Molecular analysis of dibasic endoproteolytic cleavage signals

Biologically active peptide hormones are synthesized from larger precursor proteins by a variety of post-translational processing reactions. To characterize these processing reactions further we have expressed preprogastrin in two endocrine cell lines and examined the molecular determinants involved in endoproteolysis at dibasic cleavage sites. The Gly93-Arg94-Arg95 carboxyl-terminal processing site of progastrin must be processed sequentially by an endoprotease, a carboxypeptidase, and an amidating enzyme to produce bioactive gastrin. For these studies the dibasic Arg94-Arg95 residues that serve as signals for the initiation of this processing cascade were mutated to Lys94-Arg95, Arg94-Lys95, and Lys94-Lys95. In the GH3 cells the Lys94-Arg95 mutation slightly diminished synthesis of carboxyl-terminally amidated gastrin, whereas in the MTC 6-23 cells this mutation had no effect on amidated gastrin synthesis. In contrast, both Arg94-Lys95 and Lys94-Lys95 mutations resulted in significantly diminished production of amidated gastrin in both cell lines. A specific hierarchy of preferred cleavage signals at this progastrin processing site was demonstrated in both cell lines, indicating that cellular dibasic endoproteases have stringent substrate specificities. Progastrins with the Lys94-Arg95 mutation in GH3 cells also demonstrated diminished processing at the Lys74-Lys75 dibasic site, thus single amino acid changes at one processing site may alter cleavage at distant sites. These studies provide insight into the post-translational processing and biological activation of not only gastrin but other peptide hormones as well.