The thermal inactivation of broad specificity proteases such as thermolysin and subtilisin is initiated by partial unfolding processes that render the enzyme susceptible to autolysis. Previous studies have revealed that a surface-located region in the N-terminal domain of the thermolysin-like protease produced by Bacillus stearothermophilus is crucial for thermal stability. In this region a disulfide bridge between residues 8 and 60 was designed by molecular modelling, and the corresponding single and double cysteine mutants were constructed. The disulfide bridge was spontaneously formed in vivo and resulted in a drastic stabilization of the enzyme. This stabilization presents one of the very few examples of successful stabilization of a broad specificity protease by a designed disulfide bond. We propose that the success of the present stabilization strategy is the result of the localization and mutation of an area of the molecule involved in the partial unfolding processes that determine thermal stability.

The thermal stabilities of ribonuclease A (RNase A) and ribonuclease B (RNase B), which possess identical protein structures but differ by the presence of a carbohydrate chain attached to Asn34 in RNase B, were studied by proteolysis and UV spectroscopy at pH 8.0. Proteolysis was quantified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and densitometry. Increasing protease concentrations led to a hyperbolic increase of the rate constants of proteolysis. With thermolysin, which attacks the unfolded molecules only, the thermal unfolding constants were determined by extrapolating the rate constants of proteolysis to infinite concentration of protease. With trypsin, the unfolding constants of RNase A could be confirmed. Subtilisin attacked even the native RNases, where RNase B was more stable toward proteolytic degradation. Kinetic stabilities (deltaG++) calculated from the unfolding constants for temperatures between 52.5 and 65 degrees C revealed a higher kinetic stability of RNase B, which results from enthalpic effects only, whereas entropic effects counteract stabilization. delta deltaG++ at the transition temperature of RNase A (60.4 degrees C) was 2.2 +/- 0.3 kJ mol(-1). Thermodynamic stabilities (deltaG) were estimated from the thermal transition curves at 287 nm for the temperature range from 55 to 70 degrees C. For 17.5-25 degrees C, deltaG values were determined from transition curves of unfolding induced by guanidine hydrochloride and extrapolation of the free energy values to those in the absence of denaturant. At all temperatures, RNase B proved to be more stable than RNase A with essentially the same enthalpy and entropy of unfolding. delta deltaG was 2.5 +/- 0.2 kJ mol(-1) at 60.4 degrees C and 2.3 kJ mol(-1) at 25 degrees C.

Onconase (ONC) from Rana pipiens is the smallest member of the ribonuclease A (RNase A) superfamily. Despite a tertiary structure similar to RNase A, ONC is distinguished by an extremely high thermodynamic stability. In the present paper we have probed the significance of three structural regions, which exhibit structural peculiarities in comparison to RNase A, for the stability of ONC to temperature and guanidine hydrochloride induced denaturation: (i) the N-terminal pyroglutamate residue, (ii) the hydrophobic cluster between helix I and the first beta-sheet, and (iii) the C-terminal disulfide bond. For this purpose, the enzyme variants

With the aim to localize the structural region that becomes first accessible to proteolytic attack during thermal unfolding, the proteolysis of ribonuclease A was studied in the temperature range of 20-65 "C. Subtilisin, proteinase K, and elastase proved to be not appropriate as indicators of thermal unfolding, because even the native protein molecule was cleaved by these proteases. In contrast, chymotrypsin, trypsin, and thermolysin attacked ribonuclease A only after its thermal treatment. For thermolysin and trypsin, the first primary cleavage sites of ribonuclease A could be identified by blotting of the electrophoretic bands, partial N-terminal sequencing of the fragments and assignment according to their molecular masses. The results were confirmed by the separation of the proteolytic fragments by HPLC and subsequent matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. The first cleavage sites were determined to be Lys31-Ser32 and Arg33-Am34 for trypsin and Asn34-Leu35 and Thr45-Phe46 for thermolysin. Hence the structural region from Lys31 to Leu35, together with the adjacent p-structure containing Thr45-Phe46, is suggested to represent a labile region of the ribonuclease A molecule, which becomes exposed at thermal denaturation.

By reason of their cytotoxicity, ribonucleases (RNases) are potential anti-tumor drugs. Particularly members from the RNase A and RNase T1 superfamilies have shown promising results. Among these enzymes, Onconase, an RNase from the Northern Leopard frog, is furthest along in clinical trials. A general model for the mechanism of the cytotoxic action of RNases includes the interaction of the enzyme with the cellular membrane, internalization, translocation to the cytosol, and degradation of ribonucleic acid. The interplay of these processes as well as the role of the thermodynamic and proteolytic stability, the catalytic activity, and the capability of the RNase to evade the intracellular RNase inhibitor has not yet been fully elucidated. This paper discusses the various approaches to exploit RNases as cytotoxic agents.