E. It is also postulated that the translocation of alkaline pullulanase(AP) in the bacterium possibly requires processing of the $NH_2$-terminal region of the AP protein. Processing of the precursor involves a conformational shift. resulting in a mature form. Therefore. precursor processing not only cleaves the signal peptide, but also induces conformational shift. allowing development of active form of the enzyme.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.85-96
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• 1988

Purification and some properties of alkaline proteinases in the pyloric caeca of skipjack, Katsuwonus vagans, were investigated. Four alkaline proteinases, temporarily designated proteinases I, II, III and IV, were identified from the tissue extract of the pyloric caeca by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sephadex A-50 chromatography, and Sephadex G-100 and G-200 gel filtration. Result of disc-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis showed that the purified proteinases II and III were homogenous with the yields of $1.5\%\;and\;1.2\%$, and those specific activities were increased to 33 to 37 fold over that of the crude enzyme solution, respectively. Molecular weight of the proteinases II and III determined by sephadex G-100 gel filtration were 28,500 and 24,200, respectively. The optimum conditions for the caseinolytic activity of the two enzymes were pH 9.6 and $48^{\circ}C$. The reaction rates of the two alkaline proteinases were constant to the reaction time to 80 min in the reaction mixture of $3.4{\mu}g/ml$ of enzyme concentration and $2\%$ casein solution. The Km values against casein substrate determined by the method of Lineweaver-Burk were $0.56\%$ for proteinase II and $0.30\%$ for proteinase II. The proteinases II and III were inactivated under the presence of $Ag^+,\;Hg^{2+},\;Ni{2+},\;Fe^{2+},\;and\;Cu^{2+}$, and but activated by $Mn^{2+}\;and\;Ca^{2+}$ and markedly inhibited by the soybean trypsin inhibitor and N-p-toluenesulfonyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone. Therefore, the proteinases II and III were found to be a group of serine proteases and assured to be trypsin-like proteinases.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.58-68
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• 2012

An investigation was conducted on the enhancement of production and purification of an oxidant and SDS-stable alkaline protease (BHAP) secreted by an alkalophilic Bacillus horikoshii, which was screened from the body fluid of a unique Korean polychaeta (Periserrula leucophryna) living in the tidal mud flats of Kwangwha Island in the Korean West Sea. A prominent effect on BHAP production was obtained by adding 2% maltose, 1% sodium citrate, 0.8% NaCl, and 0.6% sodium carbonate to the culturing medium. The optimal medium for BHAP production contained (g/l) SBM, 15; casein, 10; $K_2HPO_4$, 2; $KH_2PO_4$, 2; maltose, 20; sodium citrate, 10; $MgSO_4$, 0.06; NaCl, 8; and $Na_2CO_3$, 6. A protease yield of approximately 56,000 U/ml was achieved using the optimized medium, which is an increase of approximately 5.5-fold compared with the previous optimization (10,050 U/ml). The BHAP was homogenously purified 34-fold with an overall recovery of 34% and a specific activity of 223,090 U/mg protein using adsorption with Diaion HPA75, hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) on Phenyl-Sepharose, and ion-exchange chromatography on a DEAE- and CM-Sepharose column. The purified BHAP was determined a homogeneous by SDS-PAGE, with an apparent molecular mass of 28 kDa, and it showed extreme stability towards organic solvents, SDS, and oxidizing agents. The $K_m$ and $k_{cat}$ values were 78.7 ${\mu}M$ and $217.4s^{-1}$ for N-succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-pNA at $37^{\circ}C$ and pH 9, respectively. The inhibition profile exhibited by PMSF suggested that the protease from B. horikoshii belongs to the family of serine proteases. The BHAP, which showed high stability against SDS and $H_2O_2$, has significance for industrial application, such as additives in detergent and feed industries.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1581-1588
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• 2018

The growth of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) generates a high number of metabolites related to aromas and flavors in fermented dairy foods. These microbial proteases are involved in protein hydrolysis that produces necessary peptides for their growth and releases different molecules of interest, like bioactive peptides, during their activity. Each genus in particular has its own proteolytic system to hydrolyze the necessary proteins to meet its requirements. This review aims to highlight the differences between the proteolytic systems of Streptococcus thermophilus and other lactic acid bacteria (Lactococcus and Lactobacillus) since they are microorganisms that are frequently used in combination with other LAB in the elaboration of fermented dairy products. Based on genetic studies and in vitro and in vivo tests, the proteolytic system of Streptococcus thermophilus has been divided into three parts: 1) a serine proteinase linked to the cellular wall that is activated in the absence of glutamine and methionine; 2) the transport of peptides and oligopeptides, which are integrated in both the Dpp system and the Ami system, respectively; according to this, it is worth mentioning that the Ami system is able to transport peptides with up to 23 amino acids while the Opp system of Lactococcus or Lactobacillus transports chains with less than 13 amino acids; and finally, 3) peptide hydrolysis by intracellular peptidases, including a group of three exclusive of S. thermophilus capable of releasing either aromatic amino acids or peptides with aromatic amino acids.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.527-536
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• 2009

A potent protein degrading bacterium was isolated from soil samples of different environments. Polyphasic taxonomic studies and phylogenetic 16S rRNA sequence analyses led to identify the isolate IB No. 11 as a strain of Bacillus subtilis. The isolated strain was recognized to produce protease constitutively, and the maximum production (1.64 units/ml) was attained in a shake flask culture when the isolate was grown at $40^{\circ}C$, for 32 h in basal medium supplemented with starch (0.25%) and gelatin (1.25%) as sole carbon and nitrogen source, respectively. The optimum pH and temperature for the protease activity were determined to be pH 7.0 and $50^{\circ}C$, respectively. $Ca^{2+}$ and $Mn^{2+}$ enhanced remarkably the protease activity but neither showed positive effect on the protease's thermal stability. In addition, it was observed that the protease was fairly stable in the pH range of 6.5-8.0 and at temperatures below $50^{\circ}C$, and it could be a good candidate for an animal feed additive. The inhibition profile of the protease by various inhibitors indicated that the enzyme is a member of serine-proteases. A combination of UV irradiation and NTG mutagenesis allowed to develop a protease hyper-producing mutant strain coded as IB No. 11-4. This mutant strain produced approximately 3.23-fold higher protease activity (6.74 units/mg) than the parent strain IB No. 11 when grown at $40^{\circ}C$ for 32h in the production medium. The protease production profile of the selected mutants was also confirmed by the zymography analysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.62-62
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• 2003

The native form of serpin (serine protease inhibitor) is kinetically trapped in metastable state. Metastability in these proteins is critical to their biological function. Serpins inhibit target proteases by forming a stable covalent complex in which the cleaved reactive site loop of the serpin is inserted into $\beta$-sheet A of the serpin with concomitant translocation of the protease to the opposite of the initial binding site. Despite recent determination of the crystal structures of a Michaelis protease-serpin complex as well as a stable covalent complex, details on the kinetic mechanism remain unsolved. In this study we constructed several $\alpha$$_1$-antitrypsin variants and examined their kinetic mechanism of loop translocation and formation of protease-serpin complex by stopped-flow experiments of fluorescence resonance energy transfer as well as quenched-flow experiment. We report here the relationship of serpin's conformational switch mechanism with Inhibitory activity. There is little direct correlation between loop insertion rate and inhibitory activity. Rather, disrupting a salt bridge between R196 and E354 accelerates loop translocation even though it impairs the inhibitory activity. Moreover, the serpin's reactive site loop is translocated, at least partially, prior to loop cleavage.

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.199-205
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• 2004

The six lumbrokinase fractions (F1 to F6) with fibrinolytic activities were purified from earthworm Lumbricus rubellus lysates using the procedures of autolysis, ammonium sulfate fractionation, and column chromatography. The proteolytic activities on the casein substrate of the six iso-enzymes ranged from 11.3 to 167.5 unit/mg with the rank activity orders of F2 > F1 > F5 > F6 > F3 > F4. The fibrinolytic activities of the six fractions on the fibrin plates ranged from 20.8 to 207.2 unit/mg with rank orders of F6 > F2 > F5 > F3 > F1 > F4. The molecular weights of each iso-enzyme, as estimated by SDS-PAGE, were 24.6 (F1), 26.8 (F2), 28.2 (F3), 25.4 (F4), 33.1 (F5), and 33.0 kDa (F6), respectively. The plasminogen was activated into plasmin by the enzymes. The optimal temperature of the six iso-enzymes was $50^{\circ}C$, and the optimal pH ranged from pH 4-12. The four iso-enzymes (F1-F4) were completely inhibited by PMSF. The two enzymes (F5 and F6) were completely inhibited by aprotinin, TLCK, TPCK, SBTI, LBTI, and leupeptin. The N-terminal amino acid (aa) sequences of the first 20 to 22 residues of each fraction had high homology. All six isoenzymes had identical aa residues 2-3 and 13-15. The N-terminal 21-22 aa sequences of the F2, F3, and F4 isoenzymes were almost the same. The N-terminal aa sequences of F5 and F6 were identical.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.799-803
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• 2005

In the course of screening anti-dementia agents from natural products, two $\beta$-secretase (BACE1) inhibitors were isolated from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Sanguisorbae Radix by the activity-guided purification using silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and RP-HPLC. They were identified as 1,2,3-trigalloyl-4,6-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside (Tellimagrandin II, 1) and 1,2,3,4,6-pentagalloyl-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside (2) and were shown to non-competitively inhibit $\beta$-secretase (BACE1) with the $IC_{50}$ values of $3.10{\times}10^{-6}M\;and\;3.76{\times}10^{-6}M$, respectively. The Ki values of 1 and 2 were $6.84{\times}10^{-6}M\;and\;5.13{\times}10^{-6}M$. They were less inhibitory to asecretase (TACE) and other serine proteases such as chymotrypsin, trypsin, and elastase, suggesting that they were relatively specific inhibitors of BACE1.