Not More than Three Tissue Kallikreins Identified from Organs of the Guinea Pig

Abstract

The large and varied multigene families of tissue kallikreins of rat and mouse are considered to selectively release as many bioactive peptides. In order to determine whether a similar family of enzymes is expressed in the organs of the guinea pig purification studies were performed. Tissue kallikreins from the submandibular gland, coagulating gland/prostate complex and the pancreas were separated by affinity chromatography on benzamidine-Sepharose. Amino-terminal sequences, the patterns of hydrolysis rates of a number of peptide p-nitroanilides, inactivation rates by active site-directed irreversible inhibitors, specific kininogenase activities and types of kinin released were used to probe the identity of the isolated enzymes.Guinea pig tissue kallikreins 1 and 2 have been reported previously. In the present study we have identified a third type, designated tissue kallikrein 1a because of its sequence similarity to kallikrein 1, which differs from the latter in the catalytic properties. The inferred occurrence of not more than two or three independent tissue kallikrein genes in the guinea pig contrasts with the varied family of enzymes expressed by the large number of such genes present in rats and mice. Expression in the guinea pig (and also in humans) of only a small number of tissue kallikreins makes specific processing of a multitude of biologically active peptides by such enzymes unlikely.

An overview of the kallikrein gene families in humans and other species: emerging candidate tumour markers

“…No more than three tissue kallikreins were identified from organs of the guinea pig [27]. Southern blot analysis detected KLK2 and KLK3 positive bands in several nonhuman primate species including macaque, orangutan, chimpanzee and gorilla but not cows and rabbits [28].…”

Evolutionary History of Tissue Kallikreins

“…Previous efforts focused on the evolutionary history of KLKs focused in the characterization of the mouse [14], [15], rat [16], [17] and pig genes [18], as well as of individual members in mastomys [19], cynomolgus monkey [20], rhesus monkey [21], [22], dog [23], guinea pig [24], macaque orangutan, chimpanzee, gorilla [25], cat [26], horse and cow [17], [22] and cotton-top tamarin [27]. Elliot et al [28] had performed the first Bayesian phylogenetic analysis and suggested the origin of the KLK family before the marsupial-placental split (approximately 125–175 million years ago, mya).…”

Spatio-temporal expression of MMP-2, MMP-9 and tissue kallikrein in uteroplacental units of the pregnant guinea-pig (Cavia porcellus)

“…The guinea-pig pregnancy shares several structural similarities with the human gestation, regarding the trophoblastic interstitial and vascular invasion and the haemomonochorial placenta [22-24]. Moreover, the guinea-pig has been postulated as an ideal model to study the role of the tissue kallikrein-kinin system [25,26]. …”