title: Alteration of leucine aminopeptidase from Streptomyces septatus TH-2 to phenylalanine aminopeptidase by site-directed mutagenesis.
abstract: To tailor leucine aminopeptidase from Streptomyces septatus TH-2 (SSAP) to become a convenient biocatalyst, we are interested in Phe221 of SSAP, which is thought to interact with the side chain of the N-terminal residue of the substrate. By using saturation mutagenesis, the feasibility of altering the performance of SSAP was evaluated. The hydrolytic activities of 19 mutants were investigated using aminoacyl p-nitroanilide (pNA) derivatives as substrates. Replacement of Phe221 resulted in changes in the activities of all the mutants. Three of these mutants, F221G, F221A, and F221S, specifically hydrolyzed L-Phe-pNA, and F221I SSAP exhibited hydrolytic activity with L-Leu-pNA exceeding that of the wild type. Although the hydrolytic activities with peptide substrates decreased, the hydrolytic activities with amide and methyl ester substrates were proportional to the changes in the hydrolytic activities with pNA derivatives. Furthermore, based on a comparative kinetic study, the mechanism underlying the alteration in the preference of SSAP from leucine to phenylalanine is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Biological Sciences, Okayama, 7549-1 Kibichuo-cho, Kaga-gun, Okayama 716-1241, Japan.
authors.forename: Jiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arima
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uesugi
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iwabuchi
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hatanaka
mesh_terms: D000626:Aminopeptidases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D007931:Leucyl Aminopeptidase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D010649:Phenylalanine / Q000378:metabolism*; D013302:Streptomyces / Q000201:enzymology*; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D010649:Phenylalanine; D000626:Aminopeptidases; C049035:phenylalanine aminopeptidase; D007931:Leucyl Aminopeptidase