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The better to characterize enzymes hydrolyzing carboxyl ester bonds (carboxyl ester hydrolases), we have compared the kinetic behavior of various lipases and esterases against solutions and emulsions of vinyl esters and TAG. Short-chain vinyl esters are hydrolyzed at comparable rates by esterases and lipases and have higher limits of solubility in water than corresponding TAG. Therefore, they are suited to study the influence of the physical state of the substrate on carboxyl ester hydrolase activity within a large concentration range. Enzymes used in this study are TAG lipases from microorganisms, lipases from human and guinea pig pancreas, pig liver esterase, and acetylcholinesterase. This study also includes cutinase, a fungal enzyme that displays functional properties between esterases and lipases. Esterases display maximal activity against solutions of short-chain vinyl esters (vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, and vinyl butyrate) and TAG (triacetin, tripropionin, and tributyrin). Half-maximal activity is reached at ester concentrations far below the solubility limit. The transition from solution to emulsion at substrate concentrations exceeding the solubility limit has no effect on esterase activity. Lipases are active on solutions of short-chain vinyl esters and TAG but, in contrast to esterases, they all display maximal activity against emulsified substrates and half-maximal activity is reached at substrate concentrations near the solubility limit of the esters. The kinetics of hydrolysis of soluble substrates by lipases are either hyperbolic or deviate from the Michaelis-Menten model and show no or weak interfacial activation. The presence of molecular aggregates in solutions of short-chain substrates, as evidenced by a spectral dye method, likely accounts for the activity of lipases against soluble esters. Unlike esterases, lipases hydrolyze emulsions of water-insoluble medium- and long-chain vinyl esters and TAG such as vinyl laurate, trioctanoin, and olive oil. In conclusion, comparisons of the kinetic behavior of carboxyl ester hydrolases against solutions and emulsions of vinyl esters and TAG allows the distinction between lipases and esterases. In this respect, it clearly appears that guinea pig pancreatic lipase and cutinase are unambiguously classified as lipases.

Penicillium cyclopium produces two lipases with different substrate specificities. Lipase I is predominantly active on triacylglycerols whereas lipase II hydrolyzes mono- and diacylglycerols but not triacylglycerols. In this study, we compared the kinetic properties of P. cyclopium lipases and human pancreatic lipase, a classical triacylglycerol lipase, by using vinyl esters as substrates. Results indicate that P. cyclopium lipases I and II and human pancreatic lipase hydrolyze solutions of vinyl propionate or vinyl butyrate at high relative rates compared with emulsions of the same esters, although, in all cases, maximal activity is reached in the presence of emulsified particles, at substrate concentrations above the solubility limit. It appears that partially water-soluble short-chain vinyl esters are suitable substrates for comparing the activity of lipolytic enzymes of different origin and specificity toward esters in solution and in emulsion.

An extracellular lipase, active on water-insoluble triacylglycerols, has been isolated from Penicillium cyclopium. The purified enzyme has a molecular mass of 29 kDa by gel filtration and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It hydrolyzes emulsions of tributyrin, trioctanoin, and olive oil at the same rate as pancreatic lipase and shows very low activity against partial acylglycerols (monooctanoin and dioctanoin) and methyl esters. It is stable at 35 degrees C for 60 min and has maximal activity in a pH range of 8-10. Hydrolysis of triacylglycerols by P. cyclopium lipase is inhibited by detergents such as Triton X-100. Comparison of the sequence of the 20 first amino acid residues of P. cyclopium triacylglycerol lipase with other Penicillium lipases indicates a high homology with previously characterized lipases produced by P. expansum and P. solitum which are enzymes of comparable size and substrate specificity. Conversely, homology between P. cyclopium lipase and P. simplicissimum lipase, a nonspecific lipolytic enzyme, is low. Penicillium cyclopium triacylglycerol lipase shows no homology with P. camembertii lipase which is specific to monoacylglycerol and diacylglycerol.

Conjugated bile salts inhibit the the hydrolysis of triglycerides (TG) by the lipases from Rhizopus arrhizus and Geotrichum candidum. This occurs for detergent concentrations similar to those which suppress the action of mammalian pancreatic lipases upon the same substrates. However, in opposition with what is observed with the latter enzymes, the activity is not restored by the addition of pancreatic colipase. Both pancreatic and R. arrhizus lipases are inactivated at tributyrin/water interface, but only the first enzyme is protected against this surface denaturation by the pancreatic cofactor. These observations suggest that colipases synthesized in mammalian pancreas display specific interaction towards the lipases made by the same organ.

Lipase and colipase were prepared separately from rat pancreatic juice, and their respective interaction with biliary lipids was investigated by gel filtration on agarose in the presence of a micellar solution of sodium taurocholate. It was found that the cofactor can associate with the biliary lipids, whereas the enzyme forms a high mol wt complex only in the presence of colipase. It is suggested that biliary phospholipids might participate in the in vivo formation of the enzyme-cofactor substrate complex at the triglyceride-water interface in the presence of bile salts.

Strong perturbation of the ultraviolet spectrum of the tyrosines of porcine pancreatic colipase A is observed in the presence of Triton X-100 at concentration above the critical micellar concentration. Spectrophotometric titration of the phenolic groups of the protein shows that the apparent pKa value for two tyrosines is about 10.3, while the third tyrosine has a higher pKa value above 11.6. This residue is still protonated at pH 13 in the presence of Triton X-100. All perturbations induced by the nonionic detergent can be interpreted as resulting from interactions between colipase and Triton X-100 molecules at a hydrophobic site of the protein that includes the tyrosine residues. Results obtained in studies with Triton X-100 are similar to those already reported by Sari et al. (Eur. J. Biochem. 58:561 (1975) on the interaction of colipase with taurodeoxycholate. It is likely that the binding of both types of detergent occurs at the same specific site on the protein molecule. Data presented in this communication give further support to the hypothesis that a hydrophobic domain (residues 49-57), including all three tyrosines of the colipase molecule, participate to the well characterized interaction of the lipase cofactor with triglycerides at lipid-water interfaces.