[Peptide synthesis catalyzed by proteases. The effect of temperature on kinetics of acyl transfer catalyzed by papain].

The effect of temperature on the kinetics of papain-catalyzed peptide synthesis was studied. A characteristic feature of this process is that the peptide synthesis is accompanied both by the hydrolysis of the synthesized bond and by the further elongation of the peptide chain. These phenomena yield the maximum on the time dependence of the first synthetic product. A decrease in temperature is an effective way to increase the yield of this substance which reflects the increase in the nucleophil reactivity resulting from the temperature decrease. Moreover, the latter diminishes the contribution of secondary enzymatic reactions such as further hydrolysis of the reaction product and polypeptide chain elongation.