Peptides inhibitory to endopeptidase and aminopeptidase from Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis MG1363, released from bovine beta-casein by chymosin, trypsin or chymotrypsin.

Peptides inhibitory to the 70-kDa endopeptidase (PepO) from the cytoplasm of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis MG1363 were isolated from the supernatant (pH 4.6) of chymosin, tryptic and alpha-chymotryptic hydrolysates of beta-casein (beta-CN) by reversed-phase HPLC and identified by sequencing and mass spectrometry. Chymosin released beta-CN f193-209, kinetic constant (Ki) of which for inhibition of PepO was 60 microM. This peptide also inhibited (Ki = 1700 microM) the 95-kDa aminopeptidase (PepN) from L. lactis ssp. lactis MG 1363. Trypsin released two PepO-inhibitory peptides: one, beta-CN f69-97, was not degradable by PepO (Ki = 4.7 microM), while the other, beta-CN f141-163, was degradable by PepO but competitively inhibited hydrolysis of methionine enkephalin by PepO. A peptide, beta-CN f69-84, which inhibited PepO with a Ki of 8.1 microM, was isolated from the alpha-chymotryptic hydrolysate. Peptides released from beta-CN by trypsin or chymotrypsin had very little inhibitory activity against PepN. PepO degraded beta-CN f193-209 very slowly compared with the hydrolysis of methionine enkephalin. All four inhibitory peptides (beta-CN f193-209, f69-97, f69-84, f141-163) were readily degraded by thermolysin.