title: Characterization of an extracellular subtilisin protease of Rhizopus microsporus and evidence for its expression during invasive rhinoorbital mycosis.
abstract: An endoprotease Arp (alkaline Rhizopus protease) was identified and purified to virtual homogeneity from the culture supernatant of an isolate of Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis recovered from a non-fatal case of rhinoorbital mucormycosis. N-terminal sequencing of the mature native enzyme was obtained for the first 20 amino acids and revealed high homology to serine proteases of the subtilisin subfamily. Arp migrated in SDS-PAGE with an estimated molecular mass of 33 kDa and had a pI determined to be at pH 8.8. Arp is proteolytically active against various substrates, including elastin, over a broad pH range between 6 and 12 with an optimum at pH 10.5. After invasive mucormycosis, specific antibodies against Arp were detected in stored serum samples taken from the patient from whom the R. microsporus strain of this study had been isolated. Furthermore, in search of factors involved in thrombosis as a typical complication of mucormycosis, a procoagulatory effect of the enzyme has recently been shown. Altogether, these data substantiate the expression of Arp during human rhinoorbital mucormycosis and suggest a role of the enzyme in pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and National Reference Center for Systemic Mycoses, University Hospital of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spreer
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rüchel
authors.forename: Utz
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Reichard
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000908:Antibodies, Fungal / Q000097:blood; D004549:Elastin / Q000378:metabolism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004795:Enzyme Stability; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007526:Isoelectric Point; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009091:Mucormycosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D012233:Rhizopus / Q000201:enzymology*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D020860:Subtilisin / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000908:Antibodies, Fungal; D037521:Virulence Factors; D004549:Elastin; D020860:Subtilisin