A new lysine derived glyoxal inhibitor of trypsin, its properties and utilization for studying the stabilization of tetrahedral adducts by trypsin.

New trypsin inhibitors Z-Lys-COCHO and Z-Lys-H have been synthesised. values for Z-Lys-COCHO, Z-Lys-COOH, Z-Lys-H and Z-Arg-COOH have been determined. The glyoxal group (-COCHO) of Z-Lys-COCHO increases binding ~300 fold compared to Z-Lys-H. The α-carboxylate of Z-Lys-COOH has no significant effect on inhibitor binding. Z-Arg-COOH is shown to bind ~2 times more tightly than Z-Lys-COOH. Both Z-Lys-COCHO and Z-Lys-COCHO have been synthesized. Using Z-Lys-COCHO we have observed a signal at 107.4 ppm by C NMR which is assigned to a terahedral adduct formed between the hydroxyl group of the catalytic serine residue and the C-enriched keto-carbon of the inhibitor glyoxal group. Z-Lys-COCHO has been used to show that in this tetrahedral adduct the glyoxal aldehyde carbon is not hydrated and has a chemical shift of 205.3 ppm. Hemiketal stabilization is similar for trypsin, chymotrypsin and subtilisin Carlsberg. For trypsin hemiketal formation is optimal at pH 7.2 but decreases at pHs 5.0 and 10.3. The effective molarity of the active site serine hydroxyl group of trypsin is shown to be 25300 M. At pH 10.3 the free glyoxal inhibitor rapidly (=0.15 h) forms a Schiff base while at pH 7 Schiff base formation is much slower (=23 h). Subsequently a free enol species is formed which breaks down to form an alcohol product. These reactions are prevented in the presence of trypsin and when the inhibitor is bound to trypsin it undergoes an internal Cannizzaro reaction via a C2 to C1 alkyl shift producing an α-hydroxycarboxylic acid.