Casein proteolysis

Ripened cheeses contain higher average concentrations of amines than do unripened cheeses, a difference that could be related to processing (Martelli et ah, 1993 Schneller et al., 1997). Casein proteolysis that occurs during cheese manufacture may result in an increased level of free amino acids. These amino acids are then decarboxylated, resulting in the formation of biogenic amines. A... 

Products of Limited K-Casein Proteolysis Book 2 XXI Intern. Dairy Congr. Moscow,1982, ppl61. 

Bitterness occurs as a defect in dairy products as a result of casein proteolysis by enzymes that produce bitter peptides. Bitter peptides are produced in cheese because of an undesirable pattern of hydrolysis of milk casein (Habibi-Najafi and Lee 1996). According to Ney (1979), bitterness in amino acids and peptides is related to hydrophobic-ity. Each amino acid has a hydrophobicity value (Af), which is defined as the free energy of transfer of the side chains and is based on solubility properties (Table 7-6). The average hydrophobicity of a peptide, Q, is obtained as the sum of the Af of component amino acids divided by the number of amino acid residues. Ney (1979) reported that bitterness is found only in peptides with molecular weights... 

Lomholt, S.B., and Qvist, K.B. (1997). Relationship between rheological properties and degree of K-casein proteolysis during renneting of milk. J. Dairy Res. 64,541-549. 

Creamer, L. K. (1976b). Casein proteolysis in Mozzarella-type cheese. N. Z. J. Dairy Sci. Technol. 11,130-131. 

Richardson, B.C., L.K. Creamer, Casein proteolysis and bitter peptides in cheddar cheese. New Zealand J. Dairy Sci. TechnoL, 8, p. 46, 1973. 

Activation of cells results in the release of IKB, followed by the rapid proteolysis of IKB. Although phosphorylation of serine 32 and 36 in the amino-terminal part of IKBa occurs when the proinflammatory cytokines or mitogens are administered to a T lymphocytic cell line, a different site of action has been found after H2O2 incubation (Schoonbroodt et al., 2000). The tyrosine residue 42 and the C-terminal PEST (Pro-Glu-Ser-Thr) domain plays a major role in the phosphorlylation of IKB after treatment with H2O2. Furthermore the CVinducible phosphorylation was not dependent upon IKB kinase activation but involved casein kinase II. The importance of iron for the activation of NFKB was underlined by the fact that... 

The Daily Industiy. The first step in cheese manufacture is the coagulation of milk. Coagulation can be divided into two distinct phases, enzymatic and the non-enzymatic. In the primary enzymatic phase a proteol ic enzyme such as chymosin (rennet), or less effectively, pepsin, carries out an extremely specific and limited proteolysis, cleaving a phenylalanine-methionine bond of /c-casein, making the casein micelle metastabie. In the second, non-enzymatic phase, the... 

The caseins are readily susceptible to proteolysis, in contrast to globular proteins, e.g. whey proteins, which are usually very resistant in their... 

CCP remains attached to the casein following treatment with protein dissociating agents (e.g. urea) or following proteolysis. 

Cathepsin D (EC3.4.23.5). It has been known for more than 20 years that milk also contains an acid proteinase, (optimum pH ss 4.0) which is now known to be cathepsin D, a lysozomal enzyme. It is relatively heat labile (inactivated by 70°C x 10 min). Its activity in milk has not been studied extensively and its significance is unknown. At least some of the indigenous acid proteinase is incorporated into cheese curd its specificity on asl- and / -caseins is quite similar to that of chymosin but it has very poor milk-clotting activity (McSweeney, Fox and Olson, 1995). It may contribute to proteolysis in cheese but its activity is probably normally overshadowed by chymosin, which is present at a much higher level. 

Enzymatic coagulation of milk. The enzymatic coagulation of milk involves modification of the casein micelles via limited proteolysis by selected proteinases, called rennets, followed by calcium-induced aggregation of the rennet-altered micelles ... 

The level of proteolysis in cheese varies from limited (e.g. Mozzarella) through moderate (e.g. Cheddar and Gouda) to very extensive (e.g. Blue cheeses). The products of proteolysis range from very large polypeptides, only a little smaller than the parent caseins, to amino acids which may, in turn, be catabolized to a very diverse range of sapid compounds, including amines, acids and sulphur compounds. 

The proteins of milk fall into several classes of polypeptide chains. These have been delineated most completely in bovine milk, and a system of nonmenclature has been developed for them (Chapter 3 Eigel et al. 1984). One group, called caseins, consists of four kinds of polypeptides asr, as2-. and 3-, and k- with some genetic variants, post translational modifications, and products of proteolysis. Almost all of the caseins are associated with calcium and phosphate in micelles 20-300 fim in diameter (see Chapter 9). The other milk proteins, called whey proteins, are a diverse group including /3-lactoglobulin, a-lactalbumin, blood serum albumin, and immunoglobulins (Chapter 3). Almost all... 

Peptides extracted from casein with N, N-dimethyl formamide have complex electrophoretic patterns identical to those of the fraction first prepared by Long and co-workers and called X-casein (El-Negoumy 1973). These peptides are identical electrophoretically to those released by the action of plasmin, which is present in fresh raw milk, upon asr casein (Aimutis and Eigel 1982). Two of these peptides have tryptic peptide maps and molecular weights identical to those of a pair of the peptides produced by plasmin degradation of asl-casein. These peptides appear to be fragments of a8l-casein which are present in milk as the result of plasmin proteolysis. More definitive information on their primary structure is needed before nomenclature for these fragments can be established. 

Proteolysis of casein may be substantial under certain conditions, such as late lactation and mastitic infections. Under these conditions, the number of somatic cells increases. The most noticeable effect of high somatic cell counts is loss of cheese yield. Everson (1984) identified a loss of 0.045 kg of cheese per 45.36 kg of milk for every 106/ml increase of somatic cell count. Somatic cell counts above 4 x 106/ml were also correlated with enhanced lipolysis and with an increased... 

Milk is clarified by high-speed centrifugation to remove extraneous matter held in suspension. Clarification occurs prior to heat treatment of the milk to prevent dissolution of the extraneous matter. Although clarification removes somatic cells, the elevated levels of lipoprotein lipase activators and plasmin that may be associated with increased numbers of white blood cells in the milk are not eliminated. Therefore, increased lipolysis of milk fat by lipoprotein lipase and proteolysis of casein by plasmin may not be deterred. 

Proteolysis of casein begins with the addition of rennet to the milk and the formation of a coagulum. Calf rennet is actually 80% chymosin and 20% bovine pepsin A (Grappin et al 1985). Rennet can remain active in Cheddar and Camembert cheeses for up to three months, but... 

The other major casein in cheese is /3-casein, but it is generally not hydrolyzed by rennet in low-pH cheeses. Alkaline milk protease (plas-min) plays the major role in the hydrolysis of /3-casein (Richardson and Pearce 1981). The plasmin level in cheese is related to the pH of the curd at whey drainage, since plasmin dissociates from casein micelles as the pH is decreased. Richardson and Pearce (1981) found two or three times more plasmin activity in Swiss cheese than in Cheddar cheese. Swiss cheese curds are drained at pH 6.4 or higher, while Cheddar cheese curds are drained at pH 6.3 or lower. Proteolysis of /3-casein is significantly inhibited by 5% sodium chloride. The inhibitory influence of sodium chloride is most likely due to alteration of /3-casein or a reduction in the attractive forces between enzyme and substrate (Fox and Walley 1971). 

The gross proteolysis of casein is probably due solely to rennet and plasmin activity (O Keeffe et al. 1978). Bacterial proteases and peptides are responsible for subsequent breakdown of the large peptides produced by rennet and plasmin into successively smaller peptides and finally amino acids (O Keeffe et al. 1978). If the relative rate of proteinase activity by rennet, plasmin, and bacterial proteases exceeds that of the bacterial peptidase system, bitterness in the cheese could result. Bitter peptides can be produced from a,-,- or /3-casein by the action of rennet or the activity of bacterial proteinase on /3-casein (Visser et al. 1983). The proteolytic breakdown of /3-casein and the subsequent development of bitterness are strongly retarded by the presence of salt (Fox and Walley 1971 Stadhouders et al. 1983). The principal source of bitter peptides in Gouda cheese is 3-casein, and more particularly the C-terminal region, i.e., 3(193-209) and 3(193-207) (Visser et al. 1983). In model systems, bitter peptides are completely debittered by a peptidases system of S. cremoris (Visser et al. 1983). 

The proteolysis of casein by starter culture organisms is important for proper flavor and texture development in yogurt. This topic has been reviewed by Tamime and Deeth (1980) and Rasic and Kurman (1978). In a yogurt culture, Lactobacillus bulgaricus is better able to hydrolyze casein, whereas S. thermophilus has significant peptidase activity for hydrolyzing the products of initial casein breakdown. Consequently, the proteolytic activities of the two starter culture bacteria... 

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