Cleavage of various peptides with pitrilysin from Escherichia coli:: Kinetic analyses using β-endorphin and its derivatives

Pitrilysin from Escherichia coli was overproduced, purified, and analyzed for enzymatic activity using 14 peptides as a substrate. Pitrilysin cleaved all the peptides, except for two of the smallest, at a limited number of sites, but showed little amino acid specificity. It cleaved beta-endorphin (beta-EP) most effectively, with a K-m value of 0.36 mum and a k(cat) value of 750 min(-1). beta-EP consists of 31 residues and was predominantly cleaved by the enzyme at Lys(19)-Asn(20). Kinetic analyses using a series of beta-EP derivatives with N and/or C-terminal truncations and with amino acid substitutions revealed that three hydrophobic residues (Leu(14), Val(15), and Leu(17)) and the region 22-26 in beta-EP are responsible for high-affinity recognition by the enzyme. These two regions are located on the N- and C-terminal sides of the cleavage site in beta-EP, suggesting that the substrate binding pocket of pitrilysin spans its catalytic site.