title: The specificity of the S1' subsite of papain.
abstract: The specificity of the S(1)' subsite of the proteolytic enzyme papain was investigated by studying the effect of l-alpha-amino acid amides on the enzyme-catalysed hydrolysis of N-benzyloxycarbonylglycine p-nitrophenyl ester and by determining the kinetic parameters for the enzyme-catalysed hydrolysis of some N-benzyloxycarbonylglycyl-l-amino acid amides. These studies showed that the S(1)' subsite has a predilection for hydrophobic residues, in particular l-leucine and l-tryptophan. The specificity for these residues is manifest in both the binding and acylation steps. N-Benzyloxycarbonylglycine amide is not hydrolysed under comparable conditions, indicating that the amide group adjacent to and on the C-terminal side of the peptide bond about to be cleaved makes an important contribution to the rate of the papain-catalysed hydrolysis of peptides.
mesh_terms: D000577:Amides; D001593:Benzyl Compounds; D001665:Binding Sites; D005998:Glycine; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D007930:Leucine; D009596:Nitrophenols; D010206:Papain; D011485:Protein Binding; D014364:Tryptophan
chemical_list: D000577:Amides; D001593:Benzyl Compounds; D009596:Nitrophenols; D014364:Tryptophan; D010206:Papain; D007930:Leucine; D005998:Glycine