Identification of a human neutrophil angiotensin II-generating protease as cathepsin G

A human neutrophil protease, initially termed neutral peptide-generating protease, has been shown to cleave angiotensin II directly from angiotensinogen and has been identified as leukocyte cathepsin G. When purified neutrophils were disrupted by nitrogen cavitation and fractionated by differential centrifugation, 44 and 24% of the angiotensin II-generating activity was in the lysosomal and undisrupted cell fractions, respectively. Cytochalasin B-treated human neutrophils stimulated with N-formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine released β-glucuronidase, lysozyme, and angiotensin II-generating protease in a dose-dependent fashion, consistent with localization of this protease to the neutrophil granule. Individually purified angiotensin II-generating protease and cathepsin G had similar proteolytic and esterolytic activity for angiotensinogen and N-benzoyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester on a weight basis, exhibited identical mobilities by SDS-gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and pH 4.3 disc-gel electrophoresis, and gave precipitin lines of antigenic identity on Ouchterlony analysis with goat antibody to the angiotensin II-generating protease. Thus, the angiotensin II-generating protease of human neutrophils has been identified as cathepsin G on the basis of subcellular localization, substrate specificity, physicochemical characteristics, and antigenic identity.