Specificity and kinetics of the milk-clotting enzyme from cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) toward bovine .kappa.-casein

The action of Cynara cardunculus L. protease on whole bovine K-casein, over a 3-h period at pH 6.4, was investigated. RpHPLC of the 3% trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-solublefraction of the K-casein digestion mixture showed three peptide peaks, which were identified by amino acid analysis and N-terminal analysis as the 106-169 fragment [caseinomacropeptide (CMP)]. Upon selective precipitation with 12% TCA, one glycosylated and two nonglycosylated forms of CMP were distinguished. Analysis of the whole digestion mixture showed no additional peptides. The kinetics of hydrolysis of the PhelO5- Met106 bond was studied by spectrofluorometry, using fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled K-casein (FTC- K-casein). The values obtained for kat, k, and k were 1.04 s-l, 0.16 pM, and 6.5 pM-l s-l, respectively. The proteolytic coefficient is of the same order of magnitude as those obtained for other milk-clotting enzymes, but the k, is significantly lower, which reflects the higher affinity of Cynara protease to K-casei

Effect of gelation temperature on the properties of skim milk gels made from plant coagulants and chymosin

Reconstituted skim milk was gelled at 25-40°C with the plant-origin coagulants from Cynara cardunculus L. or Cynara humilis L. or with fermentation-produced chymosin. Gel formation and ageing were monitored by low amplitude oscillatory rheology and confocal scanning laser microscopy. Arrhenius plots for the rate of milk gelation were also determined. Plant coagulants had shorter gelation time (tg) at 25°C, 35°C and 40°C, and higher initial rate of increase in G' values at all temperatures tested. The firmest gels at long ageing times were produced by chymosin at 30°C and 32°C. At a gelation temperature of 25°C, the differences in rheological and microstructural characteristics between plant coagulants and chymosin were considerable; plant coagulants had shorter tg and higher G' values. For the lowest gelation temperatures, plant coagulants had smaller activation energy values for gelation. Most of the gelation results were similar between plant coagulants, but some differences were found in the values of tg, the rate of increase in G' and loss tangent parameter. The characteristics of gels produced with plant coagulants were influenced less by the changes in temperature compared with chymosin-produced gels, which may be an important consideration in using plant-origin coagulants in the production of cheeses with a wider range of gelation temperatures.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T7C-493HNG1-1/1/35f20b14e49b2922b16639bac3576d1

Caseinolytic Specificity of Cardosin, an Aspartic Protease from the Cardoon Cynara cardunculus L.: Action on Bovine αs- and β-Casein and Comparison with Chymosin

The action of cardosin on bovine αs- and β-casein at 30 °C in 50 mM citrate buffer (pH 6.2) was studied. Peptides were isolated by reversed-phase HPLC on C18 columns and identified from their amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid sequence. The relative susceptibility of peptide bonds cleaved was Phe23-Phe24 > Trp164-Tyr165 > Tyr166-Val167 > Tyr165-Tyr166 > Phe153-Tyr154 > Phe145-Tyr146 ≈ Leu149-Phe150 ≈ Leu156-Asp157 ≈ Ala163-Trp164 for αs1-casein and Leu192-Tyr193 > Leu191-Leu192 ≈ Leu165-Ser166 > Phe190-Leu191 ≥ Ala189-Phe190 ≈ Leu127-Thr128 for β-casein. In αs2-casein, cardosin cleaved the bonds Phe88-Tyr89 and Tyr95-Leu96. The enzyme shows a clear preference for bonds between hydrophobic, bulky amino acids, cleaving four consecutive peptide bonds in extremely bulky, hydrophobic regions of both αs1-CN (Ala163-Val167) and β-CN (Ala189-Tyr193), which was less attacked by chymosin in various experimental conditions. The active site cleft of cardosin accommodates sequences as bulky as Trp-Tyr-Tyr in different subsites (S1 to S‘2, S2 to S‘1, and probably S3 to S1). Several bitter peptides were identified in the digests

Rheological properties of milk gels made with coagulants of plant origin and chymosin

The rheological properties of milk gels made using coagulants obtained from the plants Cynara cardunculus L. and Cynara humilis L. were compared with those of fermentation-produced chymosin, using dynamic low amplitude oscillation as well as large strain (yield) testing. Gelation experiments were performed at 32°C using skim milk powder that had been reconstituted for 2 or 16 h at 32°C. The storage modulus (G'), loss tangent (tan[delta]) at low frequency (0.002 Hz) and yield stress were higher for chymosin-induced gels than those of plant coagulants, when tested ~6 h after coagulant addition. Plant coagulants were slightly more proteolytic than chymosin, and casein hydrolysis may have resulted in lower gel firmness. Most of the rheological properties were similar for the two plant coagulants, in agreement with their similar enzyme contents. Gelation properties were different in milk reconstituted for 2 or 16 h. This behaviour was probably due to casein hydrolysis by plasmin, as milk reconstituted for 16 h at 32°C had significant levels of degradation of both [alpha]s- and [beta]-caseins. The addition of soybean trypsin inhibitor which inhibits plasmin activity resulted in similar gelation profiles for gels made from milk reconstituted for 16 and 2 h.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T7C-44T4YNN-1/1/2a907d35fee1a7a945f566a8c224d6a

Functional and conformational changes in the aspartic protease cardosin A induced by TFE

Conformational and functional changes of cardosin A, an aspartic protease of vegetal origin, in the presence of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE), were assessed. TFE induced alterations of cardosin activity and conformation that differed with the solvent concentration. MD simulations showed that there are significant local alterations in protein flexibility and TFE molecules were found to replace several hydration molecules in the active site of the enzyme. This may explain some of the activity loss observed in the presence of TFE, especially at low TFE concentrations, as well as the recovery of enzyme activity upon aqueous dilution, indicating the release of the TFE molecules from the active site.publishe

Multiplicity of aspartic proteinases from Cynara cardunculus L.

Aspartic proteinases (AP) play major roles in physiologic and pathologic scenarios in a wide range of organisms from vertebrates to plants or viruses. The present work deals with the purification and characterisation of four new APs from the cardoon Cynara cardunculus L., bringing the number of APs that have been isolated, purified and biochemically characterised from this organism to nine. This is, to our knowledge, one of the highest number of APs purified from a single organism, consistent with a specific and important biological function of these protein within C. cardunculus. These enzymes, cardosins E, F, G and H, are dimeric, glycosylated, pepstatin-sensitive APs, active at acidic pH, with a maximum activity around pH 4.3. Their primary structures were partially determined by N- and C-terminal sequence analysis, peptide mass fingerprint analysis on a MALDI-TOF/TOF instrument and by LC-MS/MS analysis on a Q-TRAP instrument. All four enzymes are present on C. cardunculus L. pistils, along with cyprosins and cardosins A and B. Their micro-heterogeneity was detected by 2D-electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. The enzymes resemble cardosin A more than they resemble cardosin B or cyprosin, with cardosin E and cardosin G being more active than cardosin A, towards the synthetic peptide KPAEFF(NO2)AL. The specificity of these enzymes was investigated and it is shown that cardosin E, although closely related to cardosin A, exhibits different specificity