Conversion of procarboxypeptidase

Chymotrypsinogen, a single polypeptide chain of 245 amino acid residues, is converted to a-chymotrypsin, which has three polypeptide chains linked by two of the five disulfide bonds present in the primary structure of chymotrypsinogen. tt- and S-chymotrypsin also have proteolytic activity. In contrast, the conversion of procarboxypeptidase to carboxypeptidase involves the hydrolytic removal of a single amino acid. 

Figure 15. Conversion of procarboxypeptidase A to carboxypeptidase A by trypsin (151). The subunits are not cyclic polypeptides. ATEEase and HPLAase represents activities of activated subunits I and II on acetyl-1-tyrosine ethyl ester and hippuryl phenyllactic acid, respectively.

It is a proteolytic enzyme, present in the intestine in its inactive form (zymogen), trypsinogen. Trypsinogen is converted into its active form, trypsin, by enteropeptidase, a specialized proteolytic enzyme secreted by intestinal cells. Some free trypsin formed also catalyses the conversion of trypsinogen into trypsin. Trypsin can also convert chymotrypsinogen and procarboxypeptidase into chymotrypsin and carboxypeptidase, respectively. Trypsin has different amino acid specificity when compared with other proteolytic enzymes. Trypsin hydrolyses those peptide bonds whose carboxyl groups are contributed by Lys or Arg residues and if the next residue is not proline. The number of smaller peptides resulting from trypsin action is equal to the total number of Arg and Lys residues in the protein plus one. 

Bovine carboxypeptidase A is produced in the pancreas as a zymogen, procarboxypeptidase A, MW = 87,000. The proenzyme is composed of three polypeptide chains (151, schematically shown in Figure 15). On limited digestion with trypsin one or more peptide bonds in subunit II is split resulting in its conversion to an enzyme (ATEEase) having activity on acetyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester similar to that of chymotrypsin. Continued... 

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