Protease production by Streptococcus sanguis associated with subacute bacterial endocarditis

A viridans streptococcus (Streptococcus sanguis biotype II) isolated from the blood of a patient with subacute bacterial endocarditis was examined for protease production. In broth culture, extracellular proteolytic enzymes were not produced by this organism until after the early exponential phase of growth, with maximal protease production occurring during the stationary phase. Four distinct proteases were isolated and purified from the supernatant fluids of stationary-phase cultures, employing a combination of ion-exchange column chromatography, gel filtration column chromatography, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. All four proteases could be eluted from a diethylaminoethyl cellulose column at a sodium chloride gradient concentration of 0.25 M but were separable by gel filtration chromatography on a Sephadex G-100 column. They varied in molecular weights as determined by gel filtration and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis from approximately 13,000 to 230,000. All four proteases had pH optima of between 8.0 and 9.0, and two of the proteases were active against casein, human serum albumin, and gelatin but were not active against elastin and collagen. The remaining two proteases were able to degrade only casein and gelatin. These results show that S. sanguis is able to excrete maximal levels of potentially destructive enzymes when the organisms are not actively multiplying. This finding may explain some of the damage caused in heart tissue by these organisms during subacute bacterial endocarditis.