Abstract
The role of subsite interactions in defining the stringent substrate specificity of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) has been examined by using an fd phage library that displayed random hexapeptide sequences and contained 2 x 108 independent recombinants. Forty-four individual hexapeptides were isolated and identified as improved substrates for t-PA. A peptide containing one of the selected amino acid sequences was cleaved by t- PA 5300 times more efficiently than a peptide that contained the primary sequence of the actual cleavage site in plasminogen. These results suggest that small peptides can mimic determinants that mediate specific proteolysis, emphasize the importance of subsite interactions in determining protease specificity, and have important implications for the evolution of protease cascades.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 7627-7631 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 92 |
Issue number | 17 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 15 1995 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General