Aminopeptidase N (aminopeptidase + n)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Terms modified by Aminopeptidase N

  • aminopeptidase n activity

  • Selected Abstracts


    Transgenic Drosophila reveals a functional in vivo receptor for the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin Cry1Ac1

    INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2002
    Michael Gill
    Abstract The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis synthesizes toxins (,-endotoxins) that are highly specific for insects. Once ingested, the activated form of the toxin binds to a specific receptor(s) located on the midgut epithelial cells, inserts into the membrane causing the formation of leakage pores and eventual death of the susceptible insect larvae. Manduca sexta larvae are highly susceptible to Cry1Ac1, a toxin that is believed to bind M. sexta Aminopeptidase N, a glycoprotein located on the apical membrane. However, the binding data obtained to date only support the interaction of Cry1Ac1 with APN in vitro. To explore the in vivo role of APN, we have utilized the GAL4 enhancer trap technique to drive the expression of M. sexta APN in both midgut and mesodermal tissues of Cry1Ac1 insensitive Drosophila larvae. Transgenic Drosophila fed the toxin were now killed, demonstrating that APN can function as a receptor for Cry1Ac1 in vivo. [source]


    Aminopeptidase-N/CD13 (EC 3.4.11.2) inhibitors: Chemistry, biological evaluations, and therapeutic prospects

    MEDICINAL RESEARCH REVIEWS, Issue 1 2006
    Brigitte Bauvois
    Abstract Aminopeptidase N (APN)/CD13 (EC 3.4.11.2) is a transmembrane protease present in a wide variety of human tissues and cell types (endothelial, epithelial, fibroblast, leukocyte). APN/CD13 expression is dysregulated in inflammatory diseases and in cancers (solid and hematologic tumors). APN/CD13 serves as a receptor for coronaviruses. Natural and synthetic inhibitors of APN activity have been characterized. These inhibitors have revealed that APN is able to modulate bioactive peptide responses (pain management, vasopressin release) and to influence immune functions and major biological events (cell proliferation, secretion, invasion, angiogenesis). Therefore, inhibition of APN/CD13 may lead to the development of anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drugs. This review provides an update on the biological and pharmacological profiles of known natural and synthetic APN inhibitors. Current status on their potential use as therapeutic agents is discussed with regard to toxicity and specificity. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev [source]


    Proteomic analysis of novel Cry1Ac binding proteins in Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner)

    ARCHIVES OF INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2010
    Li-Zhen Chen
    Abstract Aminopeptidase N (APN) and cadherin-like proteins have been previously identified as Cry1Ac-binding proteins in Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner). In this study, a proteomic approach was used to identify novel Cry1Ac-binding proteins in H. armigera. Brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) of H. armigera were extracted and separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). Cry1Ac-binding proteins were detected using antisera against Cry1Ac. Peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) was used to identify Cry1Ac-binding proteins. In total, four proteins were identified as candidate Cry1Ac-binding proteins in H. armigera: vacuolar ATP synthase (V-ATPase) subunit B, actin, heat shock cognate protein (HSCP), and a novel protein. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


    Structure of aminopeptidase N from Escherichia coli complexed with the transition-state analogue aminophosphinic inhibitor PL250

    ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 8 2009
    Marie-Claude Fournié-Zaluski
    Aminopeptidase N (APN; EC 3.4.11.2) purified from Escherichia coli has been crystallized with the optically pure aminophosphinic inhibitor PL250, H3N+ -CH(CH3)-P(O)(OH)-CH2 -CH(CH2Ph)-CONH-CH(CH2Ph)CO2,, which mimics the transition state of the hydrolysis reaction. PL250 inhibits APN with a Ki of 1.5,2.2,nM and its three-dimensional structure in complex with E. coli APN showed its interaction with the S1, S,1 and S,2 subsites of the catalytic site. In this structure, the Zn ion was shown to be pentacoordinated by His297, His301 and Glu320 of APN and the two O atoms of the phosphinic moiety of PL250. One of these O atoms is also involved in a hydrogen bond to Tyr381, supporting the proposed role of this amino acid in the stabilization of the transition state of the enzymatic process. The strength of the phosphinic zinc binding and the occupancy of the S,2 subsite account for the 100-fold increase in affinity of PL250 compared with the dipeptide-derived inhibitor bestatin (Ki = 4.1 × 10,6,M). Accordingly, the removal of the C-terminal phenylalanine of PL250 resulted in a large decrease in affinity (Ki = 2.17 × 10,7,M). Furthermore, it was observed that the C-terminal carboxyl group of the inhibitor makes no direct interactions with the amino acids of the APN active site. Interestingly, PL250 exhibits the same inhibitory potency for E. coli APN and for mammalian enzymes, suggesting that the structure of the complex could be used as a template for the rational design of various human APN inhibitors needed to study the role of this aminopeptidase in various pathologies. [source]


    Thiolation of polycarbophil enhances its inhibition of intestinal brush border membrane bound aminopeptidase N

    JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 11 2001
    Andreas Bernkop-Schnürch
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of polycarbophil,cysteine conjugates (PCP,Cys) as an oral excipient to protect leucine enkephalin (leu-enkp) from enzymatic degradation by the intestinal mucosa. Cysteine was covalently linked to polycarbophil by 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDAC). Inhibitory activity was tested towards isolated aminopeptidase N and excised intact pig intestinal mucosa, with native mucus. Aminopeptidase N activity was assayed spectrophotometrically using L -leucine p -nitroanilide (leu-pNA) as a synthetic substrate and against the model peptide drug leu-enkp, by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Free cysteine at 6.3 and 63 ,M (pH 6) significantly (p,<,0.05) inhibited aminopeptidase N activity, and PCP,Cys (0.25% w/v, pH 6) had a significantly (p,<,0.05) greater inhibitory effect than PCP on the aminopeptidase N activity towards both substrates. PCP,Cys completely protected leu-enkp against aminopeptidase N activity over a 2-h incubation period, whereas 83,±,4 and 60,±,7% remained stable in the presence of PCP and buffer only, respectively. Leu-enkp in the absence and presence of PCP (0.25% w/v) at pH 6 was completely digested by the intact intestinal mucosa at the 60- and 90-min incubation time points, respectively, whereas in the presence of PCP,Cys (0.25% w/v, pH 6) 11,±,3.5% of leu-enkp remained at the 120-min time point. Thiolation of PCP increased the stability of leu-enkp against the enzymatic degradation by aminopeptidase N and the intact intestinal mucosa, identifying a promising new excipient for peroral delivery of peptides. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmaceutical Association J Pharm Sci 90:1907,1914, 2001 [source]


    Evaluation of the inhibition effect of thiolated poly(acrylates) on vaginal membrane bound aminopeptidase N and release of the model drug LH-RH

    JOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACOLOGY: AN INTERNATI ONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE, Issue 5 2002
    Claudia Valenta
    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effect of thiolated carbopol 974P (carbcys) on the enzymatic activity of vaginal aminopeptidase N in-vitro. Mediated by a carbodiimide, L-cysteine was covalently linked to carbopol 974P. Depending on the weight ratio of polymer to cysteine during the coupling reaction, resulting conjugates displayed 31.3,54.4 ,mol thiol groups per g polymer. The inhibitory effect of carb-cys conjugates was evaluated towards isolated aminopeptidase N and aminopeptidase-N-like activity of excised vaginal mucosa covered with native mucus, respectively. Enzymatic activity was assayed spectrophotometrically using L-leucine- p -nitroanilide (L-leu-pNA) as a synthetic substrate. Carb-cys thereby showed a significantly higher inhibitory effect than unmodified polymer towards both isolated enzyme and vaginal mucosa. Moreover, enzyme inhibition was strongly dependent on the amount of thiol groups being immobilised. The more thiol groups available the higher was the inhibitory effect. Due to its additional high cohesive properties and the possibility of a sustained drug release, which could be shown for the model drug LH-RH, carb-cys appears interesting for the development of vaginal peptide drug-delivery systems. [source]


    Role of two arginine residues in domain II, loop 2 of Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac Bacillus thuringiensis,-endotoxin in toxicity and binding to Manduca sexta and Lymantria dispar aminopeptidase N

    MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 2 2000
    Mi Kyong Lee
    Two arginine residues (368,369) of Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac were mutated to alanine, glutamic acid and lysine by site-directed mutagenesis. Insecticidal activities of the mutant toxins on Manduca sexta and Lymantria dispar larvae were examined. Cry1Ac mutant toxins (c)RR-AA and (c)RR-EE and Cry1Ab mutant toxins (b)RR-AA and (b)RR-EE showed great reductions in toxicity against both insects. In contrast, conservatively changed (c)RR-KK and (b)RR-KK mutants did not alter toxicity to either insect. Binding assays with brush border membrane vesicles (BBMVs) prepared from L. dispar midguts demonstrated that (c)RR-AA, (c)RR-EE, (b)RR-AA and (b)RR-EE bound with lower affinities compared with their respective wild-type toxins. To M. sexta BBMVs, (c)RR-AA and (c)RR-EE showed great reductions in BBMV binding. However, (b)RR-AA and (b)RR-EE did not alter BBMV competition patterns, despite their reduced toxicity. Further binding assays were performed with aminopeptidase N (APN) purified from L. dispar and M. sexta BBMVs using surface plasmon resonance (BIAcore). Direct correlation between toxicity and APN binding was observed for the mutant toxins using this technique. The inconsistency between BBMV and APN binding data with Cry1Ab to M. sexta suggests the possibility of a different Cry1Ab toxin-binding mechanism or the importance of another receptor in M. sexta. [source]


    Immunohistochemical expression of aminopeptidase N (CD13) in human lung squamous cell carcinomas, with special reference to Bestatin adjuvant therapy

    PATHOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2006
    Eiji Ichimura
    Bestatin, a specific inhibitor of aminopeptidase N (CD13), has been reported to prolong survival time in patients with completely resected stage I lung squamous cell carcinoma. Considering the antitumor mechanism of Bestatin, it is interesting to know whether CD13 is expressed in human lung squamous cell carcinoma. The immunohistochemical expression of CD13 was examined in human lung carcinoma and the question of whether CD13 was immunohistochemically expressed in the interstitial tissue was investigated, mainly in the fibroblasts and blood vessels, surrounding the tumor nests of various kinds of non-small cell lung cancers, especially of squamous cell carcinomas. In Japanese squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, 38 (61.3%) out of 62 cancers were positively stained in the same manner on immunohistochemistry for CD13. The area of interstitial tissue positively stained for CD13 varied depending on the case. To confirm the cell nature of the interstitial tissue with CD13 positivity, double immunohistochemistry using CD34 and ,-smooth muscle actin was performed. Double immunohistochemistry showed that the majority of CD13-positive cells were slender fibroblastic cells around the blood vessels and some endothelial cells. [source]


    Quaternary benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids as inhibitors of aminopeptidase N and dipeptidyl peptidase IV

    PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002
    Aleksi
    Abstract Chelerythrine, sanguinarine and an alkaloid extract from Macleaya cordata,sanguiritrin,were found to be inhibitors of aminopeptidase A and dipeptidyl peptidase IV, while fagaronine inhibited dipeptidyl peptidase IV only. At 50,,M, chelerythrine, sanguinarine and sanguiritrin inhibited aminopeptidase N by 82%, 82%, 88%, DPP IV by 38%, 62%, 57%, and fagaronine by 34%, respectively. When bovine serum albumin (500,,g/mL) was added, the inhibition of both proteases by quaternary benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids (QBA) (50,,M) was significantly diminished. Strong interaction of chelerythrine and sanguinarine with bovine and human serum albumin was proved by electrophoretic determination of their respective conditional binding constants. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Structure of aminopeptidase N from Escherichia coli complexed with the transition-state analogue aminophosphinic inhibitor PL250

    ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 8 2009
    Marie-Claude Fournié-Zaluski
    Aminopeptidase N (APN; EC 3.4.11.2) purified from Escherichia coli has been crystallized with the optically pure aminophosphinic inhibitor PL250, H3N+ -CH(CH3)-P(O)(OH)-CH2 -CH(CH2Ph)-CONH-CH(CH2Ph)CO2,, which mimics the transition state of the hydrolysis reaction. PL250 inhibits APN with a Ki of 1.5,2.2,nM and its three-dimensional structure in complex with E. coli APN showed its interaction with the S1, S,1 and S,2 subsites of the catalytic site. In this structure, the Zn ion was shown to be pentacoordinated by His297, His301 and Glu320 of APN and the two O atoms of the phosphinic moiety of PL250. One of these O atoms is also involved in a hydrogen bond to Tyr381, supporting the proposed role of this amino acid in the stabilization of the transition state of the enzymatic process. The strength of the phosphinic zinc binding and the occupancy of the S,2 subsite account for the 100-fold increase in affinity of PL250 compared with the dipeptide-derived inhibitor bestatin (Ki = 4.1 × 10,6,M). Accordingly, the removal of the C-terminal phenylalanine of PL250 resulted in a large decrease in affinity (Ki = 2.17 × 10,7,M). Furthermore, it was observed that the C-terminal carboxyl group of the inhibitor makes no direct interactions with the amino acids of the APN active site. Interestingly, PL250 exhibits the same inhibitory potency for E. coli APN and for mammalian enzymes, suggesting that the structure of the complex could be used as a template for the rational design of various human APN inhibitors needed to study the role of this aminopeptidase in various pathologies. [source]


    Crystallization and preliminary X-ray characterization of aminopeptidase N from Escherichia coli

    ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F (ELECTRONIC), Issue 7 2006
    Yuko Onohara
    A recombinant form of aminopeptidase N (molecular weight 99,kDa) from Escherichia coli was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using ammonium sulfate as a precipitating agent. The crystals belong to the hexagonal space group P3121, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 120.5, c = 171.0,Å. The crystals are most likely to contain one molecule in the asymmetric unit, with a VM value of 3.62,Å3,Da,1. Diffraction data were collected to 2.0,Å resolution using Cu,K, radiation from a rotating-anode X-ray generator. [source]


    Reduced Activity of CD13/Aminopeptidase N (APN) in Aggressive Meningiomas Is Associated with Increased Levels of SPARC

    BRAIN PATHOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
    Christian Mawrin
    Abstract Meningiomas are the second most common brain tumors in adults, and meningiomas exhibit a tendency to invade adjacent structures. Compared with high-grade gliomas, little is known about the molecular changes that potentially underlie the invasive behavior of meningiomas. In this study, we examined the expression and function of the membrane alanyl-aminopeptidase [mAAP, aminopeptidase N (APN), CD13, EC3.4.11.2] zinc-dependent ectopeptidase in meningiomas and meningioma cell lines, based on its prior association with tumor invasion in colorectal and renal carcinomas. We found a significant reduction of APNmRNA and protein expression, as well as enzymatic activity, in high-grade meningiomas. While meningioma tumor cell proliferation was not affected by either pharmacologic APN inhibition or siRNA-mediated APN silencing, APN pharmacologic and siRNA knockdown significantly reduced meningioma cell invasion in vitro. Next, we employed pathway-specific cDNA microarray analyses to identify extracellular matrix and adhesion molecules regulated by APN, and found that APN-siRNA knockdown substantially increased the expression of secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC)/osteonectin. Finally, we demonstrated that SPARC, which has been previously associated with meningioma invasiveness, was increased in aggressive meningiomas. Collectively, these results suggest that APN expression and enzymatic function is reduced in aggressive meningiomas, and that alterations in the balance between APN and SPARC might favor meningioma invasion. [source]


    Betulinic Acid Inhibits Growth Factor-induced in vitro Angiogenesis via the Modulation of Mitochondrial Function in Endothelial Cells

    CANCER SCIENCE, Issue 4 2002
    Ho Jeong Kwon
    Betulinic acid (BetA), a pentacyclic triterpene, is a selective apoptosis-inducing agent that works directly in mitochondria. Recent study has revealed that BetA inhibits in vitro enzymatic activity of aminopeptidase N (APN, EC 3.4.11.2), which is known to play an important role in angiogenesis, but the anti-angiogenic activity of BetA has not been reported yet. Data presented here show that BetA potently inhibited basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)-induced invasion and tube formation of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) at a concentration which had no effect on the cell viability. To access whether the anti-angiogenic nature of BetA originates from its inhibitory action against aminopeptidase N (APN) activity, the effect of BetA on APN was investigated. Surprisingly, BetA did not inhibit in vivo APN activity in endothelial cells or APN-positive tumor cells. On the other hand, BetA significantly decreased the mitochondrial reducing potential, and treatment with mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) inhibitors attenuated BetA-induced inhibition of endothelial cell invasion. These results imply that anti-angiogenic activity of BetA occurs through a modulation of mitochondrial function rather than APN activity in endothelial cells. [source]