Biomaterial Database

Aziridine analogs of [[trans-(epoxysuccinyl)-L-leucyl]amino]-4-guanidinobutane (E-64) as inhibitors of cysteine proteases. 1995

V Martichonok, and C Plouffe, and A C Storer, and R Ménard, and J B Jones

Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Lash Miller Laboratories, Canada.

Aziridine derivatives of E-64 have been synthesized, and their characterization against the cysteine proteases cathepsin B, cathepsin L, and papain is reported. The inhibition was found to be strongly pH-dependent, with maximum activity observed at pH 4, indicating that the protonated aziridinium ion form of the inhibitor is the more reactive form. At low pH, the peptide aziridine HO-(L)Az-Leu-NH-iAm inactivated papain with a second-order rate constant, kinac/Ki, of 7.0 x 10(4) M-1 s-1, a value very close to that observed with E-64 or with the corresponding epoxysuccinyl analog HO-(L)Eps-Leu-NH-iAm. This demonstrates that with the correct peptide sequence, aziridine analogs of E-64 can be good irreversible inhibitors of cysteine proteases. Substitution of the epoxysuccinyl moiety by an aziridine does not affect the specificity of inhibition against the three proteases used in this study. The D-diastereomer is the preferred (by 10-fold) diastereomer for the inhibition of cysteine proteases. The reactivity of both diastereomers of iBuNH-Az-LeuPro-OH against cathepsin B was also found to be much lower than that of iBuNH-(L)Eps-LeuPro-OH, which is a potent selective inhibitor of cathepsin B. These differences are attributed mainly to the presence of the protonated aziridine ring, which can modify the binding mode of aziridine analogs at the active site of cysteine proteases.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007930	Leucine	An essential branched-chain amino acid important for hemoglobin formation.	L-Leucine,Leucine, L-Isomer,L-Isomer Leucine,Leucine, L Isomer
D010206	Papain	A proteolytic enzyme obtained from Carica papaya. It is also the name used for a purified mixture of papain and CHYMOPAPAIN that is used as a topical enzymatic debriding agent. EC 3.4.22.2.	Tromasin
D010450	Endopeptidases	A subclass of PEPTIDE HYDROLASES that catalyze the internal cleavage of PEPTIDES or PROTEINS.	Endopeptidase,Peptide Peptidohydrolases
D002401	Cathepsin B	A lysosomal cysteine proteinase with a specificity similar to that of PAPAIN. The enzyme is present in a variety of tissues and is important in many physiological and pathological processes. In pathology, cathepsin B has been found to be involved in DEMYELINATION; EMPHYSEMA; RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, and NEOPLASM INVASIVENESS.	Cathepsin B-Like Proteinase,Cathepsin B1,Cathepsin B Like Proteinase,Proteinase, Cathepsin B-Like
D002403	Cathepsins	A group of lysosomal proteinases or endopeptidases found in aqueous extracts of a variety of animal tissues. They function optimally within an acidic pH range. The cathepsins occur as a variety of enzyme subtypes including SERINE PROTEASES; ASPARTIC PROTEINASES; and CYSTEINE PROTEASES.	Cathepsin
D003546	Cysteine Endopeptidases	ENDOPEPTIDASES which have a cysteine involved in the catalytic process. This group of enzymes is inactivated by CYSTEINE PROTEINASE INHIBITORS such as CYSTATINS and SULFHYDRYL REAGENTS.
D006863	Hydrogen-Ion Concentration	The normality of a solution with respect to HYDROGEN ions; H+. It is related to acidity measurements in most cases by pH	pH,Concentration, Hydrogen-Ion,Concentrations, Hydrogen-Ion,Hydrogen Ion Concentration,Hydrogen-Ion Concentrations
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001388	Aziridines	Saturated azacyclopropane compounds. They include compounds with substitutions on CARBON or NITROGEN atoms.	Ethyleneimines,Azacyclopropanes, Saturated,Dimethyleneimines,Saturated Azacyclopropanes
D013237	Stereoisomerism	The phenomenon whereby compounds whose molecules have the same number and kind of atoms and the same atomic arrangement, but differ in their spatial relationships. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th ed)	Molecular Stereochemistry,Stereoisomers,Stereochemistry, Molecular,Stereoisomer