Carboxypeptidase A activity of cultured skin fibroblasts and relationship to cystic fibrosis.

Properties of carboxypeptidase A of cultured skin fibroblasts from control and cystic fibrosis patients were studied using alpha-N-carbobenzoxy-L-glutamyl-L-tyrosine as substrate. Carboxypeptidase A was inhibited by thiomersal, cyanide, iodoacetate and N-ethylmaleimide in a similar manner for control and cystic fibrosis fibroblasts. Both trypsin and dithiothreitol treatment activated the enzyme, but 1,10-phenanthroline inhibited only in the presence of dithiothreitol. Both Zn2+ and Co2+ reversed this inhibition. Trypsin treatment of carboxypeptidase A produced a form of the enzyme having a higher KM value for both control and cystic fibrosis fibroblasts. Dithiothreitol treatment of control fibroblasts resulted in a form with similar properties to the trypsin activated form, but cystic fibrosis fibroblasts yielded a variant form with even higher KM and Vmax values. Since other properties were similar, it seems likely that this difference reflected binding of a molecule to the enzyme rather than of a defect in the enzyme.