Primary structure of a new cysteine proteinase inhibitor from pig leucocytes

The primary structure of a pig leucocyte cysteine proteinase inhibitor, also called cathelin, was determined. The sequence was obtained from analyses of peptides isolated from the chymotryptic, endoproteinase Lys-C and protease V8 digests, and by analysis of the peptides derived from the hydrolysis of the aspartyl-prolyl bond of the carboxymethylated inhibitor. The inhibitor consists of 96 residues. The N-terminal residue of the inhibitor is pyrrolidone-carboxylic acid. The amino acid sequence of cathelin suggests the appearance of a new family of cysteine proteinase inhibitors.