Supplementary Materials Supporting Information supp_293_34_13151__index. functional protein, which inhibited both legumain and papain-like enzymes. Fibril formation was further regulated by glycosylation. We speculate that cystatin amyloid fibrils might serve as a binding platform to stabilize the pH-sensitive legumain and cathepsins in the extracellular environment, contributing to their physiological and pathological functions. values in the low nanomolar range (6, 7). The interaction of stefins with papain is mediated by a tripartite wedge-shaped structure formed by the N terminus (Ser1CVal10, cystatin C numbering) and two hairpin loops (loops L1 and L2). Essentially, the N terminus binds to the nonprimed side, whereas the two adjacent hairpin loops occupy the primed substrateCbinding sites. Family 2 cystatins resemble the largest subfamily of the cystatin fold, with seven members identified so far. In contrast to the stefins, selected family 2 cystatins (C, E/M, and F) harbor, in addition to their papain-binding site, a legumain binding site (8,C10). Human legumain is a caspase-like cysteine protease (family C13) that mainly localizes to the endo-lysosomal system, where it plays an important function for the digesting of antigens for demonstration for the MHCII complicated (11). On the pathophysiological level, legumain continues to be implicated in a variety of disorders, including malignancies and Alzheimer’s disease (12,C14). Under these circumstances, legumain was discovered AdipoRon supplier translocated towards the nucleus, towards the cytoplasm, and extracellularly. Due to its tight specificity for cleaving after asparagine residues, it really is synonymously known as the asparaginyl-endopeptidase (AEP)2 (15, 16). This tight preference can be exploited from the legumain-inhibitory cystatins C, E, and F, designed to use a conserved Asn39 residue, localized on the reactive middle loop not the same as the papain-inhibitory site to particularly bind towards the legumain active site (9, 17). Furthermore, the interaction with legumain involves an additional legumain exosite loop (LEL) inserted between cystatin strands 3 and 4. AdipoRon supplier Complex formation leads to conformational stabilization of the pH-sensitive legumain at near neutral pH. Unlike family 1 cystatins, legumain-inhibitory cystatins are secreted outside the cell and are in some cases glycosylated (10, 18,C20). Whereas cystatin C is ubiquitously expressed in different human tissues, cystatin E/M is mainly localized to skin epithelia, emphasizing its role in cutaneous biology (5, 10, 21). Co-localization of human cystatin E (hCE) and legumain has been reported in hair follicles (22). Cystatins not only encode a high intrinsic variability because of their function as dual protease inhibitors but also because of their ability to transform to distinct oligomerization states upon conformational destabilization. Factors trigging this oligomerization include N-terminal truncation by proteolytic enzymes, acidic pH, heating, and point mutations. These cause dimer formation via a domain-swapping mechanism (23,C25). Essentially, the N-terminal segment, comprising 1, , and 2 up to the L1 loop, of one monomer exchanges with that of a second monomer (26). Consequently, AdipoRon supplier the papain-inhibitory site becomes inaccessible, whereas the legumain-inhibitory Rabbit polyclonal to Smad2.The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the SMAD, a family of proteins similar to the gene products of the Drosophila gene ‘mothers against decapentaplegic’ (Mad) and the C.elegans gene Sma. site remains intact. Cystatin C oligomerization leads to the formation of amyloid deposits in the brain at advanced age (25). A naturally occurring L68Q variant was identified in the cerebral fluid of patients suffering from hereditary cystatin C angiopathy (Iceland disease), which accelerates this process significantly (6, 27). Similarly, N-terminally truncated cystatin C, lacking the first 10 amino acids of the native sequence, was isolated from cystatin C amyloid deposits (28). This truncation was associated with proteolytic processing by proteases released to the cerebrospinal fluid and similarly results in accelerated formation of amyloid depositions (29). Stefin B was also reported to form amyloid fibrils and is an A-binding protein and therefore supposed AdipoRon supplier to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease (30,C32). Both legumain and cystatins became attractive drug targets due to their relevance in different types of cancer and dementia. Among the cystatins, the family 2 cystatins became especially interesting, because of their work as dual protease inhibitors and because they’re secreted towards the extracellular space, where legumain and cathepsins are found below pathophysiologic conditions likewise. Cystatin E may be the strongest physiologic legumain inhibitor, binding 100-flip more tightly in comparison with cystatin C (7). Thus, it is connected with a tumor suppressor function in prostate tumor, melanoma, and dental carcinoma cells (33,C35). Furthermore, cystatin E continues to be noticed co-localized with legumain in the extracellular environment under regular and under pathophysiologic circumstances.