Chemical and enzymatic characterization of the collagenase from the insect Hypoderma lineatum

The collagenase from the larvae Hypoderma lineatum, with a molecular weight of 24 000 and isoelectric point of 4.1, was obtained in homogeneous form by ion-exchange chromatography. It is stoichiometrically inhibited by diisopropylfluorophosphate. On the other hand it is unaffected by ethylenediaminetetraacetate, p-chloromercuribenzoate, dithiothreitol, N-tosyllysine chloromethyl ketone, N-tosylphenylalanine chloromethyl ketone and ovomucoid trypsin inhibitor. The enzyme which degrades native collagen in its helical parts, has a specific activity on thermally reconstituted collagen fibrils of 150 micrograms collagen degraded x min-1 x (mg enzyme)-1 at 37 degrees C. It hydrolyses casein but has no esterolytic activity characteristic of trypsin, chymotrypsin nor elastase. It has no action on the synthetic peptide 4-phenylazobenzyloxycarbonyl-L-prolyl-L-leucyl-L-glycyl-L-prolyl-D-arginine. The amino acid composition of Hypoderma collagenase indicates a distinct similarity with the serine proteinases of the trypsin family and with another athropode serine collagenase, that of the fiddler crab Uca pugilator. This suggests that eucaryotic collagenases with digestive rather than morphogenic function represent a new category of members of the trypsin family.