Kinetic specificity in papain-catalysed hydrolyses

Abstract

The specificity of the proteolytic enzyme, papain, for the peptide bond of the substrate adjacent to that about to be cleaved and for the acyl residue of some N-acylglycine derivatives is manifest almost exclusively in the formation of the acyl-enzyme from the enzyme–substrate complex. Models for the enzyme–substrate complex and acyl-enzyme intermediate are suggested that account for these observations. In particular it is suggested that the peptide bond of the substrate adjacent to that about to be cleaved, is bound in the cleft of the enzyme between the NH group of glycine-66 and the backbone C=O group of aspartic acid-158, and provides a sensitive amplification mechanism through which the specificity of the enzyme for hydrophobic amino acids such as l-phenylalanine is relayed. It is also suggested that the distortion in the enzyme–substrate complex and the binding of the peptide bond adjacent to that about to be cleaved are also linked and behave co-operatively, the distortion of the protein facilitating binding and the stronger binding facilitating distortion. The results imply that between the enzyme–substrate complex and the acyl-enzyme a relaxation of the protein conformation must occur.