Fusobacterium nucleatum is an oral anaerobe associated with periodontal disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes and colorectal carcinoma. A serine endopeptidase of 61-65 kDa capable of damaging host tissue and of inactivating immune effectors was detected previously in F. nucleatum. Here we describe the identification of this serine protease, named fusolisin, in three oral F. nucleatum sub-species....

Polyserase-1 (polyserine protease-1)/TMPRSS9 (transmembrane serine protease 9) is a type II transmembrane serine protease (TTSP) that possesses unique three tandem serine protease domains. However, the physiological function of each protease domain remains poorly understood. We discovered a new splice variant of polyserase-1, termed Serase-1B, which contains 34 extra amino acids consisting a SE...

Trypsin-like activity is secreted from eggs of many species at fertilization, and this activity is believed to be critical for the block to polyspermy. Here we show that a cortical granule serine protease of sea urchins is the major and perhaps only protease family member important for fertilization. Zymography assays suggest that the cortical granules contain a single serine protease that can ...

Cucumisin is a thermostable alkaline serine protease that is found in the juice of melon fruits (Cucumis melo L.). We have determined the complete nucleotide sequence of a cucumisin cDNA (2,552 nucleotides) and deduced the corresponding amino acid sequence. The open reading frame of the cDNA consists of 731 codons and encodes a large precursor (molecular weight, 78,815) relative to the observed...

A novel serine protease gene, SBcas3.3, was identified by functional screening of a forest-soil metagenomic library on agar plates supplemented with AZCL-casein. Overproduction in Escherichia coli revealed that the enzyme is produced as a 770-amino-acid precursor which is processed to a mature protease of ~55 kDa. The latter was purified by affinity chromatography for characterization with the ...

A sequential optimization strategy, based on statistical experimental designs, is employed to enhance the production of alkaline protease by a Bacillus pseudofirmus local isolate. To screen the bioprocess parameters significantly influencing the alkaline protease activity, a 2-level Plackett-Burman design was applied. Among 15 variables tested, the pH, peptone, and incubation time were selected...

Objective: Investigations were carried out to isolate bacteria from saline-alkali soils and determined optimized alkaline protease activity and stability produced by a wild strain of bacillus sp. in submerged fermentation (SMF). Methods: Optimum temperature for enzyme activity in the crude extract was 40 ◦C at a pH between 8.0 and 9.0. The studies on pH stability showed that the enzyme...

The Plasmodium falciparum serine repeat antigen (SERA) and serine repeat protein homologue (SERPH) contain highly conserved domains that appear to encode cysteine proteases or related proteins. Humoral immune responses against the protease domains of SERA and SERPH were evaluated. Malaria-immune Africans, but not nonimmune controls, demonstrated potent humoral responses against the protease dom...